Axis and Allies: D-Day

[KG_Panzerschreck]

How you reinforce your units may be the most important decisions you make in a game of D-Day. The units that start on the beachheads and beaches are headed toward a clear fate, but thereafter, you control what units go where.



These reinforcement charts by graphic designer Abigail Fein are crafted so that you can put pieces directly on their spaces at the start of the game. The pieces are all labeled according to which historical unit they come from. The Panzer Lehr Division, the 101st Airborne, and the British I Corps (among many others) are all represented on the reinforcement charts.

At the beginning of the game, you place all the non-starting units onto the reinforcement charts, one per box. The order is crucial, for you'll be reinforcing from left to right and top to bottom. No unit can enter play until the unit preceding it has done so. That juicy clump of tanks at the bottom of the German chart is a long way from the front.

Order Card 14: Allies Reinforcement

The text of this Allied order is Roll two dice for the United Kingdom. Roll two dice for the United States.

When this order comes up, 2 dice are rolled for each Allied nation. The number rolled equals the number of units from each country that are available for mobilization during this order. Thus, it's possible to get a large reinforcement or a small one, depending on the roll of the dice -- representing in an abstract way such varied issues as weather and enemy interference.

The units must be drawn in order from the chart and placed in the beachheads. US units go to Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, while UK units go to Juno Beach, Sword Beach, and Gold Beach. A unit can be placed on any beachhead silhouette, not just one that matches its unit type. Some US units can go to only one beach or another, such as the "Blue and Grey" 29th Infantry which bore the brunt of the attack on Omaha.

New Allied units are placed in the beachheads if space is available. If during this order the beachhead boxes still contain units placed previously because of congestion on the beaches, then there might be no place for the reinforcements to go. In this case, you draw only as many units as will fit in the beachheads. Extra units must wait until the next turn to mobilize.

As the Allied player, it is imperative to clear those beaches and get your men moving inland. If you are slow to do so, your reinforcements will be slow to arrive, and you will lose the game.

Order Card 15: Axis Reinforcement

The text of this Axis order is Roll two dice for Rennes/Chartres. Roll two dice for Rouen/Chartres. Fighters strafe Axis land units reinforcing in zones they patrol. Roll one die for each fighter per unit that reinforces. A roll of 1 is a hit.

The Axis player also rolls two dice for each side, but in this case, it's each side of the board. The reinforcement markers show the zones in which German reinforcements can go. Two are labeled "Rennes," two "Chartres," and two "Rouen." These are the French cities from which these reinforcements sped to the front.

The Axis player must decide which zones to reinforce with his forces from the Rennes/Chartres group and which to reinforce from the Rouen/Chartres group. The player makes these decisions after rolling both sets of dice. Of course, only eight mobile land units can be in a zone, so piling 24 pieces in the two central Chartres zones is not allowed. Also, pieces that were there before this order count against these limits.

Unfortunately for Axis reinforcements, the Axis player must also deal with any Allied fighters that were placed in the reinforcement zones during order card 3. Reinforcing counts as a "move" from the fighters' point of view, so they strafe any units that reinforce in their zone. Each fighter gets a shot at each reinforcing unit in such a zone, hitting and destroying that unit on a roll of 1. A large fleet of fighters placed in a single reinforcement zone is likely to scare the Axis player away from reinforcing there unless it's the only option. Even if the fighters fired on moving units before, they can fire again now at any reinforcing units in their zones.

Once you are out of reinforcement units on a chart (or side of a chart), you cannot reinforce from that chart any more. Most players like to see a large number of units move out early, but if they're used poorly, there is nothing left to back them up.

Order Card 16: Fighters Return

The text of this Allied order is Place fighters on airfield.

After pounding German reinforcements, fighters return to the Allied airfield. They can be placed in different zones on the next turn.

Now comes the most important step of the game.

Check for Victory

After the deck has been exhausted for a given turn, you check for victory. If the Allies have the only units in the three victory cities (Cherbourg, St Lô, and Caen), the Allies win immediately. If it's the end of turn 10 and the Allies haven't won, the Axis wins immediately. Otherwise, turn the deck back over, advance the turn marker, and start the next turn.

That's the end of the order card deck. Next time, I'll show you the first of the two sets of advanced cards, the fortune cards. See you then

[KG_Panzerschreck]

After a few games of D-Day, you may see patterns emerging in your gameplay. At that point, add in the fortune cards. These represent the uncertainties of the invasion, everything from sea turbulence to supply shortages to the Luftwaffe. With these cards, you'll be forced to change tactics at a moment's notice to overcome or take advantage of events beyond your control.

