WineCape

3,5 years later and none of the CM's have left my HDD at any given time. Though I have hardly played CMBO since CMBB came out, I will not delete it 'cause it represents gaming history. Awaiting a copy of CMAK (signed!) in due course. Sincerely, Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (“I am simultaneously embarrassed and proud to state for the record that only two bottles of your fine South African wines remain in my wine rack. The rest gave their lives honorably in the service of the construction of CMAK over the past several months.” -- Charles Moylan, 28 Nov. 2003)</font>Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Winner: Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW tourney sponsor</font>RoW I winner:Wreck, RoW II co-winners:Ali, Kanonier Reichmann, Jon_L, RoW III co-winners: Deadly 88, Frunze, mPisi </font> Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font>

I believe Rune made a CMAK scenario with my name as the Battalion Commander - ill fated it will be and it was in real life. Can't remember the battle, but it might be the Sidi Rezegh/airfield clash and the South African 5th Bde that was beaten to a pulp by DAK. Not sure, as I have not received CMAk yet. Sincerely, Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (“I am simultaneously embarrassed and proud to state for the record that only two bottles of your fine South African wines remain in my wine rack. The rest gave their lives honorably in the service of the construction of CMAK over the past several months.” -- Charles Moylan, 28 Nov. 2003)</font>Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Winner: Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW tourney sponsor</font>RoW I winner:Wreck, RoW II co-winners:Ali, Kanonier Reichmann, Jon_L, RoW III co-winners: Deadly 88, Frunze, mPisi </font> Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font>

Rub it in, rub it in: it's an open wound and no salt will make us flinch...

No Finns posed any questions so far at the tourism website, I wonder ...

I know, I know… but below the questions posed by various potential tourists at the South African tourism website via e-mail; they were answered to the best of our ability: Enjoy the early Xmas! No offence intended… -------------------------------------- Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK) A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die. Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA) A: Depends how much you've been drinking. Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden) A: Sure, it's only two thousand kilometres. Take lots of water... Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa? (Sweden) A: So it's true what they say about Swedes. Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town, Knysna and Jeffrey's Bay? (UK) A: What did your last slave die of? Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA) A: Aus_tra_lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific. A_fri_ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked. Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA) A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions. Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK) A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do. Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA) A: Aus_tri_a is that quaint little country bordering Ger_man_y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked. Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France) A: No, WE don't stink. Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA) A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather. Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy) A: Yes, gay nightclubs. Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France) A: Only at Christmas. Q: Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany) A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them. Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round? (Germany) A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal. Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA) A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets. Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA) A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour. Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA) A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first. [ December 04, 2003, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Both actually. My apologies if you have a small 14" monitor and need to scroll a lot. But then, as long as it's CM related and tolerated by the moderators here on the forum... Brace yourself, it's going to get further out of control with CMAK's release! Sincerely, Charl Theron EDITED for ianc's benefit, just for now... [ November 29, 2003, 04:31 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Hello Mike! It's all 'cause of wine. The programming of CMAK were extremely lubricated by copious consumption... Charl Theron --------------------------------------- “I am simultaneously embarrassed and proud to state for the record that only two bottles of your fine South African wines remain in my wine rack. The rest gave their lives honorably in the service of the construction of CMAK over the past several months.” -- Charles Moylan, 28 Nov. 2003)

But then you think CMAK has grass, so your opinion is suspect. I've often thought BFC keeps you around to fetch beer for Charles </font>

