British side: Jim Thomas (JT)
German side: Jim Lauffenburger (JL)

In order to give a reference map for easier reading, four map photos are included with this article. Hopefully they give a clear enough picture to help make the game situations in this replay more understandable.

JL (Jim Lauffenburger), Initial comments:

In this game, the first turn is absolutely critical. The moves of the German units need to be correctly "choreographed". However, there are a lot of constraints, and a lot of options for the German player, giving the game a "puzzle" quality. Every time I have played it, I feel that I could do MUCH better next time! i am sure this time will be no different.

German pre-game plan:

1) "Break-in"phase: Make attacks in a manner that will cutoff as many British HQs as possible; to try to create a big hole in the center by game-tum 2.

2) Exploit phase: Paralyze the British backlield with deep Sturmblocks. Bring the big dogs up to the river line south of Peronne.

3) Grind to victory: Cross the river and get to the key towns. I view this as the hardest part of the game, since the Germans will be so depleted by then, they will have little /eft for the brutal final attacks.

JT (Jim Thomas), Initial comments:

This is a short scenario with victory based on possession of four towns. Winning requires holding all four towns. This is well nigh impossible for the British player; therefore I will aim to force a draw.

I above all wish to prevent wide scale Sturmblock infiltration to the rear areas during the first turn movement phase. If this happens, the Exploit Movement phase will see them prevent me from concentrating against the gaps in the line created by his guns and assault divisions.

The British setup I use is adopted from one Jim Lauffenburger used against me in an earlier match. I made a few changes that thin the line in places but will force him to create breaches in the line through overruns or regular combat. The setup should mean most of his barrages will suffer a one-column shift left due to not having spotting units adjacent to my troops. A small comfort, but I take what I get.

I will also rely on the triple defensive effect of the multiple trench hexes of the "Battle Zone" to partially compensate for my thin line. As the Combat Table, atypically for SCS I think, does not favor the offensive as much as other games, 5:1 and 6:1 attacks are necessary for a reasonable probability of success. Hopefully the barrage results and the trenches will combine to diminish the number of high odds overruns and attacks he can create.

The weakest sector, as historically, is in the south where the British and French lines meet. The British simply don't possess enough troops to cover the entire line. The British player must choose between a truly open Southern flank or a thinner but continuous front of units and ZOC. I choose the open flank. (Among other things, this means that the German can seize the Victory Town (VT) objective of Noyon on the first turn if he so chooses.)

The German brings superior numbers, artillery, and mobility to the first turn. I expect multiple Gas attacks and conventional Barrages to reduce British strength and create opportunities for overrun attacks against hexes that are adjacent to roads immediately behind the British lines. Due to the 2MP cost of Devastated terrain, the ground over which the early turns are fought, the roads are crucial to both sides. If his overruns succeed, then the Sturmblocks will ooze through the gaps and it's off to the races.

Well, having submitted my setup to Jim Lauffenburger, I can only wait for the thunder and shaking of the barrage to stop and see who's left standing.

JL, remarks on the British setup:

The area of Roupy to Montescourt (in the center, in the British 3C sector) is very hard for the British to defend, and is important because of the roads which allow rapid access to the British rear areas. An important goal of mine is to make a multi-hex hole here, and to advance some Sturmblocks as far as possible during the exploitation phase.

I will use gas to halve the line of 2-2-4 Brit brigades, which will make their defense = 3 (due to the tripling in the trench lines); and attack them with at least 18 attack points for a max-column attack. In case they survive, I will keep a stack of Sturmblocks ready to overrun them in the exploit phase, as well as some Sturmblocks to advance along the road into the enemy rear. This exploit stack needs to start the exploit phase as far forward as possible, and might be able to cross the Crozat Canal, and get past Roupy, Each of the attacks will have at least one Sturmblock in the attack, so that they can advance after combat as far as possible (only they can advance more than one hex.) These Sturmblocks have the possibility of taking the important town of Ham in the Exploit phase.

