Sample file. Above: Italian Armoured Division. 32 nd Armoured Regiment on the move with some motorcyclists from 8 th Bersaglieri Regiment in support.

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Above: Italian Armoured Division. 32 nd Armoured Regiment on the move with some motorcyclists from 8 th Bersaglieri Regiment in support. Front cover: British 7 th Armoured Division.

Left: Major Wilhelm Bach from Infantry Regiment 104 - the defenders of Halfaya Pass during Operation Battleaxe.

Published by Rapid Fire Publications Limited 1 Willow Park Road Wilberfoss York YO41 5PS United Kingdom Email: RFpublications@aol.com Website: http://www.rapid-fire.uk.

1 Above: Italian Armoured Division. 32 nd Armoured Regiment on the move with some motorcyclists from 8 th Bersaglieri Regiment in support. Front cover: British 7 th Armoured Division. Matilda tanks from 4 th Armoured Brigade with an 11 th Hussars Rolls Royce and Morris armoured car in the background. All the Italian models and Matilda tanks from the collection of Simon Raines. Left: Major Wilhelm Bach from Infantry Regiment the defenders of Halfaya Pass during Operation Battleaxe. One of Rommel s favourite officers and rumoured to be the only one he would permit to carry a walking stick. Published by Rapid Fire Publications Limited 1 Willow Park Road Wilberfoss York YO41 5PS United Kingdom RFpublications@aol.com Website: All material Colin Rumford 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder. ISBN RAPID FIRE! is a registered trade mark. Printed by: Side by Side Print Services (sales@sidebysideprint.co.uk)

Table of Contents Page Introduction 2 Key Units (February - June 1941) 4 The First German Advances (14 th February 17 th April 1941) 6 German 5 th Light Division 8 Italian 132 nd Ariete Armoured

2 Table of Contents Page Introduction 2 Key Units (February - June 1941) 4 The First German Advances (14 th February 17 th April 1941) 6 German 5 th Light Division 8 Italian 132 nd Ariete Armoured Division 10 British 2 nd Armoured Division 12 Australian 9 th Infantry Division 14 Assault on Tobruk (30 th April 2 nd May 1941) 16 German 15 th Panzer Division 22 Italian 27 th Brescia Infantry Division 24 Italian 102 nd Trento Motorised Division 26 Operation Brevity (15 th 16 th May 1941) 28 Operation Scorpion (27 th May 1941) 30 Operation Battleaxe (15 th - 17 th June 1941) 31 British 7 th Armoured Division 34 4 th Indian Division 36 Equipment / Aircraft Data Sheets 38 Below: British 7 th Armoured Division: a cruiser squadron (two A13s and an A9) from 7 th Armoured Brigade. Page 1

3 This book covers the battles during the Spring of 1941 when the German army first entered the North African campaign. This period of the desert war was a time of spectacular advances and heroic defence. Both sides were frustrated from achieving total victory due to a number of factors. The British suffered through poor equipment in the early stages and bad tactics generally. The Germans forces were limited in number and they could not rely on their Italian colleagues to perform well at crucial moments. It was also during this period of W.W.II that new household names emerged: The Desert Fox Rommel The Desert Rats* The Defenders of Tobruk Background The campaign in North Africa began on 11 th June 1940 less than 24 hours after Italy declared war on Great Britain. British Rolls Royce and Morris armoured cars from the 11 th Hussars crossed the frontier wire that separated Egypt from Libya and raided the Italian troops defending the frontier forts. This set the scene for a series of guerrilla actions by the The Theatre of Operations February - June 1941 Introduction British throughout the summer months. However, on the 13 th September 1940 the Italians invaded Egypt. After covering 60 miles the advance came to a halt on the 20 th September and the Italians began constructing a series of fortified camps. This limited success had been won at a high price, the Italians suffering some 3,500 casualties. British loses amounted to only 150. On the 9 th December the British launched Operation Compass. Within two months the Italian army had been routed. Ten divisions were destroyed, 130,000 prisoners taken and nearly 400 tanks and 850 guns captured. Bardia, Tobruk and Benghazi fell to the British and their Commonwealth allies. The Italians were on the brink of total defeat. Two events then happened that were to prolong the desert war for another two years. The first of these was that at a crucial moment the British withdrew large parts of their force and sent troops to other theatres of operation (most notably Greece). Secondly, and what was to prove more decisive, Hitler answered a plea for help from his Italian ally. The German leader agreed to send a small mobile division to North Africa to prevent Mussolini losing the jewel in his colonial crown. A second (panzer) division would follow later. N Derna Bengasi Barce Soluch Msus Beda Fomm Gazala Mechili Acroma Bir Hacheim Tobruk El Adem Bir el Gubi Bardia Sollum Sidi Barrini Fort Capuzzo Mersa Matruh Sirte Mistrata Antelat Agedabia Mersa el Brega El Agheila LIBYA EGYPT 200 km The Via Balbia coastal road The Frontier Wire Page 2

