WW2 Western Desert Rules

Link to printable rules and supporting photographs below.

WW2 Western Desert Rules

Introduction

These rules started out as a variation of Lock ’n’ Load’s free to download Tank on Tank living ruleset, adjusted for the WW2 Western Desert Campaign 1940-1943 between the AXIS forces and Allies. There are adjustments to: combat and outcomes in the form of a combat resolution table, smoke screens, minefields, movement of units and the resulting dust, and visibility at various times of the day.

This is the sixth draft of the rules (October 2020).

Units

All units have four values. These are: 

1. Range Value (RV)
2. Defence Value (DV)
3. Movement Value (MV)
4. Turreted armour (tanks and armoured cars)

Range is how far the unit can shoot and movement is how far it can move each turn. Defence is how hard it is to eliminate a unit. Armoured units only have 1 defence value, where unarmored units have two defence values: the first value is used when a unit occupies a clear hex and the second value is used when a unit occupies a hex that provides cover.

Only turreted armoured vehicles can move and fire. All other units (eg, towed AT guns, self-propelled guns, and infantry) can move or fire, but not both during a turn.

Headquarters (HQ)

HQs in this game are important for ordering other units to move, and are allowed to move from unit to unit to help coordinate your attacks or defence. Use a HQ marker to indicate where a HQ is attached to a unit. 

If the unit is eliminated, remove the unit and set aside the HQ marker as it is able to return to the game.

The Tabletop

The tabletop consists of hexes which can represent five types of terrain:

• Clear - open terrain with no impact on movement or combat.
• Town - provides cover to personnel units.
• Wadi - Provide cover to personnel units. Units occupying a wadi can only be attacked from adjacent hexes, and can only attack adjacent hexes.
• Scrub or broken terrain - Provide cover to personnel units
• Hills - Increase firing range by one hex. Hills block line of site and allow units on the hill to shoot over other units.
• Marsh - cannot be entered
• Escarpment - Provide cover to personnel units and increases firing range by one hex. Escarpments block line of site and allow units on the hill to shoot over other units.
• Roads and Tracks - Units on a road get a free AP providing they remain on the road for their full movement.

Stacking

Only one unit can ever be in a hex at a time. There is no moving through hexes containing units, whether the piece is friendly or enemy.

HQs attached to units do not count towards stacking.

Facing

All units face once side of the hex they occupy. A unit can only shoot at enemy units located in its front arc.

Any hexes outside the front facing 120-degree front facing arc are flank hexes. Attacks by units located in them are considered flank attacks and are more dangerous (see Combat section).

Units must be activated for movement to change their facing. Once activated, a unit can pivot or face any direction.

Turns

Each turn consists of an Axis and Allied player phase. The attacking side always moves first.

During a player’s phase, they attempt to activate some or all of their units to move and/or shoot. However, they may not get sufficient Action Points (AP) in a turn to complete everything they want to do.

A player always get the first two activations free, then has to dice for additional activations.

• 1st AP is free
• 2nd AP is free 
• 3rd AP a score of 3+ is required
• 4th AP a score of 4+ is required

A player’s turn ends as soon as they fail to roll a successful activation.

Game Clock

It is useful to track turns, particularly if you choose to use the visibility rule. 

Treat each turn as 30 minutes on the game clock. 

Action Points

Action Points (APs) are the mechanism by which players turn their intentions into activity on the tabletop. APs are expended to move, fire, and promote pieces. The player who uses their APs more effectively deserves to win the game.

It costs one AP to:

• Pivot and/or move one unit
• Fire any/all units at one target
• Move or return an HQ

APs can be spent for these tasks in any order - it is permissible to promote a unit to an HQ unit, move several units and then fire them at a target. However, an activity must be completed for one AP before spending the next AP.

Regardless of the APs a player has to spend, each unit can only move once and fire once each turn.

HQ Bonus

A unit with an attached HQ is considered an HQ unit. They are very useful in the game as they can perform Group Moves.

When activated for movement they and all adjacent units can also move freely (and they need not remain with the HQ) at that time. An HQ can be activated for movement, but remain stationary and have adjacent units move. The HQ is considered to have used its move for the turn.

If an HQ has moved it cannot issue any group moves commands.

This makes HQs a critical part of a player’s operations. The HQ cannot make a group move when entering units onto the tabletop.

Note - generally a player will have 2 HQs, but an additional HQ can be added to an Afrika Korps force to represent better coordination of armour and infantry.

Joining units and returning HQs

At the cost of 1AP a HQ can move from a unit and attach itself to another unit. This does not count as a move.