One always weak area for the British is at the south edge of 3C area (near Chauny). In our first game, JT painfully showed me how weak it is, and totally overran my guys there. In this game, even though JT made it stronger, I will drop gas on 5011, and will be able to pop a couple of Sturmblock groups through there on the first turn, and hopefully exploit to Noyon, as well as doubling back to Tergnier (to cutoff the British 3C from any significant move).

Another goal of the first turn is to reduce the supply possibilities of the British army. To do this, the British HQs need to be cutoff, or at least closely invested to reduce their "reach". Some important ones are the 18Corps HQ and the Cav HQ, since they are in the center of the map. I will try to get my units surrounding them by the end of the turn.

Up north, I don't see any way to get near the Brit 19C HQ but I have a chance to block the Brit 7C HQ if I use enough firepower up north. Such an advance will be into the teeth of the British strength, but it might be worth it if the Brit HQ stays stuck up there.

JL, German Turn 1:

To block the British 7C HQ, I will try to advance into/through 3228. I will use 2 gas attacks on this front line, reducing the defense strength to 914, and need 14 attack strength points to get a 6:1. To get 14 AF in one hex, I need a Sturmblock plus one 11 -AF division.

At the other end of the line, I would like to also break in via 4914. Again, I think that 2 gas attacks are required to get to 6:1 odds. However, I really need the gas for other attacks, so I will not be making this attack. Perhaps should perform this attack instead of the one at 3228, but am trying to go for a "big" win. The British 3C usually crumbles badly anyway; so I will count on it doing so, and use more gas up north to stop the enemy drive.

In the Mountescourt area, i will use 2 gas attacks (4816 and 4718) to make a 3-hex hole in the line. With Sturmblocks in reserve to overrun any remaining enemy in those 3 hexes, and some more to exploit with, I should be able to get pretty deep; targeting a move to 3819 and Ham.

Finally, in the north-center, there is a very strong defense; and a good break-in is difficult. I will try the following: gas attacks against 3923, 4022, and 4122; and barrage attacks against 3823 and 3821. With this, I am hoping for an advance to 3822 with some Sturmblocks, and then exploitphase movement to 3623 and 3621 in order to get ZOCs on the roads, holding the British HQs in place.

During the barrage phase, gas attacks are automatic, but the disorganize (DG) attacks (at max strength) had a 1 in 6 chance of No Effect due to a lack of spotters. (Barrage is before movement, and so a "proper" Allied player sets up mainly off the front line to stay away from spotters.) In this case, my rolls were very good, and there were no "1s" rolled.

For break-in in the north-center, I will try overruns to blow a hole. I can achieve 4:1 attacks with one division. My first one failed miserably: with a snake-eyes roll; wiping out the lead German division. The second division following in the footsteps of the first rolled an 8, and achieved an A/D3 to make a hole. Some Sturmblocks followed in behind to overrun the Cav unit behind, hoping to attack the British HQ behind it. The overrun killed the cav, but I lost a Sturmblock, which prevents a reasonable attack on the HQ in the hills behind.

In the north, a completely successful attack allowed the Sturmblock to advance 2 hexes and totally block the northernmost Brit HQ. My Sturmblock will likely not survive, but should put a real crimp on the British HQ movement up there.

Around Montescourt (in the center), the first overrun attempt was entirely successful, with a high dice roll of 10. The second overrun, against 4817, suffered a low roll, losing another entire German division, but causing a flip to the British Brigade. Another division followed up and eliminated the Brit, at the loss of half its strength. There is now a real hole for the Sturmblocks to get into Montescourt area, and onto the road net. Ham is on the way! Stacks of German Sturmblocks entered the holes, and the follow on attacks during the combat phase widened the holes to - 3 hexes each.

In the south, the loss of ZOC for a gas attack allowed some Sturmblocks to penetrate to ridiculous distances, deep in the British rear areas. They are of course OOS.

