For this issue I decided to test a scenario made by Roger Gustafsson, a friend and co-designer for MTO and many other aspects such as playtesting, feedback and comments/arguments concerning TOAW and other games. This scenario is perhaps a taste of what the new MTO will be like. The scenario is not yet out and I have playtested this scenario several times. However now the scenario is almost complete there is just a few details left to edit.

In June 1940 Italy declares war against the UK. However they didn’t attack the British troops in the desert until September 1940. This scenario covers the period from June to December 1940.

Scenario Information
Name: Prelude to Compass
Turns: 27
Map scale: 25 km/hex
Unit scale: Divisions, Brigades, Regiments and Battalions.

I played first as Italian against a strong PO then as allied against strong PO. Below I will describe turn by turn what happened. Occasionally I will add comments of the turns when I played as allied.

Turn 1
First limited attack on Sidi Barrani, the allied player sends reinforcements into the city.

As allied: Sidi Barrani attacked all forward units withdrawn to Matruh. Preparing defence lines first at El Alamein second at Cairo. Bridges that are of no use are being blown.

Turn 2
Sidi Barrani encircled, limited attacks conducted to consume his supply. Another force continues towards El Alamein and passes enemy held Matruh.

As allied: All units withdrew to east of Matruh, digging in.

Turn 3
Full attack on Sidi Barrani, enemy force eliminated. The Allied force in Matruh encircled, limited attacks conducted to consume his supply. The advance towards El Alamein halted two hexes away from the city. Allied counter attack forces my 1^st colonial regiment to retreat.

As allied: delaying battle fought at Matruh.

Turn 4
Full attack on Matruh, enemy forces eliminated. Reinforcements sent to the front next to El Alamein, now only three hexes away from the city. In the south I have advanced through El Quatar depression and am now standing two hexes away from the airfield 10 hexes below El Alamein. Several strong artillery units held back for rest. Allied forces counterattack the frontline at El Alamein, he advances but leaves one hex undefended and one hex defended by only one battalion.

As Allied: the defenders at Matruh still holding out. Units pulled back to shorten the front line.

Turn 5
Taking full advantage of the breach in the allied front line. First advancing into the free hex then overruns the battalion, I continue the advance to the coast as well as below El Alamein. Three brigades encircled west of El Alamein, and El Alamein almost encircled. Airbase south of El Alamein occupied and fighter and bombers moved forward. I now have range to Cairo with fighters.

As allied: delaying battle fought at Matruh.

Turn 6
Artillery is given "green light" they are immediately sent to fight the three brigades west of El Alamein. Full attack on this pocket, enemy eliminated. Full attack on El Alamein including an allied armoured brigade (by now fully encircled). This resulted in very high losses on both sides. Front line at El Alamein reinforced by those units that won the last encirclement.

As allied: forces at Matruh pulled back to shorten the front line, heavy casualties.

Turn 7
First full attack on El Alamein repulsed with limited losses on both sides. Second attack set to ignore losses, this time the encircled units become eliminated.

As allied: full withdraws from Matruh, one brigade left to fight delaying actions. Another brigade gets caught and total loss is now two brigades.

Turn 8
One force advances towards Alexandria, some allied units fought delaying actions but was unable to halt my advance. I reach the hex next to Alexandria by the end of the turn. The second force advances in the direction of El Faiyum (South of Giza). By the end of the turn I have occupied most of the road between Giza and the airfield 10 hexes south of El Alamein.

As allied: First attack on the next defence line at El Alamein.

Turn 9
My advance has reached the hex next to Giza, El Faiyum and Alexandria. Also some resistance Southeast of Alexandria most retreats when attacked. Full attack on Alexandria succeeds, some other attacks also succeed the front line runs from Alexandria and in a Southeast direction and it pushes towards Damanhur. Allied forces conducts air attacks towards my airbases, the only result is high losses on their sides.

As allied: Several attacks at El Alamein have been repulsed.

Turn 10
Advancing south along the Nile, I reach El Minya, Giza is also occupied. Still pushing and advances slowly towards Damanhur. At the same time I prepare to cross the Nile just west of Giza.

As allied: Several attacks at El Alamein repulsed, heavy casualties. Preparations are made for the withdrawal.

Turn 11
In the south I have advanced to the airfields Southeast of Asyut. The advance towards Damanhur still runs very slow. I have pushed the allied forces away from Alexandria, however the losses are quite high. West of Giza I have crossed the Nile and am now advancing towards Zagazig.

As allied: The defence line at El Alamein fell, a new line is formed between the two superrivers at the end of the Nile.

Turn 12
In the south Oena is captured. First full attack on Damanhur, the allied forces hold their positions however their losses are 85%. West of Giza my advance has reached the hex next to Damietta, Zagazig is still in allied hands though. My line is weak but I have blown all bridges over the eastern super river. I put my construction units at high risk. I have only two and they are necessary for any movement across a super river. The west part of Cairo is assaulted and captured, it was only defended by one tank brigade.

