Introduction

Naval forces played an important part in the North African campaign, far more so than in some Europa theaters. Under the able command of Admiral Andrew Cunningham (and, later, Admiral Henry Harwell), the Royal Navy dominated the eastern and western Mediterranean. The fleet even ventured aggressively into the central Mediterranean, attacking the Italian mainland on several occasions. Early in the campaign, the Mediterranean earned the nickname "Cunningham's Pond" among the British, a far cry from Mussolini's dream of Mare Nostrum or 'Our Sea'.

Although War in the Desert (WitD) pays service to British sea supremacy in several ways, most notably via the rules concerning Malta, in some respects the game may still underplay the effect of sea power on the North African campaign. Adding a detailed naval system to WitD might remedy this, but lengthen play considerably. Whatever the final form of the Europa naval system, there will be many players who do not want such intricacies.

The following options present several ways of handling some of the additional influence of the Royal Navy in WitD without resorting to the use of a complex naval add-on. They cover gunfire support, port bombardment, port interdiction, the use of blockships on an Axis harbor, and commandos.

The Italian Navy had little inclination or ability to directly affect the land campaign in Africa, so these options all deal with the effects of Allied sea power. They must, therefore, tilt play balance toward the Allies. This is countered by the opportunity for the Axis to score victory points with Naval Bombing hits during Allied naval missions and as a result of the Greek campaign.

For ease of reference during play, we first present the rules portion of these options. A discussion of each follows the complete set of options. Although these options presume the use of the WitD rules set, some are adaptable to WD.

Naval Gunfire Support

The Allied player has a variable number of naval gunfire support points available every turn, according to the table below. These gunfire points are available for use only on Maps 18, 19, and 20.

Allied Naval Gunfire Availability
Years: Points Available:
1940 and 1941 4
1942 and 1943 2

The Allied player may use naval gunfire to support an Allied attack from a coastal hex into another coastal hex. He may not use naval gunfire points in defense.

Naval gunfire points function in the same manner as field artillery. Treat each naval gunfire point supporting a combat as 1/2 RE of field artillery for the purposes of Rules 1 and 14B.

A naval gunfire point may only be used once per player turn. Naval gunfire points may not be accumulated for use in later turns.

Naval gunfire points may not be eliminated. They are never affected by ground combat results. Naval gunfire points are not counted when determining losses due to exchanges.

When naval gunfire is used, place a Naval Gunfire marker in any all-sea or coastal hex adjacent to the target hex. In the Axis air phase, Axis air units may attack Naval Gunfire counters using the Naval Bombing Mission. Naval gunfire markers have an AA strength equal to their gunfire support strength.

Remove Naval Gunfire markers at the end of the Axis Air Phase.

Naval Interdiction

During the Allied initial phase, the Allied player may declare a naval interdiction of any one non-European Axis controlled port within eight hexes of an Allied 'F' type air unit. This interdiction zone covers every sea and coastal hex within 2 hexes of the interdicted port. This zone is in effect until the start of his next initial phase.

An interdiction zone interferes with Axis naval transport to or from the interdicted port. When the Axis player attempts to move cargo to the interdicted port, first resolve any normal Naval Table rolls (due to Malta, etc.), immediately implementing any 'Sunk' or 'Turned Back' results. If the particular cargo was not sunk or turned back, again roll on the Naval Table to resolve the effects of port interdiction. Always use the V column on the Naval Table for this roll.

Reverse this procedure for cargo shipped from the interdicted port. First, roll for port interdiction using the V column on the Naval Table, then resolve other normal Naval Table rolls.

Axis air units may attack an Allied Port Interdiction Zone using the Naval Bombing Mission.

Port Bombardment

At the beginning of any Allied Air Phase, the Allied player may announce a naval bombardment of any Axis port. The Allied player conducts the bombardment at the end of the Allied Air Phase by rolling on the Port Bombardment Table. The Allied player rolls one die to determine the number of hits on the port and a second die to determine the number of naval bombing hits the Axis scores.

