Rock and a Hard Place pocketgame #2

My recent 5 game purchase from High Flying Dice Games, LLC included a very pleasant surprise, their second released pocket game called "Rock and a Hard Place, The Fight For Malta's Fort Benghaisa", a "what if" scenario of the German glider landings on Malta to take out Fort Benghaisa for Esigenza C3 / Unternehmen Herkules (fortunately cancelled in Nov 1942).

Malta has always played a part thru-out history as an important heavily fortified island, that dominated the sea lanes in the Med. This review will concern it's self  from  the aspect of the Malta during 1940 to 1942 when the island could have been invaded by both the Germans and Italians.

Operation Herkules (Unternehmen Herkules/Operazione C3) was the German code-name given to an abortive plan for the invasion of Malta during World War II. Through air and sea landings, the Italians and Germans hoped to eliminate Malta as a British air and naval base and secure an uninterrupted flow of supplies across the Mediterranean Sea to Axis forces in Libya and Egypt. Extensive preparations were made for the invasion, but the Axis victory at the Battle of Gazala (26 May to 21 June 1942), the capture of Tobruk on 21 June and Unternehmen Aïda (Operation Aïda), the pursuit of the British as they retreated into Egypt, led to the plan being postponed and then cancelled in November 1942.

Please note, that 50% of the below is from Wikipedia with validation of the OOB from several of my sources - 5. If the history is wrong, it is my fault as I took the lazy way out instead of reading, thinking, and writing it out. 

The Plan:  The Axis plan to invade Malta had its origin in Italian military studies conducted in the mid-1930s during Second Italo-Abyssinian War. By 1938, the Italian army command had estimated the amount of sea transport it would require to move significant military forces into North Africa, and identified the seizure of Malta as a prerequisite. An outline plan for a seaborne assault was drawn up and periodically revised, but the Regia Marina (Italian Navy) initially showed little interest in it. The concept was approved at a meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini from 29 to 30 April 1942. 

By Air:  Command of the airborne component of Herkules was given to Major General Kurt Student and Fliegerkorps XI. Student had planned and executed the German airborne assault in the Battle of Crete in May 1941. In contrast with the hasty planning for that operation, Student now had months to prepare and avoid the mistakes made on Crete.

Knowledge of British defensive positions on Malta was extensive, thanks to meticulous aerial mapping by the Italians. Every fortification, artillery emplacement and AA battery was carefully noted and scrutinized. Student claimed later that "We even knew the caliber of the coastal guns, and how many degrees they could be turned inland". Ten Gruppen of Junkers Ju 52 transports with 500 aircraft were allocated for the air landings, along with 300 DFS 230 gliders (carrying ten men each) and 200 larger Go 242 gliders (each carrying twenty-three men or a light vehicle/gun). Also to be included were two dozen Messerschmidt Me 321 Gigant gliders capable of carrying up to 200 fully equipped paratroopers or a 25 long tons (25 t) tank. These were to be towed by the new He 111Z (Zwilling) five-engine modification of the He 111 medium bomber

The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) would contribute approximately 180–220 transport aircraft, mostly three-engine SM.75s (carrying 24–28 men each), SM.81s (carrying 12–14 men each) and SM.82s carrying 30–34 men each). Given the 90 mi (140 km) distance between Axis airfields on Sicily and the drop zones over Malta, it was possible for the motorized transports to make four round-trips per day. They were to drop one Italian and one German airborne division onto the southern side of the island.

The paratroopers had to secure the high ground behind the invasion beaches, and seize a nearby airfield for Axis transport aircraft to land on with another division and supplies. Airborne units for the invasion included the German Fliegerdivision 7 (11,000 men) plus the Italian 185th Airborne Division Folgore (7,500 men) and 80th Infantry Division La Spezia air landing division (10,500 men); approximately 29,000 airborne troops. Preparations for the airborne assault included construction of three glider strips 25 mi (40 km) south of Mount Etna on Sicily.