JT, Post German Turn 1:

That was unpleasant. I sustained casualties at a ratio of 3.5:1. His barrages were efficient. The Gas attacks were used not only to reduce combat strength, but also to remove EZOCS on the edge of his routes of advance. He conducted numerous overruns and, in combination with the Sturmblock movement in the Exploit Phase, completely isolated not only 3rd Corps in the south, as anticipated, but also 18th Corps in the center. On the northern edge of the Flesquieres salient he launched a strong attack that penetrated the British line and isolated the British 7th Corps HQ and several of the important Tank battalions.

All of the British Corps HQ are either surrounded or pinned to the front. This will prevent what reserves I have moving up from being able to counterattack at full strength as they will be out of range of HQ. I will not be able to use the road net to extricate any of the HQ from the front.

In the South, he not only advanced deep and seized the VT of Noyon, but Sturmblocks also advanced 18 miles to seize Nesle, a road junction on the west side of the Somme/Canal du Nord. That last one will really hurt. It places him across the only natural barrier on the southern approaches to Cappy and Albert, VT objectives, and places him in a position to attack the VT of Roye from both the north and east. (Historically, Nesle held the HQ of the British 5th Army, the force manning the front from Flesquieres south to the junction with the French armies.)

JT, British Turn 1:

Four barrages and three attacks are forthcoming. In the north a barrage and a tank led 7th Corps attack will try to seal off the northernmost penetration. Further south 19th Corps will attack to push the Germans back from a road I require to extricate 19th Corps. An OOS Sturmblock will get a barrage from 18th Corps that will hopefully allow two brigades, all the low British mobility allows, to get at it with a high odds attack. If I succeed there, 18th Corps will not be OOS and still, I hope, enough of a factor to draw forces away from the main drives.

3rd Corps actually has an escape route. He thinned out his front in the south and left two ZOC free gaps that technically allow me to remain in supply, although this in effect means tracing it through German territory. I will lead 3rd Corps into the German lines and then south. With luck, my barrage will IDG a German unit in the way and remove its ZOC, getting me another hex out of the Kessel.

This escape is incredibly gamey, but I am desperate enough already to not be overly concerned with some of the higher issues of integrity and realism. Let the Anabasis begin!

Elsewhere I begin to bring up my reserves. I can't cover everything. I leave a brigade in Roye, and try to cover some of the way west from Nesle. Another division and some tanks occupy Perrone and try to block the massive phalanx of divisions and Storm blocks heading west below Flesquieres. There simply aren't enough units to put together even a paper-thin screen. All I can do is place roadblocks that will cost MPs and force combats.

In the south I decide against attempting to move 2nd Cavalry out of harm's way. Any way, they can't run that far. I am going to leave them blocking the roads to Noyon. Although he has already seized Noyon, this will slow the bulk of the force following up the Sturmblock spearhead. It may allow me to get 3rd Corps usefully back into the game.

JT, Post British turn 1:

The attacks against the northern penetration and the Sturmblock covering 18th Corps went well. The barrage against the unit in the path of 3rd Corps also succeeded. However, the attack by 19th Corps failed, both barrage and combat. I lost three steps and gained nothing. For my turn I killed four steps but lost 5.

There is no line in front of his major groupings, only a patchwork of roadblocks. The Soviets would say he has made a clean break into the operational depths of my position. They would be right.

JL, End of turn 1 Comments:

The British 3C is attacking to the east (well SE)! They have found a way to trace supply through my rear areas! I guess I should have left my static divisions in place to stop those supply wagons.

Up north, the British broke through my blocking Sturmblock, and I don't see how I can keep their HQ bottled up there any longer.

British losses for the turn: 3 brigades from the 3C, 4 brigades from the 18C, I brigade from the 7C, I cav brigade.

German losses: 3 full divisions, 6 half divisions, I Sturmblock. At this rate of attrition, the British army will be victorious in a couple of turns, but this is normal, or even better than normal for the German.

JL, Turn 2:

Although I had a good (lucky dice rolls) start, it still seems a very long way to get to Albert; and my HQ movement is as slow as the British...

