Battles for the Ardennes
INTRO:
Before World War II, French War Minister Marshal Henri Petain called the Ardennes Forest of France, Belgium and Luxembourg " A sector that is not dangerous. It is impenetrable. " Yet this area's rugged valleys and wooded hills had seen battle for the past 2000 years. Caesar's legions fought the German tribes there, and between 1554 and 1794 no fewer than ten campaign raged through its dark forest. More recently, in 1914 Richthofen's I Cavalry Corps pierced the Ardennes in Germany's opening attack in World War I. And in World War II, two major battles would be fought there. The campaign in 1940 would lead to the fall of France; the campaign following four years later would foreshadow the collapse of the German Wehrmacht. Battle for the Ardennes is a set of games simulating the battles which occurred in the Ardennes area during World War II. Here, in 1940, the Germans overran the unsuspecting French and, in 1944, launched a surprise attack on American forces that later became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
CREDITS:
GAME SCALE:
3.2 kilometer hexes, 12 hour turns, Battalions, Regiments, Brigades and Corps Artillery Groups.
MINI-REVIEW:
While I have to admit that my favorite game on the Battle of the Bulge is Wacht am Rhein (a battalion level treatment), an email game-mastered campaign of Battles for the Ardennes (BFTA) was a lot of fun. BFTA has the depth needed to simulate this important offensive without overburdening the player with a thousand counters or complex rules. Any game smaller in scope will not give the gamer a feel for the importance of road nets and the need to control them in battle. My personal experience living (hex B0923, St. Vith map, see errata)and working (hex B0722) in the Ardennes area has spoiled my desire for smaller games on the Battle of the Bulge. The game system in BFTA is straight forward with only a couple of surprises. Supply is an issue to the German player and his units will randomly run out fo supply according to a chart. After the first four days there is a 33% chance of no effects, a 33% chance of one mechanized division running out of supply and a 33% chance of TWO mechanized divisions running out of supply. Later in the game there is only 17% of no effects and an additional 17% chance of two units begin out of supply. Another problem is the road net in the Ardennes. The roads wind through the rough terrain and are raised above the surrounding ground or have deep ditches on both sides. I know, I've been in a ditch there (I wasn't driving :-). Look at the box cover and you will see a tank off the road. There are four maps in BFTA that have individual scenarios. Three come from 1944 and one from 1940. Two campaigns games are included, the first German advance in 1940 which is a great solitaire game but no fun for a live French player. The 1944 campaign is the real game here with a nice feel of the problems associated with an offensive in the area that is defended against. In 1940 the Germans march right through playing tag with cavalry units. BFTA, while botched by Decision Games when they re-developed it is still a great game. BFTA and The Gamers' Ardennes are the only games readily available on this campaign until Command Magazine rectifies that this summer (1996).
SEQUENCE OF PLAY:
German Player-Turn Supply Phase Air Phase Building Phase Battery Phase March Adjustment Phase Movement Phase Combat Phase Bridge Phase Allied Player-Turn Supply Phase Air Phase Building Phase Battery Phase March Adjustment Phase Movement Phase Combat Phase Bridge Phase
COUNTER LIST: In case you need to replace a counter.