Due to surprise, the first bombardment mission has a greater chance of success than later missions. The first time in the game the Allied player rolls on the table, use the columns labeled "Ist Attempt." On all subsequent rolls (for either the same or different ports) use the columns labeled "2nd Attempt or Later."

Blocking Ports

Once per game, the Allied player may attempt to block a non-European Axis port by sinking a battleship in its harbor. There are two methods by which the Allies may attempt to block a port. One method uses the retired target ship HMS Centurion. The second method uses the active battleship HMS Barham. The Allied player may employ either, but not both, of the two methods for this attempt.

At the beginning of any Allied Air Phase, the Allied player may announce that he is attempting to block a specific Axis port and which method (Centurion or Barham) he will use. At the end of that air phase, the Allied player rolls on the Port Blocking Table. He rolls one die to determine the number of hits on the port and a second die to determine the number of naval bombing hits the Axis scores.

If the Allied player rolls a '1' when determining port hits, the mission was aborted with no loss to either side. The mission may not be attempted again.

Naval Bombing Air Missions

In some cases, air units may fly bombing missions and score naval bombing hits or hits on fimsported units. All naval bombing air missions are tactical bombing missions.

Effect of Naval Bombing Hits. The Axis player scores 2 victory points for each Naval Bombing hit except Naval Transport hits. This includes hits from bombing interdiction zones, bombing naval gunfire markers, and from the Port Bombardment Table and Port Blocking Table.

Keep a running total of the number of naval bombing hits the Axis player scores. If the Axis scores a total of 20 or more hits, the Allied player may no longer declare interdiction zones, conduct gunfire support, bombard ports, or attempt to block harbors.

Naval Interdiction Bombing. The Allied player may declare interdiction zones and the Axis player may bomb them, which represents air attacks on the warships in the interdiction zone. The target hex of this Naval Bombing attack is any coastal or sea hex in the interdiction zone.

Naval Gunfire Bombing. The Axis player may bomb Allied Naval Gunfire markers. The target hex is the hex occupied by the Allied Naval Gunfire marker.

Naval Transport Bombing. Air units fly this mission to a naval patrol hex, which must be a coastal or all-sea hex. An air unit has its movement allowance reduced by 4 MPs when flying to a naval patrol hex. The air units flying this mission remain in the patrol hex until they bomb enemy naval transport or until the s= of the next friendly initial phase. When the enemy player moves a unit or RE of supply by naval transport, and the cargo comes within four hexes of an air unit's naval patrol hex, the air unit may bomb that item of cargo. (If it is within the range of several air units, all may join to bomb the target.) Move the air unit to the target, resolve AA fire, and then consult the bombing table for the bombing attack. A hit on a divisional unit reduces it to cadre or eliminates it if it has no cadre. A hit on a non- divisional unit or RE of supply eliminates it. Bombing hits scored on naval transport do not eliminate naval transport points.

AA Fire. Axis air units flying Naval Bombing Missions are susceptible to Allied AA fire. Allied Naval Gunfire markers may fire AA at a strength equal to their gunfire support strength. Allied Naval Interdiction markers fire AA at a strength of '3'. Ground AA units may not fire AA at aircraft flying a Naval Bombing Mission.

Effects of the Greek Campaign. When Allied forces return from Greece, roll 1 die. The Axis player immediately scores that number of naval interdiction hits, representing Axis bombing of the British fleet off Greece and Crete.

British Commandos

The British receive a 1-8 Marine Commando Brigade as a Feb 1 41 reinforcement. The unit is withdrawn for Greece and returns with the other forces from Greece. The unit is included in the Balkan Front counter mix.

