Monday, November 20, 2017

Normandy 44 - Turns 10 to 12

Richard and I were able to get another three turns in today.  Play was distracted by an item for sale on The Australian Historical Wargamer Trading Post on Facebook - FOW British Airborne Force.  I had been looking at this with longing and pointed it out to Richard as it seemed a good buy.

But the game must go on, even though the weather was shocking.

 The storm meant any attacks would be lucky to go in at 1:1
The Commonwealth launched no attacks.

 The US were stalled also.

 Overcast and both sides started attacking.  
The Germans would have attacked in the stormy weather, 
but were recovering from the previous setbacks.

 Richard pointed out to me all the Victory Points that were located on the Cherbourg Peninsula.
As a result I got more aggressive with the US forces.

 Still overcast, but a significant upheaval occurred before Caen.
The Germans had counterattacked and pushed back two British incursions.
But then the British attacked where the Germans had pulled troops out to attack.

I was lucky when a few German "Determined Defence" turned out to be not so determined.  A tricky little game mechanic that can stop a successful attack.

Note also that the Commonwealth have largely achieved their historical advance (red dotted line).

But where it seems to matter ...
What looks like a breakthrough can probably be sealed off.
Fighting on the flooded terrain is no fun.
I also pulled the US forces back from trying to loop round below Cherbourg (right hand side of picture).

2 comments:

  1. This really is a fine looking game and your play-by-play is interesting. Cam you explain the "Determined Defense" mechanism? Is this a variable DRM or Column/Odds modifier perhaps akib to MMP's OCS "Surprise" modifier?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most combat outcomes produce a defender retreat outcome. This game seems to be more about holding territory than wiping out enemy units. If you get a DR result the defender can elect to go for a determined defence which is a roll on a separate table. There are modifiers for trop quality (so paratroopers are better at hanging on), armour quality, and artillery. You normally have no or one modifier as a result. The table also has different columns for terrain in the defender's hex. If it is open then there is third to half a chance of the retreat being cancelled. In a city or improved position there is a much higher chance. A successful defence normally sees the defender take a loss and possibly the attacker as well. I suppose it is like a combat escalation process.

      I'm not (yet) familiar with the MMP OCS surprise modifier, so can't comment. This is more like a reroll but upping the odds of losses. As the allies I tend to retreat. The trick seems to be to have units on reserve who can exploit breaks in the enemy lines. I'm still learning how to do this.

      All being well will get another session in on Thursday.

      Delete