Game Notes

Historically, the battles of Gazala represented the greatest triumph for Rommel and the severest setback for British armor in their history. Tobruk is the all-important objective for the Germans. For without it they could not maintain their drive to Egypt. It is also of great worth to the British, since by holding Tobruk they deny a much-needed supply point to their foe.

Besides Tobruk, the other important prominent geographic feature in the game is the Gazala - Bir Hacheim Line. The fortified boxes are the strong-points. These boxes were basically manned by infantry brigades and the special effects of these hexes reflect the defensive nature, plus the added artillery - field and anti-tank - that became part of its static defense.

The British were well-prepared for the Axis offensive and had numerous dumps scattered throughout the forward areas. The Axis, on the other hands, were sure to out-distance their supply and so all speed was made to bring the supplies to the front line-hence a road- and trail-bound supply line.

The battle of the Cauldron began when the Italian Trieste Division failed to take Bir Hacheim in the opening rounds and that position, sitting astride the Afrika Korps supply line, choked off the flow of badly needed petrol and ammunition. Finding themselves spread thin, the Afrika Korps reconsolidated their forces around the British 150th Brigade box. The plan was to hold off the Allied counterattacks while breaking through the mine-fields and the 150th, to the Italians on the other side thereby renewing the supply flow. The plan succeeded, after which occurred a series of running battles with British armor, culminating in the seizure of Tobruk.

The majority of the new Grant tanks, which mounted both 75mm and 37mm guns, were found in the 5-4-15 British units. Each had two squadrons of these and one squadron of Crusaders, with a 2-pounder, and either one squadron of Stuarts and its 37mm, or one squadron of Grants. In addition, there are the infantry tanks, the Matildas and Valentines; these were slow-moving, but heavily armored and carried the traditional 2-pounder. These tanks were divided among the 1st and 2nd Army Tank Brigades, which supported the Line.

On the other side of the edger are the tanks of the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions. The bulk of the armor was made up of the Mark III and its 50mm gun, a superior tank to all but the Grant. That tank's equal could only be found in the new Mark III Specials and the Mark IV's. But these were in short supply. The Axis also had several Mark ml's and Italian M13/40's and M14/41s. These were almost worthless in tank battles. Though outnumbered, the Germans possessed a better grasp of armor tactics and had an overall superiority in equipment.

Another advantage of the Axis was their superior flak gun/anti-tank gun - the dreaded 88mm. In the game, these guns are amalgamated in the panzerjager units, which contained the other anti-tank guns of the Germans.