Tbf it does have one of the longest wargames to play ever made dedicated: The Campaign for North Africa. An estimated completion time of 1500 hours and recommended 10 players with a 3m map board. It goes into ridiculously complex detail like Italian troops using more water because they cook pasta and every unit losing 3% of their fuel a turn due to evaporation(except the British who lose 7% a turn to represent the poorer storage method of oil drums in comparison to the Jerry can used by the Italians and Germans)
Yes, it will be great to see this theatre played out on your channel. A lot of British What-if histories start with the possibility of the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal. Shows just how important the North African campaign was to the pre-Pearl Harbour war.
Honestly I absolutely love to see a Pyrrhic style campaign in North Africa. As I love desert warfare (in ww2) and I would love to see the interesting dynamics yall always include (Weather in a campaign for example)
My sons and I are planning to refight the 1st gun-armed tank battle in North Africa which occurred at Gabr al Ahmar. A very competent Italian Tank Officer, Col. Aresca led the 4th Tank Regiment with a combined arms force including M11/39's, Bersaglieri and Royal Artillery against elements of the 7th Armored Brigade with A9 Cruisers. The Italians won the 1st gun armed tank battle in North Africa on 5 August 1940. Aresca was trying out combine arms and it was working. (Before the appearance of the Matilda) I totally agree with your assessment of the Italian Army. Folgore, the Bersaglieri, Royal Artillery and Ariete fought well and competently.
TBF, the British did not know that the Italian 11/39s were coming at Gabr al Ahmar. These early battles are fascinating, some great scenarios in both the Too Fat Lardy books and Chadwick's "Benghazi Handicap", possibly the source for the two presented here.
Seeing the Aussies in a Wargame gives me hope of a NZ themed Wargame. Either way great episode and lovely to see Italy and its beautiful hats!!!!!!! Great work and keep it up.
The common Italian soldier gets a bad reputation. Rommel said when properly led they were as good as his German soldiers. Italian officers acted as an elite and had luxuries on campaign, never sharing the hardships of their men. Always root for Miles , today was not his day. Tony for El Duce lol. Great video guys
Absolutely , I have a reasonably large force of old GHQ and CnC AFV , Guns , transport and infantry. Maybe this will inspire me to pull it out after many , Manu years.
As the late, great Richard Berg said, unless Italian forces have to account for extra water rations for their soldiers to boil pasta, the game isn't truly a Campaign For North Africa.
Something you guys might try is using Sam Mustafa s Rommel for large operational desert battles. We did a large Crusader game a year back that worked really well, inspired by your Normandy game. And this summer we are doing the Gazala battles.
@@gavinpearson74 Similiar to what LWTV did with the Normandy game, we played with microarmor (1:285) with units mounted on 2” by 1.5@ bases. Our grid squares are 100mm. We expanded the desert scale closer to 2km per square to allow for representing a large area from just west of Bardia to the eastern defenses of Tobruk. Artillery ranges were adjusted to the new scale but we preserved the stacking and each unit was representing a reinforced company on the table. We figured the unique desert environment made thinner formations and more extended frontages supportable at the increased ground scale. This also allowed us to represent almost the entire Africa Korps and the 8th army involved in Crusader on a 10’ x 6’ table. Turn scale was also condensed to 12 turns per day with a night turn following. The Rommel rules were ideal for simply representing the free for all that ensued-very much in line with WWII western desert warfare. With formations fighting to pin and encircle each other we very much had a naval battle on land as you might expect.
I say, General Miles Louch got quite the promotion to field marshal. Sadly, he is now known as 'Bloody Slouch'. A tip of the pith to Generalissmo Grigori for his stout defense of the airfield. Fantastic games all in all Little Wars team. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Yes you should return to North Africa. Ed delivered the goods with this game set on two tables. You guys could try a game set in the East Africa campaign in WW2.
LOL Love the intro comments about the British being scattered. The western desert is my favourite campaign in WWII and the British have a long, proud tradition of scattering their forces. OMG that terrain is gorgeous. I love Gregg's helmet. Yes please for the follow up battles. Also this is not a criticism, but I really like games with a bit more fog of war aspect. Confuse and bewilder those players, Mr. Referee!
Very timely - A friend and I are about to (tonight) start a campaign - starting at Tummar West Dec 1940 - right at the start of Compass (using Rapid fire reloaded)
Absolutely please I would love to see the rest of the campaign finished. My wife's grandfather fought and was injured during this campaign and it's always held an interest to me after finding that out.
