Reply To: Historical and Modern Wargaming – Where the "Fluff" is Real Life

[oriskany 60771xp 2]

German Counterattack at Salerno (Panzer Leader – 80th Anniversary)

This weekend marks another important 80th Anniversary in World War II history: Operation Avalanche and the Allied invasion of mainland Italy in September, 1943.  More specifically, on September 12, 13, and 14 we saw a powerful German counterattack mounted by elements of 16th Panzer Division (XIV Panzer Corps) that damned near could have driven a big part of the Allied bridgehead back into the sea.

This is the counterattack we’re recreating in a game of Avalon Hill’s classic Panzer Leader, with “Kampfgruppe Stempel” of the 16th Panzer Division hitting 143rd US Infantry Regiment, 36th Division along the Calore River near Salerno, Italy.