Omaha Beach (wargame)

Summarize Fact Check

Omaha Beach is a 2-player tactical board wargame in which one side controls American invaders, and the other side controls German defenders.

The map is unusual for the time, using a square grid rather than a hex grid. Each square is scaled at 500 yd (460 m). Movement costs to move through the sides or corners of each square are printed on the boundaries of the square. The beach front of 8,000 yards (7,300 m) is divided into sectors. The cardboard counters are over-sized compared to other games of the time, with rounded corners for ease of play.^[1]

The German player decides on their defensive set-up. The American player then assigns units that will go ashore as the first wave. Although the American player can assign up to nine infantry companies, two engineer companies and six amphibious companies to come ashore on the first turn, no more than one infantry company and one tank or amphibious company can be assigned to a single beach sector. Before the first turn begins, the American player conducts a pre-assault bombardment of German strongpoints.

The game system uses a standard "I Go, You Go" system with a simple sequence of phases. The American player moves first:

1. Designate units coming ashore, and which beach sectors they will land at. Determine how current drift affects incoming units.
2. Movement
3. Fire and assault
4. Counter-assault and melee resolution

The German player then repeats phases 2 –4, although on the first turn, German units have no Movement phase. This completes one game turn, which marks 20 minutes of game time. The game lasts 16 turns.

Although there are no limits to how many units may be stacked in a square, only two units may move or attack through the same boundary or diagonal corner each turn.

In addition to movement and combat, the rules cover ranged artillery, direct and indirect fire. A number of special rules are also included that cover German Tank Units; Headquarters Units; German Divisional Artillery; Incoming Tide; German Minefields; Anti-tank Units; German Strongpoints; German Entrenchments; and Allied combat engineers.^[1]

Victory points are awarded to the American player for getting units off the invasion beaches, for exiting units off the southern map edge, and for the clearing German mines. The German player works to limit these conditions. If the American player fails to reach the winning victory point total, the German player wins.

The game comes with two scenarios:^[1]

• 2-player Historical Game
• Solitaire Historical Game