It is not uncommon in the game for HQs to be removed from play when their attached unit is eliminated. When this happens they can be attached to another unit at the cost of 1AP.

HQs have the option of Directed Movement. If an HQ is just moving a single unit and not a group move, the attached unit can increase its movement by 1 hex.

Movement

When a unit is activated to move, it can spend Movement Points (MPs) equal to its movement allowance - its number of MPs. A unit moves by expending one MP for each hex entered. It can continue to move until its MPs are exhausted. MPs cannot be saved from one impulse to the next.

Once a unit’s movement is complete, it can face in any direction.

Road March bonus - a unit can spend an extra MP if all of its movement occurs on/through road hexes/hex-sides.

Movement must cease whenever moving into any terrain hex other than clear terrain, unless all of a unit’s movement is on a road.

Units must cease movement when entering any hex adjacent to an enemy unit.

Units can never enter hexes with other units, even friendly units, or prohibited terrain.

COMBAT

To shoot at an enemy unit, a player must satisfy these conditions, they must:

1. Be in their firing front arc unless turreted
2. In range
3. Have a line of sight (LOS) to the target
4. The target has not been fired at already this turn

Any number of units can fire at the designated target, providing each unit satisfies these conditions and has not already fired this phase.

RANGE

To determine if an enemy unit is in range, count the hexes between them and add one for the target’s hex. If the total is equal to or less than the unit’s range value, it can fire.

LINE OF SIGHT (LOS)

To determine if there is line of sight to the target, trace a line from the centre of the firing unit’s hex to the centre of the target’s hex. If the line does not cross blocking terrain, there is a valid LOS. Blocking obstacles are any unit (friendly or enemy), Hill, Rough Ground and Town hexes.

Units on Hill hexes can see (and be seen) over units on clear-terrain hexes.

LOS down a hex spine: If the line travels exactly between two hexes, it is only blocked if there is blocking terrain on both sides.

A unit does not have line of sight when a target is more than 3 hexes away, or 4 hexes if on a hill or escarpment.

ARTILLERY SUPPORT

An artillery unit does not require LOS to the target if at least one other firing unit has a valid LOS. Artillery must still be within range of the target.

Artillery support cannot be used against moving units, unless the artillery unit has a LOS to the target.

HQs can call in artillery strike even if they are not firing so long as they have LOS.

COMBAT RESOLUTION

Use the following procedure:

1. The attacking player determines the attacking value by adding up the number of attacking units and subtracts the target’s defensive value. When adding attacking units unsuppressed units count as 1 and suppressed units as 0. Essentially this means suppressed units can attack on their own at a reduced effectiveness, but are ineffective in combined attacks.
2. Roll the dice and consults the combat results table using the attacking value column.
3. Apply the results. If the target unit is disordered place a marker with the unit (I use burning wrecks). If the attack is successful and the target unit is destroyed, remove the unit.
4. Any attacking unit in an adjacent hex to the destroyed target has the option to move into the vacated hex at no AP cost.

Note:

• Remember to use the second defence value if the target is in cover.
• Add 1 to the attacker’s score if any of the attacking units occupy a hex flanking the target and are not artillery support.

Roll	Attacking units - target’s defenece value
	-3 or less	-2	-1	0	1	2	3 or more
1	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	DIS	DIS
2	NE	NE	NE	NE	DIS	DIS	EL
3	NE	NE	NE	DIS	DIS	EL	EL
4	NE	NE	DIS	DIS	EL	EL	EL
5	NE	DIS	DIS	EL	EL	EL	EL
6	DIS	DIS	EL	EL	EL	EL	EL

NE = No Effect

DIS = Unit Disordered

EL = Unit Eliminated

Disordered Units and Reorganising

Disordered units can still attack as an individual unit, but are less effective counting as zero when adding up the attacking units. This represents a level of disorder in the unit due to casualties and stops them being effectively involved in coordinated attacks.

Units can recover and reorganise from disorder at a cost of 1AP, but cannot use either of the first two free APs in a player’s turn to recover. This means a unit can be reorganised with the 3rd or 4th AP. Representing the time to reorganise and participate in an attack. For example, a unit can be unsuppressed on the 3rd AP and involved in an attack on the 4th AP, but the chances of that happening are reduced.

Anti-Tank Gun Bonus

If a towed anti-tank gun or self-propelled AT gun fires at an armoured target, the attack does not consume an Action Point. 

If an anti-tank gun has not fired by the time a player completes their turn, it does not get a shot. (Best to perform any AT shots at the start of your turn.)

