Charles King has been using his recently painted Western Desert forces to fight the battle of Msus.
The battle takes place in April 1941 following the success of the Western Desert Force against the Italians. The experienced British forces have been transferred to Greece and other theatres in the Middle East and Africa, leaving 3rd Armoured Brigade (2nd Armoured Division) to stop the German attack.
2nd Armoured Division is made up from 3rd Hussars (Vickers Mk VI) 5 RTR (mixed Cruisers, A9 and A13 tanks) and the 6th RTR equipped with captured M13/40 tanks. The Kings Dragoon Guards provide a recce armoured car. One RHA 25 pdr battery provides support.
The German 5th Panzer Battalion are equipped with modern armour and artillery including some of the up-to-date 50mm Pz IIIs, and the experienced 3rd Reconnaissance Regt. provided Sd222 and Sd232 armoured cars.
In reality, the German advance through Cyrenaica proved unstoppable but in this scenario the British Armoured Brigade, short of tanks due to battle and mechanical losses have to delay the Panzer advance on Msus and perhaps throw back this assault. The objective of each side is to reduce the other to zero Morale.
I fought this battle solo so there are no British Blinds. The Germans came on as Blinds, were randomly activated and operated on a system of pre-determined priorities and their true identity not revealed until spotted or deployed in medium firing range. So sometimes Command Dice were used in areas where it seemed less important and units advanced and fired according to pre-determined principles.
It all worked out well, with some interesting fluctuations before the end.
