GAJO Games

After the great German offensive of 1918, the German forces had really shot their bolt while the Allies continued to grow stronger. In the area of Amiens, the Allied forces executed a massive offensive, which resulted in the “Dark Day of the German Army.”

The scenario for our mega game was designed to recreate the fighting that occurred in this area, after the German trench lines had been cleared and the Allies broke out into “the Green Fields Beyond”. It focuses on the action as the Allied assault forces meet the hastily assembled German reserves.

We had an excellent turnout for the game, with seven Allied and five German players facing off. Total points level was 1400, with 700 on each side.

The action at this stage of the battle resembled a classic meeting engagement, with both forces entering on the first turn from their respective board edges. The fighting started in earnest on the second turn, as the forces pushed to secure nine objectives spread across the battlefield.

Historically, the German reserves were just barely able to hold the Allied advance, at a very heavy cost.

Our refight saw the Germans holding on reasonably well on both flanks, but struggling in the center. They just barely repelled a final British assault on Bouchoir, securing their southern flank, when their center collapsed, despite a large amount of armored support.

The game ended with a hard fought but narrow Allied victory, with them holding 5 of the nine objectives as nightfall ended the fighting for the day. The new (version 4-based) Great War rules worked excellently, keeping the streamlined mechanics everyone was familiar with, and adding enough flavor that really captured the feel of a 1918 fight. Great fun.