Decision at Kasserine - plans

So if I am running a campaign what am I planning to do. Well to be correct what are the  Germans going to do? The starting point will be looking at what they wanted to do historically.
Overall the whole campaign in Tunisia, from the axis point of view has been one of reaction to Allied moves. Since the Allied landings in November the Germans and their Italian allies have gathered together a hodge podge of troops to build an army. With that army they have managed to stop the Allies from occupying at least part of French North Africa and from there driving into the rear of PanzerArmee Afrika completing its destruction.
The problem now lies in that the current front line offers little or no strategic depth. The Tunisia position really is a bridgehead with nowhere to hide. So the Germans have been launching a number of big and small attacks in order to improve their position. Immediately prior to this attack they have captured the Faid pass from the Allies.
Further 21st Panzer division from Panzerarmee Afrika has also completed a hasty refit. This gives the Germans two complete panzer divisions plus elements of two others.  This is the strongest force the Germans have had in Tunisia and will the strongest they will ever get.

So there is a strong temptation to strike but at what and where? This was the problem the Germans had and that I am also faced with. Where has been solved as I am recreating this battle. What has two basic options. The first is the narrow hook which will break through the allied line turn right and roll up the allied line until the sea is reached. The second is deeper bypassing the main allied force and striking deep into the Allies rear.
The debate about which plan to adopt caused quite a debate amongst the various axis headquarters. With everybody putting foward their opinion of what was best. Of course nobody was in agreement. Interestingly there does not appear any voice counseling caution among the axis and building up a larger force, everybody seems to favour some form of attack.
Even as the attack began the debate waged causing orders and objectives to change several times during the campaign. So after all this I will be essentially making it up as I go along at least once I take Sbeitla.The Germans will be tempted to pursue any opportunity that presents itself possibly leading to a loss of purpose and perhaps the eventual loss of the campaign.

Some referances on the Tunisian Campaign

Here is a list of some of the references being used. This list is definitely not definitive except of the limits of my knowledge and references. Nor are they presented in any particular order. It will also be updated occasionally.

Rommel' Lost Battalions by Douglas E Nash Army History No. 84 Summer 2012. A history of the various March battalions that formed the basis of musch of the Germans initial response.

CSI Battlebook 4-d  The Battle of Sidi Bou Zid. This is a student paper (albeit by a group of middle ranking officers) that comes with the following warning

CSI BATTLEBOOKS contain information compiled by CGSC student officers as a requirement of the regular course. The contents have not been edited or checked in detail for factual veracity. The views expressed in CSI BATTLEBOOKS are those of the authors and not necessarily those of CSI, CGSC. the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.

So you have been warned. Some of the facts do look definitely dodgy but the analysis looks quite interesting.

Italian Army in Tunisian Theatre Found this file on an unremembered website a while ago and my google-fu has failed me in finding it again. So I cannot vouch for its provenance but I seem to recall it was good.

Some miscellaneous websites

• http://dak.webseiten.cc/
• http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=532
• http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob_mackenzie/Sidi%20Bou%20Zid.htm

From the Nafizger collection are these OOBs

• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943UEAA.pdf
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GMXA.pdf
• 5th Panzer Army, 4 March 1943
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GCMB.pdf
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GCMA.pdf
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GCDA.pdf
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GAMB.pdf
• http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/943GAAF.pdf

The next links point to the various supporting materials for US Army'S staff ride on the battle.  These are almost the perfect resource containing many important documents about the battle


Background Material

• Volume 1 Part 1
• Volume 1 Part2

Lesson Learned

• http://www.history.army.mil/books/Staff-Rides/kasserine/Vol-II-Part_1.pdf
•  Volume II Part 2
•  Volume 2 Part 3
• Volume 2 Part 4

Maps

http://www.history.army.mil/books/Staff-Rides/kasserine/Maps_Sketches.pdf

Another useful site is the sturmpanazer.com which posts a lot of orginal documents

• T78398_H1_43.pdf. A collection of various documents. So far the highlights are various organizational diagrams and feldpost numbers are 
• T78R406_H1_95_Part1.pdf. More of the above
• NARA_FMS_D174.pdf. A discusion about the commitment of 10th Panzer division to Tunisia

Keeping Score - giving in to temptation

Well the decision to walk into a store that I had not visited for a while resulted in the purchase of two models. Though they are now finished so the balance remains.

Models purchased 5
Models completed 7
15mm completed 47

Scores are -2 plus -47 for the 15mm

Keeping Score

Well two more models have arrived a sdkfz 251/7 and a sdkfz 251/9 both in 15mm.


Models purchased 3
Models completed 5
15mm completed 47

Scores are -2 plus -47 for the 15mm

Decision at Kaserine

The time has come to regale you with another solo campaign. In this case it will the German offensive in Tunisia, it will be based upon the old wargamer magazine game Decision at Kasserine and will be run using Command Decision.

I have been wanting to do some Tunisian battles oh for a long time. Originally I wanted to do with Duel in the Desert the planned late desert book for the latest edition of Command Decision. But one day the armies were ready but the book was not. So what was I to do, give up hope. One day it will appear, I have faith, but in the meantime I am doing this.

So here is our battleground. in all its glory while below are the various orders of battles. There will be more to this story as the campaign unfolds

 

keeping score

Well some units done.

Another t-34 and an elephant done. Also a battalion of Falschirmjaeger, though technically started last year but finally finished now


Models purchased 1
Models completed 5
15mm completed 47

Scores are -4

The Battle of Chippawa

Okay now that I have posted Black Powder Cold Steel. Lets look at a particular battle. In this case the battle of Chippawa. This battle has the advantage of being not to big and both forces being relatively equal in size.

For sources I will use Donald Graves Red Coats Grey Jackets

American Order of battle

First Brigade

Ninth/Twenty Second Infantry -549 Men/5 stands
Eleventh Infantry- 416 Men / 4 stands
Twenty Fifth Infantry - 354 Men/ 4 stands

Second Brigade

Twenty First Infantry - 651 Men/ 7 Stands
Twenty Third Infantry - 341 men/ 3 Stands

Third Brigade

5th Pennsylvania Regiment- 540 Men/ 5 stands
Native Warriors - 386 Men / ? Stands

Artillery Battalion
Biddles Company - 3x 12pdr
Ritchies Company - 2x 6pdr 1x 5.5in Howitzer
Towson's Company - As above
Williams Company - 3x 18pdr

Harris's Troop of Dragoons - 70 men

Now lets look at some questions and issues about translating this OOB into the rules.

The first thing to note is that apart from a few troops the Second brigade along with Biddles and Williams's companies did not participate in the battle. They are included for completeness. There maybe more questions about the accuracy of this OOB that can be discussed later. This is instead about translating an OOB into BPCS.

It is also assumed that the infantry fight in two ranks. There is some dispute if the Americans fought in two or three ranks. Though most source agree on two ranks there is at least some evidence for some units being in three. This is a question to be looked at later.

Next is the issue of scale. The first brigade has a total of 13 stands of foot only one more than a game of DBA. Is it enough or should the scale be increased? An important issue that will need to addressed sooner than later.

While I have listed an OOB translation for the infantry. There are none for the cavalry, artillery or natives. Here again the issue of scale appears and some design decisions have to made.So lets put this issue to one side for the moment and look at game scale in a later post.