Part 1....

I had the pleasure of attending Origins 97 and participating in Europafest. Merv Tierney and I set up Second Front, and picked up some opponents for the game. During the game, a number of people from the greater Ohio area stopped by and struck up conversations with us. Merv and I had toyed with the idea of having a major gaming weekend sometime in the winter, and so we canvassed these people to see if they were interested. Following Origins, Merv and I began to zero in on this project.

I travel often with my job, so I have access to good motels throughout northern Ohio. I contacted one of my favorite motels, a Days Inn in Milan, Ohio, and negotiated a package for four nights. We got our rooms for $39 per room per night, including a continental breakfast. The gaming room was free. We had more than enough room to set up Second Front, and even had a breakout area for planning sessions. We set the date for January 28th through February 1".

Merv sent a letter to the people we had met at Origins to get their response. He received an astounding number of returns - he had ten in all, not including me or himself After some natural attrition, we had the following cast of characters: for the Axis Fuhrer, Ron Shown; Rommel (West Front), Greg Sarnecki; Kesselring (Southern Front), Merv Tierney; Kaltenbrunner/von Weichs, Paul Armborst. The Allies' team consisted of : SHAEF, Steve Marshall; Alexander (Mediterranean Front), Lee Hanna; Montgomery (Western Front), Troy Kenily; Patton (Mediterranean Front), Jeff Baldwin; and Bradley (Western Front), Rich Sutton. This was all well and good for the initial start of the game, but we saw as things progressed, some commands were not seeing too much action, and those commanders wound up helping out wherever they could.

Merv and I met at the motel on Wednesday afternoon and began setting up the Axis defense. Other gamers began to arrive later that afternoon and early evening, and before we knew it, we had the game set up and ready to roll. We kicked off that evening around 8 PM. To make the game interesting we had elected to use a number of play variants. We used the following optional rules or variants from TEM issues. In use were:

Attack From Overstack - TEM 53,

Europa Logistics - TEM 53,

Optional AA Fire Table per rules book,

Rapid Fire Bombing TEM 50,

Rapid Fire Naval Gunnery - TEM 49,

Revised Air Replacements - TEM 50,

Revised Danger Zones - Q/A in TEM 53,

Percentile dice to round up/down,

Limited intelligence, Plus the Southeast Theater, to test Churchill's "Soft Underbelly of Europe" idea.

Limited intelligence means that the opponent can only look at the top combat unit in a stack. The largest unit must go on top. You may ask what the strongest unit is in the case of Corps markers, and can look under informational counters such as forts and hit markers. Allied naval units are held off the map on special displays. This prevents the Axis from "following the landing craft". One exception to this rule is that if an engineer is on the top of a stack, we assume that it is not the largest unit in the hex, and the opponent may ask for the strength of the largest unit. (We did this because it facilitates engineering activities). The partisan rules were lifted from Scorched Earth's optional rules, and were tailored to fit the game. The Allies received replacements for the Balkans at the following monthly rate:

Province	Jul/Dec	43 Jan/Apr44	May/Jan 45
Serbia	3	4	5
Croatia	4	6	7
Montenegro	1	1	2
Kosovo	1	2	1
Macedonia	1	2	1

We realized that this was all probably half-baked, but we wanted to try it out for the sake of conversation and playability, and to look at the greater overall strategic implications of a Balkans operation. Needless to say, as the game progressed, much conversation was had over this aspect of the game. These conversations were what really made this weekend worthwhile good friends debating ideas and concepts as gentlemen, and not as rules lawyers. Hopefully, this input will be looked at for future consideration in Grand Europa.

Jul I, 1943: The Allies bombed railheads and marshalling yards in France, and were moderately successful. The Axis air force was initially set up in northern Italy and southern Germany, and when they didn't rise up to fight, this caused some consternation on the part of the Allies. The Allies shipped the Canadians down from England. They then caught the Italian fleet napping at La Maddelena and hammered them unmercifully, inflicting 5 hits of damage. Allied air losses were six bombers aborted. Play then began in earnest. The Axis eliminated two partisan units in Yugoslavia. They then staged their air units into central and southern Italy to meet the expected Allied invasion. The Italians also chose to attempt to bring out two armored divisions that were forming. Both attempts were successful. The Allies caused some partisan damage in Yugoslavia. Then the hammer fell - the Allies invaded Sardinia. Cagliari's port defenses were quickly neutralized. The defenders were able to react to the invasion and retreated out of the city. However, one coastal defense division was eliminated, as they could not react. Allied air was butchered over Sardinia. The Allies also forgot to land their airborne assault, and had to land them during the exploitation phase. More rail yards were hit in the western and southern fronts.