The main goal for this turn is to bring up my HQs and infantry units to try to get across the river on turn 3. A secondary goal is to keep the British units from moving south again, so I will be attacking into the solid mass of units in order to block their movement. Third, since most of my artillery is out of range, I need to bring it up as fast as possible. Fourth, I will try to get that pesky 3C British HQ OOS.

I made some serious mistakes in the initial placement of my artillery. It was mainly "in the center", where I blasted a huge hole, and now it is mostly out of range. Next game, I will need to consider its initial position more carefully. (In fact, throughout the rest of this game I badly regretted my initial artillery positioning.)

The major thrusts were made to bring up full infantry divisions to Nesle and just east of Peronne; but there wasn't much attacking except to cause further blocks to the northern British HQ, and to kill the Cav HQ in order to reduce Brit supply further.

My attacks were generally successful, but not my key attack on 3119 (at the bridges just south of Peronne). I really expected to be across the river during the exploit phase, but I failed. During my exploit, I only blocked some enemy units from moving south.

JT, Post German Turn 2:

Well, he inflicted casualties at only a 2:1 rate this turn. Beyond that, the only hopeful thing is that the one combat he lost was an important one. His attack on a unit blocking roads east of the Canal du Nord just south of Perrone at hex 3119 failed. If he won there, Sturmblocks would have exploited across the canal and blocked the road south for both 19th and 7th Corps, the force I am trying to get in front of his advance on Albert and Cappy, two of his four VT objectives.

Further south, he quickly brought a large assault force down the road to Nesle. The Canal du Nord/Somme bridgehead he captured on Turn 1. Next turn he will try and eliminate the small roadblock I have west of Nesle and/or move south to take the VT of Roye. vIn the north he again vigorously attacked to prevent 7th Corps from retreating south to block the Perrone-Albert axis. This forces me to spend another turn trying to clean up penetrations and force a route open.

My decision to sacrifice 2nd Cavalry division in the south did pay off. He temporarily loses use of his southernmost route west. If I am lucky, I might be able to use this when French reinforcements enter the game.

One thing he did not do this turn, which surprised me, was to take the eliminated Sturmblocks from Tuml and, in his breakdown phase, replace reduced Assault divisions with them. The rules allow you to take eliminated Sturmblocks and replace a line assault division on a strength point (SP) for strength point basis. With two Sturmblocks (7 SP), a reduced one-step 7 SP assault division becomes four Sturmblock steps with the EZOC avoidance and Exploit capability that comes with them. It's easy to forget to do this (as a German player, I did), or maybe he has something planned. I wonder what.

The most important factor for me in Turn 2 is now HQ replenishment. A HQ used to provide Attack Supply is flipped to a Depleted side. To supply attacks again, it must recover to its replenished side through a die roll at the beginning of the owning players next turn. On the first three game turns, this point is moot for the German. He automatically replenishes on Turns 2 and 3.

The British Player must roll a 4 or better with one die to replenish. This simulates the disorganization and recovery of the British at the beginning of the offensive. Late in the game, the situation reverses, but for now, it's trouble for the British. I urgently require both my HQ in the north to replenish. Without that happening, my situation deteriorates from desperate to probably irrecoverable.

Another note on HQ is that the Cavalry Corps HQ he just eliminated gets to return two turns later on Turn 4. This will help some sector of the front regain supply for the last two turns.

Lastly, I will shoot four low BP barrages. Two will be for the express purpose of eliminating EZOC for movement and Supply purposes and two to assist combats. I am leaning on thin supports here, but lack the ability to concentrate my guns.

In general I will try and put the northern force further south, throw up more roadblocks in the center and south, and continue to push 3rd Corps back into the game by beginning to move back through the British lines.

JT, Post British Turn 2:

In the north combats and movement succeeded in creating a thin but uniform line on the roads north of Perrone and for a few hexes south behind the Canal. It's a more of a screen than a line, though, and it does not extend south far enough to prevent a flanking movement.

