Western Desert Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Rule 1 — Introduction
• Rule 2 — Game Components
• Rule 3 — Basic Game Concepts
• Rule 4 — Sequence of Play
• Rule 5 — Zones of Control
• Rule 6 — Movement
• Rule 7 — Transportation Lines
• Rule 8 — Stacking
• Rule 9 — Combat
• Rule 10 — Armor/Antitank Effects
• Rule 11 — Support
• Rule 12 — Supply
• Rule 13 — Overruns
• Rule 14 — Special Unit Types
• Rule 15 — Unit Breakdowns
• Rule 16 — Air Rules Introduction
• Rule 17 — Airbases
• Rule 18 — Movement of Air Units
• Rule 19 — Patrol Attacks
• Rule 20 — Air Missions
• Rule 21 — Air Combat
• Rule 22 — Antiaircraft
• Rule 23 — Air Unit Repair
• Rule 24 — Special Air Rules
• Rule 25 — Airborne Operations
• Rule 26 — Naval Transport
• Rule 27 — Axis Special Operations
• Rule 28 — Special Rules
• Rule 29 — Reinforcements and Replacements
• Rule 30 — Preparing for Play
• Rule 31 — Victory
• Rule 32 — Historical Options
• Rule 33 — Optional Game Mechanics
• Designer's Notes
• Map Legend
• Unit Identification Chart
  • Unit Counter Examples
  • Unit Size Designators
  • Air Units
  • Air Unit Types
  • Unit Colors
• Combat Results Tables
  • Ground Combat Results Table
  • Bombing Table
  • Armor/Antitank Effects
  • Air Combat Results Table
  • Antiaircraft Fire Table
• Terrain Effects Chart
  • Hexes
  • Hexsides
  • Other Features
  • ZOC Movement Costs Table
  • Overrun Movement Costs
  • Port Table
  • Rail Movement Rates
  • Miscellaneous Movement Costs
  • Airbase Table
  • Air Unit Escape
  • Patrol Attacks
  • Supply Summary
• Turn Record Chart
  • Victory Table
  • Victory Point Table
  • Tobruk Display
• Allied Game Chart
  • Allied Unit Breakdowns
  • Allied Air Unit Repair
  • Allied Raiding Forces
  • Campaign in Greece Table
• Axis Game Chart
  • Axis Unit Breakdowns
  • Axis Air Unit Repair
  • Vichy Table
  • Malta Table
  • Shipping Results Table

Rule 1 — Introduction

Western Desert is a two player game recreating the military situation in Libya, Egypt, and Syria from late 1940 to the start of 1943. At 16 miles per hex, the maps cover the Western Desert theater plus the nearby areas. Each player controls the ground and air forces fighting for control of this region. Air units are based on groups of from 40 to 50 aircraft; ground units represent divisions, brigades, regiments, and battalions. The rules use the basic Europa system as a framework, with specialized rules covering the historical situation in detail.

Rule 2 — Game Components

Western Desert contains the following components:

A. This rules set.

B. Two maps (Europa maps 18 and 19), covering the coastal portions of Libya, Egypt, and the Near East at a scale of 16 miles per hex. The hexes on the maps are numbered, and specific hexes are identified by map number and hex number. For example, 18/4818 refers to hex 4818 on map 18.

C. Two counter sheets (Europa sheets 33 and 34), for a total of 480 counters.

D. A set of charts consisting of:

1. Two combat results/terrain effects charts.

2. One unit identification chart.

3. One turn record chart.

4. One Allied game chart.

5. One Axis game chart.

6. One Allied order of battle.

7. One Axis order of battle.

Rule 3 — Basic Game Concepts

Basic concepts and definitions used throughout the rules are presented below.

A. Units. For the sake of clarity, the term units is used to refer to ground units only, in order to distinguish ground units from air units.

Units are differentiated by unit sizes and unit types, as shown on the unit identification chart. Some overall definitions apply.

1. Division. Any unit with the division size symbol, except for headquarters.

2. Non-Divisional Unit. Any unit smaller than a division, such as a brigade, regiment, battalion, cadre, or headquarters.

3. Artillery. All field artillery and support group units. All artillery units in the game also are non-divisional units. Note that for game purposes antiaircraft and antitank units are not artillery.

4. Combat/Motorized. The unit identification chart shows certain units to be combat/motorized. In addition, when the motorized symbol is used in conjunction with any other unit type symbol, it indicates that the unit is combat/motorized.

B. Sides. Unless noted otherwise, the term Allied refers to all forces controlled by the Allied player: all British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Indian, Free French, Polish, Czech, and US forces. The term Axis refers to all forces controlled by the Axis player: all Italian and German forces. Vichy French forces are initially neutral.

C. Geography. Both Libya and Lebanon contain cities named Tripoli; both Libya and Syria contain cities named Homs. When one of these cities is mentioned and no country is identified, the city in Libya is meant.

The Suez Canal is the canal running from Port Said (19/3420) to Suez (19/3725).

The Delta is the region in Egypt west of the Suez Canal, east of Alexandria (inclusive), and north of Cairo (inclusive).

Cyrenaica is the region in Libya east of hex column 2800.

D. Game Mechanics.

1. Fractions. Unless stated otherwise, always retain fractions when halving. For example, half of 7 is 3 1/2.

2. Cumulative Effects. Unless stated otherwise, all effects to units' strengths and all modifications to die rolls are cumulative. For example, a unit halved in strength twice is quartered in strength.

3. Die Rolls. All rolls made using two dice are specifically identified as such in the rules. All other rolls are made using only one die.

E. Regimental Equivalents. A regimental equivalent (RE) is a measure of the size of a unit. Each battalion equals 1/2 RE. Each brigade, regiment, cadre, or headquarters equals 1 RE. A division equals 2 or 3 REs, depending upon its organization. All Italian divisions have a size of 2 REs each. The size of any other division can be obtained by totaling the REs of its components, excluding the RE of its divisional headquarters (if any). For example, a division consisting of two parachute regiments and a headquarters has a size of 2 REs, while a division consisting of two armored brigades and a support group has a size of 3 REs. The components of a division are kept on the unit breakdown chart.

F. Heavy Equipment. Unit types that have heavy equipment are listed on the unit identification chart. In addition, all units that are supported (Rule 11), except cadres, have heavy equipment. Units with heavy equipment are under certain restrictions in regards to air transport.

G. Control. A player controls a hex if: 1) his units occupy the hex, 2) his units exert an uncontested zone of control into the hex, or 3) his units were the last to occupy or exert an uncontested zone of control into the hex. (Zones of control are defined in Rule 5.)

A player controls Cyrenaica if he controls all cities in Cyrenaica. A player controls the Delta if he controls all cities in the Delta.

Rule 4 — Sequence of Play

Western Desert is played in a series of game turns. Each game turn consists of an Allied player turn followed by an Axis player turn.

A. Sequence. Each player turn consists of the following phases.

1. Initial Phase. The phasing player receives reinforcements and may attempt to repair inoperative air units. Both players determine the supply status of their units.

2. Movement Phase. The phasing player moves his units.

3. Air Phase. Players deploy air units, resolve air combat, and execute air missions.

4. Combat Phase. The phasing player resolves attacks made by his units.

5. Exploitation Phase. The phasing player moves his combat/motorized units.

B. Phasing. During the Allied player turn, the Allied player is the phasing player and the Axis player is the non-phasing player. During the Axis player turn, these roles are reversed.

C. Restrictions. Unless noted otherwise, activities may not be conducted outside this sequence. The activities mentioned above are explained in detail in the rules which follow.

Rule 5 — Zones of Control

The zone of control (ZOC) of a unit represents the control a unit exerts over surrounding terrain. The effects of ZOCs are referred to throughout the rules.

A unit's ZOC is exerted through the six hexsides of the hex the unit occupies into the six surrounding, adjacent hexes. A unit prohibited from entering a specific terrain type or crossing a specific type of hexside does not exert a ZOC into that hex or through that hexside. For example, no unit exerts a ZOC through an all-sea hexside.

Every division, brigade, regiment, and cadre has a ZOC, except for antiaircraft, artillery, and construction engineer regiments and brigades. Battalions, supply counters, and transport counters do not have ZOCs.

Rule 6 — Movement

All phasing units may move during the movement phase. All phasing combat/motorized units may move during the exploitation phase.

Movement is calculated in terms of movement points (MPs). A unit's movement rating gives the number of MPs the unit may normally spend in a movement or exploitation phase. A unit may move up to the limit of its movement rating, as restricted by terrain, ZOCs, and supply.

A unit spends a varying amount of MPs for each hex it enters; this MP cost depends upon the type of terrain in the hex being entered and, in some cases, on the type of terrain of the hexside being crossed. The effects on movement column of the terrain effects chart states the MP costs for the various terrain types. The MP cost to cross a hexside is in addition to the cost to enter a hex; it is indicated by a plus sign (+) in front of the cost. The notation prohibited means that type of terrain may not be entered or crossed by a unit. As a class, such terrain is called prohibited terrain.

Units are moved voluntarily, with each unit spending MPs as it moves from hex to hex. A unit may always move a single hex (except into or across prohibited terrain) in a phase even if the unit begins the phase with insufficient MPs to do so.

A unit with a movement rating of 0 may not move from the hex it occupies for any reason. If forced to retreat due to a combat result, it is eliminated instead.

Overruns (Rule 13) may occur during movement. Special forms of movement, such as rail movement and naval transport, are covered in separate rules.

A. ZOCs and Movement. When a unit exits a hex that is in an enemy ZOC, it must spend a number of MPs to leave the hex, in addition to the terrain costs of movement. The ZOC costs are given on the ZOC movement costs table.

B. Administrative Movement. A non-motorized unit (including non-motorized artillery) may move at a rate of one and one half times its movement rating (dropping fractions) if all of the following conditions are met: 1) the unit moves only by road that turn; 2) the unit moves only in hexes that were controlled by its side at the start of the player turn; 3) the unit does not start adjacent to an enemy unit and does not move adjacent to one at any time during its movement; 4) the unit is in general supply.

C. Transport Counters. The Allied player receives a number of transport counters over the course of the game. A transport counter may combat/motorize one RE of non-motorized or artillery units. The unit to be motorized must start the movement or exploitation phase stacked with the transport counter; both are then moved as a single unit in the phase. The unit uses the transport counter's movement rating and may not use its own. A transport counter may move independently of any unit; it does not count against the stacking limit. For combat purposes, it is treated as a zero strength unit.

Rule 7 — Transportation Lines

There are two types of transportation lines: railroads and roads. Transportation lines increase the ability of units to move. A unit moves along a transportation line by tracing a path through hexes containing connected transportation lines; it may use the transportation line movement rate only when moving in hexes directly connected to one another by the line.

Each railroad is also considered to be a road.

The transportation line movement rates may be used in full hex cities that are connected to transportation lines.

A. Railroads. Rail movement may be used only during the movement phase. A unit moving by rail moves at an accelerated rate, ignoring standard terrain and ZOC costs. To use rail movement, a unit must first entrain by spending 1 MP. When using rail movement, a unit may not enter or leave a hex in an enemy ZOC; it moves several hexes for each MP spent, as given on the rail movement rate table. When rail movement for a unit in a movement phase is completed, the unit is detrained; there is no MP cost to detrain.

A player may use railroads only in hexes that he controls at the start of his player turn. Furthermore, the Axis player may not use rail movement at all unless 1) he controls a full hex city on a rail line and 2) the unit to be moved by rail can trace a path of hexes by rail directly to the city without the path entering an enemy occupied hex or a hex in an enemy ZOC.

B. Roads. A unit moving along a road pays the MP cost for clear terrain for each hex it enters; the actual terrain costs for hexes entered and hexsides crossed are ignored. Movement along a road is subject to the same limitations as regular movement. For example, a unit moving along a road must spend additional MPs to leave a hex in an enemy ZOC.

A unit may use a road anywhere, unlike the use of railroads. Roads may be used in both the movement and exploitation phases.

Note that railroads are also considered to be roads. Even when a unit is prohibited from using a railroad in a hex, it may still use the transportation line there as a road.

C. Breaks. Any unit may break a rail line in a hex by spending 3 MPs there. Rail lines may also be broken due to bombing (Rule 20.F). A unit may not use rail movement to enter or leave a hex in which the rail line is broken. Rail line breaks may be repaired (Rule 14.A). Note: Roads may not be broken.

D. Railroad Construction. At the start of the game, the rail line from Matruh to Tobruk does not exist. A railhead marker is placed in Matruh to show this. This transportation line does not exist at all (either as a railroad or a road) until it is built. The rail line may be used out to the railhead hex (inclusive) but not beyond it.

The Allied player may begin building the rail line one hex per turn starting on his Aug II 41 player turn. During the Allied initial phase, the next hex beyond the railhead marker may become a rail hex if the following conditions are met: 1) the Allied player controls the railhead hex and the hex of construction; 2) general supply can be traced to both hexes (Rule 12); 3) neither hex is adjacent to any Axis unit. If the conditions are met, the Allied player may extend the railhead one hex. The newly built rail line hex is fully operational (as both a railroad and a road) on the turn of its construction.

Example: On the Allied initial phase of the Aug II 41 turn, all conditions for building the railroad from Matruh (19/1225) to the next hex (19/1126) have been met. Accordingly, the Allied player moves the railhead marker to hex 19/1126. The rail line is now fully operational to hex 19/1126.

Rule 8 — Stacking

A. Stacking Limit. In a single hex, a player may stack six units, no more than three of which may be divisions. In addition to this, a player may stack two artillery units in a hex. For example, a player could stack in a hex two divisions, four regiments, and two artillery regiments.

B. Effects. No unit may end a phase in violation of the stacking limit. If, as a result of combat, a unit is forced to retreat in violation of stacking, it must continue to retreat until the stacking limit is no longer violated. If it can not do so, it is eliminated instead.

Except for airborne and seaborne operations, opposing units may not stack together in the same hex. Thus under normal circumstances no unit may enter a hex containing an enemy unit.

Rule 9 — Combat

During the combat phase, the phasing player's units may attack adjacent enemy units. However, no unit may attack into or across terrain prohibited to that unit. Attacking is voluntary; units are not required to attack.

A. Procedure.

1. The attack (combat) strengths of all units attacking into an adjacent enemy occupied hex are totaled. The total attack strength is modified by terrain, supply, and support.

2. The defense (combat) strengths of all units in the attacked hex are totaled. The total defense strength is modified by terrain, supply, and support.

