33rd Battle of the Isonzo - part 3

 

The Alpini assault was followed up by two companies of Arditi assault troops.  Meanwhile the Bersaglieri battalion moved up, encouraged by it's very noisy band.

But down the hill came the Austrian reserves and further unpleasantness ensued.

The Arditi took the position - just - but here come the stormtroopers!

The Bersaglieri managed to see them off - at a cost...

...and soon the rest of the battalion surged up to the top.

Just in time, the Austrian CO skulked off with his mountain gun battery...

...while down below the Bersaglieri band practiced for the surely inevitable victory parade.

A very entertaining game to run - well done to all the players for entering in to the spirit of the thing and for donating photos.

And finally: 

In the comments in the 32nd battle (see here), regular reader Brad DeSantis mentioned that his grandfather had fought - in the Alpini - during the Great War.  I duly named one of the figures as Caporal Maggiore Victor DeSantis.  Not only was he (the figure) present at this battle, but unlike a lot of his chums, he survived!  A small tribute to his service.

33rd Battle of the Isonzo - part 2

 

The Italian attack was led off by the Alpini battalion - off they went, dodging between the shellbursts.

Meanwhile, atop Hill 177 an  Austrian company was comfortable in it's trenches...

...until they fell victim to a well-aimed (or just plain lucky) Italian stonk.  Ouch!

The Alpini seemed to be doing well, as their timing skills were put to the test...

...but the Austrians weren't giving in easily.

From the valley it looked a very big hill!

Casualties soon mounted in among the Alpini.

Eventually the Alpini prevailed, but as they consolidated their position...

...the Austrians moved forward their reserve company.

Were the Austrians about to counter-attack?

        Would the Italian artillery ever hit anything else?

                    Find out in part 3 coming soon!

33rd Battle of the Isonzo - part 1

 The earlier, 32nd battle (see here and many other posts), was a fun game to run and play.  Having added to my Italian forces last year, another visit to this front seemed timely.  Thus it was that a few of us gathered to wonder at my latest creation - an even bigger tabletop mountain!

The Italian starting positions are in some or all of the woods nearest the camera, The Austrians are atop the alp.

Italian Brigade HQ admiring it's quarters.

All the old favourites were here - the Italian soup kitchen.....

...and the Austrian senior officers' latrine!

Having set up and issued briefings, the next step was some air recce...

...the Italians found what they were pretty sure was a mountain...

...while their opposite numbers were able to hazard a guess that an attack was imminent.  Well done chaps.

The Italian heavy artillery batteries firing from off table.  Or another table.

This was the debut outing of a rather lovely FIAT lorry.

Meanwhile, uphill, the Austrian gunners sneak forward a mountain battery.  What a rotten trick!

The opening bombardment.  I made both sides' gunners fire blind- the Austrians from behind the mountain and the Italians from behind a screen.  The results were entertainingly erratic.

A commanding position!

32nd Battle of the Isonzo - Infantry Assault - part 2

 or:   In The Soup?  

The final instalment of this particular game.

As we return to the mountain, the surviving Bersaglieri and Arditi have consolidated on the plateau...

...while the heroic Alpini - though somewhat reduced in numbers - have succeeded in taking the bunker.

But it's not all good news for the Italians - here come the KUK stormtroops in a desperate counterattack!  The Alpini are in possession of the bunker but the Austrians are well tooled up with new-fangled automatic weapons.  Could go either way really.

The Austrian company dug in on Hill 49 - still strangely inactive.

In yet another feat of heroism the Alpini beat off the counterattack - but from the original battalion only a platoon remains!  At this point we drew the action to a close and agreed on the following:

The Alpini, while clearly victorious were in no position to repel another attack, so they'd sneak back down the mountain after dark.

The Bersaglieri were in no condition to advance further and would also slip away after nightfall.

The A-H reserve Co would continue to hold Hill 49 and might dispatch a platoon towards Hill 171, hoping to hold the line until reinforcements arrive.

The mule train goes forward to retrieve casualties.

And finally - the real reason the attack faltered?  Here we see excited Bersaglieri queueing for the minestrone ration.

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 - map and air recce photos

 Strictly speaking this post should have come before the previous post but {insert feeble excuse here}....

Above -  the view from Hill 43.   Below - the view from point B.

Above is the map -  a fine example of the art of cartography and well down to the standard of the actual terrain.  The playing area was about 5 feet from N-S and 6 feet from E-W.  I mentioned the Italian forces in the previous post - the KUK mustered two companies of mountain troops, 2 MGs in bunkers and a reserve Stormtroop platoon.

The intrepid aviators of both sides returned safely and soon staff were studying their photography. The first three are Italian photos. The aviators reported trenches , communication routes and clear evidence of Austrian defences and Italian preparations.

The next three are Austrian