We started a new Sicily/Italy theme month by playing the “Malati Bridge” scenario from the March 2022 issue of Miniature Wargames magazine, which was easily adapted to the Flames of War rules that we play. The magazine article and the internet provide the historical background, but in brief, No. 3 Commando assaulted the Malati Bridge as part of Operation Fustian. On the night of July 13, 1943, the commandos landed by sea behind enemy lines, and were to seize and hold the bridge until relieved the next day by elements of the 8th Army that were advancing from the south. The bridge at Malati was strategically important as it was on the main route to the vital Primosole Bridge, about five miles further to the north.
The Malati bridge crosses the Lentini River. The river valley and its surrounding hills are covered by farms, fields, vineyards, and orchards, interspersed by areas of rocks and scrub. Any off-road movement by vehicles thus required a cross check. The river itself was shallow with steep banks that were covered with thick vegetation. The river was impassible to vehicles but was crossable by infantry at half speed, and its banks provided bullet proof cover from direct fire. Night fighting rules would be in effect for the first several turns of the game.
The bridge was defended by a platoon of Italian fortress troops — middle aged conscripts who had been employed as laborers. The platoon occupied five pillboxes armed with light machine guns, located around the bridge on both sides. The platoon leader and three rifle teams were quartered in a nearby farmhouse to the south. Two 47mm antitank guns in weapon pits supplemented the defense. All of these teams were rated Reluctant Conscript.
The first wave of the British assault consisted of the Regimental HQS and three companies (troops) of commandos. Each troop had two infantry sections, one light mortar, and one PIAT. All the commandos were rated Fearless Veteran.
Although the defenders had been alerted to the possibility of being attacked, the British were able to use the darkness to approach close to the Italian positions. Thus our game began with the British forces set up east of, and eight or more inches away from, the pillboxes on the north side of the bridge. On Turn One, the commandos assaulted and captured the two nearest pillboxes.
The next few turns saw the commandos overrun the defenses, only losing two teams in the process. The commandos then removed the explosive charges from the bridge, and also formed a hasty defensive perimeter — with one troop deployed to the south of the bridge and two troops to the north Just before dawn, the British were reinforced by their second wave, which consisted of three more commando platoons, a HMG platoon, and a 3″ mortar platoon with limited ammunition. The HMGs were distributed around the defenses, while the mortars and commando platoons took up a reserve position to the northeast of the bridge.
The defenses were set just in time. At dawn, a lone Tiger tank approached the bridge from the south and engaged the commandos in the farmhouse. This tank was the first of several German units to arrive in an effort to recapture the bridge, including German airborne troops that had just been flown to Sicily.
In the south, a Fallschirmjager company supported by HMGs and medium mortars advanced and occupied the farmhouse and the nearby hills, after the defending commandos had withdrawn back to the river. The commandos in the river were then taken under fire by the mortars and the Tiger, while the other Germans maneuvered carefully.
In the north, another Fallschirmjager company advanced much more aggressively, assaulting the commandos who were posted in a large farmhouse next to the road and in a nearby walled orchard. The first assaults were repulsed with heavy losses. A second effort against the farmhouse succeeded, but a British counterattack swiftly retook it. The recapture of the farm prevented the Germans from using the road and thus a reinforcing platoon of StuG IIIs was forced to move cross-country and enter the table further east. After making their delayed arrival, these three assault guns then contented themselves with bombarding some of the British reserves.
Thus far, the Fallschirmjagers in the north had not much to show for the loss of about half of their company, but the survivors regrouped to the west, and maneuvered to go around the British defenses. Sustained mortar fire forced the commandos to abandon the blocking position in the orchard, which opened a path for the least harmed FJ platoon to reach the river in the late stages of the game.
The German attack in the south gained momentum when two more Tigers arrived. The fire from their main guns eliminated the two pillboxes on that side of the river, while a sustained mortar bombardment thinned the ranks of the commandos holding the river. This enabled the FJ to make a late push and assault the river. The first assault resulted in the mutual annihilation of a platoon on each side, and continued assaults also claimed many teams on both sides. The British ran out of men first, leaving the last two surviving FJ teams holding the bridge.
As a final act in the south, a British platoon of four Sherman tanks entered the table on the road from the south. Their first shots missed the rearmost Tiger, which then spun around and easily destroyed the leading Sherman. The British relief force had arrived too late.
Simultaneously, the last FJ platoon from the north assaulted and cleared the pillbox to the immediate north of the bridge. Thus, at day’s end, the game was ruled to be a very near run, but very historical, German victory! With the FJ in control of the bridge, and with no good means of dealing with the German tanks, the surviving commandos were ordered to fall back to the landing beaches and evacuate, which was the historical result.
- TJ