ASL Module 10a – Croix de Guerre Unboxing

The French are back. MMP’s Croix de Guerre, Module 10a, brings the French order of battle back into print after almost 30 years. It also adds a brand-new Historical module, Dinant: Rommel at the Meuse. This was my very first Scouting Report, so I put the new box right next to my 1992 original. The difference is a little ridiculous.

Getting It

I ordered mine as part of the Winter Offensive combo kit. Multi-Man Publishing shipped the combo last, so it showed up about six weeks after release. Back then it cost about $150. MMP now lists it at $180. As usual, the link is at the bottom of the article.

Contents:

• 11 countersheets
• Two 22″ x 34″ Dinant historical maps
• Geomorphic boards 42 and 43 (8″ x 22″)
• French Chapter H and revised Chapter A pages
• Chapter DN, the Dinant rules
• 41 scenarios, 11 of them for Dinant
• Two Chapter Dividers
• A revised National Capabilities Chart

Packaging

The new box is three to four times as thick as the old one. My original is in surprisingly good shape for its age, and its counters are still unpunched. I might sell it to someone who needs the French but can’t swing the price of the new one.

The cover art is a big step up, too. MMP’s covers have been hit and miss over the years. This one is excellent. The old cover isn’t bad, but everyone thinks that soldier looks like Cliff Clavin. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Then and Now

The 1992 module gave you boards 40 and 41, eight scenarios and three countersheets. That’s around 600 counters. It also had revised rulebook pages, a sheet of terrain overlays and the Chapter N divider. Most of that has since been folded into the rulebook.

The new one is a different animal. You get 11 countersheets, 41 scenarios, two new boards, a full Historical module and an updated Chapter H. Plus, the National Capabilities Chart is updated for the new French counter types.

Three Kinds of French

This is the big change. The old module had a single French order of battle. The new one splits it three ways.

Regular French counters come in the familiar sky blue, for 1939 and 1940. There’s a ton of 4-5-7s. The Vichy French get two-tone counters, French blue inside a German blue border. Some players don’t like two-tone counters. I think they’re a nice touch. They show who those troops ended up fighting for, right there on the map.

Then there are the Free French. Before this module, you just used British counters, since the stats are the same. Now they have their own counters in French blue, with the Cross of Lorraine in the corner. The rules update is about 10 pages at the end of Chapter A, mostly nationality notes.

The Scenarios

You get 41 scenarios. That includes the original eight, ten new Dinant scenarios and a bonus 1944 scenario on the Dinant map. A lot of them are long, eight to 12 turns or more, and only a few are quick five- or six-turners.

The matchups are the fun part. Most are Germans against French, of course. However, you also get Vichy against the Japanese and the Thai in Indochina, and Americans against Vichy in North Africa. There’s Free French against Germans, too. If you get tired of playing the usual big four nationalities, this box is a nice change of pace.

MMP also brought back 22 out-of-print French scenarios, updated for balance and clarity. The map shows where every one of them happened, from Narvik to Indochina. The numbers match the scenario table right under it, and each title links to its page on the ASL Scenario Archive.

Blue markers are fights where the French, Vichy or Free French attack, and red ones are where their enemies do. Scenarios 75 to 82 are the original eight, and 231 to 252 are the reprints. The Dinant scenarios get their own map below.

Dinant: Rommel at the Meuse

In May 1940, Erwin Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division raced through the Ardennes to the Meuse. At Dinant, the river runs at the bottom of cliffs about 90 feet high. The French 18th Infantry Division held the far bank. They’d just marched almost 50 miles in three days. High Command had also stripped them of their 60mm mortars, half their trucks and many of their 25mm anti-tank guns. Between May 11 and 14, the Germans forced their way across.

This map shows the crossing, from the Houx weir down to Dinant and out to Onhaye, with a short chronology and where each scenario sits. The dashed purple outline is where the Dinant map falls on the real ground. The numbers match the scenario table right under it.

Gray markers are the German attacks, and the blue one is the French. Prelude: Chabrehez and Chasseurs at Yvoir are the run-up, with the Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais delaying the panzers on the way to the river. Most of the rest is May 13, from Rommel at the Meuse to Saint-Médard After Dark. Finale: Onhaye is Rommel riding to the rescue in a Panzer III the next day. In real life, his tank took a hit and he was slightly wounded.

The Almost Men is the bonus one, set in December 1944. Skorzeny’s men in American uniforms try to grab the rebuilt Dinant bridge in the Bulge. The Campaign Game, Fateful Miscalculations, plays out the main crossing at Dinant over 30 turns.

The map comes in two 22″ by 34″ sections. It’s the Meuse valley, with a town on each bank and the bridges already blown. It adds some new terrain, too. There are road tunnels, railroad embankment underpasses, a 15th-century fortress, weirs and retaining walls. In the Campaign Game, the German builds pontoon bridges and ferries under fire.

The map looks great overall. My one gripe is the brown used for the hills. Brown says “desert” to me, and the hills above the Meuse weren’t dry. I’d have gone from green to darker green. That’s a nitpick, though, and I’m already over it.

Then there’s Rommel himself. He gets his own 10-2 leader counter, with a white background I’d never seen on a leader before. Chapter DN has a few paragraphs of notes on him. Several of the German counters are specific to Dinant, too. I’m keeping those separate from my regular German order of battle.

Boards 42 and 43

You also get two new geomorphic boards. Board 43 is covered in grain fields, and I hate grain. Those hindrances are a pain. Board 42 has a little bit of everything, and it looks like a really cool board.

Odds and Ends

Then there are the Opel Blitzes. There’s almost half a sheet of them, something like 46. I only found one scenario that uses nine. Maybe the Campaign Game burns through the rest. Otherwise, you’re all set for a very long convoy.

You also get the updated French Chapter H, with vehicle notes, ordnance notes and Lend-Lease info. I’d love to see MMP sell Chapter H as a book on its own. Plenty of players missed the module a given section came in. Some of those modules have been out of print forever, like Hollow Legions was for the Italians.

Where to Buy

Multi-Man Publishing

Ritterkrieg

Debriefing

Croix de Guerre is a monster. You get three French orders of battle, 41 scenarios, two boards and a full Historical module in one box. The French have been out of print for nearly 30 years, so it’s good to have them back. The Vichy and Free French counters make those odd matchups feel like their own thing. That’s better than borrowing British or German pieces.

The price is steep. Still, there’s a lot of game in here, and the cover alone is a huge upgrade. My only real complaint is the brown on the Dinant hills. If you play the French, or you just want something besides Germans and Russians, it’s an easy pick.

Academy Out!

GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!!

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