This scenario was played from April I to September II at the recent Origins convention in Columbus. The players were:

Axis: Peter Robbins and Kevin Schnetter

Allied: Blake Woodside and Dave Cippiloni

Apr I

Weather is mud: no Allied invasion. Allies spend the turn blasting the rail net while the Axis play a shell game with their CM divisions.

Apr II

Mud again: a replay of the Apr I turn.

May I

Clear weather at last! After a final Axis shuffle, the Allies come ashore on both sides of the base of the Brittany peninsula. The Americans, landing on the east side in two hexes adjacent to the minor ports Paimpol and St. Brieuc, suffer no reaction and successfully capture the ports. On the western side, garrison placement and a reaction make it necessary for the Brits to attempt a risky 3:1 -1 on St Nazaire: while successful, the port is blown after capture. They also capture the minor port of Vannes just to the north of St. Nazaire. A massive paradrop of five divisions seals off the base of Brittany at the end of the turn, with exploiting 'funnies' guarding the beach/port hexes.

May II

Unable to resist the bait, the Axis team shift all available mechanized forces to the base of Brittany and eliminate all five paratroop divisions. Exploit takes three of the divisions into the Brittany peninsula.The Allies respond by successfully emplacing one Mulberry, keeping one in reserve. Careful use of available port resources allow for the arrival of several armoured divisions, which successfully exploit around the edges of the peninsula and ZOC in the entire Axis mechanized force (6-7 divisions)!

June I

The Axis turn is solely employed in removing the threatened mechanized divisions (all U1) from the Brittany pocket. The British 14 Guards is totally destroyed in this effort. However, three mechanized divisions are left at risk unable to fully escape.

In the Allied turn, the arrival of new armoured and infantry divisions allow for the establishment of a secure perimeter, the beginning of repair efforts on the port at St. Nazaire, and unexpected attacks on a lone Luftwaffe infantry division at the western base of the Cotentin peninsula. The British are able to punch through in the area of Nantes. At the end of the exploit, both Axis flanks are exposed.

June II

The Axis player stabilizes his front, still attempting to contain the Allied player in Brittany and rescue trapped c/m divisions.

The Allied player eliminates a trapped Axis c/m division, and breaks out significantly to the east and southwest, taking Nantes and exploiting several hexes towards Bordeaux. Is this the breakout? A secondary Allied invasion in the Pas de Calais gets ashore only on two hexes due to Axis reaction (more Allied losses I) but threatens the entire Axis right flank.

July I

Rough weather in the Atlantic- will the Allies be able to emplace their Mulberry? The Axis player decides to withdraw from the immediate area of Brittany, and swings his left flank back 6-8 hexes while retreated two or three hexes through the bocage on the right. Counter-attacks cadre out the 14 Guards Division (again) but do no other damage.

The Allied player completes initial repair on St. Nazaire, and pursues the Axis to the south, attempting to flank and surround him, totally surrounding three Axis c/m divisions in the process. In the north, American infantry and armor pierce the defensive line and threaten the entire Axis right flank. The Allied Mulberry is wrecked while trying to be emplaced, and the remaining invasion force is withdrawn from the beaches. Other Allied forces begin to clean up leftover Axis forces in Brittany port forts. The southwest of France is invaded successfully, although with several TF hits due to the Axis danger zone. The Allies take Brest, and the port is not blown! Unfortunately, the defending forces retreat due west and block the use of the port for another turn due to their presence on one half of a narrow straits hexside.

July II

The Axis rescue one trapped c/m division, cadreing the Polish armoured division in the process. The majority of the Axis forces make a hasty retreat in the direction of Paris, where a defensive line is being formed along the Seine. Allied forces, now very strong, pursue the Axis. On the north, the Americans continue to blow away Axis defenders and reach the Seine defense line in exploit. The British follow, also reaching the Seine line at the end of the turn. The Allies finally clear the hex west of Brest, and build their railcap to 12.