At the northern end of the grouping, in pulling back I left the northern flank open. He actually could take Albert by pushing a Sturmblock around the flank. With 12 MP in the movement and exploit phases, it could reach Albert before any one else in the north. For the British player, German mobility means any gap has potential strategic consequences.

My barrage from the 18th Corps guns DG'd a German division. The loss of its ZOC means I can trace a supply path from the 18th HQ and thereby remain in supply another turn.

The 3rd Corps guns also DG'd a German regiment. Not having to pay EZOC MP costs allows me to squeeze the head of the escaping column through the German screen. 3rd Corps is getting home. I had, though, to abandon a slow moving Heavy artillery brigade.

The two remaining brigades of 2nd Cavalry will continue to try and block the roads to Noyon. I can't reinforce Roye, a VT, because he placed Sturmblock on either side. Although OOS they retain ZOC, and the British lack the MP to move through. Also in the south I move a 20th division brigade to slow German movement along the road from Nesle to Albert, but this is too little strength to be really effective.

This is a strategy that essentially requires a lot of good dice. We'll see how much trouble he has with that screen south of Perrone.

JL, on British Turn 2:

During the British turn, JT did a really nice job of DGing the right guys of mine to keep in supply (and to get his HQs back into action). Even the 3C HQ is back in action (albeit a bit south of the action).

JL, Turn 3:

It looks like this turn is an attempt to get my men across the north-south river in the middle of the map. Also, my HQs will come up fast.

I cleared the river line during combat, and blasted into Peronne. I also easily took Roye. During exploitation I tried to blast through an COS guy in the swamp at Cappy, and failed miserably, losing my stack.

Even with the failures, the situation looks completely bleak for the British/Allied player

JT, Post German Turn 3:

Who says these games aren't good preparation for the vicissitudes of daily, so-called "real" life? For example, it's amazing how just when you think you've hit bottom, something worse happens.

In the south he eliminated the 20th Division, and in so doing took the VT of Roye and removed the roadblock on the southern approach to Albert. He regrouped to prevent the escaping 3rd Corps and the French reinforcements beginning to arrive on GT3 from having a decent shot at retaking the VT of Noyon.

Further north he took the road hub of Perrone and destroyed the screen south of there, opening the road west to the remaining VT of Cappy and Albert.

The remains of the northern force of 19th and 7th Corps become effectively cut off from participating in the defense of these two VT.

He decided to ignore 18th Corps, reduced to a strong division's strength, allowing it to follow 3rd Corps out of its near encirclement by proceeding south through the British and German front as it existed at the beginning of the game. There is no way it can effectively participate in the remaining three turns of the scenario, so why not?

In his breakdown phase he did use the growing pile of eliminated Sturmblocks to replace some assault divisions. This gave him extra punch through more available overruns and increased mobility in the Exploit phase.

The biggest remaining decision for me concerns the two brigades of the 41st: one holding the VT of Cappy on the road to Albert and the other the crossing on the Somme a few miles due south of Albert. Both are OOS as there is no Corps HQ in range. If I do not pull one brigade back to Albert, the nearest Sturmblocks will go around the brigades and occupy Albert by the end of the Exploit phase in GT4. If I leave one brigade in Cappy and pull the other back to Albert, the one in Cappy will be subject to 3:1 and 4:1 overruns, 6:1 assaults, etc. They are gone and one brigade will be left to face 6:1 assaults in Albert on GT5.

I must therefore concede Cappy and pull both brigades back to Albert. This will result in 6:1 on GT5, but, with four steps in place, there might be survivors holding on in GT6 to force more dice rolls. There are no other options.

In the South I will position my French reinforcements and 3rd Corps to begin attacking the perimeter around Noyon on GT4, but there is no way, given lack of Overrun possibilities due to the low Anglo-French movement rates, that I can actually attack Noyon by GT6, the last turn of the scenario.

The situation of 7th and 19th Corps is complicated. I will use my remaining artillery to try and DG units to remove ZOCs and move a couple of additional hexes, but this force is also effectively out of action.

