The Invasion So Far

This has been quite a campaign. For the most part it’s felt like a brutal slog. After the initial landings by the Allies went swimmingly well, they surged into the beach heads until Axis reinforcements solidified the front line. Then, advancing a single hex seemed like a big accomplishment!

The German line finally did cave in around certain sections of the map. The British landed more and more troops and expanded their front line to put pressure in the middle where the army line between the US 1^st and the British 2^nd met. The US linked their beaches and then went for the peninsula. Cherbourg fell and the Canadians nibbled around Caen. The British forces oozed along the coast east of Ranville.

At this point, the Allies have surpassed the historical June 27^th line with flying colors. Still, without knowing it they have almost lost the game at one point due to casualties. Now Germany will go all out and try o inflict the casualties they need to secure victory.

June 27^th – Axis 

Alas, the weather is not cooperating. Not even an overcast. It was a 4 for clear skies. Even if the Allies are only getting minimal air support the Germans need to roll on the Jabos table when resolving their attacks. At least clouds would have improved their odds. As a demonstration of how bad it can be, the 243^rd and 709^th divisions tried to attack out of the Yorck strongpoint along with the Cherbourg battalion.

The combined strength was 6 which was barely enough for a 1-2 ratio against the 9^th Infantry’s 12 combat strength. After calculating basic odds strength you need at least 1-3 to attack, otherwise it’s not allowed. Now it was time to apply combat shifts. They suffered one shift against them for troop quality (all units were -1 or -2). They can still attack at 1-3 but when the Jabos table rolled a 5 for two more combat shifts against, their odds decreased below 1-3 to 1-5 and per the rules they sustain an automatic A1 combat result (step loss).

This is a good rule because it prevents unrealistic desperation attacks. You need at least one third the combat strength of your enemy (taking into account terrain modifiers), and if you attack but suffer a number of combat shifts that take you below the minimum ratio you suffer an automatic loss. I know many a game where units are able to conduct silly suicidal attacks because the rules allow it and the table still gives the suicidal attacker a meaningful chance at inflicting damage to the enemy.

Another attempt at inflicting losses by the 3^rd Fallschirmjäger division against the US 4^th Infantry. I needed to roll a 5 and obtain an EX (exchange result) and instead I rolled a 6 for a DR (Defender Retreat). Go figure. The US is content to fall back into the town than risk losses.

Another side effect of the clear weather is that the German mechanized formations can’t take full advantage of the main highways (usually 1/3 movement points, now ½). This means the 10^th SS can’t quite reach Caen to help attack the British. Instead they head towards Villers-Bocage and inflict some pain against the 11^th Armoured. Some units set up to attack immediately and others are put into reserve for a follow up strike.

The 101^st Tiger Battalion maneuvers to help fight the British. Along with Artillery they inflict a devastating blow to the British tankers! The combat results is so good the Tiger formation along with 2^nd SS and 17^th SS are allowed to go into Reserve to move and attack again! The 53^rd Infantry is also attacked by the 10^th SS Panzer division and its Panther Tanks. However they can’t quite inflict the losses they want to and instead the British formations retreat.

Along the Caen Front, the 12^th SS Panzergrenadier division and the 9^th Panzer Division strike the Commonwealth forces at Buron and Epron. The Canadians take the brunt of the attack and fall back with the 43^rd Infantry. The other two regiments successfully hold Epron when German tanks take losses in the assault. On the extreme right end the 1^st SS pushes back a motorized regiment from the Guards Armoured divison but they take no losses.

The counter attack has been vicious and the reserve mechanized formations from the 10^th SS Panzer division strike the 50^th Infantry which retreats but suffer no losses. The dangerous Tiger tanks only manage to force back the 1^st Infantry but again, no losses. Overall, while the offensive manages to take back ground it’s not enough and the Germans don’t inflict the necessary casualties to win.

We finally have an isolated attrition table check. The remaining two battalions surrender but the garrisons in the strong points hold out.

June 27^th – Allies

Now it’s the Allies turn to regroup and fight back. I can passively move chits around and do nothing to win the game but where’s the fun in THAT? I add some replacements to recover some cadres for the US army but other than that it’s time to fix the discombobulated allied lines. The poor 11^th Armoured in particular took a savage beating from the SS Panzer divisions.

Supported by the 2^nd Canadian Armoured, two full strength regiments from the 49^th Infantry division assaulted Buron. They were backed by naval guns, air support and lots of artillery as the Allies coverted all their RPs into supply points this turn.It sounds like a lot but it’s really a 3 for 1 conversion, but that’s still a grand total of 4 supply points per army; the two free ones and the two additional ones for RP to SP conversion.

