In the last issue, I covered some of the various design aspects of Omaha in general terms. I thought it would also be interesting to view the thing from closer in. What follows is an infantryman's view of hitting the beach: a retelling of the last playtest done on the project.

For the final test drive, I decided to run through an historical scenario of the campaign game solitaire, playing to a clear conclusion or at least sometime on June 7th. I quickly set up the German troops (despite the game's size, few units actually start on the map) and drew out the initial US historical forces for the first wave. Then I rolled to see what leaders I would have for the Americans, and right away could tell it was going to be a long day at the beach. I only got three out of twelve possible: Taylor 16RCT, Bingham 2/116, and Williamson 2/18. These three men would lead my initial charges off the beach.

0640 6 June. The first wave hits. The fighting begins. German fire and high surf are rough on my DD tanks. Of the 32 attempting to land, only 5 survive. Happily, however, A/741st Tank Btn lands via LST's, and 10 of those 16 Shermans reach the Shingle. Losss are also fierce among the rest of the landing troops, with few platoons reaching coer without step loss.

For the next hour, the men of the 16th and 116th hug the shingle, while US tanks duel with pillboxes. German artillery missions begin to work over the landing sites. It is the begirming of a pounding destined to continue for a long time. Col. Taylor and Maj. Gingham are also ashore. American losses rise steadily, including several of the all-important tanks.

By 0740, the US forces ashore look downright puny. (Admittedly, the first wave is the smallest anyway.) So, the arrival of the second wave forges is a welcome relief. The heavy weapons companies arrive, bringing in AT guns to pin the battle against the pillboxes. The first artillery (Cannon/16 and the 7th FA) tries to land, but are mostly done in by their transport, the treacherous Dukws.

The first priority for the American is to knock out as many pillboxes as possible, in order to increase the survival odds of later landing forces, as well as start moving inland. The landing pattern has radically scattered the arriving forces. Now the leaders become critical assets (fortunately they are hard to kill), sending infantry platoons over the shingle to begin the dangerous job of breaching the minefield and wire obstacles. With only three commanders, the US is limited to only a couple of breakthrough sites, which quickly become German artillery magnets.

The AT guns and the 4 artillery pieces that do get ashore now lend a hand in killing pillboxes, replacing the hard-hit tanks. Of the 15 tanks that made it ashore, less than half are left by 0840. The real punch is in the Artillery, who are especially effective in direct fire against the pillboxes. Unfonunately they run out of ammo (having lost most of it on the run in) too soon.

By 0900, the US forces are beginning to make some progress. Attrition among the German pillboxes has been heavy, aided by a less than perfect set-up on my part. I now discover that I have placed too many Gemman defenders on the west edge of the map, around St. Laurent, and now have 6 or 7 pillboxes who lend virtually nothing to the fight. This underscores the lesson of care in unit placement. Every German unit counts.

Still, US losses are severe, and no easy task lies ahead. In the hour before the landing of wave 3 at 0940, US troops are taking their first tentative steps inland, through the obstacle line. Here is where the critical leader shortage begins to pinch. I have managed two breaches, the first just east of the E-1 draw and the second around E-3. With only two leaders--Williamson (2/18) isn't in yet -- I'm forced to escort small clumps of units inland, and with each suppressed or paralyzed unit I am forced to chaose: halt the whole force or leave the laggards.

Finally, the third wave hits, bringing in fresh traops from the 18th RCT, as well as the 115th of the 29th Division. The beaches are less dangerous ww, as German artillery shifts to the more immediately dangerous inland drives. The fresh infantry is desperately needed, as almost all five battalions of the 16th and 116th have had over 50% losses, with some battalions even worse off.

The first German reinforcements (exclusive of artillery releases) now appear -- I rolled and got the l/915th Bn. They enter at the south map edge, center, and begin working on a counterattack order. In the meantime, two on-map infantry companies of the 916th start a tentative counterattack against the E-1 breach. Soon battles are raging for Le Brag and the approaches to St. Laurent. Most of the German reserves remain uncommitted, however, as I have not had great dice rolls.

By 1100 hours, two US reinforcement waves have landed, the beach is getting crowded, and new problems are popping up. Firstly, at noon the US leaders will go away, thus leaving numerous US troops inland without orders. Even a mod$rately effective German counterattack will send these troops scurrying back to the beach aftertwo turns. Secondly, getting orders is a slow process. The US command prep rating for June 6tb is 5, and when the size modifier for a full battalion is used, it is obvious that it is going to take awhile for my fresh battalions to get off their duffs. I'm limited to only 10 active US op sheets (which reflects the command assets ashore) and am now forced to use some of these on company sized forces. Two or three line companies must rush inland to take up defensive positions in order to hold off the German arrivals while the rest of the American behemoth languishes on the sideline.

The midday period follows the following odd course. G/2/16 holds off 1/915 for several turns, but suffers almost complete extinction -- by noon orly two steps of infantry of the original 15. US airpower is often present, but at least half the time it is in the hands of the German player, and so is kept at a distance. Still, the A-20's do get to savage the German mortar units, who quickly scramble for hard cover. Colleville is held by 2/16 and 1/116, both without orders. 2/18 and 3/16 are in firm possession of Le Brag -- 2/916 is pretty shot up by now -- but also is without orders.

On the beach, strong concentrations of AT guns, newly landed tanks -- by now, all the DD tanks are gone -- and some fresh artillery do further damage to pill boxes, and, by 1300, only the strong defense group north of St. Laurent remains. The scattered German squads and MG units are no real threat.

Early afternoon brings a lull to the fighting. More US troops get Op Sheetts for hasty defense which halt the German attacks. Once the possibility of triggering a "No-Orders" stampede back to the sea is removed, German attacks are suicide exercises. Therefore, I trigger some failure instructions and start working on area defense Op Sheets. Another German arrival, the Pioneers of the 352nd Division arrive on the west edge and start digging in near Formigny. Other remnants of the beach defenders and 2/916 hole up in St. Laurent. Initially, German artillery stops firing, since I can no longer place effective observed fire on the beach and inland Americans are defending in towns and woods.

Without good targets, I choose to hold the rounds in order to blunt future US attacks. Since turn one, I've run at least two fire missions every turn. [Better let those tubes cool, Dave. -- Ed.] No wonder there's so many US losses.

Finally, as the aftemoon slides into evening inkily, daylight lasts until 2200 hours, so there's still plenty of light -- some offensive action begins. 3/116 mops up the east end, clearing tine last few pill boxes from their beachfront positions. The bulk of the 18 RCT begins to accomplish the same task westwards, driving through St. Laurent. None of these actions brings on serious fighting, however, since the Germans need to conserve their limited strength for a tenacious defense further inland. By the end of June 6th, the Americans own all of the first two maps, exclusive of the still strong enclave around Les Moulins.

Throughout the night, US troops and artillery continue to land, including the fresh strength of the 26th RCT and the entire 745th Tank Battalion. Since the Germans have been much less successful in their own reinforcement efforts, June 7th promises to be a day ripe with Allied successes.

I chose to end this playtest as June 7th was dawning, since I managed to accomplish my primary goal--a close look at the landing stage itself. The Americans got ashore in strength, of course, especially since the German reinforcement rolls were so urlucky. Still, the US lost heavily, and by dark on June 6th, over 100 American units had been eliminated outright.

Overall, I was very happy with the results of the test, and had fun to boot--not always the case when playtesting. I think gamers will find Omaha to be rich in tactical detail, and a puzzle solving effort for both sides -- unhindered by the size of the thing.