July II: The Axis eliminated six partisan units in Yugoslavia. On the southern front, the Axis adjusted to meet the perceived Allied intentions on Sardinia and in southern Italy. The western front was stripped of SS Police units and these were all shipped to Yugoslavia to go partisan hunting. This brought up an interesting question - "if the Axis choose to send SS Police units into another sector to fight partisans, would this have an adverse effect on their partisan war in the theater they left?" We debated this type of action and really didn't implement a solution. However, one solution we discussed that had merit was the possibility of allowing additional partisan attacks in the theater that was stripped. The Axis pulled five infantry divisions out of the Atlantic Wall and sent them into Italy. Damage was repaired to the rail network, and the Atlantic Wall was improved. The Allies advanced on Sardinia, overrunning a coastal defense division. The Allies then invaded the toe of Italy, and the lousy Luftwaffe and Regio Aeronautica failed (six attempts!) to detect the fleets making the landings. Allied land combat on Sardinia smashed the meager Italian defenses, who, despite running for their lives, got caught by the quicker Allied forces. The Allies then attacked Villa San Giovanni with a combined air and amphibious assault, and the attack was stopped. An amphibious assault on Reggio Di Calabria retreated Italian defenders into Villa San Giovanni, and a second amphibious landing consolidated on an open hex. The results of this landing isolated Sicily, but the Allied landing secured only one minor port.

Aug I: Continuing anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia. Three partisans were eliminated, thus stabilizing Yugoslavia for the moment. Italian defenders on Sardinia disbanded, and they handed the balance of Sardinia to the Allies. Some die hard units holed up in La Maddelena, preventing the Allies from taking the entire island. An extrication operation was mounted to pull out the heavy German units stranded in Sicily. All Italian naval units converged on Palermo, arriving at night. The Allies launched a series of air strikes at the fleet massed in Palermo, and Axis interceptors drove off the first attack. The second strike was driven off by Italian fleet units. A third strike scored one hit, and an Allied fleet reaction failed. The FIG Panzer Division and the 13th panzer Grenadier Division were successfully pulled out. The Axis had a small cap over Palermo, which crashed into the sea due to the loss of its airfield. A general Axis withdrawal in southern Italy began. Italian units in Sicily were disbanded. (This raised some eyebrows on the Allied side, and it was later determined this was an illegal action. However, after further study, it was also determined that it would have actually had no effect on the game concerning Italian surrender because of the time the Italians actually quit.) Some small German units remained in Palen-no. Reggio Di Calabria was bombed and the Allies suddenly found themselves short of supply. The Allies had to lift in supplies to southern Italy with fleet units. A parachute drop was conducted on Corsica and attacks up the toe of Italy resulted in two DE's and Villa San Giovanni surrendered. The Allies advanced to La Maddelena on Sardinia. In the west, the French rail net took a bashing.

Aug II: The war settles into a bit of a pattern. More Yugoslavian partisans were eliminated. More Axis infantry was transferred from the west to the south, Work continued on the Atlantic Wall. Mines were laid around Naples and in the English Channel. The Allies attempted to reinforce their effort on the toe of Italy and their fleet was hit by a flight of JU 88's on a naval patrol. Three hits were sustained, and a construction unit lost.

Sep I: The Axis reinforced southern Italy calling up their strategic air reserves, and heavily bombing Corsica and Sardinia. Bonafacio was hit both at night and during the day, and was totally destroyed. Cagliari took four hits. Allied fleet elements also sustained some damage. However, air to air combat was definitely in the Allies favor, with a kill/abort ratio of 2.5 to 1. The Allies continued to build up Corsica. A hasty attack retreated an Italian coastal defense division. Units in Sicily now were at unsupplied 4 status, and began to roll for elimination. Some light German units held on doggedly. The Allies smashed a German heavy corps in southern Italy, where 3 divisions were cadre'd, including the 16th panzer division. The Allies lost 4 partisan brigades and two partisan HQ in Yugoslavia.

