Staff Game! A Three-player game of Normandy '44

It's no secret that I've played more than my usual fair share of war games over the past few months. Any review of the articles that I've posted since the end of last year should clearly indicate that I've had more than enough time to myself to log an impressive number of games in the book compared with my usual schedule. I suspect that'll come to an end with this month and give me more time to focus on the build out of a few other sections of this blog -- including Willie & Joe's Supply Depot.

Before I do that, though, I have one additional game to add to the roster this time around. And with it, I'm introducing yet another new concept/mechanic to AAR Central. Similar to how I recently introduced Blast from the Past! to give proper tags to old posts/content from previous blogs and sites that I used to operate, and which are now defunct, I figure it's worth bringing in a new lens for multi-person games (be they individual scenarios or campaign games) where more than one player is responsible for controlling a given belligerent/force. Such games, I figure, would be appropriate to term "Staff Games" and as such, I present to you all a new series that will appear intermittently: Staff Games! 

Like Blast from the Past! and other concepts that I hope to one day roll out, Staff Games! will feature AARs similar to my generic posts, only with a particular focus on the units under my direct command to give more of a commander's view and feel to the AARs. With that, I'll obviously include additional details to provide a general overview of the engagement at large and the progress of the conflicts, but much as I experienced in this game, my comrade in arms (short in this case for armchairs) fighting for his life in the Cotentin Peninsula could not have been farther from my field of view on the battlefield. And a part of that had to do with the fact that he was quite literally seated on the other end of the board from myself, with the German commander in between us.

With that, though, I'd say it's about time that we dive into it.

Today's Staff Game! is a first for me, GMT Games's Normandy '44. I've always avoided these particular games from Mark Simonitch and GMT Games for no reason other than there wasn't enough counter density for me to take notice. For some reason, if the base game doesn't generally come with 840 to ~1,000 counters, I for some reason tend to write the game off as "uninteresting" for no reason other than poor judgement. I mention all of this because I could not have been more wrong in my assessment of Normandy '44's value as a wargame, let alone many of the others produced by GMT Games (North Africa '41, France '40, and so on). What is more, I am usually a fan of Mark Simonitch games, so who is to say why I never took to getting into Normandy '44 or the like -- I'm certainly not. (I most certainly am, don't get it twisted). Take it from me, if your ideal game is a "Guderian's Blitzkrieg II"-level of counter density to enjoy a game, think again about your priorities, because there's a reason Normandy '44 delivers a phenomenal wargaming experience. I had an absolute blast playing Normandy '44 this past weekend. 

About a month ago, Zach asked our mutual friend Josh and I if we'd be open to a game of Normandy '44. Thanks to successful planning and schedules working out, we managed to find a weekend where we were all free for a day-long game (not the longest day, of course -- much as that might've been aptly used to describe our game of Normandy '44 I will only reserve that designation for days that we play Twilight Imperium because those truly are the longest days). After some preparations before hand, it was agreed upon that Zach would command the defending Germans of the Cherbourg defenders and 7th Army, Josh would command the Americans of the 1st Army, and I would take command of the British 2nd Army.

I spent much of the week leading up to our game not giving as much attention to the rules as I should have, but I maintain that in this case it was well worth it since it was much more enjoyable learning on the fly and having spent more time getting myself in the mindset of the British commanders. Indeed, many scenes from the Longest Day did flash through my mind throughout the day. I still maintain that when anything mechanical malfunctions, all it needs is a good bash. At any rate, I promise that's the last digression. 

It was a piss poor rainy day last Saturday when we got together so after we'd dried off and caught up briefly, we got down to business with the initial landings. Importantly, we decided to use the optional storm rules that allow for randomization of when the storms occur. (Keep this in the back of your mind). 

While this decision had some pretty big ramifications on the weather this game, my rolls kind of sucked on the outset. First and foremost, most of my paras of the 1st Airborne Division took some pretty good hits east of the Orne on their descent. I was well aware of the strong reserves in the vicinity around Caen and I wasn't too excited about holding Pegasus Bridge at Ranville in the face of the 21st Panzer Division. I was scattered and already down a few step losses, so there was little I could do but determine whether or not to hold east of the Orne -- a decision I finally made on D+1.

The rest of my landings on the beaches weren't much better, especially at Sword. Lord Lovat's 1st Special Service Brigade made it ashore fine, but many of the Sherman DDs were lost in the surf. To make matters worse, I didn't make it off of the beaches at Sword which meant most of my 3rd Infantry Division was stuck in the water, waiting to land. The losses I incurred to a brigade of infantry as well concerned me greatly. Sword was the "bloody Omaha" for this game. Gold and Juno went better, thank heavens. The 3rd Canadians, 4th Special Service Brigade, and all of my armor at Juno made it ashore without incident and despite more armor lost in the surf, my 50th Infantry made it ashore largely in one piece as well. To make matters even better, my infantry and armor blasted through one of Zach's strong points and managed to secure Arromanches (one of the key British objectives) before Zach could react. It was a good morale boost for the invasion turn. 

