Miracle at Dunkerque: The British Withdrawal from France, May-June 1940

Miracle at Dunkerque: The British Withdrawal from France, May-June 1940 Rulebook

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

In May of 1940, the German army invaded Holland, Belgium, and France. In a matter of a few weeks, they defeated the combined armies of Belgium, France, and Great Britain in a series of vicious battles. The B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force) along with scattered French formations were forced to retreat toward the French coast. This resulted in approximately 400,000 men being surrounded in a pocket around the town of Dunkerque. Rescue operations commenced to evacuate these forces to England and Winston Churchill, the new Prime Minister of Great Britain, was hopeful that perhaps 30,000 men could be rescued from the trap. Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay was put in charge of "Operation Dynamo", the goal of which was to send ships of every conceivable size and shape to evacuate these soldiers from the beaches of Northern France. Through skill, determination, heroic fighting, and some good fortune, the operation was able to rescue over 330,000 men from the Dunkerque perimeter - a truly miraculous feat.

Miracle at Dunkerque is a solitaire game meant to recreate the tense situation of those eight days in late May and early June 1940. This game is not meant to be a detailed historical recreation of the event, but rather it attempts to capture the spirit of the decision-making challenges faced by Allied commanders to extricate these trapped soldiers from certain capture or death. You must perform various "Operations" - Ground, Naval and Evacuation - during the Game Turn to simultaneously defend the perimeter with your combat units, organize evacuees along the beaches and moles and navigate naval vessels to pick up and deliver the evacuees to the safety of Dover, England. You obviously cannot save all your units, so you must choose who will stay and fight, in order that those others who do escape can live to fight another day.

2.0 Gameplay Flow & How to Win

Game play revolves around the game's artificial intelligence system (i.e., the various decks of cards) moving and attacking with the German forces while giving you the opportunity to perform various actions with your units. Though the German troop movements are random, the cards are designed to reflect the actual German advances and attacks. Events - again historically-based - provide additional occurrences and conditions that may assist or hinder you that turn. You, as the commander of the Allied forces, have a mission to rescue the most soldiers, and other various personnel, possible. There are thousands of troops and civilians milling around the towns and beaches along the coast... defeated, lost, demoralized and without unit cohesion. To reflect this situation, the player creates abstracted Evacuees Units representing this mass of people, but only through June 1st (turn 4). Afterwards, you can only create more evacuees by removing fighting units and substituting Evacuees Units in their place. The player accumulates Victory Points by guiding evacuees safely back to England. The level of victory (or defeat) is measured by the number of troops saved from this disaster.

3.0 Game Map

3.1 Map Nodes and Tracks. Nodes are those lettered/numbered circular points on the map connected to one another by white lines. All nodes sharing a letter designation are on the same Track ("A" through "R"). The number of the node represents how far along the Track it is located from the German lines.

Note: Tracks are lettered from the German perspective, so the German left flank starts with the "A" track (on the player's right). This may be disconcerting when you first start playing. Also, any references to a "lowest-lettered" track and "highest-lettered" track refers to their order in the alphabet, with "A" being lower than "B" and "D" being higher than "C", for example.

Each node also contains a dominant terrain feature, as follows (see the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC) for combat modifiers of certain terrain types):

a. Town: A large village or small town (ex: Spycker in D5).

b. City: Represents a municipality and its environs (only East and West Dunkerque, along with Nieuport).

c. River: A node with a River graphic (dark blue cursive line) running through any portion of its Area. Units that defend in this node during Ground Combat are assumed to be on the "far side" of the body of water, and thus get a defensive advantage. However, targets of Luftwaffe Attacks do not receive any defensive benefit in these nodes.

d. Canal: A node with a Canal graphic (light blue straight line) running through any portion of its Area. Units that defend in this node during Ground Combat are assumed to be on the "far side" of the body of water, and thus get a defensive advantage. However, targets of Luftwaffe Attacks do not receive any defensive benefit in these nodes.

e. East Dunkerque (D8/C7): This City node represents the east jetty area (famously known as "The Mole"). This jetty was the main evacuation point for the entire operation. The status of the jetty is shown by "The Mole" marker, next to the East Dunkerque node.

The harbor at Dunkirk had an eastern and western jetty (or "mole", which is a massive work formed of stones and earth laid in the sea as a pier or breakwater). These moles shielded the inner harbor from the open sea and allowed ships to tie up at the docks with safety. The east jetty became a focal point of the evacuation as the inner harbor of Dunkirk was badly damaged by air raids and the west jetty was threatened by the burning fuel tank field.

f. Beach: There are six yellow-outlined Beach nodes. Each Beach node is connected to a Shallow Water space. Their special function is to allow the creation of Evacuees Units in them. Beaches are also labeled with one of the three British Corps numbers (I, II or III), with each such Corps assigned to administer that beach.

g. Beach Zone: Pairs of adjacent Beach nodes, plus the two connected Shallow Water spaces (see 3.1m) and any associated Provost Jetties marker, make up a Beach Zone. There are two Beach nodes each in the Malo-les-Bains Beach Zone (F9/E9 + H9/G11), the Bray Dunes Beach Zone (J10/I11 + K11) and the La Panne Beach Zone (L12 + M11). Each Beach Zone is also assigned to one of the three British Corps.

h. Evacuation Arrow: These yellow arrows direct the allowed movement paths for Evacuees Units using a Move Evacuees Unit action.

i. Marsh: These nodes represent huge swaths of swampy terrain that surrounds Dunkerque (ex: E5).

j. Lowlands: These are Clear terrain nodes until you decide to flood them (ex: K9). Once you conduct a Flooding Action, Lowlands nodes are treated for all purposes as special Marsh nodes (place a "Flooded" marker).

k. Fort: This is Fort Vallieres located in node D7/C6.

l. La Panne (M11): This small resort village represents the headquarters node for the Allied forces. The British GHQ unit is placed here and cannot be moved from it.

m. Channel Route Tracks (X, Y, Z): These tracks are represented by connected Water spaces (themselves indicating large, abstract swaths of the English Channel) on which Naval Units (and their passengers) are located as they sail back and forth between England and France. There are three Channel Route tracks:

Channel Route "Z" is the shortest track, but also quite dangerous due to German land-based artillery positions.
Channel Route "X" is the median track in relation to travel length and danger, but it can't be used until a path is cleared and made available.
Channel Route "Y" is the longest track and also subject to U-Boat, E-Boat and artillery attacks.
All Channel Route spaces are identified by the track letter inside the box. Note that there is one Water space - "X, Y and Z" - that is on all three Channel Routes.

n. Shallow (S): These Water spaces represent the shallower waters off the coast, and each is associated with a connected Beach node. Shallow spaces are normal Water spaces except that only one Evacuees Units and one Little Ships Naval Unit may be in them.

o. The Mole (M): The two Water spaces near the "The Mole" box represent the jetty docking slips that can be occupied by Naval Units taking on Evacuees Units from the East Dunkerque node (only). Evacuees Units may not enter these spaces. The status of "The Mole" structure is shown by the associated marker. If not damaged, this marker provides up to two free Move Evacuees Unit actions.

p. Dover: The Area tucked into the bottom right corner of the map is the English port of Dover. This area is treated as a Water space connected to all three Channel Routes for Movement purposes only. It is not treated as part of Channel Routes for Luftwaffe Attacks or Event Cards. Naval Units move onto the space (they are entering the port) to unload evacuees and score Victory Points.

q. Zudycoote Hospital (J10/I11): This is a special medical facility and units located here during the Turn End Phase can receive special "healing" from the hospital.

r. German Sectors: The German army is divided into three major sectors, which come into play with German Reorganization, some Event Cards and elsewhere. The Left Flank is Tracks "A" through "F"; the Center is Tracks "G" through "L"; and the Right Flank is Tracks "M" through "R". This is denoted at the map edge of the sector boundaries.

3.2 Map Areas. Each node is located within an Area, which is the dotted line boundary surrounding each node. These Areas are important for moving Allied units. In most cases, units that are in Areas that share a common border are said to be adjacent to one another, except when considering German unit movement and attacks.

a. For German Unit movement and attacks, only the node that is connected to the German unit's current node by a white line is adjacent. German movement and attacks are conducted along these white lines only.

b. Allied Units move by Areas, not nodes. Units can be moved between Areas that share a common border. Once movement is finished and the Allied units are in their final Area, they are then placed onto the Area's node.

