In the name of Roma - WWII Scenarios for Winter 1941 - A Personal review

Last month I was asked by fellow blogger Chris Stoeson from Wargamer's Odds and Ends to review his soon to be released PDF set of WWII scenarios based on the actions of the 80th Roma Infantry Regiment on the Eastern Front from August to December 1941.
The scenarios are designed to be used for three sets of rules the TwoFatLardies ruleset "I Ain't Been Shot Mum 3rd edition, Troops Weapons and Tactics and also Chain of Command.

Now I don't claim to be a WWII expert at all, if anything I've only a basic historical knowledge, but I had no clue whatsoever that the Italian army fought the Russians in Russia during WWII.

Chris on the other hand did, he has produced a string of fascinating facts about the CSIR or the Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia. From the 10th of July 1941 when they were first mobilized until around the 12th December when winter weather forced them and the Germans to halt their attacks.

These facts include the story of the Italian hero, Santino Lutri, who advanced forward on the town of Pokrovskoje on his motorbike along with his compatriot Germano Narduzzi. Unfortunately their bikes became bogged down in mud along the road while trying to free them they came under Soviet fire from machine-guns, anti tank guns, artillery, small arms and even seven tanks! Lutri and Narduzzi were both wounded but remained exposed to gather information as to the positions of the Soviet armour and weapons, only after he was sure the intelligence was correct did Lutri manage to return to headquarters to report his findings, he also insisted that his partner Narduzzi's wounds to be attended to first even though he had a serious chest wound. This concern for his fellow soldier cost Lutri his life. For his actions he was awarded the first "Medaglia d'oro al valor militare" The Gold Bravery Military Medal of the Eastern Front. He became the first Italian casualty in the East.

The booklet runs a full 152 pages and includes optional rule amendments for the three sets already mentioned including a Padre Card which is very similar to the Big Man card in IABSM and the Avanti! card which can only be used by aggressive troops, much like the Uhraah! card.

Chris also included detailed information on the composition of both the Italian and Russian armies including support, weapons and armour.

But the main focus should be on the 6 Campaigns. Each Campaign has between 4 and 6 scenarios in them including detailed maps of the terrain for the gamer to layout on their tabletop, all in all there are 30 scenarios, including the great named Cabbages and Wells. These campaign's will run you through the trials and tribulations of the Italian and Russian forces during their bitter fight for survival.

Here's the Soviet Briefing for scenario 4 in Campaign 4 - Cabbages and Wells

"Your men are exhausted. Your battalion has been relocating peasants further back East. Your men have been under orders to burn these small villages, poison wells and make sure nothing is left behind for the fascists. Your company commander nearly broke down when he stooped to pick up a small child’s doll that was left in front of the smoldering ruins of the last village. The lives that are being ruined are beginning to get to all of you. One more village lies ahead. You have been promised that you will be taken to the rear after this."

Objective

Burn the town. Poison the well. Deny the town to the enemy. The 3rd squad has a cart with

combustibles for the houses and poison for the well.

and the Italian

"As the column continues grinding forward, your platoon has led the way. You are moving rapidly from village to village to reach the next objective. So far, you have passed through a hellish landscape. The villages you have found recently have been burned ruins. The harvests have been either burned in place or removed. You see a thin column of smoke on the horizon. What you assumed was another burned out and destroyed village turned out to be smoke from a chimney. It looks like this town has not faced the ravages of the Soviets. Best to seize this before it is destroyed. Besides a good night sleep in a building would be welcome. Last night you were strapped to a tree to avoid sliding under the mud."

Objective

Take the village before it is destroyed.

So if your interested in WWII and if you fancy something a little different from the more well known theatres of the war,  for the measly sum of US $11, you can purchase this fine piece of work.

To buy the PDF file all you have to do is send Chris a Paypal payment of $11 to     cstoesen@corecard.com, then he will email it back to you asap. 

For a FREE sample of the rules click the following LINK

Even if WWII's not really your thing or you've no interest in fighting the Italian-Russian campaign in 1941, you could modify the scenarios to any period and or any rule set you prefer. I've got my eye on the Cabbages and Wells scenario for a FIW game already!!!

Ray