While he took some casualties on his GT3, he still has plenty of firepower to contain these people and take the remaining two VT in his remaining three turns.

JT, Post British Turn 3:

I can't claim to be happy about any of this. I wish I could think of something to do with the 19th/7th Corps grouping, but, again, the lack of mobility makes concentrating forces difficult. The only decent counterattack opportunity was at 3:1. Thinking in campaign scenario terms, I declined to take it. In short scenario terms, though, I probably should have. Always keep the time frame and victory conditions in mind.

JL, Game Turn 4:

Things look bright for me. I should be able to take Albert this turn.

However: During HQ replenishment phase, BOTH of my leading HQs failed to roll a 2 or higher, so all attacks tracing to them this turn will be halved! This could be deadly to me.

During my turn, I didn't do much attacking, due to my weakness in forward units (and due to failure to replenish my HQs). During exploit, I just tried to strengthen all flanks. There is an intact British Corps still holding the center of the trench line. I wonder what they will do?

JT, Post German Turn 4:

As historically, German supply difficulties finally appear. Several of the Headquarters he used to generate Attack Supply in GT3 could not pass the Replenishment roll in GT4. He therefore had fewer options on attack. However, he did not lose too much momentum as he moved forces up to blockade Albert, the last remaining VT in my possession.

By attacking and capturing Perrone, he rendered impossible any substantial forces from the 19th/7th Corps grouping from intervening at Albert. Essentially, the four-step garrison in Albert will have to withstand two combats and three overruns in the last two turns to generate a draw. In the south, he thickened his perimeters around the VT of Noyon and Roye. If I can get at the towns by GT6, the scenario's last turn, it will be at very low odds.

The a-historical and very unrealistic wanderings of 18th Corps and 3rd Corps continue. 3rd Corps and the French 11th Corps will move to attack Noyon from the east. Their limited mobility in the face of EZOC and 2MP per hex terrain may, however, preclude this.

Reinforcements from the newly arriving French 12th Corps will move on Roye from the south. Linking up with the British 39th division, now on the western edge of Roye, will bring the 39th back into supply. (Although they are on an uninterrupted road leading west, because I could not get a Corps HQ away from the German encirclements at the front, they have been OOS since the end of GT1.) This may allow a 1:2 attack on Roye next turn or GT6.

I see an opportunity for 18th Corps to be a nuisance in its wanderings back to the British lines. I can generate a maxcolumn attack on a German artillery brigade. If I win I may distract him and keep a couple of additional units away from Noyon. If I roll badly 18th Corps loses all credibility as a threat, but there is simply nothing else to do.

The Cavalry Corps HQ he eliminated on GT2 comes back into play this turn. I wish the rules would let me place it into Albert. However, returning Corps HQ must come back with another HQ that is in supply. This would be best done with the 19th/7th grouping.

JT, Post British Turn 4:

Three barrages shot and all failed. While all were relatively low- point barrages, but it is still annoying. It prevented a combination against the Germans both north and northwest of Perrone. My tank- led combat against the reduced German division north of the town did well. Without, however, the DGs from the barrage, I could only do the one assault. As I am running out of time, this is most unfortunate. Depending on what the German's next turn produces, all I can do is continue pushing on Perrone, which will not redeem any of the VT.

The wandering 18th Corps got off its assault against the German heavy artillery brigade that took it out but also cost me two steps. I might have one attack left in the 18th, although I see nothing looming of any operational importance; i.e., no game winners or savers in sight for these guys.

A small but positive note comes with my regaining the Cavalry HQ and getting the French 12th Corps HQ as reinforcement. As mentioned earlier some OOS units are now in supply as a result. This is not much, but maybe it will prove useful.

I attempted to set up my French reinforcements and the British 3rd Corps in the south to begin attacks next turn on the defenses of Noyon and Roye, but these will be low odds attacks.

In the north I left one tank battalion exposed east of Albert as a gambit. It might draw off a division and/or some Sturmblocks from attacking Albert in GT5. They will be in a good position to crush the battalion, but if it saves Albert, it will be worth it.

