Last updated 3 October 1999: made various clarifications in the rules

Suggestions for

SASL: North Africa

Introduction

This page came about as a result of an E-mail I had from a fellow SASL aficionado. He said that in his experience the standard SASL rules and scenarios did not seem to work very well in the North African theatre. We did not go into much detail, but I assume that the principal problem is one of LOS. Even with Hillocks in play, the chances are that all Suspect counters would be immediately revealed as soon as they or the Friendly units entered the boards. Added to this, of course, is the lack of infantry cover (the only natural TEM available is usually +1), the difficulties of Entrenching owing to that +2 DRM, and the historical tactics adopted by all sides of placing artillery (if not tanks) with infantry in entrenched, all-round defensive positions protected by mines and wire (so-called "boxes").

With this in mind, therefore, I offer the following rules amendments and supplements to be used in Desert scenarios. These are unofficial and are subject to constructive criticism from fellow SASL players. The author acknowledges the proprietary rights and copyright of Hasbro of the ASL system and products.

Rules

NAF1 Boards are rolled for on the Desert Board Activation Table. Overlays are then rolled for as per Chapter F12 of the ASLRB.

1	26
2	27
3	28
4	29
5	30
6	31

NAF2 S? Placement and Entry rules are amended as follows in SASL North Africa:

4.1(b) Substitute "hillock/deir/wadi/sand" for "woods/brush" in the first sentence. Such hexes do not have to be part of >2 connected hexes.
4.1(c) & (d) S? are placed within one or two hexes of each VPO Location, whether these contain Concealment Terrain or not.
4.1(f) Place S? in any scrub Location.

NAF3 No more than 1 Suspect counter may enter per hex if the Enemy is in Advance Attitude.

NAF4 If the Enemy is in Hold Attitude, the above rule also applies unless the Suspect counter(s) are in a building Location.

NAF5 To reflect the importance of Guns and AFVs in the North African campaign, each time a Suspect counter is activated, make a subsequent dr. On a dr of 1 an AFV is activated on the Enemy Standard AFV Table (x6) instead of any unit(s) on Table A1. On a dr of 2 a Gun [with Crew] is activated on the Enemy Standard Gun Table (x5) instead of any unit(s) on Table A1. On a dr of >2 make a DR as normal on the A1 table.

NAF6 If a Suspect counter is activated as Infantry or a Gun and the Enemy is in Hold Attitude, make a subsequent dr. On a dr of <4 a Fortification is automatically activated on the Desert Fortification Table. There is a -2 drm if there is a Fortification in any of the adjacent hexes.</P>

Final dr	Fortification Type	Cumulative drm:
0	x+5+7¹	+x . . .As per RE instructions +y . . .As per MSR -1 . . .Any MMC is Elite +1 . . .All MMC are Conscript
1	x+3+5¹
2	Trench
3	Trench
4	Entrenchment^1,2
5	Sangar^3,4
6	Sangar^3,5
7+	Nothing
¹ The capacity of the fortification equals the number of ENEMY MMC just generated in the fortification's Location. ² Trench is generated if ADJACENT to an already-generated Pillbox/Trench or if a Gun is also being Activated in the Location; otherwise use a Foxhole of the proper capacity (see note 1 of this table). ³ If the number of units generated exceeds the Sangar's capacity, units are placed therein in the following order of priority: highest-ranking leader; unit with highest-firepower HW; highest-quality unit; any Infantry unit; any non-AT Gun; any Gun. ⁴ If a Sangar is generated in prohibited Terrain, an Entrenchment is created instead. ⁵ A Sangar generated in prohibited Terrain is forfeit.

NAF7 Long range Anti-Tank Activation rule: each time an AFV or armed vehicle moves within the LOS of a Suspect counter, make a DR. On a DR of 2, make a subsequent dr:

1-3	Enemy AT Gun [and Crew] is automatically generated on Table x5a. On a subsequent dr of <4 a Fortification is also Activated on the Desert Fortification Table in the same hex: the AT Gun is placed within the Fortification. </TD>
4-6	Enemy AFV is automatically generated on Table x6. [EXC: the AFV generated must be capable of destroying the Target Friendly AFV in its current Target Facing with a non-CH TK DR. If the AFV received does not meet this criteria, reroll until one is received that does. If none is available, reroll for an AT Gun (x5a) instead].