4.0 Components

1 - Map, 22" x 25.5"
120 - Unit Counters and Game Markers, .75"
88 - Game Markers, .6"
117 - US Poker Cards (17 Turn Order, 43 Event, 26 Channel Attacks and 31 German Activation)
2 - Sequence Cards, 11" x 25.5" (Allied & German)
1 - Game Set Up Player Aid Card, 8.5" x 11"
1 - Game Tracks Player Aid Card, 8.5" x 11"
1 - Terrain Effects Player Aid Card, 8.5" x 11"
7 - Six-sided dice

4.1 Unit Counters. Some counters used in Miracle at Dunkerque are Combat Units and represent the player's Allied forces (British - tan; French - blue) and the German armed forces (gray). Other counters are markers used to track game play effects and on the game's tracks.

a. Allied Combat Units: Each unit is approximately one brigade in size, with variations in complement due to losses, stragglers (gained and lost), etc. These are the Allied fighting formations and are responsible for combating the advancing German units. Combat Units have a Full-strength side and a Reduced-strength side (indicated with a white bar across the counter).

The top colored bar shows the unit's specific identity (ex: 7th Guards Brigade of the 3rd Motorized Division) and its affiliated Corps (II).
The number at the bottom left is the unit's Combat Factor (CF).
The number at the bottom right is the unit's Defense Number (DN).
The number in the white circle on the left is the unit's Cohesion Number (CN).
An "M" above the CF indicates a "Motorized" unit.

Fresh/Battleworn Allied Combat Unit Counters: Some Allied units start the game battleworn (they have been engaged in combat prior to the start of the game) and thus have only two steps; Full-Strength (front) and Reduced-Strength (back). As these units take Casualty Hits, they are flipped from their Full-Strength side to their Reduced-Strength side.

Most British brigades (only) consist of two counters per unit - the Fresh counter and the Battleworn counter. The Fresh counter is indicated by a black diamond, while the Battleworn counter has a lighter color and is held off-map until needed. The Fresh unit has a Full (A) and Reduced (B) side; the Battleworn unit has a Full (C) and Reduced (D) side.

These units have four steps. A Fresh unit that takes a Casualty Hit flips to its Reduced-Strength side. When a Reduced-Strength Fresh unit takes a Casualty Hit, replace it on the map with the Battleworn counter on its Full-Strength side.

Note: There are three British Brigades (137/46, 138/46, 139/46) that start the game Battleworn, and thus only have one unit counter to use in the game.

Casualty Hits: When a unit takes a Casualty Hit, it loses a "step". This is reflected in a Full-strength unit being flipped to its Reduced-strength side. If a Fresh Reduced-strength unit takes a Casualty Hit, you replace the Fresh counter with its Battleworn counterpart and deploy the new counter with its Full-strength side showing. If a Battleworn counter is already on its Reduced-strength side when it takes a Casualty Hit, the unit is eliminated from the game. Any "Disrupted" marker remains with the unit as it takes Casualty Hits.

Example: The 1st Guards unit (above) starts the game as counter (A). When it takes a Casualty Hit, it flips to (B). Another Casualty Hit will have the Fresh counter replaced with the Battleworn counter (C). If that counter takes a Casualty Hit, it flips to (D). Another Casualty Hit will remove the unit from the game.

b. GHQ Unit Counter: This unit is unique in that it cannot Move, Entrench or Attack but may defend in combat. Its main purpose is to provide a Command Action. (It has a Full-strength and a Reduced-strength side.)

c. German Combat Unit Counters: Each unit is approximately a division in size, along with attached assets (artillery, etc.). There are three types of German units: Panzer (tank graphic), Motorized (halftrack graphic) and Infantry (soldier graphic). These units are laid out in the same format as Allied Combat Units, but they do not have a Reduced-strength side. The back of each German Combat Unit represents the unit after German Reorganization (Before Reorganization / After Reorganization).

d. Evacuees Unit Counters: These units are random groupings of escaping individuals and essential to you winning the game. They generally represent not only first-line B.E.F. soldiers but also other British, French, and Belgian soldiers, support staffs, civilians, etc. A single Evacuees Unit is roughly equivalent to 7,500 individuals. Each unit also has a Full-strength and Reduced-strength side, but this just changes the value of its Victory Points. Each unit has a Victory Point number indicated on the counter which measures its relative worth to the player. Evacuee Units are treated as Battleworn combat units. If they take a Casualty Hit, the unit is flipped to its Reduced-strength side. If this side of the counter does not have a Victory Point number, then the unit is eliminated and removed from the game. A Casualty Hit on a Reduced-strength Evacuee Unit will eliminate it. Evacuees Units cannot fight in combat but can be Disrupted normally.

Optional Advanced Rule: Players wishing for more of a challenge may opt to remove some or all of the "4" value Evacuees Units from the available pool of markers before the game begins.

e. Naval Unit Counters: Each Naval Unit counter represents a variable number of ships. These units are classified into one of two size categories: Large Ships (Passenger liners, Royal Navy vessels, Merchant ships, etc.) and Little Ships (private boats, barges, fishing vessels, large yachts, etc.) and this is indicated along the top of the counter. Some ships also have a special classification shown under the size entry (ex: Minesweeper). If a "Destroyer-type" unit is referenced in a result or rule, this refers to both the Old Destroyers and Modern Destroyers units. Large Ships units have a Full-strength side and a Reduced-strength side. Little Ships units only have a Full-strength side and are eliminated if they take a Casualty Hit.

The first number on the bottom left of the Naval Unit counter is the unit's Anti-Aircraft (AA) Factor (if any). If this value is asterisked (*), the unit has Long-Range AA and can use this value against targets in adjacent Channel Route, Shallow and Mole spaces that are under Luftwaffe Attacks. This number indicates how many Luftwaffe Attacks dice are removed from that roll.
The second number is the unit's Defense Number (DN), which rates the unit's toughness against German naval, air and artillery attacks.
The third number is the unit's Movement Allowance in number of Water spaces.
The white number in the blue circle on the right side of the counter is the Evacuees Capacity. This is the number of Evacuees Unit counters* that the unit can carry, regardless of the Evacuees Unit's VP value or condition.

* Important: This capacity is the number of Evacuee counters that can be carried, not the number of VP that can be carried.

f. Casualty Hits: When a unit takes a Casualty Hit, it will lose a "step". This is reflected in flipping over or removing the counter. See the example in 4.1 on how British brigades with two counters take Casualty Hits.

French, Corps Support, Evacuees, small British Brigades and GHQ units: These are treated as if they are Battleworn units when applying Casualty Hits (i.e., they do not have a second unit counter).

g. Game Marker Counters: There are various game markers that are used to keep track of a unit's condition and note various game events and effects. These will be discussed in detail in their relevant rule sections.

Disrupted Markers: These markers are used to indicate that a unit is physically disorganized, psychologically demoralized and/or otherwise disordered. When the rules indicate that a unit is to be made Disrupted, place a "Disrupted" marker on the unit. If a Disrupted unit gets another "Disrupted" result, it is usually ignored. However, some Event Cards (ex: the three Artillery Bombardment cards) dictate that a second Disruption will cause a Casualty Hit instead.

4.2 Turn Order Cards. The seventeen Turn Order Cards are used to determine which side activates and what events occur.

4.3 Event Cards. There are forty-three Event Cards and the top card is drawn when the "Event" Turn Order Card is revealed. The player then follows the instructions on the drawn Event Card. Note that there is a "Shuffle" card in this deck. When this card is drawn, draw one more card and resolve that one. Then remove the "Shuffle" card from the game and shuffle all the remaining cards together to form a new draw pile.

4.4 Channel Attacks Cards. There are twenty-six Channel Attacks Cards. This deck is used to resolve U-Boat, E-Boat, German Artillery and Mines Attacks. When drawn to resolve an attack, refer only to the result given in the section for that type of attack. When this deck runs out, shuffle all the Channel Attacks Cards together and start a fresh draw pile.

4.5 German Activation Cards. There are thirty-one German Activation Cards. These cards are used to resolve Luftwaffe Attacks and Wehrmacht Activations.

For Luftwaffe Attacks, reference the top (blue) section of the card (only). First draw one of these cards to adjust the total number of Luftwaffe Sorties used and then, after resolving the Dogfight, draw a second card and check the Luftwaffe Attacks Location entry to tell you where the attack occurs.
For Wehrmacht Activations, reference the bottom (gray) section (only) for the German tracks that will activate. When this deck runs out, shuffle the cards together and start a fresh draw pile.

4.6 Tracks and Cards Player Aid: All the game's Tracks are located on this separate player aid card. The card contains the Game Turn Track, R.A.F. Sorties Track, Luftwaffe Sorties Track, Evacuation Actions Track, Victory Points Track and Day/Night Track. Under the tracks are boxes designated to hold the four decks of cards, each labeled accordingly, with a box for the draw pile and another for the discard pile. You may cut away this bottom section carefully with scissors, if you wish, to provide greater flexibility in placing all the game's components within your playing area.

4.7 Gameplay Player Aid: This 6-page comprehensive player aid is a summary of gameplay rules, procedures, and tables that should be kept in hand or nearby. After playing the game once, you should be able to play an entire game using just this card.

4.8 Dice. Seven six-sided dice are included with the game and are used to resolve various game play situations.

4.9 Opaque Container or Bag. Evacuees Units are drawn randomly when deployed or created, so you need to supply an opaque coffee cup, bag or any other suitable container and place it within easy reach.

