[16.0] Operation Herkules [17.0] DETACHMENTS

6 The exact placement of MSU's and throw the British out of eastern Cyrenaica. The Add". dumps does, of course, depend on the Gazala campaign ensued. .. .2 if Ramcke Heavy Airborne Infamry specific situation. However, some concepts After Gazala, when the British army seemed to is cOl11miued are worth keeping in mind: (I) The closer a have been completely demolished and lhe way to .. 1 if Folgorc Glider Infantry is committed dump is to the units supplied by iI, Ihe better; the Nile dclla open, Rommel decided 10 use the (2) Supply lincs thaI run north-south are bel forces slotted for Herkules (the Sicilian Luftwaffe ... 1 for each Axis Air Point committcd (16.13) ter than ones that run east-west (this is in particular) in his drive o n Egypt. The Malta in Subtract. .. because a north-south line has a smaller vasion was .><:rapped, despite the overwhelming ... 1 for each Commonwealth Air point at Malta southern flank than an east-....·eSI line, and is opposition of [he German General St aff. Malta thus easier to protect from a nanking recovered, and its deleterious effect on Axis supply ... 2 if any Commonwealth unit is in General maneuver); (3) Always, always check that lines grew. Within a few months. more than a third Supply and west of Lxx23 your supply grid is Out of range of all enemy of the Axis materiel whie:h lOok .ship for Africa The Assaullindex is totalled. a~ld the die is rolled. units, regardless of whether or not such was falling prey [0 Allied interdiction. If the roll is le ss than or equal to lhe Assault Index, enemy units would die after cutting your sup If Operation Herkules had laken place as schedul the invasio n succeeds and the provisions of 16.4 ply lines; (4) If you find you must have a ed. Malta would almost surely have fallen, Axis apply. If the roll is greater than the Assault Index, vulnerable spot somewhere, keep dumps supply lines would have remained onen, and the [he assault faiLs, There are no specific: penairies to stacked with your forward positions, so that course of the wa r in the desert m ight have been a failed invasion. they will still be in supply if cut off. drastically altered. The following rule gives the [16.4] SUCCESS Axis [1layer [he option 10 go tli ro ugh with [he Territory alsault on Mal [a . If lhe invasion succeeds ([1er 16 .3). [he following pwvisions apply: It is an inhumane but correct observa GENERAL RULE: 1. Subtract 3 from all future rolls on the Axis tion that territory is worth more than During [lie Air AlIoca[i on Phase of his Plaver Convoy Arrival Table (supercedes 7.55). casualties in The Desert Fox. The vic!.Orv Turn on Game-Turns 15. 16 . or 17. the Axi.1 pl~ ye r conditions speak only of territory, not may annou nee that he is launching an invasion of 2. The A xis player reccives one additional Refit bodies. The only exception to this is a Com Malta. Depending on the force, allocated to the in Point of each nationality each Reinforcement monwealth failure to withdraw unils on vasion, Malia will either stand or fall. 1f [he island Phase following the invasion. schedule, which is viorth a small town for I[ ands, Axis supply will ,on[inue 1D he interdicted, 3. Any Commonwealth Air Points assigned 10 each unit not withdrawn. Units are only If the island falls, the Axis player will almost im Malta are eliminated. No Air Points may ever be valuable in The Desert Fox as vehicles for mediately begin to profil in [he way o f irH;reased assigned to Malta in the future. capturing and holding tcrritory. This is not to materiel and tTinforcell1cnt" say thaI they should be thrown away PROCEDURE: recklessly, but only that one should not be After the Axis player has declared thai he will overly concerned with losing them if a valid launch the invasion, he slates what units will be [17.0] DETACHMENTS objective can be accomplished by their committcd to t he assault. The Assault Index is GENERAL RULE: sacrifice. determined by Case 16.3. The die is rolled, and the effects of the invasion are assessed. In some cir<:umstanccs, a player will want to delay Optional Rules a hos[i le advance without sacrifidng an entire regi CASES: The following three Sections are addi mentlO do so. In such a situation, the player may tional rules for The Desert Fox. They may be [16.1] AXIS RESTRICTIONS detach small formaliuns from his units. These used individually, or together. The first Sec [16 . 