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Solitaire TacOps: Ortona

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Solitaire TacOps: Ortona

Item #: GMT-STOO

GMT Games

Max. Discount Price: 55,63 € *

61,81 € *

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Italy, December 1943. Five months earlier, the Allies began the Italian Campaign with Operation Husky to take Sicily. In September, the Allies signed an armistice with the Italian government, but over 20 German Divisions still occupied the country. The signing coincided with the Allied arrival on the mainland. Their mission? To make their way up the boot, wearing down German effectiveness ahead of the forthcoming Operation Overlord.

The Germans, recognizing Rome would represent a significant hit to morale if captured, built up successive lines of defenses to delay this advance. To the west, things would slow for the Allies against enemy positions on the Gustav Line, but by November they were able to make progress in the east, pushing past the Sangro River—at a cost.

In December, the Canadian 1st Division relieved the British 78th Division, which had suffered heavy losses in the fighting for the Sangro River. The Canadians are now tasked with continuing the push up the Adriatic coast towards Pescara, hoping to use it to build up a flanking approach to Rome from the northeast. To do that, however, they will first have to take the port town of Ortona.

In Solitaire TacOps: Ortona, you command this campaign over twelve scenarios, from south of the Moro River to the city of Ortona, which ultimately became the proving ground for modern urban warfare tactics. Operationally, you will have to manage a brigade of units and maintain the fighting effectiveness needed to take the town—not an easy task as the Germans are determined to stop you at any cost, fighting over every inch of ground.

“I shall always regret deeply, very deeply, there ever had to be casualties. Casualties cannot be separated from battles. A commander at any level cannot shirk unpleasant decisions, whether he be corporal or general or any rank in between. If he does shirk such decisions, he is unfit to command in battle.”
- Major General Christopher Vokes 1st Canadian Division

Solitaire TacOps is a campaign system that simulates the battlefield space where operational decisions meet tactical realities. For Ortona, you start with a brigade of four infantry battalions, one armored regiment, an artillery battery, and an engineer company. These are represented on counters ranging from platoons to squads, with tank groups and artillery guns. Players will make operational decisions such as when and where to engage the enemy, which forces to use, and the type of support to provide them with. The scenarios are then played on hex maps that use a megahex activation system to manage the opposition.

An innovative dice system handles both player and opposition actions, providing a wide range of outcomes with fast resolution. This allows you to keep your focus on the map action and the narrative that emerges from play. The scenarios, which last from 30 to 90 minutes, will pull you in as you attempt to achieve objectives with the fewest losses. Each scenario can be played solitaire, with cooperative setups also available for some of the larger ones.

While the scenarios can be played as one-offs, the TacOps system comes alive over the course of the full campaign. The outcome from one scenario will determine which one is played next, all leading to the final engagement in the streets of Ortona, where the Canadian 1st Division will find the well-prepared German defenses of the Fallschirmjäger Division. Destroyed buildings, rubble piles, mines, snipers, and other traps will challenge the tactical and operational skills players will need to survive “bloody December” in Ortona.

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