3. The total attack strength is compared to the total defense strength in the form attacker:defender to obtain a combat ratio. This ratio rounded down in favor of the defender to correspond to a simple odds ratio on the combat results table. For example, an attack strength of 34 attacking a defense strength of 9 forms a combat ratio of 34:9, which rounds down to 3:1.

4. One die is rolled, and the number rolled is modified by any terrain and armor/antitank effects (Rule 10). The adjusted die roll is cross-indexed with the odds column to obtain a combat result. The combat result affects the units involved in the combat; it is implemented immediately.

B. General Restrictions.

1. No unit may attack or be attacked more than once per combat phase.

2. All units defending in a hex must be attacked collectively, with their defense strengths combined. Units in a hex may not be attacked individually.

3. Each attack must be directed against the units occupying a single hex. Two or more enemy occupied hexes may not be attacked as a single attack.

4. Units stacked in the same hex may attack into different hexes, but each hex attacked must be resolved as a separate combat.

5. A single unit may not split its attack strength so as to attack into more than one hex.

6. The attacker determines the order in which the attacks are resolved.

C. Combat Results. In the following results, A means that the combat result affects the attacking units and D means that the combat result affects the defending units.

AE: Attacker Eliminated/DE: Defender Eliminated. All affected units are eliminated. Any unit with a cadre strength is reduced to its cadre strength; all other units are removed from play. Units that are reduced to cadres must retreat.

AH: Attacker Half Eliminated/DH: Defender Half Eliminated. The owning player must eliminate units so that at least half of the total strength of the affected units is eliminated. All surviving affected units must retreat.

AR: Attacker Retreats/DR: Defender Retreats. All affected units must retreat.

NE: No Effect. The attack is inconclusive; neither side takes losses or retreats.

HX: Half Exchange. The side with the lower combat strength (or the defender if both sides are equal in strength) is eliminated; units reduced to cadres must retreat. The other player must then eliminate units so that his total strength loss at least equals one half the total strength loss of his opponent. For example, if the defender loses 10 strength points, then the attacker must eliminate at least 5 strength points.

EX: Exchange. The side with the lower combat strength (or the defender if both sides are equal in strength) is eliminated; units reduced to cadres must retreat. The other player must then eliminate units so that his total strength loss at least equals that of his opponent.

D. Losses. All combat losses are calculated using the printed strengths of the involved units. Terrain, supply, and support may modify strengths for combat resolution, but these factors are not considered when assessing losses. When determining losses, always use the attacker's attack strengths and the defender's defense strengths.

Air units may aid both the attacker and defender in combat (Rule 20.F). However, the effects of air units are not included when determining losses, and air units are never eliminated due to ground combat resolution.

E. Cadres. Various divisions are able to take losses in combat and remain in play at reduced strengths. These divisions have cadres or divisionsgruppen (for brevity, henceforth solely referred to as cadres) printed on the back of the counters. When the division is eliminated in combat, it is reduced to its cadre instead of being removed from play. When calculating the total strength loss in a combat, the strength of a division reduced to a cadre is counted fully. For example, an 8 strength point division reduced to its 3 strength point cadre is counted as a strength loss of 8, not 5.

F. Movement After Combat.

1. Retreats. When a unit is required to retreat, the owning player must move it one hex away from the hex it occupied during combat. A unit must be retreated in accordance with the following priorities: 1) to a hex not in any enemy ZOC and not in violation of stacking; 2) to a hex not in any enemy ZOC but in violation of stacking; 3) to a hex in an enemy ZOC (regardless of stacking). When a unit violates the stacking limit, it must continue to retreat, in accordance with the above priorities, until the stacking limit is no longer violated. If it can not do this, it is eliminated. A unit which retreats to a hex in an enemy ZOC is reduced to a cadre; if it does not have a cadre (or already is a cadre) it is eliminated. A unit with no retreat route except into or across prohibited terrain or into enemy occupied hexes is totally eliminated, even if it has a cadre.

2. Advances. Advance after combat is voluntary. If an attacked hex is cleared of defending units, the attacking units may occupy the hex, up to the stacking limit. The advance must be performed immediately upon resolution of the attack, before any other attack is resolved. Defending units may not advance after combat.

G. Zero Strength Units. Any unit with an attack strength of zero may not attack by itself. It may voluntarily be included in an attack made by other units, whereupon it is affected by the results of the attack (including advance after combat).

Any unit with a defense strength of zero that is not stacked with non-zero defense strength units is automatically eliminated when attacked by any unit.

A unit with a combat strength of zero is subject to all limitations of this rule.

H. Terrain Effects. The terrain of the defender's hex and the terrain of the hexside across which the attack is made may affect combat resolution. The effects on combat column of the terrain effects chart summarizes these effects, and they are explained in detail below. The references to AEC refer to armor capabilities as explained in Rule 10. Terrain is rated by its effect on units attacking into such a hex or across such a hexside. Die roll modifications apply to the die roll used to resolve the attack.

1. Hexes.

Clear: No effect.

Sand: No effect.

Rough: The die roll is modified by −1.

Mountain: No AEC. All attacking units are halved in strength.

Swamp: No AEC. All attacking motorized and artillery units are halved in strength. The die roll is modified by −2.

2. Hexsides.

River: All units except artillery attacking across a river hexside are halved in strength.

Major River: All units except artillery attacking across a major river hexside are quartered in strength.

Wadi: No effect.

Escarpment: All units except artillery attacking up an escarpment hexside (for example, from 19/0426 to 19/0326) are halved in strength. Units attacking down an escarpment hexside are unaffected.

Mountain: Units attacking across a mountain hexside attack as if they were attacking into a mountain hex. The actual terrain of the hex being attacked is ignored.

Impassible Escarpment: no unit except artillery may attack across such a hexside.

Sebkha: No unit except artillery may attack across a sebkha hexside.

Full Lake or Full Sea: No unit except artillery may attack across such hexsides.

3. Other Features.

Reference City: No effect.

Dot City: No AEC.

Full Hex City: No AEC. All units except assault engineers and artillery are halved in strength. The die roll is modified by −1.

Fortress: No AEC. All attacking units except assault engineers and artillery are halved in strength.

Fort Counter: No AEC. The die roll is modified by −1.

Rule 10 — Armor/Antitank Effects

Various units have armor and antitank capabilities; specific capabilities of each unit type are shown on the unit identification chart.

A. Categories.

1. AECA: Armor Effects Capability in the Attack. AECA expresses the ability of a unit to use armor effects when attacking.

2. AECD: Armor Effects Capability in the Defense. AECD expresses the ability of a unit to use armor effects when defending.

3. ATEC: Antitank Effects Capability. ATEC expresses the ability of a unit to defend against attacks when the attacker has AECA.

B. Values. Armor and antitank effects are calculated on a proportional basis, using regimental equivalents. To calculate the proportion, a player must know the value of each of his involved REs. There are four possible values a unit may have.

1. Full. Each RE of the unit is counted as fully capable. For example, an attacking German panzer division (2 REs) is counted as 2 REs of AECA.

2. Half. Each RE of the unit is counted as one half capable. For example, a British armored brigade (1 RE) is counted as 1/2 RE of AECD; the unit's remaining 1/2 RE is counted as having no AECD.

3. Neutral. The REs of the unit are not counted when determining the proportion. For example, the 3 REs of a German motorized division are not counted at all when determining ATEC.

4. None. All REs of the unit are counted in the proportion as having no capability.

C. Proportions. To calculate the proportion in a category, the player totals the number of non-neutral REs involved. This number is then divided into the number of REs that have a capability. The resulting number is expressed as a fraction. For example, if two British infantry divisions (6 REs) and one armored division (3 REs) are attacking, then three out of a total of nine REs have AECA, for a fraction of 1/3.

Once the proportion is calculated, it is used to determine the die roll modification to combat. If the proportion is less than one fifth (1/5), then there is no die roll modification in that category.

1. AECA. When the AECA proportion is at least one fifth but less than one half (1/2), the die roll modification is +1.

When the AECA proportion is at least one half but less than one (1/1), the die roll modification is +2.

When the AECA proportion is one, the die roll modification is +3.

2. AECD. When the AECD proportion is at least one fifth but less than one half, the die roll modification is −1.

When the AECD proportion is one half or greater, the die roll modification is −2.

The defender may not use AECD in a combat if the attacking units have (or are capable of) one half or more AECA. In these situations, the defender may use only ATEC.

3. ATEC. ATEC is used only when the attacking units have one half or more AECA. When determining if ATEC may be used, it is necessary only to determine if the attacking units are capable of one half or more AECA, even if the attacking units do not use this capability.

When the ATEC proportion is at least one fifth but less than one half, the die roll modification is −1.

When the ATEC proportion is at least one half but less than one, the die roll modification is −2.

When the ATEC proportion is one, the die roll modification is −4.

Example 1: A panzer regiment, two infantry regiments, and one artillery regiment are attacking. The artillery unit is AECA neutral and thus is not counted. This leaves three REs for the proportion, one of which is AECA. The proportion is 1/3, which is over 1/5 but less than 1/2. Thus, 1 is added to the die roll.

Example 2: Two Italian armored cadres (1 RE each) and one Italian infantry division (2 REs) are defending. The Italian armor is 1/2 AECD, giving a total of 1 RE of AECD in this case. There are four REs for the proportion, one of which is AECD. The proportion is 1/4; so 1 is subtracted from the die roll.

D. Cumulative Effects. When both AECA and AECD or both AECA and ATEC are used in a combat, the modifications to the die roll are cumulative. For example, if the attacker is full AECA (+3) and the defender is full ATEC (−4), the net modification is −1.

E. Half Capability. Any unit listed as half capable in a category may be considered to be neutral in that category, at the owning player's option.

F. Neutral Restriction. In any combat, for any category, the owning player may not have more than twice the number of REs of neutral units as there are of capable units. Neutral REs in excess of this figure are counted as having no capability (rather than neutral) in the category.

Example: One panzer regiment, two motorized regiments, and two artillery regiments are attacking. Of the total of five REs, one is AECA and the remaining four are neutral. However, only two (twice one) of these may be used as neutral; the remaining two are considered to have no capability. Thus, the proportion is 1/3.

G. Terrain. The terrain effects chart lists several terrain types as no AEC. This means that AECA may not be used by a unit attacking into such a hex or across such a hexside. It means AECD may not be used by a unit defending in such a hex. ATEC is unaffected and may be used in such a hex if the attackers are capable of one half or more AECA, even though AECA may not be used due to the terrain.

Example: A British tank brigade is attacking an antitank battalion in a fortress. Due to the fortress, the attacking unit may not use AECA. Since the tank brigade is capable of one half AECA or more, ATEC may be used by the defender. Thus, the die roll would be modified by −4.

Rule 11 — Support

All units possess an intrinsic combat ability as given by their printed combat strengths. However, certain units are unable to use their strengths fully due to a lack of supporting arms. Such units are termed unsupported.

Most units have supporting arms. These units are:

1. All divisions.

2. All cadres.

3. All artillery units.

4. All headquarters.

5. All non-divisional units with a dot (the supported indicator) in the upper left corners of their counters.

All other units are unsupported. An unsupported unit has its combat strength halved as long as it remains unsupported.

When defending, a division, headquarters, or artillery unit provides support for all units stacked with it. When attacking, the unit providing the support must also participate in the same attack as the units it is supporting, as well as being stacked in the same hex.

Note that cadres and non-divisional units marked with support indicators do not provide support to any unit stacked with them.

Rule 12 — Supply

The effectiveness of units is affected by supply conditions. For most game functions, units operate to their full extent if they are in general supply; they operate less effectively if they are out of general supply. Furthermore, units must be in attack supply in order to attack at full strength.

A. Supply Lines. The supply conditions of units are determined by the tracing of supply lines. A supply line may not be traced into a hex occupied by an enemy unit, into a hex in an enemy ZOC unless the hex is occupied by a friendly unit, into a prohibited terrain hex, or across a prohibited terrain hexside.

B. General Supply. The general supply status of all units is checked during the initial phase of each player turn. Units out of general supply at this time remain out of general supply throughout the entire player turn.

A unit is in general supply if a supply line up to seven hexes in length can be traced from the unit to:

1. an unblocked transportation line that is connected to a supply terminal. The line is blocked if: a) a hex of the line is occupied by an enemy unit or b) a hex of the line is in an enemy ZOC unless the hex is occupied by a friendly unit. Each side has its own supply terminals, which may be used only if that side controls them. The Allied supply terminals are Alexandria, Cairo, and Suez. The Axis supply terminal is Tripoli. The Vichy supply terminals are Beyrouth and Damas.

2. a supply counter. The supply counter is reduced one step when it provides general supply, regardless of the number of units drawing general supply from it. A player is not required to use a supply counter to provide general supply; he may elect to leave units out of general supply instead.

Example: The Allied player has a division, two brigades, and a supply counter in Tobruk (18/4818); the Axis player has units in all land hexes adjacent to Tobruk. Since the units in Tobruk can not trace a supply line to a supply terminal, the Allied player expends one step from the supply counter in Tobruk in order to provide general supply for the units there.

A unit out of general supply has its defense strength halved, its movement rating halved, and its attack and overrun strengths quartered. A unit in general supply has its full defense strength, its full movement rating, and its full overrun strength, but has its attack strength halved. (A phasing unit, regardless of its general supply condition, may attack at full strength only if it uses attack supply.)

C. Attack Supply. A unit may attack using its full attack strength only if it is in attack supply. It is in attack supply if it can trace a supply line up to seven hexes in length to a supply counter, which must expend one or two steps of supply. Each step of supply provides attack supply for 10 REs of units. Units attacking the same hex may draw their attack supplies from different supply counters.

Example: The Allied player is attacking a hex with units totaling 14 REs. Since each step of a supply counter provides attack supply for 10 REs, the Allied player would have to expend two steps to provide attack supply for all the units involved in the attack. If the Allied player expended only one step, then 4 REs of attacking units would not have attack supply.

D. Supply Counters. A supply counter has heavy equipment and never counts against the stacking limit. Each step of supply is 2 REs in size. The presence of a supply counter is ignored in hexes where combat or an overrun is occurring; it is never eliminated or retreated as a result of such actions. If a unit ever enters a hex occupied by an opposing player's supply counter, a die is rolled for each step of supply there. On a roll of 5 or 6 the step of supply is captured; on any other roll it is eliminated. Captured supplies may be used normally.