The lads go ashore! (Aerial view from above Caen).

Importantly, I'll add, the British must remove the 4th Special Service Brigade if after taking Arromanches there are no German units within 4 hexes of the town. A similar rule governed control of the 2nd Ranger Battalion and Point du Hoc. Two hexes away, there was a German naval battery which only had combat factors for defense. To ensure prolonged access to the 4th Brigade, I moved a battalion of banged up Sherman DDs adjacent to the German battery and left them there, essentially cutting them off from any relief efforts Zach could make. In doing so, I for the time being guaranteed continued access to the 4th Brigade's elite combat infantry. I had Caen in my sights, and I needed every unit I could get, especially since my plan was fast coming apart.

A closer review of my forces in and around Caen on D+1.

While Josh went ahead with his landings on Utah, Omaha, and the paradrops on the Cotentin Peninsula (which faired rather poorly as well, all but one regiment being scattered), I devised my objectives for the next 4 or 5 turns. As fast as I could, I was determined not to take Caen. Rather, I'd simply go around it and leave it for my artillery, air force, and infantry. If I could isolate Zach in the city by launching a pincer assault around it, that's what I'd do. And holding east of the Orne was critical to that plan. I determined the following course of action: 

East of the Orne, I'd hold access to Pegasus Bridge with the 1st Airborne Division. My commandos and the 3rd British Infantry would then advance along the river's east bank until south of Caen.

In the center of the line (north of Caen between Juno and Sword), I'd hold the 21st Panzer Division at bay with the bulk of my 3rd Canadian Division and the remaining armor of my Sherman DDs.

And to the West of Caen, the 50th Division from Gold would advance south, past Carpiquet, cross the Odon, and link up with the 3rd Infantry by taking Hill 112, thus completely outflanking the 21st Division in and around Caen, and then I could starve them out for the rest of the game.

That was the plan, but I didn't get far. Zach responded fast and with passion. First things first, he endeavored to cut the head off of my paras. Sending a mixed group of tank destroyers and recon elements from the 21st panzer division barreling towards Ranville, I only barely managed to stymie his initial assault. In due course, I retreated into the town itself and barely managed to hold my bridgehead east of the Orne. I still didn't have Pegasus Bridge itself and I needed to secure it before the end of June 6th, otherwise I'd be out of supply and badly mauled. That was not a part of my plan. To make matters harder for me, Zach charged forward on Sword beach at Ouistreham. He was determined to hold me at the water's edge. 

Situation on the ground at the end of D+1.

Luckily, I managed to hold and in the afternoon of the first day, I managed to breakout from the beaches and get Lovat's commandos within sign of Pegasus Bridge. Then, according to plan, on the morning of D+1, my gliders arrived at LZ-W and took the west bank of the bridge, thus creating a contiguous line of defense from the beaches to the east bank of the river. It was thin, but it was there.

Elsewhere along the front, he sent everyone forward that he could by truck, tank, bicycle, and foot. The fusiliers of the 352nd Infantry Division and the AT elements of the 21st Panzer division applied pressure between Juno and Sword. The latter division's armor and panzer grenadiers were already in the vicinity of Caen, with more reinforcements on the way. It was all or nothing north of Caen to keep me from linking up my forces from Juno and Sword.

But that was fine by me. Once I advanced out of Ouistreham and made contact with the gliders at LZ-W, I got to work expanding my front. At Sword, I landed more elements of the 3rd Infantry. At Juno, I landed fresh elements of the Canadian 3rd along with the Corps HQs for the 1st Canadian and 30th British and at Gold, I got the rest of the 50th division ashore. And I pressed the advance as far as I could. Importantly, I expanded west from Gold and Juno. The German 352nd was spread thin and many of the German bicycle units from the 30th Mobile (Schnelle) Brigade were coming up the line to fill the gaps between my boys from the 50th on the far edge of the line and elements of Josh's 1st US Infantry Division landing at Omaha. Bayeux was were Josh and I agreed to link up our beachheads, as the US and British historically agreed to do as well. But the Germans had Bayeux and I was busy trying to break out from Sword beach, so the link up had to wait -- I was content enough to establish a perimeter that Zach was forced to hold. In doing so, I opened up the path of advance on Carpiquet.

Zach responded with brute force. First, the tanks and panzer grenadiers of the 21st Panzer evicted my armor and paras at LZ-W, cutting off the rest of my paras at Ranville. To make matters worse, the 711th German division was finally activated east of the Orne and closed what remained of my scattered perimeter. I only had Ranville. If it fell, I'd lose the 1st Airborne Division. Luckily, however, it held. Zach was undeterred, though. He sent the 21st Panzer forward elsewhere, pressing my beachhead at Outistreham and extending the rest of his forces out onto the Bayeux-Caen highway. 