JL, German Game Turn 5:

Will try to take Albert, and then just hold on for another turn. The rest of the units willjust consolidate and hold. I attacked on the max column, but rolled a 5 (two dice), which is an A2DI. There were 4 British steps in Albert, now still three. Thus, on turn 6, my attack will be on the "max" column, but will still come down to - a 50150 die roll as to who wins. (After-game comment: Note that I totally forgot about the possibility of overruns. I was thinking I had only one possible attack.)

JT, Post-German Turn 5:

Pulling both brigades of the 41st into Albert proved worthwhile. At 5 SP and 3 steps remaining after his attack, the position remains vulnerable, and may succumb on his first attack next turn. But I think there will not be an overrun attempt in his GT6 Movement phase. He will attack in his combat phase and then attempt an overrun on any survivors. This means I must endure two more dice rolls to pull out a Draw. Fortunately, although he will not face difficulties arranging Attack Supply, his artillery will not be in range to Barrage Albert.

It does come down to holding Albert as he has concentrated enough strength around Roye and Noyon to prevent me from getting at them effectively. The low absolute value in SP of the Franco/English forces, lack of artillery, and inability to make overrun attempts guarantee a lack of offensive success in the south. Nevertheless, the attempts will be made. Something may turn up.

In the north, he continues to hammer the 19th/7th corps grouping. He is also putting some troops in a vulnerable position here, knowing I must attack to clear a path west and south, and knowing this prevents me from shifting closer to support Albert.

Moving the Tank battalion as a gambit did draw 3 Sturmblocks away from his attack on Albert. I will move the battalion closer and hope he will try and continue to block the Tanks from linking up with my Turn 6 British reinforcements near Albert rather than participating in any of his Turn 6 attacks on Albert. The potential, although low, that my last turn reinforcements could counterattack a captured Albert in conjunction with the Tanks and thus redeem my game is obviously part of his planning.

JL, British Game Turn 5:

British turn had a LOT of attacks. He advanced to within 1 hex of both Roye and Noyon; meaning that even if I take Albert on turn 6, he still has a chance to take back one of these other VP locations.

JT, Post-British Turn 5:

My one barrage proved successful and none of my attacks were outright failures. I took out 8 steps for 8 step losses. The attacks with the French reinforcements and the surviving British in the south did much better than I anticipated. I am actually now adjacent to the VT of Roye.

However, he can easily get a 6:1 attack in his turn on my position there and clear off that very mild threat. In the north I continue to edge units closer to Albert, but nothing changes the basic reality that this game will come down to a couple of die rolls in his turn. I consider myself fortunate at this point to be clinging to a draw by my fingernails. Let's see what happens!

JL, German Turn 6:

Snake-eyes on my attack to clear the enemy away from Roye! Wiped out much of my force! Lost 4 steps!

The attack on Albert was on the max column, but I rolled a "3." Loss of 3 more steps! SO, in the exploitation phase, I tried a Sturmblock overrun, but it was too little, too late.

I lost a total of 8 steps in this bloody turn! And I failed to take Albert! (Game Over.)

JT, Post-German Turn 6:

After whining and complaining all game about a dice randomizer that seems to roll very high, I wind up with a draw after the German rolls three bad attacks in a row. Hindsight suggests the German should have tried low-odds overruns last turn and this turn to try and take a step or two away from the Albert garrison prior to the main engagement in Turn 6.

It seems that the decision to pull both brigades back into Albert was a crucial one. Also, using the Tank battalions as distractions may have played a part. At this point the British Turn 6 is superfluous to the scenario outcome. I won't evacuate or attack from Albert, thus ensuring a draw. I will probably make a few attacks to improve my position elsewhere simply for forms sake.

JL, Summary and Conclusions, as German:

1) Don't get complacent, and think you can accomplish something "later". Do it now!

2) Plan out your first turn completely.

3) Before the first turn, think about where your artillery is going to go and attack in the second and following turns.

4) Use overruns on later turns also, not just on the first turn!