Sep II: The Germans retreat up the toe of Italy, failing back to more favorable terrain, and engineering activities commenced on the Winter Line. Massive air strikes were launched against targets on Corsica and Sardinia, but the Luftwaffe was decimated in air to air combat. Several bombers did get through, and hits were scattered around on airfields, ports, and the Allied fleet took one hit. Germany reinforced Corsica, and flew supplies into Palermo and completed the evacuation of German units out of Sicily. At this point, a VP analysis was conducted, and the Allies were shown to have earned 3 VP, for having captured Cagliari and Catania. There were no adverse conditions noted. The Allies resumed play by smashing the French and northern Italian rail net. The Ruhr also sustained considerable damage. Next, the Allies conducted parachute drops on Elba and in the vicinity of Brindisi. The drop at Brindisi was smashed by Italian defenders. Sicily collapsed and surrendered to the Allies.

Oct I: Italy surrenders! The perfidious Italians quit the war and left their German allies in the lurch. After protracted replacement calculations, play resumed with the Axis continuing to fall back onto the Winter Line. A night bombing raid on Elba flattened the port, rendering it totally useless, and isolating the British paratroopers. In the southeast front, adjustments were made to conform with the Allied advance, and operations commenced to extricate forces in the Aegean. The Axis called up several forming units early, resulting in five divisions entering play cadre'd and two at full strength. These units were sent to southern France and northern Italy to serve as a ready reserve. The Adriatic was mined to prevent an amphibious plunge up the coast toward Venice or Dalmatia. The Allies conducted a parachute drop into Peloponesia and seized Corinth, Kalamai (destroyed by the Germans), and Gythion. A major air battle over Elba gave the Allies as good as they got. Allied ground forces overran Foggia, took Naples (destroyed by the Germans), and continued to advance on the Winter Line. A mountain division left behind to impede Allied advances was destroyed.

Oct II: Mud for the first time. The Mediterranean was also rough. The Axis took advantage of this weather and counter attacked in Peloponesia. The strategic air reserves were called up again. Two British paratrooper regiments and one HQ were eliminated. Air battles in the area cost the Allies heavily, as their units were flying missions at extended range. The Axis lost several ME 110's and ME 410's. The Allies had also committed an aircraft carrier group to provide additional air cover, and their air wing was decimated. One unit was killed and two were aborted. The Allies wisely cancelled their operation to liberate Greece and left the area. They reinforced Elba and ferried in supplies. In southern Italy, Allied attacks were bloodily repulsed when they went up against the Winter Line. The first attack, a 3:1 (-4) resulted in a AH, and the Allies lost 25 points. The second attack, a 4:1 (-4) resulted in an AR. Axis DAS suffered heavily, however, as flak and interceptors shot them full of holes. The Winter Line held.

Nov I: More mud. The Axis finished establishing the Winter Line and eased in to wait for the Allied onslaught. Two partisan brigades were eliminated in Yugoslavia. The Luftwaffe pulled back to northern Italy to reconstitute. The Allies snugged up against the Winter Line, and began a massive effort to rebuild the destroyed ports they recently captured. Air units continued to pound the Italian rail net.

Nov II: More mud. The Axis simply consolidated and strengthened its positions, and began a massive build up of northern Italy and southern France, to prepare for a possible amphibious landing in that vicinity. Once again the Allies clobbered the Italian rail net. At this time, it would be safe to say, that the Italian rail net had all but collapsed, and moving units out of Italy by rail would be difficult at best.

Dec I: The Axis called up their strategic air reserves again to try to stop the Allied rail bombing onslaught. France and northern Italy were beginning to look like a bad case of measles, with all the hit markers scattered around. They adjusted the Winter Line, and thoroughly worked over the Yugoslavian partisans. A partisan division HQ, and one brigade were eliminated. However, the Yugoslavians were becoming more' adept at fighting the Germans, and managed to cadre a German light division. The Allies were all but immobilized by poor weather. Their offensive stalled in the snow and mud of the Apennines. Air attacks in northern Italy continued unabated, with the Luftwaffe's interceptions being about as effective as a mosquito attacking a Rhino. Bridges over the Po were destroyed, as the USAAF blew right through the Luftwaffe interceptors.

Dec II: The Axis fortifies the coast of northern Italy and southern France. It began looking more and more like the Allies intended to use Elba as a springboard into the Po Valley or onto the shores of southern France. The rail net in northern Italy was now completely shattered. Extricating units out of the south would be difficult at best. The Allies moaned and groaned about the poor weather, made some adjustments to their lines, bombed what targets of opportunity remained in France and Italy' and spent a lot of time in conference. This lull puzzled the Axis commanders. A victory point calculation was done at this point , and the Allies had accumulated a whopping 29 points by the middle of the turn.