Fortune cards are numbered 1 through 16. Each fortune card is placed before its corresponding order card, so fortune card 1 goes before order card 1. If an order card is removed from the deck, so is its fortune card. (You administer the fortune card before you remove the order card, as some fortune cards can affect whether you must remove the corresponding order.)

Every time you flip a fortune card, the side that will act on the order card rolls a die. If the roll is a 1, the acting side gets a positive development. If the roll is a 2, 3, 4, or 5, nothing happens. If the roll is a 6, then the development is negative.

The text of the fortune cards follows. Each also states "Roll one die" and "2–5: No effect."

Fortune Card 1: Airborne Assault

COMPLETE SURPRISE. Infantry in Airborne boxes hit on a 2 in this phase.
AIRBORNE OPERATION IN DISARRAY. The Axis chooses and removes two of your infantry in Airborne boxes. The remaining Airborne infantry cannot attack in this phase. Remove this card from deck after use.
This negative effect can be a major setback. Utah and Gold are two beaches that the paratroopers have a chance to clear. If they don't at least make a dent on Turn 1, these beaches can become killing grounds.

Fortune Card 2: Naval Bombardment

IMPROVED TARGETING. Naval bombardment hits on a 3 or less in this phase.
HEAVY FOG AND PITCHING SEAS. Naval bombardment hits only on a 1 in this phase.
This positive development can sweep the blockhouses off the beaches. Many a game has turned from an Allied slog to a triumph (or vice versa) with this roll.

Fortune Card 3: Fighters Patrol

TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY. There is no restriction on the number of fighters patrolling a zone this turn.
AIRFIELD UNREADINESS. Roll one die for each fighter. On a roll of 4 or higher, the fighter cannot patrol this turn. (Return it to the airfield.)
Be careful of how you use this positive development. If you put all your fighters in one zone, the Axis may just circumvent them. Still, on turn 10, when you're trying to keep the Germans from reoccupying St Lô, this is just about the best news you can get.

Fortune Card 4: Antiaircraft Fire: Fighters

LOW-FLYING FIGHTERS. Antiaircraft fire hits on a 2 or less in this phase.
ANTIAIRCRAFT SHELL SHORTAGE. The Allies choose one zone. Axis artillery in that zone cannot conduct antiaircraft fire in this phase.
This happens after fighters are sent on patrol, so don't count on this positive development before you roll it.

Fortune Card 5: Bombers Strike

TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY. Your bombers hit on a 5 or less in this phase.
AIRFIELD UNREADINESS. Roll one die for each bomber. On a roll of 4 or higher, the bomber cannot strike in this phase. (Return it to the airfield.)
Looking ahead, the negative development does prevent your bomber from crashing on fortune card 7 if you're unusually prone to rolling high.

Fortune Card 6: Antiaircraft Fire: Bombers

LOW-FLYING BOMBERS. Antiaircraft fire hits on a 2 or less in this phase.
ANTIAIRCRAFT SHELL SHORTAGE. The Allies choose one zone. German artillery in that zone cannot conduct antiaircraft fire in this phase.
Sadly for the Axis, this negative development doesn't happen after bombers strike.

Fortune Card 7: Bombers Return

AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION. If you have lost any bombers, return one lost bomber to airfield.
LUFTWAFFE ATTACK. The Axis player chooses and removes one striking bomber from play.
This fortune card happens before bombers return. If the last Allied bomber is destroyed on order 6, this is the last chance to get one back before order card 7 is removed.

Fortune Card 8: Allies Move

CLEAR ROADS. All Allies land units may move two zones in this phase.
BOGGED DOWN. During this phase, U.K. land units can move out of only one zone, and U.S. land units can move out of only one zone.
The Allies choose the zones, of course. Units that are restricted to moving out of one zone can still split up and enter multiple zones.

Fortune Card 9: Blockhouses Fire to Sea

HEDGEHOG DISRUPTION. Blockhouses hit on a 5 or less in this phase.
AMMUNITION FAILURE. Blockhouses hit only on a 1 in this phase.
A lot of you know this, but for those who are puzzled: A "hedgehog" is a defensive formation of lethal obstacles placed in the way of landing craft.

