Operation Cobra 1944

[Dan Caviness]

I've been massaging Cobra for a couple years now.
It's been difficult to test, and proved a difficult scenario to establish victory conditions for. (wildly variable results)
While the birth was difficult, C Section all the way, I'm happy with it.

I think, unfortunately for some players, this Operation was very one sided.
This makes for a challenge on second side, and only some are able to enjoy it.

It is exactly laid out, blame Osprey Publishing if it's not, lol.
It's astonishing when you see all the firepower the Yanks had assembled for Operation Cobra.

In order to make it somewhat more playable, I saved the Panzer Lehr from the carpet bombing destruction they endured at the start of Cobra. The historical decision to relocate them closer to the front line was debated and the Germans could easily have left them in their original positions, a few kilometers back from the front, as was usual for the Germans this time of war.

That is the hypothetical.

Historically, Cobra had some issues, and if the Germans had not come in piece meal with weak local counterattacks they could have been in position to exploit a long flank as the Yank armored columns rumbled southwards. This scenario allows for that possibility. For some reason it seems easier for us armchair generals to wait until we have assembled our firepower...hmm...;)

The reality is the Germans will give ground.

The victory conditions are set (hopefully!) to allow the Germans to lose the entire area west of the Vire River and still have a chance at victory. If they had isolated Cobra to the coastal areas and maintained the inland front, the collapse at Falaise may have been averted.

That last is only my conjecture of course...several dead Generals on both sides may have had differing opinions...;O)