Old School Tactical Vol IV: Italian Theater 1943-45

Available for Pre-Order ETA FEB-MAR 2024

BASE GAME ONLY

After the victory in North Africa, Allied planners readied a new campaign.  It was aimed at the so called ‘soft underbelly‘ of Europe.  A bold plan to knock Italy out of the war and drain Axis units from fighting on other fronts. Beginning with the invasion of Sicily in July of 1943, the Allies pressed the enemy, but there was nothing soft about the bloody fight. The drive to Messina in Sicily, the landing at Salerno, the beleaguered beachhead at Anzio, through all the Allies pushed on towards Rome.  Countless river valleys and fortified lines favored the German defenders and stymied the Allies at every turn.  The Volturno River, the Rapid River, the Liri valley, the Gustav Line, the Caesar Line, all of these names proved a deadly challenge to the Allies fighting to control them. The drive up the Italian Peninsula was costly for both sides and dragged on until the end, which occurred May 2, 1945 with the formal surrender of all Axis forces in Italy.

Old School Tactical Volume IV brings the exciting OST system to this challenging theater of WW2.  It brings British forces into the game to battle German and Italian units in difficult terrain.  Vickers machine guns,  Commandos,  Bren guns, PIATs and sticky bombs will see action in the game on the side of the British.  They also have an allotment of vehicles including Sherman and Churchill tanks.

The German and Italian forces counter with many panzers including the Marder III and Elefant.

A large map of beautiful Italian countryside is designed for players to contest the many exciting scenarios included in the playbook.

Each Game Includes:

• 3 sheets of unit, weapon, vehicle, and condition counters.
• a large (We are talking HUGE!) 30" x 41" mounted game map, hexes are 1".
• 18 luck cards, such as Trigger Happy, Unexpected Obstacle, and Surprise Attack.
• 36 unit data cards.
• scenarios, including Find Those Guns- British SAS commandos search for the Italian howitzers of Battery Lamda Dori to protect the landings in Sicily, Guards Brigade- after the Salerno landings, units of the Coldstream Guards hold against a counterattack by the German 16th Panzer Division, and Fallen Allies- with the capitulation of the Italian state, the Germans moved quickly to seize power.  Some Italian units did not go peacefully.
• player aid card.
• color rule book.
• dice.
• massive box