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Last Blitzkrieg: Wacht am Rhein, The Battle of the Bulge box art

Last Blitzkrieg: Wacht am Rhein, The Battle of the Bulge

Game ID: GID0186804
Game Info
Year
2016
Collection
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Description

Last Blitzkrieg is the first entry in the new Series: Battalion Combat Series (MMP), which simulates combat in World War II (and beyond) at the battalion scale. Its subject is the German Ardennes offensive Wacht Am Rhein (the Battle of the Bulge) on four detailed maps (at 1km per hex) and with 1,680 counters. Last Blitzkrieg covers the battle in a level of detail rarely seen before and does so in a very playable manner. The BCS itself was designed to show that battalion level combat is its own subject, being neither "small divisions" nor "large platoons". The results may surprise some players, but will hopefully pique the interest of all and allow them to see many things they thought they already knew in a fresh light.

Key Battalion Combat Series concepts include:

Objectives
Recon Units
Concentrated Armor and Support
Prepared Defense
MSRs and Combat Trains
Set Piece Combats vs. Shock Attacks vs. Engagements
Artillery Barrages
Artillery Asset Points
Attack by Fire
SNAFU
Activation by Formation
Traffic and Coordination
Fatigue
Memory Markers

Last Blitzkrieg also adds:

Bridge Blowing
Greif Teams
Weather
Tiger Maintenance Woes
Voraus Units

Game play commences on 16 December 44 and ends on 31 December 44 (with each turn being one day) allowing the first phase of the Allied counterattack to proceed. The winner is determined by comparing the German high water mark in Victory Point hexes against the situation at the very end of the game.

In addition to the full campaign, which uses a 4-map "box" layout, there are 9 additional scenarios for a total of 10 scenarios of various sizes:

Two 4-map scenarios:
Last Blitzkrieg Campaign: 16 turns
Final Blitzkrieg: 10 turns

Two 2-map scenarios:
Breakthrough Campaign: 6 turns using Maps C and D
Advance & Destroy: 10 turns using Map D and a portion of Map B

Six 1-map scenarios (including two scenarios on portions of a single map)
Northern Campaign: 6 turns using Map C
Southern Campaign: 6 turns using Map D
Kampfgruppe Peiper: 5 turns using portion of Map C
The Goose Egg: 5 turns using portion of Map C
Bastogne: Screaming Eagles Under Siege: 8 turns using portions of Maps B and D (total playing area is less than one map)
Tip of the Spear: 4 turns using Map A

Last Blitzkrieg was designed to bring all of this—and much more—to your table in a most historically accurate game that is jam-packed with information. The BCS was designed with twin goals: to provide the most insight possible into a battle and to provide games that have maximum playability.

Last Blitzkrieg contents:

Four 22" x 34" maps
Six countersheets
One Battalion Combat Series rules booklet
One Last Blitzkrieg specific rulebook
One Battalion Combat Series Crib Notes booklet
Two Battalion Combat Series Charts and Tables booklets
Two Last Blitzkrieg Charts and Tables booklets
One box and lid
Two 6-sided dice

(description from MMP website and user)

Description

Last Blitzkrieg is the first entry in the new Series: Battalion Combat Series (MMP), which simulates combat in World War II (and beyond) at the battalion scale. Its subject is the German Ardennes offensive Wacht Am Rhein (the Battle of the Bulge) on four detailed maps (at 1km per hex) and with 1,680 counters. Last Blitzkrieg covers the battle in a level of detail rarely seen before and does so in a very playable manner. The BCS itself was designed to show that battalion level combat is its own subject, being neither "small divisions" nor "large platoons". The results may surprise some players, but will hopefully pique the interest of all and allow them to see many things they thought they already knew in a fresh light.

