KasserinePass
{Insert Kass 1}
Hello there everyone! My name is Dustin “monkspider” Bond and I am a beta-tester for the upcoming title from Lordz games, Allied Corps. In addition to being an expansion to the original game: Panzer Corps. It also functions as a standalone game, in the same way that the as the previous expansion, Afrika Korps did. Speaking of which, you can check out theAAR I wrote for that game here.
Allied Corps is outstanding addition to the Panzer Corps family that puts you in command of both British and American forces. The campaign is quite long, and takes you from the sands of North Africa in 1940 all the way to the invasion of Germany. An especially successful player can even expect to unlock some speculative campaigns that include an Allied conquest of Berlin and even a battle against the Soviets. In addition, the campaign adds a TON of all new units for the Allies that Panzer Corps players have never seen before
If you haven’t played any of the previous games, the true beauty of Allied Corps lies in its ability to let you create a core of units you carry forward, battle to battle. It can contain infantry, tanks, anti-tank, recon units, artillery, anti air, fighters, tactical bombers or strategic bombers. You choose the type of troops that you bring to the battlefield, and the game naturally lends itself to a high level of replay value, as you experiment with different cores. As the campaign progresses your units gain experience and you can upgrade them with new equipment and sometimes earn heroes that unlock special bonuses. Also, you are occasionally awarded with special elite units like US Rangers or British SAS paratroops.
Allied Corps starts with a number of different entry points, the earliest one starts in 1940 andGreat Britain’s back and forth campaign against the Italians. For this AAR, I have chosen the Operation Torch entry point, which was America’s debut in the European theatre. The scenario I will be highlighting will be the battle of the KasserinePass.
Historically, this battle was the first significant engagement between American and German troops. Rommel hoped to deliver a devastating counterattack against the inexperienced Americans and initially the attack went very well, forcing the Americans to give up a lot of ground and lose a lot of lives. Eventually though, the Americans managed to hold the line in the mountain passes of Western Tunisia and bring the offensive to a halt. The battle proved to be a decisive victory for the Afrika Korps, and aharsh trial by fire for the green American troops.
This is my first time playing this particular scenario, since my first campaign started on the British path. So it is entirely possible that this battle will end up being a complete disaster,. That said, my hope is to exceed America’s historical performance and utterly crush the German offensive. You have to set your sights high, right?
(Insert Kass2)
Pictured above is the 1st Armored division. It will undoubtedly face the brunt of the German assault. It’s main striking force consists of two battalions of Shermans and one batallian of the lighter M3 tanks. It has some infantry, some heavy weapons troops, a battalion of artillery and of course all the backing of the United States Air Force. My goal is to rush toward the objective of Sbellita and set up a defensive position. If necessary, we will fall back across the Halab river toward Kasserine itself. I plan to leave a small screening force in the area of Kasserine to prevent the possibility of the Germans launching a flanking attack from the south which would take Kasserine and then trap the 1st armored with their backs to the river. Clearly, this would be a disaster, but recon suggests that the main German thrust will come from the east toward Sbeitla
(Insert Kass 3)
Now here is the 9th Infantry division. It is joined by a small contingent of British troops to guard the northern flank. I am not sure what designs the Germans have for this sector of the map, but I am sure that with GI grit, some strong artillery, and the good old flyboys of the US airforce, we will hold the line.
(Insert Kass 4)
Here is the strategic map at the start of the battle. The red represents 1st Armored Divisions planned route, the blue represents 9th Infantry division, the grey represents what I think will be the Germans’planned route of attack, while the the question mark is an area where I fear I could be potentially vulnerable to a flanking attack. Hopefully such fears are ungrounded, naturally.
Well, let’s get things started, shall we?
