Tackling the logistical nightmare of the North Africa Campaign

Campaign for North Africa has the most in-depth and complex combat system ever created. Today we’ll take a look at how players kill each other.

Welcome back to this ongoing look at Campaign for North Africathe most complex war game ever created. If you are not sure what this monster is, I recommend checking previous entries:

Today we will look at combat. This is quite important in a wargame, so it seems like a logical next step. Like most CNAThe combat system isn’t complicated, it’s just a bit boring. Quote statute myself:

“The CNA combat system requires some mathematical dexterity, but above all, a good sense of organization and planning.”

WARNING
If you’re afraid of tables, turn back now.

Basics of fighting in Campaign for North Africa

To maintain an appearance of realism, Campaign for North Africa uses a bit of a “go, go” combat order sequence. However, there are some differences. The active player is called the “phase player”.

Combat begins after all players have made a move. The phased player makes a full move and the non-phased player receives the move reactions. Phase player have to attack all enemy-occupied hexes containing units that exert Zone of Control on friendly units.

A unit’s zone of control (ZOC) is the six hexes surrounding it. Not all units have ZOC, but most ground units do. Things like aircraft, ground support units, warships, minefields, and any combat units with a consistency level of -26 or worse do not have an OOC. Things like terrain also affect an individual’s OOC.

When moving, the non-phasing player must inform the phasing player if he is a unit could apply ZOC to the hex that the phasing player moved the unit to, or to the hex where the unit begins its movement. Something like a “Check” call. Chess.

3, 2, 1, FIGHT!

First, a broad overview of the fight. We’ll then go into each section in more detail. Combat is divided into 4 “combat actions”.

1. Artillery fire
2. Retreat before attacking
3. Anti-tank
4. Close attack

The firing begins and each player secretly determines which of their units will attack which enemy hexes. Players attack at the same time, hex by hex, but losses are not removed until all attacks are completed.

The non-phasing player can now retreat from an attack with units that have not been disabled by fire.

Both players then secretly assign units to anti-tank and/or assault roles. Any unit with the Anti-Tank stat can be assigned to an Anti-Tank Squad. This is done by dividing TOE Strength Points between them.

TOE (Table of Organization and Equipment) strength points represent the forces required for effective combat. This is a very important statistic for every individual. In many ways this is similar to their hit points.

TOE Power Points are basically the number of people/weapons in a unit, which determines how many things it can shoot at. Each unit will have its own TOE and weapons system detailed in the Unit Characteristics table. If a unit is below the minimum TOE Strength, it is considered a shell unit.

Both sides engage in anti-tank fire. All results are recorded before proceeding to the melee attack.

Dam

Players assign firing points to each hex they wish to attack.

Each firing is resolved by rolling two dice and combining them so that the lower the result given first, the higher (i.e. rolling a “2” and a “5” would result in a “25”). The result is linked to the table above, showing the number of firing points spent, dice results, and the type of target unit.

The unit will remain intact, pinned or pinned and will lose 1 or 2 points of TOE. Pinned units cannot retreat before assaulting and do not participate in melee assaults.

Retreat before attacking

Retreat Before Assault is quite straightforward and simple, which is surprising considering these are two terms I would never use to describe Campaign for North Africa.

RBA works the same as normal traffic. The non-phasing player spends CPA and Fuel, plus additional Flight or Retreat costs, to move any units in combat. Units cannot RBA move from one enemy ZOC to another.

Anti-tank

During this phase, units with armor protection will shoot at units with armor protection. Anti-tank fire occurs simultaneously for both players.

As with gunfire, anti-tank fire is determined by rolling two dice for each volley of fire in each hex. The shooting player refers to the table above to determine the damage dealt for the armor piercing points spent and the dice roll results to determine how much damage he dealt.

The defending player can then allocate this damage to units in that hex, removing TOE points from units with armor protection. However, this damage is not dealt until all anti-tank attacks have been made.

Close attack

Unlike the previous combat phases, the Melee Attack does not occur simultaneously. The player in the phase chooses a hex in which to attack and combat begins there.

Close Assault works with a differential point system. Both players determine how many melee attack points they spend on combat. The defender then subtracts his points from the attacker’s points to determine the difference. Each player rolls two dice as before and checks the table below.

Unlike other combat phases, casualties are incurred immediately before proceeding to a Melee Attack in the next hex.

Both players then add up their dice rolls to determine whether their units are engaged, as well as how many casualties result from their capture and whether their units retreat. Players check whether the sum of their combat rolls matches the numbers listed in the CAPT, ENG, and Retreat lines. If the total is correct, some of the losses are due to capture, units are engaged, and some of them retreat. An attacking player will never withdraw involuntarily.

If losses are due to capture, the player rolls a die to determine the percentage.

If a unit is engaged, it remains in combat. This has a few problems, mainly the additional point expenditure if the unit wants to move or leave combat.

Final thoughts

This is the essence of how combat works Campaign for North Africa. As in every aspect CNAthere are tons of other little things that I left out for the sake of the tutorial.

Things like choosing whether or not to have an artillery line Forward Or Back and how this affects melee attacking, unit stacking (Note: this is allowed), the effect of terrain and morale on combat, and performing a probing attack, just to name a few.

This game is complicated. That’s kind of the whole point of this series.

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