Sidi Barani: Bumfluff and Barker Force

Sidi Barani: the Coast road 9th December 1940 

11th Hussars, now reinforced by No.2 Armoured Car Company RAF acting as D Squadron, and 

backed up by the Support Group, maintained contact with the Italians and carried out extensive 

reconnaissance of their positions. The Hussars reported that the Italians had built a number of widely separated fortified camps between Maktila and Sofafi (a distance of some 50 miles), and spread their divisions (including General Maletti’s composite Raggruppamento) out between them. 

As 7th Armoured turned onto the attack the 11th Hussars with other 7th Armoured units were tasked to cut the coast road, falling in with the Maletti battlegroup.

Its one more classic L3 Tankette vs Rolls Royce encounter, but the Maletti Battlegroup have M11/39 tanks with them.

Lt "Bumfluff" Farthingdale has performed prodigiously during the campaign so far.  He is however currently out of favour with the Colonel, having lost too many of the Regiment's armoured cars in battle.  

He has been sent to command a troop of Vickers MkVI light tanks loaned to the Regiment by 3rd Hussars.  Also under his command are Warrant Officer Arthur Askey of No.2 Armoured Car Company RAF.  The RAF use Fordson A/Cs however I will be using my Marmon Herringtons as substitutes.  To be honest the Rolls Royce is very similar but I want to differentiate between the two.

Bumfluff's transfer is to "Mad" Ronald Barker's Squadron, or "Barker Force.*"  Odds in the Regiment give him a week before the Mad Major gets him killed.

*Birkforce for the historically minded, and because I`m not playing too fast and loose with events!

Barker Force 

11th Hussar C Squadron

Major The Hon. Ronald Barker VC

3 x Rolls Royce Armoured cars (Boyes A/T)

Sergeant-Major Ronnie Corbett

3 x Rolls Royce Armoured cars

Attached from C Battery, 4th Royal Horse Artillery 

2 x 18/25-pounder Field Gun (5 crew each) 

2 x Quad 

Lieutenant "Bumfluff" Farthingdale 11H Commanding:

Attached Armour from 3 Hussars

3 x MkIV Light tank

Warrant Officer Arthur Askey RAF

Attached from RAF Armoured Car Company

3 x Fordson A/C

  

The Maletti Raggruppamento

Raggruppamento HQ

Colonele Lorenzo D’Gelato 

Staff Caravanette filled with "luxuries"

1st Platoon, IX Light Tank Battalion

3 x L3 tankette 

2nd Platoon, IX Light Tank Battalion

3 x L3 tankette 

Elements of 17th Battery, Libyan Artillery

2 x 77/28 guns (5 crew each) 

2 x Lorry 

Elements of III Medium Tank Battalion

1st Tank Platoon 

Tenente Pepe Spaghetti  

4 x M11/39 tanks

2nd Tank Platoon 

3 x M11/39 tanks

IABSM Cards
Allied Armour One Allied Armour Two Allied Armour Three Allied Armour Four Allied Artillery One Allied Big Man One Allied Big Man Two Allied Big Man Three Allied Big Man Four	Italian Armour One Italian Armour Two Italian Armour Three Italian Armour Four Italian Artillery One Italian Big Man One Italian Big Man Two Italian Big Man Three Italian Big Man Four	Tea Break  Commonwealth Blinds Italian Blinds Vehicle Breakdown Charge! Hesitant Commander Heroic Leader  Hesitant Troops x 2   Poor Fire Discipline

The Game

Somewhere near Sidi Barani

The Italian medium armour comes off its blind. 

The 11th Hussars Rolls Royce get out of the way as the

The Italians immobilise two tanks in the soft sand as the

7th Armoured deploy a pair of 25pdr field guns

The L3 tankettes take on 3rd Hussars MkVI tanks. 

Strangely enough 3rd Hussars get the best of this.  Huzzzah for Bumfluff!

The 25pdrs put down some fire onto the Italian Medium tanks, as the RAF Boyes Rifles get another one.  The tank in the foreground has dug its tracks into the sand.

Another L3 dug in.  the Vickers tanks do well.

11th Hussars have crossed the board.  They outflank the Italian guns and use their Vickers .303 MMGs on the crews.  My Rolls Royce seem to excel at this manoeuvre.    

Reminiscent of  game of Tanker!  The surviving Italian armour breaks

And the second Italian Big man follows the first as his stalled tank is shot to pieces.

But the 11th Hussars close up and mow down the gun crews.  Tea Break and the Italians are out of options.

