TEXT: Flames Of War has moved on since the first printing
  of Desert Rats. Since we were re-printing Desert
  Rats we thought we would update it to keep it
  consistent with our latest books, incorporating the
  many suggestions that players have made.
  Obviously we don’t want to make all our British
  Armored Forces players go out and buy a new
  book, so we gathered up the few changes we made
  to Desert Rats into a file that you can print out and
  paste in to your existing copy of Desert Rats.
  The changes are fairly minor and are mostly
  clarifications rather than outright changes.
  You only need this update if your copy of Desert
  Rats looks like the one pictured, with the tank
  occupying the whole width of the cover.
  A force based around an Armoured Squadron must contain:
  •
  a Company HQ, and
  •
  two to four Armoured Platoons.
  Weapons Platoons available to an Armoured Squadron can be:
  •
  up to two further Armoured Platoons.
  Support Platoons for an Armoured Squadron can be:
  •
  Motor Platoons,
  •
  Scout Patrols,
  •
  Armoured Car Platoons, and
  •
  Divisional Support Platoons.
  You may have up to one Support Platoon attached to your company for each Light or Heavy
  Armoured Platoon that you are fielding.
  Motivation And Experience
  The British armoured regiments have been given a rough handling by Rommel’s lot, but they’ve
  stuck to their guns, learned their lessons, and are ready to return the favour. An Armoured Squadron
  is Confident Trained.
  Armoured Squadron, page 11
  • Replace one Marmon Harrington armoured
  car with a Daimler Mk I armoured car for
  +15 points, or an AEC Mk I for +30 points.
  3 Humber Mk II or III
  105 points
  • Replace one Humber armoured car with
  an AEC I armoured car for +20 points.
  3 Daimler Mk I
  135 points
  • Replace one Daimler armoured car with
  a Daimler Dingo scout car for -15 points.
   • Replace AA MG on the Daimler Dingo
  scout car with 0.5” AA MG for +5 points.
  3 AEC Mk I
  170 points
  Armoured Car Platoons, page 19
  Vehicle MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  2
  6
  ROF 1 if other weapons fire.
  0.5” MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  4
  6
  ROF 1 if other weapons fire.
  AA MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  2
  6
  Self-defence anti-aircraft.
  0.5” AA MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  4
  6
  Self-defence anti-aircraft.
  Vehicle weapons, page 30
  Name
  Range
  ROF
  Anti-tank
  Firepower
  Notes
  3” mortar
  32”/80cm
  -
  -/1
  3+/6
  Mortar, Smoke, Man-packed, Small gun.
  Bofors 40mm gun
  32”/80cm
  4
  6
  5+
  Turntable, Anti-aircraft, Immobile.
  2 pdr gun
  24”/60cm
  3
  7
  5+
  Gun shield, Turntable, No HE, Small gun.
  6 pdr gun
  24”/60cm
  3
  9
  4+
  Gun shield, No HE, Small gun.
  17/25 pdr gun
  32”/80cm
  2
  13
  3+
  Gun shield, Turntable, No HE, Immobile.
  25 pdr gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  9/3
  3+/6
  Gun shield, Turntable, Artillery, Smoke.
  Gun teams, page 31
  Anti-tank Platoons, page 16
  Platoon
  HQ Section with:
  2 Anti-tank Sections
  165 points
  1 Anti-tank Section
  95 points
  Options
  • Upgrade all 2 pdr portees to 6 pdr portees
  for +20 points per section.
  • Replace all 2 pdr portees with 6 pdr guns
  towed by Jeeps for +20 points per section.
  • Equip all Rifle teams, Gun teams and Portees
  with Sticky Bombs for +5 points per team
  Name
  Range
  ROF
  Anti-tank
  Firepower
  Notes
  Vehicle MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  2
  6
  ROF 1 if other weapons fire.
  0.5” MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  4
  6
  ROF 1 if other weapons fire.
  AA MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  2
  6
  Self-defence anti-aircraft.
  0.5” AA MG
  16”/40cm
  3
  4
  6
  Self-defence anti-aircraft.
  Breda 20mm anti-aircraft gun
  24”/60cm
  4
  5
  5+
  Anti-aircraft.
  Boys anti-tank rifle
  16”/40cm
  2
  4
  6
  15mm tank gun
  16”/40cm
  3
  5
  6
  Captured anti-tank gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  6
  5+
  See Armoured Car Platoons on page 19.
