North Africa ’41 The Western Desert, March to December 1941
North Africa ’41 is a game that represents the campaign in North Africa from Rommel’s first offensive in March 1941 to December 1941. During that period Rommel’s forces dashed across Cyrenaica and made it to the frontier of Egypt. However he was not able to take the critical port of Tobruk defended by the stubborn Australians. With superior tanks and 88,, Flak guns (used as anti-tank weapons) the Axis forces successfully fought off two counter attacks from the east – the Allied operations called Brevity and Battleaxe. Later in the year, before Rommel could make his final big assault against Tobruk, the Allies launched Operation Crusader that forced the Axis forces to retreat back to their original starting positions at Agheila.
North Africa ’41 allows players to study the campaign and refight it with their own strategies. The game includes a detailed map of the Western Desert and a meticulously researched order of battle.
The game uses the simple Move-Fight-Supply game system developed in Normandy ’44 and Holland ’44. Important elements like supply, troop quality, artillery support, and command and control are all reflected in the game.
Scale: Â Combat units represent regiments, brigades, and battalions. Each hex on the map represents an area 8 miles across. Each game turn represents half a month, but a game turn is further divided into 2-3 Impulses representing 3-7 days.
The game includes three scenarios: The Campaign Game, Enter Rommel, and Crusader.Â