Infantry Attack Bonus

Whenever infantry units, including armoured infantry, are involved in an attack, the attacking player advances their infantry unit into the hex if the attack eliminates the target unit.

Digging-In

By digging-in a personnel unit can use its higher defence factor (regardless of terrain). Only personnel units receive a benefit from digging-in which is removed if the occupying unit leaves the hex or is eliminated.

An agreed number of units can dig in at the start of the game, or as determined by a scenario.

Airstrikes

Some scenarios will allow a player to call in one or more airstrikes over the course of a game. To call in an airstrike, a player must select a hex within 4 hexes and LOS of one of their units and use 2 APs.

An Airstrike makes 2 attacks on 2 adjacent hexes. 

On the first hex add 2 when attacking and on the second hex add 1 to the attack.

Minefields

Minefields are placed at the beginning of the game. Units end their movement upon entering a minefield hex. Firing units add 2 when firing at units in a minefield.

At a cost of 1AP a minefield hex can be cleared when a unit with attached HQ occupies a minefield hex or a specialist mine clearing unit is used.

Moving Units and Dust

Moving units create dust. When a unit moves place a dust marker on the unit. Dust markers block LOS and moving units cannot be targeted by indirect fire from artillery.

A unit just pivoting and not moving between hexes does not create dust.

At the start of a player’s turn, they remove all dust markers from their units.

Heat Hazes and Visibility

Visibility is reduced to 1 hex for stationary units during the middle of the day due to heat haze and at dawn and evening. Moving units are visible at 2 hexes.

At night all visibility is 1 hex.

A rule of thumb is to have: dawn at 5am-6am, midday heat haze 12pm-2pm, and dusk 6pm-7pm.

Smoke Screens

Smoke screens can be laid down by artillery to help provide cover for advancing infantry (including armoured infantry) against enemy fire. 

It costs 1AP to deploy smoke by an artillery unit on a friendly infantry unit within range. The smoke will last throughout the opposing player’s turn and block LOS while in effect.

Suggested Defence Values

Defence Values	Unit Examples
0(4)	Infantry
2(3)	88mm, 2 Pounder Portee, Towed AT Guns (50mm, 6 pounder,)
2(2)	Armoured Infantry, Bren Gun Carriers
1	Pz I, Armoured Cars, Marder, Wespe, A13, Crusader, M13/40, Stuart, Pz II
2	Pz III, Pz IV, Stug III, Valentine, Grant, Sherman, Semovente
3	Matilda, Tiger

Suggested Combat Ranges

Range	Weapon Examples
1 hex	Small Arms, 50mm short, 37mm, 2 Pounder, 25 Pounder*
2 hexes	50mm, 6 Pounder, Grant’s 75mm
3 hexes	75mm long, 76mm, 88mm**
5 hexes	105mm Artillery, 25 Pounder
7 hexes	150mm Artillery, 5.5” Artillery

Range Notes:

* 25 Pounders can function as AT units or as artillery. Range 1 hex when in AT role.

** 88mm attacks count as 2 when attacking.

Suggested Movement Values

Range	Weapon Examples
1 hex	Infantry*, towed guns*, slow tanks (Matilda),
2 hexes	Armoured infantry*, self-propelled guns.*, medium tanks (PzIV, PzIII, Grant, Valentine)
3 hexes	Fast tanks (Stuart, Crusader, PzII), Armoured Cars, motorcycle infantry*

• Cannot move and shoot.

Example ORBATs

German Panzer Armoured Force

3 x Reconnaissance -(2 x AC and M/C Infantry)

6 x Tank (1 x PzII, 4 x PzIII, 1 x PzIV)

2 x Armoured Infantry

2 x AT Guns (one SPG)

1 x Artillery (SPG)

1 x 88mm Gun

Italian Armoured Force

2 x AC

8 x Tanks (1 x L6/40, 5 x M13/40, 2 x Simovente)

2 x Infantry

2 x AT

1 x Artillery (1 x 105mm, 1 x 150mm)

Italian Infantry Force

2 x AC

4 x Tanks

4 x Infantry

3 x AT (2 x SPG)

2 x Artillery

Allied Armoured Force

2 x Reconnaissance (Stuart tanks and Carrier)

6 x Tanks (A13, Crusaders, Valentines, Stuarts, or Grants)

3 x Infantry

2 x AT (Portee)

2 Artillery (2 x 25 Pounders which can be used as AT)

Allied Infantry Force

2 x Reconnaissance Units (A/C and Carriers)

4 x Infantry

3 x AT (no more than half can be 6 pounders)

4 x Matilda and Valentine Tanks

2 x Artillery (25 Pounder and 5.5” Gun)

Notes