If two supply counters each with one step are in a hex, the owning player may merge them into a single supply counter having two steps. Similarly, the owning player may split a two step supply counter into two one step counters. A player may merge and split supply counters only during his player turn.

A player may voluntarily eliminate any of his supply counters at any time during his player turn.

The phasing player may move his supply counters during his movement phase. A supply counter has no intrinsic movement ability. Instead, each side is given a number of supply movement points (SMPs), as specified on the orders of battle. A player's SMP number is the total number of SMPs he may use in a turn for moving his supply counters. It costs no SMPs to move supplies by rail. It costs one SMP per hex to move a step of supply by road. It costs three time the combat/motorized MP cost to move a step of supply off-road. A supply counter may not be moved into or through a hex in an enemy ZOC unless a friendly unit occupies the hex. A supply unit leaving or moving through an enemy ZOC spends additional SMPs: 2 to leave a hex in an enemy ZOC; 3 to move directly from one hex in an enemy ZOC to another. Note: SMPs not used in a turn are lost; they do not accumulate for use in future turns.

Example: The Allied player has one step of supply in Suez (19/3725) and one step of supply in Alexandria (19/2423); he has 30 SMPs available. During his movement phase, he moves the supply counter at Suez to Haifa (19/4312) by rail, spending 0 SMPs. He moves the supply counter in Alexandria by rail to Matruh (0 SMPs), then by road to 19/0526 (7 SMPs), and then due south overland to 19/0530 (15 SMPs, paying triple costs for the escarpment hexside crossed and the four clear hexes entered). The Allied player has spent 22 SMPs so far and has 8 remaining.

Rule 13 — Overruns

Overruns occur during the movement and exploitation phases. The phasing player may perform an overrun by moving units into a single hex adjacent to the enemy units to be overrun; the overrunning units may not exceed the stacking limit of the hex. All overrunning units must be able to enter the hex being overrun. The overrunning units must have a total overrun strength sufficient to achieve 10:1 odds or more against the enemy units; the odds are computed in the same way combat odds are, taking all terrain, supply, and support modifications into account. The overrun strength of a unit is the unit's attack strength as modified by its supply condition (as given in Rule 12).

Units being overrun immediately lose their ZOCs. Each overrunning unit must spend MPs sufficient to enter the hex being overrun, paying all terrain, ZOC, and overrun MP costs. (Note that ZOC costs are not paid due to units in the hex being overrun but are paid due to enemy units in adjacent hexes.) Overrun MP costs must be paid by each unit participating in an overrun, as given on the overrun MP costs table. The units in the hex being overrun are completely eliminated and removed from play (even if they have cadres), and the overrunning units may advance into the hex. This advance is optional, but each overrunning unit must spend the required MPs even if it does not advance. After executing an overrun, the units may continue moving if they have sufficient MPs remaining.

A unit with insufficient MPs to pay the full MP costs for an overrun may not participate in the overrun, even if it has not moved at all in the phase.

Overrunning units may use the road movement rate when executing an overrun if all other considerations for road movement are met.

A unit with a defense strength of zero may be overrun at 12:1 odds by any unit that has an attack strength greater than zero.

Rule 14 — Special Unit Types

A. Construction Engineers. A construction engineer may build an airfield in any clear or rough hex (including such hexes containing other features such as reference cities), except that an airfield may not be built in a hex already containing an airfield. To build an airfield, the unit must be in general supply and must spend 6 MPs during the movement phase. When the cost is paid, an airfield marker is placed in the engineer's hex. Two construction engineer units in the same hex may combine to build an airfield; the owning player may split the construction cost between them as he wishes, as long as the full 6 MPs for construction are spent.

A construction engineer may build a fort in any clear or rough hex, except such a hex already containing a fort or a fortress. The unit begins building a fort during its initial phase; it must be in general supply. (A fort counter should be placed on the unit to show the construction.) During that unit's initial phase of the following game turn, the fort is fully built (and is placed on the bottom of the stack in the hex) if the engineer is still in the hex and is in general supply. If the engineer is out of general supply, the fort is not yet built and remains in the building stage for another turn. If the engineer leaves the hex at any time before the fort is built, the fort counter is removed from the map.

A construction engineer may improve the condition of a fortress. The engineer must occupy the hex of the unimproved fortress and follow the same procedure as for building a fort. Once the procedure is completed, the fortress is improved. An improved fortress functions as a fortress; an unimproved fortress functions as a fort. The effects of both are described on the terrain effects chart. Whenever a player gains control of a fortress hex that previously was controlled by the opposing player, the fortress automatically becomes unimproved. For example, if Tobruk is an improved fortress controlled by the Allied player and the Axis player gains control of the hex, then Tobruk is an unimproved fortress controlled by the Axis player. It is suggested that a fort marker be placed on the fortress symbol on the map when the fortress is unimproved and be removed when the fortress is improved.

A construction engineer may demolish the capacity of a port. For every 3 MPs the unit spends in the port's hex, one hit of damage is applied to the port. The engineer must be in general supply.

A construction engineer may repair damaged ports, airbases, and rail lines. In all cases, the general procedure is the same: the unit must spend a number of MPs in the hex of the item to be repaired. It costs an engineer 2 MPs to remove one hit from an airbase, 4 MPs to remove one hit from a port, and 4 MPs to remove a hit from a damaged rail line.

B. Assault Engineers. An assault engineer attacking into or defending in a full hex city or fortress is considered to be supported and has its combat strength doubled. An assault engineer has no construction abilities.

C. Artillery. Artillery units do not defend with their full strength unless the number of non-artillery REs in a hex at least equals the number of artillery REs. All artillery units in excess of this number defend with a total strength of 1.

Example: The Axis player has three 2-3-6 artillery regiments and one 2-10 motorized regiment defending in a hex. Since there is only 1 RE of non-artillery units in the hex, only one artillery regiment may defend using its full defense strength. The other two artillery units defend with a strength of 1. Thus, the total defense strength of the hex is 6.

Artillery units do not attack with their full strength unless the number of non-artillery REs participating in the attack at least equals the number of artillery REs. All artillery units in excess of this number attack with a total strength of 1.

D. Headquarters. A headquarters unit has only a movement rating; its combat strength is zero. A headquarters unit is 1 RE in size, has heavy equipment, and does not have a ZOC.

Rule 15 — Unit Breakdowns

A. Procedure. A division may break down into its component units at the start of a friendly movement phase. There is no MP cost to break down. The division is removed from the map and its breakdown components are placed in its hex. The stacking limit may be violated when a unit breaks down as long as the limit will not be violated at the end of the phase.

A division may be assembled at the end of any friendly movement phase. The component units of the division must be stacked in the same hex; they are removed from the map and the division is placed in the hex.

Combat/motorized divisions may break down and assemble during the exploitation phase in the same manner as all divisions do in the movement phase.

B. Unit Breakdown Charts. Breakdown possibilities are shown on the breakdown charts. The charts detail, by unit type and combat strengths, all allowed breakdowns. In general, a division may break down either into supported components or into a headquarters and unsupported components. Certain British armored divisions are organized around a support group initially. These divisions may only break down into a support group plus unsupported armored brigades. When the support groups are converted to armored division headquarters, these divisions may break down as do other divisions.

Each chart has a number of labeled boxes. When a division is broken down, the division counter should be placed in the appropriate box on the chart to show this fact. When a division is assembled, its components should be placed in its box. Note: By following this procedure, players can easily determine the number of REs in a division.

C. Breakdown Combinations. Allied and German divisions enter the game already broken down, and the players may assemble the divisions during play. Certain divisions may be assembled only from specific components, while other divisions may be assembled from any appropriate components.

1. Specific. Regiments with divisional identifications may be assembled only into the division with the same identification, and that division may be assembled only from those components. There are three divisions of this type: the German 164th Division and the Italian 80th and 185th Divisions.

A British armored division organized around a support group must contain the support group with the same unit identification as the division. For example, the 7th Armored Division must contain the 7th Support Group when the division is assembled. Such an armored division may contain any appropriate armored brigades.

2. General. Other divisions may be assembled from any appropriate components. For example, a German panzer division may be assembled from any 5-3-10 panzer regiment and any 3-10 motorized regiment.

A player may substitute a stronger component unit than is called for by the division. The unit must have the same unit type, the same unit size, and an equal or greater movement rating as the unit for which it is substituting. For example, the Allied player may assemble a 7-8 infantry division from two 2-8 infantry brigades and one 3-8 infantry brigade, instead of three 2-8 infantry brigades. However, doing this does not increase the strength of the division.

A player may not mix nationalities when assembling divisions. For example, an Italian 2-10 motorized regiment may not be part of a German motorized division.

Rule 16 — Air Rules Introduction

A. Air Units. Air units are shown on the unit identification chart. The air unit codes table defines the three basic categories of air units: fighters, bombers, and transports. Within the fighter category, two further terms are used: interceptor and escort. An interceptor is a fighter flying the interception mission. An escort is a fighter flying the escort mission.

B. Concepts.

1. Operative. Under normal conditions, air units are operative and may function to the full extent the rules allow. Due to a variety of causes, air units may become inoperative. An inoperative air unit can not function normally (such as fly missions or make patrol attacks) and must remain at its airbase until repaired. An inoperative air unit should be placed face down on its airbase to show its condition.

2. Target Hex. The target hex of an air unit is the hex in which it is to perform its mission. For example, the target hex of a bomber flying the ground support mission is the hex occupied by the enemy units to be bombed.

C. Air Phase Sequence. Activity within the air phase occurs in the following sequence.

1. Phasing Player Air Movement Step.

2. Non-Phasing Player Interceptor Movement Step.

3. Air Combat Resolution Step.

4. Mission Resolution Step.

5. Non-Phasing Player Interceptor Return Step.

6. Phasing Player Air Unit Return Step.

Rule 17 — Airbases

Air units take off from and land at airbases. When not flying a mission, an air unit must be at a friendly controlled airbase.

A. Capacity. The capacity of an airbase is the number of air units that may take off from that airbase each air phase. There is no limit to the number of air units that may land or be present at an airbase. The capacities of airbases are shown on the airbase table.

B. Air Unit Escape. If an enemy ground unit enters an airbase hex, all operative air units there may try to escape; airbase capacity is not considered when air units attempt to escape. An air unit is not required to try to escape. A die is rolled for each air unit trying to escape:

On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, the air unit escapes. The air unit must immediately fly to an airbase within range of three times its printed movement rating; it becomes inoperative upon arrival. If there is no airbase within range, the air unit is eliminated.

On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the air unit does not escape. It remains at the airbase.

After all escape attempts are made at an airbase, the status of the airbase hex is checked. If enemy ground units control or subsequently gain control of the hex that player turn, all friendly air units at the airbase are eliminated.

C. Airbase Capture. All enemy airbases may be captured and used. An enemy airbase is captured when a friendly ground unit gains control of the hex.

D. Airbase Damage. Any ground unit with a combat strength greater then zero may damage the capacity of an airbase. The unit must be in the airbase's hex. The capacity of the airbase is reduced by one for every 2 MPs spent by the unit. Hit markers may be used to show this damage. The capacity of an airbase may be reduced due to bombing (per Rule 20.F). Each hit on an airbase reduces its capacity by one. Damaged airbases may be repaired (Rule 14.A).

Rule 18 — Movement of Air Units

Each air unit has a movement rating which states the basic number of MPs it has available; this number may be modified depending upon the mission the air unit is flying. The modified number is the maximum number of MPs the air unit may use to fly from its base to its target hex during the air phase; it is the maximum number of MPs it may use when returning to base during the air return step. As an air unit moves, it spends 1 MP for each hex it enters; terrain has no effect on the movement of air units. Each air unit moves individually.

An air unit, depending upon its air unit type and the mission it is flying, may fly during an air movement step or an interceptor movement step. Only the air units of the player named in the movement step may fly during the step.

During the air return steps, air units return to base. An air unit must return to a friendly airbase and is eliminated if it can not do so.

Rule 19 — Patrol Attacks

Each operative fighter air unit at an airbase (i.e., not flying a mission) has a patrol zone. A patrol zone covers every hex within one half the movement rating (rounded down) of the exerting fighter. For example, a Me 109E fighter (movement rating of 7) has a patrol zone extending out to three hexes.

Fighters may make patrol attacks during the enemy player's air movement step. When an enemy air unit enters a hex in the patrol zone of a fighter, the enemy air unit is subject to a patrol attack. The air attack strength of the fighter is compared to the air defense strength of the enemy air unit. This comparison is used to determine the success of the attack:

If the fighter's strength is equal to or less than the enemy air unit's strength, a die roll of 6 will turn back the enemy air unit.

If the fighter's strength is greater than the enemy air unit's strength but less than twice as great, a die roll of 5 or 6 will turn back the enemy air unit.

If the fighter's strength is at least twice as great as the enemy air unit's strength, a die roll of 4, 5, or 6 will turn back the enemy air unit.

The turn back result due to patrol attacks is the same as the turn back result due to air combat (Rule 21.B).

Patrol attacks may be made only during the enemy player's air movement step; they may not be made during the interceptor movement or air return steps. Patrol attacks are not missions, are not air combat, and do not count against airbase capacity. A fighter making a patrol attack is not subject to any adverse effects.

A fighter may make only one patrol attack per air phase. It is not required to make any patrol attack at all, and it need not make a patrol attack against the first air unit that enters its patrol zone.

An air unit may be subjected to only one patrol attack per hex entered; it is liable to a patrol attack in each hex it enters in enemy patrol zones.

Rule 20 — Air Missions

Air units may fly any of several missions, depending upon air unit type. The missions are described in detail below. Each mission lists which air unit types may fly the mission, when the mission may be flown, and what the effects of the mission are.

A. Interception. Fighters may fly interception during the interceptor movement step. An interceptor (a fighter flying this mission) may fly to any hex within range of one half its movement rating; the hex must contain enemy air units flying missions. The purpose of interception is to engage enemy air units in air combat.

B. Scramble. In addition to interception, a fighter may scramble during the interceptor movement step, if the fighter's airbase is the target hex of enemy air units. A scrambling fighter may fly to an airbase within range of its printed movement rating, landing at the airbase during the air return step. A fighter may not scramble to an airbase that is in the target hex of any enemy air units.

C. Escort. Fighters may fly escort missions during the air movement step. An escort (a fighter flying this mission) flies to a hex within range of its printed movement rating; the hex must be a target hex of other friendly air units. The purpose of escort is to protect the other friendly air units in the hex during air combat.

