The landings in Normandy, put the entire German Army in the west in motion, as reinforcements from all corners of the theater take to the road and rail for the threatened area. All corners, that is except for that of 15th Army guarding the Pas de Calais, which keeps its vigil there watching for the "real" invasion.

We make no attempt to follow these various movements except those that influence the front line in Normandy itself.

Although the Germans would like to launch a decisive counterattack against the beaches, this cannot yet be achieved. The British advance west of Caen 7th Armoured XX in 17A:0811) threatens an early breakout and must be dealt with first. Already the Germans are forced to read from the Allies' script, reacting to Allied advances instead of seizing the initiative themselves.

Initial Phase

Weather is clear with rough seas as an unseasonable gale sweeps the Channel, boding ill for the Allied Mulberries. All units are in supply. The Axis replaces the 6th Para-Inf III in Coutances and the 711th Static XX at Caen. At Caen, the XIX Construction brigade builds a fort using quick construction.

The Allies fly numerous harassment missions, blanketing the area immediately behind the German lines and over strategic hexes along the approaches to the area. Luftwaffe resistance is light, as the Germans hope to maintain a force to support a counterattack.

Movement Phase

Panzer Lehr and 2nd Panzer break into component regiments. 12th SS Panzer and 21st Panzer curiously detach panzer battalions and are marked with -4 PzG markers. These units move to cordon off the British beaches and assemble for a counterattack. Allied harassment slows the arrival of some units until the exploitation phase but strong forces are able to worm their way between or slog their way through the heaviest areas of harassment and arrive in the combat area.

In the west, the remnants of German forces in the Contentin struggle to put up a defense of Cherbourg. In a fit of anger at local withdrawals, Hitler orders hex 17A:0612 be held when he arbitrarily strikes a pencil line across the map, marking the line from which there will be no further retreats. This significantly weakens the Cherbourg defenses to no good purpose. Units begin arriving from Brittany in the area of St. Lo and La Haye du Puits, including 3rd Parachute XX, 77th Infantry XX, and, in the exploitation phase, 17th SS Panzergrenadier. This area of the line is the weakest for the Axis, but with the Americans engaged against Cherbourg, it should be safe for the next turn.

The 7th Armoured XX presents an inviting target to the massing panzers, offering a three hex against one attacks. In taking the "bait", the Germans move impressive c/m forces into the hexes surrounding 17A:0811, including Panzer Lehr, 2nd PZ XX, 12th SS Pz XX, 501st Pz II, rocket artillery, AA, and whatever other neutral or non/cm units are handy.

Combat phase

The German panzer forces counterattack the British 7th Armoured at Villers Bocage in hex 17A:0811. The trick for the Axis attack is to achieve an AECA ratio of less than 1/2 thereby avoiding the deadly -5 combined die roll modifier of bocage and ATEC. The panzer divisions have broken down into their component units with HQ. The HQ units provide needed neutral REs. The Axis player declares that all the PzG IIIs are neutral. The artillery is all neutral. One minor hangup is that two big German panzer divisions, 21st and 12th SS are non-fungible, there being no breakdown units available for 19-10 and 13-10 panzer divisions. The Axis player has planned ahead for this and has solved the problem by detaching panzer battalions and turning the divisions into panzer grenadier divisions, which can also be treated as neutral. Using these tricks, the Axis player achieves an AECA ratio well under 1/2 even with the detached panzer battalions still contributing their strength to the attack.

The Allies fly in 12 pts of DAS, halved, to give a final defense strength of 20. The Axis non-artillery c/m units are all halved for bocage.

The final result a 3: 1, -1 attack. An 'EX' cadres 7th Arm XX and 21th Pz XX with the 7th cadre retreating into 17A:0810. [Another valid CRT possibility is a 'DR' with the 7th simply retreating.]

While 7th Armoured is lost to the German counterattack, it has done a good job in game terms of distracting the German armor from the only worthwhile project, eliminating a hex of the actual beachhead. [Historically, the famed 'Desert Rats' took advantage of the advance of the US V Corps and broke through to occupy the town of Villers-Bocage. When they reached the town, they were well behind the German lines. They were ambushed by arriving German reserves, however, and found themselves in a difficult situation until they extricated themselves with a bloodied nose.)

Exploitation Phase

Other German mobile forces continue to arrive in the exploitation phase. The panzer forces recombine and reorganize after their successful attack, mostly shuffling to the east. The British ownership of hex 17A: 1009 puts a dangerous crimp in the German defenses, a breakout from hex 1009 to the southeast would spell disaster for the German forces. The arriving German forces must be split between the surrounding hexes - 1008, 1008, 1109, 1110, and 1010 (Caen). Without tracking the numerous single RE units, the main German defenses include:

0611 (Cherbourg): 4-5 Static XX 243, port fort
0612: 1-6 Inf III 751 Ost; 4-2-8 Art III 621
0713 5-7-6 Inf XX 77
0812 8-10-8 Para-Inf XX 3 (LW)
0912 (St. Lo) 14-10 PzG XX 17(SS)
0911 20-10 Pz XX Lehr
1010 (Caen) l9-10 Pz XX 12HJ(SS)
1110 6-8* Pz XX 21
1109 17-10 Pz XX 2
1008 (Deauville) 2x 4-5 Static XX 346, 711

An "Alternative" History: Villers Bocage

There are always many different ways to present an "Europa as History." We've opted for a version with a dramatic "brew-up" ending the well-known jaunt of 7th Armoured Division to the town of Villers Bocage, but you can argue that a more mundane version of the Jun II Axis Player Turn makes sense.
Start the German 81 Rocket Artillery X in 17A:08 II (note the '?' on the deployment). On Jun I the 352nd XX retreats onto this unit, and the resulting stack is to strong to be overrun, Harassment prevents the German reserves from arriving until the exploitation phase and no Axis attacks of any kind occur.

Battle for Normandy Europa as History

The Players
The Plans
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Set Up
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Douve and Carentan
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Merderet Valley
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Utah Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Omaha Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Gold and Juno Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Sword Beach
The Game (Axis June II 1944 Turn)
The Game (Allied and Axis Jul I 1944 Turn)
The Game Poised for a Breakout