Introduction

El Alamein is a scenario that holds very little interest as games go. But it's a nicely compartmented little battle that is worthwhile to set up at least once, both for historical interest (the 50th anniversary is nigh) and for an illustration of how well an intensive, set-piece World War II battle can be modeled with the Europa system. It was generaled by two commanders operating under severe operational constraints: Rommel was to hold at all costs, and Montgomery was to win at all costs; Montgomery, however, had the luxury of a logistical base that could support his imperative.

Consequently the battle had, for its scale, more violence and finality than the typical World War II action, and more clearing of hexes than we are likely to see in a single turn of Europa. The battle thus serves to demonstrate the need for some special rules to address such a situation, and provides a small test case for "designer's choice" rules suggestions like the two I'm offering here.

The first rule I'm suggesting is already with us, in essence, as the "surprise attack turn". I'd like to see a similar but scaled down "Offensive Phase" as an optional part of any game turn, a special phase that can be invoked whenever an army and its units meet certain administrative criteria. The rule would allow the simulation of the many prepared offensives like Kursk, the Normandy breakout, the Bulge, and of course Alamein. (With the Offensive Phase in place, the "Surprise Turn/Invasion Phase" could be retained as a special case that would be more effective, but more difficult to invoke, than the Offensive Phase.)

In the El Alamein demonstration, the Offensive Phase utilizes WitD's combat supply rules, which are easily adapted to our purpose with the requirement that it costs extra combat supply to launch a prepared offensive. Other games are not so well suited under present rules, but they may be soon if Second Front introduces a supply system based on army HQs, as is my hope. In any case, it seems to me unavoidable that Grand Europa will have to provide an Offensive Phase, and army HQ counters as focal points of combat supply would provide an efficient means of governing prepared offensives.

The second rule I'm suggesting for use both here and beyond this demonstration is what I call the "Major Effort"; it's a mechanism that gives players the option to simulate take- or hold-at-all-costs orders at the operational level, with appropriate and realistic results. Under the current Europa rules there is very little a player can do to make an extraordinary effort to own a critical piece of the map-beyond shaking the die more forcefully. Although we sometimes see maximum stacks in a series of attacks and counterattacks for a number of turns, it doesn't match the intensity of localized, ferocious battles like Stalingrad and El Alamein. What I'm proposing is an optional special die-roll following any result where an attacker can't advance or a defender is forced to retreat; after any losses are taken, this die-roll would determine what die-mod penalty, if any, will apply to the player who invokes it, in a re-roll of the previous combat. (See the actual rule below for details.)

The rule thus gives a player a little more control over the conduct of his units, and I would say it's a level of control more appropriate to the scale of Europa than what we have without it. As is true of the actual historical options being simulated, the Major Effort is expensive, and of questionable strategic value in most cases. In the long run, a player can expect his MEs to sometimes be more successful against a less resolute opponent, but his casualties will be higher, especially if the two sides are fairly evenly matched. (See the Designer's Notes for some statistics.)

As a generalized rule beyond this scenario, there would have to be national exceptions made to who can invoke an ME, because some armies at some periods (like the Italians at El Alamein) will not have a morale level to support an "at all costs" order. In Grand Europa this could tie in well with "national data sheets" that track armies' capabilities.

Neither the rules given below nor the scope and structure of the scenario are intended to be anything more than a basis for your own experimentation. Players are especially encouraged to tinker with the two rules I've described, and to offer improvements. You might also enjoy trying them with Torch.

Rule 2-Game Components

El Alamein is played using the counters and map 19 from Western Desert. Except for the rules listed below, rules from Western Desert or Balkan Front, or any combination thereof, may be used at the player's discretion.

Rule 4-Sequence of Play

A.1.1. Offensive Phase. (See 4.D.)

A.1.1.a Offensive Air Phase. Eligible air units may fly ground support or escort missions.

A.1.1.b Offensive Movement Phase. Eligible combat motorized units may use up to half of their movement allowances, and others may use up to two movement points.

A.1.1.c Offensive Combat Phase. Combat may be initiated by any eligible units, and it occurs as in a normal Combat Phase.

A.1.1.d Immediate Counterattack Phase. Any unit of the non-phasing player may counterattack any adjacent unit that moved or attacked in the Offensive Phase. An attack in this phase is treated in every way like a normal combat. A unit which attacks in this phase may not attack again in the immediately following combat phase.