By Sea:  The seaborne assault force comprised 70,000 Italian ground troops who were to make amphibious landings at two points on the south-eastern side of the island, in Marsaxlokk bay, with the main effort falling upon a site named "Famagosta beach", and a smaller secondary landing at "Larnaca beach". Also to be seized were the lesser islands of Gozo and Comino. Amphibious feints would be directed at St. Paul's Bay, Mellieha Bay, and north-west of Valletta near the old Victoria Lines, to draw British attention away from the real landing sites. The main assault convoy was scheduled to begin landing on Malta just before midnight on the first day, after the airborne forces had landed in the afternoon and secured the heights above the beaches.

The bulk of the first-wave assault troops would come from the Friuli Infantry Division (10,000 men) and Livorno Infantry Division (9,850) of the Italian XXX Corps. Also included were 1,200 men from the 1st Assault Battalion and Loreto Battalion (both drawn from the Regia Aeronautica) two battalions of San Marco Marines (2,000) three battalions of Blackshirts (1,900) and 300 Nuotatori (a commando unit of San Marco marines specially trained in ocean swimming and beach assault). Armoured support comprised nineteen Semovente 47/32 and eight Semovente 75/18 self-propelled guns plus thirty L3 tankettes (comparable in size and armament to the British Bren Gun Carrier).

The follow-up convoy would be mainly made up of troops from the Italian XVI Corps: the Assieta Infantry Division (9,000) and the Napoli Infantry Division (8,900) along with attached artillery assets (3,200).

It would also include the remainder of the 10th Armour Regiment (3,800). The Superga Infantry Division (9,200) plus a battalion of Blackshirts and a small detachment of San Marco Marines (1,000) were to be in position to land on the smaller island of Gozo in the early morning hours of the second day.

Additional armour intended for Herkules included 2.Kompanie/ Panzerabteilung z.b.V.66 (zur besonderen Verwendung [for special use]), a German unit partly equipped with captured Russian tanks. Ten assorted KV-1 [46 long tons (47t)] and KV-2 [53 long tons (54t)] heavy tanks were made available. At least ten Italian motozattere (landing craft) were modified with reinforced flooring and internal ramps to carry and off-load the Russian vehicles. Other tanks in the unit included captured Russian T-34 medium tanks, up-armored German light tanks (five VK 1601s and five VK 1801s) plus twelve Panzer IVGs armed with 75 mm guns. Twenty German Panzer III tanks were also offered for use in the invasion but it is not known what unit these were to be drawn from. Two days were allowed for the main amphibious assault and landing of the follow-up convoy, though this was dependent on quickly securing Marsaxlokk Bay to land heavier artillery pieces and a much higher tonnage of supplies.

Run... They got a board with a nail in it:  In 1942 the garrison of Malta consisted of 15 infantry battalions (11 Commonwealth, 4 Maltese) organised into four brigades totalling 26,000 men. Tank support was provided by the 1st Independent Troop of the Royal Tank Regiment, disembarked in November 1940, which was initially equipped with four Matilda II "Infantry Tanks", armed with 2-pounder (40 mm) guns, and two Vickers Mk.VIC light tanks, armed with two machine guns (all tanks as part of detachments from the 7th Royal Tank Regiment and the 3rd The King's Own Hussars). These were reinforced in January 1942 by an additional eight tanks (four Cruiser Mk I and three Cruiser Mk IV tanks, and one Vickers Mk.VIC light tank), with the cruiser tanks armed with 2-pounder (40 mm) guns (all additional tanks were as part of a detachment from the 6th Royal Tank Regiment).

Artillery support came from the 12th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery with twenty-four 25-pounder 3.45 in (88mm) field guns, capable of providing fire support out to a range of 6.8 mi (11km) and covering most of the island while remaining in protected static positions. Malta's fixed defenses included nineteen heavy coastal guns (varying in size from 12-inch to 16-inch - although these Victorian era weapons were all decommissioned), 130 smaller coastal guns (6-pounder to 9.2-inch), and 112 heavy and 144 light anti-aircraft guns.