For my mini campaign roll Bumfluff accrues a further 3 VPs and is mentioned to General Wavell as a "steady chap."  Who would have thought it!  Barker Force has won its first great victory.

Bumfluff's third: The Invasion of Egypt

14th September 1940.  The Italians have finally begun their invasion of Egypt, what, what? 

Two days ago, newly promoted Lt Bumfluff Farthingdale watched in amazement as a huge column of Italians - motorcyclists in front, 

followed by infantry in trucks, followed by those tin cans they call tanks - streamed across the border in almost a parade ground formation. 

Five divisions-worth! 

And in front of them? Why, just the Whoosarse, supported by some gunners and grease monkeys from 1RTR.  A sticky wicket, if ever there was one! 

Ah but the Eyeties have to keep to a narrow strip of land near the coast - no good in the desert these foreigners: takes an Englishman to do the business, eh? - so can’t project their force properly around your flanks. 

Means as well that you can punish them as they come forward, eh? What? What? 

Bumfluff has been ordered not to lose any guns or any tanks, but to delay and do as much damage as possible to our pasta-loving chums. Hah! Hah! 

Map & Terrain

The map shows the path of the rough track running along the coastal strip. The track gives no benefit to movement. The terrain in general is very rough: any vehicle that intends to move must roll 2d6 at the start of its turn. If it rolls a ‘double 1’, then it has become temporarily bogged down, and cannot use its initiative dice for movement that turn. Otherwise it moves as normal over rough 

ground. The hills and patches of rough scrub shown provide some sort of cover and spotting benefits, but are shallow/sparse enough not to affect movement. 

The Support Group

Company HQ

Major The Hon. "Will" Hay

Sergeant-Major Stanley Holloway

1st Platoon, 3rd Coldstream Guards

Lieutenant Charles Hawtrey

3 x Rifle Section (8 men each)

Attached from 1st Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 

1 x MMG (3 crew each) 

Attached from C Battery, 4th Royal Horse Artillery 

2 x 2pdr A/T gun portees (5 crew each)

 

Attached Armour from 1RTR

Capt George Formby

2 x A9 Cruiser Tank 

 

Attached Armour from 11 Hussars

Lt Bumfluff Farthingdale

2 x Rolls Royce A/C

Elements of 1st “23 Marzo” CCNN Division 

Company HQ, CILVIII “Tavogliere” CCNN Battalion 

Capitano Pietro Porcini 

1 x Staff Car 

2 x Rifle Squad (8 men each) 

1 x Truck 

Motorcyclisti Scouts 

1 x Motorcyclisti Squad (8 men, on motorbikes) 

Recce Elements from XLI Light Tank Battalion 

4 x L3 Tankette, 1 L3-lf flamethrower tankette 

1st Platoon, CILVIII “Tavogliere” CCNN Battalion 

4 x Rifle Squad (8 men each) 2 x Truck 

Attached from CCI MG Battalion 

1 x MMG (3 crew) 1 x Truck 

Platoon from XLI Light Tank Battalion 

4 x L3 Tankette, 1 L3-lf flamethrower tankette

The Game

IABSM

The Coast Road and only two blinds on table so far.

Turn three, the Support Group roll up.  Two A/Cs,
two A9 Cruisers and two portees

The A9s descend towards the road

On come the Italians looking blurred

The Coldstream Guards platoon de-bus from their blind

First blood to the 2pdr portees,
as they brew up a tankette

Italian Artillery form a defensive line straight from the blind.  

But the Italian guns shoot over

Bumfluff and Pitkin use the road.  "Isn't that an L3-lf ahead?"
"Mr Grimsdale?  Mr Grimsdale!!!"

The A9 tanks are far too much for the L3 tankettes

Turns out it was a flamethrower tankette.  Bumfluff narrowly escapes a roasting

Once again the 11th Hussars Vickers MMG massacre the gun crews.
Italian Morale is failing and they call in their reinforcements from the last unspotted blind.

The last Italian blind, Tenente Macaroni again,
followed by his troop of tankettes plus another L3-lf

A breda machine gun penetrates Pitkin's Roller. 
The flame thrower destroys the stranded machine.  

But Allied Armour 2 is the last card out as the A9's massacre Macaroni and his tankettes.  

The Campaign roll indicates that Bumfluff is out of favour for losing Sergeant Pitkin and one of the precious Rolls Royce armoured cars.  