Turn 1
(Insert Kass 5)
The Germans open their attack by overrunning several understrength auxillary units preplaced on the map. Their losses will be avenged. The main axis of German attack seems to be following the route I expected. More menacingly however, I am already seeing some activity on that godforsaken southern flank, as the Germans captured an undefended city down there. Why can’t we just fight like gentlemen and not have to engage in these unseemly flanking maneuvers?
(Insert Kass 6)
(insert Kass 8)
Well, not to worry though friends, the 1st armored division is on the march. The Germans are moving faster than I thought though and their first recon elements are already in the neighborhood of Sbeitla.
(Insert Kass 7)
Up north, 9th Infantry is setting up a strong defensive position. The road coming from the east is the only direction that I believe the Germans could approach from, so I am going to start having my infantry entrench in the hills and mountains while strong defensive artillery is being set up to support them.
Turn 2
(insert Kass 9, caption: the situation at Kasserine)
Well, Von Moltke’s old saying about no plan ever surviving contact with the enemy once again proves itself true again. The German attack from the south seems to proceeding in greater force andspeed than I anticipated. It is already threatening Kasserine with some tough, experienced infantry units. While the meager auxillary troops placed at Sbeitla are already on the verge of collapse. If they survive another turn, it will be a miracle. German Stukas and ME-110’s are harassing my auxillary units, I send in some P-38 and P-40 fighters to shoot them out of the sky, Fortunately, I manage to completely destroy them. That is going to be a major boon to keep the skies free from their harassment. Things look bleak at the moment but if the Germans think I am going to surrender, then I will look Uncle Fritz square in the monocle, and tell him “nein!””
Turn 3
(insert Kass 10)
Oh my god, fall back, fall back, every man for himself! Moving toward Sbeitla is out of the question. My troops are completely pinned down at Kasserine. The elite German infantry is kicking the butt of even my armor, and there are Panzers on their way from the south.I have been using my air units to conduct bombing runs on the enemy but only to limited effect. I guess it is time to quote the popular ski instructor meme that all the kids are using these days.
(Insert Kass 11)
Well, consider that noted I guess.
Turn 4
(Insert Kass 12)
Well, this is grim. The 1st Armored has gotten one hell of a bloody nose, my position is on the verge of collapse, and I have no choice but to attempt that most difficult of military maneuvers, the fighting withdrawal. Maybe I can bleed the Germans out until an opportunity arises to regain the initiative. I did manage to somehow get my troops into a halfway decent defensive line by the end of the turn.
(Insert Kass 13)
Up north, the Germans have finally run into 9th infantry division’s well-prepared position and aren’t having a very good time of things at least.
(Insert Kass 14)
Turn 5
The 1st Armored’s desperate situation continues as I slowly continue my retreat through that mountain pass. My light M3 tank unit has been destroyed entirely. The Germans are sending units of their own through the mountain pass further south in an attempt to outflank me once again. That Rommel is a devious fox.
(insert kass 15)
Up north, the 9th Infantry division is facing a tougher German attack and has to adjust it’s defenses a bit.
(Insert Kass 16)
Turn 6
Welp, there are now a half-dozen politicians petitioning Eisenhower to give me the axe. I have managed to get the 1st Armored division, the most powerful unit in the United States military, trapped in a pocket, or as the Germans more colorfully refer to it, a cauldron. As you can see in the image below a unit of German mountain troops has cut off the road to the north. “This Monkspider fellow is the worst general our country has had since McClelland!” they are saying in the press. Well, I told you this scenario had the potential to be a disaster.
(Insert Kass 17)
But after a combination of artillery and strategic bomber attacks, I dislodged the mountain troops from their position, thus, I managed to break out of the pocket… at least for now. We are still in one hell of a spot though.
(Insert Kass 18)
And just in case things couldn’t get worse, more and more enemy troops keep coming out of the woodwork up north including the dreaded, long-barreled Panzer IVG. So how exactly are inexperienced infantry troops supposed to stop an elite, battle-hardened panzer division? That is a good question.. Since my M3 tank was destroyed earlier, a unit slot was freed up, so I purchased a 3-inch anti-tank gun unit to help shore up my defenses in this area.