D. Transfer. All air unit types may fly transfer missions during the air movement step. An air unit may transfer to an airbase within range of its printed movement rating and then fly a different (non-transfer) mission in the same air movement step.

Alternatively, an air unit flying this mission may fly to any airbase within range of three times its printed movement rating. If the airbase is not within interception range of any enemy fighter, the air unit may continue to transfer to another airbase within range of three times its printed movement rating. The air unit may continue to transfer in this manner any number of times. An air unit transferring in this manner may not fly a different mission in the same air movement step.

E. Transport. Transports may fly transport missions, carrying ground units, during the air movement step. A transport may not carry any ground unit which has heavy equipment; all other ground units may be carried. The ground unit to be carried (the cargo) must start the air movement step at the airbase of the transport.

All air combat and antiaircraft fire which affect a transport also affect its cargo. If a transport is eliminated, its cargo also is eliminated. If a transport is aborted or turned back, its cargo returns to base with the transport. When two or more transports combine to carry a unit, then a result to any one of the transports also affects the cargo. Always use the most severe result to the transports as the effect upon the cargo. For example, if one transport is turned back and the other eliminated, then the cargo is eliminated.

There are two types of transport missions.

1. Regular Transport. Each transport may carry up to 1 RE of ground units. A transport may fly to any airbase within range of twice its movement rating, landing there with its cargo during the air return step. Alternatively, a transport may fly to an airbase within range of its printed movement rating, land cargo there during the mission resolution step, and then return to any airbase within range of its printed movement rating during the air return step. It may not carry cargo during the air return step.

2. Air Drop. Airborne units may be air dropped by transports. The target hex of an air drop may be any hex except for the following terrain types: prohibited terrain, mountain, swamp, salt marsh, or full hex city. The target hex may be in enemy ZOCs or occupied by enemy units. The effects of air drops are covered in Rule 25.

A transport may carry 1/2 RE of airborne units. Thus, two transports are required to carry a 1 RE airborne unit on an air drop. A transport may fly to any target hex within range of its printed movement rating, dropping the airborne unit in the hex during the mission resolution step.

F. Bombing. Any air unit with a bombing strength greater than zero may fly bombing missions. Air units fly bombing missions during the air movement step.

Most bombing missions are resolved during the mission resolution step, after air combat and antiaircraft fire in hex has been resolved. Air units bombing a target may bomb it individually, or some (up to all) may combine their bombing strengths to make a single bombing attack. Any exceptions to this general case are stated in the rules of the specific bombing missions.

Several bombing missions require the use of the bombing table to resolve bombing attacks. This table is used by cross-indexing the total bombing strength of the attack with a die roll to obtain a result. There are two possible results: M (miss) and H (hit). A miss has no effect on the target; a hit affects the target, as described in each bombing mission.

Except for defensive support, air units may not bomb in friendly controlled hexes. For example, the Allied player may not bomb the port of Benghazi if Benghazi is currently Allied controlled.

1. Strategic Bombing. The following missions may be flown by air units with strategic bombing strengths greater than zero.

a. Ports. For each bombing attack made upon a port, the bombing table is consulted. Each hit achieved on the port is marked with a hit marker. Each hit decreases the capacity of the port by 1 RE.

b. Suez Canal. Only Axis air units may fly this mission. For each bombing attack made upon a Suez Canal port (Port Said, Ismailia, or Suez), the bombing table is consulted. Each hit achieved earns the Axis player one victory point. The capacity of the port is not affected by hits from air units flying this mission.

2. Tactical Bombing. The following missions may be flown by air units with tactical bombing strengths greater then zero.

a. Air Units. Enemy air units at airbases (i.e., not flying missions) may be bombed. All fighters have their tactical bombing strengths increased by 1 when flying this mission. For example, a fighter with a tactical bombing strength of 0 would have a strength of 1 when flying this mission. For each bombing attack, the bombing table is consulted. A hit on an operative air unit renders it inoperative. A hit on an inoperative air unit eliminates it.

b. Airbases. Air units may bomb airbases. For each bombing attack, the bombing table is consulted. Each hit achieved upon the airbase decreases the capacity of the airbase by 1. When the capacity of an airbase is reduced to 0, all further hits against the airbase are ignored.

c. Ground Support. Air units may aid attacks made by friendly ground units. The air units fly to the hex occupied by enemy ground units to be attacked. The air units remain in the target hex until the end of the combat phase returning to base at that time. During the combat phase, the air units' tactical bombing strengths are added to the total attack strength attacking the hex. Terrain does not affect tactical bombing strengths. The total tactical bombing strength contributed to an attack may not exceed the total printed strength of the attacking ground units; bombing strength points in excess of this are ignored.

d. Defensive Support. During the owning player's air movement step, air unit on this mission fly to the hex of the potentially defending friendly ground unit. (This hex may be unoccupied or enemy occupied, in anticipation that friendly units will occupy the hex at a later point.) The air units remain in the hex until the start of the next friendly air phase, returning to base at that time. This late return does not interfere with their ability to fly new missions in that air phase.

Defensive support air units add their tactical bombing strengths to the total defense strength of the friendly ground units in the hex. Terrain does not affect tactical bombing strengths. The total tactical bombing strength contributed by the air units may not exceed the total printed strength of the defending ground units; bombing strength points in excess of this are ignored.

Prior to the resolution of the attack, the attacking player may fire antiaircraft against the defensive support air units in the hex (Rule 22.B). Air units affected by this fire do not contribute anything to the defense of the hex.

e. Harassment. For every two tactical bombing strength points delivered upon a hex, every ground unit leaving the hex in the following player turn must spend an additional MP to do so.

f. Rail Lines. For each bombing attack upon a rail line, the bombing table is consulted. A hit breaks the line in the target hex.

g. Ports. A tactical bombing attack may be made upon a port in the same manner and with the same results as a strategic bombing attack on a port is made.

Rule 21 — Air Combat

Air combat occurs when interceptors fly to hexes containing phasing air units flying missions; air combat is resolved during the air combat resolution step. All air combat in a hex is resolved before any air combat in another hex is resolved. There are two stages to air combat: preparation and resolution.

In the following rules, mission force refers to all air units in the target hex flying missions other than those flying escort (the escorts) or interception (the interceptors).

A. Preparation. The player with the mission force separates his air units into two groupings: the escort screen and the mission force. All escorts are placed in the screen. Fighters flying bombing missions (Rule 24.A) may jettison their bombs at this point and be placed in the escort screen.

The player with the interceptors separates his air units into two groupings: those that will attack the screen and those that will try to bypass the screen to attack the mission force. The player may divide his interceptors between these two groups as he wishes.

B. Resolution.

1. Combat Results. Air combat results are: no effect (−), turn back (R), abort (A), and elimination (K). An air unit that is turned back no longer participates in air combat and may not execute its mission (such as bombing); it returns to base during the appropriate air return phase and remains operative. An aborted air unit is affected in the same manner as a turned back air unit, except that it becomes inoperative upon its return to base. An eliminated air unit is removed from play.

2. Sequence. Air combat is resolved in a series of steps; each step must be completed before the next is begun.

a. Interceptors allocated to attack the escort screen engage the screen in air combat. All other air units in the hex are ignored during this step. An interceptor is allocated against each escort of the screen. If one side has more air units than the other, the owning player may allocate these extra air units against enemy air units as he wishes. Example: Four interceptors attack a screen of two escorts. One interceptor must be allocated against each escort. The remaining two interceptors may be allocated either one against each escort (for a total of two interceptors against each escort) or both against one of the escorts (for a total of three interceptors against one escort and one interceptor against the other escort).

Unengaged (i.e., extra) escorts are not required to be allocated against the interceptors attacking the screen. Instead, they may attack the interceptors attempting to bypass the screen (step c).

b. Air combat between the allocated air units is resolved. Each separate allocation is resolved as a simultaneous exchange of fire between the two opposing air units; combat results are implemented at the end of the exchange.

When several air units are allocated against an air unit, air combat is resolved as a series of exchanges of fire between the single air unit and each of its attackers, in the order determined by the player with the several air units. Combat results are slightly modified for the single air unit. A turn back result is implemented only at the end of the series. An abort result is implemented at the end of the series, but the air unit may not fire at air units attacking it in exchanges following the abort. Elimination results are implemented immediately, as normal. Example: Two interceptors are allocated against an escort. The air combat is resolved as a series of two exchanges of fire, with each interceptor attacking the escort in turn. In the first exchange, the interceptor fires on the escort, aborting it, and the escort fires on the interceptor, turning it back. The escort remains in combat but may no longer fire. In the second exchange, the second interceptor fires, achieving no effect, and the escort may not return fire. The series ends with the escort aborted and the first interceptor turned back.

All air units involved in air combat during this step have finished their air combat and are ignored for the rest of the air combat resolution in the hex.

c. Air combat between the unengaged escorts and the interceptors attempting to bypass the screen is now resolved. The escorts may be allocated against these interceptors as the owning player wishes. Following the allocation, air combat is resolved as in step b, except that none of the attacked interceptors may fire. Interceptors which survive this step may attack the mission force. Example: Three interceptors attempt to bypass the screen, and there are two unengaged escorts. The player with the escorts decides to attack two of the interceptors, each with one escort. (He could have allocated both escorts against a single interceptor.) Each escort attacks, one turning back an interceptor and the other achieving no effect. The interceptors may not attack the escorts. One interceptor is turned back and two interceptors get through to attack the mission force.

d. Interceptors successfully bypassing the escort screen may attack the mission force. The interceptors may be allocated against air units in the mission force as the owning player wishes. Air units of the mission force not attacked by interceptors are ignored; they neither attack nor are attacked.

Air combat between the allocated air units is resolved as in step b. All air combat in the hex is resolved upon completion of this step.

3. Differentials. In an exchange of fire between two allocated air units, each air unit attacks the opposing air unit. For each attack, the attack differential is calculated by subtracting the air defense strength of the air unit being fired upon from the air attack strength of the firing air unit. For example, in an exchange between a Hurri 1 (5F5) and a Ju 87B (2D3), the Hurri 1 would have an attack differential of (5−3=) +2 and the Ju 87B would have an attack differential of (2−5=) −3.

The attack differential determines the column used on the air combat results table. For each attack, two dice are rolled; the number rolled is cross-indexed with the correct column. The dice roll is modified as follows:

−1 if a fighter attacks a type B or NB air unit;

+1 if a type B or NB air unit attacks a fighter.

Air Combat Example: Two Hurri 1 fighters (5F5) intercept two SM.79 bombers (1B3) escorted by two CR.42 fighters (3F3). Step a: One Hurri 1 is allocated against one CR.42, with the remaining interceptor trying to bypass the screen. The extra escort is not allocated against the interceptor attacking the screen so that it may attack the interceptor trying to bypass the screen. Step b: The Hurri 1 attacks with a differential of (5−3=) +2; a 5 is rolled, aborting the CR.42. The CR.42 attacks at (3−5=) −2; a 6 is rolled, for a no effect. Step c: The unengaged escort attacks the bypassing interceptor. The differential is −2; a 7 is rolled, for a no effect. The interceptor may not attack the escort. Step d: The bypassing interceptor engages a bomber. The Hurri 1 attacks at (5−3=) +2; a 4 is rolled and is modified to a 3 (due to a fighter attacking a type B air unit), eliminating the SM.79. The SM.79 attacks at (1−5=) −4; a 7 is rolled and is modified to an 8 (due to a type B air unit attacking a fighter), for a no effect.

Rule 22 — Antiaircraft

Various units and counters have antiaircraft (AA) strengths and are able to make AA attacks against enemy air units. AA strengths are divided into two types: heavy and light.

A. Capabilities.

1. Intrinsic. Each division, headquarters, support group, and cadre has a light AA strength of 1. Each Axis controlled airbase in Sicily, Rhodes, and Crete has a heavy AA strength of 3.

2. Combat AA Units. A combat AA unit is any unit with the AA symbol, a unit size, and a combat strength. A combat AA unit has its AA strength printed in the upper left corner of its counter.

3. Position AA Counters. A position AA counter has neither a combat strength nor a unit size; its AA strength is printed in the upper left corner of the counter. Position AA counters function somewhat differently than do regular combat units. They have combat strengths of zero. When required to retreat, they may not retreat and are eliminated instead. There may be any number of these counters in a hex, as the stacking limit does not affect them. For the purposes of transport and the like, each AA strength point of such a counter counts as 1/2 RE and has heavy equipment.

Note: The information printed on the backs of position AA counters is for use in Europa and is ignored for play of this game.

4. San Giorgio. The San Giorgio, an Italian cruiser wrecked in Tobruk harbor, has a light AA strength of 1. The San Giorgio may not be moved and is immediately destroyed if the Allied player captures Tobruk.

B. Resolution. AA fire is resolved during in the mission resolution step, before air units perform their missions. All AA strength in a hex may fire upon air units flying air transport or any bombing missions in the hex. AA strengths may not fire against air units flying all other missions. For example, AA may not fire against fighters flying escort in a hex. Only heavy AA strength points may fire upon type HB air units.

Each AA strength counter may fire once upon each enemy air unit it is allowed to attack. For example, if four air units were bombing a hex containing a 3 strength point position AA counter, the AA counter may fire upon each of the air units, making a 3 strength point attack upon each.

The total AA strength fired upon an air unit determines the column used on the antiaircraft fire table. Two dice are rolled, and the roll is modified as follows:

+1 if the air unit fired upon is type B or NB;

+1 if the air unit fired upon is flying at night (Rule 24.F).

The modified dice roll is cross-indexed with the column to obtain a result. Results are identical to those of air combat (Rule 21.B).

When firing AA against air units flying defensive air support, the players totals the AA strengths of the units attacking the hex and divides this total by the number of hexes containing the attackers. Example: Allied air units are flying defensive support over Tobruk, supporting Allied ground units there. The Axis player is attacking Tobruk with units in all three adjacent land hexes; his attacking units have 3 AA points in one hex, 1 in the second hex, and 2 in the third. The Axis player has a total of 6 AA points, which is divided by 3 due to the number of hexes; thus, he may make a 2 strength point attack on each of the defensive support air units.