  37mm tank gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  7
  5+
  2 pdr tank gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  7
  5+
  No HE.
  2 pdr anti-tank gun
  24”/60cm
  3
  7
  5+
  No HE.
  6 pdr tank gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  9
  4+
  No HE.
  6 pdr anti-tank gun
  24”/60cm
  3
  9
  4+
  No HE.
  75mm field gun
  24”/60cm
  2
  9/2
  3+/6
  Close-support artillery, Smoke.
  Short 75mm tank gun
  32”/80cm
  2
  9
  3+
  Smoke.
  75mm tank gun
  32”/80cm
  2
  10
  3+
  Smoke.
  3” tank howitzer
  24”/60cm
  2
  5/2
  3+/6
  Close-support artillery, Smoke.
  105mm howitzer
  24”/60cm
  1
  9/3
  2+/4+
  Artillery, Smoke.
  Vehicle weapons, page 30
  Instructions
  Print this file at the highest quality that you can. You may want to take
  it to a specialist print shop if you do not have a high-quality printer.
  Carefully cut out one item at a time with sharp scissors. Check the position
  and size of the item in your book, then once you are satisfied, apply a
  light coating of glue to the back and place it in the book. Repeat until you
  have finished updating your copy of Desert Rats.
  Armour
  Name
  Mobility
  Front Side
  Top
  Equipment and Notes
  Light Tanks
  ‘Honey’ Stuart
  Fully-tracked
  3
  2
  1
  37mm tank gun, co-ax MG, hull MG, Light tank.
  Cruiser Tanks
  Crusader II
  Fully-tracked
  4
  2
  1
  2 pdr tank gun, co-ax MG, Fast tank, Unreliable.
  Crusader II CS
  Fully-tracked
  4
  2
  1
  3” tank howitzer, co-ax MG, Fast tank, Unreliable.
  Crusader III
  Fully-tracked
  4
  2
  1
  6 pdr tank gun, co-ax MG, Fast tank, Unreliable.
  Valentine III
  Fully-tracked
  6
  5
  1
  2 pdr tank gun, co-ax MG, Slow tank.
  Heavy Tanks
  Grant
  Fully-tracked
  5
  3
  1
  37mm tank gun, co-ax MG, hull short 75mm tank gun,
  Multiple guns.
  Sherman II
  Fully-tracked
  6
  4
  1
  75mm tank gun, co-ax MG, hull MG, Ronson.
  Sherman III (diesel)
  Fully-tracked
  6
  4
  1
  75mm tank gun, co-ax MG, hull MG.
  Self-propelled Anti-tank Guns
  2 pdr portee
  Wheeled
  -
  -
  -
  2 pdr anti-tank gun, AA MG, Portee.
  6 pdr portee
  Wheeled
  -
  -
  -
  6 pdr anti-tank gun, AA MG, Portee.
  Deacon
  Wheeled
  1
  2
  0
  6 pdr anti-tank gun, AA MG, Cumbersome.
  Self-propelled Guns
  Priest
  Fully-tracked
  1
  0
  0
  105mm howitzer, 0.5” AA MG.
  Autocar 75mm SP
  Half-tracked
  1
  0
  0
  75mm field gun, AA MG.
  Self-propelled Anti-aircraft Guns
  Breda 20mm portee
  Wheeled
  -
  -
  -
  Breda 20mm anti-aircraft gun.
  Engineer Tanks
  Matilda Scorpion
  Fully-tracked
  7
  6
  2
  2 pdr tank gun, co-ax MG, Overloaded, Unreliable,
  Mine flail.
  Reconnaissance
  Universal Carrier
  Half-tracked
  0
  0
  0
  Hull MG.
  Daimler Dingo
  Jeep
  1
  0
  1
  AA MG.
  Armoured Cars
  Marmon Herrington III
  Wheeled
  1
  0
  1
  Boys anti-tank rifle, MG.
  Humber II or III
  Wheeled
  1
  0
  1
  15mm tank gun, co-ax MG.
  Daimler I
  Wheeled
  1
  0
  1
  2 pdr tank gun, co-ax MG.
  AEC I
  Wheeled
  4
  2
  1
  2-pdr tank gun, co-ax MG, Cumbersome.
  Tank teams, page 30
  
  towed by Jeeps at no cost.
  • Replace all 6 pdr portees with 17/25 pdr
  guns towed by Quad tractors for +30 points
  per section.
  • Equip all Rifle teams, Gun teams and Portees
  with Sticky Bombs for +5 points per team.
