Crossing the Aoos - The Greco-Italian War 1940 - Campaign Turn 1

This is the first part of my mini-campaign based upon events around the ill-fated Italian invasion of Greece in 1940.

Background Fluff

28th October 1940, Albania-Greek Border. At 5.30am Italian units crossed the frontier at multiple points into Greece. The XXV Italian Army Corps was tasked with seizing the important road junctions at Kalpaki in Western Macedonia. Spearheading one of the advances was the Sapienza Column, formed from elements of the 23rd Infantry Division (Ferrara) and the 131st Armoured Division (Centauro).

Italian Sapienza Column OOB

1 x CO (CV8)

2 x HQ (CV8)

2 x HQ (CV7)

1 x FAO (CV6)

9 x Infantry (+1 die when rolling for Fall-Back)

2 x MG

1 x 81mm Mortar

1 x 75mm Artillery (Off table)

3 x L3/35 Tankettes

Greek 5/42 Evzones Border Guards OOB

1 x HQ (CV8)

3 x Infantry (-1 die when rolling for Fall-Back)

1 x MG

1 x 81mm Mortar

Scenario Details

• The weather is 10/10 cloud so there is no air support available to either side.
• Turn 1 takes place in the pre-Dawn, so there is a -2CV to command rolls.
• Turn 2 takes places at Dawn, so there is a -1CV to command rolls.
• From Turn 3 onwards visibility is normal, with no penalties to command rolls.
• The Greek objective is to slow down the Italian forces, trading space for time, to allow for reinforcements to move up and form defensive postions in the rear (later scenario).
• The Italian objective is to exit the the table as quickly as possible, avoiding casualties, as logistical problems mean that replacements will be hard to come by.
• The river Aoos can only be crossed via the bridge, as the river has risen due to recent rain making it impassable.
• The game last for 8 Turns.

The Game

As is the norm these days, annotated photos should help tell the tale of how the game unfolded...

An overview of the table. The Italians arrive from the left hand table edge using Mobile Deployment.

The Greek troops concealed within the rocky terrain, which counts as Hard cover, over looking the bridge over the river Aoos.

The view from the Italian entry point.

Optimistic advertising hoardings 'welcoming' the Italian troops.

The Italian Sapienza Column in all its glory.

The end of Turn 2. Despite the darkness and the early Dawn light, the Italian troops made reasonable progress towards the bridge, but soon came under fire from the Greeks concealed amongst the mountainous terrain.

The lead Italian Company is suppressed by Greek mortar fire.

The end of Turn 3. Shocked by the sudden barrage of fire, all the Italian units failed to move. Seizing their chance the Greeks using combined arms destroyed the leading Italian Infantry Company.

Only the MG unit is left of the lead Italian Infantry Company.

The end of Turn 4. A turn for the better for the Italian's, as the sudden arrival of the L3/35 Tankettes and accurate Artillery fire helped their cause, leading to the Greeks failing their command roll this Turn.

A welcome sight as the L3/35 Tankettes move up and cover the bridge and its approaches.

The Italian Infantry struggle to move forward.

A Greek Infantry unit caught in the Italian Artillery bombardment.

The end of Turn 5. The Italians begin to take the fight to the Greeks, with the L3/35 Tankettes and Artillery causing hits on two Greek Infantry Platoons. A command blunder for the Greeks sees half their force making a withdrawal back towards their own lines of communication.

The Italians are still struggling to get even close to the bridge.

Greek Infantry take effective fire from the Italian combined arms.

Some Greek units mistakenly fall back, but probably a wise move given the casualties they have already taken.

The end of Turn 6. A completely ineffective Turn for the Italians, which allows the Greeks to move their Infantry in the frontline back and out of sight of the Italians.

The Greeks begin to fall back.

The Greeks prepare a second defensive line.

A view from the Greek positions.

The end of Turn 7. The L3/35 Tankettes push tentatively across the bridge as the Italian Infantry move up to try and cross. Unfortunately for the Greeks once again they fail their command roll!

The mighty Italian tankettes move forward over the bridge.

The Italian Infantry try to get close enough to move across the bridge.

The end of Turn 8. A similar Turn once again, as the L3/35 Tankettes push forward and as the Italian Infantry move, they come under desultory mortar fire as the Greeks withdraw towards their own lines (off table).

A minor move by the Italian tankettes.

The Italian Infantry still on the wrong side of the river.

The Greeks retreat and live to fight another day

End of the Game

Despite early losses the Italians put up a good show, inflicting enough casualties on the Greeks to make them make and orderly withdrawal, leaving the Field of Mars to the Italians. However the Italians lost an Infantry Company and the Greeks only an Infantry Platoon. Certainly a tactical victory for the Greeks, but the Italians still have more troops on the way.

Post Game Thoughts

As always great to get in a game of BKCII and of course just a game in itself, as for multiple reasons, games have been in short supply this year. Some musings on the game in no particular order:

• The opening Turns of Night and Dawn worked well once again, with its limited visibility and command penalties. Simple but rather effective in game terms.
• The mixed Italian CV's reflected nicely the poor Italian C&C during this campaign, as well as replicating some of the issues related to the terrain. 
• It's not often that one can say that the appearance and firepower of the L3/35's helped turn the game slightly in the Italians favour. Great when this happens though!
• I was not expecting much from the Italian Artillery, given the FAO's CV of 6 and the fact that the 75mm guns only had two dice each, but they did just enough to limit some of the Greek firepower and an important part of the game.
• Any side with on table Mortars can be a force to be reckoned with, and this was certainly the case here. Even one more successful command roll could have caused real problems for the Italians, but 'twas not to be. This does reflect the fact that the Greek Mortars and Artillery dig inlfict significant losses on the Italians, as they were dug-in and somewhat hidden in the mountainous terrain.
• The Greek Border Guards did well and had enough firepower to put up a fight, but not too much for the opening moves of this Campaign.
• This made for a great solo game but I'm not sure how much fun it would be for a two player one. This is the advantage of solo games and also narrative campaigns, in the fact that you can play rather assymetric engagements but still have fun doing so.

What Next?

Well I would like to paint up some Italian Mountain Guns for the next scenario, so that is high on my priority list. Then of course there is the small issue of sorting out the next scenario in the mini-campaign, so back to reading my books so I can scribble down some ideas to mull over.

As always thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed the AAR, so any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.