Well,well, well.

What started as a simple “lets take a look at this and then plan a time to play”  has exploded. First it was the stunning counters. Then the maps. After a perusal of the rules the only thing that could be done was to setup the maps and see where all the bits went. Really, just looking, honest. Questions raced thru an enquiring  mind.

How did Case Yellow come to be? How did the Germans manage this audacious attack? Was it really that big a deal?

What did the French and BEF do so badly?  If indeed the entire Operation was a fait accompli then why make a game with 640 combat counters, 3 maps and a dozen odd scenarios? If the OCS system was not going to make this interesting what could? GMT had tried with limited success via a rule book clogged with design for effect rules.

So many questions. Dam it.

These questions should be answered. Furthermore would the sweet symmetry of the Supply in OCS  be apparent and workable in the criss crossed rail lines, roads, forests and marshes of  Western Europe as it was in the barren Steppes of Russia?

How would the Belgians fight?  Would the Dutch man the guns and fight until the end? Or pack up their clogs and head for the nearest Trappist Monastery for an ale? Could the BEF avoid capture, and humiliation @ Dunkirk? Admittedly these are all fine questions that enquiring minds desire to know the answers to!

As for the Germans….Would, could the dread 7th Fallschmirmjager land historically? What were Special Operations? Where exactly thru the Ardennes did the forces go? What precipitated the rapid collapse of the Netherlands? Would supply be a problem? Could Artillery be used finally?

However, there are surely bigger fish to fry.

A side by side play of Panzergruppe Guderian and A Victory Denied was stalled at turn 2. Case Blue maps had been laid out and a VASSAL session  was underway so that playing the Soviets could be learned. The involved Napoleonic Brigade System was up as well. One does not simply throw all that out for a game that has turned up at the door finally. Things are done in order, in good time and in a reasonable manner. No books on the campaign had been read. No real history had been learnt.

Who besides Guderian was fighting? What were the French Generals like? What was the situation on the ground between the Dutch, Belgians and the BEF?  Did the French intend to honor all their commitments?

The smart thing to do would be to read a good book, get some history down and then play. Indeed.

Although the concept of just punching TBL and clipping it was not a bad one. It would be ready then. All set to go. This is a slippery slope is it not?

Just how far out of interest could a Panzergruppe get on turn 1?  PRetty dam far. The Red X are 10 mps. The smaller white ones are 16 mps. This of course is just speculation. More of a cursory look, there are no French units on the board, no at start locations…..

The Supply levels. Yes quite high. Now it is obvious why there are 3 information counter sheets for this title. Turn 1 at start Supply Points consume all the 5 SP counters for the Germans.

……Would the rest of the map be as revealing? Where should the French set their lines for defense in depth? What towns or junctions did the Germans need to allow the rapid victory so easily gained historically?

Where was that single Truck Extender going to go?