Fortune Card 10: Allies Land

COORDINATED LANDING. U.S. land units may move to zones adjacent to either U.S. beachhead box, and U.K. land units may move to zones adjacent to any U.K. beachhead box, regardless of where they're slated to land.
TIDE SLOWS THE LSTS. Land units can move out of only one U.S. and one U.K. beachhead box.
The coordinated landing can be a great boon if you've got one beach open and another bogged down. Transferring forces between beachheads can let you get forces to the vacated beach and on to their goals.

Fortune Card 11: Allies Attack, Axis Defends

COORDINATED INFANTRY. Allies infantry hit on a 2 in this phase.
UNCOORDINATED ATTACKS. During this phase, U.K. land units can attack in only one zone, and U.S. land units can attack in only one zone.
Again, the Allies choose the zones. This can be the hardest decision of the game.

Fortune Card 12: Axis Moves

CLEAR ROADS. All Axis land units may move two zones in this phase.
FUEL SHORTAGES AND SABOTAGE. Axis land units can move out of only two zones in this phase.
One positive aspect of clear roads is the ability to move artillery in step with your tanks. This makes it more difficult for Allied air units to target your tanks on the next turn.

Fortune Card 13: Axis Attacks, Allies Defend

COORDINATED INFANTRY. Axis infantry hit on a 2 in this phase.
UNCOORDINATED ATTACKS. Axis land units can attack in only two zones in this phase.
Attacking Axis infantry can dislodge a small occupying force from a city with this positive development.

Fortune Card 14: Allies Reinforcement

SUSTAINED ASSAULT. Each of the United Kingdom and the United States may reroll one die for reinforcements in this phase.
SEA TURBULENCE. Each of the United Kingdom and the United States gets only half its rolled reinforcements in this phase (round up).
Sometimes with the positive reinforcement, you want to reroll the highest die to slow down your reinforcements on the beaches.

Fortune Card 15: Axis Reinforcement

PUSH TO THE FRONT. The Axis may reroll one die per sector for reinforcements in this phase.
SABOTAGED BRIDGES AND TRAIN TRACKS. The Axis gets only half its rolled reinforcements per sector in this phase (round up).
By "sector," this card means either the Rennes/Chartres half of the reinforcement chart or the Rouen/Chartres half.

Fortune Card 16: Fighters Return

AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION. If you have lost any fighters, return one lost fighter to airfield.
LUFTWAFFE ATTACK. The Axis player chooses and removes one patrolling fighter from play.
The choice for the Axis player isn't that meaningful because survivors just go back to base. In a three-player game, though, it is always fun to cut down a player's last fighter.

In the last installment of this column, I'll describe tactics cards.

[KG_Panzerschreck]

The difference between horror and suspense, Hitchcock said, is this: In a horror film, two people are having lunch at a table and then a bomb goes off. In a suspense film, the director shows you the bomb before they sit down.

Tactics cards add suspense to the D-Day game. If you know the cards, you'll know certain powerful events are coming, but you won't know exactly when.

The tactics cards are numbered 1 through 16, just like order cards and fortune cards. Each tactics card goes after the correspondingly numbered order card. When you flip over a tactics card, one side decides whether to invoke its effect. If not, move on to the next card. If so, do what the card says, then discard it.

Unlike in the other two decks, the Axis and the Allies have the same number of tactics cards. The effects of the tactics cards are described below. In addition to the text below, all state, "Remove this card from deck after use."

Tactics Card 1: Paratrooper Reinforcements

The text of this Allied card is Roll one die for each Airborne box. On a roll of 3 or less, that many paratroopers land there (choose the next Allies infantry reinforcements). These infantry immediately make a targeted attack against Axis units (except blockhouses) in that zone.

Players often ask, "Can't I get more paratroopers?" Yes you can. These are the next infantry reinforcements you'd otherwise get, so you have to do it before you run out.

Tactics Card 2: V-2 Rocket Strike

The text of this Axis card is Roll one die for each Allies reinforcement chart. On a roll of 4 or less, remove the first available unit from that reinforcement chart.

Late in the game, you may want to use those paratroopers if you know this is coming.

Tactics Card 3: Barnstorming

The text of this Allied card is Choose one fighter. It is immune to antiaircraft fire on the next phase.

This can be a powerful card. Just one invulnerable fighter can do serious damage to a column of armor and artillery moving toward a victory city.

Tactics Card 4: Fireball from Above

The text of this Axis card is Choose one zone in which artillery shot down a fighter this phase. Then choose one Allies land unit in that zone or any adjacent zone and remove it from the game.

