32nd Battle of the Isonzo - the Infantry assault - part 1

Or: Climb Every Mountain....

 Having told Martin (the A-H CO) that the occupants of his command bunker were stunned by gas for 3 turns, this was the sight which greeted me when I fired up Zoom on Wednesday night:

And you though the silly hats were frivolous!

Speaking of silly hats, here are the Bersaglieri (left) and Arditi plodding forward.  Their ranks  - especially the Arditi - had been thinned by the Austrian artillery barrage.

While the others toiled through the snow the mountain-trained Alpini surged up the hill.  The Austrian machine gunners caused a few more casualties but the Alpini were soon out of sight...

...in this fuzzy but atmospheric photo they can be seen preparing for the assault on Hill 171.

They made it up the final slope and the scene was set for an assault.

Meanwhile the Bersaglieri and Arditi engaged the battered KUK company on the plateau...

...and soon prevailed.  

By now the Alpini had endured a further burst from the MG in the bunker....

...but there were still, as an Austrian spokesman commented "hundreds of the bastards!"

We will pause now and return for the thrilling conclusion soon.  At which point these important questions will be answered:

        Will the Alpini capture Hill 171?

                    Will the Austrians counter-attack?

                                    Did Martin suffocate in his gas mask?

                                                        Is the minestrone ready yet?

32nd Battle of the Isonzo - artillery bombardment

 On Tuesday evening, having fed back to the players the results of the photo recce and received their final plans, we gathered by Zoom for a short session and executed the artillery fire plans.  Having fired off the ammo and had a chat, I ended the call and resolved the fire.  The effects were reported to the targets by email.  But of course there was no time to alter the plans as - in game terms - the assault began the moment the barrage lifted.

The KUK company dug in behind the crest of Hill 49.

Despite my notoriously poor gunnery many of the shells (they look a lot like matchsticks) actually landed on the table!  some of the resulting gunsmoke had a sinister greenish tinge - much coughing resulted - especially among the KUK company on the plateau.

Italian Infantry (the figures are Dulcop Bersaglieri) gather at A.  They seem very keen!

The gas thinned the KUK ranks and the wind carried it North.

The Italians poised to surge forward.

Entertainingly a gas shell hit the bunker on Hill 43.  This was occupied by not only an HMG but also the KUK Battalion CO (Martin).  He was not a happy man - especially after I revealed that both HQ and MG were stunned for D6 turns....

Two companies of Arditi on the Italian centre. All are either chucking grenades or brandishing knives.

The disturbing view from the Italian lines - that's a big hill!

Alpini prepare to assault - more Dulcop figures.

Italian Alpini

I have a battalion-worth of these old but very charismatic Dulcop figures and recently managed to coax a few in front of the camera.  Some might find fault with the rather flamboyant poses but I rather like them.  And they are, when all is said and done, toy soldiers.

And I'm not the only fan of these chaps - see also here.