To set the stage for the next to turns here, allow me to walk us through the situation by end of D+2. From Bayeux to the outskirts of Caen, the situation was stable and favorable to the British thanks to the consolidated and uncontested advance of the 50th infantry and what remained of my Sherman DDs. Directly north of Caen was a problem. I needed to go around Caen, but I didn't want the 3rd Infantry and the paras cut off from the rest of my front. Juno was still isolated from Sword, with many units from the 21st Panzer division flowing in to cut off my boys at Ouistreham, LZ-W, and Ranville. The 3rd Canadian division and the 3rd Infantry division along with my commando units and paratroopers were having a rough go taking Zach's improved positions, augmented by panzers and panzer grenadiers. 

To my West, it wasn't going much better. Far as I could tell, the 1st and 29th US infantry divisions were pressing ahead and the 4th Infantry and the US airborne divisions were fighting amongst the hedgerows, trying to link up at Carentan. But really, if you'd asked me, I could tell where one unit boundary began and another ended. All I knew is that it was total SNAFU between Omaha and Utah.

I had my own problems to worry about, though, and one of them was LZ-W. With my last few tanks, Lord Lovat's commandos, and the glider infantry, I retook LZ-W from Zach's mechanized forces ater a tense engagement and established a final, permanent hold on Pegasus Bridge. I landed more troops from the 3rd Infantry division and was determined not to be pushed back any further. To make matters even better, I made progress linking my beachheads at Juno and Sword and I overran a unit of bicycle troops on the road to Carpiquet. By end of D+3, I was just a hex away from taking the Carpiquet airfield. And to boot, I landed key elements of the Desert Rats and the last of the 50th division to start taking advantage of the open ground between Bayeux and Caen.

Then came the effects of the weather die roll that we had made for D+3. It was clear skies, which meant Zach's armor could barely take advantage of their movement capabilities. Earlier, I mentioned our optional use of the storm rules. This was pretty consequential because on first the D+3 turn die-roll, Zach rolled a 1 which without that rule would have meant that we'd have had another storm turn. But with the optional rule in place, we had to re-roll. That meant no storm for D+3. Instead, Zach rolled clear weather all the way. Storm lifted. That meant that Zach couldn't move his armor as quickly as he needed and that my 2nd Tactical Airforce was no longer grounded. It was this rule choice that we agreed upon at game start that really sealed the fate of the Germans in this game.

With the skies cleared, Zach did as best he could to move his reinforcements to the front. By prioritizing the defense of Caen's outskirts, though, it left the ground west of the city open. We didn't realize this until later, of course. The 21st Panzer Division was consolidated and sent north to hammer away at my Canadians, commandos, and infantry of the 3rd Division. The 12th SS meanwhile arrived and was directed to Carpiquet, Colombelles, and the rear lines in Caen. If he'd had more movement points, they would have gotten much further. But alas - the weather nails us all one time or another. 

With the road to Carpiquet closed, my paras backed up to the Orne, and my infantry barely able to cope against the 21st, I saw my chance west of Caen. The 50th Infantry, supported by the armored elements of the Desert Rats, found the chink in the German "armor". 

On the morning of D+4, with what remained of the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry of the 8th Armoured Brigade, the Northumbrians of the 56th and 231st Brigades on the outskirts of Carpiquet, north of the airfield, swung south away from the lead elements of the 12th SS and crossed the Odon, leaving their flank to be covered by the newly arrived Desert Rats and elements of the 3rd Canadian division. While the 3rd Infantry and the 6th Airborne had failed to make headway driving south on Colombelles, the 50th was on its way to secure its objective at Hill 112. But, finding no opposition on their flanks, they continued to swing around the far edge of the German line, bypassing the airfield at Carpiquet from the southern approach, and found the entryway to Caen unguarded. The impossible had occurred. And better yet, I could the Germans of the 12th SS in strategic redeployment in the city center. 

Three days later, at the end of D+4. The red dotted line on the map (running through hex 1827) marks the extent of the actual Allied advance at the end of D+22.

With no defenses to speak of, I had a shot to cut off the entirety of the 21st Panzer Division and much of the 12th SS north of the Odon. Calling in what artillery was available and all available air support from the 2nd Tactical Air Force, my infantry and armor charged into battle with the undeployed panzer grenadiers before the Germans could respond. And it paid off brilliantly, but Zach -- incredulous that I'd found a way into the city that had left me in supply - was determined to hold his ground. Declaring determined defense, all he need was a die roll of a 3-6 to hold his ground. But with a die roll of 1, he lost the city center and was forced to retreat his panzer grenadiers. 

And with that, we ended the game. I secured more victory points than I should have for the Allies. And to make matters worse for Zach's situation, the Americans from Omaha had opened the beaches to St. Lo. It was all comping apart, and just to think because we used the optional storm rule.

In any case, what a fantastic game. A real slog for the Americans and skill or no skill, the game that Zach and I were fighting over by Caen was getting weirder and weirder. We may come back to this in a couple of weeks but there's no guarantee. We've got France '40 already queued up looking ahead to April and we may even get a Start Kit game of Advanced Squad Leader in. All in all, another fantastic game. More staff games to come!