11] The Axis player must commit one or both detachments function as any other units friendly tion was designed by Eric Sven Ristad, Ihc of the following units to the Ivlalta invasion: to the owning player, within the provisions of the second by J Matisse Enzer, and t he third by Folgorc Glider Infantry (Italian) and Ramcke I'ollowi ng Cases. Richard Berg. ' - lIeavy Infantry (German). A unil committed to PROCEDURE: tli e assault never arrives as a rci nfon;ement , regardle.ls of [he success or the invasion. \\'hich A player rnay announce hi$ intention to fo rm a [16.0] Operation Herkules units he a.ssigns to I he invasion is up to Axis player, dctacilmelll during any friendly Movement Phase but his decision will affect the chances of the by declaring from which unit tile delachment will COMMENTARY: assault (16.3). come. A detachmelll counter is placed with the The effects of logi,[ics was of paramount impor friendly unit, and a die is rolled to determine if [he [16.121 The invasion may nOi be launched hefore tance in the North African campaign, and [he fri endly llnit is depletcd as a result of the forma the Axis Air Allocation Phase of Game-Turn 15 , island of Malta was crucial to the war of supply. tion_ The detachment may then m ove (but not at nor aftcr that Phasc of Game-Turn 17. The island dom inated [he Axis supply and com tack) uillil the beginning of the next friendly Rein munica[ions line.l, ot'lentimes to deadly effeci. [H;.13) The Axis player may not init iate a raid on forcement Phase. at which point il is removcd, /l.lalta (6',3) during the turn of an invasion. He may A plan was proposed for the invasion of Malta as CASES: commit Air Points in ex act ly the same manner as is early as April, 1941. Although the plan was ac described in 6.3 (expending supply units as nor [17.1] RESTRICTIONS ON THE cepted as feasible and considered at several poillls mal). but their effects are determined d ifferently FORMATION OF DETACHMENTS during the war. it was never implemented. The (sec 16.3). plan for thc in vasion was code-named Operation [1 7. 1 I) Detachments may only be formed during a Herkules. and was scheduled for mid-1942. Air [16,1 4J If an invasion is allcmpted. t he Axis player friendly Movemenl Phase. borne and amphibiollS forces consi>ling of Ihe must permancmly expend one Air Point, in addi [17 . 12) Detachments may only be formed from a Italian "marine.I," the folgorc Glider Infantry tion to Air Poims assigned per 16.13. No assault Division, and the German Ramcke Heavy Air may be atrcmpted unless this one Air P oi nt is friendly unit of one of the following types; infan tty, mechanized infantry, armor, motorized infan borne Infantry Division were to assault the island, available to be expended. try, heavy weapons. hcavy infantry, heavy air supported by elements of the Italian Navy. Am [16.15 J No more t han one invasion may be lau nch borne infanlry, phibious landing. craft were prepared in Ita)y, and ed during the cour,e of a game. in March of 1942 Kesselri'ng's Sicilian Luftwaffe [17 . 13) A unit may not be used to form a derach [ 16.2] COMMONWEALTH intensified its bombing raids on Malta. deslroying. ment if i[ is depleted, disrupted, has a Morale RESTRICTIONS planes on the ground, and prevellling sllpply ,hip,s Rating of 3 or 4, or is out of General Supply. No more than one Air Point may be transferred 10 from reaching the island. In April alone. nearly [17 . 14) No more than two detachments may be Malta during a given Ai r Allocation Phase if no 7. 000 tons of bombs were dropped. formed by a player in a Player-Turn, and no more Commonwealth uni l is in General SU[1ply in a hex Chllrchill realized [hat Malta was in deep trouble. west of Lxx23. This rule supercede, 6.31 , and is than one detachment may be formed. from a given and ordered a major offensive in North Africa 10 applicable throughou t the entire cou rse of the unit in a Player-Turn. seize lhe airfields in western Cyrenaica and enable game, regardless of whet her or not an invasion is 117 . 15] The unit from which adetachment is form the Deser[ Air Force [0 come within ran~e of ever all€rnp[ed. ed loses 2 Movemen[ Points during the Phase in Malta and provide lhe island with air suppon. which the detachment is placed Oll lhe map (i.e., if Reluctant and ill-prepared, Auchinleck, Ihe [16.3] ASSAULTINDEX a detachment is formed from a unit with a Move British commander in the desert, promised a June The Assault Index for an invasiun is calculated as ment Allowance of 22, the unit would have a offensive.

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