Below is a look at one of the games coming to the P500 list this month, The Dark Summer: Normandy 1944, designed by Ted Raicer. Ted has also included a first turn playtest after action report for The Dark Summer: Normandy 1944 at the end of this article. Enjoy! -Rachel

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The Dark Summer: Normandy 1944 (hereafter TDSN) is the latest in my WWII operational games using a variation of the chit-pull system originally developed for The Dark Valley: The East Front Campaign 1941-45 and the basis for The Dark Sands, my game on the campaigns for North Africa. The Dark Summer is the first game in “The Dark Series” to cover a single campaign limited in both geography (Normandy, France) and time (June 6 to August 21 1944). Unlike the two previous games it uses a single map, and lasts for ten turns (each ¼ of a month).

The map is at roughly the same scale as Mark Simonitch’s Normandy ’44, but by turning the map slightly from true north and placing the Cherbourg area  in a Cherbourg Box I was able to extend the map sufficiently (southwest to Avaranches and southeast to Alencon)  to allow play of the entire campaign.  Besides Cherbourg, the map also contains boxes for US units exited to Brittany (which may return to the map, giving up Victory Points to do so) and towards Paris.

If the Logistics chit was the key mechanic in the two previous Dark games, Weather is the key to TDSN. There are ten Weather Chits (two Fair, two Storm, and 6 Mixed). The first turn is always Mixed  so ultimately only nine of the ten chits will be drawn over the course of the game. Besides Fair, Storm, and Mixed, there are Fair-Mixed and Fair-Storm turns, resulting when a Mixed Weather chit follows a Fair or Storm Chit respectively. The five Weather types (Mixed, Fair, Storm, Fair-Mixed, Storm-Mixed) determine available replacements, the Allied ability to use air and naval support markers, and most importantly the number and type of Action Round Chits for both sides.

The basic Action Round Chits in TDSN are Move, Combat, and Move or Combat (player chooses, but no more than two Move or two Combat Rounds per turn). The Allies actually have two sets of Chits, one for the US (Move or Combat) and one for the British (Move, Combat) showing the greater US operational skill demonstrated in the campaign. German chits are likewise Move or Combat, but faced with greater number of Allied hits, the Germans also get a variable number of Reaction Chits. These are not randomly drawn from the Action Cup, but are played after any US or British Round (one per Round max). Each Reaction chit allows the Germans to activate for Move AND Combat either one stack or one divisional formation.

Replacements in TDSN are used at the start of the turn, after determining Weather, but Reinforcements enter during any appropriate Move Round (so British units cannot enter on a US Move Round). All scheduled Reinforcements may not enter at once. Instead a Player rolls a die and may enter that number of divisional formations (independent units counting as a formation) or ½ of the available units available to enter (rounding down but not less than one). So it is possible on a crowded turn for some Reinforcements to be pushed back to the following turn.

There is no Logistics Round in TDSN, instead supply is judged at the instant of Movement or Combat, and during the Attrition Phase at the end of each Turn. Victory is determined by the Allies exiting units to Brittany and Paris and preventing the exiting of German units, but the Allies win a sudden death victory if they capture all the cities on the map before Turn 10 and the Germans win a sudden death victory by closing any three Allied Beaches, two of which must be contiguous. There are also Vps available for capturing certain locations by certain dates, or for the Germans, eliminating Allied Airborne and Special Forces units.

Other rules cover Combat Markers, Allied Prepared Combat shifts in Fair and Fair-Mixed Weather (representing heavy use of artillery), Carpet Bombing, the D-Day 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Wave landings, the conquest of Cherbourg, unknown-strength German Strong-points and OST battalions, It should be noted that German mech forces are organized not according to their administrative division but as they were used in practice into all-arms kampfgruppen, built around either panzer or panzer-grenadiers, 3 per panzer division and 2 for the 17SS Panzer Grenadier.

What follows is an account of a playtest of the 1^st Turn of TDSN (the June II Turn) with illustrations of the situation at the end of the turn. I hope to have more accounts of following turns up soon.

The game begins with the German Player deciding whether to reinforce the Omaha Beach strong-points with a step of the 352^nd Division. This will make it harder for the Allies landing on Omaha, but weaken the only infantry regiment that can block an advance inland from there. Still, I finds it too tempting and send a step forward.

1^st Wave of the invasion:

• Utah is easily cleared as the 4^th Division storms ashore, and the Rangers take the Pointe du Hoc. But the 29^th is pinned down at the water’s edge, 1^st clears its beach but suffers heavy losses (two regiments reduced).
• On the British front Gold and Juno are cleared with only light casualties despite an unexpectedly strong German garrison, but at Sword the 1^st Wave is pinned down by strong resistance.
• The 21^st Panzer reacts, but only has half its Movement Allowance (MA) and can’t use the roads. Its weakest KG arrives north of Caen, a second reaches Colobelles southeast of the Orne, and the third approaches Caen from the south.

2^nd Wave of the invasion:

• On Utah, the 4^th clears a neighboring strong-point.
• On Omaha the 29^th, reinforced by another regiment and with help from the Rangers and naval gunfire clear their beach in a bloodbath that costs two steps of the 29^th. But at least the Beach hex is Open.
• Meanwhile the 1^st Division, also reinforced by their third regiment take out the reduced regiment of the 352^nd just behind the beaches, opening the way inland. This was the cost of the Germans reinforcing his beach strong-points.
• On the British beaches the British finally clear Sword, and advance inland, surrounding German strong-points, including one at Ouistreham and link up with the 6^th Airborne. Juno and Sword are still separated by a German strong-point.
• Two regiments of the 3^rd Canadian  along with the British 50^th attack the 915^th regiment of the 352^nd and overwhelm it, putting two thirds of that division in the deadpile.
• The German 21^st reacts again, with KGa sent to block the gap created by the destruction of the 915/352 north of Tilly. KGb blocks the direct route from the British beaches into Caen, while KGc moves to hem in the 6^th Airborne.