The smaller coastal guns were composed of:

• 10 × BL 6 in (150 mm) Mk XXIV, on Mounting, 6 in (150 mm) Mk 5 or 6
• 7 × BL 9.2 in (230 mm) gun Mk X, on Mounting Mk 7
• QF 4.5 in (110 mm) gun Mk II, on Mounting Mk I
• 18 × QF 6 pounder 10 cwt gun (9 × 2) 
• 30 × Ordnance QF 18 pounder

Hitler pulls one of his  many blunders: A date near mid-July 1942 was set for the invasion, partly to allow time to bring troops from other front line positions. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel supported the Malta plan and asked Hitler for command of the invasion forces. His reasons for supporting an invasion were to hinder the Allied troops fighting in Africa, as well as to remove the threat to the convoys heading to Italian-German forces with supplies, oil and men, all of which they were desperately low on. He prioritized the attack to such an extent that he was willing to move units from his front for the attack.

The head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, opposed the invasion, fearing it would turn into another near-disaster for his paratroops, as had happened on Crete. Field Marshall Albert Kesselring tirelessly promoted Unternehmen Herkules but even he was eventually dissuaded when it became apparent that too many air and ground units had been siphoned off to support the Axis drive into Egypt, diminishing any chance of success. With Hitler lacking faith in the parachute divisions after the Invasion of Crete, and in the ability of the Italian Navy to protect the invasion fleet from British naval attacks, the plan was cancelled.

And here we are, with this "what if" game....

The game: "Rock and A Hard Place" is published by High Flying Dice Games, LLC, designed by Paul Rohrbaugh with graphics designer Bruce Yearian, and a dedication of the game to John Burtt. This is the first time in all of my years of playing, that I have ever seen a dedication of a game to anyone. He truly must be very special.

EEK! It's SMALL!!   Don't be fooled by it's size, though only 4"x6" in size, this game is large in stature. It packs as much thinking and fun as anything coming from any large gaming publisher. Simple in concept and play, but requiring solid thinking for play. There's no slacking with this game.

On the front side is the game map and 17 counters, consisting of the German units with five German combat counters, one German leader counter, three glider/ruin counters and one Naval/Air support counter. The British counter set consists of seven British combat counters, and one leader. There is also one game turn counter. Additionally, Paul has included variant rules with two more counters for play - one is the San Marcos Marines Commando unit and the other is a Royal Navy unit.

On the backside is located the rules and of course the back side of the counters showing a reduced state (yes, step-reduction!), how to deploy units box, and a terrain key.

Any extras for the Game?

Heck yeah.  There are variant counters with an instruction sheet and a card set for the game. The card set is available for $*. Is it worth it? I believe it is.  I have it and find that I don't have to keep re-arranging my one poor old standard deck of cards all the time. Bad photo, but you get the idea.

The book on the side is called "Fortress Malta, An Island Under Siege 1940-1943" written by James Holland. It is a very interesting book on Malta and well worth the price.

Addenda Sheet:  And there is also an addenda sheet for the game. Mistakes happen, but it is terrible when a software program creates them. In this case Adobe. Here it is: (note this is incorporated in my review below.)

Rock and Hard Place

Addenda May 2018

Glider Landing (corrections):

1. A CD of < (less than or equal to) 4 results in the units on the glider being unaffected (the underline beneath the less than sign did not print).
2. A CD of > 5 through 10 (not 9) results in one on the glider being reduced.

Setup? What de fudge???  I asked the question of who sets up first, I was told it doesn't matter. However, think about it. The British would probably not be on full alert when the gliders came in. The enemy bombers over head daily would lull the garrisons into a false peace of safety while keeping their heads down. After the bombing, the "all clear" would be signal. Troops would go off to do what needed to be done, eat, sleep, etc. Since the flight of a glider is silent, it wouldn't be until the first groups of gliders coming in that someone would stop being surprised, that a full alert horn would go off, and poop would hit the fan. 

 

Intelligence would play a huge role here. General Student has said that the Germans and Italians had every square inch of Malta mapped out including walls, trees, phone poles, obstacles of all sizes and every unit in every position. Since this was probably the case (one thing the Germans did not do was skipped on was photo intelligence.  Hitler may not have had any intelligence (heh-heh, but his Generals and Admirals did.). It makes sense for the Brits to set up first and then the German picking out the gliders landing spots.

