Operation Compass: Tamar West - Operational Planning Map

As the attack on Tamar West unfolded through the Zoom sessions, as a British player, I tried to keep track of the assault as it progressed up the board. From the turret top of the Matilda I tried to keep a careful annotation, but as you can see the continuous movement made my hand very shaky (see below, hard black ink for the first session, red for the second phase of the attack  ): 

The intensity of the artillery fire is in proportion to the density of the ink. Respect is due to teh Italian gunners who stayed with their guns until the last.

But is it air.

Operation Compass: Attacking Tamar West

In preparation for my Beda Fomm game Martin from the Sheffield "Zoom" wargame kindly group laid on an Operation Compass battle for Tamar West, a little known quadrant of death that was an Italian fortified strong point in 1940 that Wavell's Western Desert Force had to take down. Appearing out of cover of a convenient desert sandstorm [for the British] were two columns of lorry borne British infantry and the sound of clanky tanks of Matildas [still off table in the photograph below] approaching from the the brown track, bottom left in the photograph. One British column of infantry drove straight up to the base of the Italian camp, dismounted and close assaulted the Italian across the barbed wire - heroic stuff (see below, a fortified patch of three hexes in the centre of the set-up and the road leading off to the right were the British objectives - a tight task to do in only nine turns):  

The Matilda's make good use of the road but the battle always seemed to be in the next hex away. Meanwhile both British columns of infantry are getting stuck into the Italians, although the latter column got shot up on the way in while riding on the trucks. Time was expedient so the risk was well taken IMHO (see below, British trucks are seen wisely getting out of the way of this "fighting stuff"): 

The Matildas make it to gates of the camp to find it already in British hands (again the battle is always one hex away) as the British infantry relentlessly punch over the hills trading blow-for-blow with the Italian infantry and Italian Gunners, who die by their guns (see below, only turn three and the British are half way over the first objective - it is a fast pace but it has to be for the British to win in nine-ten game turns): 

Consternation as the Matildas have to go off road (they are very slow) but the inside of the camp is being pummelled by Italian Artillery (coming in danger close) and already over-stacked with assaulting British Infantry (see below, a target rich environment with little cover): 

The final fort hex is assaulted and the fort of Tamar West is now in British hands with Italian infantry trying to regroup in a wadi outside, despite being ineffectually machine gunned from the light Besa MG's of the British Matildas - at least they are close enough to shoot (see below, the Italian infantry has to be eradicated before the British move on to secure the exit - but what is this, Italian reinforcements appear on the very table edge hex the British are after): 

The regrouping Italian infantry are caught by a storm of steel as the British Infantry charge out of the newly captures fort and destroy them entirely before they can fully regroup. The British pay a hard butchers bill, now down to two companies from an original force of two battalions (see below, the Matildas advance into the fort with intention of driving on the the exit "through" the Italian L3 MG carrier armour): 

The bravery of the British infantry literally  know no bounds as they pin the Italian L3 MG carriers in place, dropping 25 pounders in amongst the antiquated armour causing mayhem (see below, the game will rest on the sequence of randomised activation and and whether the Matildas can travel three hexes in two turns): 

The L3 MG's take away another British Rifle Company away but the combined effects of the British artillery (including I am told some antiquated museum piece WWI era sixty pounders appearing in the British Order of Battle) and Matildas have quiet ruined them as a fighting force (see below, the Matlidas are two hexes away with the very last turn to come): 

Turn 9 and the "victory exit hex" falls into British hands, for a narrow win - with the British artillery induced (and Italian failed) morale check, along with the menacing sight of the untouched advancing British Matildas just being too much for the last Italian infantry unit. You can understand it, bereft of AT guns [and therefore subject to "tank fright" in the rules], under nasty artillery fire and to crown it all out in the open - but they have made the British have paid a very heavy price in infantry for Tamar West (see below, the only surviving Italian unit being the battered L3's lurking two hexes away from the road and trying to rally): 

A very historical outcome, though close run thing, with the Matildas next tasked to trundle on to guess what? Yes, the next Italian strong point, presumably picking up some fresh infantry on the way. 

Beda Fomm Boxed Game

A few weeks into 2022 and already there seems to be a steady meme or theme to my interests emerging, aka around the battles from the early Western Desert 1940-41 with the Western Desert Force taking on the Italians 10th Army. I was just thinking out loud to myself on a previous post of pushing this thought experiment forward, along the lines of perhaps revisiting the old Command Decisions rules set (aka Frank Chadwick) .. Benghazi Handicap being long out of print and circulation (but there is a Beda Fomm scenario on the Command Decision: Test of Battle website). Then out of the blue a good friend (who read the earlier blog post) sent me a special "surprise" package through the post - a very, very relevant game called Beda Fomm. This is an absolute gem, being a Consim Press 2010 republished version of a 1979 game from Frank Chadwick [yes, of my favourite Command Decision fame .. but note the year "1979", this is pre-Command Decision I publication date, but reading the game you can clearly see the influences coming through that he tool and emerged/developed into Command Decision miniature rules set]. Please see the Boardgamegeek links below for more detail (see below, and it just goes to show that a "good game" is still a "good game" no matter the "age of the game"; the difference between the two edition just seems to be more of map and counter production quality not rules):

1979: Original

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6914/beda-fomm

2010: Re-Published

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72941/beda-fomm

There is some lovely evocative box art too on the new game too, along with excellent quality counters and maps inside (see below, you have got to love seeing those MK VIs tin-can light tanks looking busy as they boldly go striding across the desert): 

The actual game map (or battle area) is only a very small part of the Western Desert as the battle came at the very end of Operation Compass - when the Italians were in full retreat and was in effect a brilliant "closing the door" swinging movement of British armour from out the desert which sealed the fate of the Italian 10th Army once and for all in Cyrenaica (see below, the map; the plan is to play the game to see where the battles occur and then put this area of interest onto the table top under "Edition One(?)" Command Decision [CD I]): 

Note: All this Western Desert Force interest in 10mm means that there has been lack of painting progress on the15mm Malburians - they are "furloughed" as such for the time being, but rest assured their time will come.

Breaking News: Somebody else seems to be doing something very similar to me in 2022! Lovely terrain, some nice 6mm models and Command Decision (IV) Test of Battle, see link below: 

http://ooh-shiny-complex.blogspot.com/2022/01/swanning-about-in-desert-command.html