The scenario
BIR HAKEIM: 
Do not be confused; despite its name, the “
1re Brigade française libre” was really more like a light “Division”! This point was (very) important for Charles de Gaulle…
***
Already given maps:
http://www.france-libre.net/site/wp-con ... m1-grd.jpg (
general position and overview of the battlefield)
http://www.france-libre.net/site/wp-con ... m3-grd.jpg (
main starting zones for some of the Free French battalions & localization of minefields… by the way: “champ de mine” = minefield, like “continuous”; “marais de mines” = discontinuous minefield, lightly mined area… more there to delay the enemy and disorganize it instead of really blocking it)
And already given video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNTJRm46ee4 (
see around 9’30 for the localization of the 75 mm batteries…; around 17’40 for the Axis battle plan…)
***
Contrary to the expectations of the Allies, in order to bypass their defensive apparatus, Rommel, the aptly named Desert Fox, placed on his right flank his 5 best divisions: 15th and 21st Panzerdivisions, the 90th German Motorised Division, the Italian Armoured Division Ariete (="Ram") and the Italian Motorised Division Trieste...
***
The battle can be divided into FOUR phases:
1. May 27th to 31st: The enemy attacks Bir-Hakeim with an armored division.
2. From May 31st to June 2nd: The brigade prepares to pursue the retreating enemy and some of its elements begin this pursuit.
3. From 2 to 10 June: The enemy, with two divisions, encircles Bir-Hakeim and by repeated assaults and pushed to the limit tries in vain to seize the position. The pressure from artillery and aerial bombardment is increasing over time…
4. In the night of 10 to 11 June: The brigade evacuated Bir-Hakeim by carrying out a strong sortie through the enemy lines and, breaking the encirclement, joined the bulk of the allied army.
***
In Bir Hakeim (=
Old Man's Well, the well being at that time, of course, dry!
), there are the ruins of an old Turkish fort (
the Ottomans!), and later used as station by an Italien
meharist corps (camels!)... nowadays, without any real defensive added value.
***
The Free French dug really (!) well in... it was a rocky area, they prepared holes and almost trenches … little apparent relief, not easy targets for enemy artillery or aircraft (
which partly explains why they were able to hold). They had even some underground bunkers ->
could be represented by “
caves” in OoB? Remember, it has to resist (long) to massive aerial and land bombardments… -> Maybe a "cave" for the HQ of Free French general Marie-Pierre Koenig, in the center of the defensive positions?
With them, they were extremely well equipped in terms of firepower (
again which partly explains things) – so much so that they should have lightened up before going on an offensive, but to defend a position, it was ideal!
Defense in depth of position. In addition, the lines of defense are covered by light outposts, capable of warning by radio of what is going on and coordinating counterattacks. They had so "some vision"...
***
In all, Rommel had to commit the majority of his best units: the Ariete armoured division, the Trieste motorized division, the 90th motorized division, the 15th Panzerdivision (so not the 21st!), but also elements of the Pavia infantry division and Colonel Ecker’s special column …
In all, 37’000 men supported by 250 various armoured tanks, 270 pieces of artillery from 75 to 210 mm (
40x 75mm, 24x 76.2, 20x 88, 40x 100, 26x 105, 12x 149, 8x 150, 88x 152, 8x 170 + 4x210), without forgetting the 2nd air army… concentration of bombers stronger than in Stalingrad:
Luftwaffe +
Regia Aeronautica -> 1’400 sorties against Bir Hakeim in 16 days!
There was Stukas (at least 130!) and other Junker bombers (around 70!), Messerschmitt dogfigthers (almost 170!) … the furious Rommel even calls upon the JU.88s based in Greece and Crete!
After these 1,400 sorties, they begin to run out of petrol and must ration themselves...
***
1. The Ariete division will open the ball, with its 132nd regiment of M13/40 tanks, its 8th regiment of Bersagileri (with Italian trucks!) and its 132nd artillery regiment… but the Ariete division was not expecting at all to find some minefields, neither a strong resistance!
***
2. The later attack starts with 2 divisions: carried out from the north-west by the Trieste motorised division, and from the south-east by the 90th German motorised division… These 2 division being reinforced by 3 armored recon regiments and an infantry battalion from the Italian Division Pavia…
It should be noted that the Germans used their engineers who demined a little...
Then the Panzerdivision participates as well (
from the North, on the 10th June in principle…), to support some infantry assault…
***
3. Evacuation:
The British have prepared a collection point southwest of the position with motorized means that the Free French lack... (
British 7th Motorized Brigade, 7 kilometers away to the south-west)
More than an organized attack, it was a rush by the French to the southwest.
