I was having a Bir last night........

Last night Peter and I stayed in the arid regions of the world, but shifted time to late 1941. The Game was a simple attack scenario: Elements of 7th Armoured Vs elements of 15th Panzer.

The Germans, comprising 33rd Aufklarungs Battalion reinforced by the armoured engineer company of 33rd Pioneers and an anti tank company of 33rd Panzerjager, had laagered around a Bir next to a large, steep sided, depression. Somewhere to their rear lay 1st Battalion of 8th Panzer Regiment with a towed battery of 88s of 33rd Flak. Also in support, and somewhere 'out in the blue' were three batteries of 10.5cm of 33rd Artillery.

The British, with orders to take the Bir and the southern entrances to the depression, comprised 3rd and 4th Regiments County of London Yeomanry, a squadron from 11th Hussars (armoured cars), 1st Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps, and a battery of 25pdrs from 4th Royal Horse Artillery.

The attack was scheduled for dawn but even the best laid British plans are often shaken to bits by the vagueries of the Piquet initiative system. Before the Brits had left their start lines 1st Btn of 8th Panzer Regt had arrived (Randomly, it arrived at the far end of the depression) and moved up almost unopposed. Only the guns of 4th RHA, sighted on the lip of the depression, caused any harm before it was almost destroyed by the accurate shooting of the German PzIVE company. Even the RAF missed a golden opportunity.

As the Germans reached the southern exits of the depression, all hell broke loose with 4th CLY. The British 2pdrs, manned by men new to their tasks, were no matchfor the men of the 8th. The 3rd CLY, after having come under sustained attack from AT guns, eventually managed to get onto the flank of 33rd Aufklarungs, but their bolt was shot and their spirit broken. The British withdrew and the Germans halted to replenish.

Anyway, that is kind of how it went. Here are some shots (BTW, if you think it crammed for a desert action, the ground scale is 50m to the inch - the table is 7.2 km / 4.5 miles wide. Figure scale is roughly 1:5):