Jan I: Much like the previous two turns. The Axis adjusted and prepared for another amphibious assault, and the Allies putzed around and schemed for what seemed like an eternity.

Jan II: Saw what all the planning was about. The Allies conducted an amphibious landing into Albania in what appeared to be an attempt to flank the minefield in the Adriatic. Additionally, they hit the Winter Line in coordination with an amphibious landing on the Adriatic coast. They attacked from an overstack condition. The rules for "Attack From Overstack" in TEM #53 were used, and the Allies first rolled to see if there were any adverse effects. There were none. (Gulp!) Next they hit the defenders at 4:1 (-1) and rolled a HX. This was absolutely the worst roll the Axis could have imagined. Their magnificent corps of 30 points was decimated, and although the Allies sustained some significant losses too, the Allies poured through the breech and got into territory behind the Winter Line, compromising the entire defense. Finally, to add insult to injury, the Allies sprang across the narrow straits from Elba, using LCs as ferries, attacking from overstack, and cadre'd the 16th SS Pzgdr XX. The Allies now had a toehold in Northern Italy.

When this turn ended, we all came up for air and discovered that it was Sunday afternoon at 2 PM, and we thought it would be a good idea to break down the game and return to the real world. Our group decided early on to record all the locations of all the forces, and Merv used a video camera to film all the off map charts to enhance the tear down and future set up of the game. With 9 people recording units and locations, we were finished in about an hour. Sections that had been recorded were placed into plastic bags to aid in setting up the game at a future time. Our group decided to reconvene at Origins and continue the match. A couple of final points - I definitely believe we all had a magnificent time, and all the players seemed more than excited about the game, its progress, and playing on to the game's end. Some players had never played Second Front, and now are believers. Some had never played Europa with multiple commanders. All seemed comfortable with how we were set up. No one complained about the meals or accommodations or gaming facility. The Day's Inn of Milan, Ohio did a fantastic job hosting us. We had a big dinner Saturday night at a restaurant called the Homestead. This was the peak of our social activities. Many good natured conversations and debates were had about the rules and playability of this game. Personally, for me, not only did I have a great time with a hobby I thoroughly enjoy, I got a chance to meet new friends and share with them a common interest playing Europa.

Part Two

Merv Tierney, Steve Marshall, Lee Hanna, Rich Sutton and I have all been on pins and needles waiting for Origins '98 and the resumption of our game. As Merv and I were registering, we ran into Rich Velay, which was a pleasant surprise. We went to the Fairfield room and began setting up around 3:30 PM. We finished at 9 PM. The set up went much better than expected, with only minor errors noted. What really helped was having so many people record the positions of the units so accurately when we tore down the game last winter. Their help was deeply appreciated. First thing Thursday morning, we picked up Charlie Blackston, who was invited to participate last winter, but couldn't. Play resumed at about 9 am.

Feb. I, 1944: Play resumes! The weather was winter, with rough seas. The Axis kicked off the game by bringing out their strategic air reserves and ringing Gambino, the site of the Allies' great leap forward. A phased withdrawal out of the winter line began, and the ring around the Allies' northern lodgment was heavily reinforced. Adjustments were made on the Atlantic Wall, and damage was repaired to the rail net in both Germany and France. In Yugoslavia, the Germans went on a partisan hunt, killing 6 partisan brigades and wiping out two Allied commando units which had landed in Albania two turns earlier. A night bombing raid on Gambino met with mixed results, as the Allies' night fighters lay in wait and ambushed the attacking night bombers. The Axis lost their escort, but the bombers fared rather well, aborting several interceptors and getting through with four units. Flak drove off two, and the Axis bored in to achieve two hits on the minor port. The Allies struck the Ruhr and northern France, pounding it very effectively. Numerous rail hits were made. An attack on the Winter Line resulted in the Axis being pushed back a bit and losing 7 points. The Allies made some air strikes around Gambino, and shifted around their naval forces.