5.0 Sequence of Play

There are eight Game Turns played in Miracle at Dunkerque, with each turn equaling one full day of the campaign - May 28th, 1940 through June 4th, 1940. Each Game Turn proceeds in three Phases with each Phase subdivided into Steps. All the Steps need to be completed before proceeding to the next Phase.

Because of the nature of the Turn Order Card random draw system, the concept of daytime and nighttime has also been abstracted. Historically there was a significant difference in safely conducting certain operations in the dark and others during daylight. That difference is reflected in the gameplay mechanics, but since historical circumstances often demanded operating during inopportune times of the day, this is not fully in the control of the player. As a result, Game Turns will begin in daylight ("Day") and switch to dark ("Night") after two "Naval Operations" and/or "Evacuation Operations" Turn Order Cards are drawn.

Turn Setup Phase

a. Reset Step: Place the "R.A.F. Sorties" and "Evacuation Actions" markers into the "2" space of their respective tracks and the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker in the "3" space of its track. If the La Panne node is German-controlled, set the "Evacuation Actions" marker to "1" instead. Place the "Day/Night" marker, showing the "Day" side, into the "DAY (START)" box.

b. Shuffle Turn Order Cards Step: Shuffle the Turn Order Cards and place the deck face down in its designated area.

c. German Reorganization Step: If German Reorganization is underway, determine the next flank to be reorganized, flip those German units over and place the "German Reorganization" marker near that side of the map as a reminder.

d. Naval Unit Arrival Step: Starting with Game Turn #2, deploy two new Naval Units of your choice from those that are available (if any).

1) Activation Phase

a. Turn Order Card Draw Step: Draw the top Turn Order Card from the draw pile and proceed based on the type of card drawn.

b. GHQ Command Action Step (once per turn): If the "GHQ Command Action Used" marker is not in play, you may conduct one of the three available GHQ Command Actions. If so, then place the "GHQ Command Action Used" marker on the GHQ unit.

c. Resolve Turn Order Card Step: Resolve the drawn Turn Order Card.

i. Event Card: Draw the top Event Card from that deck and enact the event on the card.
ii. Luftwaffe Attacks Card: Follow these steps:
- Luftwaffe Sorties - draw the top German Activation Card and reference only the "Luftwaffe Sorties Modifier" entry. Adjust the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker accordingly.
- Dogfight - conduct a Dogfight by rolling a number of dice equal to the "R.A.F. Sorties" marker value. Adjust the "Luftwaffe Sorties" and "R.A.F. Sorties" markers for any Dogfight Hits that result.
- Luftwaffe Attacks Location - if the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker is in any space other than the "0" space, draw the next German Attacks Card and refer only to the "Luftwaffe Attacks Location" section of the card which indicates the area where the Luftwaffe Attacks occur.
- Luftwaffe Attacks Resolution - resolve the Luftwaffe Attacks at the drawn location.
iii. Wehrmacht Activation: Draw the top German Activation Card and activate the German units listed on the card. The German unit located on an activated Track is moved up to its Movement Allowance or until it enters an Allied-occupied node. German units located on the same node as any Allied units (including Evacuees Units) will conduct an immediate German Attack.
iv. British Corps Ground Operations Cards: Conduct Ground Operations with any or all of the British Combat Units from the drawn Corps (only).
v. Naval Operations: Advance the "Day/Night" marker one box. Leave it on its "Day" side if it enters a "Day" box; flip it to its "Night" side if it enters the "Night" box. Then conduct Naval Operations with each Naval Unit.
vi. Evacuation Operations: Advance the "Day/Night" marker one box. Leave it on its "Day" side if it enters a "Day" box; flip it to its "Night" side if it enters the "Night" box. Then conduct a number of Evacuation Operations per the location of the "Evacuations Actions" marker.
vii. French Forces Ground Operations Card: Conduct Ground Operations with any or all French Combat Units.

d. Turn End Phase?: If at least one Turn Order Card remains in the draw deck, then return to the Turn Order Card Draw Step. If the Turn Order Card draw pile is empty, proceed to the Turn End Phase.

2) Turn End Phase

a. German Reorganization Step: Beginning with Game Turn #2, check to see if the German Reorganization begins. Skip this step if the Reorganization is already underway.

b. German Reinforcements Step: Beginning with Game Turn #5, determine if either or both the German Reinforcement markers enter the game.

c. Probing the Perimeter Step: Un-Disrupted German units not adjacent to an Allied unit on their Track move one node along their Track. Disrupted German units remove their marker (only).

d. Zudycoote Hospital Healing Step: A unit located at the Zudycoote Hospital node (J10/I11) may Recover one step or Rally for free.

e. GHQ Unit Maintenance: Remove the "Command Action Used" marker and any "Disrupted" marker on the GHQ.

f. Channel Route "X" Clearing Step: Determine if Channel Route "X" has been opened. Skip this step if it is already open.

g. Game Turn Marker Step: Move the "Game Turn" marker up to the next box on the Game Turn Track. Replace the "Day/Night" marker into the "Day" box of the Day/Night Track. If the last Game Turn has just been completed, consult the Victory Determination rules to find out how you did.

6.0 GHQ Command Action

This action simulates the British General Headquarters command and control capabilities. It can only be used once per Game Turn.

6.1 Qualification. If the British GHQ unit is in the La Panne node (M11), is not Disrupted and the "Command Action Used" marker is not on the GHQ unit, you may conduct a Command Action immediately after any Turn Order Card is drawn. If the GHQ unit has been eliminated, converted to an Evacuees Unit, or is Disrupted, this option is not available.

6.2 Command Action Procedure. There are three possible Command Actions you can take - Intelligence Report, Operation Dynamo or Strategic Planning. Choose one and proceed as follows:

a. Intelligence Report: If you are resolving a Wehrmacht Activation Turn Order Card and you don't like the subsequent German Activation Card that was drawn, you may discard that card and draw the next German Activation Card from the top of the deck to replace it.

b. Operation Dynamo: If the just-drawn card is an Evacuation Operations Turn Order Card, you may immediately move the "Evacuation Actions" marker up one space on the Evacuations Actions Track.

c. Strategic Planning: You may take the drawn Turn Order Card (ignoring its normal effect) and place it at the bottom of the Turn Order Card draw pile. Then draw the next Turn Order Card to replace it.

Though your initial instinct may be to place a Wehrmacht Activation Card to the bottom of the Turn Order pile every time, this action can also be used to better plan the sequencing of the movement of your Naval Units with the positioning of Evacuees Units. Also, you may want to delay a Luftwaffe Attacks Card if the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker is exceptionally high on the track. There are many helpful uses for this action.

6.3 Command Action Used. Once a Command Action is used in a Game Turn, place the "Command Action Used" marker on top of the GHQ unit. It cannot be used again until next turn.

7.0 Event Cards

When an Event Turn Order Card is drawn, you immediately draw the top Event Card from that deck and refer to its instructions.

7.1 Events. There are several different ways the Events on the drawn Event Card are enacted, as indicated in the card text itself. Most Events are conducted immediately. When the instructions indicate this, simply make any adjustments, moves, attacks, etc. and resolve them to conclusion. Some Events instruct you to take or place a marker as a reminder, as its effects occur in a future phase. Note that you may hold these chits indefinitely, even from Game Turn to Game Turn, and use them when you wish.

7.2 The Dunkirk Spirit. There are two "A Miracle at Dunkirk" Events in the deck. As part of these Events, the player is awarded the "The Dunkirk Spirit" marker. You may never have more than two such markers at a time. The marker is held and used as you wish for one of three purposes:

a. Combat Bonus: You may discard the marker to re-roll all Attack Dice for any one combat (either an Allied or German attack). You must accept the re-rolled results - unless - you have the other marker as well and discard that one to re-roll the dice again.

b. Scramble Fighter Squadrons! If the just-drawn card is a Luftwaffe Attacks Turn Order Card, you may immediately discard this marker to move the "R.A.F. Sorties" marker up one space on the R.A.F. Sorties Track.

c. Operation Dynamo: If the just-drawn card is an Evacuation Operations Turn Order Card, you may immediately discard this marker to move the "Evacuation Actions" marker up one space on the Evacuations Actions Track (as with the "Operation Dynamo" Command Action).

7.3 The Harbor is Closed. When this event is drawn, place the "The Harbor is Closed" marker on the East Dunkerque node (D8/C7). For the remainder of the Game Turn, you may not move any Evacuees Units from the East Dunkerque node to either of the "M" spaces by any means. Remove this marker after the Turn End Phase.

7.4 General Gort. When the General Gort's Foresight Event is drawn, you take the "General Gort" marker. You may discard the marker to conduct a "Strategic Planning" Command Action (see 6.2c) immediately after drawing any Turn Order Card.

