Introduction

In the campaigns for Greece and Crete, German parachute forces, (the Fallschirmjaeger) won their renown and earned their place in history. But at many of the decisive moments of the campaigns it was another specialized force - the mountain troops (Gebirgsjaeger or GJ) - that turned the enemy flank, and enabled a German victory.

In this AAR, I am in command of the German 6th Mountain Division in Greece in April of 1941. My enemy, the British and Commonwealth forces under the command of General Maitland Wilson, have withdrawn to the Thermopylae line and are establishing a defensive position to buy time so that the majority of their troops may embark transports and escape the hell we have created for them in Greece. If these troops are allowed to escape, as the British did at Dunkirk, the leadership in Berlin will be very disappointed.

In character:
The last time I was in Berlin, the Fürher was being driven in the Mercedes LAH40 - the silver and black staff car with the six wheels. It was beautiful. Something to behold. With a victory in the next few days, I'm sure I'll be able to get a new staff car. The old kubelwagon has been faithful, but it can hardly be called a "staff car." I'm quite tired of driving around like some lowly Hauptman.

I have the glossy color brochures right here in my map case. I'm wisely looking at something modest. Maybe a Horch or an entry-level Maybach. Definitely black. From time to time I show the brochures to my orderly Herman. "You will look good driving in the back with me in this one, Herman" I say. He always smiles.

As commander, my assigned task is to break the line at Thermopylae, inflict as many casualties as possible, and exit my forces off the eastern and southern edges of the map to interdict the embarkation of Wilson Force.

To achieve my tasks I have a division of mountain troops with an attached Pz regiment at my disposal.

Some Historical Background

First a brief historical aside. By this time in the battle for Greece, my GJ Div 6 has been fighting non-stop for two weeks. Initially they crossed an "uncrossable" mountain ridge and flanked Greek positions in the Metaxis line. Next, they crossed the lower reaches of Mt. Olympus to unhinge the Commonwealth position at Pinios Gorge. By this time they should be worn out. But my GJ are an elite formation and are ready for the final push.

The attached Pz unit is the Pz Regt 3 of the Pz Div 2 and has a mixture of Pz IIs and Pz IIIs and a few Pz IVs - about 80 tanks in all. This unit fought its way across the Metaxis line down to Salonika, and then surprised the Commonwealth forces at Platamon. This is a good strong regiment for which Wilson Force has no match.

In this scenario, the Pz forces are, by and large, required to exit the northeastern edge of the map. They'll have to break-through some hastily prepared defenses and push on to the exit location. I'll also have to feed a significant number of infantry - either motorized or on foot - through this eastern exit point to achieve the maximum points.

Head'm Up, Move'm Out

Let me back up for a moment and explain how exit tasks work in Conquest of the Aegean. Units on the field have anti-armor firepower values and anti-personnel firepower values that are a measure of striking power against each of these kinds of targets. It's a calculation based on the amount and type of unit - and how much damage they can inflict on enemy units. To achieve the maximum points of an exit task, the player must pay heed to the kind of firepower values required to pass through the exit task. If it calls for 340 of anti-amour firepower, then the player must get a significant number of armored or anti-armor assets through that location before the game ends.