Flames of War Desert Starter Set - Tobruk (Italian vs Britian)

Flames of War Desert Starter Set - Tobruk (Italian vs Britian)

Tobruk is the ultimate Mid-War starter set and contains a Complete A5 Rulebook, as well as a British Army (3x Grant tanks, 3x Sherman tanks, 6x Crusader tanks) and Italian Army (5x M14/41 tanks, 5x Semovente Assault Guns, 2x 88mm guns).

The Crusader

The light squadrons of the armored regiments embody the dash and daring of the British cavalry. Fast and maneuverable but not as heavily armored as the enemy panzers, they use speed and cover to protect themselves. They are often relegated to scouting or protecting the flanks of the regiment while their heavy cousins, the Grants, take the fight to the enemy. The Crusader entered service in November 1941, in time for Operation Crusader, the offensive in late 1941 that was named after the new tank. Although the Crusader is vulnerable to enemy fire and prone to certain mechanical difficulties, its speed and cross-country maneuverability is admired both by its own crews and their German and Italian foes.

Grant Tank

British armored regiments were delighted to receive the new American-made M3 Grant tank, which gave them a tank with a gun as good as those on the German panzers, with armor to match. Rushed into service to meet the urgent need for a heavy 75mm-armed tank it took the Germans by surprise. Its thick armor and powerful 75mm gun are superior to most of the German panzers. Its only real downside is its height, which makes it a conspicuous target in the desert. The placement of the 75mm gun makes it difficult to conceal the tank in a hull-down position behind terrain. At Alam el Halfa, with time to prepare a static defense, the British were able to partly overcome these difficulties by carefully choosing the placement of each Grant.

Sherman Tank

The new Sherman tank was the next evolutionary step from the powerful Grant tank. Its large turret allowed it to mount an even more powerful 75mm gun in the turret rather than the hull front, and with thicker armor.

M14/41 Tank

The 14-tonne M14/41 tank of 1941 was an upgrade of the older M13/40, featuring a more powerful engine fitted with sand filters. Despite its armour and armament remaining somewhat inadequate, the carristi manning these tanks did their duty and fought bravely against any odds. While the M14/41 is outclassed in tank-versus tank fighting, it is an excellent weapon against enemy infantry. It has plenty of machine-gun firepower to keep the enemy pinned down while it moves into position and an effective high explosive round for engaging anti-tank guns.

Semovente

Italy was quick to follow Germany’s lead in creating assault guns mounting large guns in turretless self-propelled mountings. The first of these, the Semovente (semovente meaning self-propelled), mounted the 75/18 short (L/18) 75mm howitzer on the chassis of the M14/41 tank. Not only did the Semovente mount a bigger gun, it was also more heavily armored, thanks to no longer needing a turret. Although initially intended as a close-support artillery piece, the fact that the Semovente carried a bigger gun than the tanks it supported quickly led to its use as a tank-destroyer, and then as a tank in its own right. By the time of the Tunisian fighting, the Semovente made up approximately half of the Italian armored force in theatre, giving them significantly greater punch than in earlier battles in the desert.

88mm Anti-Aircraft Guns

When production of their own 90m heavy anti-aircraft gun failed to keep pace with demand, the Italians purchased German 88mm anti-aircraft guns to make up the numbers. Like the Germans, the Italians used the deadly '88' as a heavy anti-tank gun, giving them the range and punch to knock out any Allied tank, even the Sherman, at ranges where the tanks could not strike back. The 88mm anti-aircraft gun is accurate out to a range of several kilometers, giving it the ability to knock out tanks beyond the range at which they can reply.