In my games, I do play with the British setting up first. But how you do it is up to you.

British units setup in any building hex. British garrison units deploy 1 unit in each objective hex (Battery 1 and 2 and the searchlight hexes). And the leader unit may deploy (stack) with any British unit at start. British regualr units are 3-3. British Garrison units are 2-2.

German units deploy two units per glider and the German picks his landing spots. Proceed to Game Play #1 "Glider Landing" to see if the gliders survive or not.

Game Play:   How it all comes together:
1) Glider Landing:  After placing 1 glider per landing hex, the German player draws a card for each glider for it's landing:

2) Ground Units:  Ground units can either move 1 hex or attack (not both). Two units of the same side may stack (a leader unit counts as 1 for stacking). Two opposing units may never stack. There are no Zones of Control. Wall - Combat and movement prohibited  unless at a Main gate hex-side. And combat is voluntary.

3) Combat:   Units have 2 combat factors, the 1st is the "Assault Factor (AF)" and the 2nd number is the "Fire Factor (FF)". All Combat (non leader) units have a range of 2 hexes. Units may fire into, but not through bldgs and wall. Naval and Air support can fire upon any British unit anywhere as they have no range limit. The German Hvy Wpn (Heavy Weapons) unit can do combined assault attack if stacked with another unit and performing assault (AF) instead of attacking on it's own. -2 is the modifier or -1 if reduced to the combined assault attack.

Instead of writing out the rules, I am listing their headings. Get the game, and you can have the rules and play the game :D .

4) How to resolved combat or movement via the card draw:
5) Air and Naval Support Units:
6) Objective Hexes:
7) Game Scale:
8) It all comes down to points for Victory or Ok, who wins the game?
9) Card Draw modifiers

10) The Bun's rating system:
Please note "fun level" as been re-named "enjoyment level" and a new "historical level" has been introduced.

1. Complexity of the game = LOW with moderate overtones.
2. Solitaire = HIGH (very little work is needed) 
3. Enjoyment Level = VERY HIGH
4. Nail biting = 8 fingers worth, starting on the 9th but it was saved. 
5. Historical Level - The game is only a small part of  Unternehmen Herkules, but an important part as this Fort overlooked the harbor and needed to be taken for the troops to land by ship. This game has the correct gliders and a correct OOB of both the landing German glider troops and British troops.
6. Length of typical full game = 1/2 hour (30 minutes) to 1+ hours.
7. Out of the dozen or so games, it is pretty much even. The German starts out strong, but "lady luck" has a way of wiping out the gliders. Then the CDs. They can hurt when one only gets odd numbered cards.

I do hope you enjoy this game.  For something so small, it is fun!  

 

Thanks for reading...
-ab out

Also I need to add, this blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information.   And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog. Long story, but it was Google who removed them.

Dueling Eagles: Aerial Combat over Malta

The Game:  "Dueling Eagles" is an exciting pocket game from High Flying Dice, LLC, that covers the first couple of air raids by the Italians over Malta. With it being part of the "Eagles" series of aerial combat, it does share a lot of commonality with all the other Eagles' games.

"Dueling Eagles" is designed by Paul Rohrbaugh, with graphics design by Nils Johansson. It took me about three mins to find a map of Malta and I was able to find the area that Nils used for the game map - the "Grand Harbor" but more specific "French Creek". Right down to the forked ship dry docks. (that's a plume of black smoke, btw.)

It is an introductory level game, with one page of rules and an equal small amount of counters with three aircraft each for the Italians and the British, three AAA markers, a game turn marker, altitude markers, and a target marker, for a total of 18 double-sided counters. It is played on a very beautiful 8x8 grid game map of Malta's Grand Harbor area. Of course one needs to supply a deck of cards (or order the card set made just for this) and a 1D6.

One can order this card set for $*, but I would strongly urge you to buy the card set when you buy another game or buy four games and can get this game card set for free.

