Desert War
Desert War Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
50. Italians
50.1 HAND CAPACITY: Italian Line Troops have a four-card hand capacity with a maximum discard ability of two cards per turn, but discards are allowed only in those player turns in which they take no action.
50.2 SPLIT CARDS: The Italian player must play all Split Action cards as Cower cards.
50.3 FIREPOWER PENALTY: The Italians suffered from poor morale brought about primarily by terrible leadership and were consequently renowned for their unwillingness to actively participate in firefights. Therefore, the Italian player must always have firepower factors in excess of those normally required to make any attack (not applicable to ordnance).
50.4 BROKEN SQUAD: The Italian infantry section varied significantly in that it was composed of 18 men broken down into a LMG group and a supporting rifle group. The Italian fighting spirit was fair when well-led by commanders such as Rommel, and dismal otherwise. Consequently, an Italian squad will break when it has lost more than 40% of its Personality cards as opposed to more than 50% (i.e. eight out of 18 cards in the average scenario).
50.41 SURRENDER: Due to their low Rout numbers, Italians will be taken prisoner more readily than other nationalities [32.12]. However, a special surrender rule also applies to them if all members of an Italian Infantry group (not Infantry Guns) are pinned regardless of their Relative Range to the enemy. When this condition occurs at the end of a turn, place a Surrender chit on the Group marker. That group may not move (nor play terrain), fire, or rally (even with a Hero) unless relieved or fired upon (including by snipers). Once a surrendered group has been attacked, no Italian group is again eligible for Surrender in that scenario. A surrendered group can be relieved only by Individual Transfer of an unpinned man to that group whereupon the "surrender" marker is removed. Once there, the previously surrendered group is eligible to rally normally, and if rallied, may fire and move again. A surrendered group is captured automatically by any Infiltrator of its group. Standard Prisoner rules [32.2] then apply. Infiltration of a surrendered group does not require a Morale Check and is always resolved under the "1" column of the RPC. A surrendered group does not count towards Broken Squad requirements until it is captured. Even though some Italian Panic values are lower than their Morale values, their Panic values are never allowed to drop more than one less than their Morale values during a Campaign Game [42.44].
50.41 & 10.3: Can a surrendered Italian group or parts thereof voluntarily panic prior to being captured? A. No.
50.41, 16.5, 32.0, Broken Squad, Prisoners, and Surrender: Prisoners DO count as casualties toward the calculation of a Broken Squad. Groups which have surrendered but have not been captured do not count as casualties toward the calculation of a Broken Squad.
50.42 VS RUSSIANS: The Italians were not as eager to surrender to the not-so-tender mercies of the Russians. Consequently, the Surrender and 40% Broken Squad rules do not apply in scenarios vs. Russians and all Italian infantry Panic values are increased by one.
50.5 TROOP TYPES: Bersaglieri are Italian Elite troops. Bersaglieri may use German Split Action cards and are not subject to special Italian surrender provisions [50.41]. Blackshirts are Italian Second Line troops. Blackshirts may discard only one card per turn and only if they take no action in that turn.
50.6 LMG: Like all LMGs in the game which are not considered a crew-served weapon, a Hero card can be used to double the LMG's firepower only if the Hero card is also a black RNC.
50.7 HEAVY WEAPONS: The Italian ATR and MMG were too heavy to be moved by one man. Any group with these weapons must contain at least two unwounded men crewing these weapons to play a Movement card for any purpose unless they abandon those weapons (no action required). Neither crewman may carry Secondary Weapons or be armed with another weapon requiring a crew for efficient use.
50.8 DYO: The purchase cost of an Italian radio in a DYO scenario is identical to that of a Russian radio of the same strength [43.7] when using Elite forces, and half of that cost otherwise. The Italians may use any Russian radio card.
50.9 PARTISANS: The Italians may use Partisan rules [37.0] if purchased for a post-1943 DYO scenario.
51. French
51.1 HAND CAPACITY: French Line Troops have a six-card hand capacity with a maximum discard capability of one card per turn, but discards are allowed only in those player turns in which they take no action. This limited discard capability reflects the outmoded French tactical doctrine emphasizing static defense and discouragement of individual initiative.
51.2 SPLIT CARDS: The French player uses the German Split Action cards.
51.3 PARTISANS: The French player may use Partisan rules [37.0] if purchased for a DYO scenario.
51.4 TROOP TYPES: Legionnaires are Elite Troops. Legionnaires may take one action per turn and still discard one card per turn. Reservists are French Second Line Troops. Reservists must treat all Split Action cards as Cower cards.
51.5 DYO: The purchase cost of a French radio in a DYO scenario is identical to that of a German radio of the same strength [43.7] unless using Reservists in which case the cost is halved. The French may use any German Radio card.
51.6 CHAR B1: The Char B1 mounted two guns; a 47mm in the turret and a 75mm mounted low in the hull. The first set of Effect Numbers are for the 75mm, the second set for the 47mm. The player can fire only one Gun (or MG) in the tank per turn. The 75mm is treated as an Assault Gun with all the limitations [28.2] that involves. In addition, the 75mm To Hit numbers are always one less than those for the 47mm. The 75mm may not be fired it the tank is Hull Down.
27.1 & 51.6: Can the two different guns of a Char B1 each acquire a different target and maintain acquisition while the other fires at a different group? A. No.
51.7 BROKEN SQUAD: The French squad breaks when it has lost half (rather than more than half) of its Personality cards (i.e. six out of 12 cards in the average scenario).
52. Desert Rules
52.1 TERRAIN ALTERATIONS: Due to the vast difference in the terrain of the Western Desert compared to that of Europe, the following extensive changes to the terrain rules are required. When using the Desert rules, all Special Rules of previous scenarios pertaining to removal of Buildings, Woods, Stream, or Minefield cards are ignored. All other rules remain the same.
52.11 MINEFIELD: Minefields were used extensively in the desert but were used more to deny access than to cause casualties. As such, they were almost always well-marked, and this, in turn, led to frequent use of "fake" minefields; i.e. marking an area as mined which in reality was not. Consequently, minefields are always in effect when using the Desert rules. In the desert, however, a player can always reject a Minefield card discarded upon him [7.3], but if he accepts it the Minefield may in fact be real or a fake. The accepting player must immediately draw an RNC to determine if the minefield is real and functions normally. If he draws a 0 or a red RNC, the minefield is a fake and is immediately flipped to the Open Ground side.
52.11 & 24.6: Are minefield cards removed from the deck in a Desert scenario if rejected by the opponent or accepted and subsequently proved fake? A. No.
52.12 HILLS: High ground in the desert is usually a soft dune crest or rocky outcropping so entrenchment on a hill is successful only when drawing a black 1 RNC. Otherwise, hill rules are unchanged.
52.13 STREAMS / WADIS: Stream cards are considered Wadis and cannot be rejected. Wadis do not have to be forded but can only be left by placement of a sideways Movement card. Wadis modify attacks against them by -1. There is no firepower or weapon usage restrictions for occupying a Wadi. Otherwise, Stream rules are unchanged.
52.13 & 20.24: Can a man in a Wadi infiltrate normally or only with a Movement card? A. Only with a movement card.
52.14 BUILDINGS / ESCARPMENT: All -3 Buildings are Cower cards and removed from the game as they are discarded from players' hands or drawn as RNC/RPC draws. -2 Building cards are considered rocky outcroppings or Escarpments. There is no firepower or weapon usage restrictions for occupying an Escarpment. Entrenching is not allowed in an Escarpment. Vehicles may not enter or Overrun an Escarpment. All other Building rules apply.
52.15 MARSH / SOFT SAND: Marsh cards represent Soft Sand and cannot be rejected. There is no firepower or weapon usage restrictions for occupying Soft Sand. Entrenching is not allowed in Soft Sand. There is no terrain effect due to Soft Sand for incoming or outgoing attacks except that the effect of all HE attacks vs. Soft Sand is reduced by one. This does not qualify Soft Sand as terrain which will "reduce the strength of a fire attack" for purposes of ending a scenario. Vehicles may enter Soft Sand but must make an immediate Bog Check with a two-column shift to the left. Any Infantry Gun in Soft Sand must take an immediate Morale Check upon entry and immediately after playing any Movement card while still in Soft Sand. All other Marsh rules apply.
52.16 WOODS / OASIS: Woods cards are treated as Cower cards and removed from play as discarded or drawn as RPC/RNC. However, a player with a Woods card may attempt to play it as a terrain card. After placement, he must draw a black RNC for the terrain card to be valid and remain in play as an Oasis. If he draws a red RNC, the Woods card is treated as a mirage and removed leaving the group still moving. An Oasis card successfully played may remain in the game until subsequently unsuccessfully played in the manner described above or discarded/drawn as an RPC/RNC. An Oasis is the equivalent of Woods in every respect except that defenders thereon receive an increase of +1 to their Morale and Panic ratings due to secure water supply.
52.17 WALL / RIDGE: Walls are considered a low ridge but all Wall rules apply normally.
Desert terrain rules table. The printed table shows each standard terrain card and the Desert card it becomes, with the Desert terrain rules for that card. In the printed boxes, RNC references are colour-coded; where the colour matters, this transcription writes "black" or "red" as the printed table shows it. Where a printed box is cut off at its foot, the cut-off text is not legible in the source and is not reproduced.
- Woods becomes Oasis
- Black RNC: Playable, Mor / Pan +1
- Red RNC: Mirage, discard
- *NA to Mortar fire: INF from: 1 shift left
- AFV Entry/OVR: BOG check (RPC): Exit: sideways
- OVR: OT AFV: 6 IM, 5 EL; Others: 6 IM
- Buildings become Escarpment
- No Entrenching allowed
- AFV Entry not allowed
- Stream becomes Wadi
- Rejection NA: AFV Entry/OVR: BOG check: (RPC)
- EXIT: Move sideways
- Marsh becomes Soft Sand
- Rejection N/A: Entrenching not allowed
- EXIT: 1 sideways Move plus any other Move
- All incoming HE attacks -1; IG: morale check
- AFV entry: BOG check 2 shifts left
- Hill becomes Dune
- *Only if target / firing group is not also on Dune
- Entrench: RNC 1: INF from Dune: 1 shift right
52.2 ENTRENCHING: Entrenching in the desert was more difficult due to the rocky nature of the surface or fine sand covering. Therefore, entrenching requires a 1 RNC rather than a 0 RNC.
52.3 MALFUNCTIONS: All weapons tended to malfunction more frequently in the desert due to the difficulty of keeping them clean. Therefore, all malfunction numbers have their breakdown range increased by one; i.e., x6 becoming x5-6, x5-6 becoming x4-6.
52.4 SANDSTORMS: Violent windstorms in the desert were fairly common and brought all fighting to a halt due to reduced visibility and clogged weapons. Whenever a sandstorm occurs, the scenario immediately ends and is decided by points scored up to that point. Players must check for sandstorms at the end of each deck by drawing an RNC. If the RNC is a red 6, the scenario ends at that point.
53. Scenarios
The French and Italians can be added to most existing UP FRONT/BANZAI scenarios by inserting an appropriate force. Italians may historically face the British, Americans, Russians, and French in that order. The French are limited to use against the Germans and Italians although they could be considered Vichy French and used vs. the Americans and British. They also fought briefly vs. the Japanese in September 1940, and again in March 1945, in Indo-China. Desert rules can be imposed or not at the player's discretion with a minimum of historical reference. The possession of Anti-Tank type Secondary Weapons is limited by scenario definition [21.11]. In DYO scenarios, these are limited to a maximum of one per squad for the U.S./Britain/France, two per squad for all Axis powers, and three per squad for the Russians. Radios are not considered an Anti-Tank weapon. No squad may have more than one Demolition Charge. Infantry Guns and AFV's are not counted against these limits.