Silly After Action Report - Damsels in Distress

It was cold, it was wet, it had been snowing.  It was in short what the Italian high command called "perfect offensive weather".  The suspicion was growing in the mind of Caporale Maggiore Salvatore Doncoyoti that the high command launched offensives in this sort of weather so they had an excuse when they failed.  Doncoyoti was a grizzled veteran and he had the campaign decorations to prove it; Spain, Libya, Abyssinia, the French border he had thrown his hands into the air in all of them.  There wasn't an enemy of Italy he hadn't surrendered to.

This looked like being the worst, the Greek counter offensive had already persuaded the bulk of the Italian army that they had pressing business back in Rome but his units halfwit commander had refused to move out, something about the snow ruining his new shoes.  So they were stuck here while they waited for the snow to melt or something.  To make matters worse the commander had rounded up the local schoolgirls and locked them in the gaol.  Apparently one of them had keyed his new car.  Doncoyoti peered into the mist idly chipping shards of incriminating paint off his keys.  Through the gloom he saw figures; grim, armed figures moving forwards.  Doncoyoti settled back in his foxhole and checked his white flag.  A few seconds later there was a shout from further down the line and the telltale sound of a light machine firing briefly then jamming permanently.  Doncoyoti cursed, that was the trouble with wars, some idiot always wanted to fight.

So here we are playing scenario FT227 - Damsels in Distress.  I'm taking command of a small detachment from the Italian "Ferraria" infantry division clinging to a small Greek village in the aftermath of the almighty cockup that was the Italian invasion of Greece.  Mike Sexton will command the vengeful Greeks looking to regain the tiny slivers of their nation that the Italians actually managed to occupy and incidentally rescue a bunch of schoolgirls the Italians have bizarrely thrown into the town gaol.  Sadly we're playing on VASL so I can't use LFT's bespoke schoolgirl counters and will have to make do with regular prisoners in drag.

I have seven squads of not particularly high quality, a handful of machine guns, a very small mortar and a pair of deeply uninspiring officers.  Half the squads have to set up on the hills facing the Greek approach, the other half are just wandering about in the open.  Should I last that long I get three squads of marginally better troops on turn four as reinforcements.  Also there are the schoolgirls, three halfsquads are detailed as guards for these girls and they can't move at all until turn four.

Mike's Greeks consist of nine squads worth of elite, kilt wearing Evzones led by a couple of quite decent officers.  In addition once one of Mike's units gets eyes on the village the local peasantry pick up pitchforks and flaming torches to help release their daughters from durance vile.  To win Mike has to free at least two squads worth of prisoners from the clutches of their captors and drive my boys out of a couple of buildings.  I win by remaining in a small Greek village surrounded by gun toting maniacs up to my ears in screaming kids.

So below is my initial set up.  Keen observers will already notice the mistake that ruined my chances.
I set up the hill units in the hopes of inflicting some early casualties, fair enough but the rear group I just scattered around hoping to cover the open ground Mike would have to cross once he punched through my forward defenders.  In retrospect I should have kept those guys back closer to the prisoner building.  This would have prevented partisans from popping up right next door.

With little scope for finesse Mike barrelled pretty much straight for my defences detailing a single squad on the far right for a flanking mission.  His first movement took him straight up to my defences.  My sole mmg managed to pin his flanker and then, maintaining rate took a shot at squad that came puffing up through the snow towards it.  Snake eyes on the ensuing morale check meant Mike's 4-5-8 elite squad was now fanatic as well.  Not a good start.  Still that pin result (and the fanatic squad) were my sole achievement for the first turn.  With a couple of Mike's squads lurking back in the trees I unshipped my little mortar and peppered them ineffectually for a fire phase or so.

End of first turn.  Greeks are preparing to roll over the top of my defenders

For the first couple of turns a combination of high Greek morale and crap Italian weapons meant that not a single morale check was failed by the attackers.  Conversely Mike's troops only had to breath in my direction to cause wholesale collapses.  By the end of Mike's second turn the hill was his with no further casualties and my entire hill force were prisoners.  My only hope now was to somehow cling to what was left of my positions until my reinforcements arrived.  The picture below shows that even now I hadn't really grasped what Mike's partisans could do with my remaining squads still scattered across the board a long way from the prisoners.  The way was open for Mike to liberate his noisome brats.

Mike's troops prepare to pour forward and liberate the schoolgirls

Mike's first partisans popped up and promptly jumped into close combat with the lone squad I had guarding the southern (right) flank.  They failed to kill them outright but the writing was on the wall.  Now and only now did I realise how badly I had screwed up.  My most forward squad was doomed (and the guys on the right would die in the next turn) which left precisely two squads to hold off Mike's attackers.  I had a squad,7-0 and lmg which had been futilely trying to dig a foxhole for the first couple of turns.  Now I moved them back into the buildings so Mike's partisans couldn't pop up right next to the prisoner while I pulled back the guys on the left through the trees in the hopes of bolstering my defences.

Everything now depended on whether I could survive until my reinforcements arrived.  Strangely I did aided by the fact that Mike needed a turn or so to charge his force towards what little was left of my position.  He was helped when his sniper assisted in taking out my sole forward defender while his partisans finished off my guys in the south.

Turn four arrived and with it my reinforcements who were just in time to witness the destruction of my onboard force.  My squad with the lmg broke its weapon, destroyed its weapon and was then broken by a sniper.  Mike decided he was bored with taking prisoners and these particular Italians fell onto the Greek soil they had rashly stolen.  My 7-0, proudly alone, had a moment of glory.  Mike sent a full Greek squad into CC with them.  Of course my officer died but in return I rolled a snake eyes and killed the squad as well.  Sadly such individual acts of courage could not undo their commanders mistakes.

My reinforcements puffed towards the battlefield as did Mike's Greeks.  Meanwhile some partisans taking advantage of the complete lack of Italian troops plunged into CC with a guard unit to free some of the schoolgirls.  Mike's success was mixed, he ambushed me and killed my halfsquad without harm to himself but in the process blew the heads off a few of the schoolgirls.  Mike was a bit concerned about this but you know; omelettes, eggs.  Another close combat went somewhat worse for him. I didn't hurt him but his partisan halfsquad jumped my guard unit and glory be if a lax Italian halfsquad didn't manage to ambush the partisans.  Deciding they had used their quota of luck for the day these guys promptly withdrew and in the next turn fled to the other victory building that Mike had left unoccupied in his rear taking their prisoners with them.  Mike had also decided to throw caution to the winds and swamp my remaining units which led to the only significant Italian fire success of the game when my reinforcements fired on an elite squad crossing the street and wiped them out.

That isn't writing on the wall, its an illuminated freaking billboard

Despite this brief burst of sudden effectiveness it was all for naught.  I had neither the men or the firepower to stop Mike's collection of Evzones and villagers.  He rolled up and over the remaining guard unit and hunted down and exterminated the one that had fled.  At the end five and a half squads worth of schoolgirls were liberated and there were barely any Italian units left on the board.

Caporal Maggiore Doncoyoti looked around wearily.  Unlike most of his fellows he was an old campaigner and had reacted appropriately when the Greeks attacked; he had run for his life.  Behind him the Greeks; villagers, soldiers and such schoolgirls as had survived alike were celebrating their triumph.  Doncoyoti stumbled forwards, ahead of him lay the Italian lines and a heroes welcome as the sole survivor of the last outpost.  Decorations would follow, his face would appear in propaganda rags and as a reward he would be posted to the 3rd Celere division for the invasion of the Soviet Union.  Doncoyoti straightened his shoulders, things were definitely looking up.