Home Search My Account You have 0 items in your cart. View Cart Go to Checkout
 
 

The issues below are all in preparation:

(PRE-ORDER) 61 - ROME, IInc.
(Upcoming) 62 - Strike of the Heron
(Upcoming) 63 - Trying Men's Souls

(NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER) 2023 Annual - La Bataille de Kulm

 I want to (login required):
   Change My Address
   Check My Subscription Status
   Pre-Order the Next Issue
   Buy a Back Issue
   Vote For a Game Idea

 I want to (no login required):
   Get the Latest Addenda
   Join Our Mailing List
   Set Up an Account
   See What's Coming
   See All Our Products
   Check for Special Offers
   Re-read any ATO Newsgram
   See the ATO Article/Game index
   Read the Latest ATO News

Read Against the Odds

Against the Odds magazine investigates military history from a broad perspective. The economic, political, religious and social aspects of warfare are examined in concert with events on the battlefield.

Each issue of ATO features:

Informative and insightful articles showcasing the history behind events, plus regular columns by noted game designers providing insight on the latest trends and events.

A challenging, fun wargame that drops the players into truly desperate situations but gives them multiple options to alter history.

Professionally printed graphics, complete with large playing map and 200 to 360 die cut playing pieces.

And much more! Look for Against the Odds to cover simulation design issues, order of battle research, rule writing, play testing and graphic techniques as it evolves. Get yourself truly "connected" with games and gaming by reading Against the Odds!

Click here to see our upcoming issues

As an Amazon Associate, this firm earns from qualifying purchases.

© 2024 LPS Inc.

All | Upcoming Issues | Pre-Order | Back Issue List | The Annuals | Campaign Studies | Special Offers | Way of War Packs | Black Swans | Accessories | Spare Parts | Endangered Species | Sold Out | Kickstarters

You have 0 items in your cart. View Cart Go to Checkout

 

2020 Annual - The Cruelest Month

Inside the 2020 ATO Annual Edition

When T.S. Eliot penned, "April is the cruelest month", he was talking about seasonal and life stages, not about a dreadful offensive on the Western Front that would be called the "Battle of Arras" but remembered far better for what the Royal Flying Corps called it-- "Bloody April." Still flying mostly outdated aircraft, General "Boom" Trenchard insisted on constant offensive actions and round-the-clock missions for recon, artillery spotting, mapping, etc. With the most common plane involved in this work being the dreadfully vulnerable Be2C, facing up against the likes of Baron von Richthofen's Jasta 11, the results were woeful losses. To the RFC's credit, they continually fulfilled the missions, despite the losses.

The average flying life of a RFC pilot in Arras in April was 18 hours in the air. Our whole picture-- from movies like "Dawn Patrol" or "Aces High" -- of young men going straight from flying school into combat (and straight into the ground shortly after) comes from this six-week period, preparing for and supporting the "spring offensive."

Now, Paul Rohrbaugh's The Cruelest Month looks at this struggle, with the focus primarily on air operations and ground battle abstracted (something like he did in Chennault's First Fight.) As the British player, you will marshal your limited numbers of fighters to help secure the skies for 2-seaters that would be better suited to training planes. As the German player, you will employ your well-armed modern fighters against waves of RFC planes that simply keep coming, regardless of how many you shoot down.

While losses in the air were puny compared to the thousands dying on the ground, those aerial actions had great impact on how things worked out on the ground. The Cruelest Month will give you a full selection of aerial operations, including balloon busting, ground attack, bombing, and the all-important photo-recon and artillery observation missions, plus the fighter dogfights that center around protecting or stopping all the others. You'll use a Air Battle Board for these fights, and your planes will interact with ground forces on a map of the Arras area.

On the ground, your gray-suited soldiers will face mines, tanks, and the newly adapted "creeping barrage," in trying to maintain your hold on key defense lines. Can you hold the line? For the British, your objective is not so focused on the big "breakthrough," but now working with the idea of biting off chunks of key landscape and holding it. Can you equal the magnificent Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge?

Bonus Item Inside!: Backlash! is an expansion kit for The Lash of the Turk (ATO #30) featuring 54 mounted die-cut counters. It covers the multi-year campaign for the crown of Hungary which lasted from 1684 until 1699 (sometimes known as The Great Turkish War). The fighting concluded with most of Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia and Serbia becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire. Now the Imperial player can turn the tables somewhat and be the aggressor against a reeling Ottoman Empire!

Buyer Extra! While all copies of this Annual include The Great Turkish War game above, those who have subscribed for, or buy this issue direct from us, will also get a small expansion kit (with mounted counters) for both solo games inside our Islands of the Damned issue (ATO #43).

Order The Cruelest Month and the 2020 ATO Magazine Annual

Maps - One full color 22" x 34" hex mapsheet
Counters - 176 full color 5/8" die-cut counters
Air Displays - 2
Rules length - 16 pages
Charts and tables - 2 pages
Complexity - Medium
Playing time - Up to 3 to 4 hours
How challenging is it solitaire? - Average

Designer - Paul Rohrbaugh
Development - Steve Rawling
Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey

Product Prices (includes shipping)
SKU Back Issue Type Price Qty.
GA2020Z-US Ziplock USA $49.95
GA2020Z-IN Ziplock International $84.95

Like the topic, designer, or types of challenges in this game?
You may also be interested in these products:

12 - Chennault's First Fight
12 - Chennault's First Fight

2012 Annual - Forlorn Hopes
2012 Annual - Forlorn Hopes
 
Tell a friend:

2020 Annual - The Cruelest Month
View Larger Image


Click here to view the contents spread below (in PDF format) for this issue of Against the Odds Magazine!

Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6 or later. Free download here.

Click here to download the rules for The Cruelest Month game (in PDF format).

Download examples of play for The Cruelest Month (in PDF format).

Read more about this game on Consimworld

Read more about this game on BGG.

And, the publisher of this game recommends the books below if you would like to learn even more about this battle: