World at War #68 - France 1940: Strange Victory, Strange Defeat

From the Publisher:

The Magazine:

France 1940 - Strange Victory—Strange Defeat: The German invasion of Poland brought quick declarations of war by Britain and France but eight months would pass before serious fighting would occur in the west. When it did come, the campaign defi ed the expectations of both sides.

Other Articles:

-Forlorn Battles - East Prussia 1944–1945: Disasters in the west rocked Germany in the summer of 1944, but the worst came in the east where the massive Soviet Operation Bagration wrecked Army Group Center. Within three months 

-Germany had lost thousands of square miles and the war had reached their frontier in East Prussia.Alam Halfa: By the end of June 1942, Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps was just 90 miles west of Alexandria, Egypt. It appeared he was poised to seize victory in North Africa, he just needed to breach the British and Commonwealth defenses at Alam Halfa.

-Vacillation - German Operational Indecision During Barbarossa: The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 achieved stunning initial success and it appeared the Soviets would fall like all previous German opponents. Indecision gripped the German high command and played a critical role in Germany’s failure to achieve victory.

The Game:

France 1940 is a two player game that allows players to examine the strategic possibilities inherent in the campaign that occurred within France and the Low Countries in that year. A second scenario allows for an alternative history examination of the opportunity the French had in September 1939 if they had kept their promise to launch a major offensive into Germany within a week after that nation invaded Poland. Each game turn of the 1940 scenario represents 3.5 days. Aside from the West Wall and Maginot Line fortifications, all units in the 1939 scenario are divisions while all units in the 1940 scenario are corps. In the 1939 scenario each turn represents two days and in the 1940 scenario each turn represents 3.5 days. Each hex on the map represents 16 miles (26 km) from side to opposite side.

Components: 22x34 inch map, 228 die-cut counters.