To command this blocking force Hitler appointed the man who had led the 7 th Panzer Division in a spectacular drive through France to the Channel coast during the invasion of May 1940:

4 To command this blocking force Hitler appointed the man who had led the 7 th Panzer Division in a spectacular drive through France to the Channel coast during the invasion of May 1940: Generalleutenant Erwin Rommel. About this Guide The guide provides historical summaries of the major engagements (although there were numerous small actions going on at the same time) and the units making up the key divisional level formations that were involved in the fighting during the spring and early summer of Rather than adhere rigidly to the normal RAPID FIRE! scaling for wargames units (1 : 15 for figures and 1 : 5 for vehicles/crew served weapons) the divisional orders of battle are representative of the formations involved to produce practical balanced all arms wargames forces. Players familiar with other RAPID FIRE! orbats will recognise that in some cases infantry units that would usually be called battalions are now regiments or brigades. Similarly armoured regiments or battalions are now called brigades or regiments respectively. When applying the morale rules in RAPID FIRE! tests should be taken by regiments/brigades rather than at the battalion level. Above: German 5 th Light Division. Elements from Panzer Regiment 5 and Infantry Regiment z.b.v Unlike his Italian allies Rommel s infantry were highly mobile as they employed large numbers of motorcycles and light cross-country cars. Models by Andy Hamilton. better. When playing a scenario with this unit a d6 should be thrown for each tank at the beginning of each turn it attempts to move. If the result is a 1 the tank is deemed to have suffered a total mechanical failure and should be abandoned. Players should also note that not all formations were fully motorised, particularly Italian infantry. The allocation of trucks within the tables reflects this shortage of motor transport. Morale and Specialist Small Arms Treat all Italians as poor and all German/Australian infantry as elite. All other troop types are regular German infantry can add 1 to their d6 rolls for small arms firing groups (rule 13.1). The Commonwealth forces utilised large quantities of captured Italian arms and armour - the orbats show where these were likely to be found. As the desert war dragged on both sides made use of captured equipment, however, even in the early stages of the campaign Italian trucks were commonly found in German and British formations and it would not be unreasonable to exchange an Opel Blitz or a Morris for a Lancia or a Fiat. What the tables do not show is the poor state of repair of the British tanks in the 2 nd Armoured Division. The cruisers were worn out and the ex Italian M13/40s were not much Acknowledgements My thanks to Simon Raines and Andy Hamilton in providing examples from their excellent collections for the photos; Alan McCoubrey, Mark Piper, James Field and my co conspirator Richard Marsh for constructive comments and checking the drafts and also to my better half, Sue, for her encouragement (and offering to relieve me of domestic chores so I could get the book finished). * Later the name The Desert Rats became associated with the entire 8 th Army. Page 3

Key Units (February - June 1941) German 5 th Light Division Generalleutnant J. von Ravenstein Panzer Regiment 5 Infantry Regiment z.b.v. 200 Machine Gun Battalions 2 and 8 Reconnaissance Battalion 3 Anti-Tank Battalion 39 Anti-Tank Battalion 605 (SP) Pioneer Battalion z.

5 Key Units (February - June 1941) German 5 th Light Division Generalleutnant J. von Ravenstein Panzer Regiment 5 Infantry Regiment z.b.v. 200 Machine Gun Battalions 2 and 8 Reconnaissance Battalion 3 Anti-Tank Battalion 39 Anti-Tank Battalion 605 (SP) Pioneer Battalion z.b.v. 200 Artillery Regiment 75 1 st Battalion (105s) Anti-Aircraft Battalion 606 Attached Troops (Luftwaffe) 1 st Battalion / Anti-Aircraft Regiment 33 German 15 th Panzer Division Generalleutnant W. Neumann-Silkow Panzer Regiment 8 Motorcycle Battalion 15 Infantry Regiment 115 Infantry Regiment 104 Reconnaissance Battalion 33 Anti-Tank Battalion 33 Pioneer Battalion 200 Artillery Regiment 33 (105s) 3 rd Battalion (150s) Anti-Tank Battalion 33 Pioneer Battalion 33 Anti-Aircraft Regiment 33 Axis Divisions The Deutsches Afrikakorps (German Africa Corps) was formed on 19 th February 1941 following the arrival of Rommel. For the next six months the main units were: Italian 132 nd Ariete Armoured Division Generale di Divisione Ettore Baldassarre 32 nd Armoured Regiment 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd Light Battalions 4 th Medium Battalion 8 th Bersaglieri Regiment 5 th and 12 th Bersaglieri Battalions 3 rd Heavy Weapons Battalion 132 nd Artillery Regiment (75s) Attached Troops 1 st Battalion / 24 th Artillery Regiment (105s) 1 st Battalion / 39 th Infantry Regiment Italian 102 nd Trento Motorised Division Generale di Divisione Luigi Nieveloni 61 st Infantry Regiment 62 nd Infantry Regiment 7 th Bersaglieri Regiment 8 th, 10 th and 11 th Bersaglieri Battalions 46 th Artillery Regiment (75s) 3 rd and 4 th Battalions (100s) 51 st Engineer Battalion Italian 27 th Brescia Semi-Motorised Division Generale di Divisione Bortolo Zambon 19 th Infantry Regiment 20 th Infantry Regiment 55 th Artillery Regiment (75s) Attached Troops 16 th Artillery Regiment (100s) Page 4