Feb II: Weather - no change. The Germans attacked Taranto on a night bombing raid. This attack was bloodily repulsed. In Yugoslavia, the Axis continued to hunt down partisans, and killed another 5 brigades. However, those pesky partisans just kept popping up like measles all over the place, tying down valuable German units. The Axis strengthened its position around Gambino, waiting for the blow to fall. The Axis expected an attack from overstack to blow them out into the Po Valley. The Winter Line continued to shift northwards, using terrain and time to the best possible advantage. They repaired some rail damage. The Allies went on the offensive with the partisans in Yugoslavia, and collected several rail hits. There are now too many partisans to effectively wipe out in one or two turns. Naval mines were laid in the northern Adriatic to prevent an Allied naval operation into Venice. A massive air battle occurred over Gambino, The Axis fared better as far as losses were concerned, but they were still driven off. A German infantry division was sacrificed outside of the Winter Line in order to delay the slowly advancing Allies. This unit was cut off and eliminated. The Winter Line was still intact. Mar I: Mud. The Atlantic was clear, and the Med was rough. The Germans continued to hunt partisans, killing 6 brigades again, but they just keep coming back for more. It's beginning to look ugly in Yugoslavia. Most of the Axis' turn was based on moving back the Winter Line, and making minor adjustments and improvements in France. The Allies struck the German 97th Corps in the Gambino lodgment, and took heavy air losses. The ground assault was an attack out of overstack at 4:1 odds. An exchange was rolled and 34 points were lost by each side in the bloody assault. Exploiting Allied units moved forward ponderously one hex. An attack on the Winter Line was stopped. Bombing raids in France met with mixed results.

Mar II: More mud, and rough seas. The Germans once again whacked a bunch of partisans, but this time the partisans grew teeth and cadre'd a German Light Division. The Germans struggled to recover from the blow around Gambino. Forces in the Winter line continued to slowly plod northward. Whoops! The Allies surprised the German High Command and conducted an amphibious landing around La Spezia. Axis anti-shipping units were magnificent, flying 6 different strikes, and all of them contacted the enemy task force. Although the Allies' gallant AAA gunners accounted for many an Axis bomber, two hits were scored on the Allied Task force. Two more hits were sustained by the Allies by coastal defense artillery. In the parachute drop, the Allies got themselves into a bit of a problem. Their HQ crashed on landing, and was inoperative. Most airborne units were disrupted or badly disrupted. They appeared to be hung out in the rough terrain east of La Spezia. In the assault phase, the Allies forced the Axis defenders in La Spezia to retreat. All other assault landings resulted in exchanges. The Allies got ashore in a brilliant maneuver, but got their noses bloodied. Allied attacks in southern Italy cadre'd a German Infantry Division, and a second unit was eliminated through a zone of control kill. The Allies lurched forward, overrunning the cadre from the previous combat and advanced two hexes. At this point a Victory Point check was conducted. The Allies now have 19 points. They gained La Spezia, lost 4 commandos, and 2 brigades during an amphibious assault.

Apr I: Clear weather. The Axis began to withdraw out of Greece, leaving Macedonia and Thrace to the Bulgarians. Heavy German units continued to whack partisans as they moved northward. The Axis called up their Strategic Air Reserves again. The Winter Line is no longer the Winter Line, its right flank anchors on Rome. The Axis HQ released several panzer divisions out of the southern force and sent them to Gambino. The Allies flew a massive CAP over their 1st Para Corps outside of La Spezia, anticipating an Axis attack there. The Axis then drew off the remaining Allied fighters in Corsica, and the hammer fell not on the I" Para Corps, but on Gambino. The 3:1 attack yielded a DR. The Allied 30th Corps at Gambino retreated back to Elba, and the 13th Corps was left trapped on the coast with nowhere to go. The Allies hit the southern line with everything they had, and with the Panzer backbone gone out of the line, it broke, and 4 German Infantry Divisions were cadre'd. The Allies swept northward, fanning out into central Italy.

Apr II: Clear weather. The Axis continued to withdraw at a leisurely pace out of the southern Balkans, punishing partisans along the way. However, their numbers are beginning to take a toll, as rail bits are now occurring at a much faster pace. It Italy, a new defensive position was developed in the north Apennines, anchoring on Macerata on the left flank and ending on Genoa on the right. Remaining German units to the south streamed towards the north, and delaying tactics were employed to good effect. Seeing the imminent collapse in Italy, the German HQ ordered a withdrawal out of southern France, the Bay of Biscay, Brittany, and Normandy, and formed a rudimentary line from Caen to Switzerland. The Allies were heard to be muttering about "a trap". At this point, it appeared the Axis had conceded western France in order to consolidate and conserve troops in order to run economy of force missions. The Allies took Rome, eliminated 4 cadre's, exploited to Ancona, and cut off an Infantry Division and a Mountain Corps. The Americans and Commonwealth forces linked up near Florence. A new line had been established and now faced the irresistible Allied onslaught.