Allied Order of Battle Additions

Feb I 41
Egypt: 1x 1-8 Mar Cmdo X L
May II 41
To Greece: 1x 1-8 Mar Cmdo X L
Jan I 42
Withdraw: 1x 1-8 Mar Cmdo X L

Amphibious Landings. The British marine commando unit may use naval transport to disembark into or embark from any friendly-owned beach hex. The marine commando unit may also make amphibious landings by disembarking into an enemy-owned beach hex. The rules for naval transport are used. The amphibious landing must be planned in advance, similar to an airborne operation. Use WitD Rule 25F for planning the amphibious landing. The Allied player may not engage in this planning before the unit's arrival as a reinforcement, even if the actual planned landing is to take place after the unit's arrival.

Due to coastal defenses and other considerations not represented in the game, the marine commando unit cannot land in Europe, nor in any enemy-owned major or standard port,

The commando unit is a marine unit, and hence its combat strength is not quartered on the turn of the landing.

The marine unit does not gain full ownership of the hex it occupies during the player turn it makes the landing nor during the following enemy player turn. For example, a supply line may be traced through a friendly- owned hex occupied by the just-landed commando unit.

The marine unit does not exert a ZOC during the player turn in which it performs an amphibious landing.

This commando unit cannot be replaced. The Axis scores 2 Victory Points for its elimination.

Pantelleria and Lampedusa

The marine commando unit may attempt an amphibious landing on Pantelleria or Lampedusa. If it does so, the Allied player rolls on the Success Table. Add one to the success die roll if the target island is Lampedusa. If the result is success, the unit may occupy the island and any Axis units on the island are eliminated. If the result is 'F' but the commando unit survives, place the unit back at its point of embarkation.

Place Allied units lost on the islands in the Malta Replacement Pool.

The Allies gain 3 Victory Points for capturing Pantelleria during 1941, and I Victory Point for capturing Lampedusa during 1941.

While both Pantelleria and Malta are Allied controlled, the Malta status number is effectively reduced by '2' for rolls on the Naval Table.

Discussion

Ground support.

On occasion, the Royal Navy provided significant direct support to land forces. In the initial offensive against the Italians, the Mediterranean Inshore Squadron bombarded the Italian camps at Sidi Barani. The monitor Terror and the Insect class gunboats Aphis and Ladybird participated. In the assault on Bardia, a significant portion of the fleet turned out, including the battleships Warspite and Barham.

With the establishment of the Luftwaffe in African bases, the direct support of ground troops by the Royal Navy became too risky a propositionStukas sank Terror off Benghazi in February, 1941. Although the Inshore Squadron continued to help when it could, they could no longer be counted on to provide offshore artillery.

When Allied forces invaded Syria, the fleet took advantage of the Luftwaffe's absence and gave valuable aid to the Allied advance along the Lebanese coast.

The amount of gunfire support goes down in December 1941. This is because of new commitments against the Japanese and the temporary loss of Valiant and Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbor to Italian frogmen. These events reduce the RN's availability for such missions.

Naval Interdiction.

The naval interdiction rules are adapted from Balkan Front with modifications to fit the Mediterranean. The main change from BF is the more conservative use of the '0' column on the Naval Table instead of the much harsher BF interdiction table. Use the BF table if you wish.

In the actual Mediterranean campaign the British never really tried to interdict an Axis port with surface naval units. They had the ability to try if they needed to, as they showed off Crete. This ability could affect games of WitD. You can find an example in TEM #18, where Ben Knight describes a game in which the Axis army held out for months in a small enclave around the supply terminal of Benghazi. I think it highly probable that in such a case, the British fleet would have expended considerable resources to cut Axis sea communications. They probably would have succeeded given at least contested air space. The Royal Navy maintained sea control around Crete for some time under complete German air supremacy.

I waffled on the inclusion of the stipulation that interdiction can only be close to an Allied airfield. There is some merit in the argument that a player should be able to try it where he wants, and suffer the consequences. The interdiction of ports far behind the Axis lines was simply beyond the fleet's capabilities, however. Take Tripoli as an example. Had the British tried to actively blockade that port with surface forces, the Axis could have committed aircraft from all over Europe to join in the fun. These extra units can't be directly accounted for in the game, and that's only one problem with allowing unrestricted attempts. For this and other reasons I included the airfield proximity constraint.

