Thermopylae Chapter Opening Scenario*
*
*
Anzac vs Germans*

*
April 1941*

*
Scenario Design: Pyros Lambert*
Map Design: Pyros Lambert*
*
*
Primary Objectives:*
Deploy and then move to the VP flag in orcer to be redirected to the first battle of the new chapter:*
*

NOTES:*
*
This is a 1-turn Path-selection scenario (deploy, move to the appropriate VP path and hit END TURN)*
*
Historical Background*
*
Brallos pass and thermopylae, 24 april 1941   *
(text from www.nzetc.org)*
*
Two roads ran south from Lamia, one to Brallos and the other curling round the foot of the cliffs at Thermopylae on its way to the bottleneck at Molos. The left of the New Zealand front faced north from a mass of rocky crags and cliffs crowned to the south by the Kallidromon Mountain, an impassable barrier. The coast road came straight for seven miles from Lamia, by-passing the large village of Imir Bei in the middle of the flat, swampy estuary of the Sperkhios, which it crossed by the Alamanas Bridge before branching along the hills and cliffs for another nine miles to Molos. From the bridge the river split into two distributaries, one of which broke out by the hot springs of Thermopylae to run almost parallel to the road at a distance of less than a mile, and then northwestwards along a promontory to the Gulf. A small village, Ayias Trias, lay a mile or so east of this final leg of the Sperkhios. The other distributary flowed north-west from near the bridge to reach the sea east of Imir Bei.*
The triangle of land between these streams and the strip between the main one and the hills was marshy and overgrown in places with tall grasses, brushwood and scrub. The distance from the road to the sea narrowed to a mile at Ay Trias and then opened out beyond Molos into a little plain of olive groves three or four miles across. After this the road closed on the coast until it ran at the foot of cliffs which almost reached the sea at Cape Knimis. A re-entrant south-west of Molos was a possible, though difficult, route for outflanking the Brallos Pass.*
The front taken up by the New Zealand Division was from the mouth of the stream east of Imir Bei to a spur south-west of Alamanas Bridge, near the tiny village of Koutseki. The obvious tank obstacles were the two streams; but most of the adjoining swampland was unsuitable for infantry defence, and the front was in effect thrown back to the high ground south of the road and the ground in front of Ay Trias.*
The main gun positions therefore had to be in the foothills west and south of Molos where most would be in full view of the enemy across the Gulf. Some field guns had to be sited almost in the front line to be within reach of the Alamanas Bridge. ‘The country in the hills in the rear of the New Zealand position was very difficult and it was almost impossible to find positions for medium artillery from which it could compete with the enemy on anything like equal terms.* 
The chief danger was thought to be tank attack breaking through at Molos and then swinging round to isolate the Australians at Brallos. The role of the New Zealand Artillery was therefore chiefly the anti-tank defence of the coast road. The Sperkhios had also to be covered by the field guns. Bridges were prepared for demolition and fords mined. The line along the hills seemed strong, its weakness being that communications ran across the front. The weak part was thought to be the right of the front, between the road and the coast by Ay Trias.*
*