I seem to be always pushing these card sets and here is the reason why - besides having the action points correct where one does not have to do the math, they do have nice art on them, and things like (for example) Italian can attack any AAA. Basically, they replace the math and having to remember red or black face card rules, etc. The cards make life a little easier. Reminds me of a jingle that a certain fast food restaurant who shall remain nameless stole from me, so many years ago (bun wishes!). If I remember the words right when I wrote it so long ago - "Take life a little easier with High Flying Dice Game card sets".

Now, I hope you are wanting to get this game, but how? It's a pocket game and the majority of them are free and given away when one buys a game from either LPS, Inc or HFDG. Aye, there's the rub.... 

Game Setup: Setup is a breeze, as is all pocket games. With only 18 counters to worry about, it takes a mere 90 seconds to set up, as compared to the hours to figure out what to play, lol.

1. Grab your coffee or high octane soft drink, a deck of cards (or the Dueling Eagles Card set), a 1D6, and the game. Pizza or chips is optional. Don't forget to sleeve the cards!
   
2. Shuffle the card deck with one joker. 
3. British player picks the three sides that are friendly. 
4. British player places two AAA in corners of these sides and places one AAA in one of the center four squares.
5. British player places the "target marker" in one of the center four squares, but not the same square as the AAA marker.
6. Italian player places his three aircraft on his side board edge in any square, at any level.
7. Lastly, the British player places one non-ace Gloster Gladiator and the Fulmar aircraft in any square on the British side board edge, at low, medium, or high level, opposite of the Italian Players aircraft.
8. The Ace Gladiator enters at any friendly map edge at the start of turn 3.
9. Italian player gets the first card draw (CD). If a joker is drawn, dis-card and ignore it.

Actions:  Since a deck of cards is used for both movement and combat, one deals (sorry for the pun) with Red face cards, Black face cards, Red suits, Black suits, action points, math, and other stuff.  All cards are used except do remove 1 Joker out of the deck. Of course, the purchase of the genuine HFDG card set for this game (oh brother, here he goes again!) takes care of having to remember all this.  Also, don't forget to download the Action Point player's aid available for download, as some of this information is on there, too, just not as pretty. But in the mean time, here we go for:

Movement:  The Italian player uses the black suit and the British player uses the red suit of cards.

1. No player's aircraft can spend more AP's than it's attack factor.
2. The Italian player has first card draw (CD):
3. Any aircraft that exits the map are out of the game.

Air Combat:  Combat is voluntary.

1. If attacking, an aircraft must:
1. Move at least 1 square or change level before attacking.
2. Aircraft can only expend 1 AP per CD to make 1 attack.
3. Aircraft have a weapons range of 2 squares. 
4. No combat is allowed if the aircraft being attack is in the same square.
5. Attacker must designate the defending aircraft and the attacking aircraft.
2. To resolve combat, see the rules.
3. For AAA, consult the AA rules in the game under "AAA".
4. Same for Bombing. I don't want to print all the rules here.  :)
   

Game Length:  The game lasts for four turns

1. 4 turns (or card deck shuffles) OR
2. ends early when no opposing aircraft are on the map OR
3. for the British player all AAA is suppressed.
4. The game turn ends immediately when a joker is drawn for movement or combat 
5. or all cards have been drawn.

 Winning:  After four turns have been played the game ends.

1. the Italian player wins.
1.  If the Br.20m bomber successfully bombs the target or
2. the Italian player has destroyed any of the British aircraft without losing any Italian aircraft.
2. British Player wins  if the target marker is still on the map or if the British player destroys more than 1 Italian aircraft.
3. Otherwise the game is a tie.

Addendum:  Amazingly, this game is free of any type of errata.

I have found though that when the rules in the pocket games don't state something, it is pretty much safe not to worry about it and just play the game. 

There might be some ambiguity (pretty sure 99.99% of not having any ambiguity at all) in one or two rules, but they are usually answered somewhere in the rules. And of course, any disagreements can be worked out with both players either just agreeing, or drawing cards (highest wins of course) or a friendly roll of the die, before play begins or a friendly duel with either swords, pistols or fisticuffs... hmm, best to stick to the rolling of the die.