In small groups, motorized or not, they neutralized one by one, on their way, the three Italian-German defensive lines (and several artillery batteries).
***
On the Free French side:
Many anti-tank means, but few heavy artillery and armor...
Main battalions:
• "2e Bataillon de la Légion étrangère"
• "3e Bataillon de la Légion étrangère" (both forming the 13e Demi-brigade de la Légion étrangère)
• "2e Bataillon de marche" (from Ubangui!)
• "Bataillon du Pacifique" (
of the 600 men initially making up the battalion, 300 came from Tahiti and 300 from New-Caledonia!) (by the way, these two last battalions forming together the 2e Demi-brigade de marche)
• "1er Bataillon d’infanterie de marine"
The map shows that the 3e BLE was put as reserve, whereas the 2e BLE, the BM2 and the BP(1) defend the three main “frontline” sectors… the last one, the 1e BIM is not represented here, because it comes just before the action itself – therefore, I suggest deploying this one simply near the 3e BLE, as reserve as well…
With other units for DCA, AT-guns, etc.
As for the troops, the armament has various origins and is rather heterogeneous, even if most of the artillery is of French origin, recovered in the Levant:
Artillery: 24x75mm guns (
disposed at 4 different locations – see video!) + 2 British 86mm howitzers + many mortars (20x 81mm & 24x 60mm)
AT: 30x75mm, 7x47mm, 7x (captured!
) Italian 47mm, 18x 25mm
AA: 18x British 40mm Bofors
Plus a lot of anti-tank rifles, twin-tube flak machine guns, machine guns (flak and infantry)...
And 63 British light infantry armored
Bren-Carrier (divided in 3 squadrons), as well as many British trucks…
! When I write « British » here, it’s just about the origin of the material… it was manned by Frenchies here!
Well supplied, the garrison initially had ten days of supplies and twenty thousand 75 mm shells... And during the second phase of the battle, it was resupplied!
***
The units of the Ariete division approached the French position
from the rear,
in two successive waves... (From the rear, so the first “big” map may be somehow approximative… bah, it gives us the general idea of the Axis offensive.)
As the Germans continued north, where they faced the British, the French (
having finished to deal with the Ariete division) attacked opposing supply convoys and detachments, harassing the lines of communication! Rommel, regaining the advantage over the British, decided to reduce this pocket of resistance…
The RAF will try to help the French flak to support the position against the enemy bombers... this help includes the “Groupe de chasse Alsace”, on British
Hurricanes but with Free French flag!
There was other dogfighters from England and South Africa… The British have been able to use there as well their first
Spitfire deployed in Africa… Very active, the RAF, for example, shot down 42 Stukas in a single outing!
Three times Rommel (who had moved in person) will ask the French to surrender and three times they will respond first with their guns and then with raids against the Italian-German positions. By the way, a Free French raid has brought back supplies from the Axis!
***
A bunch of events can be added, including maybe these as well:
-> Maybe a first to announce that the Division Ariete (or “Ram”) is attacking…
-> The 29th May: “The 3rd Indian Brigade was crushed, while the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 7th British Motorised Brigade withdrew to Bir-el-Gobi and El-Adem. So we are largely isolated from the rest of the British Army.”
-> The 31st May: “As for water, it threatened to run out following the arrival of 620 thirsty Indian soldiers, captured and then abandoned by the Axis forces in the middle of the offensive (but the Germans have taken the time to cut off their beard and bun, leaving them ashamed!), and the presence of 243 prisoners (Italians AND Germans!).
Today, 50 supply trucks have arrived in Bir Hakeim with their cargo of water. On leaving, the convoy recovered the seriously wounded and the useless mouths of these Indians and enemy prisoners.”
-> Towards the end, there was not enough water… the situation becomes critical. The 10th June, an air-to-air refueling brings 170 liters of water, which is passed on to the wounded!
***
Rommel would write later something like: “
Once again, the proof was made that a French leader, determined not to throw the rifle after the first opportunity, can perform miracles, even if the situation is apparently desperate.”
And a last, and new, map:
http://www.france-libre.net/site/wp-con ... im-grd.jpg (showing the main direction of the different attacks)
Here an ultimatum from Rommel:
http://www.france-libre.net/site/wp-con ... l-grd1.jpg
Maybe this cartoon may appear somewhere:
https://www.google.ch/imgres?imgurl=htt ... 6184372947
So possible scenarios to create: one for each one of these operations… including some Japanese submarine action within the second one, of course! 
, the last one… 