Excuse me! It did save my missus a couple of years ago, that Volvo. :cool: Bloody ford drivers. [ November 25, 2003, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Hello Gents, Just bear with me; I’m out of my wine shop (due to professional soccer officiating duties) and will get back to the winners soon, depending on schedule. Congrats again to the winners of the RoW III. It was/is a pleasure to sponsor these excellent tourneys, and I hope the winners and participants enjoyed it, the best way to play new scenarios IMHO. Sergio, a word of thanks for stepping in on short notice to manage ROW. It takes a lot of time/effort to run this smoothly and I appreciate your efforts! If memory serves correctly, I made a couple of wine offers to you too, but your state treats you like a 6 year old child when it comes to alcohol. Do you have a relative living in a more enlightened state as per www.wineinstitute.org? Let me know and we can make a plan. Speak to the winners soon again to get their mPisi and Frunze’s preferences. Enjoy CMAK’s demo! Sincerely, Yours in wine Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW tourney sponsor</font>RoW I winner: </font> Wreck</font>RoW II co-winners: </font>Ali</font>Kanonier Reichmann</font>Jon_L</font>RoW III co-winners: </font> Deadly 88</font>Frunze</font>mPisi</font></font>Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (Baldy received the Fat Bastard Chardonnay)</font>Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font> [ November 21, 2003, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Aye gents, if it was not for Rune in(per)sistence in researching SA Army and TO&E -- online/offline sources are quite scarce -- there probably would have been no South African forces to speak of in the forthcoming CMAK. Eternally obliged for your efforts Rune! The jury is still out naming me as commander in one of your CMAK ill-fated battles… Soccer PS: Thanks Rune for sending me FIFA’s more detailed interpretation of Law 11: Offside. We had a PSL (Premier Soccer League) discussion here in South Africa regarding FIFA’s interpretation of when a player is "interfering with play" to be penalized for offside, i.e. the offside player now, according to FIFA, has to actually PLAY OR TOUCH the ball passed/touched by his team-mate. Thus physical contact with the ball seems mandatory, and not merely being in the close vicinity of ball to be called offside. Sincerely, Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW I/II/III and beyond tourney sponsor (Wreck/Ali+Kanonier+Jon_L/~)</font>Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (Baldy received the Fat Bastard Chardonnay)</font>Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font> [ November 15, 2003, 07:57 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

As regard to the possible paradrop (or not) when Rommel took Tobruk in 1942, Niel Malan (see Kingfish’s post above) responded to my e-mail request to further any info to clarify the situation: So in all probability, if a drop was made, it might have been done on a small/limited scale. Rommel needed the fuel dumps intact at all costs for his drive to the frontier. Sidenote: Fridrick Ruge, the naval adviser to Rommel in Normandy, relates ... "The table conversation those days in Normandy was dominated by North Africa. Rommel spoke about the unsuccessful attack on Tobruk in 1941 and the successful surprise attack on Tobruk which captured the city in 1942. With his dry humor, Gause, who had been Rommel's Chief of Staff in Africa, added the human highlights to Rommel's tactical and operational descriptions. This included the story about the regimental commander who had come directly from Germany and, en route to El Mechili, had made hotel reservations for his staff and himself. Gause assigned him to the third hotel on the right side of the main street. All of El Machili however, consisted of only two huts! The OKW [German Army HQ’s] too, became the target of our ridicule, because they had inquired sternly if it was true that the troops of the Africa Korps had looted the shops in Bir Temrad. All of Bir Temrad consisted of a hole in the ground filled with some water and a gasoline barrel turned upside down holding a sign post.” [ October 24, 2003, 05:59 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Is he back, is he back?

Why, I believe we're all closest wine/beer/whisk(e)y drinkers here. Is there anything else? Oh, and grass mods. Pure, natural stuff, none of those designer drugs.

Kingfish, Many thanks. Have e-mailed Niel Malan as well as the reference to this topic here on the forum. Maybe he can divulge more clarity on the paradrop of Tobruk in 1942, if any.

Always. CM is just my excuse to spread the taste of South African wine, haven't you noticed? Sincerely, Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW I/II/III and beyond tourney sponsor (Wreck/Ali+Kanonier+Jon_L/~)</font>Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (Baldy received the Fat Bastard Chardonnay)</font>Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font>

Good to know BFC deliberate over issues as "seemingly" unimportant as gun barrel colours. :cool: Thanks for the answers.

Jason + von Lucke (obliged for the responses/info so far), Is there any mention of paratroopers in General von Mellenthin's book - Panzer Battles - being dropped within the Tobruk perimeter when Rommel launched his assault? [ October 18, 2003, 06:29 PM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Oh I agree Jason. Thanks for the material. Being South African, but knowing little about the circumstances under which Klopper capitulated a lost cause anyway, any insight is helpful than just a mere overglossing/dismissing of the South Africans combat role in the fall of Tobruk. Even in South African military circles - and elsewhere - Klopper did not escape severe critiscm, which seems quite unfair given (limited) material reviewed so far. [ October 17, 2003, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Yes, I agree. Looking at the map and troop positions of Tobruk in June 1942 one cannot come to any other conclusion. In all, not a strong argument/analysis put forward by Brigadier Young in this instance, as pointed out earlier by Michael Dorosh above. The Tobruk garrison was reported to have 35,000 troops. Roughly how big was the DAK attacking force that concentrated on the SE perimeter?

Found on the net this: June 21st, 1942...Early in the morning, Maj. Gen. Klopper, CO of 2 South African Division in Tobruk, signals Egypt, "Am sending mobile troops out tonight. Not possible to hold out tomorrow. Mobile troops nearly nought. Enemy captured vehicles. Will resist to last man and round." 8th Army commander Gen. Neil Ritchie signals back, "Every day and hour of resistance materially assists our cause. I cannot tell tactical situation and must therefore leave you to act on your own judgment regarding capitulation." Klopper signals: "Situation shambles. Terrible casualties would result. Am doing the worst. Petrol destroyed." Ritchie: "Whole of 8th Army has watched with admiration your gallant fight. You are an example to us all and I know South Africa will be proud of you. God bless you and may fortune favour your efforts wherever you be." In a last effort, gallant attempts are made to destroy stores stockpiled in Tobruk. Troops smash petrol drums and let fluid soak into the sand until the gasoline rots their boots and the fumes overcome them. Men hurl armored cars over cliffs into the sea. At 5 a.m., Rommel drives into town: "Practically every building of the dismal place was either flat or little more than a heap of rubble, mostly the result of our siege of 1941. Next I drove off along the Coast Road to the west. The staff of 32 British Army Tank Brigade offered to surrender, which brought us 30 serviceable tanks. Vehicles stood inflames on either side of the Via Balbia. Wherever one looked there was chaos and destruction." At 6:30 a.m., Klopper sends out parlementaires under a white flag to offer to surrender. As a white flag goes up over 6 Brigade HQ, the South African MPs give a moan that is a combination of anguish and misery. At 9:40 a.m., Rommel meets Klopper, who announces the capitulation. Rommel tells Klopper to follow him in his own car back to Tobruk, driving past Afrika Korps vehicles and thousands of South African and British PoWs. At the Hotel Tobruk (still miraculously standing) the two generals work out the surrender. Rommel tells Klopper to make himself and his officers responsible for order among the PoWs, and organize their maintenance from captured stores. However, as Rommel is angry at the South African efforts to destroy the fuel, he won't let the PoWs change their clothes until his tanks have left Tobruk. Klopper sends out officers to tell his scattered positions to give up. The 2/7th Gurkha Rifles and 2nd Cameron Highlanders are among the last to surrender, doing so around dusk. Small parties make their way to safety. Maj. Sainthill of the Coldstream Guards leads 387 men to Allied lines. But 33,000 men face PoW cages, 19,000 Britons, 9,000 white South Africans, the rest Indian and African native. Rommel also captures 2,000 tons of petrol, 5,000 more of provisions, abundant quantities of ammunition (including German and Italian types), and almost 2,000 serviceable vehicles. He also gains an important (if damaged) port, and a water-filtration plant. These supplies are enough to fuel Rommel's continued drive to Egypt. The 8th Army has been outgeneralled, outmaneuvered, and outfought. Its tired veterans and brash newcomers have failed to learn tactical lessons. British tank officers still make cavalry- style charges while German tanks concentrate and wait behind an artillery screen until the coup de grace. The Afrika Korps raid the British supply dumps, spurning their "Alte Mann" -- Italian sausage, labelled A.M. -- in favor of British beer, South African pineapples, Australian bully beef, Irish potatoes, and American cigarettes. German troops swap out their worn clothing with superior British khaki. Rommel reports laconically, "Fortress Tobruk has capitulated. All units will reassemble and prepare for further advances." His German casualties since May 26 are 3,360, about 15 percent of the Afrika Korps' strength. Italian losses are somewhat less. However, the Afrika Korps has lost 300 officers, a drain on its leadership cadre. [ October 19, 2003, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: WineCape ]

Kingfish, Yes, it should read 2nd SA Division. Typo in the article - I copied it verbatim - as the accompanying map of Tobruk and perimeter defence shows in fact the 2nd Division as Divisional HQ’s, commanded by Klopper. The map shows that the Trieste and Ariete Divisions were repelled by the 2nd Cameron Highlanders in the southeast on the morning of the attack, 20 June 1942. But on their left flank, the 2/5 Mahrattas faced the brunt of the 2 DAK Pz. Divisions, the 15 and 21, where the breached occurred. Behind the perimeter and the Mahrattans were the 11 Indian Infantry Bde, flanked on their right by the 1 Forresters, the 201 Gds Brigade (with Bde HQ’s) and the 3rd Coldstream Gds. It also shows that the western and southern perimeter defended respectively by the 6 SA Bde, the Umvoti Motorised Rifles on their left flank and the 4th SA Bde in the south, further subdivided as “Blake Group”, “Kaffrarian Rifles” and “Beer Group,” the latter anchoring the right flank of the 2 Cameron Highlanders. Does the bold above imply that the western perimeter was re-enforced at the cost of the southern/southeastern perimeter where the breach was established by DAK?