May I: The Axis completed their spring surprise and moved their forces back into position in southern France and in the Atlantic Wall. This may have been a silly maneuver, but it sure kept the Allies guessing! In Italy, the Axis tidied up a bit and adjusted their line. A line of forts was begun in the Po Valley, and construction began on a line of forts along the Rhine in Holland. In a partisan operation in Yugoslavia, the 8 SS Cavalry Division was cadre'd in a nasty surprise. The Allies took advantage of the openings in Greece and landed units in Athens. To the dismay of the Axis, they captured the port intact, and the US Marines began moving northward. A major airborne landing was conducted at Thesalonica, which resulted in the capture of that port as well. However, as the Allies were soon to learn, the port disappeared in a roar and cloud of smoke as demolition crews successfully blew up the facilities.

May II: Clear weather. The Axis shortened their line in northern Italy, strengthening it as they did. A credible line of defense was established in western Thrace and southern Macedonia with Bulgarians and German Light Infantry Divisions. In Italy, the Allies snugged up to the German main line. The Allies landed more forces in Greece, and it soon became apparent that the bulk of their an-nor was concentrated in the Balkans. The Axis HQ assumed the Allies wanted to smash their way through the mountains of the Balkans and break out onto the plains of Hungary and slice into the Germany via the southern route. If that was to be the plan, well, so be it.

Jun I: The Axis got real aggressive in Thrace. They launched a series of counter attacks, and in one battle, surrounded a French Armored Division and killed it. A second counter attack near Mt. Olympus resulted in an exchange, the 9th SS Pz Gdr Division took the hit. The Germans fell back behind the Po River, into a line of forts. This position was now virtually unassailable, as each stack had about 50 points in it. The eastern approaches to the Hungarian plain looked secure. The Germans in France fell back again to the line they had established a month ago. They conceded southern France, Bay of Biscay, Brittany, and Normandy They anchored their line on Caen, and the line went southward to Lyon, where it curved in to finish against Switzerland. The Axis HQ expected the Allies to impale themselves on the Po River Line, and come into southern France with weakened forces. The Allies advanced in Italy, mostly to fill in the void left by the retreating Germans, and began to move on the ports in southern France. Not a single port fell intact.

Jun II: The Axis continued to keep the pressure on the Allies in Thrace. The 82nd Airborne Division was caught and surrounded and attacked at 4:1. It was eliminated. Further adjustments were made in France, as a line of forts was begun on the Seine River. A second line of forts was begun near the approaches to the Siegfried Line. V1 attacks were launched against London, tying down some of Britain's better fighters. It Italy, the Po Line was further improved. The Allies continued to fill in the void left by the retreating Germans. At this point the Germans began to appear stronger and stronger. The defenses in France were backed up by seven Panzer Corps, and in their Lyon-Caen line, there were two infantry divisions and an assault gun brigade in each hex, mostly behind rivers, in forests, bocage, or in forts. This was not a formidable line, but certainly adequate. The Allies still had not yet landed in France.

Jul I: Not much action in northern Italy. The forces there seem to have thinned out appreciably. The Americans hunkered down opposite the Po Line and the Commonwealth forces continued to capture destroyed ports in southern France. Numerous fights occurred in the ports, as the garrisons put up a determined resistance. The Allies finally chose to land in France, landing in Brittany. No ports were captured.

Jul II: The Allies took Brest, St. Nazaire, Marseilles, and Toulon. All ports were destroyed. The Commonwealth forces in southern France advanced up the Rhone Valley and attacked the Germans holding the line south of Lyon. Two attacks were made, one at 8:1 and one at 9: 1. Both were DE's. The Germans lost 17 points, and the Allies went on an exploitation raid, killing off the cadres and retreating back into their own lines. 1 SS PZ Corps was too close to tempt fate! In the Balkans, the Allies hit the Axis forces in the mountains at 5:1 and rolled an AS. In Italy, the Germans adjusted their forces on the Po. More forces poured into the Balkans and into Brittany.

