PBI desert game

[martin goddard]

[martin goddard]

martin's British defending. Stewart's Italians attacking.  I think?
The able looks nice, which is part of the PBI game aim.


martin

[KevinS]

Very nice looking set up and hope that you won your game. Excellent terrain and look for to playing the new version of PBI🤓👍.

[martin goddard]

Thanks Kevin
Desert always has a nice "look" difference


martin

[Sean Clark]

I agree Martin. There I something about desert games that stir the imagination.

[Panzer21]

The problem with wargames set in the desert in WW2, is the natural temptation for players to fill the board with terrain; conurbations the size of Stalingrad, palm trees and hills everywhere.

Why? To provide cover for infantry.

The reality is somewhat different. The clue is in the name "desert". There were so few distinctive features, that they acquired a name as a navigation point. "Bir" is well, not the palm tree oasis of Beau Geste. A small rocky circle covering an underground well ( filled with salty water). "Sidi" means saint and there was a small tomb building, as at Sidi Rezegh.

Hills. Mostly flat, the slightest rise was a significant feature, such as the "pimple"at Beda Fomm. The only hilly area was the Jebel near Benghazi; it was also "green" that is plants grew there in abundance . Then there are the escarpments; often like cliffs dividing bands of plateaus.

So what should a desert table have?

Wadis. Dry stream beds prone to flooding at rainy times.
Rocks, lots of them. Off the known tracks a common hazard for vehicles as much as...
Soft sand, perilous for wheeled vehicles especially.

If you have a hill, its a significant feature. Unless you are attacking Tobruch, Sollum or other such major place, buildings should be reduced to one, maybe two. Even if attacking such places, it would be fortifications you encounter, not BUA.

For infantry, it was almost impossible to dig in more than a scrape; it was rocky desert. More likely to see piles of stones - a sangar. But, infantry could disappear by lying down flat. There's a contemporary photo showing just that lying down and standing up.

Sorry to go on, but it's a particular bug bear of mine - worst offenders are 28mm - a squad of infantry supported by cruiser tanks, fighting in a desert Stalingrad.....

Neil