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‘Operation Battleaxe’ and ‘Gazala: The Cauldron’ Available from Revolution Games

Dec 21, 2013

Two new wargaming titles are available from Revolution Games which are sure to be of interest to grognards in general and fans of WWII desert warfare in particular. Operation Battleaxe is shipping December 27th and looks to be a strategic level look at the June 1941 Allied operations to lift the siege at Tobruk while Gazala: The Cauldron zooms into the action south of Tobruk in the Spring of 1942 and that title is available right now.

Operation Battleaxe carries an MSRP of $35.00 and Gazala: The Cauldron can be had for a cool $38.00.

From Revolution Games:

Operation Battleaxe is a quick-playing depiction of the June 1941 Allied offensive in the North African desert. The Allies possess more tanks, including the “Queen of the Desert,” the Matilda, and have mastery of the air. Crossing the Egyptian border into Libya their mission is simple: destroy the Afrika Korps, and lift the siege of Tobruk! The Axis forces in the path of the Allied advance occupy well-prepared strongpoints, and lurking somewhere behind them are the German panzers – and Rommel, “The Desert Fox.” The next three days of battle will decide the course of the war in the desert for months to come.

Utilizing a new and streamlined version of the “area-impulse” system players will experience the uncertainty of the desert battlefield. Each turn will contain a variable number of impulses, and both players will be challenged to determine whether it is better to attack first, or defend and then counter-attack. Having committed one’s infantry and armor to battle, artillery support may or may not be available. To win the Allied player must exploit his numerical edge in armor and artillery, plus airpower, to capture Axis positions and destroy German units. The Axis player must exploit his greater speed, operational flexibility and superior battlefield recovery, to recover lost ground and destroy Allied units. Fast, furious, and chess-like, this is a game for players who love concentrated action!

Gazala: The Cauldron simulates the mobile portions of the battle of Gazala south of Tobruk between May 27 and June 14 1942. An Axis attack was met by a furious Allied counter-attack which then developed into a grinding battle of attrition and maneuver that finally ended in massive Axis victory.

Alternating random activation by formation provides player with uncertainty and high re-playability as no two games will be alike. Each turn player receive a varying number of activations to represent the supply levels, command confusion, fatigue and intelligence of their armies and this leads to an ebb and flow to the battle as each side is dominant at different times. After units move, strengths are educed to simulate fatigue and lack of defensive preparation making counter-attacking key to the game. Minefields, airpower, anti-tank abilities and the armor versus infantry conflict are all modeled in a simple and effective set of rules.

There are two scenarios with a playing time of 3-7 hours.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...