It's always refreshing to see a theater of the Second World War that ISN'T D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge or the Eastern Front. I would love to see more of how the Matilda II became the Queen of the Desert! wouldn't mind seeing Fall of France, Greco-Italian War, Talvisota, or Continuation War games either.
Love the desert war, and the games were very well presented with lovely tables and nice equipment (external stowage added to 1/285 tanks?!). Do feel compelled to note that the final comments about the historical Mechilli are off. All accounts I've read say both sides lost half a dozen tanks, the British lights initially fleeing the M13s until British cruisers arrived, shot a half dozen M13s without loss, at which point the Italians withdrew. So it was a fight, mostly a draw, but the Italians were discouraged enough to abandon the local over night.
Another fine wargaming video. Thanks for putting it out. Of course, like everyone else, I'd like to see more! Only reservation - the accusation of Italian 'cowardice' was never directly addressed. I think we all know their problems stemmed from poor training, equipment, senior command and logistics.
guys those videos are amazing and the campain of the desert is sometimes overlooked so i incourag you guys to continue the hole desert series and love you guys
My late father in law served in the 4th Indian Division in the desert. He always gave the Italians their due as hard fighters; he said their problem was poor generalship and lack of transport.
Well, no one is going to say 'no' to another...and another... Yet another brilliant half-hour video, with verve, wit and imagination. I don't know how they manage to create so much consistent and frequent quality!
Yes! The African campaign is not represented enough in wargaming.
We are doing east Africa as a tester before moving onto the big one North Africa th-cam.com/video/iNskn-wAyqs/w-d-xo.html
Tbf it does have one of the longest wargames to play ever made dedicated: The Campaign for North Africa.
An estimated completion time of 1500 hours and recommended 10 players with a 3m map board. It goes into ridiculously complex detail like Italian troops using more water because they cook pasta and every unit losing 3% of their fuel a turn due to evaporation(except the British who lose 7% a turn to represent the poorer storage method of oil drums in comparison to the Jerry can used by the Italians and Germans)
Haha yes, I know of that one. But thats not a game, it's a life style.
@@deeznoots6241 Which is, if anything, perhaps a bit too much representation.
Desert warfare is almost always dramatic in both the tactical and operational level. I'm definitely interested to see more.
Ed put on a fine wargame and the video was fun to watch. I DEFINITELY would like to see more!
Yes! Give us the rest of the campaign! Like Greg said, it was really cool to see the Italians take center stage for once.
"Fosters" - drunk by literally no Australian - warm or cold - free or paid...EVER 😂
Another great show - thank you Ed and gang ❤
“Il Duce!” Shouted with the energy I might invoke the Emperors favor playing imperial guard in 40K! Made me cackle, the hat really adds to it
Well we do love funny hats around here. That’s for sure…
Thanks for the disclaimer about Benito, I was worried.
Yes, it will be great to see this theatre played out on your channel. A lot of British What-if histories start with the possibility of the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal. Shows just how important the North African campaign was to the pre-Pearl Harbour war.
It also was really important in the post Pearl Harbor war as it saw the first deployment of Americans in the European theater
Ed episodes are my favorite episodes.
Honestly I absolutely love to see a Pyrrhic style campaign in North Africa. As I love desert warfare (in ww2) and I would love to see the interesting dynamics yall always include (Weather in a campaign for example)
Please make this a series 👍 this was awesome
Definitely more North Africa please!
Absolutely return to the North Africa. This was a great video.
Yes, give us more of North Africa.
This balanced engagement alone shows the potential for future fun and mayhem. Yes please.
My sons and I are planning to refight the 1st gun-armed tank battle in North Africa which occurred at Gabr al Ahmar. A very competent Italian Tank Officer, Col. Aresca led the 4th Tank Regiment with a combined arms force including M11/39's, Bersaglieri and Royal Artillery against elements of the 7th Armored Brigade with A9 Cruisers. The Italians won the 1st gun armed tank battle in North Africa on 5 August 1940. Aresca was trying out combine arms and it was working. (Before the appearance of the Matilda) I totally agree with your assessment of the Italian Army. Folgore, the Bersaglieri, Royal Artillery and Ariete fought well and competently.
TBF, the British did not know that the Italian 11/39s were coming at Gabr al Ahmar. These early battles are fascinating, some great scenarios in both the Too Fat Lardy books and Chadwick's "Benghazi Handicap", possibly the source for the two presented here.
Terrific video that! Really enjoyed it!
Seeing the Aussies in a Wargame gives me hope of a NZ themed Wargame. Either way great episode and lovely to see Italy and its beautiful hats!!!!!!! Great work and keep it up.