JT, This Game:

"Not panicking, though sometimes difficult, is absolutely essential to win games, and this scenario is the best example, as tears come to your eyes when you see your situation after the first German turn." SCS Series Honcho Ernesto Sassot wrote these words, not as advice to the British player in this game of Operation Michael, but in summarizing his experiences as the American player in the SCS game Ardennes for an After Action Report in Operations (#38, Fall 2000). Easy similarities can be found both between these two SCS games and in the historical situations they portray.

Ernesto's judgment is particularly appropriate for the British players in Michael. These players can easily find themselves gritting their teeth after that first German turn and wondering whether to go ahead and concede now. I think our game shows that while the British side might not be "fun", once the initial state of shock passes (which took me about 48 actual hours), the remainder of the game can become an interesting exercise which forces you to play as well as you can.

This game came down to three combats and die rolls. First, the German failure to destroy the roadblock south of Perrone on GT2 probably spared Albert a turn's worth of assaults. The second occurred in GT4 when the three German HQ closest to Albert failed to pass their replenishment rolls. This probably spared Albert an attack on GT4.

The last were the attacks against Albert on GTs 5 and 6. By eliminating only 2 of the 4 steps in the Albert garrison, the German became dependent on lower odds overruns. I think a record of most of the combats in this game would show we both rolled on the high side and inflicted more casualties than seems statistically reasonable. The lesson may be hot dice can't be relied upon. In his game notes, Jim L. says one clear lesson is not to procrastinate on opportunities. Based on the above, this is true.

The other clear lesson is that the first German turn sets the tone for the game. An efficient and effective breakthrough such as the German achieved this time puts the British player clearly in a retreat and block mode. You can't even consider the possibility of anything beyond local counterattacks until the after the French arrive in some strength.

I look forward to mastering the British setup. There must be a better way to do this than what Jim L. and I have done. The British player who can get better results out of his setup than we did will still be pressed, but may have a chance at victory rather than just a draw.

The British player must look after his Tanks. Their tripling effect on friendly attacking infantry allowed me to keep shoving back at the constricting lines the German threw around my 19th/7th Corps grouping in the north. Without these limited attacks, he truly could have bypassed this force and gone straight at the VT of Cappy and Albert with even more strength than the substantial forces he did generate.

Because the Tanks are the only exploit capable force the British possess, it will be tempting to use the extra MP of these battalions and move them around as roadblocks. You will lose them this way. In six turns I lost half of my armor using them in a defensive mode and as single units, not part of a stack. The roadblocks became speed bumps. Since the British player does not have a lot of artillery to create DGs, the tanks represent his best hope at salvaging the position. He should be careful in their use.

I also found it interesting that I used the artillery as much to remove EZOC to enhance my mobility as I did to soften up a target for combat purposes. Given the inferior mobility of the British forces, the proximity of a German infantry unit on a line of retreat can slow British movement to one hex a turn. The artillery allows you to creep away a little faster.

The German player is blessed with both lots of artillery and those amazingly mobile Sturmblocks. His actual assault divisions are, however, both at once very strong but very fragile instruments. With only two steps for an entire division, they can attrit away very quickly. A one step German division is a nice target for a Tank led counterattack.

If the British player can trade relatively evenly on steps, he will win the attrition battle as most of his steps will be from one to three SP each while German divisional steps will be from four to seven SP. In his designer notes, John Best, creator of Operation Michael, emphasizes the need to hit the German divisions as much as you can and avoid attacking Sturmblocks unless truly needed. The British player should heed this advice.

Operation Michael the Game:

This game as play tested falls into the category of classic SCS. It is clean with a minimum of special rules. It plays quite quickly. Both Jim Lauffenburger and myself feel that some additional optional rules might bring the simulation closer to actual circumstances (but would also make the game closer to an 'OCS-lite' game which some SCS players do not like).

In the meantime, we hope all those interested in the SCS series will give Operation Michael a try and find out just how good a defensive or offensive specialist you really are.