Historical Background: After the failure of Operation Goodwood made by Montgomery on the east of Caen, General Bradley ordered to launch Operation Cobra to breakthrough the German front facing US troops. General Collins, commander of the VIIth US Army Corps had three infantry divisions plus one attached infantry regiment at his disposal for the attack. Operation Cobra began by a massive carpet bombing made by 1 485 heavy bombers on a limited area south of the road Periers to Saint-Lô. Most of the units depending of the Panzer Lehr Division which were under the bombing were destroyed. Then the US infantry units began to advance towards their objectives. In spite of the devastation, some German strong points had survived and opened fire on US troops. On the west flank, the 330th Infantry Regiment was quickly stopped by enemy fire near the road Periers to Saint-Lô. In the central area, the 9th Infantry Division advanced slowly towards Montreuil-sur-Lozon. At its left hand, the 4th Infantry Division was stopped at the surroundings of la Chapelle-en-Juger by the fire of surviving units of the Panzer Lehr Division. And on the east flank, the 30th Infantry division failed to capture the devastated village of Hebecrevon. Operation Cobra had a hard beginning. The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing: Axis player [Germany] : 8 command cards. Allied player [United States] : 10 command cards, you move first.
Conditions of Victory: 15 medals. Hebecrevon and la Chapelle-en-Juger are each a temporary medal objective for the Allied player.
Special Rules: - Use "Specialized Units" rules (Troops 2) for Axis units with "elite" badges. - Special Weapon Asset rules (SWAs 4) are in effect for units equipped with mortar and machine-gun (SWAs 6 & 7). - Use "Air Strikes" rules (Action 3) for the Allied player. - If you have the expansion "New Flight Plan", forget the "Air Strikes" rules and use three air combat cards for the Alled player and only one air combat card for the Axis player.
Scenario Bibliography: - Military Magazine hors-série n°29 - Opération Cobra. - "La trouée de Normandie" - Albert Pipet. -"Cobra, la bataille décisive" - Georges Bernage. - Cartes IGN 1/50 000 n°1312 (Carentan) et 1313 (Saint-Lo).
Warning: Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.
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