Mikonos Mayhem

The BKC campaign game this evening turned out to be very much not what I expected. The British did bring along the kitchen sink including several tanks, loads of infantry and even a last minute Greek resistance paratroop drop, but the Italians fought them to a standstill nonetheless. The Italians landed first and had the support of the local Organisation X partisans, who proved to be a valuable asset right through the game.

General Gorgonzola will be dishing out shiny medals to the support company and the mechanised squadron commanders, whose units performed very well in the defence of the bridgehead. The mortar, AT gun and mountain gun were particularly effective, as were the flamethrower tankettes once they closed with the enemy and unleashed their nastiness.

The infantry were less impressive, however, at one point retreating all the way back to the beach in an attempt to bug out back to the landing craft. They rallied later on but still failed to achieve very much in game terms, although this was mainly due to a nasty case of tank fright than any real threat from the opposition. I'm sure they'll do better next time.

I'll be writing a suitably bombastic dispatch to headquarters as soon as I get may act together. I also need to decide what to do next, as the game ended in a bit of stalemate, despite twice as many units being knocked out by the Italians that the British. At the end of the day, the Italians had achieved their objective of capturing the airfield and port but it'll be interesting to see what happens next.

The campaign umpire and my excellent opponent were very tolerant and helpful in steering me through the rules, which I've never quite got a grip on and which still strike me as more of a competition type system than a quick, off the wall game for a bit of fun. The terrain was a bit 'ad hoc' as well but, with a bit more time to set up would have looked a lot better.

My real interest lies in the political side of the campaign, so the games are a bit of a added bonus after all the propaganda and subterfuge, but I'm definately looking forward to the second day of the assault on Mikonos. I may have to paint up some extra units for the next installment, especially if I decide to turn my limited offensive into a full on airborne invasion next turn?