There are two pairs of missing activation counters - I hand crafted replacements for these. You do get a Desert Berg counter, which not everyone thought was sufficient compensation. No doubt we will get replacements for the missing counters at some stage, but I am not missing any sleep over it. The long double map, by Joe Youst, is a thing of beauty, with one famous flaw. The colour coded counters are a touch garish, but do the job nicely.
Turns are monthly.
The action is driven by selecting activation chits from the cup, giving a chaotic sequence of play. This is basically the same mechanism that Berg has used in Glory, Battles of Waterloo, etc. You have to commit the resources up front at the start of the game turn for the units you intend to activate. You also get a handful of commanders. This makes for some fiddly hex counting as the Axis player decides exactly which frontier hexes are in supply while the Commonwealth player holds Tobruk.