Since it's introduction in May, CONFLICT GAMES, OVERLORD, seems to have been exceptionally well received. The only complaints we have received IS thdt is unbalanced. However, the complaints are exactly split! Half the people feel that there is no way the Allies can break out of the German panzer ring, and other half feel it is impossible for the Germans to contain the Allies due to all their air power and naval benefits. So, perhaps a few comments on how each side should go about winning are in order. First let's look at the Allies.

Allies

In early June the Allies have a definite edge; the Germans are stretched thin. They are usually very solid around Caen, but in the vicinity of St. Lo and the entrances to the Cherbourg Peninsula, they find themselves hard pressed to cover everywhere. It is here that maximum pressure should be exerted.

Don't try to clear the Cherbourg Peninsula until you have first cut it off. Constantly study the German defenses for the possibilities of making a "breakout" attack. Often the Germans will place a unit on a road with no back-up unit behind it. If that occurs, hit it with everything, even if it means abandoning original plans. In this stage of the game the Allies must be more concerned with taking ground than killing Germans.

By mid-June, however, the situation will be changed. Those big ugly panzers will have arrived and will be in the line. The German line will seem to grow more solid each turn. If you've made a good breakout earlier, your main problem will be to hold onto it. Whatever happens don't let the German push you out of the boccage. Avoid plain terrain hexes where the German can easily mass his panzers against you. Don't really try to smash through at Caen: the German armored counter-attacks in that area are particularly wicked. At this stage of the game just try to hold what you have.

In July things get better. You TAC is increased and you get one good SAC strike. Usually the German is strong enough in early July that even the SAC strike won't open him up. Instead, think of the July SAC strike as an attrition tool. Don't waste it too early. Often just the threat of it does more good than the actual strike. But if the German really concentrates for something, particularly if he give you a chance to get ALL of Panzer Lehr, his best unit, don't hesitate, hit it at once. This part of the game is primarily attrition. If you, in general, can bleed the German equally as bad as he is bleeding you, you will be on the road to winning.

In mid-July things get better. Your reinforcements are up to two full divisions a turn and Patton and his armour will be arriving. Now, start pushing and pushing hard. By the end of July you probably will not have broken out, but you should make your objective getting through the boccage. The boccage fighting will be bloody, and exchanges can really hurt. Provided the German doesn't rip you too much with his counterattacks, you should have a clear cut numerical superiority by the end of July, and be through the worst of the boccage. You don't have to be through all of it everywhere, but at least be through all of it somewhere. Even if you can't take St. Lo, at least try to keep it in your ZOC so as to hamper German shifting of roops. Use your TAC primarily as ground support.

Now, it is August and your TAC is up to 18 factors a turn. You must concentrate on A breakout. Don't try to break out everywhere, that will dilute your effort. But concentrate on the weakest area of the German line, and as you continually hit use your TAC to interdict so the German can't shift troops to the bleeding sector. Remember, a breakout anywhere will usually doom the Kraut.

At THIS point, it is better to use TAC for interdiction than ground support. NOW you can take exchanges, even on doubled positions, and the German can't. Your objective in August will be to isolate the weakest sector of the line, clean out the Germans in it, and then run through it. Also, in doing this use your August SAC strike to crunch whatever mobile reserves the German has in the area you've selected for breakout. This then is how the Allies can go about winning. And each month, the Allied player must realize, is a different strategic goal, requiring a different set of tactics. In a nutshell, the strategic objectives for June, July and August will be respectively: Position, Attrition, Breakout.

German

Now, let's take a look at things from the German point of view. Probably the most critical move for them is turn one. You can't win it on turn one, but you sure can lose it then. Be very careful how you position your troops. Even if none of your panzers are released you should be able to prevent a major breakout. Though it may mean sacrificing a few units, do it. At ALL COSTS prevent a breakthrough.

As we mentioned before, June is a battle for position. Delay as long as possible in the Cherbourg Peninsula. The Allied player will eventually clear you out, but make him work for it. The more troops he commits in Cherbourg, the less likely he is to make major inroads elsewhere.

