@DoManMacgee A&A North Africa - OT ITA11.pdf Ok, I’m sending the last post about the first game played in the “Operation Torch” scenario (with the usual file that reproduces the situation on the battle table). The Axis players decided to sign a surrender at the beginning of Italy’s eleventh turn. Maybe the abandonment was a bit premature (they could have fought a bit longer until the capitulation of Tunis), but I think it is largely justified by the situation on the table. As I said in the previous post (before the tenth English turn), the UK (after our “war council”) has invested heavily in the fleet and air force to try to regain control of the Mediterranean and with it:
a) interrupt the flow of convoys towards the African continent of the Italian-German troops,
b) reopen the convoys to Malta (the Suez convoys would have been useless given the turns remaining at the end of the game).
As expected (me and the English ally), this attracted the Italian fleet and the Italian-German air force in SZ 6 (Algiers) giving life to an epic battle that contributed (definitely I think) to give a precise course to the continuation of the battle. An English destroyer was left in SZ3 to prevent the powerful German U-Boats from joining the party (and it certainly deserves a medal of valor, like the Italian submarine in SZ8 of the previous post). The survivors of this clash were very few, but this is certainly to be considered an advantage for the Allies.
On land the Axis did not fare better: the English swept away the Italian contingent of El Aghelia in a devastating way and my Americans occupied the Kesserine pass suffering very few losses (also thanks to the support of the French troops). The axis, taking note of the extremely difficult situation (and also considering the lack of supplies in the Tunis/Mareth area and the imminent arrival of the English from the East), decided to acknowledge defeat and put an end to the clash. I repeat: probably it could have tried to fight a little longer, but I think the fate of this battle was already sealed.
General considerations on the game.
After the game, we stopped, while it was still hot, to try to review the course of events. Surely tactical and strategic errors were made by both sides (first of all the incorrect or inappropriate use of mines … to understand their optimal deployment), but it was the first game on this scenario (and in any case the general experience with this game is very limited unlike other editions of A&A, at least mine). I reproached my son (who played with Germany) for being too cautious and not trying to push the Americans (me) when he had the chance (i.e. in the early turns): I think that if the Americans “settle down” it is difficult to avoid the continuous influx of troops and their push towards Tunis. It always remains (but this was a problem for all of us) to understand well which troops are the most effective and in which situations (and I think this is a “crucial point” of the whole game): the Axis has the Germans who have superior units to all the other players, truly devastating (to compensate for the Italians who instead … but it’s all historical, so ok), but the Allies have many resources, many more than the Axis and this risks making the difference in the long term (but this is also historical, so ok). And this was especially evident in the two naval battles that had opposite outcomes: in the first major clash the Italian navy and air force wiped out the English fleet in the central-western Mediterranean, in the second (possible after the English decided to invest everything in ships and planes) the Anglo-Americans prevailed, but this practically ended the battle. A note on the French troops: they risk becoming a really annoying presence for the Axis due to their ability to be self-sufficient (and therefore allowing flanking attacks … for free that help the allies and not a little). What to say in conclusion: I renew my compliments to Matt for the masterpiece he created (and I can’t wait to play Stalingrad), I confirm the impression that Axis and Allies North Africa is a very deep game strategically. This was only the first game (I think of many others) and I hope to be able to become an expert of this game soon, being a great fan of the entire A&A series. Obviously I await your comments (if you want to participate in this discussion). See you next time.
Rules Q&A for North Africa
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Just starting the thread for the stream of questions that @Krieghund will have after everybody has a chance to read the rules.
Also, yes, there will be a rules clarification sheet coming out at some point. For instance, it’s not super clear how much movement aircraft have when you use them as an escort. It both is and is not what you would expect.
Dave Jensen, Founder of Axis & Allies .org
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P Panther pinned this topic on
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To forestall any questions/concerns about the air unit issue, air units that are on convoy escort duty in phase 1 can use all of their normal movement in the remainder of their turn. Whether or not they were convoy escorts in phase 1, they may either use all of their movement in the combat and noncombat movement phases as normal or be assigned to convoy escort duty in phase 6, but not both. In other words, landing movement at the end of phase 1 does not count against any movement escort air units may make in the remainder of their turn.
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@Krieghund I also have a cheat sheet that I’ve been working on and Matt has proofread. I’ll post it later but I’ll send it to you now.
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“Attacking across or moving across an enemy-mined
border allows the controller to detonate them, as
long as the territory is Controlled or has enemy
units present…” -From the cheat sheet under Phase 3I cannot find this rule in the rulebook. Can someone help? Where does it state that mines cannot detonate if it does not have ‘enemy units’ present?
There is actually an example in the rulebook of Italy detonating a mine against an attacking UK dd where no other axis unit (enemy to the UK dd) is present.Unless I am understanding this wrong.
