Playing Flames of War games with models appropriate to battle of El Alamein
El Alamein in North Africa is where Rommel's Panzerarmee and the famous Deutsches Afrika Korps were first stopped and then defeated by the British 8th Army. The first battle of El Alamein was July 1942 and halted the Axis advance towards Egypt and the middle east oil fields. While the Panzerarmee was faced with over extended supply lines the 8th Army was able to build up their forces. The second battle of El Alamein saw the British attacking, and occurred over November/December 1942.
Winston Churchill was convinced that the battle of El Alamein marked the turning point in the war and ordered the ringing of church bells all over Britain. He later wrote: "Before Alamein we never had a victory, after Alamein we never had a defeat."
The second battle of El Alamein was the last major battle that the Australian forces took part in during the North Africa campaign. As such this battle is of special interest to Australian players.
The tanks available to the Germans at the 1st Battle of El Alamein (Carver p47) are shown below, and a suggested representation of this in a Flames of War army.
| Tank | Details | Total | FoW Models | Number | Points |
| PzKw IIs | Panzer II (20mm) | 29 | Panzer II F | 3 | 150 |
| PzKw IIIs | Panzer III (50mm L/42) | 93 | Panzer III G, H or J (early) | 5 | 450 |
| PzKw III Specials | Panzer III (50mm L/60) | 71 | Panzer III J (late) | 3 or 4 | 315 or 420 |
| PzKw IVs | Panzer IV (75mm L/24) | 10 | Panzer IV E or F1 | 1 or 0 | 100 or 0 |
| PzKw IV Specials | Panzer IV (75mm L/43) | 26 | Panzer IV F2 or G | 1 or 2 | 145 or 290 |
The tanks available to the Germans at the 2nd Battle of El Alamein (Mitcham p153) are shown below, and a suggested representation of this in a Flames of War army.
| Tank | Details | Total | FoW Models | Number | Points |
| PzKw IIs | Panzer II (20mm) | 30 | Panzer II F | 3 | 150 |
| PzKw IIIs | Panzer III (50mm L/42) | 85 | Panzer III G, H or J (early) | 4 | 360 |
| PzKw III Specials | Panzer III (50mm L/60) | 88 | Panzer III J (late)
or Panzer III L |
4 | 420
to 460 |
| PzKw IVs | Panzer IV (75mm L/24) | 8 | Panzer IV E or F1 | 1 or 0 | 100 or 0 |
| PzKw IV Specials | Panzer IV (75mm L/43) | 30 | Panzer IV F2 or G | 1 or 2 | 145 or 290 |
The Number column is a suggested number of models to use in a Flames of War company, assuming that we use one tank model for every 20 tanks that were available of that type at the battle. Note that strictly speaking this would mean that you only have 1.5 Panzer II tanks, but the minimum platoon size in Flames of War is 3 tanks.
The above gives a total of 13 tanks costing 1175 to 1260 points, which in a 1500 pts force leaves 240 points to 325 points for support choices.
The details of these tanks are shown below.
| Tank | Armour |
Main Gun |
||||
| Range | RoF | AT | FP | Notes | ||
| Panzer II F | 3 / 1 / 1 | 16" | 3 | 5 | 5+ | MG |
| Panzer III G | 5 / 3 / 1 | 24" | 3 | 7 | 4+ | 2 x MG |
| Panzer III J (late) | 5 / 3 / 1 | 24" | 3 | 9 | 4+ | 2 x MG |
| Panzer III L | 6 / 3 / 1 | 24" | 3 | 9 | 4+ | 2 x MG |
| Panzer IV F1 | 5 / 3 / 1 | 24" | 2 | 9 | 3+ | Smoke, bombardment; 2 x MG |
| Panzer IV F2 | 5 / 3 / 1 | 32" | 2 | 11 | 3+ | 2 x MG |
All tanks are Confident Veteran with Protected Ammo.
The tanks available to the British at the 1stBattle of El Alamein (Carver p74) are shown below. The table below also shows how many of these tanks can be used with an Australian force using the Flames of War North Africa book.
| Tank | Total |
Australian Rifle Company |
Divisional Cavalry Squadron | ||
| Models | Pts | Models | Pts | ||
| "Honey" Stuart | 169 | 3* | 200 | 3** | 200 |
| Crusader | 197 | 3* | 230 | 3** | 230 |
| Grant | 164 | 3*** | 280 | ||
| Valentine | 163 | 3* | 160 | ||
The tanks available to the British at the 2nd Battle of El Alamein (Ford, p61) are shown below. The Shermans were dispersed with usually one squadron per armoured regiment.
| Tank | Total |
Australian Rifle Company |
Divisional Cavalry Squadron | ||
| Models | Pts | Models | Pts | ||
| "Honey" Stuart | 119 | 3* | 200 | 3** | 200 |
| Crusader | 294 | 3* | 230 | 3** | 230 |
| Grant | 170 | 3*** | 280 | ||
| Sherman | 250 | 3*** | 340 | ||
| Valentine | 194 | 3* | 160 | ||
| Matilda | 6 | ||||
| Churchills | 3 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
* An Australian Rifle Company can have one platoon of Divisional Cavalry (Australian fearless veteran Stuarts or Crusaders) and up to two platoons of Infantry Tanks (8th Army confident trained Valentines or Matildas). It is assumed that if you are trying to represent a historical force from this battle that the Infantry Tanks would be Valentines rather than the Matildas.
** At the battle of El Alamein in October 1942, the Regiment had on strength 5 M3 Stuart Light Tanks, 15 Crusader Mk 2 Cruiser Tanks and 52 Universal Carriers (Handel).
*** An Australian Divisional Cavalry Squadron can have up to two Heavy Armoured Platoons (8th Army confident trained Grants or Shermans) for support.
The details of these tanks are shown below.
| Tank | Armour |
Main Gun |
||||
| Range | RoF | AT | FP | Notes | ||
| "Honey" Stuart | 3 / 2 / 1 | 24" | 2 | 7 | 4+ | No HE; MG |
| Crusader II | 4 / 2 / 1 | 24" | 2 | 7 | 4+ | No HE; Tally-ho; MG |
| Grant | 5 / 3 / 1 | 32" | 2 | 9 | 3+ | Smoke; 37 mm; HG |
| Sherman II | 6 / 4 / 1 | 32" | 2 | 10 | 3+ | Smoke; 2 x MG |
| Valentine II | 6 / 5 / 1 | 24" | 2 | 7 | 4+ | No HE; MG |
| Matilda II | 7 / 6 / 2 | 24" | 2 | 7 | 4+ | No HE; MG |
Carver, Michael "El Alamein" Fontana 1973.
Ford "El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide". Osprey ISBN 184176 867 7
Handel, Paul "Australian Armour in the Middle East, 1940-1942" 2003 <http://anzacsteel.hobbyvista.com/Armoured Vehicles/australianarmourinthemiddleeastph_1.htm>
Kiehl "Armoured strength at El Alamein vs post-Kasserine" 2007
<http://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=26369>
referencing
Jentz "Panzertruppen"
Marder III (GE104)
<http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144&art_id=1521&kb_cat_id=66>
Mitcham, Samuel "Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps" Stackpole Military History, 2007. ISBN-10: 0-8117-3413-7