I need to add, that Mr Colin Parker graciously allow the use of his painting "Faith, Hope and Charity" on my review. It is one of the few paintings that draw me in so close, it is like I am on an Italian bomber seeing these Gladiator aircraft flying at me. It is awe inspiring.

 

A bit of history, mate...  Malta is 17 miles long by 9 miles wide comprising of several islands. At the time of June 1940 Malta had a population of around 250,000 with all, but 3% to 4% of the population being native Maltese. Of these, most of the inhabitants lived within 4 miles of the Grand Harbor, where the population density was more than six times that of the island average. Among the most congested spots was Valletta, the capital, and also the political, military and commercial center, with about 23,000 people that lived in an area of around 1/4th of a square mile. Across the Grand Harbor, in the Three Cities, where the dockyards and the Admiralty headquarters were located, another 28,000 people were packed into 1/2 square mile. It was these small areas that suffered the heaviest, most sustained, and concentrated aerial bombing in history.

 

Malta’s strategic location made it a key stronghold in the Mediterranean theater from which the Allies could wage their North African campaign and from which they could launch their eventual attack on Italy. On June 10th, 1940 (the day after Mussolini declared war on Great Britain) Italian bombers attacked Valletta and its harbors. The Regia Aeronautica began the aerial bombardment of the island from airbases in Sicily. On the first day, 55 Italian bombers and 21 fighters flew over Malta and dropped 142 bombs on the three airfields at Luqa, Hal Far and Ta Qali. Later, 10 Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s and 20 Macchi C.200s flew over the island, with no air opposition.

A total of eight raids were flown on that first day. The bombing did not cause much damage and most of the casualties suffered were civilian. No interception of the raiders was made because there was no RAF force ready to meet them. There were several airfields, the problem was lack of aircraft. RAF Hal Far, RAF Luga and RAF Ta'Qali were operational, with only RAF Luga having Tarmac runways. The others were grass or sod/hard packed dirt and affected by the weather.  Besides having airfields, there were several seaplane bases, of no use to the defense of Malta.

Even without adequate aircraft, at least one RAF Gladiator flew against a raid of 55 Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79s and their 20 escorting fighters on 11 June. It surprised the Italians, but the defenses (AAA), almost non-existent on the ground and in the air, failed to impede the Italian force. On 12 June an Italian aircraft on a reconnaissance flight over Malta was shot down.

At the time of these first air raids, the defending fighters on Malta consisted of obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiators, in the Hal Far Fighter Flight. Ten Gladiators in crates for transit were assembled and no more than three aircraft flew at one time. These were called 'Faith', 'Hope' and 'Charity'. The pilots for these aircraft came from flying-boats and other aircraft with no experience of fighter operations. One Gladiator was shot down but the rest managed to shoot down several Italian aircraft.

Most of the things I am not touching on is how the island almost fell, or how the people were starving and the brilliant timing of a naval convoy that was torn to pieces by wolf packs made it with enough food and supplies for the population.

Here are a few books you might find interesting:
Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940 - 43* (Hardcover) by James Holland
ISBN-10: 1401351867 ISBN-13: 978-1401351861

Siege: Malta, 1940-1943 (Hardcover) by Ernle Dusgate Selby Bradford
ISBN-10: 0688047815 ISBN-13: 978-0688047818

Malta During World War II - The strategic role of the island during the conflict.  by Charles Debono (paperback and this is the curator of the Malta Museum. If anyone knows the history, it is this man) ISBN: 978-99957-67-39-6

*note - book in my library

Time for the ratings:
Complexity of the game =  LOW with med moderate overtones.
Solitaire = HIGH (very little work is needed)
Fun Level = VERY HIGH (the only thing missing is Prosciutto San Daniele!)
Nail biting = 8 fingers worth, starting on the 9th but it was saved.
Length of typical full game = 1/2 hour (30 minutes) to 1+ hours.

Out of the 5 games I have played 1 Italiano win, 2 Brit wins, and 2 draws. Both sides won and lost, It is pretty even, just the luck of the draw, as it always is, in game and real life.

Adapting the Game to miniatures:
With the game map having squares, it would be very easy to adapt this game to miniatures. 

Thanks for reading!

-ab out