6 British 2 nd Armoured Division Major-General M.D. Gambier-Parry 3 rd Armoured Brigade 3 rd (The King s Own) Hussars 5 th Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment 6 th Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment 1 st Regiment / Royal Horse Artillery (25 pdr) Support Group Allied Divisions These units were part of British XIII Corps which was formed from Major-General Sir Richard O Connor s famous Western Desert Force that routed the Italians during Operation Compass. O Connor would become one of the first casualties of the German intervention in North Africa being captured by a reconnaissance patrol from 5 th Light Division on 7 th April In September 1941 the surviving units were absorbed in the soon to be famous British 8th Army. 1 st (Motor) Battalion / Tower Hamlets Rifles 1 st Company / Free French Motor Battalion 104 th Regt / Royal Horse Artillery (25 pdr) 16 th Australian Anti-Tank Company J Battery / 3 rd Regt / Royal Horse Artillery (AT) 1st Battalion / King s Dragoon Guards British 7 th Armoured Division Maj-Gen Sir Michael O Moore Creagh Australian 9 th Infantry Division* Major-General Leslie Morshead 20 th Infantry Brigade 2/13 th Battalion 2/15 th Battalion 2/17 th Battalion 20 th Anti-Tank Company 24 th Infantry Brigade 2/28 th Battalion 2/32 nd Battalion 2/43 rd Battalion 24 th Anti-Tank Company 26 th Infantry Brigade 2/23 rd Battalion 2/24 th Battalion 2/48 th Battalion 26 th Anti-Tank Company 1 st Bn / Northumberland Fusiliers (MGs) Royal Australian Engineers 2/3 rd, 2/4 th, 2/7 th and 2/13 th Field Companies 2/14 th Field Park Company 2/1 st Pioneer Battalion 2 nd Field Regt / Royal Aust Artillery (18 pdr) 3 rd AT Regiment / Royal Australian Artillery 8 th Light AA Regt / Royal Australian Artillery 51 st Regiment / Royal Artillery (25 pdr) * Reinforced for the defence of Tobruk by 18 th Infantry Brigade (9 th Australian Infantry Division). 4 th Armoured Brigade 4 th Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment 7 th Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment 7 th Armoured Brigade 2 nd Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment 6 th Battalion / Royal Tank Regiment Support Group 1 st (Motor) Battalion / King s Royal Rifle Corps 2 nd (Motor) Battalion / The Rifle Brigade 1 st Regiment / Royal Horse Artillery (25 pdr) 4 th Regiment / Royal Horse Artillery (25 pdr) 3 rd Regiment / Royal Horse Artillery (AT) 106 th Regiment / Royal Horse Artillery (AT) 11 th Hussars Royal Engineers 4 th Field Squadron 143 rd Field Park Squadron 4 th Indian Infantry Division Major-General Frank. W. Messervy 11 th Indian Infantry Brigade 2 nd Bn / Queens Own Cameron Highlanders 1 st Battalion / 6 th Rajputana Rifles 2 nd Battalion / Mahrattas 22 nd Guards Brigade 1 st Battalion / The Buffs 2 nd Battalion / Scots Guards 3 rd Battalion / Coldstream Guards 22 nd Guards Brigade Attack Company Central India Horse (Motor Battalion) 25 th Regiment / Royal Artillery (25 pdr) 31 st Regiment / Royal Artillery (25 pdr) Royal Engineers 4 Field Companies (Sappers and Miners) 11 th Field Park Company Page 5

Operation Compass. Jdrommel.

Operation Compass. Jdrommel. Operation Compass September 1940, according the orders of Benito Mussolini, the Italian forces in Libya, under the command of marshal Graziani attacked the British troops in Egypt and advanced as far as