7.5 Captain Tennant. When the Captain Tennant Event is drawn, you take the "Captain Tennant" marker. You may discard this marker after performing any Naval Operations Phase or any Evacuation Operations Phase. By doing so, you may conduct that exact same phase again, including any bonuses or penalties that applied to the original phase (i.e., do not advance the Day/Night marker again).

7.6 Somua Tank Pillboxes. When the Somua Tank Pillboxes Event is drawn, take the "Somua Tank Pillboxes" marker. When you draw a British Corps or French Forces Turn Order Card, you may place this marker in any node that does not already have an "Entrenchments" marker at any time before or during the activation. If by chance the marker is currently on the map and you draw this card a second time, you may freely pick the marker up and then re-deploy it with the next British Corps or French Forces Turn Order Card.

7.7 R.A.F. Close Support. When the R.A.F. Close Support Event is drawn, take the "R.A.F. Close Support" marker. You may discard this marker immediately before any German Attack Combat is resolved to reduce that attack by two dice. However, the attack still rolls a minimum of one Attack Die.

7.8 R.A.F. Bomber Sortie. When the R.A.F. Bomber Sortie Event is drawn, take the "R.A.F. Bomber Sortie" marker. You may discard this marker before drawing any Turn Order Card to place a "Disrupted" marker on any German unit.

7.9 Wormhoudt Massacre. If this Event is drawn, take the "Wormhoudt Massacre" marker. You may discard the marker to re-roll any or all German Attack Dice (only) during any one combat (i.e., you may keep some dice results and re-roll others). You must accept the re-rolled results.

7.10 U-Boat Attack. Conduct a U-Boat Attack against each Naval unit in each of the three Water spaces that have a "U-Boat" label.

a. Day Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Day", proceed as follows:

Before resolving the first attack (only) on any given space, if there is an un-Disrupted Anti-Sub Trawler or Modern Destroyer unit in that attacked space, immediately draw a Channel Attack Card. Check only for the entry "Anti-Sub Trawler & Modern Destroyer cancels attack". If that entry is in the "U-Boat Attacks" section of the drawn card, then the U-Boat Attack is cancelled against all Naval Units in this space. If the entry is not listed, then resolve the U-Boat Attack against all eligible units in that space normally (see below). Disrupted Anti-Sub Trawlers and Disrupted Modern Destroyers may not cancel a U-Boat Attack.
Draw two Channel Attack Cards for each attacked Naval unit and choose one card that will apply to that unit, discarding the other card. Apply the "U-Boat Attacks" result indicated on the chosen card (ignore all the other results). Usually, the result will reference the DN of the Naval Unit being attacked. If the unit's DN is listed, apply the result. If the unit's DN does not appear in the result spread, then the unit is unaffected by the attack. If there is no DN listed anywhere in the result, then it applies to any attacked unit, regardless of the unit's DN.

b. Night Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", draw only one Channel Attack Card for each attacked unit and apply the "U-Boat Attacks" result indicated on the card (ignore all the other results), using the same procedures as a Day Turn (above). "Night" U-Boat attacks cannot be cancelled by Anti-Sub Trawler or Modern Destroyer units.

7.11 E-Boat Attack. Conduct an E-Boat Attack against each Naval unit in each of the three Water spaces that have an "E-Boat" label.

a. Day Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Day", proceed as follows:

Before resolving the first attack on any given space, if there is an un-Disrupted Destroyer-type unit in that attacked space, immediately draw a Channel Attacks Card. Check only for the entry "Destroyer cancels attack". If that entry is in the "E-Boat Attacks" section of the drawn card, then the E-Boat Attack is cancelled against all Naval Units in this space. If the entry is not listed, then resolve the E-Boat Attack against all eligible units in that space normally (see below). Disrupted Destroyer-type units may not cancel an E-Boat Attack.
Draw two Channel Attack Cards for each attacked Naval unit and choose the one card that will apply to that unit. Discard the un-chosen card and apply the "E-Boat Attacks" result indicated on the chosen card (ignore all the other results). Usually, the result will reference the DN of the Naval Unit being attacked. If the unit's DN is listed, apply the result. If the unit's DN does not appear in the result spread, then the unit is unaffected by the attack. If there is no DN listed anywhere in the result, then it applies to any attacked unit, regardless of the unit's DN.

b. Night Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", draw only one Channel Attack Card for each attacked unit and apply the "E-Boat Attacks" result indicated on the card (ignore all the other results), using the same procedures as a Day Turn (above). "Night" E-Boat attacks cannot be cancelled by Destroyer-type units.

The Germans called these small, fast attack craft Schnellboots or "S-Boats". The British nicknamed them "E-Boats", or Enemy Boats.

7.12 Modern Destroyers. If this unit is loaded with Evacuees Units and is made to leave the game, those Evacuees Units are scored as if they were successfully brought to Dover.

7.13 Duplicate Event Markers. Unless otherwise stated, whenever an Event Card is enacted that grants a marker and that same marker is already deployed on the map or being held, then the Event Card will have no effect.

7.14 Shuffle. If this is drawn, you immediately remove it from the game and draw the next Event Card, enacting that one normally. You then shuffle all the Event Cards together (from the draw and discard piles) and begin a new draw pile.

8.0 Luftwaffe Attacks

The German Luftwaffe was a constant threat to the Allied forces in and around the Dunkerque perimeter. Hermann Goering insisted that his "Flying Artillery" could single-handedly destroy the last of the Allied forces. The British Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) was deployed to fly cover over the beaches and evacuation ships and was hard-pressed to adequately provide protection for the almost defenseless forces. But in the end, they met that challenge.

8.1 Sorties. During Turn Setup Phase of each turn, the "R.A.F. Sorties" marker is placed in the "2" box and the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker is placed in the "3" box of their respective tracks. These markers may be adjusted during play by Event instructions and by Dogfight Combat results (see below). Regardless of what box they end the turn in, they are always reset at the start of the next Game Turn as above.

8.2 Luftwaffe Attacks Trigger. If the Luftwaffe Attacks Turn Order Card is drawn, proceed through the following Steps: Luftwaffe Sorties Modifier, Dogfights, Luftwaffe Attacks Locations, and Resolve Luftwaffe Attacks.

8.3 Luftwaffe Sorties Modifier Step. This represents the general intensity of the Luftwaffe's bomber and fighter escort activities for this portion of the day. Draw the top German Activation Card and reference the "Luftwaffe Sorties Modifier" entry on the card (only). Adjust the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker accordingly.

a. Night Raids: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", reduce the printed "Luftwaffe Sorties Modifier" entry by an additional "-1". Use this adjusted card modifier instead.

Although the time of day is stated as "Night", it represents dawn and dusk (i.e., low light) periods as well. So, in the case of most "Night" combat effects throughout the rules, this is a more difficult (but not impossible) time to conduct combat operations.

b. If the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker is in the "0" box at the end of this step, there is no attack. The Luftwaffe Attacks procedure ends.

8.4 Dogfights Step. The R.A.F. and Luftwaffe must now fight for control of the skies!

a. Roll the number of dice indicated by the box that the "R.A.F. Sorties" marker occupies.

For each roll of "1", there is no effect on the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker but instead you reduce the "R.A.F. Sorties" marker by one box on its track.
For each roll of "2", "3" or "4", there is no effect.
For each roll of "5" or "6", reduce the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker by one box on its track.

b. Again, if the "Luftwaffe Sorties" marker is in the "0" box at the end of this step, there is no attack. The Luftwaffe Attacks procedure ends.

8.5 Luftwaffe Attacks Location Step. The Luftwaffe will now launch its attacks against Allied units and positions. Draw another German Activation Card and reference the "Luftwaffe Attacks Location" entry (only). This is the location of the Luftwaffe Attacks, and a separate attack is resolved against each unit and marker present in any of the eligible areas. The various entries are as follows:

a. Bray Dunes Beach Zone: This area encompasses the two Beach nodes J10/I11 and K11 plus the two connected Shallow (S) Water spaces and the "Bray Dunes Provost Jetties" marker (if present). Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each unit/marker in these spaces.

b. Malo-les-Bains Beach Zone: This area encompasses the two Beach nodes F9/E9 and H9/G11 plus the two connected Shallow (S) Water spaces and the "Malo-les-Bains Provost Jetties" marker (if present). Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each unit/marker in these spaces.

c. La Panne Beach Zone: This area encompasses the two Beach nodes L12 and M11 plus the two connected Shallow (S) Water spaces and the "La Panne Provost Jetties" marker (if present). Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each unit/marker in these spaces.

d. Dunkerque and The Mole: This area encompasses the two Dunkerque City nodes (B5/A5 and D8/C7) along with the two The Mole (M) Water spaces and the "The Mole" marker (if present). Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each unit/marker in these spaces.

e. Channel Route X, Y or Z: This result applies to all the Water spaces located on the indicated Channel Route. Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each Naval Unit in each Water space on that entire Channel Route. Note that Water space "X, Y and Z", is on all three Channel Routes.

f. Tracks "?, ? & ?": This result applies to the three Track letters listed on the card (which are always adjacent to one another). First roll two dice and add them together to establish the Bombing Corridor. The number rolled is the node that is attacked on each of the three listed Tracks. If the number rolled is greater than the highest-numbered node on that Track, the highest-numbered node is the one attacked on that Track. Resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat in each of the nodes in the Bombing Corridor that have one or more Allied Combat or Evacuees Units in them. Nodes that are on two Tracks (for example, East Dunkerque is on Tracks C and D) will be attacked twice if both tracks are in the result. Resolve the attacks in any order.