You’ll probably get so see them in the 3rd El Alamein episode.
Did you spot the Kiwi Bren Carriers in some of the intro video? G'day from across the Tasman
The common Italian soldier gets a bad reputation. Rommel said when properly led they were as good as his German soldiers. Italian officers acted as an elite and had luxuries on campaign, never sharing the hardships of their men. Always root for Miles , today was not his day. Tony for El Duce lol. Great video guys
Please finish this campaign, I was gripped the entire time!
It's always fun to see the Italians and Brits struggle with inter-war tank designs.
Can't wait to see more of the North African campaign on your channel
Well done, Ed! Yes, more North Africa games, please.
Please do continue with the North Africa series! All the best.
So look forward to your vlogs
13:23 gunfire sound reminds me of my ol 'Steel Panther' game days on my Pentium2 computer.
My vote is to Keep calm and carry on - with more North African scenarios.
Absolutely , I have a reasonably large force of old GHQ and CnC AFV , Guns , transport and infantry. Maybe this will inspire me to pull it out after many , Manu years.
The ED fan club approves this episode and this series 👍🏻
Our moar ED 2023 campaign has paid off. YES!!!!!!!!
As the late, great Richard Berg said, unless Italian forces have to account for extra water rations for their soldiers to boil pasta, the game isn't truly a Campaign For North Africa.
Can't wait to see more North Africa campaigns
Certainly would love to see more action in the desert!
Another vote yes for more of the North African campaign and glad to finally see the great GHQ MicroArmour on LWTV!
Never clicked off another video so fast, to watch tiny soldiers do battle. Love these battles!
Something you guys might try is using Sam Mustafa s Rommel for large operational desert battles.
We did a large Crusader game a year back that worked really well, inspired by your Normandy game. And this summer we are doing the Gazala battles.
Interested to know more…as very tempted by Sam’s rules set Rommel…but only tried a small game so far.
@@gavinpearson74 Similiar to what LWTV did with the Normandy game, we played with microarmor (1:285) with units mounted on 2” by 1.5@ bases. Our grid squares are 100mm.
We expanded the desert scale closer to 2km per square to allow for representing a large area from just west of Bardia to the eastern defenses of Tobruk. Artillery ranges were adjusted to the new scale but we preserved the stacking and each unit was representing a reinforced company on the table. We figured the unique desert environment made thinner formations and more extended frontages supportable at the increased ground scale.
This also allowed us to represent almost the entire Africa Korps and the 8th army involved in Crusader on a 10’ x 6’ table. Turn scale was also condensed to 12 turns per day with a night turn following.
The Rommel rules were ideal for simply representing the free for all that ensued-very much in line with WWII western desert warfare. With formations fighting to pin and encircle each other we very much had a naval battle on land as you might expect.
Great game from a CRIMINALLY underrepresented theatre of war. Bravery and daring were off the charts in the African theatre.
This is one of those channels where I automatically hit the like button, even before I’ve watched the video
I say, General Miles Louch got quite the promotion to field marshal. Sadly, he is now known as 'Bloody Slouch'. A tip of the pith to Generalissmo Grigori for his stout defense of the airfield. Fantastic games all in all Little Wars team. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Well presented games, thank you for putting the video together. I hope you look at some additional battles in the desert in due course.
Lovely table!
Yes you should return to North Africa. Ed delivered the goods with this game set on two tables. You guys could try a game set in the East Africa campaign in WW2.
Gents, great game, lovely terrain…look forward to more desert games & will have to get a copy of fistfull of tows. Seems to play really well….thanks
A great set of rules for bigger battles. I highly recommend it
More of the North Africa campaign and Ed please. Such a great episode.
LOL Love the intro comments about the British being scattered. The western desert is my favourite campaign in WWII and the British have a long, proud tradition of scattering their forces. OMG that terrain is gorgeous. I love Gregg's helmet. Yes please for the follow up battles. Also this is not a criticism, but I really like games with a bit more fog of war aspect. Confuse and bewilder those players, Mr. Referee!
Nice video and it seemed to be a couple of fun games. Return to North Africa, please!
That was a most enjoyable pair of games. Lovely tables, definitely want to see more North African action.
Very timely - A friend and I are about to (tonight) start a campaign - starting at Tummar West Dec 1940 - right at the start of Compass (using Rapid fire reloaded)
I absolutely want to see the North Africa campaign in wargame! Do it!
Yes! Another battle report finally.
Yes, bring it on!
Great job and looking forward to seeing the rest of the North African campaign!!