If you are referring to liquor, then I live in a "wet" state. I don't think there are any dry states, only dry counties within the states. COG </font>

Does anyone have more specifics/concrete material on the role of unfortunate Major-General Klopper's involvement in the fall of Tobruk in 1942? Much obliged in advance.

Found this in the South African archives, written/edited by Brigadier Peter Young: In 1941 the Australians had held Tobruk for 9 months, until Rommel’s withdrawal to the west. That winter the Middle East Command in Cairo had decided that without naval support it would be impossible for the Tobruk fortress ever to be held in isolation. London had been informed and had – they thought – agreed, but on 15 June 1942 Auchinleck received a telegram from the Prime Minister, “Leave as many troops in Tobruk as are necessary to hold the place for certain.” At length a compromise was reached. Tobruk was to be “temporarily” invested while a new strike force was built up near the frontier. The main part of the garrison was to be formed by the 1st South African Division with General Klopper – a major general of 1 month’s standing – named commander of the stronghold. The port’s physical defenses, while not in good shape, were hardly weaker than they had been in April 1941. The barbed wire, tank traps and well-placed gun emplacements were still there. Equipment was, if anything, a bit better. There were 2 partial medium-artillery regiments and the garrison was strong in field artillery. Although there were no anti-tank regiments, there were about 70 anti-tank guns, including 18 6-pounders as well as 18 37mm anti-aircraft guns and a number of Bofors plus about 55 tanks. The strength of the garrison was about the same, some 35,000 men. There was important difference, and it was one which Klopper, none too sure of himself or his position, was ill-equipped to deal with: this time the defending troops were exhausted, their morale was lower, and the camp was filled with a feeling of insecurity and impermanence. As Tobruk prepared for battle the South Africans took up their positions along the northern, western and southern perimeter from the sea to the El Adem road. East from there were the 2nd Camerons, 2/5th Mahrattas and the 2/7th Gurkas. Near the Palestrino ridge in the centre were the 201st Brigade HQ’s, the 3rd Coldstream and the Sherwood Foresters. Meanwhile, the rest of the Eight Army made their way towards the defenses at the Egyptian frontier. As usual, Rommel had devised a ruse for capturing Tobruk. Only his infantry approached the western perimeter, while his mobile forces swept on past, to give the impression that he was heading straight for the border as he had done the year before - and sending messages in clear to reinforce the illusion. Just before Bardia he and the 90th Light Division turned back to join the Afrika Korps assault divisions and the XX Italian Motorized Corps, who had been waiting southeast of the city. He was using the plan he had intended for 23 November 1941. Rommel’s zero hour was 05h20 on 20 June 1942. As the first rays of sunlight began to creep over the desert the long black lines of tanks, trucks and infantry slowly started to move forward. As it grew louder small black dots appeared on the horizon, which, as they drew nearer, resolved themselves into waves of Stukas and Ju 88’s. Every airworthy Axis plane in North Africa had been pressed into service for the battle. As the heavy artillery began to fire, the planes released their bombs and quickly got out of the way for the next wave, operating a shuttle service between the defense perimeter and El Adem airfield, 10 miles away. They pounded a gap open 600 yards wide. Behind them, under cover of artillery barrage and half-hidden by smoke and dust, German and Italian sappers raced forward to lift mines and bridge the tank traps with tanks and infantry racing through the gaps. As they move forward, they lit green, red and purple flares and the Stukas dropped their bombs just ahead of the advancing, multi-coloured smoke screen while the other planes and artillery blasted the enemy’s rear with shells and bombs. The timing of the entire operation was perfect. Panzer Army Afrika might well have been on maneuvers. The first shock troops broke into the fortress from the southeast. A second group breached the defences in the south, along the El Adem road, soon after. As tanks poured into the city they fanned out and headed for the harbor, while parachutists were dropped behind enemy lines to disorganized the defences and protect the supply dumps from demolition. Inside Tobruk the situation was chaotic. General Klopper – his HQ’s bombed out, his radio and telephone wrecked and his code booked destroyed, lost the last vestige of control. Disconsolately he and his staff watched the Panzers race past their HQ’s on their way to capture the fuel dumps in the harbor. Some British troops broke out to the east. Others fought grimly on, while still others, like the South Africans in the west and southwest, hardly realized anything was