Key Battalion Combat Series concepts include:

Objectives
Recon Units
Concentrated Armor and Support
Prepared Defense
MSRs and Combat Trains
Set Piece Combats vs. Shock Attacks vs. Engagements
Artillery Barrages
Artillery Asset Points
Attack by Fire
SNAFU
Activation by Formation
Traffic and Coordination
Fatigue
Memory Markers

Last Blitzkrieg also adds:

Bridge Blowing
Greif Teams
Weather
Tiger Maintenance Woes
Voraus Units

Game play commences on 16 December 44 and ends on 31 December 44 (with each turn being one day) allowing the first phase of the Allied counterattack to proceed. The winner is determined by comparing the German high water mark in Victory Point hexes against the situation at the very end of the game.

In addition to the full campaign, which uses a 4-map "box" layout, there are 9 additional scenarios for a total of 10 scenarios of various sizes:

Two 4-map scenarios:
Last Blitzkrieg Campaign: 16 turns
Final Blitzkrieg: 10 turns

Two 2-map scenarios:
Breakthrough Campaign: 6 turns using Maps C and D
Advance & Destroy: 10 turns using Map D and a portion of Map B

Six 1-map scenarios (including two scenarios on portions of a single map)
Northern Campaign: 6 turns using Map C
Southern Campaign: 6 turns using Map D
Kampfgruppe Peiper: 5 turns using portion of Map C
The Goose Egg: 5 turns using portion of Map C
Bastogne: Screaming Eagles Under Siege: 8 turns using portions of Maps B and D (total playing area is less than one map)
Tip of the Spear: 4 turns using Map A

Last Blitzkrieg was designed to bring all of this—and much more—to your table in a most historically accurate game that is jam-packed with information. The BCS was designed with twin goals: to provide the most insight possible into a battle and to provide games that have maximum playability.

Last Blitzkrieg contents:

Four 22" x 34" maps
Six countersheets
One Battalion Combat Series rules booklet
One Last Blitzkrieg specific rulebook
One Battalion Combat Series Crib Notes booklet
Two Battalion Combat Series Charts and Tables booklets
Two Last Blitzkrieg Charts and Tables booklets
One box and lid
Two 6-sided dice

(description from MMP website and user)

Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video Jp6N7Pos1wY Zilla Blitz Discussion at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 41175 · mention_pk 231540
Zilla Blitz - Last Blitzkrieg: Wacht am Rhein, The Battle of the Bulge video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Impressive scale and historical ambition
  • Nostalgia factor for long-time wargamers
Cons
  • Very high component count and complexity
  • Availability and cost can be prohibitive
Thematic elements
  • High-counter-density simulation with a very large counter set
  • December 1944; German counteroffensive in the Ardennes and surrounding areas
  • Long-tail Bulge portrayal with huge counter counts and dense rules
Comparison games
  • Walked um Ry
  • 1944 Battle of the Bulge (Worthington)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • area-based maneuver with broad front lines — Non-traditional hex-focused approach aligned with Ardennes terrain.
  • Campaign — Scenarios connect to form a broader Bulge campaign narrative.
  • high-counter count and dense rule set — 2380 counters in the box, representing extensive formation-level operations.
  • incremental campaign buildup — Scenarios connect to form a broader Bulge campaign narrative.
  • standard Combat Series lineage — Uses familiar CS rules for unit interactions and combat resolution.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • All 20 of these games are worthy games
  • The competition is real
  • Go vote for which one of these two games you think is the better bulge game and should continue on in the competition
  • Thanks so much for watching everybody
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 1wRIjje8mfc Zilla Blitz Analysis at 4:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 36232 · mention_pk 256468
Zilla Blitz - Last Blitzkrieg: Wacht am Rhein, The Battle of the Bulge video thumbnail
Click to watch at 4:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Strong final contender; widely recognized in the tournament
Cons
  • Not discussed in depth in transcript
Thematic elements
  • Operational WWII campaign
  • Battle of the Bulge, Western Front, 1944
  • historical simulation
Comparison games
  • Ardennes 44
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • unknown — Not specified in transcript
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • This really is a competition for fun; it's not to really make definitive statements about any and all of these games.
  • Arden 44 got the most votes in every single round it participated in up to the final round and that didn't stop here for the final round; it garnered 64% of the 444 people who voted.
  • The potential for doing things like this video series is really large.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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