Absolutely return, WW2 North Africa is one of the best back and forth, lots of what ifs also...
Thanks for going to North Africa, the most interesting theater in my opinion.
Something about it always captures the imagination. There’s a kind of odd romanticism of the desert war that lingers
Great Report with some of your best Players - background music was the cherry on the cake though!
I think a whole desert campaign would be an amazing series to watch!
Keep it up. Would love to see more North African War games or even the Italian Campaign
Great fun. I'd love more Africa content.
Absolutely please I would love to see the rest of the campaign finished. My wife's grandfather fought and was injured during this campaign and it's always held an interest to me after finding that out.
It's always refreshing to see a theater of the Second World War that ISN'T D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge or the Eastern Front. I would love to see more of how the Matilda II became the Queen of the Desert!
wouldn't mind seeing Fall of France, Greco-Italian War, Talvisota, or Continuation War games either.
I could watch this as a whole season, more please!
Lovely work. An underrated campaign
Great game - please continue the desert war series.
The Desert War was pivotal to WW2, before El Alamein we never won a battle after, we never lost one. More please.
Fantastic game! The Western Desert Campaign is my favorite theater and period of WWII. Looking forward to the next battle!
Always a fan of "fog of war", GM'ed games, and house rules. Well done, Ed!
Love early north africa! Thank you!
Yes, definitely it will be great to see this theatre played out on your channel.
Yes! Would love to see more!
Absolutely would love to see additional battles
great game, love the 6mm WWII games, and looking forward to the rest of your planned North Africa games!
This was a great video! I definitely want to see more.
Love the desert war, and the games were very well presented with lovely tables and nice equipment (external stowage added to 1/285 tanks?!). Do feel compelled to note that the final comments about the historical Mechilli are off. All accounts I've read say both sides lost half a dozen tanks, the British lights initially fleeing the M13s until British cruisers arrived, shot a half dozen M13s without loss, at which point the Italians withdrew. So it was a fight, mostly a draw, but the Italians were discouraged enough to abandon the local over night.
Another fine wargaming video. Thanks for putting it out. Of course, like everyone else, I'd like to see more! Only reservation - the accusation of Italian 'cowardice' was never directly addressed. I think we all know their problems stemmed from poor training, equipment, senior command and logistics.
Always love the sound effects during the battle.
guys those videos are amazing and the campain of the desert is sometimes overlooked so i incourag you guys to continue the hole desert series and love you guys
I liked the rhetorical question at the end…… of course we want more war games from this theatre
Love when you guys play campaigns - makes each battle matter more.
Fantastic looking game, thanks for putting it on
Greg likes playing the Italians because he gets to wear the fantastic pith helmet!
Yes... the desert campaign will be very funny to watch...
Yes definitely want to see more! Also a review/game of "Bomber Command" which I saw in the background and have struggled to find much about.
Great to see a desert war game. Nice to see some recognition to the Australian actions in the war. More due in future scenarios.
A great game! Keep rolling with the desert games!! North Africa needs more air time!!!
Nice to see you adopting Commomwealth military terminology "bolloxed". 🙂
Except it was the British Empire, not the Commonwealth.
@@grahamtravers4522 The Commonwealth has been called the Commonwealth since 1926 so he’s correct
North Africa has always been one of my favorite theatres! I would love to see more wargames for this period!
Great video, great tables and figures. Really looking forward to seeing the rest of the battles
Yes, Please, more North Africa Campaigning
Great game, very enjoyable watch, and yes, it makes the heart sing to these English ears to hear the word "Bollocksed" eminate from American lips😅
Fantastic content fellas, please keep it coming.
You always give us great Battle-Reports! Thanks so much!
Great map, would love to see more modern battles
More modern you say? You’ll very much enjoy our NEXT wargame then!
@@LittleWarsTV oh you teases!
My late father in law served in the 4th Indian Division in the desert. He always gave the Italians their due as hard fighters; he said their problem was poor generalship and lack of transport.
I have only a vague understanding of the war outside Europe. Would love to see some Rommel.
Yes! Please do return to this theatre!
Also: great game - thanks, Chaps!
I use GHQ miins and tiles. Great stuff.
Well, no one is going to say 'no' to another...and another... Yet another brilliant half-hour video, with verve, wit and imagination. I don't know how they manage to create so much consistent and frequent quality!
This was great! Thank you guys for all the cool content.
Another great video. Fascinating stuff 👍🏻
I would love to see the rest of the North African campaign. Thank you
Yes, please continue the North Africa Campaign. Ed please do more . I really enjoyed this video of WWII battle.