  You may not field more than two Anti-tank
  Sections armed with 17/25 pdr guns in any
  force. The sections may be in one platoon
  or split across two. Either way, an Anti-tank
  Platoon with 17/25 pdr guns may not have
  any other type of anti-tank gun.
  Anti-tank Platoon, Royal Artillery, page 21
  Self-defence Anti-aircraft Guns
  The British Army mounted machine-guns on selected vehicles
  to discourage enemy aircraft attacks.
  Self-defence anti-aircraft guns can only shoot at aircraft
  that are attacking their own platoon.
  Sticky Bombs
  The Grenade, Hand, No. 74 was commonly known as the
  ‘Sticky Bomb’. It featured 1.3 pounds (580gm) of rather
  unstable Nitroglycerine in an spherical adhesive-coated
  plastic bottle on the end of a stick. Combined with the No.
  75 Hawkins grenade, these gave British infantry  powerful
  weapons against tanks breaking into their positions.
  Infantry and Gun teams using Sticky Bombs have an Anti-
  tank rating of 3 in assault combat against tanks. However,
  if a team using Sticky Bombs rolls a 1 to hit in an assault
  combat, the team scores an ‘own goal’ and is destroyed.
  A team armed with Sticky Bombs may choose not to
  use them if the target does not justify the risk involved.
  Because they are not usually visible on the models, a
  player must tell their opponent at the start of the game
  which platoons, if any, have Sticky Bombs.
  Sticky Bombs, page 28
  At first glance, the desert is flat and bare. On a second look, there are many minor terrain features scattered about. Even though
  insignificant, these features were the focus of many battles. This chart provides an optional way to decide what terrain to place on the
  table. Divide the table into 2’/60cm squares. The players take turns to pick a square and roll to see what terrain they should place in
  it. The exact number and dimensions of the features are up to the player. Roll once for each square.
  Basic Terrain
  Where there is no other terrain, the desert is flat and hard. This makes for rapid, if somewhat dusty, movement.
  Treat flat, hard desert as Road for movement. Place a 2”/5cm ball of cotton wool behind each vehicle for every 12”/30cm or part
  thereof it moved in the Movement Step. If the vehicle moves later in the turn, the dust cloud moves with it staying on the same side
  of the vehicle, even if it changes direction (you can’t hide in your own dust!) Vehicles moving 4”/10cm or less do not create dust
  clouds. Remove all dust clouds from your vehicles at the start of your turn. Troops behind a dust cloud count as Concealed.
  Desert Terrain, page 64
  Beginning the Battle
  1. Both players’ troops start the game in
  prepared positions.
  2. The attacking player has the first turn.
  ENDING THE BATTLE
  The battle ends when:
  •
  The attacking player starts any turn from
  turn 3 holding either objective, or
  •
  The defending player starts any turn from
  turn three with no attacking teams within
  16”/40cm of either objective.
  DECIDING WHO WON
  The attacker wins if they take either objective.
  The enemy penetration has been neutralised
  and the defensive line held.
  The defender wins if they hold both objectives
  at the end of the game. All enemy counterattacks
  have been held off and the enemy force ‘written
  down’ bringing a major breakthrough that much
  closer. They won’t be able to take much more
  of this.
  Use the Victory Points table below to look up
  your victory points based on the number of
  platoons that the winner lost during the battle.
  The Cauldron, page 61
  1 to 3 Valentine Armoured Platoons
  1 to 2 Crusader Armoured Platoons
  Platoon
  3 Valentine III
  175 points
  You must have at least as many Valentine
  platoons as Crusader platoons in your force.
  You may not have more than four Valentine
  or Crusader Armoured Platoons in a squadron.
  Death or Glory Squadron, page 63
  Your troops are deployed well behind the front
  lines with the vital task of defending strategic
  assets such as supply dumps and airfields.
  The defending player has 1500 points to spend
  on their security force.
  SAFE IN THE REAR AREAS
  The defenders know that the enemy is only a
  small raiding party and that there are plenty of
  friendly troops nearby. Their main concern is
  not having to tell HQ why everything they were
  guarding got blown up and the raiders got away!
  The defender’s force is not required to take
  Company Morale Checks. However, they take
  Platoon Morale Checks as normal.
  SENTRIES
  Every important target has sentries on guard—
  whether this is  a humble supply depot watchman
  or a prestigious headquarters bodyguard! Their
  task is to raise the alarm before the raiders get
  too close to their objectives.