This is an "add insult to injury" card. This is a nice effect in the smaller scale of this game, as you can imagine a plane crashing into a friendly tank.

Tactics Card 5: Heavy Bombardment

The text of this Allied card is Roll one additional die for each bomber. A roll of 3 or less is a hit.

This is similar to Heavy Bombers in Axis & Allies, but it can only happen once a game.

Tactics Card 6: Friendly Fire

The text of this Axis card is Choose one zone in which a bomber missed any target this phase. Then choose one Allies land unit in any adjacent zone and remove it from the game.

This is an "add injury to insult" card.

Tactics Card 7: Flooding the Lowlands

The text of this Axis card is Choose a coastal zone that contains no Allies land units. No Allies land units may move into that zone in the next phase.

A coastal zone is any that borders the sea. This can be a great delaying tactic.

Tactics Card 8: Blockhouse Construction

The text of this Axis card is Place one blockhouse on any unoccupied blockhouse silhouette whose zone contains at least one Axis infantry and no Allies land units.

If all of your blockhouses were destroyed, then Order Card 9: Blockhouses Fire to Sea was removed from the orders deck. By putting a blockhouse back on the map, this tactics card lets you get Order Card 9 back in the deck. This simple act can be amazingly disheartening.

Tactics Card 9: Deceptive Landing Arrangement

The text of this Allied card is The Allies may rearrange any or all of the land units in their beachhead boxes, as long as U.S. units stay in U.S. beachheads and U.K. units stay in U.K. beachheads. The number of land units in any beachhead still cannot exceed the maximum allowed.

This is not quite the same as fortune card 10's coordinated landing development, which allows units to land on different beaches. Here, you can move units into different boxes with the express intent of leaving units in the water. This can be impressive if you clear out a beach of infantry and then land nothing but tanks and artillery a turn later.

Tactics Card 10: Combined Assault

The text of this Allied card is During the next phase, for each Allies artillery in a zone, a corresponding Allies infantry in that zone attacks on a 2.

Players of other Axis & Allies games will recognize this as a power of artillery. Here, you only get it once, but you might have quite a bit more artillery than in those other games.

Tactics Card 11: Long-Range Howitzers

The text of this Allied card is Roll one die per Allies artillery against a target Axis land unit in an adjacent zone; a roll of 2 or less is a hit. The targeted unit does not counterattack.

This card started it all. When Larry Harris designed D-Day, he put in this advanced rule. It's the first appearance of battleship-style bombardment from a land unit toward another unit on land. The rest of the tactics cards were designed around it.

Tactics Card 12: French Resistance

The text of this Allied card is The Allies roll one die for each zone containing a victory city (Cherbourg, St. Lô, Caen) still under Axis control. On each roll of 2 or less, remove one Axis land unit of the Allies' choice from that zone.

This won't stop the Axis from keeping units inside a victory city, but it might stop them from keeping only one unit inside a victory city.

Tactics Card 13: Long-Range 88s

The text of this Axis card is Roll one die per Axis artillery against a target Allies land unit in an adjacent zone; a roll of 2 or less is a hit. The targeted unit does not counterattack.

Of course, if the Allies get to bombard, the Axis does too.

Tactics Card 14: Reconnaissance Strafing

The text of this Allied card is Move any number of fighters to a zone containing a German reinforcement marker.

After your fighters pepper moving Axis units, they can move to probable reinforcement zones. If the Axis can only reinforce in one meaningful zone, this can be stunning.

Tactics Card 15: German Convoy

The text of this Axis card is Choose an Axis land unit that can move and move it to any zone. It can pass only through zones containing at least one Axis land unit and no Allies land units.

When this works, you can run a tank from the bottom of the board to a beach.

Tactics Card 16: Volunteers from the Home Front

The text of this Allied card is Roll one die for each victory city (Cherbourg, St. Lô, Caen) under Allies control. Return that many destroyed U.K. infantry to the United Kingdom reinforcement chart.

Getting a half-dozen men back toward the end of the game can be the difference between winning and losing. That last city you need better not be Cherbourg, though.

That's the end of our final D-Day preview column. As the 60th anniversary of D-Day arrives, maybe you'll want to recreate the battle that secured our freedom. I know I intend to.

I have recently acquired this computer game. I used to play many an all-night A&A board game.


Who all plays it? I have only tried it briefly.

[KG_Panzerschreck]

i dont have the PC game but i have the original board game and the brand new DDay game.

BTW, glad your back man. :mrgreen: