Introduction

I am a lover of the arcane and obscure in Europa. Although this may be evidence of some sort of a personality defect, I have reason to believe that there may be others who, like me, live in anticipation of the day when we will be able to defend the freedom and independence of Austria from Nazi aggression, invade the Azores with the Welumacht, take Dakar with the Free French, or lead the Kwantung Army into the Soviet Union. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. Before consigning me to the lunatic fringe, however, you should be aware that each of these scenarios has been seriously proposed at one time or another by such Europa luminaries as Michael Parker, Bill Stone, and Arthur Goodwin.

Perhaps this strange passion for esoteric Europa explains my peculiar affection for Africa Orientale, the unofficial Europacompatible game based, not surprisingly, on the invasion of Africa Orientale Italiana, or Italian East Africa, by British Commonwealth forces in 1940- 41. Published in Strategy & Tactics # 128 in 1989, after a lengthy and rather mysterious gestation, AO seems never to have generated much excitement in the Europa press, except for a couple of brief articles in ETO immediately after its release.

That's a shame, because I think AO is really a neat little game. It requires minimal playing area (one map sheet), has a low counter density, and requires considerably less playing time than most of its big brothers, making it a good introductory game. Contrary to what you might expect, the outcome is by no means a foregone conclusion. And best of all, until we get the Austrians, the Azores, or the Kwantung Army, it's the most obscure, exotic title in the Europa canon.

A New Flavour in a Familiar Dish: The Game and Rules

Regrettably, the maps and counters for AO are marred by various misprints, errors, and omissions, so you'll need to request an errata sheet from GR/D. Fortunately, the problems can be readily corrected by hand once you have the errata. The rules are also a bit of a mess, but experienced Europists, especially veterans of the desert, should be able to figure things out without too much difficulty.

The most immediately striking and unique feature of AO is the map. Scaled at 32 miles per hex rather than the standard 16 (with movement costs, stacking, and zones of control modified accordingly), the map can be disconcerting until you make the necessary psychological adjustments. Your army seems to crawl along, and your air force never seems to be within range of anything. The fact is that this modestly- sized map is actually equivalent to four standard Europa maps and covers an enormous area.

In accordance with established Europa precedent, there are a number of specialized rules simulating the unique features of the East African campaign. Space precludes consideration of all of these, but the following are among the more noteworthy.

As in Western Desert, the Allied player gets a surprise turn, although only on the southern front where the Italians were historically less prepared than in the north. Unlike WD, however, the Allied player is not necessarily required to attack on the first turn; he can wait for up to four turns before attacking. Both sides may operate under some restrictions until the attack goes in. Also, the British player must build a road linking his supply terminals in Kenya with the Ethiopian road system in order to sustain his southern offensive.

Several rules simulate the fragile morale of Italy's colonial troops. They tend to be spooked by aircraft, giving the Allies a +1 DRM when using unintercepted ground support in attacks against predominantly colonial stacks unsupported by AA or DAS. More importantly, when the Allied offensive gathers sufficient momentum, as measured by control of cities, each colonial unit rolls for desertion, going home on a roll of 1-4.

Much of the special flavour of AO, however, is inherent in the overall strategic situation, which is modeled quite well using the Western Desert supply system. Isolated from the mother country, the Italian has no on-map supply terminals, and only a limited number of steps of attack supply. His army's effectiveness depends upon wise use of these limited resources.

The Armies: Anteaters vs. Hungry Ants

Although the Italian player can muster a grand total of 76 attack and 89 defense factors vs. the Allied player's 49 AF and 57 DF, the Allied player actually has the more potent fighting machine. Most of his brigades are supported, and three 7-8 and two 6-6 divisions are available for assembly. Although weak in armour, be has enough transport counters to motorize 5 REs of infantry. His air force can contribute a maximum of 8 tactical bombing strength points, and he'll need every one of them before the game is over. The Allies have the further advantages of on-map supply terminals, as well as generous amounts of attack supply arriving regularly throughout the game.

All is not sunshine, however, as the Allied player must operate under three constraints. First of all, his forces are split between two widely separated fronts, with no practical means of transferring units from one to the other as long as the Italian player controls the Red Sea (in game terms, holds Massawa). Secondly, because he receives abnost no replacements during the campaign, even light casualties can hurt him badly. Finally, and most significantly, the Allied player is the prisoner of his order of battle. It will be Jan 11 before all of his elite Indian and South African troops arrive, and these units start to withdraw again on Apr 1.

The bulk of the Italian army consists of a rag-tag assortment of colonial units, mostly unsupported 2-6 and 1-6 infantry brigades, stiffened by a small force of Italian regulars and Blackshirts. The Italian player has only two divisions, one of which, peculiarly, is one of the strongest Italian infantry divisions in Europa, a mighty 5-6 with a cadre. Ali, what you couldn't do with five or six of these in Libya! The Italian player also has a small but significant advantage in combat motorized forces, with three light armoured or tank battalions and three motorized brigades. Other units include four artillery regiments, a nifty 1-8* Alpini battalion, and several construction regiments. The Regia Aeronautica is useful, but a specialized rule simulating the difficulties of maintaining an isolated air force makes it even more fragile than usual.

There are three general observations to be made on the state of the Italian army:

1) Although the Italian player has a mess of troops, AO uses a rigid hex-by-hex historical set up, and his army is scattered all over East Africa at the beginning of the game. His first problem, therefore, is concentrating his forces where they're most needed.

2) Apart from the two divisions and the mountain battalion, none of these units are supported, so careful thought must be given to deployment of the divisions and the artillery.

3) Unless in general supply, Italian units defend at half strength at best, and usually, due to the lack of supporting arms, at quarter strength. Once again, the key to a respectable defense is the wise use of supply.

On the Horns of a Dilemma In the Horn of Africa

Introduction
Fighting in the Horn
Last Thoughts