Invasion ‘44 Hedgerows

[saracv3]

In Invasion 1944, Special Rule 15 identifies hedgerows in Normandy as particularly nasty terrain features. It states that these hedgerows are different from normal hedgerows in that they are taller and made in part of a dirt. These are to be treated as 20 m hills for LOS. I have been playing that LOS extends through the immediate hex side but no further. This is because Directt Fire is allowed (with a -2 modifier). But nothing is mentioned about the distance of LOS through bocage type hedgerows. Three hexes, as the TEC states for normal hedgerows? Or one hex? If these hedgerows are to be like 20 m hills, can LOS even be traced though the hexside.

If one hex, play wil center around Assault Combat. I don’t know if Normandy has ever been compared to Stalingrad or the Pacific thick tropical jungle fighting.

[joe_oppenheimer]

I played several of those scenarios and my assumption was that the hedges get treated as 20 meter hills which block units at ground level from spotting anything behind them (with the exception of adjacent units for Direct and AT fire).

The module is tough with officers not being able to activate across hedge hexsides. I found there was a lot assault combat and very little non-adjacent direct fire (mostly down road lines).

I like this small package. It seems like the well know D Day fights are very popular for introductory tactical games, but the nasty hedge terrain seems like an odd choice for what's supposed to be a good intro to the system.

[mike perryman]

I read many accounts of the difficulty of navigating in the bocage where the fighting took place. Officers were forced to use compasses for navigation with varying degrees of success. The commander of the 29th Infantry Division once spent over an hour (by jeep) to find one of his units four hedgerows away and correctly marked on his map. Catch snippets of this in many places with Beyond the Beachhead being one of the better sources.            Thanks, Mike