The Golden Mountain E-AFR (id:#65705)
Prior Publication: ELR Soldiers of the Negus
See Also: The Golden Mountain by Critical Hit
The Tembien, Ethiopia 1936-02-27 ()
Designer: Rick Thomas
Starter kit scenario?:    Deluxe scenario?:
 
Balance:
EthiopianItalian/Eritrean
40%

Overview:

In February, the formidable positions of Amba Aradum was encircled and captured, the Ethiopians losing some 8,000 dead. Ras Kassa's army, west of Amba Aradum, was firmly ensconced on another strong defensive position, Amba Wrok, the "Mountain of Gold". The Italians appreciated the near impregnable nature of Amba Work and decided on a daring commando-style raid under cover of darkness. They found the Ethiopian guards asleep and within minutes, the Italians owned the peak. Now they had to hold it against counterattacks.
Attacker: Ethiopian (Army of Gondar)
Defender: Italian/Eritrean (Divisione XXVII Ottobre, XXII Battaglione Eritreo, and Battaglione Complementi, 7ยบ Reggimento Alpini)  
5 turns
    Players: 2     OBA: None     Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:17.0 D:6.0
AFVs: A:0
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:1
Cannone da 75/27
D:0

Victory Conditions:

Exit VP: Building Control VC: Area Control VC:
Unit Based VC: LOS Style VC: CVP Cap:
Misc Rules: Many wadis do not exist. D: Fanatic (A10.8)
Overlays: NONE
Errata (source)
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Scenario info

Last Played:
DateReporterOpponentBal.ResultTimeComments
2025-04-05(A) Dave B vs Joseph L DiCamillo Italian/Eritrean win3 hrsI had the tribesmen in this one, and decided to infiltrate up the northern wadi to retain cover. While it's a sensible idea from a "life has value" perspective, it's probably too slow to win this scenario. On top of that, Joe rolled snake eyes in an early attack on my one and only qualified Ethiopian crew, resulting in a 1KIA and the end of any kind of effective fire with the 75. I agree with another commenter that a blanket fanaticism of both Italians and Eritreans seems a bit far-fetched here.
2024-08-18(A) Vic Lauterbach vs RV Ethiopian winI got the Ethiopians in this one which is very tough on a small, fanatic Italian/Eritrean force. The 75* broke on its first shot, but the crew fixed it and got a key hit on the MMG in the sanger. Renato's MGs didn't get ROF enough before I locked his MMCs in melee. My 237s hung on in CC until the mountain was swarming with Ethiopians. Just a few low CC rolls would have won this one for Renato. The margin for error is very small with such an outnumbered force and being Fanatic doesn't help in CC. This one was fun, but luck more than my attack plan got me the win.
2022-11-28(A) Jeff B vs Steve Etzelmueller Italian/Eritrean winI just got done playing the worst scenario I ever played from the original HL, but this one isn't too far behind. Even Italians are tough when they're fanatic in good defensive position against rock throwers. Without fire grouping the Ethiopians simply couldn't muster anything to even sniff at cracking the Italians. When I broke my gun on Turn 3 I had enough.
2022-05-31(A) Eric Topp vs Al Palazzo Ethiopian winThe captured Italian Gun K-ed a HS and broke a 9-1 (10 morale because the Italians/Eritreans were Fanatic) with the first shot. My Ethiopians did a Human Wave up the hill and only lost a squad. CC was a different story and I lost two squads to an Italian HS. When Al rolled snakes to generate another Italian leader I wanted to throw in the towel but Al convinced me to play on. Eventually the sheer numbers of Ethiopian squads were enough to break the defenders and take the "Golden Mountain".

Having played this twice now I think the Italians have to keep a reserve force behind the front-line level 4 hill hexes and try to Entrench despite the +2 DRM (F.1B)
2022-05-17(A) neal ekengren vs solo Ethiopian winEthiopians have enough mobs to take the hill unless dice were to go terribly badly. Even with zero gun results I managed to amoeba up the hill. The Italian hilltop Sanger MMG held out to the end and could not be taken until close combat.
View all or balance report
ActionDate
asloser Linked the scenario to ROAR2025-04-07 19:56:15
BlitzkriegBeast Added a playing2025-04-07 19:43:23
dieneuner25 Uploaded an Image2024-09-09 13:26:59
dieneuner25 Added a playing2024-09-09 13:25:45
nova0210 Rated the scenario2024-08-28 04:16:34
FileDescriptionUserViews
(ethiopia-ital.png)Imagehoxson1695
(ital_Eritrea2.jpg)Imagehoxson1699
Map at game end (256 end of game on VASL map.jpg)Imagedieneuner25196
(golden_mtn_some_wadis_removed.png)Map Imagehoxson1676
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Map at game end
 
Statistics:
Avg Rating: 6.00Votes: 14
Views: 0
To-Play list count: 1
Estimated Play time: 2.7 hours
Recorded Games: 8
Archive recorded plays:
Ethiopian4
Italian/Eritrean4
Drawn:0

ROAR Data: (as of today)
The Golden Mountain [Confirmed]
[A] Ethiopian 2
[D] Italian 5
All Rights Reserved. (c)2022 Dave Ramsey.