D-Day Dice (Second Edition): Way to Hell - Playthrough - Beach #13 - Utah Beach

[@davidg.1387]

So D-Day Dice is an easy game ultimately ;) Amazing run my friend ! A little luck, yes, but you are mostly very skilled at choosing exactly what to buy, what to re roll and when to do it. A joy to see. PS: Ah yes, I think you forgot to sacrifice one specialist at one time when loosing stars. Not totally sure though so forgive me if I am mistaken (I think it was just before loosing two of them).

[@Pegasus6-6-44]

Impressive playthrough. As usual, you do a good job of explaining and commenting along the way. I think I've figured out some of your basic tactics: get the corporal, the captain, the drill seargent, the medic and the lieutenant. And the bangalore and the flamethrower. Looking forward to your game with all modules in play... wow 😵‍💫 Regarding your comment about the landing boats being hit by random shelling during their approach towards the coast. I actually think it fits well with the actual situation the boats were in. The course was given, there was only one way in. The effect of the German shelling and obstacles I judge to have the character of chance. Some made it, others didn't. And there wasn't much they could do about it. The actual situation at Utah Beach in brief: Behind the coast, the Germans had flooded a large area, and progress away from the beach could only be made along 4 narrow dike roads. Units from the 101st Airborne Division were tasked with quickly gaining control of the dike roads during the night. If this did not happen, the 4th Division risked being trapped on the beach. Note: Somewhat unusually, an American general was in the first attack wave. It was General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., a cousin of President Roosevelt. During the approach to the coast, problems arose because 3 of the 4 patrol boats, which on each flank had to direct the landing force into the right place, encountered mines or suffered other defects. This led to confusion in the formation and the result was that the entire formation steered towards Utah a few kilometers further south than planned - specifically towards La Madeleine and dike road no. 2, where Lieutenant Jahnke and his people in strongpoint W5 tried to assemble to resistance after a violent bombardment. The attack on Utah Beach apparently went according to plan. The first attack waves had landed, and 28 out of 32 amphibious tanks had made it in unharmed. Very quickly, the German defenders in fortification W5 were defeated, and the first troops could prepare to move into the country. It was then that General Roosevelt discovered or was informed that the landing had been made in the wrong place. After conferring with his battalion commanders, he is said to have uttered the famous words: "We'll start the war from here!" Later in the morning there was contact with the American paratroopers and the battle for Utah Beach was thus decided.

[@WW2SolitaireBoardGameChannel]

haha you figured out my tactic! Well it's a solid one, but when you start to introduce the different modules, you have to adapt to the situation and the tactic might not hold. That is what I like about the modules, they create a more fluid situation that the player have to adapt to. I agree with your comment regarding the sea phase, but it is still frustrating although realistic xD Thank you so much for the informative history on Utah! I'll admit that I do not know much of it, as you tend to read more about Omaha and it's different sectors. Cheers mate!

[@Pegasus6-6-44]

Yes, unfortunately the American narrative of Omaha Beach is far too dominant in the story of D-Day (just think of Saving Private Ryan - a good film, yes, but it must not stand alone). And yes, the landing at Omaha went somewhat wrong from the start. And yes, the Americans suffered terrible losses. But that does not change the fact that the German defense would break in any case. The defense was without depth and without real reserves. The attrition of the defense and thus defeat was inevitable. Take, for example, the Canadians at Juno Beach. They met considerable resistance and casualty rates close to those of the Americans at Omaha. But their story is almost forgotten. And the English on Gold Beach. They reached very far inland on D-Day. English patrols were near Bayeux. Something of achievement. So sometimes the story of D-Day needs to unfold more than just being about Omaha.

[@WW2SolitaireBoardGameChannel]

@@Pegasus6-6-44 Very true indeed!

[@davidlhsl]

You are doing so well and you have so many troops storming the bunker that the Germans will need to just surrender when they see you arrive on the beach. The Kickstarter update has excellent news, and I'm wondering if we'll receive the content earlier than expected.

[@WW2SolitaireBoardGameChannel]

@@davidlhsl oh I didn't know there was an update, I'll check it out! I'm leaving for my tour of duty in Ukraine on the 7th of October, hopefully it arrives before that!