Example: If the Luftwaffe Attacks Location is "Tracks D->F" and you rolled a "7" for the Bombing Corridor, you would resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack against the following nodes (if Allied units are present): once against D7/C6; twice against F7/E7.

g. Strafe The Beaches: This result means that a Luftwaffe Attack is conducted against all six Beach nodes. Resolve one attack against each Beach node in any order. Each unit in a Beach node is attacked separately. Note that this result applies to the Beaches - no attack is made on the Shallows spaces.

h. Empty Nodes: If an attacked node does not contain an Allied unit or eligible marker, then no Luftwaffe Attack is resolved against it.

8.6 Resolve Luftwaffe Attacks Combat Step. Once you've determined where the Luftwaffe Attack will occur, you will resolve a separate Luftwaffe Attack Combat against each unit/marker in each eligible node or Water space. Note that "The Mole" marker and "Provost Jetties" markers can also be attacked.

a. Luftwaffe Attack Dice: The number of dice rolled for each Luftwaffe Attack is equal to the current number of Luftwaffe Sorties. If the marker is ever in the "0" box, no attack is resolved.

b. Naval Anti-Aircraft Fire: If a Luftwaffe Attack occurs in any Water space containing an un-Disrupted Naval unit with a regular AA Factor then reduce the number of Luftwaffe Attack Dice by one die per AA Factor against each unit in that space. Disrupted Naval Units may not perform Anti-Aircraft Fire. If multiple AA Factor units are in the space, add the AA Factors together and use that sum. If this reduction results in no dice being rolled, then the Luftwaffe Attack is cancelled against this space.

Long-Range AA Factor: A Naval Unit with an asterisked (*) AA Factor has Long-Range AA capability. This means it may conduct Anti-Aircraft Fire in its space or in any adjacent Water space or eligible marker space. An eligible marker space is one that is associated with an "M" or "S" space (so either "The Mole" or a "Provost Jetties" markers).

Example: If the "AA Ships" Naval Unit is in the "X, Y and Z" Water space, it will reduce Luftwaffe Attacks by two dice against its own space along with any attack conducted against the three adjacent Water spaces in the "X", "Y" and "Z" Channel Routes, any Luftwaffe Attack against either of the "M" spaces and against the "The Mole" marker (if present).

c. Defense Number: Determine the node/Water space Defense Number (DN). This is dependent on the type of target (if a Water space) or terrain (if a node). Note that when a Luftwaffe Attack targets a land node, each targeted unit in that node will use the node's terrain DN, not the unit's DN.

Attacked Water Space: Naval Unit, "The Mole" and "Provost Jetties" = the DN of the Naval Unit or marker.
DN of Terrain in Attacked Node: If several terrain features exist in the same node, use the higher DN. See the Terrain Effects Chart for a full listing of the modifiers associated with each terrain feature.
In all cases, the maximum modified DN can never be greater than "5".

d. Luftwaffe Attacks Resolution: Roll all the Attack Dice for each attack (8.6 a-b) and compare the die roll results to the modified Defense Number of the attacked unit (8.6c). Remember that every unit and marker in the area/space has a separate attack made against it. For each die result that exceeds the DN, one Success is scored. Determine the total number of Successes on the target and then apply as follows:

0 Successes = Total Miss! No effect.
1 Success = Near Miss! The unit is made Disrupted.
- For "The Mole" or "Provost Jetties" markers, flip the marker to its "Damaged" side. If already on its "Damaged" side, there is no additional effect.
2 Successes = Direct Hit! Unit suffers a Casualty Hit and is made Disrupted.
- For "The Mole" or "Provost Jetties" markers, flip the marker to its "Damaged" side. If already on its "Damaged" side, it is destroyed - remove the marker from the game.
3+ Successes = Catastrophic Hit! Unit suffers two Casualty Hits and is made Disrupted.
- Any "The Mole" or "Provost Jetties" marker is destroyed - remove it from the game.
- If an "Entrenched" marker is in the area, it is eliminated (a "Somua Pillbox" marker is not eliminated). If there are still other target units in this area that have not yet had their attacks resolved, do not remove the marker until after all such attacks are concluded (so each remaining target unit will still get the DN benefit of the "Entrenched" marker).
- This is the maximum result that can be achieved with a Luftwaffe Attack, regardless of the actual number of Successes scored.

e. Note that Evacuees being carried by Naval Units also suffer a Casualty Hit if the Naval Unit suffers a Casualty hit (see 11.8c).

f. After applying the Successes (if any), resolving the Luftwaffe Attack is completed.

Luftwaffe Attack Example: You've just drawn a Luftwaffe Attacks Turn Order Card. You immediately draw the top card from the German Attacks deck and check the "Luftwaffe Sorties" entry and you see it is "+2". Since it is currently "Night", this modifier is reduced by one to "+1". The Luftwaffe Sorties marker is in the "3" box on the track so you now move it to the "4" box. Next, a Dogfight occurs. The "R.A.F. Sorties" marker is in the "2" box so you roll two dice to see how the air-to-air combat resolves itself. You roll a "5" and a "1". The "5" knocks the Luftwaffe Sorties marker back down to the "3" box and the roll of "1" means that the R.A.F. Sorties marker is moved down to the "1" box (and it also means that during the next Dogfight occurring this Game Turn, you only roll one die for the R.A.F.). You draw the next German Attacks Card to determine where this 3-dice attack occurs, and the card says "La Panne Beach Zone". You check the map and there is an Evacuees Unit in L12, a Little Ships Naval Unit in the right-hand Shallows space and the "La Panne Provost Jetties" marker is in its box. You roll three dice against the Evacuees Unit and score a "2", "2" and "4" and compare those results to the node's DN of "3" (as it is a Beach node), which is one Success. This is a "Near Miss!" result and the Evacuees Unit gets a "Disrupted" marker. The Little Ships unit has a DN of "2" and your roll for that attack is "5", "5" and "6". This is three Successes and a "Catastrophic Hit" result. You apply two Casualty Hits, which eliminates the unit. Finally, you roll against the "Provost Jetties" marker and score "1", "3" and "3" which is a miss and no effect against its DN of "3".

9.0 German Movement & Attacks

Your main concern is keeping the German Wehrmacht at bay long enough to facilitate the safe and efficient escape of your evacuees. But where and when the Germans will attack is normally unknown to you.

9.1 Wehrmacht Activation Trigger. If the Wehrmacht Activation Turn Order Card is drawn, proceed with the following steps to resolve this phase: Identify Activated German Units, Move German Units and Resolve Combat.

9.2 Identify Activated German Units Step. Draw the top German Activation Card from that deck and reference the bottom entry on the card (in grey). This will list which German units move this phase, as follows:

a. Paired Track Letters: If two Track letters are listed (for example, "Tracks C & D"), then both German units assigned to those Tracks will each activate, starting with the lowest-lettered Track.

b. German Corps: If the entry lists any of the nine German Corps (IV, IX, X, XI, XIV, XVI, XIX, XXVI or XLI), then all German units belonging to the listed Corps will be activated. There are always two Corps numbers listed - the first number is the Corps before German Reorganization, and the second number is used after German Reorganization. Activate all units belonging to the Corps, starting with the lowest-lettered Track used by that Corps.

For example, if the entry is "Activate IV or IX Corps", then the German units of the 18th, 31st and 61st Infantry move before the Reorganization or the units of 1/56th, 2/56th and 216th Infantry move after the Reorganization.

c. Drive on "?": This entry represents a concerted German effort to attack a particular geographical location. All German units on the listed tracks that lead to the indicated location are activated, starting with the lowest-lettered Track.

For example, if the entry is "Drive on Dunkerque" then the German units on Tracks A, B, C and D are activated.

d. Random Left Flank/Center/Right Flank Track: Roll a die and check the units on the relevant German Flank. The number rolled refers to that-numbered German unit in number sequence (there are six German units on each Flank) counting from lowest-lettered to highest-lettered Track on just that Flank. You will then activate the corresponding German unit Track.

For example, if the entry is "Random Center Track" and you rolled a "4" on the die, you would activate the German unit on Track J, which is the fourth unit in numerical sequence in the German Center.

e. 2 x Random Left Flank/Center/Right Flank Track: This is enacted in the same way as "d" above, except that you roll the die twice and activate two Tracks. Activate each Track separately and to conclusion. If you roll the same number both times, then the rolled Track activates twice.