Rule 23 — Air Unit Repair

During the initial phase of a player turn, the phasing player may attempt to repair his inoperative air units. An air unit that is successfully repaired immediately becomes operative. One die is rolled for each inoperative air unit. For Italian air units, the air unit is repaired on a die roll of 1 or 2. For German air units, the air unit is repaired on a die roll of 1, 2, or 3. For Allied air units, the repair die roll changes during the course of the game, as listed on the Allied order of battle. Initially, an Allied air unit is repaired on a die roll of 1 or 2. From the Jul I 41 turn, the repair die roll is 1, 2, or 3. From the Jul I 42 turn, the repair die roll is 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Rule 24 — Special Air Rules

A. Fighters on Bombing Missions. Any type F air unit flying a bombing mission has its air attack and defense strengths each reduced by 2 (but never below 1) for the duration of the mission. For example, a Me 109E fighter (7F5) flying a bombing mission would have an air attack strength of 5 and an air defense strength of 3.

A fighter flying a bombing mission may jettison its bomb load during air combat preparation, at the option of the owning player. If this is done, the fighter reverts to its printed air attack and defense strengths, but it may not complete the bombing mission. The fighter is treated as if it were flying an escort mission.

B. Extended Range. Air units may fly bombing missions at extended ranges by carrying reduced bomb loads. The air unit may fly to a target hex within range of twice its printed movement rating, but its bombing strengths are reduced to one third of their printed values. A fighter may not fly an extended range bombing mission.

Transports may fly transport missions at twice the standard range by carrying half the standard cargo. For example, a transport may carry 1/2 RE to an airbase within range of twice its movement rating, land it there, and then return to base during the air return step.

Fighters may fly extended range escort missions. A fighter flying at extended range has its air attack and defense strengths each reduced by 2 (but never below 1). The fighter may fly to a target hex within range of twice its printed movement rating.

During the air return step, any air unit flying at extended range may return to an airbase within range of twice its printed movement rating.

C. Gliders. Glider transport (type GT) air units can not fly by themselves but must be towed. One transport (type T) air unit may tow one glider air unit; the transport may carry a normal load of cargo when doing so. A glider may carry cargo at the same rate as a transport (1 RE per glider for regular transport and 1/2 RE per glider for air drops).

A glider must be stacked with the air unit towing it, and the two air units are treated as one for all purposes. The air defense strength of a glider is subtracted from the air defense strength of its towing air unit. For example, a Ju 52 (1T2) towing a DFS 230 (0GT1) has an air defense strength of (2−1=) 1. Any combat result (from patrol attacks, air combat, or antiaircraft fire) affects both the towing air unit and the glider equally. An aborted glider may be repaired per the standard air unit repair rules.

A glider air unit is expended (removed from play) immediately following its use in an air drop mission. A glider is not expended when used in regular transport missions.

D. Dive Bombers. When the bombing table is used to resolve any bombing attacks made by type D air units, the die roll is modified by +1 before the table is consulted. If any other air unit type combines its bombing strength with a dive bomber to make a bombing attack, the die roll modification may not be used.

E. Night Air Operations. Air operations are assumed to occur during the daytime; however, air operations during the night are possible. For the purposes of this rule, a night air unit is an air unit with an "N" prefix before its air unit type letter (such as NB or NF); all other air units are day air units. The presence of the N prefix does not change the usual abilities of an air unit; for example, a type NB air unit is treated the same as a type B air unit in air combat. Night air units are not required to operate at night. Both day and night air units may fly night air operations; however, day air units operating at night risk crash landings.

Air units operating at night do not interact with air units operating at day. For example, a bombing mission made at night may not be intercepted by fighters flying during the daytime.

Any air units may fly the following missions at night: strategic bombing, transport (regular or air drop), transfer. Night fighters (only) may fly the interception mission at night. All other air missions may not be flown at night.

Night fighters (only) may make patrol attacks against air units flying at night.

A day air unit flying a bombing mission at night has its bombing strength halved.

A day air unit flying any night air mission must be checked for a crash landing upon returning to base. A die is rolled for the air unit; on a roll of 6, the air unit has crash landed and immediately becomes inoperative.

Rule 25 — Airborne Operations

The air drop mission (Rule 20.E.1) details how airborne units are transported to and dropped on a target hex. Parachute units and air landing units are airborne units. Note: A parachute-infantry unit is not an airborne unit; the term parachute in this context is an honorary designation only.

A. Disruption. An airborne unit may become disrupted when making an air drop. One die is rolled for each unit during the mission resolution step; the unit is disrupted on a die roll of 1 or less. Dropping onto enemy units, into enemy ZOCs, or onto rough hexes modifies the die roll by −1. The preceding conditions are not cumulative; thus, an airborne unit dropping onto a rough hex in an enemy ZOC would have its disruption die roll modified only by −1. Dropping at night (i.e., the air drop mission for the unit was flown at night) modifies the die roll by −2. If a unit uses a glider as part or all of its transport, the die roll is modified by +1. A disrupted unit has its combat strength halved during the player turn of its drop.

B. ZOCs. An airborne unit does not exert a ZOC during the player turn in which it performs an air drop.

C. Combat Operations. Airborne units which jump in hexes other than enemy occupied hexes may attack adjacent enemy units per the standard combat rules. They may attack in conjunction with other friendly units.

Airborne units which jump in enemy occupied hexes must attack the enemy units in the hex during the combat phase. Adjacent friendly units may join in the attack.

When differing sides occupy the same hex, combat is resolved as normal except that no effect results are not used. If a NE is rolled, the die is rolled again until a different result is obtained. Retreating units are subject to the effects of all ZOCs they enter, including the ZOCs of enemy units in the hex from which the retreat is conducted. Example: A parachute regiment drops in a hex occupied by an enemy division. During the combat phase, the parachute regiment must attack, and the combat result requires it to retreat. Since any hex it can enter is in the ZOC of the division in the drop hex, the parachute regiment is eliminated.

D. Air Landing Units. An air landing unit may make an air drop only if all of its transport are gliders. For example, an air landing regiment would require the use of two glider transport air units to make an air drop.

Rule 26 — Naval Transport

Both players have naval transport capabilities, allowing units, replacements, and supplies to be moved by sea.

A. Ports. Naval transport is possible only between ports that the player controls at the start of his player turn. There are three types of ports on the map: major, standard, and minor. Tripoli, Alexandria, Suez, Benghazi, and Valletta are major ports. Tobruk, Beyrouth, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Port Said, Ismailia, and all coastal cities (except Valletta) on islands are standard ports. Derna, Bardia, Rosetta, Damietta, and Tripoli (Lebanon) are minor ports.

A major port has a capacity of 8 REs and may take a maximum of 10 hits of damage. A standard port has a capacity of 4 REs and may take a maximum of 6 hits of damage. A minor port has capacity of 2 REs and may take a maximum of 4 hits of damage.

1. Capacity. The capacity of a port is the total number of REs that may use the port for naval transport in a player turn. Example: The Allied player ships one tank brigade (1 RE) and one step of supply (2 REs) to Tobruk and ships one infantry brigade (1 RE) from Tobruk. The Allied player has used the entire port capacity of Tobruk this turn.

2. Damage. Ports may be damaged by bombing (Rule 20.F) and demolition (Rule 14.A). In general, each hit on a port reduces its capacity by one. A port may be damaged beyond its capacity, up to its maximum damage limit. Hits in excess of a port's maximum damage are ignored.

a. Tobruk. Due to the excellent natural harbor, each hit on Tobruk reduces its capacity by 1/2, not 1.

b. Benghazi. Due to the easily damaged artificial harbor, each hit on Benghazi reduces its capcity by 2, not 1.

B. Transport Procedure and Limits.

1. Reinforcements. Units, replacements, and supplies entering the game usually have to be shipped to ports from off-map in order to enter play (Rule 29). The entry of these reinforcements does not count against the player's shipping limit. Reinforcements entering play are shipped during the player's initial phase, landing at a friendly-controlled port, and may operate fully that player turn.

2. On-Map Shipping. The Allied player has an on-map shipping capability of 10 REs per Allied player turn. The Axis player has an on-map shipping capability of 3 REs per Axis player turn.

On-map shipping takes place during a player's movement phase. A unit or supply counter may move to a port, be shipped to a friendly-controlled port, and then continue moving. It costs a unit 2 MPs to be shipped; it costs a supply counter 0 SMPs to be shipped.

C. Malta. Axis naval transport on map 18 between Europe and Africa is subject to Allied interference. For game purposes, this is represented by the Malta table. For each unit, replacement point, or supply counter transported on map 18 between Europe and Africa, the Allied player rolls two dice. The dice roll is cross-indexed with the Malta status number on the Malta table to obtain a result. A result of — means that the naval transport of the item is successful, with it arriving at its port of destination. A result of X means that the item is affected, and the shipping results table is consulted. One die is rolled for this table, and the roll is cross-indexed with the type of item being shipped. For supplies, a result of −1 means that the supply counter loses one step; a result of −2 means that the supply counter loses two steps. For units and replacements, a result of NE means that the unit or replacement point arrives at its destination unaffected. A result of R means that it is turned back; it returns to its port of embarkation. The player may attempt to ship it again in future turns. A result of E means that it is eliminated; an eliminated unit is placed in the replacement pool, while an eliminated replacement point is lost entirely.

Example: The Axis player is attempting to ship a supply counter (two steps of supply), an infantry regiment, and an armor replacement point to Africa from Europe; Malta's current status number is 4. The Malta table is consulted for each of these. The dice roll for the supply counter is 8, which means the supply counter is affected. Consulting the shipping result table, a die roll of 3 means the counter loses two steps and thus is eliminated. The dice roll for the infantry regiment is 5; thus it arrives in Africa unhindered. The dice roll for the replacement point is 10, which means it is affected. The roll on the shipping results table is 2; resulting in the replacement point being turned back.

If the Axis player controls Malta, then the Malta status number is automatically 15 for Axis shipments on map 18.

D. The Eastern Mediterranean. The Axis player may not perform any naval transport on map 19 until the Jun I 41 turn (i.e., after the Axis occupation of mainland Greece and Crete). On and after that turn, the Axis player may make such shipments. Due to the presence of the Royal Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean, a procedure similar to Axis shipments past Malta is used for all Axis naval transport on map 19. However, the current status of Malta does not affect these shipments. Instead, the following status numbers are used:

3 if the Allied player controls both Cyprus and Alexandria.

5 if the Allied player controls Cyprus or Alexandria (but not both).

12 if the Allied player controls neither Cyprus or Alexandria.

Rule 27 — Axis Special Operations

The Axis player may plan and execute airborne and seaborne operations during the course of the game.

A. Planning. All airborne or seaborne operations must be planned in advance. Planning consists of the Axis player writing down (in secret) the turn of entry and invasion hex for each unit involved in special operations. Planning occurs during the Axis initial phase. Units available for special operations do not have to enter on the same turn or to invade the same hex. The planning for a unit's operation must be done at least 5 turns in advance of its operation. For example, planning for an air drop on Sep I 41 must be done no later than the Jun II 41 turn. Only units from the German and Italian special forces pools may be used for special operations.

The Axis player may cancel a plan during his initial phase on any turn up to (and including) the initial phase of the turn the plan is scheduled to occur. During the phase, if the plan is not cancelled, the Axis player announces that he is executing a special operation and states the name of the island or country containing the invasion hex. The Allied player may use this information in that phase as he wishes. For example, if a special operation is announced against Malta, the Allied player may then expend a supply step on Malta to place his units there in general supply.

A unit may have only one special operation planned for it at a time. A new special operation may be planned for a unit only if its prior operation is cancelled. Example: The Axis player planned to air drop a parachute regiment on Nicosia, Cyprus on the Sep II 41 turn. On the Aug I 41 turn, he cancels the plan. He may now plan a new operation for the unit, but, due to the 5 turn planning delay, the soonest the unit can execute the new plan is the Oct II 41 turn.

B. Special Forces. The Axis player may use forces in his special forces pools for special operations. The Axis player must spend a number of victory points per ground or air unit in order to use units in these pools. The cost for a unit is paid only if the unit is used in a special operation. If a unit is planned to be used in a special operation but the plan is cancelled, no cost is paid.

A unit used in a special operation must be withdrawn from play during the Axis initial phase on the fifth game turn following its entry. It is simply removed from the map. If eliminated, the Axis player must pay a victory point penalty equal to the special operations usage cost.

All units involved in special operations are in attack supply on their turn of entry. All airborne units are automatically in general supply throughout the course of their special operations.

1. German. There are two groups of German special forces: one for 1941 and one for 1942. Due to the invasion of Crete, the 1941 forces may not enter play before Sep I 41. (Planning for these forces may occur before this date.) The 1942 forces are available for use any time in 1942 unless the 1941 forces are used. In this case, the 1942 forces are available for use only on and after the Apr I 42 turn.

The usage costs for these forces are: 3 victory points (VPs) per airborne regiment; 2 VPs per type T air unit; 0 VP per type GT air unit.

Note: It is possible for one (or more) of these units to be used in 1941, eliminated during the operation, and be used again in the 1942 forces. It is assumed in such cases that the unit was rebuilt in the meantime.

2. Italian. Italian special forces are available only in 1942, and planning for these forces may not be done before 1942. These forces are available only for an invasion of Malta, and no other special operation may be planned for them. The usage costs for these forces are: 2 VPs per RE of ground units; 3 VPs per step of supply; and 2 VPs per type T air unit.

Note: Italian and German special forces may be used in conjunction provided that the restrictions on both forces are followed. For example, the Italian special forces do not have enough air transports to air drop their airborne forces in a single turn; thus, the Axis player probably should call upon air transports from the German special forces to aid the Italians.

C. Seaborne Invasion. Italian special forces may attempt a seaborne invasion of Malta, in which any non-airborne units in the Italian special forces pool may participate. The Axis player must plan an invasion hex (per section A), choosing either hex of Malta. The participating units are divided into two waves: a first wave containing up to 4 REs of ground units and a second wave containing up to 7 REs of ground units and two steps of supply.

A unit participating in a seaborne operation does not have a ZOC during the player turn of the invasion.

The seaborne invasion is resolved as follows. During the Axis movement phase of the invasion turn, the first wave is moved to the invasion hex. The Malta table is used for each unit in this wave as in Axis naval transport to Africa (Rule 26.C). During the combat phase, the surviving Italian units may attack the defenders of the hex, with the units in the seaborne invasion attacking at one quarter strength. This attack is resolved in the same manner as an airborne operation (Rule 25.C). During the exploitation phase of the seaborne invasion turn, the Axis player decides whether or not to land the second wave. If he decides to land it, the Malta table is used for each unit in the wave as in Axis naval transport. The second wave must land in the invasion hex and may land there only if the hex is currently Axis controlled.