As allied: Retreating to the outskirts of Alexandria

Turn 13
In the south I have reached the end of the rail line all southern airfields are now in my hands. In Cairo I dig in and await reinforcements or a counterattack. The allied forces bravely defend Damanhur but their time has finally come, my attack completely eliminated his force, Zagazig also felled into my hands.

As allied: Only a small force has been left to defend Alexandria. All other units have been withdrawn over the river Nile and all bridges have been blown especially around Alexandria.

Turn 14
Another allied infantry brigade is bravely fighting for the city of Tanta. The last French HQ at Zagazig is eliminated and the road to Ismailia is open, one of the keys to Suez.

As allied: Digging in behind the Nile, Alexandria fell.

Turn 15
The advance continues, Port Said and Ismailia is occupied without any resistance. I furthermore advance from Zagazig towards Suez and by that beginning to encircle the large allied forces defending the eastern parts of Cairo. The Brigade at Tanta is first encircled and then eliminated.

As allied: Axis forces push forward to the Nile

Turn 16
Allied forces launch several air attacks on my airbases, my fighter coverage is to thick and he only suffers high losses. By now I have a 4 to 1 in air superiority. I have advanced above Suez along the non-improved road, standing only two hexes away from the backside of Suez. On the front side of Suez the line goes just below Ismailia towards Cairo. I am able to fight my way to the hex next to Suez and to gain another hex next to Cairo.

As allied: axis forms a line next to the Nile.

Turn 17
I launch a full attack on Suez and capture the city. My strength is low so I have to rely on my other weak Italian division that are Northeast of Suez and that this unit is able to hold of every new allied force arriving that way. I have furthermore stabilised the front from Cairo to Suez however there are still some considerable allied forces left down here. The time has come to capture the last hex of Cairo. So I launch a limited attack to test the defence. The allied forces retreats and I am able to capture the entire Cairo.

As allied: Enemy construction unit crosses the Nile at Tanta, I launch a major attack with ignore losses he splits up and retreats with heavy losses.

Turn 18
I am digging in at Suez and at the same time I try to eliminate the allied forces south of Cairo. For this I am suffering high losses, however the same is true for the allied forces.

As allied: Axis airattacks conducted against my airbases, equal losses to both sides.

Turn 19
Digging in even more at Suez, in addition all but one bridge over the Suez channel is blown. That bridge will be blown when the last unit retreats back over the Suez. I have succeeded to push the allied forces away from Cairo, they are still no eliminated and losses are high on both sides.

As allied: More airattacks, equal losses.

Turn 20
I am finally beginning to get good results, other than just retreats, from the attacks below Cairo. Losses are limited while the enemy is loosing a lot. There are no signs of any allied counter attack so far.

As allied: More airattacks, equal losses.

Turn 21
The forces below Cairo is now pushed far away and almost encircled. The forces in Suez are heavily dug in and large forces are committed to the defence as both dug in and tactical reserves. I am fully prepared for a counter attack. I launched a major air attack against a fully loaded allied airbase. I caused 96% losses on his side and lost only 2% of my own.

As allied: More airattacks, equal losses.

Turn 22
At Suez I can hardly dig in any more. South of Cairo I have completely eliminated the allied force, my troops are very tired but I begin to rush them towards Suez.

As allied: More airattacks, equal losses.

Turn 23
Forces begin to arrive at Suez and join the defence. I launch another airstrike against a fully loaded airfield. This time both sides loose around 30%.

As allied: At Damanhur some Axis units has crossed the first superriver. I launch several attacks to throw him back. Every time I am repulsed.

Turn 24
Another allied airstrike with limited losses on both sides. I begin to advance towards Jerusalem since I feel confident that I will be able to hold my gains.

As allied: Over 6 attacks against the Axis unit that has crossed the Superriver, every single one repulsed. However I suffered no losses while the Axis unit suffered around 15% for each attack.

Turn 25
Ground attacks against allied airfields around Jerusalem. The defence line at Suez has been moved forward a few hexes. Still no signs of any allied counter attack.

As allied: More units join the attack against the Axis unit that has crossed the superriver. This time he retreats with high losses. Axis conducts another airattack, which results in high losses for him.

Turn 26
The undefended area around Jerusalem is occupied. Still no signs of any allied counter attack. The allied forces are cornered and I begin to push them into even lesser territory.

As allied: Further reinforcements strengthen my defences.

Turn 27
Allied forces tried to land in Suez, however my defenders was dug in deep and had several infantry divisions and artillery brigades in tactical reserve. The assault was repulsed. The scenario ended in an overwhelming victory.

As allied: Scenario ended with a draw.

Comments

This scenario shows the importance of engineers or construction units. To be able of crossing superrivers / canals you need the correct ferry capacity. Several units don’t have this by them self. This makes things considerably harder and more interesting. However, the PO seems to be incapable of using engineers/construction units to assist other units to cross. So for this scenario (and similarly scenarios) don’t play the defending side unless you want to try to defend things west of the superrivers.

However as two players or as axis player this scenario is great. The most probable result is a draw and I think it is hard to change it, however not impossible.

Benny