Scenario 76 - Tigers roam Africa : Djedeida, Tunisia, 28th November 1942
Situation - On 23rd November 1942, the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion, The Stalking Tigers, arrived in Tunisia. Initially consisting of only 3 Tigers and 4 supporting PzKpfw IIIN tanks, the force was organised, along with other units, into Kampfgruppe Lueder and began operating almost immediately in the area of Djedeida-Tebourba.
On November 28, Kampfgruppe Leuder repulsed a heavy attack by Blade Force, a Battlegroup comprised of elements from British 6th Armoured and 78th Infantry Divisions, supported by several American units.
Kampfgruppe Leuder was disbanded on December 4, after capturing Tebourba, losing all their Tigers in the process.
German Force:
Heavy Panzer Company (Mixed)
3 x Pz VIH Tiger 1, 3 x Pz IIIN, 3 x Rifle Squad each with SPW 251/1, 1
x HMG with SPW 250/1, 2 x SPW 250/11, 1 x 7.5cm PaK 40 with SdKfz 11
British Force:
Heavy Cruiser Squadron
10 x Grant 1, 6 x Rifle Squad
Cruiser Squadron
10 x Sherman III
Report: Nick set up his Kampfgruppe across the map on higher ground as far westward toward the British table-edge as he could. Two of the Tigers deployed hull-down. Blade Force entered on Turn One and was easily spotted as they were a) moving and b) trailing a massive cloud of dust. By contrast all they could spot was Nick mouthing the words "Turkey Shoot”.
It was immediately apparent that the only option (apart from legging it) was a "Balaclava Charge" ( that’s as in “Battle of” rather than a choice of stealthy headgear). The dream of careening flat out between the Tigers in swashbuckling single file with sequential flank and rear passing shots swiftly evaporated.
The Tigers opened the bidding at approx. 2000 yards with those pesky 8.8cm KwK36 L/56 and Zeiss optics. The Shermans and Grants would need around another 5 full turns before closing to anything remotely like effective range. Furthermore, the single PaK 40 anti-tank gun was exacting a ferocious toll on Blade Force. It remained effectively invisible for the duration of the engagement thanks to the intervening scrub and its ultra-low profile. At just 1.25 metres high compared with the Sherman’s 2.74 m and the Grant’s 3.0 m – even the mighty Tiger’s 57 tonnes reached only 3.0 metres high, but with considerably more armour protection.
The inevitable conclusion followed rather quickly. British losses totalled 14 tanks immobilised or destroyed. The Germans lost 1 Pz IIIN and a crewless Tiger. A Sherman, firing at medium range, had managed to hit the front of a Tiger’s turret with an AP round that unsurprisingly failed to penetrate. However, with the tremendous clang still ringing in their ears the crew were required to take a Bail-Out Test. Needing a score of 10 or more from 2 x D10 Nick threw a grand total of 9 - so the cream of the Panzerwaffe promptly absconded.
With no heavy recovery equipment available the Tiger was captured and eventually shipped to England. Which is exactly how Tiger 131, captured in Tunisia after suffering a damaged turret ring and subsequent abandonment, finished up residing at the Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset.
