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BRIEFING
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Date: January - February 1944
Location: Anzio, Italy
Map scale: 1km per hex
Time scale: 6 hour turns
Unit scale: Company
Length: 40 - 120 turns
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
"I had hoped that we are hurling a wild cat on the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale"
(W. Churchill)
At the end of January 1944 US VI Corps executed an amphibious assault behind German lines at the city of Anzio, just 50 km south of Rome, in an attempt to break the stalemate at the Gustav Line. To achieve this VI Corps was to advance onto the Alban Hills, a key feature dominating the southeastern approaches to the eternal city, thus cutting off German 10th Army's lines of communication and forcing a retreat from the Gustav line. Despite total tactical surprise a combination of over-cautiousness, hesitation and willingly ambiguous orders failed to exploit the situation. The Germans reacted swiftly and brought in substantial forces to not only contain the beachhead, but also to release a determined counterattack. After the climax of the battles by mid February the beachhead front line came to a stalemate with neither side having achieved its operational objectives.
The scenario covers the initial landings and the opening phase of "Shingle" (the codename for the operation) until mid-February with the possibility of an earlier end. It also incooperates some small what-ifs.
This scenario is as close to tactical as the TOAW engine can reasonably approach. As such, there will be plenty of tactical details included in writeups, though tempered by the new doctrine in a visible manner.
METT-T
Mission
The historical mission is to break the stalemate at the Gustav Line further south by cutting German lines of supply and Communication, thus forcing a general retreat from the FLET (Forward Line of Enemy Troops). This can be accomplished by taking sufficient strategic terrain in the enemy's rear, though the destruction of OPFOR combat elements is of course a vital part of the process and a goal in its own right.
This image describes the concentration of valued terrain within the AO (Area of Operations). As you can see, out of the 1000 "Victory Points" available, 50% or so are located within the historical Allied beachhead. Thus, I can achieve a historical draw by maintaining a historical stalemate roughly around the historical occupied area.
The highest concentrations of victory points:
*Beaches - 190 VP
*Alban Hills - 130 VP
*Aprilia/Carocetto - 85 VP
*Mussolini Canal - 83 VP
*Rome - 80 VP
*Anzio - 70 VP
*Cisterna di Latina - 35 VP
*Nettuno - 30 VP
*And myriad smaller ones...
Given this, my operational COA (Course of Action) is to, create a beachhead, quickly secure the crossings over the Mussolini Canal, particularly with airborne units (red), and to launch an offensive across it once the enemy arrives in force (green).
The object is to convince the enemy that I intend to focus my forces on the eastern half of the map, while building up a strike force west of the canal (blue) with which to envelop the enemy all along the canal while dispatching a contingent to secure Rome.
Note that this plan is full of holes and is surely unworkable. Enemy intelligence and deductive logic would certainly reveal it before it could be sprung, resulting in a historical impasse at best and a drive to the beaches at worst.
Perhaps I'll be able to deploy a heavily modified variant. Generally, however, I'd like to keep some sort of enveloping swing around the Mussolini Canal with a simultaneous march on Rome, or at least the Alban Hills in the center of the map.
I need to be quick and decisive to secure as much favorable terrain as possible in the first few days, while not overextending myself to the point where his reinforcements can pick apart my columns piecemeal.
Enemy
The 14. Armee is a mixed bag, containing many elite units, many veterans, but also many green units newly raised or composed of low-quality troops. All told, it has a slight edge on the Allies in terms of experience, training, and skill.
Unit Icons
OOB
Other
Terrain
The AO is something not much more than 2300 sq. km. of ground.
Within 20 km of the shore, the terrain is mostly marshy and cut by many rivers. The major waterway in the area is the Mussolini Canal. East of it are further marshes: the Pontine Marshes.
Note that defenders in marshy terrain get a 2x bonus to their AT capability.
A couple of miles north of Anzio is a wooded area, the Bosco di Padiglione.
In the center of the map is the thickly wooded Alban Hills region.
There are several mountains along the eastern edge of the AO.
On the west edge of the map, S or SW of Rome, is:
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Players may note the number of minor escarpments and badland terrain on the western part of the
map, north of the Moletta creek. The low coastal plain in this area was cut by a series of rough stream
gullies. These gullies, though their small streams were easily fordable, were often fifty feet deep and
offered difficult obstacles to armor. Note that only foot movement units are able to move through
badland terrain and that units within a badland hex can’t resupply though they are nominally in a
supplied state.
Beyond the coastal region, the western "gullies", the urban Rome in the NW corner, the Alban Hills, and the eastern mountains, is a heartland of flat cultivated land, mottled by the occasional town. The road network here is better than on the coast.
The Via Appia is a highway that runs from Rome to Anzio and the southeast map-edge. It cuts across the SW Alban Hills. This is the road to follow in the event of a march on Rome.
In the northern part of the map, there is another highway (No. 6) but it will never be accessed by Allied troops except in the event of a total victory.
The German rail lines typically follow the two named highways.
Troops
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3.1.1 Victory Conditions
General Thoughts and Sudden Death
What constitutes an Allied or a German victory? Looking at history, an Allied victory regarding
operational plans would be ‘establishing and securing a beachhead and advancing onto the Alban
Hills’. The Allied player can get an overwhelming victory in achieving this and holding the gained
ground until the end of the scenario. An instant victory can be achieved if the Allies reach their main
goal – the withdrawal of German 10th Army from the Gustav Line. This is handled in detail by the
EEV (Event Editor Variable) and can lead to a “Sudden Death” victory for the Allies.
The German aim was, as Hitler clearly stated, to ‘erase the abscess’. A German victory can be achieved
by pushing beyond the front lines of February 19th, the last day of Fischfang. If the Germans capture
Anzio the game will end with a German instant victory
Any outcome along the historical front lines between February 3rd, the beginning for the battle of the
thumb, and February 19th, the day Fischfang was canceled, is regarded as a draw.
Rome
The Allied player can take Rome, but it will not produce an instant Allied victory and except for the
release of German reserves, which will be released before the Allies reach the outskirts of the city, it
won’t influence German actions at all - Rome was not the objective, pushing to Rome means exposing
Allied flanks in open terrain. Advancing to Valmontone and or the Alban Hills on the other hand sees
VI Corps' flanks in formidable defensive terrain (Moletta Creek, Alban Hills, Monti Lepini, Mussolini
Canal). As General Penney, commander of British 1st Infantry Division stated: “We could have had
one night in Rome and one and a half years in POW camps.”
The EEV
The occupation of certain locations will increase the EEV value. On reaching certain values‚ a
simulated dice-roll determines whether the German 10th Army retreats from the Gustav Line due to
the danger of their lines of communication getting cut-off. Failing such a check leads to 10th Army's
withdrawal and results in an Allied Sudden Death victory.
EEV Values and Victory Chances
German re-occupations of EEV locations will lower the variable value
accordingly. The trigger locations can change hands multiple (in fact:
infinite) times with the variable value going up and down with each
occupation/re-occupation event. Important: Once a probability check has
failed it won’t be repeated a second time should the according variable
value be reached again. It wouldn’t make sense if the Germans decided to
abandon the Gustav Line under the same circumstances under which they
had decided to stand fast just a couple of hours or days ago. This also
prevents gamey play: Abandoning such an objective after a failed check and leaving it to the German
player with the purpose of taking it back again to get a second chance for a successful sudden death roll
won’t work. Furthermore, the Allied player is advised to protect the base of his beachhead accordingly
as a permanent loss of one of the 20 EEV point locations makes it almost impossible to achieve a
variable value required for a sudden death roll. The following chart and map give an overview of the
locations contributing to the EEV value:
