The Desert Sere, serene, eternal, the Western Desert stretches across North Africa. Here, Rommel - perhaps the greatest of Germany's generals - marshalled Italian troops and powerful German panzer forces to sweep the desert in brilliant blitzkrieg. Here, Wavell, Auchinleck and Montgomery fought bitterly to destroy the enemy and defend Alexandria. Here, history's great generals developed the mobile tactics of modern warfare. "Rommel in North Africa: The War in the Desert 1941-42" is a two-player wargame, designed by Jon Southard and published by West End Games in 1986, depicting the campaigns in North Africa during World War II using a Point-to-Point Movement map and an unusual sequence of play. The game's Point-to-Point movement system and unique battle reinforcement rules create a sense of sweeping manuever, while channeling conflict along routes of movement and supply. The long buildup periods, that drag on and on in most Desert War wargames, require only moments to play in Rommel in North Africa, while manuever and combat absorb most of the playing time. Players experience the realities and excitement of the Desert War without the boredom. A turn may last a few minutes or much longer, depending on how hard players are willing to push their forces. Like the war itself, periods of relative quiet explode into furious, quick-playing manuever and combat. Three scenarios and the Campaign game: - Rommel's First Offensive: depicts the first dramatic sweep against Eighth Army. - Operation Crusader: picks up with the first successful British counter offensive. - Gazala: a revitalized Afrika Korps is faced by an entrenched Eighth Army. - The War in the Desert: the entire 20-month War, from April '41 to November '42.
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Game intelligence
Setup details are not fully specified in the provided rulebook excerpt. Players take sides as Axis (German/Italian, commanded by Rommel) or Allied (British Commonwealth). Supply depots are placed with a limit of 6 Allied and 5 German depots (see Section 15.0). Refer to the full scenario or campaign setup instructions in the rulebook for unit deployment, map configuration, and starting supply positions.
Each month of the campaign follows this structure: (1) Preparation Period — all players receive and process scheduled replacements, supply, and reinforcements for that month. (2) Activity Period (conditional) — follows the Preparation Period only if at least one player is in a position to initiate it. During Activity Periods, players conduct movement and combat operations. The End of Activity Phase is resolved British-first, then German, and is where LOC and supply status checks have their most significant consequences. See Section 12 (Campaign Sequence of Play, pp. 21–22) for the full detailed sequence.
Scenario-dependent victory conditions typical of operational wargames; specific VP sources not detailed in the provided rulebook excerpt. Scoring sources: Territorial control, Unit elimination, Scenario-specific objectives
Source: Rulebook
The most useful rules for getting a first game right.
The game calendar is divided into months. Every month includes a Preparation Period, during which scheduled replacements, supply, and reinforcements are received and processed. Only certain months also include an Activity Period. If an Activity Period occurs, it follows the Preparation Period — but only if at least one player is in a position to initiate it. Think of the Preparation Period as the baseline monthly administration, and the Activity Period as the optional operational phase that follows it. Replacements, supply, and reinforcements that coincide with an Activity Period month are still received during the Preparation Period of that month; they do not flow over into the next Preparation Period. See Section 12 (Campaign Sequence of Play, pp. 21–22) for the full sequence.
An Activity Period follows the Preparation Period within the same month, but is conditional: it occurs if and only if one player is in a position to initiate it. If neither player can initiate an Activity Period, the month consists solely of the Preparation Period. Refer to Section 12 for the full campaign sequence of play.
Per rule 5.2 ('When Units Retreat'), if a combat situation is reached where modifiers and lack of troops render fire ineffective for both sides — a stalemate — the attacker must retreat. The defender retains the ground. It is the attacker's responsibility to dislodge the defender; if the attacker cannot inflict losses, the attacker has no choice but to pull back. This is not an optional rule; the attacker must retreat in this situation.
LOCs and supply radius serve different purposes and are blocked by different things — this is intentional, not an oversight. The LOC represents whether a unit is cut off from its home base (i.e., encircled and isolated). The supply radius represents whether a unit has a store of supplies within operational range to support its actions. Key differences: (1) Enemy minefields block supply radius tracing but do NOT block LOCs. (2) Desert boxes block LOCs but do NOT block supply radius tracing. These distinctions have significant consequences during the End of Activity Phase, which is resolved British-first, then German.
A Line of Communication (LOC) determines whether a unit is encircled or isolated from its home base. Desert boxes block LOC tracing. Enemy minefields do not block LOC tracing. A unit without a valid LOC is considered cut off. This is distinct from the supply radius check. See 'LOCs and supply radius' rules for the full distinction.
The supply radius determines whether a unit has a store of supplies within sufficient range to support operational activity. Enemy minefields block supply radius tracing. Desert boxes do not block supply radius tracing. This is distinct from the LOC check. A unit may have a valid LOC but still be out of supply radius, or vice versa.
The number of supply depots available to each side is fixed: 6 Allied depots and 5 German depots. This is a hard design limit, not a suggestion. It reflects the historical transport, personnel, and logistical cost of establishing supply bases in the desert. Players cannot create or field more depots than this limit. See the last sentence of Section 15.0 for the rule reference.
Rule 10, which covers supply tracing and truck restrictions (including section 10.2 Restrictions), uses the term 'truck' to refer to truck units in general — both full and empty. The full vs. empty distinction for truck units does not come into play until Rule 15 and the campaign game. Therefore, when Rule 10 references trucks without specifying 'full,' it correctly applies to truck units of either status.
Since reinforcements and replacements are always processed in the Preparation Period — even in months that also have an Activity Period — players should plan offensives for months when significant reinforcements arrive, as those units will be available before the Activity Period begins.
Because minefields block supply radius but not LOCs, and Desert boxes block LOCs but not supply radius, a clever player can selectively use minefields to starve an enemy of operational supply without fully encircling them, or use Desert box routes to cut an enemy's LOC (isolating them) while leaving their local supply intact. These are distinct strategic tools.
With only 5 German and 6 Allied depots available as a hard limit, depot placement is a critical strategic decision. Overextending supply lines without sufficient depot support will leave forward units out of supply radius. Prioritize depot positioning to support planned axes of advance.
Because Rule 5.2 forces the attacker to retreat when they can no longer inflict losses, a well-fortified defender in difficult terrain — especially one using modifiers to nullify enemy fire — can stall an offensive entirely without needing to inflict casualties themselves. Building defensive positions that maximize negative modifiers for the attacker is a valid attrition strategy.
Since the End of Activity Phase is resolved British-first, then German, the British player's LOC and supply checks resolve before the German player's. This sequencing can matter when contested positions affect both sides' supply simultaneously — the British player should account for this when planning operations near the end of an Activity Period.
They are always received during the Preparation Period of that month, which comes first. The Activity Period follows the Preparation Period. Reinforcements and replacements do not carry over to the next month's Preparation Period.
Enemy minefields block supply radius tracing but do NOT block LOC tracing. The unit may still have a valid LOC through the minefield path, but its supply radius trace would be cut. The two checks use different blocking rules intentionally.
Desert boxes block LOC tracing but do NOT block supply radius tracing. A unit routed through a Desert box path may lose its LOC but retain a valid supply radius. The two checks are intentionally asymmetric.
The attacker must retreat (Rule 5.2). The defender holds the ground. There is no continued stalemate — the attacker's inability to inflict losses mandates their retreat.
No. In Rule 10, 'truck' means any truck unit regardless of full or empty status. The full vs. empty distinction does not apply until Rule 15 and the campaign game.
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