Aug I

The Axis fortify the Seine line and Paris, hoping to hold for a turn or two while positioning engineers to help keep rail lines clear.

Brest comes on-line and with the Allied railcap above 10, a rail component of supply is permitted. In the Allied turn, the Americans blast across the Seine and destroy most of the defenders between Paris and the sea. Clever Axis positions prevent an encirclement of Paris, but only just. In the South, the British also turn the Seine line and threaten an encirclement of Paris. The Westwall emergency is triggered.

Aug II

The Axis withdraw to the Somme, successfully removing all forces from Paris.

In the Allied turn, the enormous power of the American forces is again demonstrated when the three-hex wide hole is blown through the Somme defense line. While the Axis had prepared for this, exploit allows for the Americans to enter Belgium and threaten Lille, and in concert with the British, surround six stacks of Axis troops near Paris, including 3 c/m divisions. In the south, aggressive British action also pierces the southern end of the Somme line, allowing for the encirclement described above.

Sep I

Axis forces make a dash for the Westwall through heavy harassment in the South, and in the North create a main line at Antwerp and Brussels, with a light secondary a few hexes behind. The axis attempt to liberate the trapped LSSAH division, cadreing the British 2 Armoured in the process: however, the LSSAH can only get partway out.

In the Allied turn, the British destroy the trapped LSSAH, and advance up to the Westwall defenses, which are now fully manned and not easily penetrated. British armour exploit north after destroying the LSSAH. The Americans have difficulty advancing due to ZOC's and in the combat phase have not been able to attack the main line at Antwerp/Brussels. However, in the exploit, two large stacks (on with 72 points!) overrun the two hexes in the Antwerp/Brussels defensive line and make the it untenable. Over 90 points of Axis units are destroyed this turn!

Sep II

The Axis decide that the best course is to get over the Rhine and abandon Western Holland. The Westwall is made impervious, and the exposed Rhine hexes look fairly impressive as well, with the smallest stack having 9 factors.

The Allies invade again, this time in the hook of Holland, landing the 17th airborne in 16A:0419 (to secure the rail ferry), and capturing the port of Den Helder. Amsterdam, which is occupied only by a 1-10 AT brigade, falls in the combat phase. Exploit has the airborne in hex 16A:0419 supported by NGS and two tank funnies and Amsterdam occupied by approximately 20 unsupported strength points.

The Allies make an concerted effort against the weakest Rhine hex16A:0921, also the only one that does not include intensive canals. Massive air support allow for the advance of a full American armoured corps across the Rhine, and the exploitation phase allows for the securing of this lodgment, the establishment of a three-hex front (16A:0921, 0820, 0720) in the east of Holland across the Rhine, and the pocketing all remaining Axis forces in Western Holland at the mouth of the Rhine.

At this point, the game had to be ended. Fierce debate occurred as to what would have happened next. The Allied player was of the opinion that he would be able to continue to expand his cross-Rhine lodgment, flanking the Westwall and eventually advancing into Germany. He felt that the terrain favored the intact Allied armoured forces (at this point greater then 10 divisions), supported by over 30 infantry divisions. The Axis player felt that the onset of mud in the fairly near future might produce a marked slowing of the Allied effort.

This game was a lot of fun. Both teams enjoyed the mobile flavor and the ongoing series of unexpected actions by both sides, The game was wide open throughout, and while it might seem that the Allies had a walkover, it was by no means clear that the Allies would be able to crack the Rhine before mud and the Westwall looked like a very chancy proposition.

The Allied side thought that the Axis strategic air was a bit of a problemit had a tendency to be used several turns in a row, massively staging through low-capacity airbases to some critical sector, exceeding airbase capacity at the end of the turn, disappearing, and then reappearing at the start of the next turn to repeat the sequence. Would John Astell or the Guru like to comment? The Allied team felt that the initial victory point 'hit' (over 150) as a result of the elimination of so many paras was insurmountable- and that no typical game of SF was likely to generate sufficient Allied VP's to catch up. At the end of the game, it was estimated that if the Allies took no further VP's (very unlikely, given the positions) that the final VP total would have been about 50, with 7 months left to play.

