Before dawn on November 29, 1944, the 2nd Battalion of the 335th Infantry lined up outside Lindern, a German village near Geilenkirchen. Their orders were to run 1,500 meters over open ground, jump a wide anti-tank ditch and keep going into town. To stay fast, they left almost everything behind. Each man carried his weapon and his bandoliers. And three bars of chocolate.
That sprint is the last of three scenarios in Winter Offensive Bonus Pack #12, MMP’s 2021 bonus pack. It’s a new board and three fights from the autumn of 1944. I’ve already unwrapped it, so call this one an unpacking.
Getting It
This is guilt-free shopping. MMP donates the proceeds from every copy to the WWII Foundation, which keeps the memory of the men who fought alive. You get a board and three scenarios, and a good cause gets a check.
MMP still sells it for $20, and Ritterkrieg has it in stock at $24. As usual, the links are at the bottom of the article.
Contents:
- One 11″ x 16″ double-sided mapboard, board 14a/b
- Three scenarios, WO36 to WO38
It isn’t a complete game. You’ll need the core ASL system, plus board 11b for the first scenario. All three play on the new board 14a.
Three Fights, One Autumn
The scenarios run from the French Vosges to the Dutch woods outside Arnhem and back down to the German border. Here’s where each one happened, with the scenario table right under it.
| Scenario | Title |
| WO36 | Dompaire Destruction |
| WO37 | The Vital Hours |
| WO38 | Three Bars of Chocolate |
They’re all small. Even the longest is 7½ turns, and two of them fit on a single board. I blurred the scenario details in the video, so please support MMP and the WWII Foundation and pick up a copy.
Panthers Meet Leclerc
WO36, Dompaire Destruction, is on the back of the cover sheet. It’s September 13, 1944, in Lorraine. Panzer-Brigade 112 was brand new, and its Panthers rolled toward the little town of Dompaire. Waiting there was Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division, with American fighter-bombers overhead.
Spoiler alert. It didn’t go well for the Panthers. The scenario is 4½ turns on boards 11b and 14a. It has a nice mix of tanks and infantry, plus Panzerschrecks, bazookas and an anti-tank gun. Expect a short, sharp knife fight with the Free French.
The Long Walk to Arnhem
WO37, The Vital Hours, is the Market Garden scenario. On September 17, 1944, the 1st Airborne Division landed well west of Arnhem, about seven miles from the bridge. The 1st Parachute Brigade had to walk it. Its 3rd Battalion took the middle route, and an SS training battalion that had been drilling near Wolfheze that morning stepped into its path.
It’s British versus Germans for 5½ turns on board 14a. The orders of battle are smaller here, and there are no tanks. You do get an armored car, a jeep, an artillery piece and some anti-aircraft guns. Since it’s the British, a couple of PIATs come along for the ride.
That’s the 1st Parachute Brigade coming down on Drop Zone X that afternoon. If you want the bigger picture, my A Bridge Too Far unboxing covers the whole battle.
Three Bars of Chocolate
WO38 is the Lindern attack from the top of the article. The 84th Infantry Division, the “Railsplitters,” had just arrived in Europe and had been fed into the line piecemeal. By late November, they were finally together, and Lindern was their next try.
It’s the longest of the three at 7½ turns on board 14a. The orders of battle are the smallest, though. The American tanks of the 40th Tank Battalion show up on a reinforcement roll. They come in on turn 4 if the dice cooperate and turn 5 if they don’t. So the infantry might be on their own for a while… with nothing but chocolate.
The Railsplitters made it through the winter, too. Here’s a weapons platoon three months later, testing captured German bicycles at Rickelrath.
Board 14a/b
The new board is very green. A stream and gully cut down the middle to a small pond, and paved roads cross the board. Then there’s the X. A big X of woods chops up line of sight from side to side. The grain will do that anyway, but with the grain out of season and no X, you could see across the whole board.
You also get a smattering of wooden and stone buildings, a few orchard hexes and a raised road in one corner. Side 14b is basically the same board. It reads as European terrain, but it’d work for just about anything short of the North African desert.
Where to Buy
MMP: Winter Offensive Bonus Pack #12
Debriefing
Winter Offensive Bonus Pack #12 is three small fights from the autumn of 1944. You get Panthers against the Free French, paratroopers on the road to Arnhem and a sprint across an anti-tank ditch. Board 14a is in all of them, and the money goes to the WWII Foundation.
If you only have one evening, start with The Vital Hours. It’s board 14a alone, with no tanks to slow things down. Watch that X of woods, because it decides who sees whom. Then come back for Lindern, and bring snacks. For more of the series, my WO Bonus Pack #14 unwrapping is next in line.
Academy Out!
GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!! 
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