(insert Kass 19)
Turn 7
(Insert Kas 20)
For the first time, I feel like the 1st Armored finally might be starting to turn the tide. I destroyed the Panzer III in this sector through bombing runs from my B-25s and then my infantry finished it off thanks to the penalty that tanks suffer in “close terrain” like cities. The mountain troop unit that cut me off earlier managed to sneak into Tebessa, which is one of the key objective cities, though he is weakened enough that it should be possible to take back without too much work.
Up north though, hoo boy. Another long-barrelled Panzer IV was sighted, and I am forced to continue to shift my defense around to try to hold out a bit longer.
(Insert Kas 21)
Turn 8
A fairly quiet turn with no major movement on either side. I managed to get reinforcements to my units where possible, took a few potshots with artillery, and managed to finish off one mountain troop in the 1stArmored Division’s sector.
Turn 9
Another turn of relative stalemate, though I managed to destroy a couple enemy units. For the 1st Armored, an equilibrium of sorts continues to hold. I suppose it can be said that the German assault has finally started to peter out.
(Insert Kas 22)
In the north, a similar deadlock seems to exist. It should be noted though, to be able to claim a decisive victory, holding three objectives is required. Currently, I only owe one, but the one that was recently lost should be easy to retake. The third objective, Kasserine, may be a different matter entirely.
(Insert kas 23)
Turn 10
Well, I am starting to understand why the Americans lost this battle historically. I am still in a position of overall stalemate on all fronts. I decided to fly a plane by Kasserine to see how heavily defended it was if I were to attempt to retake it, and unfortunately it looks like it has been garrisoned by the Italians in force!
(Insert Kas 24)
Turn 11
(Insert Kas 25)
Well, as you can see, things are starting to clear up enough that the 1st Armored might be able to make a dash for Kasserine soon. The problem of course is that there are only five turns left, and there are Marder IIs near by, and Kasserine itself is guarded by strong units. My only possible hope is using my airpower to sufficiently weaken the enemy units to allow my own weakened units a chance to break through. I think Walt Disney had the right idea back in the day..
(Insert Kas 251)
Turn 12
On this turn, one of my squadrons of B-25sthat I had left unescorted was shot up by some Italian fighters. I thought the enemy air presence in this scenario was finished off, clearly I was mistaken.. My fighters destroyed the enemy fighters immediately on my next turn, but the damage was done. Without the level of air support I needed to weaken the enemy, decisive victory will remain elusive. The time may have come to dig my troops in and merely settle for a marginal victory.
Up north my position continues to atrophy, but I believe it can be held for the final few turns.
(insert Kass 26)
Turns 13-16
These last few turns were pretty much just a stalemate, though I managed to give better than I got. Attempting to launch an attack towards Kasserine however seemed out of reach. In the end, I received a marginal victory which was more than the Allies got in real life, and more than I could hope for, in all honesty, given how bad things got. The II Corps of the United States Army is badly mauled, but it will live to fight another day.and next time, Jerry can expect these American dough boys to be harder than Bethlehem steel.
(Insert Kass 28)
Allied Corps has really impressed me, with its excellent scenario design, the fun “role-playing” aspects that are a trademark of the Panzer Corps series, and it’s tremendous replayability. I had just recently finished a campaign which ended up taking the historical route with the Allies stopping at the Elbe river. I am already anxious to start a new one to try to go all the way and conquer Berlin. Allied Corps will be a great purchase for any strategy fans or World War II aficionados, as it includes a highly enjoyable tutorial campaigns that actually links into the main campaign. As I mentioned earlier, it can function as a standalone game, so there is no need to own any of the earlier games in the series and I guarantee you will get dozens and dozens of hours of enjoyment out of it. For previous fans of the Panzer Corps series, it is an absolute must-buy.