Axis comments, Kevin Schnetter:

The Axis Strategic Air is certainly one of the most powerful and flexible tools available to the Germans, especially with the the rules regarding basing. Here are the call-up dates and units used:

May I (Allied turn)

4x Fw 190A8	9F8 1/11
2x Fw 190A2	9F7 1/11
4x Me 109G6	8F6 2/9
1x Me 109G6	8NF6 2/9
7x Me 109G10	8F8 1/8
2x He 219A	9NHF7 1/20
3x Me 410A	7HF6 2 1/17

May II

1x Fw 190A2	9F7 1/11
4x Fw 190A8	9F8 1/11
12x Me 109G5	8F6 2/9
3x Me 410A	7HF6 2-1/17
1x Me 109G6	8NF6 2/9
2x He 219A	9NHF7 1/20

Jul I (This turn the Axis bombed out Allied-held ports.)

12x Me 109G6	8F6 2/9
1x Me 109G6	8NF6 2/9
6x Me 110G	7NHF6 1/15
2x Ju 88G	7NHF6 1/19
1x Ju88C6	6HF5 1/20
2x He 219A	9NHF7 1/20
1x D0217N	7NHF5 1/22

Sep I

13x Me 109G6	8F6 2/9
7x Fw 190A8	9F8 1/11
2x Fw 190A2	9F7 1/11
1x Fw 190F	9HF6 1/9
4x Me 109G10	8F8 1/8
2x He 219A	9NHF7 1/20

Sep II

13x Me 109G6	8F6 2/9
7x Fw 190A8	9F8 1/11
2x Fw 190A2	9F7 1/11
1x Fw 190F	9HF6 1/9
4x Me 109G10	8F8 1/8
2x He 219A	9NHF7 1/20

Axis comments, Peter Robbins:

Although I've played Second Front quite a bit as the Allies, this was only my second attempt as the Axis, and my first as the Axis in the 1944 ETO scenario. However, Rich Velay has demonstrated to me most of the nasty surprises the Germans can prepare for the Allies, and I tried to use some of those in this game. My execution was thrown off by, well, getting greedy. The sight of all of those isolated, unsupported Allied paratroopers and marines within reach of my Panzers was too much temptation! After the immediate battle of the beachhead, the Germans were in crisis management mode, husbanding the Luftwaffe, preparing forts, and trying to extricate units from Allied encirclements. Playing catch-up, and feeling permanently one turn behind.

However, the secondary Allied invasions did not go well: in Southern France because the Axis abandoned the place and then managed to bomb out the liberated ports (no supply points landed, no fighter cover, no flak). That stalled the Allied units that landed in Southern France to the point where most of them would have reached the Vosges faster if they had just shipped in via Brest. [Blake's account fails to mention this little detail!]

The other secondary invasion was even worse. One of the June II landing hexes west of the Pas de Calais was defeated by troops reacting into the beach hex. With no Mulberry and no port, the remnants of this outflanking force wisely withdrew the next turn. The Germans can still bite, even at this stage of the war. In historical terms, there would have been a lot of cashiered generals, on both sides of the Atlantic.

I have to agree with Blake on his major point, though: I lost too many units trying to hurt the Allies. While it is fun hurting the Allies, it is better to protect the Fatherland, which means saving German troops to fill up the West Wall and Rhine defenses. Anything west of there is only useful in that it prevents the Allies from reaching the West Wall until the weather turns to mud. The last-tum landing and breakthrough in Holland was very serious, and with clear weather into the Fall, might have ended the war early. The reason that the defense of coastal Holland and the Rhine was weak was the higher losses suffered by the Germans west of the Somme and Paris. Next time, I'll do it differently.