9.3 German Unit Movement Step. German units are each assigned a lettered Track, (indicated on the counter). They move only along their assigned Track. Conduct German Movement with the activated German unit(s) (as per 9.2), starting with the lowest-lettered Track and proceeding in order to the highest-lettered Track. German units are moved by the player according to the following guidelines:

a. German Infantry units move a maximum of two nodes; German Motorized and Panzer units move a maximum of three nodes.

b. Night Marches: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", all German units reduce their normal movement by one node (so, one node for Infantry and two nodes for Motorized and Panzer).

c. If the German unit has a Disrupted marker on it, it does not move but just removes the marker instead.

d. German units move from their current node to the next higher-numbered connected node on their assigned Track only. If they reach the end of their respective Track, they remain in that last node and never move off it (though they may still attack from it - see 9.4i). German units never move backwards down their Track, unless retreating from combat.

e. All moving Germans unit must stop moving upon entering a node containing any of the following:

An Allied Combat unit(s).
An Evacuees unit(s).
The last node of the Track.

f. German Panzer and Mechanized units (only) must stop moving upon entering a Marsh terrain node. Infantry unit movement is not affected by Marsh (exception: see Flooded Areas - 10.6).

g. German units never share the same node. If a German unit is instructed to move but another German unit is occupying the next node, the unit does not move. Note that this can only occur on nodes where two tracks merge into one track (the node labels indicate both Track letters). Also see German Attack Support - 9.4a.

For example, a German unit on H6 cannot move to H7/G9 if it is already occupied by the German unit from Track "G".

h. In all cases, move the German unit in the lowest-lettered Track first and proceed to the next in alphabetical order. If the moving German unit enters a node with an Allied unit, immediately resolve the Combat to conclusion before moving to the next activated German unit.

i. A German unit that is activated while on the last node of its Track will not move out of the node. Instead, it attacks an adjacent Area if Allied-occupied (note that the attack is made against an Area in this case). See 9.4i for details.

9.4 German Attack Resolution Step. If a moving German unit moves into a node with one or more Allied units, it will conduct a German Attack. Resolve each German Attack as it occurs to completion. Combat is resolved as follows:

a. German Attack Dice: Check the German unit's Combat Factor (CF) to determine the number of dice you will roll for the unit.

Lone Evacuees: If the German unit is in a node with only Evacuees Units, no Attack Dice are rolled. All the Evacuees Units are eliminated automatically and removed from the game (i.e., do not place them back into the bag/container). If the Evacuees Units share a node with one or more Allied Combat Units, the Germans must fight the Combat units first. If all those units Retreat or are eliminated, the Evacuees Units are eliminated if the German unit is continuing the attack (only). If the attack is Halted, the Evacuees Units survive.
German Attack Support: If the German unit that is attacking is on a double-tracked node and both German units were adjacent to one another before the attack move, or another German unit is in an adjacent track-end node Area, then the attacking German unit increases it CF by +1.

b. Defense Number: If there are two Allied Combat units in the attacked node, you must select which one Allied unit will be the Frontline unit. You may not select an Evacuees Unit if an Allied Combat Unit is in the node. If there is only one Allied unit in the node, that unit is the Frontline unit. If a German Attack continues into another combat round (see 9.4g), you may select a new Frontline unit for that round. The Frontline unit's Defense Number (DN) is used to resolve combat and can be modified by the following circumstances:

DN of Terrain in Attacked Node: If several terrain features exist in the same node, use the higher DN. See the Terrain Effects Chart for a full listing of the modifiers associated with each terrain feature.
DN Modifier for Other Conditions:
- Entrenched/Somua marker in node: +1 DN
- Allied Frontline Unit is Disrupted: -1 DN
- Another un-Disrupted Allied Combat unit is in the defending node: +1 DN
- An un-Disrupted Allied Corps Support unit from the same Corps as the Frontline unit is adjacent to the defending node: +1 DN
Regardless of accumulated modifiers, a defending unit has a minimum DN of "1" and a maximum DN of "5".

c. Combat Successes: Roll all the German Attack Dice (as calculated in 9.4a) and compare each number rolled to the Defense Number (as calculated in 9.4b). For every die that exceeds the Defense Number, the German unit scores one Success.

d. German Attack Results: Count the number of Successes scored by the German unit and apply as follows:

0 Successes = Repulsed! Roll a die against the German unit's Cohesion Number. If less than or equal to the CN, it must Retreat back to the node it occupied before entering the combat. If greater than the CN, the German unit must Retreat two nodes. In either case, the attack is Halted, and that German unit's activation is finished for this card. Exception: A German unit attacking from the last node of its Track does not retreat out of that node.
1 Success = Standstill! The player applies one Success against the Allied unit (see 9.4f).
- An attacking German Mechanized or Infantry unit must Retreat back to the node it occupied before entering the combat and the attack is Halted.
- For a German Panzer unit, roll a die against the unit's CN. If less than or equal to the CN, it will continue the attack if any Allied units remain in the node. If greater than the CN or there are no Allied units in the node, the Panzer unit remains in the node and the attack is Halted. If there are Allied units in the node, the German unit must Retreat back to the node it occupied before entering the combat and then the attack is Halted.
2 Successes = Minor Victory! The player applies two Successes against the Allied unit(s).
- After applying the Successes, if the Frontline unit has a Cohesion Number of "1", it is made Disrupted.
- The German unit will continue the attack if there are any Allied units remaining in the node.
- If no Allied units remain, a German Panzer or Mechanized unit (only) will conduct a Breakthrough Move of one node. German Infantry will remain in the node and end their activation.
3 Successes = Major Victory! The player applies three Successes against the Allied unit(s).
- After applying the Successes, if the Frontline unit has a Cohesion Number of "2" or less, it is made Disrupted.
- The German unit will continue the attack if there are any Allied units remaining in the node.
- If no Allied units remain, a German Panzer unit (only) will conduct a Breakthrough Move of two nodes. A German Mechanized and Infantry unit will conduct a Breakthrough of one node.

e. German Unit Retreats: All types of attacking German units must Retreat with a "0 Successes" result and German Infantry and Mechanized units must Retreat with a "1 Success" result. When conducting a German Retreat, move the unit back down its track one or two nodes per the result. If either node has another German unit, that other German unit also Retreats one node back down its track, getting pushed along by the original Retreating unit.

f. Applying Successes Against Allied Units: For each Success inflicted by the German unit, the player must apply any of the three eligible effects: Destroy Entrenchments, Retreat Move, or Casualty Hit. These effects can be applied to any Allied Combat Units in the node (even if not the Frontline unit). Apply each Success against the defending unit(s) in any eligible combination of the three possible effects as you wish until all Successes are distributed. However, the first Success application must occur against the Frontline unit used in the defense. After that, any remaining Successes are applied against all Allied Combat units (i.e., not including Evacuees Units) in the node distributed evenly, with the Frontline unit getting any extra Success first. All Successes must be applied.

Destroy Entrenchments: This option can only be chosen if an "Entrenched" or "Somua Tanks" marker is in the node. Remove the marker and this counts as applying one Success. This also counts as a Success applied to the Frontline unit.
Retreat Moves: Each Retreated unit counts as one Success applied. Choose an eligible Allied Combat unit and Retreat it up to two Areas to any Area that is not German-occupied or German-controlled (10.2h) and that will not be over-stacked (10.2g). You may otherwise move the unit as desired using normal Movement procedures and restrictions. If more than one Allied unit is Retreating, they can each go to the same or different Areas. If an Allied unit cannot Retreat, it must choose another Success application method. The GHQ unit may never opt to Retreat. Only one Retreat Move (of up to two Areas) may be applied to each unit.
- Voluntary Retreats: If you have two units in an area and only one of them Retreats out or is eliminated, you may freely apply a Retreat result against the remaining unit after all Successes are applied normally. This is in case you do not want that remaining unit to stay in the area alone and it essentially joins the retreat or falls back on its own.
Casualty Hits: Each Casualty Hit applied counts as applying one Success. There is no limit to the number of Casualty Hits that a unit(s) can apply, up to the point of elimination. A unit that applies a Casualty Hit will lose one "step" for each Casualty Hit (see box under 4.1b). If a unit is eliminated and there are remaining Casualty Hits to be applied, you must choose the other Allied unit in the node to take those Hits.

g. German Attack Halt and Continuation: When a "No Successes" or "1 Success" result is achieved by the German attack, the attack may be Halted. If so, that German unit's activation is ended, and you will proceed to the next German track activation (if any). For all the other results, the German unit will continue the attack against the same node if any Allied unit(s) are still present. In this case, resolve another combat using normal procedures. If there are no Allied units remaining in the node and there is no Breakthrough Move (see below), the German attack ends.