happening until the 90th Light came up on their rear. By dawn 21 June Tobruk was a pile of ruins. The streets were a maze of rubble and in the harbor the masts and funnels of sunken ships rose pathetically from the water. General Klopper have his compass and staff car to 7 young men from South African 6th Brigade who were determined to escape, saying, ”I wish I was coming with you.” A few hours later a small part of officers set off in a truck, a little white flag fluttering over the hood, and at 09h40 on Via Balbo Klopper officially turned the city over to Rommel. Soon after, a large white flag was hoisted over 6th Brigade HQ’s by South African native drivers. The signal to surrender created even more confusion. Some units never got it. Others, like the 3rd Coldstream, decided to ignore it and try to escape. The Cameron Highlanders, along with remnants of some of the Indian brigades, held out for more than 24 hours – surrendering only after being told that if they did not the Germans would concentrate every piece of artillery in Tobruk on their position. Finally giving in, they marched down to the prisoners of war cage in parade formation, with the pipes skirling “The March of the Cameron Men.” As they approached every man along the way - prisoner and German sentry alike - snapped to attention. After 2 years in British hands Tobruk had fallen in 2 days – and despite Rommel’s anger at the extend of the destruction effected by British demolition squads on vehicle parks and fuel dumps, he still had captured enough o carry him on his drive to Egypt. The fall of Tobruk came as a shattering blow to the British public (as Churchill had known it would), as well as to the Australians and South Africans. General Klopper came in for most of the criticism, but he was not entirely to blame. The decision to invest in Tobruk at all had been, in General Bayerlein’s phrase, ”a fatal decision.” Though a more experienced general might have made more progress toward pulling the garrison into shape in time, there was also confusion among the British High Command. For example, Auchinleck realized full well that Rommel was almost certain to stick to his original plan to attack from the southeast. When Ritchie flew into Tobruk on 16 June 1942 to confer with the defenders, he warned Klopper to pay special attention to the western perimeter. On 22 June Rommel received a message from the Fuhrer informing him that at the age 49 he had just been appointed Germany’s youngest Field Marshal. Rommel celebrated that night with canned pineapple and a small glass of whisky, but after dinner he wrote his wife, ”Hitler has made me a Field Marshal. I would much rather he had given me one more division.” True to his cardinal rule – he never give the enemy breathing space – he did not celebrate long. The next day his Order of the Day read: ”Soldiers of the Panzer Army Africa! Now we must utterly destroy the enemy! During the coming days I shall be making great demands upon you once more, so that we may reach our goal.” The Nile. He would never get there. Hitler, by discontinuing the attack on Malta and refusing to send Rommel adequate supplies, would make defeat in the desert inevitable. Later, the Field Marshal would find himself presiding over another fiasco - the defence of Normandy – and still later would come involvement in the plot against Hitler and, eventually, forced suicide. All this was in the future; in June 1942 the Desert Fox was as he is still remembered - dashing, resourceful and brave, racing across the desert with tanks of the Afrika Korps, heading to the pyramids of Egypt… Sincerely, Charl Theron ----------------------------------------------------- </font> Wine donation send to Fuerte for his PBEM HELPER, an excellent tool - it even lets you play 2 PBEM turns per e-mail exhange - if you play more than one PBEM at a time and have a Windows OS</font>Sponsor of the (now infamous) Invitational (Ari Maenpaa)</font>Sponsor of the 2 WineCape Tourneys (Fangorn’s Brazilian customs drank the wine prize up! + KiwiJoe)</font>Sponsor of the Nordic Championships in honor of Nabla (His scoring system revolutionized CM tourney play)</font>Rumblings of War, aka RoW I/II/III and beyond tourney sponsor (Wreck/Ali+Kanonier+Jon_L/~)</font>Grateful donateur to the drinking habits of Battlefront.com (Baldy received the Fat Bastard Chardonnay)</font>Thank You donation send to Manx (He used to run the “sexiest CMBO modsite on the net”)</font>Wine donation send to Boots & Tracks for their scenarios created specifically for RoW tournaments</font>Wine donation send to Gordon Molek for his CMMOS utility (Thereby making the installing of CM mods a breeze)</font>Wine donation send to Andrew Fox for his CM modding work</font>Wine donation send to Keith Miller @ Scenario Depot for his dedication in hosting CM scenarios</font>Sponsor-to-be of Pengville’s “Gamey Bastard” tourney (In honor of Seanachai + Lars for showing an act of kindness to an outerboarder - Well, bribery does pay.)</font> [ October 15, 2003, 02:51 PM: Message edited by: WineCape ]