Background
After the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939, the Greek General Staff became alerted to a potential Italian attack from Albanian territory, which eventually started on 28 October 1940. The Italian command deployed the Julia Division with the objective of capturing the strategic mountain passes of the Pindus Mountains as swiftly as possible. During an Italian war council, the Italian commander in Albania, General Visconti Prasca, stated that the mountain range of Pindus would be no problem for the Italian units, and foresaw no difficulty in getting his divisions straight to Athens, like a modern Hannibal. The Greeks divided the theatre of operations into the sectors of Epirus and Macedonia linked by the Pindus Detachment. The Pindus Detachment under Colonel Konstantinos Davakis was deployed along a 35-kilometre (22 mi) line in the Pindus mountain range.
The primary objective of the Julia Division was to advance towards the Pindus mountain range and to capture the strategic pass at the town of Metsovo. This move would have a crucial effect on the outcome of the battle, since it would break the Greek supply lines and separate the Greek forces in Epirus from those in Macedonia. The Julia managed to cover 40 kilometres (25 mi) of mountain terrain in icy rain and captured the village of Vovousa, but were unable to reach Metsovo. On 2 November, Davakis was gravely wounded during a reconnaissance mission near Fourka. However, it had become clear to the Italians that they lacked the manpower and the supplies to continue in the face of the arriving Greek reserves.
On 3 November, the Italian spearhead, after the initial advance, was surrounded from all sides. The commander of the Julia requested from the Italian headquarters relief attacks and Italian reserves were thrown into the battle. However, reinforcements from Albania were unable to reach the cut-off Italian forces and the Julia sustained heavy losses. In the meantime, Greek reinforcements were arriving in the Pindus sector, while the assistance of the local population, including men, women, and children, was invaluable. The situation became difficult for the Italians and their pocket came under pressure from Greek units that had advanced to the area.
The Julia was eventually able to break out of the encirclement, but lost about one fifth of its force and retreated to Koritsa. The villages that had been initially captured during the Italian advance—Samarina and Vovousa—were recaptured by the advancing Greek forces on November 3–4. Within less than a week, the remaining Italian troops were pushed back into roughly the same positions they occupied along the frontier before the declaration of the war.
By 13 November, the entire frontier area had been cleared of Italian units, thereby ending the Battle of Pindus in a complete Greek victory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pindus
Game
I arrived later in the game, so do not have the full skinny on the scenario. So, I am going to have to stay at 10,000 feet to describe the game. The game was designed around the attack on Vovousa. The Italians were on one side of the table and would have to take the town of Vovousa, by making a river assault and sweeping the Greeks back from the high ground on the other side.
The terrain was laid out as a river valley. The river was down the middle of the board. The mountains rose on both sides of the river, with the town of Vovusa in the middle. Most of the terrain was covered by woods, with a little scrub and farmland scattered about.
The weather was bad during the battle. This was represented by the including of a max siting distance roll each turn. The river was crossable, but due to its high muddy banks, infantry stands needed to roll greater than a one to enter or exit the river.
The Italian forces included three companies of veteran Alpini (rifle MG), with the normal support elements. These had flamethrower support in direct attachment. There was also a battery of mountain guns and some mortars in each company. The Italians started on the table.
The Greeks also had three trained companies of infantry (rifle). These were very light on support elements. However, the force did have a half battery of artillery and some mortars. The Greeks started with about a company on table, with the remainder entering in from the rear, as the game went on.
The Italians launched their attacks across the front. One company each was tasked with crossing the river and encircling the town. The center company was assigned the tack of attacking directly into the town. The Greeks plan was to try to stop the Italians from crossing the river and give time for the reserves to firm up the defense.
The Italian attack started off well, with the Italians getting to their jumping off points without too much difficulty. The lack of visibility pretty much silenced the artillery in the early turns, allowing the Italians to close mostly unmolested.
The Italian right flank stuck first, getting across the river and attacking the Greek cavalry to their front. These attacks were very successful, causing heavy losses to the Greeks and pushing them back. The attack on the left flank was somewhat stymied by the river crossing, but slowing got their bridgehead established, as the Greek reserves arrived to block their path to Vorvusia. The center company also struggled to cross the river and had to laugh their attack on Vorvusa in a somewhat piecemeal manner. These attacks were repelled by the Greeks, after heavy losses on both sides.
The losses had been uneven on the right and center, but the attack was gaining steam, as the left company also came into contact. At this point, all the Greek infantry had arrived and desperate tried to form a cordon around the town. The Italians launched concentrated attacks across the entire front, that broke down into desperate melees. The Italian support weapons were key to suppressing and wearing the Greeks before each assault. However, the Greeks had the re-rolls to keep in the fight, while the Italians did not. This along with the Sons of Leonidas rule kept the Greeks on the field, despite heavy losses. The Italians finally found themselves spent on the tips of the Greek bayonets and had to fall back to fight another day! Vovousa would hold on for another day and the Italians would have to try again.
- Manteuffel