Rule 28 — Special Rules

A. Axis.

1. Italian Fifth Army. At the start of the game, the units of the Italian Fifth Army are placed in the Fifth Army box on the Axis game chart. During each Axis initial phase starting with the Dec II 40 turn, the Axis player may select at random one unit from this box, placing the unit in Tripoli. Once brought into play, these units remain in play.

2. Tripolitania Garrison. At the start of the game, the units of the Tripolitania garrison are placed in the same-named box on the Axis game chart. The Axis player may place all of these units in any hexes within three hexes of Tripoli during any Axis initial phase in which an Allied unit is within 12 hexes of Tripoli. Once brought into play, these units may remain in play.

3. Italian Disarray. After deploying Italian air units at airbases at the start of the game, the Axis player must then roll one die for each Italian air unit in Libya. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the air unit starts the game inoperative.

On the first game turn (Dec I 40), no Italian unit may demolish a port, break a transportation line, or damage the capacity of an airbase. All Italian units which are out of general supply when they are lost in combat are permanently eliminated; they are not placed in the Italian replacement pool and may not be scrapped. The Axis player may not use his on-map shipping ability, may not scrap any units in the Italian replacement pool, and may not repair any air units.

4. Italian Light Tanks. Italian light tank units must end each Axis movement and exploitation phase stacked with a non-light tank unit.

B. Allied.

1. Allied Co-Operation. For the purposes of replacements and withdrawals, the following forces are distinct from one another: British, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African. For example, an Australian replacement point may not be used to rebuild a New Zealand unit. The preceding restrictions also apply to the assembly of divisions. For example, a South African division may contain South African units only. There are two exceptions to this: a British division may include one Indian brigade and an Indian division may include one British brigade.

2. Garrisons. The Allied player must garrison certain regions if he controls them or else lose victory points for failure to do so. (For purposes of this rule, the Allied player is considered to control a region if he controls any city in that region.) A garrison consists of a number of REs of infantry, cavalry, motorized, or armor units plus divisional headquarters. A unit on garrison duty in a region may be in any hex of that region.

The Allied player must garrison Palestine with 3 REs.

The Levant must be garrisoned if the Allied player invades and conquers it. For the first year (24 turns) following the invasion, the garrison must be 6 REs and 2 divisional headquarters. Thereafter, the garrison must be 3 REs.

During each Allied initial phase, the garrisons of the regions are checked. For each RE or divisional headquarters lacking from a garrison, the Allied player loses 1 VP.

3. Surprise. On the Dec I 40 turn, the Allied player receives a special surprise attack turn before the regular Dec I 40 turn is played. The surprise turn consists of an initial phase, movement phase, air phase, and combat phase. Supply is traced as normal in the initial phase. In the movement phase, only the units listed on the Allied order of battle as the attack force units may move, and only these units may attack during the combat phase. In the air phase, only Allied air units flying the ground support mission may fly, and Italian air units may neither make patrol attacks nor fly interception. After the surprise turn is played, the regular Dec I 40 turn is played, starting with the Allied initial phase as normal.

4. Allied Raiding Forces. Starting in November of 1941, the Allied player may attempt to raid Axis airbases in Egypt or Libya once per month. A raid consists of the Allied player choosing any Axis airbase in Egypt or Libya and rolling one die. On a roll of 5 or 6, one air unit at the airbase becomes inoperative. The air unit which becomes inoperative is selected at random from the operative air units at the airbase. Raids are resolved during the Allied initial phase.

C. Vichy Territory. The Levant (Lebanon and Syria) is controlled by Vichy France. Vichy forces begin the game neutral, controlled by neither player. Neither player has any rights to have any ground or air unit enter any hex of the Levant, although the Axis player may try to pressure Vichy France into granting these rights. Either player may invade the Levant, in which case the other player is given control of the Vichy forces. However, Vichy forces may operate only in the Levant and may not enter any hex outside the Levant.

1. Axis Considerations. Starting with the Apr I 41 turn, the Axis player may try to pressure Vichy France into allowing Axis forces to enter and operate in the Levant. During each Axis initial phase, the Axis player may (but is not required to) roll two dice and consult the Vichy table. The die roll is modified by −1 if the Allied player has invaded the Levant. Results are:

Full. Axis units and air units may operate freely in the Levant. Once the Axis player gets the result, he may send troops and supplies by sea to ports in the Levant and air units to airbases there, for operations against Allied forces.

Air. Axis air units may base in and operate from airbases in the Levant.

No Effect. The Vichy government did not grant any rights this turn.

The Axis player gains control of the Vichy forces if the Allied player invades the Levant. However, the Axis player may not send Axis ground or air units to the Levant except as allowed by the Vichy table, even if the Allied player has invaded the Levant.

If the Allied player invades the Levant before the Apr I 41 turn, then the Axis player may use the Vichy table during his initial phases preceding the Apr I 41 turn.

2. Allied Considerations. The Allied player may invade the Levant at any time. If the Allied player does invade the Levant, he must also garrison it thereafter (Rule 28.B.2). If the Axis player invades the Levant, the Allied player gains control of the Vichy forces, and, unlike the Axis player, may have Allied forces operate in the Levant thereafter.

D. Malta. Malta may be bombed by the Axis. Axis air units may bomb Malta by flying the port bombing mission against Malta's port, Valletta. However, instead of reducing the port's capacity, each hit increases the Malta status number by one. The Malta status number may not be increased above 15. Note: The Axis player may bomb the port capacity of Valletta, if he wishes.

The Allied player receives Malta repair points, as given on the Allied order of battle. The Allied player spends the repair points during his initial phase. One repair point may: 1) reduce the Malta status number by 1; 2) repair two hits on Valletta's port capacity; or 3) repair three hits on the capacities of any airbases on Malta. The Allied player may also expend supplies on Malta for repair purposes. Each step of supply spent gives the Allied player one repair point.

Due to Axis naval and anti-shipping forces, Allied naval transport to or from Malta is restricted. For each unit or supply counter shipped to or from Malta, the Axis player rolls one die. The die roll is modified by −1 if the Malta status number is 12 or greater. The shipment gets through on a roll of 2 or greater; it is turned back (in the same manner as an Axis shipment may be turned back) on a roll of 1 or less.

Malta infantry brigades (those British infantry brigades with unit identifications having an "M") must remain on Malta. The Allied player may not ship these brigades off Malta.

Rule 29 — Reinforcements and Replacements

The players' orders of battle specify all reinforcements, replacements, withdrawals, and conversions.

A. Reinforcements. A player receives reinforcements during his initial phase of the turn. A player may delay the arrival of any of his reinforcements for any number of turns.

Various reinforcements arrive via naval transport, as specified below. These reinforcements land at friendly ports during the initial phase. Their arrival does not cost them any MPs, does not count against the player's on-map shipping ability, but does count against the capacities of their ports of arrival.

All reinforcements are in general supply on the player turn of their arrival.

1. Allied. The Allied order of battle specifies the locations where reinforcements arrive, as detailed below.

Egypt. Ground units and supplies arrive (via naval transport) at any Suez Canal ports (Port Said, Ismailia, Suez). Air units are placed at any airbases in the Delta.

Palestine. Units are placed at any cities in Palestine.

The Delta. Units are placed at any cities in the Delta.

Malta. Ground units arrive at Valletta (via naval transport) if not turned back. If turned back, they do not enter play that turn but may attempt to land at Valletta in following turns. Air units are placed at any airbases on Malta.

East Edge. Units are placed in any Allied controlled hexes on the east edge of map 19.

South Edge. The unit is placed in any hex on the south edge of map 18.

2. Axis. The Axis order of battle specifies Axis reinforcements by nationality: Italian (It) and German (Ger).

Axis ground unit and supply counter reinforcements start in Europe and must be transported by sea to enter play (Rule 26).

Axis air unit reinforcements are placed at any airbases in Sicily. From the Jun I 41 turn, they may be placed at any airbases in Sicily, Crete or Rhodes.

Axis special forces for airborne operations (both air units and airborne units) are placed at any airbases in Sicily, Crete, or Rhodes. Axis special forces for seaborne operations start in Europe.

Certain Italian divisions are listed both as standard reinforcements and as part of the Italian 1942 special operations pool. The division may not arrive as a standard reinforcement if it or any component unit of it is used for a special operation in 1942. Similarly, the German parachute brigade does not arrive as a standard reinforcement if any German parachute unit is used for a special operation in 1942. These units are identified on the order of battle under the heading no special operations.

B. Replacements. Eliminated ground and air units may be brought back to play and cadres may be built up to full strength divisions through the use of replacement points (RPs). There are three types of RPs: air, armor, and non-armor.

When a ground or air unit is eliminated, it is placed in its replacement pool. If possible, an eliminated division is broken down into its unsupported components plus its headquarters, and these are placed in the replacement pool. (Certain divisions do not have breakdown components and thus are placed in the replacement pool intact.) Italian CCNN, GAF, and Libyan units are not placed in the replacement pool; these units may not be replaced.

A player receives RPs per his order of battle; he may use them that turn or accumulate them for future use. A player spends RPs during his initial phase. One air RP replaces one air unit. One armor RP replaces one RE of armored units. (Note: An armored division headquarters is not an armored unit and does not require an armor RP for its replacement.) One non-armor RP replaces one RE of non-armored units. A player may spend half of an RP in order to replace a battalion. A division in the replacement pool requires the expenditure of one additional RP to be replaced. For example, the Axis player must spend 3 non-armor RPs to replace an Italian infantry division.

A cadre in play may be rebuilt to its full divisional strength by use of RPs. The cadre is rebuilt during the initial phase; it must be in general supply and not adjacent to any enemy unit. The RP cost to rebuild a cadre is equal to the division's size minus the cadre's size. For example, a British infantry cadre may be rebuilt to a division at a cost of (3−1=) 2 RPs. An armored cadre is rebuilt with armor RPs; all other cadres are rebuilt with non-armor RPs.

A ground (armor or non-armor) RP is one RE in size for naval transport purposes. Allied ground RPs arrive at any Suez Canal ports, in the same manner as Allied reinforcements arriving in Egypt. Axis ground RPs start in Europe and must be shipped to Africa, in the same manner as Axis reinforcements. Upon their arrival, they are available for use.

A player may scrap ground units in his replacement pools. A scrapped unit is removed from the pool and may not be replaced; in return, the player receives RPs for the scrapped unit. Scrapped armor units yield armor RPs; scrapped units of other types yield non-armor RPs. For each German or Allied RE scrapped, the owning player receives 1/2 RP. For each Italian RE scrapped, the Axis player receives 1/4 RP. For example, scrapping two Italian infantry divisions (2 REs each) yields the Axis player 1 Italian non-armor RP. Nationality distinctions are taken into account for scrapping. For example, scrapping Australian units yields Australian RPs only.

1. Axis. Replaced Axis ground units may be placed in Tripoli or Benghazi, if Axis controlled. Replaced Axis air units may be placed in any Axis controlled airbases on Sicily, Crete or Rhodes. (Crete and Rhodes may not be used for this purpose before Jun I 41.)

2. Allied. Replaced Allied ground units (except for Free French) may be placed in any Allied controlled city in the Delta or Palestine. Replaced Allied air units may be placed in any Allied controlled airbases in the Delta, Palestine, or Malta.

3. Free French. The Allied player receives 1 Free French non-armored RP on the sixth turn after the Allied player has gained control of the Levant. A replaced Free French unit may be placed in any Allied controlled city in Palestine or the Levant.

C. Withdrawals. The orders of battle require some ground and air units be withdrawn from play. For air units, any air unit of the correct model must be withdrawn; if possible, the air unit must be operational. For ground units, any unit of the correct nationality, size, type, and strength must be withdrawn. Specific historical designations may be ignored for withdrawals. For example, when an Australian infantry brigade is to be withdrawn, any Australian infantry brigade may be withdrawn.

If a withdrawal is specified and there is no appropriate unit in play, then an appropriate unit is removed from the replacement pool. In this case, the player loses 2 VPs and forfeits RPs of the appropriate type equal to the replacement cost of the unit. These RPs are taken from the player's accumulated replacements if any; otherwise they are taken from the next-arriving replacements. Example: On the Apr I 41 turn, the Axis player must withdraw a German He 111H air unit. Assuming the air unit has previously been eliminated, the He 111H is removed from the replacement pool, and the Axis player loses 2 VPs and forfeits the German air RP of Sep I 41.

Certain Allied units which are withdrawn return to play at a later time. These units as so indicated on the Allied order of battle for ease of recognition.

1. Greece. Various Allied units must be withdrawn from play in order to go to Greece and participate in the Balkans campaign. These units are specified on the order of battle. The Allied player does not have to consider nationality when sending units to Greece. (For historical interest, the actual units sent to Greece are identified.)

During the Allied initial phase of the Jun I 41 turn, the Allied player determines the effects of the Balkans campaign on his forces sent to Greece. All ground units with heavy equipment are eliminated and placed in the replacement pool. All supplies are eliminated and removed from play. The Allied player rolls one die for each remaining ground unit and each air unit returning from Greece, cross-indexing the roll on the campaign in Greece table to obtain a result. Results are:

Eliminated. The ground or air unit is placed in the replacement pool. It may not be replaced (or scrapped) on this turn.

Inoperative. The air unit is placed at any Allied controlled airbase in the Delta or Palestine. It is inoperative and may not be repaired on this turn.

Intact. A ground unit is placed at any Allied controlled port in the Delta or Palestine; it may not move or attack this turn. An air unit is placed at any Allied controlled airbase in the Delta or Palestine; it may not fly any mission this player turn.

D. Conversions. The orders of battle require certain ground and air units to be converted to other units during the game. A player converts a unit during his initial phase; the unit to be converted must be in general supply and not adjacent to any enemy unit. The converted unit may operate normally during the player turn.

If the unit to be converted is in the replacement pool (or has been sent to Greece), then the conversion takes place there. Example: On the Sep I 41 turn, the Allied player may convert a Blen 1 air unit to an A-22, but the Blen 1 is currently in the replacement pool. The Allied player removes the Blen 1 from the pool and puts the A-22 in its place. The A-22 may subsequently be brought into play through the expenditure of an air RP.

1. Cavalry to Armor Conversions. The Allied player may convert up to two British cavalry brigades to 4-3-8 armored brigades on or after the Jan I 42 turn. The Allied player must spend 1 armor RP for each cavalry brigade converted to armor.