  The defender deploys six patrols of sentries in
  their half of the table during the game set up.
  Represent the sentries with six ordinary infantry
  stands. They are not taken from the defenders
  force, and for all intents and purposes are just
  tokens.
  Once the alarm is raised and the game begins,
  they are removed and play no further part in
  the game.
  TIME OF DAY
  Battles occur at any time. Most battles happen
  in daylight, but many raids take place under the
  cover of darkness. There are four times of day:
  Daylight, Darkness, Dawn, and Dusk.
  fighting rules are not used.
  Darkness
  In a mission played in darkness, the night fight-
  ing rules on page 53 are used for the entire game.
  Dawn
  In a mission being played at dawn, the game
  starts in darkness, with the night fighting rules
  in effect. At the start of the defenders turn three,
  roll a die. On a score of 5+, morning has broken.
  If the roll is unsuccessful, at the start of turn
  four the attacker rolls two dice. If it is still dark
  at the start of the defenders  next turn, they roll
  three dice, and so on until morning breaks on
  any roll of 5+. The turn that morning breaks,
  the night fighting rules are no longer used, and
  it is daylight for the remainder of the game.
  Dusk
  In a mission being played at dusk, the game
  starts in daylight. At the start of the defenders
  turn three, roll a die. On a score of 5+, night
  has fallen. If the roll is unsuccessful, the attacker
  rolls two dice at the start of turn four. f it is still
  dark at the start of the defenders  next turn, they
  roll three dice, and so on until morning breaks
  on any roll of 5+. The turn that night falls, the
  night fighting rules come into effect for the
  remainder of the game.
  SCATTERED RESERVES
  With so many potential targets and so few troops
  to protect them, the defenders will be scattered
  far and wide.
  The Scattered Reserves special rule operates in
  the same way as the Reserves special rule on
  page 157 of the Flames Of War rulebook, with
  the following exceptions.
  To reflect the way the reserves are scattered,
  the defender’s reserves can arrive from almost
  anywhere. When each platoon arrives from the
  reserves, the defender rolls a die to determine
  from which table edge or corner it will arrive
  (the mission map shows the edge or corner for
  each die roll). If the reserves arrive from an
  edge, they may enter anywhere along that edge.
  If from a corner, they must enter the table within
  16”/40cm of the corner.
  Units containing armoured vehicles will always
  arrive from reserve after units without armoured
  vehicles. Units containing tanks will always be
  the last platoons to arrive from reserve.
  Time of Day, page 53
  The result is the maximum distance at that
  moment that the platoon’s teams can see targets
  that did not shoot. The platoon can only shoot
  at or range in on teams within that distance
  unless the target team fired its weapons. Enemy
  teams that fired in their Shooting step are always
  visible out to the limits of line of sight. Anything
  further away is invisible in the darkness. Roll
  to determine the visibility distance before you
  select your target.
  Concealment
  Even on a clear night it is tricky to accurately
  pinpoint the enemy. All teams count as
  Concealed at night.
  Night is not concealing terrain, so ambushing
  troops must deploy at least 16”/40cm from the
  enemy when in the open.
  The concealment of night does not allow
  reconnaissance troops to use Cautious
  Movement (see page 14 of Stars & Stripes).
  They must be concealed by terrain.
  NO AIR SUPPORT
  Air support is only available once day breaks.
  Aircraft cannot attack in darkness.
  Fighting at night is a confusing and problematic
  affair. It is hard to see anything, and rocks and
  trees look like tanks, and tanks like houses.
  MOVEMENT AT NIGHT
  Moving at night without lights is slow. It is hard
  to see anything, and rocks and trees look like
  tanks, and tanks like houses.
  Teams may not move further than 8”/20cm or
  move At the Double at night. Additionally
  vehicles must reroll successful bogging rolls
  when moving through Rough Terrain.
  At night the enemy looms out of the darkness,
  only to vanish as quickly when the moon
  disappears behind a cloud.
  SHOOTING AT NIGHT
  Each time you select a platoon to shoot with,
  roll a die and consult the Night Visibility table.
  Night Visibility
  1
  4”/10cm
  2
  8”/20cm
  3
  12”/30cm
  4
  16”/40cm
  5
  20”/50cm
  6
  24”/60cm
  ... Fondouk Pass, 1943...
  Night Fighting, page 55
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Flames of War/Flames of War Desert Rats Update.pdf