The AT Gun/AFV just Activated treats the Activating Friendly AFV as its Target for First Fire purposes. Regardless of the number of Suspect counters eligible to be Activated by this rule, only one may be so Activated per moving AFV.

NAF8 Amendment to S5.31: if Long Range Activation is successful, make a subsequent dr: 1=roll on Table x5 for an Enemy Gun instead of an Enemy HMG/.50 cal: 2=a Lt. Mtr is Activated instead of an HMG/.50 cal if the Friendly Target would be within that SW's maximum range, otherwise an HMG/.50 cal is Activated as per normal: 3-6=normal application of S5.31 (ie the HMG/.50 cal is Activated with a Fortification and Leader).

NAF9 VPO objectives are determined somewhat differently. On boards 26-31 only hillock overlays are counted for VPO, these boards having no inherent VPO of their own.. Note also S14.33.

NAF10 DLV Hindrances (F11.) affect Command Control as follows: in Heavy or Very Dust, the radius of a Leader's Control is reduced to adjacent hexes. In Extremely Heavy Dust a Leader exerts Command Control only over those MMC/CE vehicles in his own hex.

NAF11 Modifications to Table A11: The following Random Events replace those of the same number on Table A11:

12 Enact RE 12 on Table A11 unless there are no FRIENDLY Infantry units in a Building location, in which case enact RE 03-04.

*42. If the Mission takes place during a season when Mud & Overcast conditions are possible (Arid Weather Chart, F11.2) then conduct this RE as per Table A11. Otherwise (ie during May-Sept), the Dust Level is increased by one (eg Light to Moderate, Heavy to Extra Heavy). If there is No Wind, then the Wind Force is increased to Light Breeze.

*43. If the Mission takes place during a season when Mud & Overcast conditions are possible (Arid Weather Chart, F11.2) then a flash flood occurs. Heavy Rain is in effect for the rest of the Mission, subject to Wind Change DR. Otherwise (ie during May-Sept), a sandstorm has occurred. The Dust Level is increased by two (to a minimum of Heavy) and the Wind Force is increased to Heavy, regardless of its prior level.

Scenarios

The following SASL scenarios are suitable for use with these Desert Rules:

Cautious Advance
Bunker Busting
Take The Highway
Enemy Offensive
Tank Attack
Hold The Line
The Bridge

The following Custom GSASL Scenarios are suitable for use with these Desert Rules:

Pursuit
Meeting Engagement
Convoy Escort

Official Scenario Modifications

All "official" scenarios (ie Missions 1-14) being played in North Africa use the Desert Board Table except where otherwise stated.
Fortifications are rolled for on the Desert Fortification Table.
DVP (F.3) instead of VP are in play for victory determination conditions as to Guns and Vehicles.
If the Final DR on Table G2 would yield a 6-5-8 squad, a 4-6-8 (non-SS) is generated instead.

Specific Scenario Modifications

Mission 13 (The Bridge): The river mapboard is selected from boards 7,8 or 40, but terrain is modified as follows. All brush and wood hexes are scrub, and all orchard hexes are crags. Marsh hexes are cactus patches (F13). Buildings exist at Level 1 only: all are of stone construction. The "river" actually represents a ravine at Level -1. The crest lines made by the "river" hexes are actually cliffs. All Level -1 "river" hexes are in addition Broken Terrain (F13).

Apart from vague mental notions of mathematical probabilities, I cannot claim to have rigorously tested any of these rules, so any feedback from other players would be very welcome. This page will be updated as we go along, and I hope to add some new scenarios designed specifically for North Africa.

Disclaimer: ASL and SASL are trademarks of Avalon Hill and Hasbro Inc. The creation of and use of this material should not be construed as a challenge to those copyrights. This material is for free distribution to those SASL aficionados who wish to use it in the absence of any official AH/Hasbro product to cover this area. We encourage all SASL players to buy official ASL products where available.

Copyright N R Smith, 1999, with acknowledgements and grateful thanks to Rick Lubben and Pete Wenman for their input, advice and encouragement.