Aug I: The Germans consolidated and strengthened their lines. Little adjustments were made in the Balkans and on the Po Line. In Southern France, the Commonwealth attacked again, and scored a similar victory as they did the previous turn, forcing the Germans back one hex, and once again the threat of the 1 SS PZ Corps stopped the Allied Commander from putting his head into a noose. In Northern France, the Allies got aggressive and struck the German line around Caen real hard. They captured Caen, but again the port blew up in their faces. A penetration was made into the German line, effectively isolating two German Static Divisions and an Assault Gun Brigade just south of Caen. However, 3 Panzer Corps were there to rush in and fill the void. The German continued to build up his Seine River Line and extend his eastern France line of forts further.

At the end of the Aug. I turn, the Axis and Allies had a conference to determine the status of the game. We discussed tearing down the game and resuming play again in Milan on the last weekend of January. However, as we discussed the situation, it became apparent the Allies were not going to get to Berlin or have enough victory points by May I to win the game. Consequently, the Allies graciously conceded.

This was a magnificent game, and I was glad to be a part of it. In my role as Axis HQ, I would like to make some comments about the game and the house rules we used. First of all, my hat is off to all the players who participated. This was a group of men who love their hobby, relate well to each other, debate openly and honestly, are not nit-pickers or rules lawyers, and above all treat each other with respect. I could not hope to meet a group of nicer people.

The Attack from Overstack rule (TEM #53) is an excellent rule and should be made part of anyone's house rule book. I hope to see it as part of Grand Europa. Although it was only used about 5 or 6 times, it is a devastating attack when handled properly. In our game, it was used to great effect. The Europa Logistics rule (TEM #53) is also a good rule. However, we found ourselves drifting back to the rules as written for logistics. The rules as written are good enough for me. Keeping account of the rail nets got to be tedious. Rapid Fire Bombing (TEM #50) and Rapid Fire Naval Gunnery (TEM #49) did much to speed up the pace of the game. I am also in favor of incorporating these rules into Grand Europa. These tables are not as skewed as I've heard some say, and once you get the hang of it they are easy to use. Revised Air Replacements (TEM #50) is definitely a keeper. Our house rule on limited intelligence was a bit gamier. I heard a lot of carping on this subject. We had a no-peek, largest unit on the top rule, and then used percentile dice to factor in the fog of war. Some people said that intelligence was near perfect and that you should be able to see all the units in an opponents' stack. None the less, we used this rule with some fun, using it to simulate last minute reinforcements, unknown unit strengths, and other variables that can occur in combat. Remember, as Private Murphy once said, "If it feels like combat, you're in it!" My vote is for the limited intelligence rule.

Our partisan rules were half-baked, but we really didn't have much to go on other than try to find a way to simulate the problems in Yugoslavia. I feel the rules that Merv Tierney put together worked surprisingly well. It did what it was supposed to do - tie down German forces in Yugoslavia that could have been used in Italy or Russia. My hat is off to Merv and his fine effort for this set of rules. Basically, he borrowed the partisan rules from Scorched Earth and developed an order of battle which grew in scope every six months. This added a fairly realistic twist to the game, in that as the war ground on, the partisan activity in Yugoslavia continued to grow to the point where it could not be controlled. In 1943, it was fairly easy to contain the partisans, but by July of 1944, they were growing faster than the Axis could bump them off, and were causing a great deal of trouble with the rail net and air bases in Yugoslavia. Well done!

This game taught a hard lesson. First of all, I want to compliment the Allied staff for their excellent play. They used their navies to the utmost, and did a fine job of keeping the Axis off balance. There were times when the game seemed to bog down a bit, but that was due mostly to weather. I also saw the game bog down due to terrain. The big lessons I got from this game was that as the Allies you must keep pressure on the Axis at all times. Do NOT invade the Balkans. It is a quagmire and you'll never get out of it in time to win the game. As the Allied commander, you must attack, attack, attack. Cause the Germans casualties. Maneuvering and snugging up to his line is fine, but time is on the Axis side. The Axis commander can use time, terrain, and tactics to delay, delay, delay, and by using an economy of force plan, he can use the collapsing balloon theory and slowly fall back making use of time, terrain, and tactics to gain strength. As he collapses inward, he gains in strength and will be operating from interior lines of communications. The Allies must not be afraid to attack at 3:1 or 4:1 (-1) if necessary. So what if you take some losses? You can replace them better than the Axis player can! So, hammer on!

We are going to do this again, but we have decided to do "Clash of the Titans", instead. If anyone is interested in a role, you can contact me at (614) 863-1642. We'll be firing up the game the last weekend in January in Milan, Ohio, and continue on through Origins '99. Hope to see you there!