Important: German units will normally continue to attack the node until a poor result is achieved. This means that you could be conducting multiple rounds of battle in the same node until either all Allied units are removed, or the German unit does not achieve enough Successes. This procedure is also followed during a Breakthrough Move combat (see below).

h. Breakthrough Moves: If the German unit scores a "1 Success" result or better and no Allied units remain in the attacked node, a Breakthrough may occur.

Night Attacks: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", no Breakthrough Moves are allowed. The combat ends.
If the result is "1 Success", only an attacking German Panzer unit will conduct a Breakthrough Move of one node. With a "2 Successes" result, a Panzer or Mechanized unit will conduct a Breakthrough of one node. A "3 Successes" result means that a Panzer unit will Breakthrough up to two nodes while a Mechanized or Infantry unit will Breakthrough only one node. With a "4+ Successes" result, Panzer and Mechanized units will Breakthrough up to two nodes and an Infantry unit will Breakthrough one node.
A German unit doing a Breakthrough Move immediately moves one or two nodes forward from the node it just attacked to the next higher-numbered node(s) on its track. However, if the first node of a two-node Breakthrough is a Marsh node, the Breakthrough ends in that first Marsh node. If there are Allied units in the newly entered node, a new German Attack combat is immediately resolved using normal procedures.
A German unit may only conduct a maximum of one Breakthrough Move per turn, regardless of further results. If a German unit already did one Breakthrough Move this activation, is currently located in the last node of its track or if the combat that just concluded took place in a Marsh node, the unit may not do a Breakthrough Move (this applies to all three types of German units). Its activation ends in the currently occupied node.

Important! Note the difference between continuing an attack and a Breakthrough Move. Continuing an attack just means that the eligible German unit will attack the same node it just attacked again - simply another round of combat like the last one - as long as at least one Allied unit remains in that node. A Breakthrough Move advances the German unit beyond the just-attacked node along its track, as indicated by the combat result. Any new combat resulting from this advance is resolved normally, including any mandated continuation. However, another Breakthrough Move is not allowed after this combat.

i. End of Track Nodes: When a German unit reaches the last node of its assigned track, it will move no farther. It remains in that node for the remainder of the game, unless retreated from it.

If the last node is a Beach node, a "Provost Jetties" marker assigned to that node's Beach Zone is immediately eliminated from the game. In addition, any Evacuee Unit located in that Beach's Shallow (S) Water space is also eliminated. Naval Units in these "S" spaces are unaffected.
If the last node is the East Dunkerque node and the "The Mole" marker is in the game, that marker is immediately eliminated from the game. Naval Units in these "M" spaces are unaffected.
If the last node is either the Oostdunkerque or Nieuport Bains nodes, place the "Nieuport Artillery" marker in the next Game Turn's space on the Game Turn Track. Note that the capture of the city of Nieuport does not trigger the placement of this marker.
If the unit is in the last node of the track and is instructed to move by a Wehrmacht Activation, it will instead attack one adjacent Allied-occupied Area. If there is more than one such Area eligible to be attacked, you may choose. The attack is resolved using normal procedures except the German unit does not actually move into the attacked Area, it can never conduct a Breakthrough Move and it never retreats out of this last node due to this attack. Note that this is an exception to the normal rule that German units only attack adjacent "nodes". In this case, the German units will attack Allied units in an adjacent "Area".

9.5 German Capture of Gravelines. Should a German unit enter or move through the Gravelines node (A1) and there are no Allied combat units in that node, at the beginning of the next Game Turn place the "Gravelines Artillery" marker in the corresponding Water space on Channel Route "Z" (place the marker in the next space of the Game Turn Track as a reminder). This marker functions in the same manner as the "Calais Artillery" marker (11.7). If Gravelines is re-occupied by an Allied combat unit, the marker is removed.

9.6 German Capture of Oostdunkerque or Nieuport Bains. Should a German enter the Oostdunkerque (P6) or Nieuport Bains node (R4/Q5) and there are no Allied combat units in that node, then at the beginning of the next Game Turn place the "Nieuport Artillery" marker in the corresponding Water space on Channel Route "Y" (place the marker in the next space of the Game Turn Track as a reminder). This effect applies if either of those two nodes is captured. This marker functions in the same manner as the "Calais Artillery" marker (11.7). If either/both nodes are re-occupied by an Allied Combat unit, then the marker is removed.

German Movement and Attack Example

You draw a Wehrmacht Activation Turn Order Card and then draw the top card from the German Activation Card deck. The entry is "Drive On Bray Dunes (I, J & K)". You first activate the German unit on the "I" track and since the German Reorganization has not yet occurred, this is the "SS Verlungs" Mechanized unit. It is still in its starting node and moves three nodes (since it is a Mechanized unit, and this is a "Day" turn) to node "I3" (Steenvorde). No Allied units were encountered along the way so that unit is finished.

Next, you activate the German unit on the "J" track which is the "3rd Panzer". It's in "J2" (Watou) right now and will also advance up to three nodes as it is a Panzer unit. However, it must stop in node "J4" as this is occupied by the British "132/44" unit of III Corps (which is Disrupted) and the French "12 Motorized Division" (which is flipped over to its Reduced-strength side, and Disrupted as well).

A German Attack must now be resolved. You will roll six dice for the German unit (as its Combat factor is "6"). You choose the British unit to be the Frontline Unit, so you begin with a Defense Number for the Allied Units at "3". You reduce the Defense Number by "-1 DN" because the Frontline Unit is Disrupted, and you add "+2 DN" because this is a River node. Note that you cannot also add another "+1 DN" for Allied Support because the French unit is Disrupted. So, the final net DN is "4". You roll all six dice and get the following results: 1, 4, 4, 5, 5 and 6. This results in 3 Successes.

Spreading the Successes out first to the Frontline unit and then the other unit, this means that you will be applying 2 Successes against the British unit and 1 Success against the French unit. The first Success against the British will be a Casualty Hit and you flip the unit over to its Reduced-strength side. The next Success will be a Retreat and you decide to retreat the unit to "H5" because you don't want it to get hit again by the Panzer unit's upcoming Breakthrough Move. The French unit is already on its Reduced-strength side, so you opt to Retreat it only one Area, into node "J5". Why? You'll see ...

Note that you do not need to check for Disruption on the British unit as it is already Disrupted. If it was not originally Disrupted, it would avoid being Disrupted as its CN is not "2 or less". The German "3rd Panzer" unit scored 3 Successes, but it can't continue the fight because all the Allied Units in the combat node retreated. So, it now gets a Breakthrough Move of two nodes (because it is currently "Day") and advances from "J4" into "J5". It must stop there because the recently retreated French unit is defending that node. By doing this, you prevented the German unit from continuing its Breakthrough Move into "J6", in which you had your III Corps Support unit.

The German unit will now conduct a new German Attack on the French unit, rolling six dice against the French unit's DN of only "2". The French are eliminated as the Germans roll 5 Successes, but its sacrifice avoided the possible loss of your vital Corps Support unit. Finally, you activate the "K" track and move the "SS Totenkopf" unit three nodes from its start node to "K3" (Poperinghe) and it does not encounter any Allied units along the way. This ends the Wehrmacht Activation for this Turn Order Card.

10.0 Ground Operations

When one of the three British Corps or single French Forces Ground Operations Turn Order Cards is drawn, you will conduct actions with British or French Combat Units. With each British Corps Ground Operations card, you will conduct a Ground Operations Phase with any or all British Combat Units belonging only to the drawn Corps (either I, II or III). With the French Forces Ground Operations card, you will conduct a Ground Operations Phase with only the French Combat Units.

10.1 Unit Actions. Each unit in the activated formation may conduct one Unit Action. Active units may do their Unit Action in any order you wish (you can turn each counter 90-degrees after the unit has conducted its Action to help keep track). Note that Evacuees Units and Naval Units may not move or otherwise activate during this phase. An eligible unit can do one of four available Unit Actions:

Movement (and possible Attack)
Rally
Entrench
Flood the Lowlands

10.2 Movement. An activated Allied unit may conduct Movement as its action. Exception: The GHQ unit may never move.

a. Movement Procedure: A unit may move from its Area to another adjacent (bordering) Area. The number of consecutive, adjacent Areas a unit may move through depends on whether the unit uses March Movement or Motorized Movement. Moving units must stop their movement upon entering an Area containing a German unit and some units must stop when entering a Marsh terrain node (see below). If the unit enters a node with a German unit, that German unit must be attacked at the end of the activation phase (after all Allied units in the activated formation have acted).

