Road to the Rhine (1979)

Overview

Road to the Rhine is a two-player Operational level board-wargame simulation of the post-Normandy campaigns from September 1st, 1944 to April 1945 on the Western Front. The game covers the initial attempts by the Allies to maintain the pace of their advance in the face of a rapidly deteriorating logistical situation, the German recovery culminating in the Battle of the Bulge, and the final Allied drive across the Rhine.

There are 5 scenarios including the full campaign game.

Scale is "grand operational" with division and brigade/regiment-size ground units and air wings. Hexes are 7 miles across, turns are weekly. Medium complexity, low stacking, some book-keeping, suitable for solitaire play and 3 players.

Combat mechanics are quite standard and typical for a wargame of this era, but the sequence of play is very flexible and arguably far ahead of its time - multiple impulses within each player turn triggered by supply expenditure, and interspersed with reserve movement and combat phases. There are also rules for airborne assaults, commandos, air support, specialized armor and many more.

Combat is odds-based with shifts and strength modifiers but no DRMs. Logistics are very important in play, with port capacity driving how many units you can operate at full capacity.