Battles of North Africa 1941

"If I advance; follow me. If I retreat; kill me. If I die; avenge me! It is better to live one day as a lion than one-hundred as a sheep!" – Benito Mussolini

"We are facing a very bold and clever foe, and I may well say a great general."



"Is it really impossible to find a general who can win a battle?" - Sir Winston Churchill

"The German soldier has astonished the world; the Italian Bersagliere has astonished the German soldier."



“In a man to man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.”



“Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas” - General Erwin Rommel

"There exists a real danger that our friend Rommel is becoming a kind of magical or bogey-man to our troops, who are talking far too much about him. He is by no means a superman, although he is undoubtedly very energetic and able." - General Claude Auchinleck

"If the Russian people managed to raise resistance before the gates of Moscow, to contain and reverse the German hurricane, they owe it to the Hellenic people who delayed the German divisions that could have beaten us. The gigantic battle of Crete was the peak of the Hellenic contribution." - General Georgy Zhukov

Overview

The campaign in North Africa was the primary focus of both Italy and the British Empire in the first half of World War Two. Mussolini believed this was to be the opportunity to prove the Italian value to the Axis alliance. For the British, it was the first time that they began to make progress on land after the ignominious withdrawal from France. Coupled with the strategic victory in the air during the Battle of Britain, the success in Operation Compass in December 1940 strengthened morale across the British Commonwealth.



Both sides had significant constraints; the British were recovering from their strategic defeat in France, the Italians were struggling to support the war effort with an underdeveloped economy while the Germans were focused on the launching of the invasion of Russia (Unternehmen Barbarossa) in June 1941.



The desert though was to be the ultimate victor. The logistical requirements to support an army in extended operations was to prove beyond the ability of either side and the 1941 engagements were to be marked by theater wide advances and retreats multiple times.



This third release in the Panzer Battles franchise is focused on many of the large and small battles that occurred in eastern Libya and western Egypt as well as Greece. It is a departure from the more static battles of the earlier titles and maneuver engagements are much more prevalent.

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Included Scenarios

Battles of North Africa 1941 includes 115 playable scenarios, 24 reference scenarios and a further 3 variable scenarios ranging from 6 turns to 90 turns in length. Representative operations from December 1940 through to December 1941 are included with a good mix of small (battalion/regiment), medium (division) and large (corps) engagements.

Operation Compass, Dec 1940; The Battle of the Camps - 5 scenarios

Operation Compass, Jan 1941; The Battle of Bardia - 3 scenarios

Operation Compass, Jan 1941; The Battle of Tobruk - 5 scenarios

Operation Compass, Feb 1941; Beda Fomm - 5 scenarios

Unternehmen Sonnenblume Mar 1941; Cyrenaica - 9 scenarios

Siege of Tobruk Apr 1941; Tobruk - 8 scenarios

Greece Apr 1941; Corinth Canal - 1 scenario

Operation Brevity May 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 8 scenarios

Unternehmen Merkur May 1941; Crete - 25 scenarios

Operation Battleaxe Jun 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 10 scenarios

Operation Crusader Nov 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 26 scenarios

Beda Fomm; variable scenario - 3 scenarios

Operation Brevity; variable scenario - 3 scenarios

Unternehmen Merkur; variable scenario - 4 scenarios

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Features

115 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

8 Master Maps covering Greece, Crete and Libya and Egypt. The North Africa map contains over 1.23 million hexes. 55 sub maps are included. The North Africa map area is over three times bigger than the map included with Battles of Normandy.

8 Order of Battles covering the evolving 1941 force mix for each side. The represented Allied forces include the British, Greek, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Free French, Polish and Czech. The included Axis forces are the Italians, Libyans, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe.

Unit component, Order-of-Battle and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allowing any of the included maps to be "chopped" up into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Various map graphics with a new visual style to improve height perception. Fortifications and other icons are integrated into the game map.

Three different counter sets switchable in game including side on, top down and NATO symbols.

All new images for unit art for both sides, including infantry, guns and vehicles.

Exceptional Documentation including an 85 page 'Visual Order of Battle Guide' and 159 page 'Designer Notes & FAQ'. Both are included with the game. In addition, for optional download, 340mb digital version of thirteen planning maps.

Battles of North Africa 1941 provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play, and two player hot seat.

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Credits

Project Coordinator: David Freer

David Freer Head Programmer: Robert ‘Berto’ Osterlund

Robert ‘Berto’ Osterlund Scenario Design: Rick Bancroft, David Freer

Rick Bancroft, David Freer Order of Battle: Mike Avanzini, David Freer

Mike Avanzini, David Freer Game Maps: David Freer, Rick Bancroft, David Michas, Mike Avanzini

David Freer, Rick Bancroft, David Michas, Mike Avanzini Unit Graphics/Game Art: David Freer, Joe Amoral

David Freer, Joe Amoral Game Documentation: David Freer, Mike Avanzini

David Freer, Mike Avanzini Play Testing: Mike ‘Warhorse’ Amos, Rick ‘Ricky B’ Bancroft, Brian ‘Dogsoldier’ Bedford, Julio ‘JC’ Cabrera, Jeff Conner, Stephen Duncan, David Freer, Kevin ‘Kuriltai’ Hankins, Joao Lima, Chris Maiorana, David Michas, César ‘Indragnir’ Librán Moreno, Ed ‘Richie61’ Pacitto, Dennis ‘Landser34’ Suttman, Martin Svendsen, Ed ‘Volcano Man’ Williams

Mike ‘Warhorse’ Amos, Rick ‘Ricky B’ Bancroft, Brian ‘Dogsoldier’ Bedford, Julio ‘JC’ Cabrera, Jeff Conner, Stephen Duncan, David Freer, Kevin ‘Kuriltai’ Hankins, Joao Lima, Chris Maiorana, David Michas, César ‘Indragnir’ Librán Moreno, Ed ‘Richie61’ Pacitto, Dennis ‘Landser34’ Suttman, Martin Svendsen, Ed ‘Volcano Man’ Williams In Memoriam: Ed ‘Richie61’ Pacitto

Windows Vista, 7, 8, or 10Processor: 1 GHzDisk Space: 1 GBMemory: 1 GBVideo Memory: 512 MB

This wargame is for sale at The John Tiller Software Store