New Zealand Rails online event Saturday, April 13 at 20h00 GMT on ATAG Server

[ATAG_Snapper]

The Red and Blue briefings are in the final stages of completion. In the meantime, here is the event scenario. Check back here soon for the Red and Blue briefings!

Mission prologue:

There was no railway in Cyrenaica in 1939. In Egypt, there was the Alexandria-Marsa Matruch line, with steam engines, and every day, the English had to send wagons equipped with water tanks to guarantee the return of the train, as in Marsa, there was no water to make steam. After the Compass operation, the English had only arrived by train as far as Sidi el Barrani, and had very extended logistics. So they decided to extend the railway too, and took it to Tobruk.

Near Sollum, (Ridotta Capuzzo) there was a railway and logistics terminal, very exposed to attacks. The English decided to build a fake terminal, a few kilometers further away, to ensure that it attracted at least 50% of the bombs that the Italian-German air force dropped on it. The tracks were strips of tin cut from bins, and there were out-of-use trucks, which were moved every day, to make the staging credible. Then in June 1942 Tobruk was reconquered by the Axis, and quickly reached El-Alamein. On the Italian-German side it was decided to reuse the section of the Tobruk - El Alamein railway, and also to use the adjacent 12" aqueduct that the English had laid alongside the tracks, (forgetting to cut it for some time), which brought excellent Nile water online.

To reuse the railway, the Italians sent around forty "Badoni" diesel engines called Sogliole, and the Germans sent 12 larger diesel engines. This worked, although not without accidents, for about a tenth of its capacity, until July 1942. It was then abandoned by the Italian-Germans, and for the railway, another story began.

At Bir Akeim, however, the Foreign Legion and the Free French units stopped retreating and decided to completely hinder Rommel's advance. The losses were considerable, but thanks also to the small fighter garrison that resided there, they managed to inflict great losses on the enemy.

Of great importance for the fighting armies was the mail. It would have been very difficult, fighting or working, if each of the soldiers had lacked news from their families and from their distant homeland. The RAF selflessly accomplished the task of connecting the "construction sites" of this great work in the desert, with their small planes (Tiger Moths) traveling between Tobruk and Sollum several times a day.

Finally, in the hostile desert environment, in addition to weather events, one of which was called "Ghibli"... migrating animals also posed a danger to the pilots!
In this historical context, pilots, the mission is set... you choose where to operate, but be strong and honest, and be careful to bring yourself home -- and your plane, too!

Mission By Pernix