Battle of the Bulge - Smithsonian

Rules

A PDF of the rules is available through the Help menu. Please note that it may take a little while for your PDF viewer to launch

Optional rules and start turn

At the start of a new game, you will be presented with a window to select which optional rules should be in effect. You will not be able to change these settings later in the game.

In this window you can also select the start turn to start from - either the 16th or 22nd of December.

When the game is progressed to the first phase (Weather if enabled), then game pieces that are not in used are removed and the optional rules are locked. The units are also moved to their starting position according to the choice of start turn.

I you play by email, then one of you should select the optional rules, save the game before moving to the first real phase, and send it off to the other side for validation. Only then should you progress to the next phase.

Note: If you start with the 22nd of December set-up, then the turn numbers will still be reported as 1, 2, ..., but the turn track will be starting from Dec 22. This is because VASSAL does not allow one to skip turns in an efficient manner.

Turn and phase tracker

Use the Turn tracker interface in the menubar. A number of automatic actions are implemented in this module, which heavily depend on the use of that interface.

You can go to the next phase by pressing the + button, or by pressing Alt-T. This is the only possible way of moving the turn marker.

Note: The die-roll pop-up windows may steal focus from the main window, which means that key-board short-cuts, such as Alt-T are not registered. Simply click the main window to bring that back into focus, and keyboard short cuts will be registered again.

Phases that are not in use - because some optional rule was disabled, like the air unit phases - are automatically skipped.

 Weather

If the Weather optional rule is in effect, then the weather will automatically be resolved at the start of the Weather phase.

 German fuel reserves

German fuel reserves are automatically updated in each activation phase. Should the German faction capture Allied fuel depots, then the German faction must make sure to add those fuel points to its OOB. A friendly reminder is displayed in the chat.

German fuel reserves are not automatically spent on activation of German units. Instead, the German faction must be conciencious, and the Allied faction vigilant, and keep score by hand in the OOB. Use the arrows on top to increase and decrease the number of available fuel resources.

Reinforcements

Reinforcements units are not moved on to the map automatically.

 Battle declaration and resolution

Battles must be declared in a factions movement phase, including Air attacking CAS sorties.

The module can automatically calculate odds and resolve combats via the use of battle markers. To place a battle marker, select the attacking and defending units and press the battle marker button () or Ctrl-X. This will place markers on the invovled units that identifiy the battle uniquely.

If the user preference Calculate Odds on battle declaration is enabled (default), then the module will also calculate the odds (inluding bonuses and penalties for terrain), and place an odds marker (e.g., ) on one of the involved units.

The rules says that only one hex may be attacked at a time. The module assumes this, but does not enforce it, so be careful to not select defending units in more than one hex.

In the factions Combat phase, you can right click the odds marker and select Resolve (or Ctrl-Y) to resolve the combat. The module will do the appropriate calculations and roll the dices needed, and a replace the odds marker with a result marker (e.g. ).

The module will not apply the result to the invovled units. This must be done, according to the rules by the factions.

To clear a battle declaration, select one of the involved units or battle markers, and select Clear (or press Ctrl-C) from the context menu. All battles can be cleared by the button in the menubar.

 Step losses

Use the context menu item Step Loss (or Ctrl-F) to implement step losses. Units that are has no step losses are automatically eliminated.

Eliminated units

Eliminated units will be sent to a special holding board so that the faction may tally the victory points at the end.

 Supply

Use the right context menu item Isolated (or Ctrl-I) to mark one or more units as isolated. The module cannot automatically detect out-of-supply conditions.

If the optional rule Supply is in force, then the module will automatically deduce 1 from an OOS defending unit combt factor.

 Regiment detachements

In the OOB window are tabs to keep a record of the detached regiments. Each cell in the tables can be clicked to toggle the detached state of a regiment (columns) from a division or brigade (rows). This is not automated in any fashion. Factions should take care to record detachements.

About this game

This VASSAL module was created from LATEX sources of a Print'n'Play version of the D-Day game. That (a PDF) can be found at

https://gitlab.com/wargames_tex/sdday_tex

where this module, and the sources, can also be found. The PDF can also be found as the rules of this game, available in the Help menu.

The original game was release by the Avalon Hill Game Company.

Credits

Design, development & rules:
Samuel Craig Taylor, Jr.
Cover art:
George Parrish
Graphics & typesetting:
Charles Kibler
Packaging:
Monarch Services & Eastern Box
Playtesters:
Robert Coggins, Mike Craighead, Donald Greenwood, Ronald LaPorte, Robert Liebel, Rex Martin, William Meyers, George Petronis, & Edward Phillips

Copyright and license

This work is 🄯 2023 Christian Holm Christensen, and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

or send a letter to

Creative Commons
PO Box 1866
Mountain View
CA 94042
USA