2. Armored Brigade Upgrades. The Allied player may convert 3-2-10 or 4-3-8 armored brigades to 5-3-10 armored brigades on or after the Apr I 42 turn. The Allied player must spend 1/2 armor RP for each armored brigade upgraded.

On the Apr I 42 turn, the Allied player removes all 3-2-10 armored brigades in his replacement pool and places correspondingly numbered 5-3-10 armored brigades in their place. These units may enter play via the standard replacement procedure.

Rule 30 — Preparing for Play

The two maps are placed so that hex 19/0107 overlaps hex 18/5101 and hex 19/0135 overlaps hex 18/5129. The counters are sorted by nationality, type, size, and strength; air units are sorted by nationality and model. In general, unit designations are given for historical information and may be ignored for initial deployment. However, the designations on Commonwealth units are used to specify nationalities: Aus for Australian, NZ for New Zealand, and SA for South African.

The orders of battle specify the initial deployment of the players' forces. The Axis player deploys first, then the Allied player. The Axis player deploys the Vichy forces in the Levant.

The order of battle use a number of abbreviations. Unit types: AA = antiaircraft; air ldg = air landing; arm = armor; aslt eng = assault engineer; art = artillery; AT = antitank; cav = cavalry; cons = construction; HQ = headquarters; hv = heavy; inf = infantry; lt = light; mot = motorized; para = parachute; pz = panzer; SG = support group. Nationality: Aus = Australian; NZ = New Zealand; SA = South African; Ind = Indian; Pol = Polish; Gk = Greek.

At the start of the game, the Axis player controls Sicily, Rhodes, Libya, and all hexes in Egypt occupied by or in the ZOCs of Italian units. The Allied player controls Malta, Palestine, Transjordan, and all hexes in Egypt except those controlled by the Axis player. Note: For game purposes, Crete is considered not to be controlled by the Allied player.

Rule 31 — Victory

During the course of the game, each player gains or loses victory points due to various events. Each player must maintain a running tally of of his victory points as play progresses. At the end of the game, victory points are awarded for the final situation, and players then compare their totals to determine a victor.

A. Game Length. The game starts with the Dec I 40 turn and ends with the Jan II 43 turn. The game may end sooner if a player achieves an automatic victory.

B. Automatic Victory. The game ends immediately in an automatic victory when a player meets the following conditions. The Allied player achieves an automatic victory if he controls all cities in Libya. The Axis player achieves an automatic victory if he controls all cities in the Delta. In either case, if a player achieves an automatic victory on or before Dec II 41, it is a decisive victory; on or after Jan I 42, it is a major victory.

C. Victory Points. Victory point awards and penalties are listed on the victory point table.

D. Territory. In general, players check the map situation at the end of each six month period. A player receives victory points for fulfilling the following conditions at any time during the six month period. The map situation is checked following each Jan II and Jul II turn. (Note that the first check (Jan II 41) is not six months in length but only four turns.)

A player receives 30 victory points if that player controlled all cities in Cyrenaica. It is possible that both players may receive this award in a single six month period.

The Axis player receives 10 victory points if he controls any city in Egypt.

The Allied player receives 5 victory points if he controls any city in Libya outside of Cyrenaica.

Exception: On the first check (Jan II 41), the Axis player receives victory points for the above conditions only if the conditions are met at that point.

E. Levels of Victory. At the end of the game, the Allied victory tally is compared to the Axis victory tally, to form a ratio. This ratio is then rounded down to correspond to one of the ratios on the victory table.

Rule 32 — Historical Options

The following rules examine the historical situation in more detail (section A) or explore possible alternative events (sections B and C). Players may use any of these rules only if both sides agree to do so.

A. Allied Co-Operation. The Allied co-operation rule of Rule 28.B was simplified for game purposes. The following supplements that rule, showing some of the problems the British faced in co-ordinating a war effort involving many diverse nationalities.

South African units may operate only in Egypt and Libya. South African units may not be scrapped.

Once at least three Australian units have been in the replacement pool (at any time), the Allied player thereafter faces a penalty for placing Australian units in precarious positions. For game purposes, an Australian unit is in a precarious position if an overland supply line can not be traced from the unit to an Allied supply terminal. The Allied player loses 1/2 VP per turn for each Australian RE in a precarious position.

If the Allied player invades the Levant, then all Free French units in play must be included as part of the invasion forces.

B. No Expedition to Greece. While sending Allied troops to Greece was politically expedient to the British, it was rather unsound militarily, as the number of troops sent there meant the British would be weak elsewhere throughout North Africa and the Near East. This rule explores the effects on the game had the British not sent a major force to Greece.

The Allied forces initially deployed in Greece are the only Allied forces to operate there; the scheduled withdrawals of forces to Greece do not occur. On the May I 41 turn, the Axis player gains control of Crete, may use naval transport on map 19, and receives the German Jun I 41 air unit reinforcements. The German 1941 special forces are available for use from Jul I 41 instead of Sep I 41. The Allied forces in Greece return on the May I 41 turn, per the procedure in Rule 29.C. The Allied player does not receive the Greek infantry brigade as a reinforcement at any time in the game.

C. Axis Use of Tunisia. If the Axis had been able to use the ports in Tunisia, Axis shipments to Africa would have been much more secure, due to the short distance between northern Tunisia and Sicily. This rule explores the effects on the game had the Axis gained the use of the Tunisian ports.

During an Axis initial phase, units and supply counters may be sent from Europe to Tunisia. The Malta table is used for their shipment, but 5 is added to the current Malta status number. For example, if Malta's status is 4, then shipments to Tunisia use the 9 column. Units and supplies sent to Tunisia enter the map in the initial phase of the Axis player turn following the turn they were sent to Tunisia; they are placed in any hexes from 18/0122 to 18/0126.

Rule 33 — Optional Game Mechanics

The following rules increase the complexity of the game. They may be used upon agreement of both players.

A. Artillery. An artillery battalion may provide support for only one unit in its hex. Example: The Axis player has three unsupported regiments and an artillery battalion defending in a hex. The artillery battalion provides support for only one of the regiments; the other two are unsupported.

B. Malta Replacement Pool. The British player must maintain a separate replacement pool for his forces on Malta. Ground units on Malta and air units on or operating from Malta are placed in this pool upon their elimination. Ground unit replacement points must be shipped to Malta in order to replace ground units in this pool; upon expenditure of the RPs, these units are placed on Malta. Air RPs do not have to be shipped to Malta, but only air units in the Malta pool may be placed on Malta upon replacement. If the Axis player gains control of Malta, all forces in the Malta replacement pool are permanently eliminated from the game.

C. Allied Garrisons. Allied units in certain areas do not have to be placed on the map as long as there are no Axis controlled ground units nearby. The areas are: the Delta, Palestine, the Levant, and Cyprus. The Allied player must keep a written list of what units are in these areas and which hexes they are in. If units are moved within these areas, the list must be updated accordingly. All units in an area are immediately placed on the map if an Axis ground unit comes within 5 hexes of any hex of that region at any time; they must remain displayed on the map as long as the Axis unit is nearby.

The Allied player may use units (of the appropriate unit types) in his replacement pool to garrison Palestine and the Levant. Every three REs in the replacement pool allocated to this purpose equals a one-RE garrison. For example, the garrison of Palestine could consist of two cavalry brigades in play and three infantry brigades in the replacement pool.

D. Divisional Engineers. Both players are allowed certain construction abilities, representing the overall use of divisional engineers for such purposes.

Each player turn, the phasing player may use his divisional engineers to do one of the following: repair a hit on a port, airbase, or rail line, place a hit on the capacity of a port, start building a fort or airfield, or finish building a fort or airfield. The player must have a divisional headquarters or a division in the hex where he is using his divisional engineers ability; the unit may not move at all or attack during the player turn. Note that using divisions engineers means that two turns are required for the construction of a fort or airfield.

Note: A player may use this ability for only one task per turn, not one per division/division HQ.

E. The Levant Railroad. At the start of the game, the transportation line from Haifa, Palestine (19/4312) to Tripoli, Lebanon (19/4404) is only a road. It becomes a railroad during the Allied initial phase of the 36th game turn (i.e., 18 months) after the Allied player has gained control of the Levant.

F. Air Staging Through Europe. The Axis player may transfer air units via Europe. Air units at airbases in Sicily, Crete (from Jun I 41), and Rhodes (from Jun I 41) may transfer to Europe, treating the transfer as a triple-range transfer; air units in Europe may transfer to airbases on these islands in the same manner. Europe is treated as an airbase with unlimited capacity.

G. The Delta. For security of his base of operations and for re-assurance of the population, the Allied player must keep at least one point of AA (either combat or position AA) in each full hex city in the Delta.

H. Airfield Construction. A construction engineer may build an airfield incrementally. If the unit spends 2 MPs, an airfield with two hits on its capacity is placed in the hex. If the unit spends 4 MPs, an airfield with one hit on its capacity is placed in the hex. These hits may be repaired in following turns.

I. AA Suppression. For each bombing attack made to suppress AA fire in a hex, the bombing table is consulted. Each hit means that 1 is added to the AA fire dice roll for all subsequent AA fires from the hex during the current air phase (only). For example, if there are two AA suppression hits on a hex, then all subsequent AA fire from the hex that air phase have the dice rolls modified by +2.

When using this rule, air units take AA fire immediately before they execute their missions.

Designer's Notes

The maps, as the more experienced Europa players may have noticed, are drawn at a different orientation than previous Europa maps. This is so because it was the most efficient way to map North Africa at the Europa scale; other orientations required a confusing collage of full and half map sheets, with a fair amount of wasted map space. The orientation chosen does interlock with the European portion of the Europa maps, as can be seen by overlapping Crete on the Western Desert maps with the Marita-Merkur maps.

Given the maps, the scope of the game became obvious. Rather than concentrating solely on the campaign in Libya and Egypt, many of the overall theater considerations were included, such as those involving Malta, Cyprus, and the Levant. In this way, the players have to face some of the same strategical and operational problems that their historical counterparts did. For example, the Axis player must allocate his air units between his air offensive against Malta and his need for ground support in the desert. Similarly, the Allied player must balance his need to garrison Cyprus (in order to prevent or defeat an Axis airborne invasion there) against his occasionally pressing needs to use the troops elsewhere.

The rules are a mixture of standard Europa rules and specialized rules that cover the important facets of the campaign. Of these, the rules on Axis special operations, on Vichy territory (the Levant), and on Allied control of Crete require specific comment. These rules are compromises between historical accuracy and the needs of the game. The Germans could have staged an airborne operation (such as an invasion of Cyprus) in the latter months of 1941, and the British had to keep this in mind in their planning (historically, they sent a number of brigades to Cyprus in the autumn of 1941). Accordingly, the special operations rule allows the Axis player to use his airborne forces, albeit at a victory point cost. In reality, a German airborne operation in 1941 was rather unlikely: the troops were needed for ground operations in the USSR, North Africa was regarded as a secondary theater, and airborne operations were regarded (at least by some in high command positions) as incapable of achieving the surprise conditions necessary for their success.

The rules on Axis penetration of the Levant try to balance historical realism with game necessity. In hindsight, the possibility of Vichy France allowing the Axis to use the Levant as a base of operations against Egypt seems remote. At the time, however, this possibility was a major concern to the British and was an important factor in the decision to invade the Levant and thereby secure that flank.

I specifically excluded Crete from the list of territory the Allied player controls at the start of the game, even though Greece is at war with Italy at the time the game begins. Since Crete was, operationally, part of the Balkan theater, Allied use of Crete in the game would have required a number of special rules — much more than I felt the situation warranted.

When designing an Europa game, I tend to "over-design" its earlier versions, and then cut down the rules to achieve a level of complexity that I think is appropriate. In Western Desert, I had a few problems with this method, as the rules ended up more complex than I preferred. My way around this was to have a fairly substantial optional game mechanics rule, and I strongly recommend that players use this rule once they gain familiarity with the game. In fact, perhaps an optimal approach to learning the game is as follows: 1) read the standard rules, 2) play out the first six to ten turns of the game to gain familiarity with the rules, and 3) read the optional game mechanics rules and use them thereafter.

Frank Chadwick did most of the basic order of battle research for the game, and my task, in the main, was to smooth this into a consistent Europa format. The orders of battle in the game, as usual in Europa games, reflect a compromise between historical exactness and playability. In general, I tried to keep things as simple as possible within the Europa framework.

Italian Units: A few AA battalions were factored into Italian infantry divisions in order to give the divisions an intrinsic AA strength of 1. These battalions are: the 6th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd AA Battalions in Cyrenaica initially; the 63rd and 78th AA Battalions of the Jan II 41 reinforcements; and the 14th, 41st, and 42nd AA Battalions of the Feb I 41 reinforcements. The 71st AA Battalion was not included in the game, since it had an AA strength of less than 1/2. (It probably would have been a May I 42 reinforcement; information on the arrival of this battalion is sketchy.)

German Units: German Army AA battalion was factored into each of the four German divisions; these battalions are the 606th, 609th, 612th, and 613th. The 21st Panzer Division actually began the campaign as the 5th Light Division (it was redesignated in mid 1941); for simplicity it is referred to as the 21st Panzer Division throughout the game. The organization of the panzer divisions was simplified for game purposes. Initially, the 15th Panzer Division contained one panzer regiment and two motorized regiments; later it contained one panzer regiment and one motorized regiment.

Allied Units: British Royal Artillery regiments (which are battalion-sized units) in the period covered by the game were actually independent units. However, it was difficult both to rate them individually at the Europa scale and to use them in play. Accordingly, I organized them into composite artillery brigades. AA units were treated similarly. (The British actually did have AA brigades, but they were not as rigidly organized as I made them in the game.) A number of British units were redesignated during the course of the campaign, and I simplified this for game purposes where I could: 1) The 70th Infantry Division was originally the 6th Infantry Division. 2) What I show as the 22nd Infantry Brigade on the Allied order of battle is actually Selbyforce. Selbyforce was organized from the Matruh Fortress Garrison, which itself was previously organized from the 22nd Infantry Brigade. 3) While the order of battle converts the 22nd Guards Brigade into the 201st Guards Motor Brigade, the actual process was more drawn out. The 22nd Guards Brigade became the 200th Guards Brigade in January 1942; the 200th became the 200th Guards Motor Brigade in April 1942; and this became the 201st Guards Motor Brigade in May 1942. On the other hand, I did include a conversion counter for the 161st Infantry Brigade for its transfer to the Indian establishment. While this change is mostly nominal for game purposes, I thought it important enough to include it. Finally, I structured the Allied order of battle to be reasonable as well as historical. For example, the 2nd Armored Division never operated as a division, as one armored brigade went to Greece (and left its tanks behind on evacuation) and the other armored brigade and the support group went to Libya (and were eliminated during Rommel's first advance). However, a division counter is included in the game for the 2nd Armored, as it is reasonable to suppose that it would have operated as a division had it survived.

Map Legend

Terrain types:

Symbol color	Terrain type
White	Clear
Light brown	Rough
Dark brown	Mountain
Golden brown	Sand
Blue (marsh grass symbol)	Swamp
Brown (marsh grass symbol)	Salt marsh
Black (solid line)	Railroad
Black (dashed line)	Road
Black (dot pattern)	Full hex city
Black (filled dot)	Dot city
Black (open circle)	Reference city
Black (outlined hex)	Fortress

Hexside types:

Symbol color	Hexside type
Blue (heavy wavy line)	Major river
Blue (thin wavy line)	River
Blue (straight double line)	Canal
Blue (filled)	Full sea/lake
Dark brown (dotted)	Escarpment
Brown (heavy line)	Mountain
Black (dotted)	Impassable escarpment
Brown (triple line)	Wadi
Brown (outlined)	Sebkha
Black (heavy line)	Border

Unit Identification Chart

Unit Counter Examples

Ground units. A ground unit counter shows, from top to bottom: a supported indicator (a dot) and the unit size in the top row; the unit type (left) and unit identification (right) in the middle row; and the attack strength, defense rating, and movement rating (separated by dashes) in the bottom row. Division identification appears on the left side of the unit type box; identification of units smaller than a division appears on the right side.

A unit's cadre strength (combat strength) is printed on the back of the counter, below the unit identification.

Headquarters may be distinguished by the flagstaff extending from the lower-left of the unit type box. A headquarters unit has no combat strength, only a movement rating.

Antiaircraft counters: A position antiaircraft counter shows its antiaircraft strength in the upper left and its movement rating below.

Unit Size Designators

Designator	Size
XX	Division
X	Brigade
III	Regiment
II	Battalion
DG	Divisionsgruppe
Cadre	Cadre

Unit size designators enclosed in brackets indicate units of a non-standard nature approximately of the size shown. Brackets are ignored for game purposes.

Air Units

An air unit counter shows, from top to bottom: the air attack strength, type, and air defense strength in the top row; the model in the middle row; and the tactical bombing strength, strategic bombing strength, and movement rating in the bottom row.

If only one bombing strength is present, it represents the tactical bombing strength; the air unit has no strategic bombing strength.

Air Unit Types

Fighters: F — Fighter.

Bombers: A — Attack Bomber. B — Bomber. D — Dive Bomber. HB — Heavy Bomber.

Transports: T — Transport. GT — Glider Transport.

Unit Colors

Allied: British Army, RAF — black on tan. British Colonial (India, Sudan) — brown on white. Commonwealth — white on brown. Free French — black on olive. U.S. Army Air Force — white on olive. Polish — white on red. Czech — black on red. Greek — black/white on red.

Axis: Italian — black on light gray-green. German Army — black on gray-green. Luftwaffe Air Units — black on gray-green. Luftwaffe Ground Units — black on light blue.

Vichy France: Metropolitan — black on blue. Colonial — white on blue. Foreign Legion — black/white on blue.

Combat Results Tables

Ground Combat Results Table

Cross-index the (modified) die roll with the odds ratio.

Die Roll	1:3	1:2	1:1	1.5:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1
−1	AE	AE	AE	AE	AE	AH	AR	EX	NE	HX
0	AE	AE	AE	AH	AH	AR	EX	NE	HX	DR
1	AE	AE	AH	AR	AR	EX	NE	HX	DR	DR
2	AE	AH	AR	AR	EX	NE	HX	DR	DR	DH
3	AR	AR	AR	EX	NE	HX	DR	DR	DH	DE
4	AR	AR	NE	NE	NE	DR	DR	DH	DE	DE
5	AR	NE	NE	NE	HX	DR	DH	DE	DE	DE
6	NE	HX	DR	DR	DR	DH	DE	DE	DE	DE
7	NE	HX	HX	HX	DH	DE	DE	DE	DE	DE
8	HX	DR	DH	DE	DE	DE	DE	DE	DE	DE

Note: On all combat results tables, die rolls modified above the highest number or below the lowest number on these tables are treated as the highest or lowest number respectively. For example, a modified die roll of 9 on the ground CRT is treated as an 8.

Bombing Table

Cross-index the die roll with the bombing strength.

Die Roll	2-4	5-8	9-12	13-16	17+
0	M	M	M	M	M
1	M	M	M	M	H
2	M	M	M	H	H
3	M	M	H	H	H
4	M	H	H	H	H
5	H	H	H	H	H
6	H	H	H	H	H

Modifiers: −1 for night bombing missions. +1 for type D air units. −1 for type HB air units.

Armor/Antitank Effects

AECA: 1/5 to 1/2 → +1. 1/2 up to full → +2. Full → +3.

AECD: 1/5 up to 1/2 → −1. 1/2 or greater → −2.

ATEC: 1/5 to 1/2 → −1. 1/2 up to full → −2. Full → −4.

Air Combat Results Table

Roll two dice when using this table. Cross-index the (modified) roll with the attack differential.

Roll	−5 or less	−4 to −3	−2	−1	0	+1	+2	+3 to +4	+5 to +6	+7 or more
1	A	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K
2	A	A	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K
3	R	A	A	A	K	K	K	K	K	K
4	—	R	A	A	A	K	K	K	K	K
5	—	—	R	R	A	A	A	A	K	K
6	—	—	—	R	R	R	A	A	A	K
7	—	—	—	—	—	R	R	A	A	A
8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R	A	A
9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R	A
10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Modifiers: −1 type F vs type B; +1 type B vs type F.

Antiaircraft Fire Table

Roll two dice when using this table. Cross-index the (modified) roll with the total antiaircraft strength.

Roll	1	2	3-4	5-6	7-9	10-12	13-16	17+
2	A	A	A	A	A	A	K	K
3	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	K
4	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A
5	—	R	R	R	R	A	A	A
6	—	—	R	R	R	R	R	A
7	—	—	—	—	R	R	R	R
8	—	—	—	—	—	—	R	R
9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Modifiers: +1 when firing on type B or HB. +1 when firing at night.

Terrain Effects Chart

Hexes

Terrain	Mot/Art movement	Other movement	Exceptions	Combat effects
Clear	1	1		No effect
Rough	2	2	1-Cavalry	−1
Mountain	6	3		No AEC; attacker halved
Sand	3	2		No effect
Swamp	6	3	2-Cavalry	−2; No AEC; Mot/Art attacker halved
Salt Marsh	Prohibited	Prohibited		Prohibited
Full Hex City	As Clear or Transportation Line			−1; No AEC; attacker halved except artillery and assault engineers

Hexsides

Terrain	Movement effect	Combat effect
Escarpment	+1 for all units	Attacking up: attacker halved except artillery. Attacking down: No effect
River/Canal	+1 for all units	Attacker halved except artillery
Major River	+2 for all units	Attacker quartered except artillery
Wadi	+1 for all units	No effect
Mountain	As mountain hex	As mountain hex
Impassable Escarpment	Prohibited	Prohibited
Sebkha	Prohibited	Prohibited
All Sea/Lake	Prohibited	Prohibited
Border	No effect	No effect

Other Features

Feature	Movement effect	Combat effect
Reference City	No effect	No effect
Dot City	No effect	No AEC
Transportation Line	See Rule 7	No effect
Fortress	No effect	No AEC; attacker halved except artillery and assault engineers
Fort (counter)	No effect	−1; No AEC

Notes: 1. Mot/Art: All combat/motorized units and all artillery units. 2. The combat effects of terrain features other than hexes and hexsides are in addition to the regular combat effects in the hex. For example, a rough hex containing a dot city has a combat effect of −1 (due to the rough hex) and no AEC (due to the city).

ZOC Movement Costs Table

To leave an enemy ZOC: German combat/motorized units — 1. All other units — 2.

To move directly from one ZOC to another: German combat/motorized unit — 2. All other units — 3.

Overrun Movement Costs

Unit Type	10:1 odds	12:1 odds
German combat/motorized	2	1
All other units	3	2

Port Table

Type	Capacity	Damage
Major	8 REs	10 hits
Standard	4 REs	6 hits
Minor	2 REs	4 hits

Major Ports: Tripoli (Libya), Suez, Alexandria, Benghazi, Valletta.

Standard Ports: Tobruk, Beyrouth, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Port Said, Ismailia, coastal cities on islands.

Minor Ports: Derna, Bardia, Rosetta, Damietta, Tripoli (Lebanon).

Rail Movement Rates

Movement Rating	Hexes per MP
9-10	5
7-8	6
6	8
1-5	10
0	0

Miscellaneous Movement Costs

Action	MP Cost
Entraining	1
Breaking a rail line	3
Damaging an airbase	2
Embarking for shipping	2

Airbase Table

Type	Capacity
Full hex city	6
Dot city	1
Reference city	1
Fortress	1
Airfield counter	3

Air Unit Escape

Escape: die roll 1, 2, 3. Eliminated: die roll 4, 5, 6.

Patrol Attacks

Turn back on: 1:1 or less — 6. Between 1:1 and 2:1 — 5, 6. 2:1 or greater — 4, 5, 6.

Allied Shipping Capabilities: 10 REs. Axis Shipping Capabilities: 3 REs.

Supply Summary

Supply Condition	Defense Strength	Attack Strength	Overrun Strength	Movement Rating
Out of general supply	1/2	1/4	1/4	1/2
In general supply	full	1/2	full	full
In attack supply	—	full	—	—

Turn Record Chart

The game turns run, two per month (I and II), from January through December, across the years 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943. The game starts with the Dec I 40 turn and ends with the Jan II 43 turn.

Victory Table

VP Ratio	Level of Victory
2:1 or greater	Allied substantial victory
1.5:1 up to 2:1	Allied marginal victory
1:1 up to 1.5:1	Draw
1:1.5 up to 1:1	Axis marginal victory
less than 1:1.5	Axis substantial victory

Victory Point Table

Axis Player. During each six-month period: +30 for control of Cyrenaica; +10 for control of any city in Egypt. Upon occurrence: +20 for capturing Malta; +15 for capturing Cyprus; +10 for capturing the Levant; +10 for capturing Palestine; +1 per hit on the Suez Canal. Use of special forces: −3 per German airborne regiment; −2 per RE of Italian units; −3 per step of supply; −2 per Axis type T air unit. At the end of the game: −1 per RE in the replacement pool; −3 per scrapped RE; +1 per accumulated ground unit replacement point; −2 per air unit in the replacement pool; +2 per accumulated air unit replacement point.

Allied Player. During each six-month period: +30 for control of Cyrenaica; +5 for control of any city in Libya outside of Cyrenaica. Upon occurrence: −1 per RE or HQ missing from a required garrison. At the end of the game: −1 per RE in the replacement pool; −3 per scrapped RE; +1 per accumulated ground unit replacement point; −2 per air unit in the replacement pool; +2 per accumulated air unit replacement point.

Tobruk Display

An inset diagram enlarges the Tobruk hex (18/4818) and its surrounding hexes (4719, 4919, 4819) to show the fortress perimeter and coastline detail around the port.

Allied Game Chart

Allied Unit Breakdowns

The breakdown charts hold one box per assemblable British, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African division, plus a box for the Allied Replacement Pool. The permitted breakdown combinations are:

8-7-10 Armored XX (no HQ): 1 x 2-10 mot SG X, 2 x 3-2-10 Armored X.

8-7-10 Armored XX (HQ): 1 x 5-3-10 Armored X, 1 x 2-10 Motorized X.

8-8 Infantry XX: 1 x 3-8 Infantry X, 2 x 2-8 Infantry X.

7-8 Infantry XX: 3 x 2-8 Infantry X.

6-8 Infantry XX: 2 x 2-8 Infantry X, 1 x 1-8 Infantry X.

0-2-8 hv Antiaircraft X: 3 x 0-8 hv Antiaircraft II, 1 x 0-8 lt Antiaircraft II.

Allied Air Unit Repair

Initial: die roll 1, 2. From Jul I 41: die roll 1, 2, 3. From Jul I 42: die roll 1, 2, 3, 4.

Allied Raiding Forces

Die Roll	Result
1	No effect
2	No effect
3	No effect
4	No effect
5	Inoperative
6	Inoperative

Campaign in Greece Table

Die Roll	Ground Unit	Air Unit
1	Eliminated	Eliminated
2	Eliminated	Eliminated
3	Eliminated	Inoperative
4	Eliminated	Inoperative
5	Intact	Inoperative
6	Intact	Intact

Axis Game Chart

Axis Unit Breakdowns

The breakdown charts hold one box per assemblable Italian and German division, plus a box for the Italian Fifth Army pool and the Tripolitania Garrison pool. The permitted breakdown combinations are:

3-6 Air Landing XX: 2 x 2-5 Air Landing III.

4-6 Parachute XX: 2 x Parachute III.

9-10 Panzer XX: 1 x 5-3-10 Panzer III, 1 x 3-10 Motorized III.

8-10 Motorized XX: 1 x 3-10 Motorized III, 2 x 2-10 Motorized III.

7-8 Infantry XX: 3 x 2-8 Infantry III.

2-10 mot hv Antiaircraft III: 2 x 1-10 mot hv AA II.

Axis Air Unit Repair

Italian: die roll 1, 2. German: die roll 1, 2, 3.

Vichy Table

Roll two dice when using this table.

Roll	Result
2	Full
3	Full
4	Air
5	Air
6+	No effect

Modifier: −1 if the Allied player invades the Levant.

Malta Table

Cross-index the two-dice roll with the current Malta status number. A result of X means the naval transport is affected and the shipping results table is consulted; a result of — means the item arrives successfully.

Dice Roll	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12+
2	—	X	X	X	—	—	—	X	—	—	X	X	X
3	X	X	—	X	—	X	X	—	—	X	—	X	—
4	—	—	X	X	X	X	—	X	X	—	X	—	—
5	X	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	X	X	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	X	X	X	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	X	X	X	X	X	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
9	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	—	—	—
11	X

Shipping Results Table

Die Roll	Supply Counter	Unit/Replacement
1	−2	E
2	−2	R
3	−2	R
4	−2	NE
5	−1	NE
6	−1	NE