The Situation: The Germans, closing in on Dunkirk, are trying to clear roads and maybe take a town. A very high-morale group of British troops stand in their way. It’s a three-map battle with low unit density; right down my alley.

The Setup: The Germans start off-board, and their objectives are to clear at least on north-south road corridor and/or take a mid-size town smack in the middle of the battlefield. They can hit from a variety of locations, so I spread the Brits out to cover as many approaches as possible, building a few strongpoints around the 94mm and 6-pounders. They are spread thin, but towns, terrain and 9/8 morale(!) provide quite a lot of staying power.

Summary: The Germans come in from the southwest and are concentrated, trying to force one road open instead of hitting in multiple places. Immediately they run into trouble, as a pair of British INF knock out a step of Germans and demoralize others. The 94mm, sited in a town, also takes out a Panzer II step. Through the first half the good guys more than hold their own.

Eventually the Germans bring numbers and mobility to bear, slipping eastward and applying more pressure at several points, and prevent the Brits from reinforcing each other. The Germans took the bulk of their losses early, while the British were slowly worn down as they were forced to defend key positions.

It all came down to the final turn, at a crossroads smack in the middle of the map. Here a multi-turn assault took place, and at the start of the final turn a half step of British infantry with a decent LT doggedly held on against a MTC, Pz I and HMG. If they held out they would deny the Germans a clear road and take home the win. But the assault succeeded on the final attempt, and the baddies got their clear road and a major victory. Final losses were seven British and eight German steps.

Analysis: Road to Dunkirk has lots of small, tense scenarios, and this is among the best I’ve played to date. Very wide open and well balanced, and I could see it being a toss up every time. Highly recommend.