Another Silly After Action Report

There is a time for heroism and a time for cowardice.  Part of the secret to being a successful soldier (ie, one who comes home alive) is picking which option to choose at any given moment.  The Italian army in the Second World War proved remarkably bad at picking.  While cheerful mass surrenders did preserve a lot of soldiers lives they interspersed this with occasional fits of heroism, generally at the most inappropriate moments.

As 1942 lurched shivering into 1943 the Italian Alpine Corps were doing their own shivering and lurching stuck out on the Russian steppe while the Soviets attempted to smash through their lines and encircle Stalingrad.  The alpini defended their positions ferociously, throwing back attack after attack.  Unfortunately the troops on either side of them folded like wet cardboard so the principal result of the alpini's courage was to find themselves stuck 200km behind the new Soviet front line with their rear areas infested with cavalry, tanks, soldiers and machine guns mounted on sleds pulled by horses.

Having finally decided that death on the move was slightly preferable to death in place what was left of the alpini gathered themselves together and struck out on foot in the general direction of Rome.  Leading this cavalcade of misery was the still more or less combatworthy "Tridentina" division.  Following them was a ragtag shambles of rear area troops, survivors from shattered formations and general refugees.  Bringing up the rear were the battered remnants of the "Julia" and "Cuneense" divisions.

The Italians were short on food, ammunition, transport and hope.  As they struggled through a frozen, Soviet infested wasteland it soon became evident that something else they were short of was adequate communications and a sense of direction.  For this reason when the vanguard, spearheaded by the Tridentina went one way the Cuneense bringing up the rear went another and found themselves isolated and up to their waists in snow while the pursuing (and ambushing, because the Italians were effectively surrounded) Soviets gathered for the kill.

This then is ASL Scenario AP25, The Last Day of the Cuneense.  Here I shall command what is left of the Cuneeense division (fourteen elite squads, some pretty impressive officers and a handful of support weapons with scanty ammunition) as they attempt to flounder their way to safety.  Ivan Kent will take command of the pursuing Soviets.  Ivan has ten pursuing squads (most of them elite) a couple of officers and one of the aforementioned horse drawn machine gun sleds.  We both enter on the same edge of the board, the Italians a half turn earlier than the Soviets.

The Italian objective is simple, they enter from the east and have to exit off the west.  Twelve victory points worth of troops (equivalent of six squads) have to make it off, at least one of them has to be an officer.  In addition to the pursuers Ivan gets another seven squads of reinforcements coming in on the flanks in turn three and the option of bringing another three squads on from the west on turn five.  There are also a pair of partisan squads hidden somewhere on the map waiting for the Italians to pass by.  The Italians have to simultaneously run for the exit while leaving behind enough to slow down pursuit, guard the flanks against reinforcements and push through anything in front.  Not surprisingly the game is considered somewhat unbalanced in favour of the Soviets so we played it with the Italian balance, removing one of the hidden partisans.  It wasn't enough.

My guys are fleeing (far too slowly) for the top of the map while Ivan's troops prepare to spoil their day

I eyed up the board, the centre had a village which seemed to be a good home for partisans and would cost time to struggle through.  The right had a ghastly amount of open ground to cross.  I opted to make my push on the left centre.  My designated exit force (fourteen points worth to allow for casualties) would move up between the village and the woods on the left.  Far to the left a squad with a leader and an mmg would climb a hill and act as rearguard.  In the centre another pair of disposable squads (one with an lmg) would act as another pursuit discourager while on the right a pair of squads and a mortar would move up that flank.  The plan being to possibly split his defences but also give me a chance of getting something off if the main force got stopped.

The first turn or two went rather well for me.  My escape force ploughed slowly through the snow heading for the exit while my delaying force snuggled into the buildings.  Ivan came on right behind me with the exception of the machine gun sled which turned up on the right side of the board, slid slowly towards my right flankers and was promptly shot to bits with small arms fire.  Things got even better when my delaying force broke one squad and killed another outright.

The next turn went much the same, my forces inched forward through the deep snow and his forces inched up behind me.  The lack of available cover slowed my forces to a crawl, even more than the snow itself.  My main force was now involved in a running battle while in the centre my delaying force was beating off everything that came near and my guys on the far right had an open path but a lot of territory to cover.  Ivan's pursuit took another setback when he gained a morale check on a laggardly squad resulting in a heat of battle and that rarest of all sights, the berserk Italian.  While the rest of my guys tried to escape this group of heroes charged back the way they came seeking blood.  Blood there was in plenty, pointblank fire killed half my berserkers but then they charged into close combat and wiped out an entire squad without loss.  Unfortunately this left them as a non berserk halfsquad surrounded by Soviet troops.  They didn't last long.

Here my berserkers are just about to kill their opponents and succumb in their turn.  Note the pleasing whorls created as a result of incompetent photographing of a computer screen

Ivan was closing up but my machine gun squad had scrabbled up a small hill and held them off for a while, killing another squad.  It couldn't last, my rolls had been spectacular but now Ivan's dice started to respond.  He broke my machine gun squad with a 2+2 shot and rolled forward.  With my rearguard gone I had to be continually concerned about attack from the rear.  I was struggling through trees trying to avoid gunfire when his flanking reinforcements came on.  He brought a couple of squads and another machine gun sled over on the far right thus killing any chance of my flankers actually getting past and the remainder poured in the top left corner.

I was close now but Ivan was building a wall of arms and legs between myself and the exit.  Somehow I would have to neutralise the defenders and still slip some troops past for the win, difficult.  Difficult and as it turned out impossible.  A squad led by my redoubtable 10-3 officer slaughtered some more defenders and my (now somewhat reduced) escape force trudged slowly through the woods towards the exit.  Ivan pulled back as I advanced, maintaining a force between myself and victory.  To make absolutely sure certain he brought on his last group of reinforcements and guarded my only exit route with a ring of steel.  Over on the right his reinforcements and my flankers fought their own little battle with losses on both sides but all the time my guys were fighting of course they weren't getting any closer to the exit.

Ultimately I couldn't make it.  My last movement phase arrived, I was within striking distance, all I had to do was walk through a hail of lead and I would win.  Of course I didn't.  In the end it came down to rushing through open ground while Ivan indulged in a turkey shoot.  Strangely quite a few of my men survived but a series of breaks and pins meant I finished just short of the exit.  Not a single Italian escaped although the rate of killed and injured on both sides was appalling.

The final moments.  In the next turn I would launch my death ride for freedom which would collapse in a welter of blood.

Sigh, well history repeated itself.  This really was the last day of the Cuneense.  Many thanks to Ivan for the game and much thanks for his patience as my internet proved to be its usual unreliable self.