Blocking Ports.

When Rommel's Afrika Korps began transferring into Libya in February of 1941, the British began to look for ways to block their passage.

Churchill liked the idea of towing the old battleship Centurion to Tripoli and sinking it in the harbor. The navy had been using Centurion as a wireless controlled target ship for gunnery practice. At first glance, the ship seemed ideal for the purpose.

Admiral Cunningham was not in favor of the idea, pointing out the high losses that escorting forces might take on their slow voyage from Gibraltar to Tripoli. The slow speed of Centurion made it unlikely that the fleet could achieve surprise. Cunningham's arguments were persuasive and more and more of the British command came to believe that the plan was too risky.

With the Centurion plan in disfavor, the Admiralty began to wonder if the blocking of Tripoli might even be worth an active battleship. They devised a new plan for sending the H.M.S. Barham and a "C" class cruiser to approach Tripoli with all guns firing. The two ships would enter the harbor and scuttle themselves there.

If Cunningham were opposed to the Centurion plan, he was completely repelled by the sacrifice of a battleship merely for the possibility depriving the Axis the use of Tripoli limited period of time.

Cunningham argued several points well. First, there was no guarantee that a ship as large as the Barham could maneuver into the proper position to block the harbor. Second, the new plan requiring gunfire from the attacking ships on the approach run would require a large crew complement instead of the skeleton crew needed to scuttle the Centurion. There was no good way to rescue the crews and most would probably be lost. Third, the Axis propaganda machine would exploit the event to the fullest to show just what a desperate situation the Allies were facing. Fourth, the sacrifice of a ship like the Barham could have disastrous effects on the fleet's morale, especially since the need for secrecy would not allow the use of an all- volunteer crew.

Cunningham's argument won out and the Admiralty replaced the Barham scheme with a conventional naval bombardment operation.

What should the chances be of successfully using either Centurion or Barham on this mission? We'll never know and, to be honest, I don't really have a clue, either. I tried to build a table that reflects the way the British saw the situation at the time- as a risky maneuver, but one that could pay off if successful.

The Bombardment of Tripoli.

The fleet bound for Tripoli masqueraded as an escort for a Malta convoy and so achieved complete surprise-so much so that Italian anti-aircraft guns fired for hours against imagined bombers. Unfortunately, the bombardment's results weren't overly impressive. The damage was quickly repaired and the British never repeated their attempt.

British Commandos.

See TEM #28 for John Astell's discussion of the British Commando units. Part of Layforce was lost in Crete. The rest was destroyed in Syria (see TEM #33). The unit disbanded after that.

I included this unit in "The Invasion of Syria7' scenario, which was easy enough to do. In a whole WitD campaign, there might be some upsetting tricks this unit can pull. For example, you might not want to leave a stack of choice Axis air units in an ungarrisoned coastal air base.

Italian Islands.

One proposed project was to put the commandos on a ship in a Malta convoy. When the convoy neared Pantelleria, the commandos' ship would veer off at night and the troops would seize Pantelleria. The plan wasn't carried out, of course. The British decided that Pantelleria wasn't worth much as long as they had Malta and it was bad enough trying to get convoys through to one island, much less two.

You could get complicated very quickly here, trying to write rules to cover every possibility if the operation succeeds. For example, what does bombing an Alliedheld Pantelleria do to the Malta Status Number? (Nothing, as written.) Can you repair the airfield on Pantelleria with Malta Repair capability? (Not as written.) If you dare use this in a competitive game, make sure everyone agrees on the mechanics.

Counters.

If you wish, you can copy and make the counters:

Final Comments

Don't think that I am arguing that these items are vital elements that WitD leaves out. Most have what I consider the main drawback of a rule that should be left out of a standard game-they quickly tell what a player can do, then go to great lengths to limit the player's ability to do it. The intent is to provide some of the Allied assets and options historically available for players who do not mind the added complexity.