Division add a troop of Vickers Mk VI light tanks to 11th Hussars and the Colonel sends Bumfluff to command them.  Mr Grimsdale will now command the 5th Armoured Car troop.

Worse, a troop of RAF Fordson Armoured cars is also added to supplement 11H, and Bumfluff must take these under his wing too.  

(Not having any Fordsons I will be using Marmon Herringtons for the next game)

The Battle at Girba, Bumfluff's second fight.

For his part in the attack on the ridge south of Fort Capuzzo Bumfluff was favourably noted by his commanding Officer.  He has been promised that he will get his second pip if he continues in this fashion.

16th June 1940, 2nd Lt Bumfluff Farthingdale`s Troop of the 11th Hussars is patrolling on the Italian side of the Wire in their Rolls Royce armoured cars.

At about 7.30am, the Hussars spot an Italian column heading north along the track from 

Sidi Omar to Fort Capuzzo. The column, under command of Colonel Roerto De Niro consists of: 

*  Elements of one motorised Libyan battalion of infantry 

* 3rd Company, 9th Light Tank Battalion (L3 tankettes) 

* one platoon from 9th Light Tank Battalion HQ  (L3 tankettes) 

* One section of four 77/28 guns from the Libyan 17th Battery 

A total of 200 soldiers, four 77/28 guns, sixteen L3 tankettes and thirty trucks. 

The Hussars spotted the main body containing trucks and tankettes, as well as an advance guard of a company of infantry in trucks and four more tankettes slightly separated from the main column. 

The Troop of the 11th were ordered to withdraw  whilst anti-tank guns were brought up from 4th Armoured Brigade HQ, but had by then already attacked the column in front of him. 

Leading his three  Rolls Royce armoured cars past the L3s at the rear of  the column the British Lieutenant opened fire on the truck-born infantry causing heavy casualties. 

At that moment, and No.5 Troop arrived, marching to the sound of the guns, but then an Italian field gun came into action and the Hussars retreated to the cover of a small rise and radioed in the latest situation. 

Meanwhile, although the original request for anti-tank guns had gone astray, elements of J Battery, 3rd Royal Horse Artillery rolled up and joined in.  

This is a classic L3 vs Rolls Royce A/C fight in open terrain.

Map & Terrain

The terrain consists of a large, gently undulating but open plain totally devoid of any cover. Along the northern edge is a rough track running east west. There is no bonus for movement on the track, but any vehicle that moves off the track must roll 2d6 at the start of its turn. If it rolls a ‘double 1’, then it has become temporarily bogged down, and cannot use its initiative dice for movement that turn. Otherwise it moves as normal over rough ground. The southern edge of the battlefield comprises a gentle slope running down to the north.

The Road to Girba

And a convoy of the 10th army, deep inside Libya.

What's that coming over the hill?  Is it a troop of the 11th Hussars?  Well yes..

The Vickers in the R/R turrets hammer away at the convoy

The Italian response.  The Charge of the L3 tankettes.  Two of them bog down immediately. 

An exchange of fire - goes the Hussars way

The Motorcyclisti platoon are decimated on the move by the Vickers Mmg from just one Armoured Car. that of Sergeant Pitkin.  Steady Norman my boy...

Bumfluff breaks through to the convoy and a target of opportunity.

The Hussars spend a COC dice to bring on reinforcements.  It's Mr Grimsdale and his troop, with two portees in support.

But the Italians are reacting too.  Two guns deploy on the road.

A second wave of L3 tankettes is broken by the 2pdr A/T gun portees, and more Vickers fire.

Bumfluff is brewed up.  He escapes with his crew intact

As a third Italian gun deploys

The L3 tankette graveyard has a lone survivor.  But now the Italians can spend a COC dice and bring on the reserves from the tail end of the convoy.

Tenente Macaroni eyes up the portees on the ridge.  

He quickly loses two more L3 tankettes, and another bogs down.   Italian morale fails.  Time to retreat!  

The second troop of the 11th Hussars advance into a sea of burning tankettes.  The remains of the motorcyclisti platoon have taken cover in the sand dunes and are keen to surrender.   

Bumfluff has lost two armoured cars but won a major victory.  I dice to find his reward.  A promotion!  Finally Bumfluff has his second pip and is now Lieutenant Bumfluff Farthingdale.  

Unfortunately the campaign table also reveals that the Colonel is upset about the loss of two of his precious cars.  Could Bumfluff be facing a future transfer as a result of his heroics?

Troop Sergeant Major "Mr" Grimsdale and Sergeant "Norman" Pitkin also survive the battle intact.