A.6. Final Phase. Each air unit which participated in the Offensive Phase must be checked for its operational status. On a roll of 5 or 6 the air unit is rendered inoperative. (Note: This might be a convenient place to perform other end-of-turn functions in Grand Europa.)

D. The Offensive Phase. Units may be used in the Offensive Phase if they are in general supply, if in the prior turn they were in general supply and did not 1) attack, 2) attempt to enter enemy- controlled hexes, 3) move in the Exploitation Phase, or 4) get worsted in defense (suffer losses or retreat). They must also be stacked with or adjacent to a contributing combat supply counter, and within combat supply range of another.

Air units may join in an Offensive Phase if they are in general and attack supply (see below) and if they did not participate in an Offensive Phase in the preceding turn. (Air units are penalized for operating in the Offensive Phase-see rule 4.A.6.) Defending air units may use defensive air support, interception, and patrol attacks during the Offensive Phase, but their bombing factors are halved and their attack factors are reduced by 2. All units which move or attack in the Offensive Phase must use combat supply. At least as much combat supply must be consumed in the regular Combat Phase as was consumed in the Offensive Phase.

Rule 9-Combat

1. Major Effort. Following a regular combat die-roll, once any losses have been taken, the attacker or defender may each call for a Major Effort. The attacker may do so if the preceding combat result failed to clear the defending hex of enemy units. The defender may call for a ME if the preceding combat result requires that his units retreat from a hex.

For the attacker to call a ME, at least one attacking unit must have begun the prior Movement Phase in its current hex. The player making the ME first rolls a die to determine if there will be a die-mod penalty in the secondary combat roll. Add 3 to this roll if a player is refusing a retreat that would result in a unit's elimination. If the modified result of this roll is -1 or 2 the combat is resolved again, with no penalty to the side making the ME. If the result is 3 or 4, there is a die mod of 1 applied against the side making the ME. If the result is 5 or 6 there is a penalty mod of 2, and if the result is 7 or more, there is a penalty of 3.

Once a player has committed to a ME, but before the penalty determination is made, the other side may avoid it by calling off the attack in the case of the attacker, or by voluntarily retreating from the hex in question in the case of the defender. Once a player has rolled to determine if there is a penalty for a ME, he must carry out the combat roll regardless of the results of the penalty roll. Any result in a secondary combat brought on by a ME on a modified die roll of less than -1 must involve losses to the attacker; an AR is converted to an AH, an AS or HX to an EX, and a DR to an HX. (This clause is necessary to provide some chance for extra losses to the attacker at high odds). If as a result of the secondary combat the other side is eligible to call for his own ME, he may do so, as each player is entitled to make a ME once per primary combat resolution.

Any die-mod penalty on a second player's ME is applied to the primary combat determination, i.e., any penalty on the first player's ME is ignored. Italian units may not be involved with the side making a ME; if part of a force making a ME is Italian, the rest of the force ignores them in calculating the secondary combat result.

Rule 12-Supply

C. Attack Supply. The Axis player may keep track of the number of REs of combat supply that have been provided, and retain the supply counter until it has been exhausted.

C.1. Air Unit Supply. Air units must use combat supply in order to operate at full effectiveness. Each air unit on a fighter mission counts as 1/2 RE for combat supply purposes; all others count as 1 RE. Air units which do not use combat supply have their air attack factors reduced by 2, and their bombing factors are halved. Allied air units are always in combat supply.

Rule 28-Special Rules

E. Special Orders. The Germans are required by orders from their superiors in Italy and Germany to resist all attacks with Major Efforts until Allied units have penetrated west of map column 19. No voluntary retreats may be made until at least one counterattack has been made. The Allied commander is required by pressure from the Prime Minister and by an irresistible desire for knighthood to make Major Efforts on all attacks east of column 18.

F. The Monty Factor. The Allies may not attack at odds of less than 6 to 1, or with a net die-mod of less than +2, west of map column 19. (Just kidding here! We don't need to get that historical.)

Rule 30-Preparing For Play

The game begins with the Allied Offensive Phase of the Oct II 1942 turn, and ends with the completion of the turn.

Rule 31-Victory

The Allies score a decisive victory by taking possession of hexes 19:2025, 19:2026, and either 19:1926 or 19:1927 by the end of the game, and by eliminating or reducing all German divisions to cadres. The Axis score a decisive victory by retaining possession of map column 20, or a marginal victory by preventing an Allied victory.

El Alamein Europa Demonstration Battle Number 1

Introduction and Rules
Orders of Battle: Allied and Axis
Map (slow: 95K)
Designer's Notes