Anyway, the Panthers took a step loss and despite determined defense they rolled poorly and had to to retreat to Caen along with the rest of the armored infantry. On the other side of town the Guards Armored division supported by tank battalions of the 31^st take Colombelles against a rag tag group of German anti-tank units, recon tank battalions and armored infantry (I believe this is whimsically called a Kampfgruppe).

Elements from the 1^st US infantry, 4^th Cavalry and 3^rd Armored attack weaker units flanking the dangerous Tigers and the 10^th SS Panzer division. The infantry from the US 1^st take out the remaining cadre from 17^th SS and the 3^rd Armored turns German Panzer IV tanks into scrap metal causing the 276^th Division to flee. In the process the Tigers are in a somewhat precarious position (which will remain unresolved since this is he last turn of the game).

It was just a matter of time really. The 353^rd Division would hardly be expected to hold back forever the combined strength of the 2^nd and 29^th US infantry divisions supported by armored battalions. The virtual destruction of this division has caused a huge gap in the line between the 2^nd FJ Corps and the 84^th Corps.

While 7^th Corps HQ ran south the 19^th Corps supported attacks by the 2^nd Armored and 90^th Infantry. The city of Lessay held thanks to the improved positions dug in by the 91^st Infantry and the river Ay. The 2^nd Armored traded shots with the 275^th Infantry and took some losses in the engagement, but the division didn’t budge.

Up north 9^th Infantry reduced the remaining strong points. It cost them some casualties including some M5s from the recon battalion belonging to 2^nd Armored. When the dust settled neither side had an automatic victory since Germany still held three of the four Caen hexes and the Allies didn’t have any units on the southern or eastern map edges. For their part the Germans inflicted losses but not enough to cause defeat; the US had only 1 cadre removed (82^nd Airborne) and the British had two on the map (50^th division and the motorized infantry from 11^th Armored). Victory conditions demand 7 from the US Army or 5 from the UK armies.

Counting the number of towns and cities taken on either side of the historical line, the Germans came up completely empty while the Allies had a grand total of 22 VPs thanks to the complete fall of Cherbourg, St. Lo and Cabourg. That one hex from Caen didn’t hurt either. The Allies win by a big margin even if I have to temper that victory due to Allied shenanigans with the inter-army border that facilitated the destruction of Panzer Lehr.

Epilogue

This was a very fun game. While it took me a long time to finish, a huge part of that was me documenting my play writing down notes and taking pictures (as well as a one month hiatus). The time spent actually moving units and throwing the dice was much less. I think the 7-turn scenario can easily be finished in one session of perhaps 3 hours including game setup, since it only involves the Americans and the capture of Cherbourg. The entire campaign can probably be easily gamed by two experienced players in a long afternoon (assuming little or no analysis paralysis). At a more sedate pace you can savor the campaign in a whole day of gaming.

There is a lot to like here. Normandy ’44 is distinctive in two primary ways. The combat system and the ZOC bonds. While combat is based on a standard ratio-based table it’s different from many other games in how you go about executing combat. The first is the 18-strength point attack limit that is meant to put a cap on just how much firepower is it realistically feasible to bring to bear on the enemy at a given time. This means that if the defense can accumulate 10 points the odds are 1-1 no matter how much strength the attacker has. At this point if you want an edge you need better troops, armor, air artillery, or naval support. There’s an emphasis on quality and combined arms.

The second wrinkle which encourages units of the same formation to stack or stick close together is the Main Assault Force. You have to pick one formation (brigade or division) and all units belonging to that formation fight at full strength. Everyone else fights at half strength. You can still add one non-formation unit as long as it’s stacked with one of the formation units. This is important because only units from the MAF can give you favorable column shifts like troop quality and armor quality.

The other part of the design that eases factor counting and computation is the fact that no matter how many terrain, supply or MAF effects can halve a unit’s strength you only do it once. This makes it easier to count up the factors without delving into adding fractions. Due to the nature of bocage at slowing down advances after combat roads become paramount and proper positioning of the defense is critical to slowing down the enemy. There’s just enough terrain and road detail without being overwhelming.

Zones of control have been around for decades but the ZOC bonds raise the bar at this scale since it allows groups of units to form barriers that imply that their presence extends far more than just a single hex on the map. It allows a division to either concentrate and tightly pack in a few hexes or spread out and cover a lot more ground possibly 5 to 6 hexes wide on a front depending on the number of units on the map.

It’s very difficult to design a good game, even more so with the constraints Mark Simonitch put on himself in terms of time, map and unit scale. A one map game of the Battle of Normandy at the regiment and brigade scale with daily turns and just the right amount of detail and tactical maneuvering with proper victory conditions that encourage players to pursue the historical objectives not for the sake of scripting history but because that’s what made military sense to do. It’s accomplishment deserving of a space on your shelf and multiple play-throughs on your gaming table.

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