CMFI - Canadians meet Italians in Castelleti Pass Part 2

In the first minute, our forces began deploying to their assigned positions. No boggings yet, knock on wood, but the snow and deployment positions caused a bit of confusion and a slow start.

3 Section moves in file towards their position at the foot of the Villa

Capt Mason, Sqn 2IC, is first to come within sight of the Orchard on the ridge.


4 Section, 4 Troop, first to arrive at the foot of the Villa, tush to take up positions.

Capt Mason, dismounted, hears something in the treeline just over the ridge...

Which resolves into a Breda Italian Armoured Car!

Given that the Breda entered from the North-West, it's clear I need to reevaluate my plan before moving on.

An overview of the situation 3 minutes in - once again, North is down.

My METT-TC stands, except for a few elements of the Terrain - namely, my Avenues of Approach.

Key Terrain (reiterated for clarity) : KT 1 remains villa, KT 2 Hill, KT 3 Orchards, KT 4 the ridge, KT 5 the South-West hill.

AoAs (reevaluated) : I now estimate the Italians have entered the AO (Area of Operations) from the West, rather than the South. This leads me to believe their AoAs vary significantly from my inital estimates. Therefore, I maintain that my major AoAs are AoA Valley and AoA Ridge, as before, but AoA Valley may extend past KT 1 for a flanking maneuver. Meanwhile, Italian AoAs are now AoA E-Ridge (Enemy Ridge) and AoA Orchards. AoA E-Ridge is currently patrolled by the dismounted scouts from 1 Troop, who have not seen or heard anything, meaning the enemy is likely approaching largely from the orchards in the valley.

What does this mean?

The Italians approaching from the orchards in the valley means that
1) My planned location for the Sherman V at KT 4 is now threatened - I don't want it knife-fighting in an elevator with Italian Armoured Cars and infantry, I want it as an effective, high-impact force multiplier capable of eliminating enemies from range and maneuvering behind our other elements. I will likely shift it towards Capt Mason's position on the ridge, where it could stay hull-down and watch for more vehicles coming from KT 4 or the Breda's current approach.
2) KT 5 remains easier to get to for the Italians - in fact, they may already be on it. I should be wary of exposing too many troops on the ridgeline.
3) The villa is further from the enemy than I thought - it may be advantageous for 4 Troop to occupy it immediately, and fortify against the enemy, as it will give impressive overwatch over the valleys if it's not being contested from up-close immediately as expected.
4) The enemy will be passing through the two orchards immediately, and en masse. A mortar barrage on the TRP in the Eastern orchard will be ordered post-haste to hit troops moving on the villa while 4 Troop sets up.
5) It may be wise to pull back from the Orchard and let them build into a salient there - fire from the villa and our Sherman V as it repositions may kill the rest of the Breda's platoon if it is just the pointman, as it appears to have not seen us coming yet - they may also be under some misunderstanding as to where we entered the valley in relation to them, and so may not have been paying any attention to where Capt Mason and the Squadron HQ just popped up with 1 Troop.

Here is an annotated map, with a few of my notes marked.

Colours changed from last time to make them more in line with convention - though I still need to find the right colour for objectives (it's not green) - font changed because I couldn't remember the old one.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we will rotate our plans wildly, and the first shots will be fired in anger in Castelleti Pass...