First make sure he can't take Caen, without risking a whole lot, then start moving your panzers to the central and western fronts. After the first few hectic turns of June, the front should stabilize somewhat. As soon as possible move the heavy panzers out of the line to keep as a mobile counter-attack force. Base them at a fairly centralized point, say St. Lo, where they can lash out at a number of potential danger spots.

As the Allies crunch forward into the boccage, they will be most vulnerable after perhaps an overly rash advance after combat. Hit, and hit hard. In June the Allies will be trying to set a good position for the attrition battles of July. Deny them that position by holding key positions that overlook the main roads. The ideal position to be at the end of June would be the Germans sitting just on the edge of the boccage, and the Allies in the plain terrain bordering it.

July is the bleeding month. You must make sure the Allies bleed significantly more than you. The best way is to make sure most of your positions are in "doubled" terrain so the exchanges really hurt the Allies. Also try to set up killing squares, where the Alies would be in plain terrain or swamps and you would be in boccage. Usually these will be along a road, where you can quickly mass your panzers. Often after a bad exchange the Allied line will be weakened so that a hard counter-attack could weaken them even more.

Nevertheless, the Allies will probably still be able to advance, particularly if their SAC strike is lucky, but with careful selection of defensive positions, good counter-attacks, and a little luck, you should be able to have weakened them to the point that their big August push will be considerably off schedule. In late July start to divide your army into three self-sufficient army groups; one centered around Caen, one around St. Lo, and one for the west coast. Each group must have a sufficient amount of panzers to react and contain any Allied breakout. Get this done before August 1, because the Allied interdiction, in that month, can make sure that any shifting of reserves is almost impossible.

August is a frantic month for both sides. The Allies will be pushing their hardest for a breakout. You probably will not be able to prevent them from advancing, but by careful placement of second lines of defense and whatever mobile reserves you have left you should be able to prevent a complete rupture followed by a running breakout. Usually one area will become more threatened than others, shift reinforcements there as quickly as possible. If the weather clouds up and his air power is grounded, don't waste a minute of it. Shift troops to the danger zone.

The essence of August is in keeping an intact line that makes a continual, but orderly, withdrawal. As August begins to close the Allied player will usually become more desperate in his breakout attempts, and make tactical mistakes that may leave good possibilities for counter-attacks. If so, sieze the chance, but only after you made sure your line has no potential holes. Remember, it does no good to completely smash one penetration if he runs through you on another front. Then when both August, and the game, finally end, the Allies will have spent themselves and the German line will be thin, but it will still be there.

Historically

Historically, the Allies followed this advice fairly well. The German made some tactical errors that enabled the Allies to cut off Cherbourg, and though the fighting was bitter it was never more than a tough mop-up. In July the Germans did a good job of bleeding the Allies in the boccage, but since most of their armor was tied down around Caen they failed to recapture any ground, and the Americans eventually took St. Lo.

Only in late July did the Germans realize their potential mistake and start shifting some panzers west, but it was too late, the SAC strike took out Panzer Lehr and Patton broke out. Not having sufficient armor reserves to contain the Allies, the Germans tried a desperation counter-attack whic predictably failed. Patton then swung around the south and created the Falaise Pocket. And THAT game of OVERLORD was over.

Now, in most games that we have seen played, the game is won or lost primarily in July. Basically it boils down to how many troops the Allies lose in taking how much real estate. Almost inevitably they will bleed, but if they make the bleeding worthwhile in taking key sectors of terrain, the Allies will probably be in a position to break out in August. However, if the German is able to make the Allies bleed but achieve little net result, the game will probably be his.

In conclusion, it seems to take a little more skill in handling the Germans, particularly in preventing a breakout in early June. However, it takes more strategic insight for the Allies in deciding where to eventually push for the final victory. So, in general, one might say that the German requires a greater tactical finesse than the Allies, but the Allied side demands a firmer strategic command of the overall possibilities.