When you are the attacker, moving units into zones with enemy mines, enemy units would be units of the other side?ALSO:
Are German supply tokens only useable for German units? Or can any nation use any other (friendly) nation’s supply tokens for combat purposes? -
@Derek said in Rules Q&A for North Africa:
“Attacking across or moving across an enemy-mined
border allows the controller to detonate them, as
long as the territory is Controlled or has enemy
units present…” -From the cheat sheet under Phase 3I cannot find this rule in the rulebook. Can someone help? Where does it state that mines cannot detonate if it does not have ‘enemy units’ present?
There is actually an example in the rulebook of Italy detonating a mine against an attacking UK dd where no other axis unit (enemy to the UK dd) is present.Unless I am understanding this wrong.
When you are the attacker, moving units into zones with enemy mines, enemy units would be units of the other side?Land mines are active only in territories that contain a control marker and/or units of the owning power. Thus, a control marker and/or units of a power that is an enemy of the moving/attacking power must be present in order for detonation to occur. This is true only of land mines, as sea mines are always active. See pages 26 and 27 of the Rulebook.
ALSO:
Are German supply tokens only useable for German units? Or can any nation use any other (friendly) nation’s supply tokens for combat purposes?Supply tokens are not owned by any power, so any power may use them, provided they are not in a territory that is controlled by and/or contains combat units of an enemy power. See page 18 of the Rulebook.
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Phase one has units in convoy move to ports. The part on phase 6, however, notes that units will be in convoys for one full round before unloading. Is this the statement of a new rule or simply a reaffirmation of prior rules that lead to this being the case (page 25)? Thank you!
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@SuperbattleshipYamato The latter. By placing units in convoys at the end of your turn, they remain at sea through everyone else’s turn before they can land in port on your next turn.
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Oh! I understand now. Should’ve realized that phase 1 only applied to your own units in convoys.
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Do supplies cost reinforcements points? Or is the limit simply the 5 allowed per power each turn (10 for the US)? Thank you!
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@SuperbattleshipYamato Supply tokens cost 1 RP each or 5 for 3 RPs. See the Reference Charts for the RP cost of reinforcements.
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About the optional rules:
The rules say that an Allied combat sea unit in the Suez Canal convoy sea zone prevents the Axis from mining that sea zone. Does this include submarines? And does an actual battle between the bomber and sea unit occur, or do the Axis simply don’t get the chance to place the mine? And I assume that the bomber in Crete can still move normally in phases 3 and 5? Thank you!
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@SuperbattleshipYamato said in Rules Q&A for North Africa:
The rules say that an Allied combat sea unit in the Suez Canal convoy sea zone prevents the Axis from mining that sea zone. Does this include submarines?
Yes.
And does an actual battle between the bomber and sea unit occur, or do the Axis simply don’t get the chance to place the mine?
The latter.
And I assume that the bomber in Crete can still move normally in phases 3 and 5? Thank you!
Yes.
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To clarify, it seems like defending units that aren’t submarines hit by submarines in surprise strikes no longer fire back in step 2. This is different from the rules for Global 1940 and other editions, right? Thank you!
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@SuperbattleshipYamato It’s not different. The only units that fire back after being hit by a Surprise Strike are other subs doing the same thing or units that can take two hits and have only taken one.
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Really? Even for units that are attacking? I guess I misunderstood the rule and have been doing it incorrectly the whole time. The rule makes a lot more sense though. Thank you!
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Good day all.
Does Britain have 48 income to spend on T1 , if they spend one Supply from Malta .
Seems a lot.And can Britain use the Casablanca , Oran and Algiers Convoys from T1 ? I assume not.
Are Britain’s choices just: Atlantic Convoy Box, SZ3 for ships , Gibraltar and the Malta Convoy (with its reduced capacity) until America lands in N Africa, captures those 3 Ports and opens them for the Allies? -
@Witt said in Rules Q&A for North Africa:
Does Britain have 48 income to spend on T1 , if they spend one Supply from Malta .
YES, $48 is correct if you include Malta.
And can Britain use the Casablanca , Oran and Algiers Convoys from T1 ? I assume not.
Correct, you cannot. That is why they are translucent.
Are Britain’s choices just: Atlantic Convoy Box, SZ3 for ships , Gibraltar and the Malta Convoy (with its reduced capacity) until America lands in N Africa, captures those 3 Ports and opens them for the Allies?
Correct.
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@AndrewAAGamer fantastic; thank you.
Enjoy your Sunday. -
Couple of questions.
- If a German anti tank gun is in a territory and the UK attacks with tanks and ftrs, does the German 88 get to shoot at both the air as an AA gun and then again as an anti-tank gun? I couldn’t really find an answer in the rules.
- What can attack a scout car in the Sahara Dessert? Can units in an adjacent territory attack it or only another scout car?
Thanks
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@cond1024 hi.
Defending German AA can indeed shoot at attacking Air units , then defend in any subsequent land combat, targeting a Tank should it hit.In : Sahara Desert , bottom of page 11 , it states only Scout Cars can move into or attack into a desert territory.
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