After the initial two Waves and special German Reactions the turn continues with a random chit draw from the Action Round Cup, but only Allied 3^rd Wave reinforcements can enter when a British or US Move Round is played, and they don’t have to roll for entry: all such formations can enter on their respective next Move round. In this case the 1^st chit out of the cup is US Move or Combat, and the US chooses Move, bringing in his 3^rd Wave reinforcements.

At Utah the 90^th Division lands and moves towards Carentan, while the 4^th concentrates northwest of Utah. A regiment of the 82^nd sticks its neck out taking Pont-l’Abbe.

Off Omaha the 2^nd Division moves west against a unit of the German III Flak Corps, the 29^th moves south to Trevieres, while the 1^st protects the boundary between the US and British fronts east of Bayeux.

The Germans have only two Reactions left (their normal amount for a Mixed Weather turn) and though they would love to bring up the 12^th SS they are forced to activate a regiment of the 716^th Division to slide southeast and block the road to St. Lo,

Another US Move or Combat chit is drawn and taken as the second and last US Move Round of the turn. Four US formations are available as reinforcements (two them independent armored-cavalry regiments and as luck would have it all four are able to land, meaning no US Turn 1 reinforcements wil be pushed back to Turn 2. The 2^nd Armored comes ashore at Omaha, the 9^th infantry at Utah, and an armored cavalry regiment supports each.

Two regiments of the 29^th advance west to confront a German Ost battalion (strength unknown) at Isigny, while the reinforced 2^nd Armored moves against the 716^th unit blocking the route to St. Lo. The 9^th Division moves south to join the 90^th outside Carentan, while the arriving Armored Cavalry joins the 101^st Airborne facing an Ost unit outside St. Mere-Eglise.

The Germans use their last Reaction of the turn to advance the 12^th SS Panzer to Caen, dropping off the KG built around the panzer-grenadiers at Colombelles.

Next out of the cup is a British Move chit. The British get three Action Chits in Mixed Weather, and had to select whether to put one or two Move Chits into the cup. They went with two, leaving one Combat chit. The British land all their 3^rd Wave reinforcements.  They occupy Arromanches (a VP if taken on Turn 1, representing the position of the British Mulberry) and send an armored brigade (the 8^th) to just outside Bayeux. Two brighades of the 50^th and the 7^th Armored move against the 21^st KGa on the highway between Caen and Bayeux, while the 51^st Highland prepares to clear the strong-points between Juno and Sword.  One brigade of the 50^th is held back to protect against a German thrust towards the beaches from the west.

The 3^rd Canadian moves up against the 736^th Regiment of the German 716^th, supported by Canadian armor. The British 3^rd, reinforced by armor, and the newly arrived British Glider brigade face the 21st’s Kgb reinforcing an inland strong-point north of Caen.

No German Reaction remains, so the next random chit is the 2^nd British Move. The Britih 49^th arrives at Juno, preparing to join in the planned attack against the 736/716. British armor occupies Bayeux.

The Germans get their first chit of three, and choose to use it as a Move Round. They have seven formations waiting to enter the map and roll a 5, allowing all but the 77^th and 346^th Divisions to enter. The newly arriving Lehr Panzer and 17^th SS Panzer-Grenadier move southeast of St. Lo, while the 5FJ moves south of St. Lo. The 243^rd Division reinforced by supporting units leaves the Cherbourg Box to confront the 82^nd Airborne from the east. The 30^th Brigade positions itself north of St. Lo. On the British front the 12^th SS fills in the gaps between the 21^st Kampfgruppe north and northwest of Caen and the 21^st Panzer unit north of Tilly. The newly arrived Tiger Battalion arrives at Caen south of the Orne.

US chit is next, and having used his first two Rounds as Moves, he must use this one as Combat. The 9^th and 90^th Divisions attack the German 6FJ Regiment at Carentan. The Germans are reduced and give up the town. The 4^th Division clears two more strong-points north of Utah, while a pincer of the 82^nd and 101^st eliminate the German Ost battalion near St. Mere-Eglise.

The Germans get another chit and choose their second (and last) Move Round. The Germans are only able to enter one formation, bringing on the 77^th Division while the 346^th is shifted to enter first (that’s mandatory) on Turn 2.

Panzer Lehr leaves a KG At St.Lo and moves the rest of the division north towards Carentan. The 3FJ Division is sent ti St. Jean-de-Daye, and the 17^th SS to Balleroy.  The last surviving regiment of the 352^nd uses Emergency Withdrawl to escape being pinned east of Bayeux. The Germans now have a weak and stretched by nevertheless cohesive front facing the Allies.

British Combat is next and finally clears all the strong-points between Juno and Sword.

The last German chit must be Combat, and units of the 243^rd, the 91^st, and the Sturm Battalion attack the 82^nd‘s regiment out on alimb at Pont-l’Abbe. This turns out to be a twon too far for the 82^nd, and in bloody fighting the regiment is destroyed (an Exchange result). This gives the Germans 1 VP, so the first Turn ends with both sides having scored a single VP.

End of Turn Photos:

Hope you enjoyed this initial look at The Dark Summer (which should be on the P500 in early spring). More to come.

-Ted

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