Most of the game map consists of the western desert of Libya and Egypt, and the various roads and tracks that were used for movement and supply. Important features include the array of escarpments near Tobruk, and the Qattara Depression - impassably rugged terrain south of El Alamein and northern Cyrenaica. The hexes containing Tobruk and Bardia are also fortified (the latter less so), aiding in their defense. At the start of the game the entire map is controlled by (thinly-spread) Commonwealth forces, who are deemed to have driven the Italians from Cyrenaica in late 1940, only for many of the Commonwealth forces to be withdrawn to fight in the Greek campaign.