El Alamein commemoration

21Z5M

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I see a lot of play happening when other campaigns or battles happen on yearly dates such as Stalingrad or Battle of the Bulge but didn’t see a posting for the 80th anniversary of Alamein. Did anyone shake out the dust and play the battle that started a Commonwealth Legend such as Monty?
 

Gunner Scott

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Unfortunately desert probably gets the least amount of play. It is just not the most exciting theater of operations too many. Though CH (boo, hiss) has put out some kool desert CG's that I personally would luv too play.
 

Vic Provost

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Unfortunately desert probably gets the least amount of play. It is just not the most exciting theater of operations too many. Though CH (boo, hiss) has put out some kool desert CG's that I personally would luv too play.
Somewhat agree with Scott, I know over the years it was always hard getting people to playtest the desert scenarios for Dispatches, the lack of any positive TEM or rally terrain turns off many players. It is a challenging environment but just like Night, can have tremendous rewards for those who know how to navigate the different environment to fight in. We do publish desert stuff once in awhile but it is rare, there are others who do a good job with it. If you want a killer desert scenario, try Tom Morin's OB7 Crisis at Kasserine from Out of the Bunker, killer scenario with 4 nationalities fighting it out in the desert environment. Enjoy!
 

Michael R

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I heard nothing about the Alamein anniversary. Even if I had, my ASL plate is full. I couldn't have added in a desert scenario even though I enjoy them.
 

Jplott94

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Many thanks to the OP for pointing out this most consequential of anniversaries; what Churrchill described as the "end of the beginning"

I had the great good fortune to take a staff ride on the El Alamein battlefield in 1995. The ride was proctored by three instructors from Sandhurst, all of whom had relatives in the battle. Paid our respects at the Commonwealth, German and Italian war cemeteries located there. Also had an opportunity to visit the Egyptian museum commemorating the battle, which had been constructed by contractors from North Korea. Needless to say, their presentation of the battle differed somewhat from what most western accounts may have offered.

The battles in the western desert really sparked my early interest in WWII, and the old Ballentine war books you could buy for a dollar, and a very worn, paperback copy of "Brazen Chariots" sealed the deal. In no small way, these histories led me to wargaming in general and ASL in particular, and I'm loving every minute of it!

23236
 

Yuri0352

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The battles in the western desert really sparked my early interest in WWII, and the old Ballentine war books you could buy for a dollar, and a very worn, paperback copy of "Brazen Chariots" sealed the deal. In no small way, these histories led me to wargaming in general and ASL in particular, and I'm loving every minute of it!

View attachment 23236
Every bit of that which you wrote applies to me as well!

While I haven't commemorated this important anniversary by playing ASL, it has inspired me to re-read 'Alamein to Zem Zem' by Keith Douglas. On a related note, I have been doing a quite a bit of reading of my old issues of 'After the Battle' which focus on Operation Torch (the 80th anniversary is this month). This anniversary has also motivated my reading of accounts of the later battles at Kasserine and El Guettar.

Thanks for the great topic for a thread... things have seemed rather stale around this forum as of late.
 

21Z5M

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Do people not like playing because the infantry without AT guns are at the mercy of armor, extra information counters or the endless overlays on the board?
 
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Vic Provost

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Do people not like playing because the infantry without AT guns are at the mercy of armor, extra information counters or the endless overlays on the board?
Yep, add in no rally terrain or + TEM for the most part and it is just a hard sell to get people to play. You have to have a different mindset, if you do not have armor or AT guns you better hope your opponent does not. Fortifications can really help, as can having Smoke. Tough environment both in real life and on our cardboard gameboards, I'll play it on occasion if an interesting scenario, but would rather play PTO if given a choice.
 

zgrose

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Do people not like playing because the infantry without AT guns are at the mercy of armor, extra information counters or the endless overlays on the board?
The endless overlays are certainly a factor in physical play. I usually only DTO in VASL for that reason.
 

Paul John

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Also had an opportunity to visit the Egyptian museum commemorating the battle, which had been constructed by contractors from North Korea. Needless to say, their presentation of the battle differed somewhat from what most western accounts may have offered.
I am super curious about this! Any details? Or is there a link to this place?
 

21Z5M

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With everything above, no real solution for getting people to play DTO?
 
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Old Noob

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Two other 80th anniversary notes also come to mind:
1. The Russian offensive on November 19th that encircled the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
2. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Nov13th - 15th) that resulted in the Japanese decision to withdraw from the island.
 

Actionjick

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Do people not like playing because the infantry without AT guns are at the mercy of armor, extra information counters or the endless overlays on the board?
Good questions. Most likely a combination of those and perhaps a few others.

I was interested in the DTO prior to SL. When I met Mac he was doing early work on the desert and I gladly helped him with playtesting. '83 or so.

DTO just never caught on. I thought that the treadheads would embrace it but not so much. Oh well. You run it up the flagpole and sometimes no one salutes.
 

Carln0130

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With everything above, no real solution for getting people to play DTO?
Yup, design a CG and module dedicated to a certain action from the theatre. Really, more than anything, it is underdone. Who other than CH has really done a Desert module other than the original core modules?
 

Gunner Scott

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I did design the Battle for Bir el gubi for CH, that was alot of fun, crappy brit tank and infantry trying to take a hillock controlled by the Ariete Div.

Scott
Yup, design a CG and module dedicated to a certain action from the theatre. Really, more than anything, it is underdone. Who other than CH has really done a Desert module other than the original core modules?
 
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