Important! Note that Allied units move from Area to Area (not node to node) but are still always placed on the node within an Area once they are done moving.

b. Disrupted Units: A unit with a "Disrupted" marker cannot conduct any movement. It may only Rally.

c. Foot Movement Allowances: Most Allied units may move up to 3 Areas during a Movement Action. However, if a unit begins the move in an Area with an "Entrenched" or "Somua" marker, it may only move 2 Areas. The types of nodes entered do not affect movement except if the unit enters a Flooded area (see 10.6), in which case their movement must be immediately ended.

d. Motorized Movement Allowances: Only British units of the 3rd Motorized Division (those with an "M" on their counters) may use Motorized Movement. Units using Motorized Movement may move up to 6 Areas during their movement, but only up to 3 Areas if they began the move with an "Entrenched" or "Somua" marker. However, if they enter a Marsh terrain node, their movement must be immediately ended.

British units of the 3rd Motorized Division under General Bernard Montgomery were specially trained to move by truck.

e. Night Marches: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", all Allied Foot and Motorized Movement is reduced by one Area.

f. Corps Support: These units use the Foot Movement procedure but must stop their movement immediately upon entering a Marsh terrain node.

g. Allied Unit Stacking: Only two Allied Combat units may be in the same Area at the end of any Allied unit's movement. There may be more units in the Area temporarily while moving, but the two-unit limit is enforced at the end of any move. There is no limit to the number of Evacuees Units that may be in an Area. The GHQ unit does not count as a Combat Unit for stacking purposes.

h. German Garrisons: Allied units may not enter any Area located behind the German unit assigned to that track (i.e., the Area has a lower-numbered node than the node occupied by the German unit). These Areas are considered to have strong, entrenched German garrisons and are German-controlled. They may not be entered or attacked by Allied units.

Important! Note the game play consequences of this rule. If, for example, the German 3rd Panzer unit (Track J) were able to breakthrough to the end of its track into node J10/I11, that would effectively cut the Allied perimeter in half! No Allied units could move into any node that includes Track J and thus you could have units isolated from their evacuation beaches. You may want to mark nodes that are German controlled in or near the beaches and city to clarify which nodes are verboten, especially where two tracks join.

10.3 Attack. After all activated units have conducted their moves, any Allied units that currently share a node with a German unit must conduct an attack against that German unit. Note that only one Allied unit may conduct the Attack - this is the Frontline Unit. If there are two Allied units on a node, the second unit may add its support in the form of a modifier.

a. Allied Attack Combats are resolved exactly like a German Attack (see 9.4) with the same applicable Defense modifiers for the defending German unit. There are two new modifiers for the Allied unit:

If another un-Disrupted Allied Combat unit is in the same node with the Frontline Unit, increase the attacking unit's CF by one (+1). The GHQ unit may not be used for this modifier.
If an un-Disrupted Corps Support unit from the same Corps as the attacking Allied Frontline Unit is adjacent to the combat node, increase the attacking unit's CF by one (+1). All French units get this modifier from the French Corps Support unit if otherwise qualified.

b. Figure the number of Successes inflicted by the attack using the same procedure as a German Attack (9.4d) and then apply as follows:

0 Successes = Attack Repulsed! The Allied Frontline Unit takes a Casualty Hit and is made Disrupted. All Allied units in that node must then Retreat back to the area from which they moved. The German unit is unaffected.
1 Success = Standstill!
- Roll a die against the German unit's CN. If less than or equal to the CN, the German unit remains in the node. All the Allied unit's Retreat back to the Area from which they entered, and the Frontline unit (only) is made Disrupted. If greater than the CN, the German unit Retreats one node.
- Then roll a die for the Allied Frontline unit. If less than or equal to the CN, it remains in the node with no further effect. If greater than the CN, it remains in the node but is made Disrupted.
2 Successes = Minor Victory! The German unit is made Disrupted and must Retreat one node. The Allied unit(s) remain in the node.
3 or more Successes = Major Victory! The German unit is made Disrupted and must Retreat two nodes. The Allied Frontline unit (only) may advance one node down the same track, following the German retreat. This is the maximum result that can be achieved with an Allied Attack, regardless of the actual number of Successes scored.

10.4 Rally. A Disrupted unit may conduct a Rally action to remove the "Disrupted" marker (also see 13.4 - Zudycoote Hospital). Choose the unit and just remove its marker. This is the only action a Disrupted unit can take.

10.5 Entrench. An un-Disrupted Allied Combat unit may improve its current defensive position by conducting an Entrench Action. By doing so, you may place an "Entrenched" marker in the node. This marker gives its defensive benefit to all units defending in this node. The GHQ unit and Evacuees Units may not Entrench but may benefit from an existing entrenchment. Only one "Entrenched" marker is allowed in a node. If at the end of any British Corp or French Forces activation the node is empty of at least one Allied Combat unit, the "Entrenched" marker is removed and placed back into the pool of available markers. You may also use this action to remove an "Entrenched" marker from a node without moving the unit (you may want to do this to increase its Movement ability or make the marker available for entrenching elsewhere in a future action).

10.6 Flood the Lowlands. There are five areas on the map that are "Lowlands" terrain. These normally function as Clear terrain areas. An un-Disrupted Allied unit located on any of the areas' nodes can use a "Flood the Lowlands" action and open the dikes to flood all such areas to help slow down the German advance. By doing so, all five Lowlands areas are treated as special "Flooded" areas - place the "Flooded" markers on the map in these Areas as a reminder. Flooded areas are treated as Marsh areas, but affecting all types of units (i.e., including Infantry units from both sides).

Ground Operations Example

You draw the British I Corp Ground Operations Turn Order Card. This allows you to activate all the Combat Units from I Corps. The "1st Guards/1" unit is in node J4, and you decide it will defend that river line. Therefore, you order it to Entrench and place an "Entrenched" marker in the node with it. The "3rd/1" unit is in K4, and you want it to start heading back toward the beaches. So, you order it to do a Movement and move it K4 -> J3 -> I5 -> I6 -> I7. The "125/42" unit is already Entrenched in L5, and you decide that you want it further back into the perimeter. The unit gets a Movement action and moves L5 -> K5 -> K6 (it can only move two Areas because it started Entrenched). The "126/42" unit is in M1 and is being threatened. You have it do a Movement action and move it M1 -> M2 -> M3 -> L4 -> L5, where it occupies the Entrenchments left by "125/42" (the marker is not removed because it will have an Allied unit with it at the end of the action). The unit "127/42" is in node N1, but it has a "Disrupted" marker on it. It can only choose the Rally action and thus removes the "Disrupted" marker. Finally, the "Corps Support" unit for I Corps is in K6, and you like its position, so you order it to Entrench and place an "Entrenched" marker in its Area.

11.0 Naval Operations

You will be responsible for moving a potpourri of Naval units back and forth between Dover, England and Dunkerque, France. Naval units come in various sizes and have unique abilities. Their primary function is to carry evacuees from the danger zone to the safety of England or to protect units carrying out that mission. When one of the two Naval Operations Cards is drawn, you conduct a Naval Operations Phase. When you do so, all Naval Units in play can activate once.

11.1 Day/Night Update Step. Advance the "Day/Night" marker one box on the Day/Night Track, but only if it is currently in a "Day" box. If it moves from a "Day" box to the "Night" box, flip the marker to its "Night" side.

11.2 Naval Unit Movement Procedure. During the Naval Operations Phase, you may move any or all Naval Units that are eligible to move. Units are moved one at a time, in any order, from one Water space to any adjacent, connected Water space (only). Naval units move a distance equal to their current Movement Point (MP) Allowance, normally deducting 1 MP from that allowance for each space moved into. Some notes and exceptions are:

Disrupted Naval Units may not move at all. When selected to move, they instead remain in their current space but remove the "Disrupted" marker.
Heavy Traffic Penalty: A Large Naval Unit (only) entering an area containing one or two other Large Naval Unit(s) (only) must pay a 1 MP penalty for each Large Naval Unit already in that area. The moving unit may not end its movement in an area that would cause over-stacking (see below). Little Ships Naval Units do not suffer this Heavy Traffic Penalty nor do they cause such a penalty.
- For example, a Large Naval Unit moving into an area with two Large Naval Units and two Little Ships Naval Units would deduct 3 MP from its allowed movement.
Dover: Despite looking like a land area, the Dover area can be entered or passed through by Naval Units as if it is a Water space (in fact, they must do so to unload Evacuees Units and score Victory Points).
Ship Repair: If a Large Naval Unit on its Reduced-strength side is in the Dover area at the beginning of a Naval Operations Phase, the player may Repair the unit by flipping it back over to its Full-strength side. The unit may not move during this same phase and only one unit can be so Repaired during each Naval Operations Phase.

Optional Advanced Rule: Omit the Ship Repair rule from the game. If flipped to their Reduced-strength side, a damaged Naval Unit remains so for the rest of the game.

11.3 Naval Unit Stacking. Only a limited number of Naval Units may be in a particular space at the end of each Naval Unit's movement. Units may be temporarily over-stacked while conducting movement. Stacking limits are determined by the type of units involved and/or the location of the Water space.

a. Stacking Limit: The maximum number of Naval Units that may end their Movement in a space depends on the size of the Naval Units involved and the type of Water space. Note that Evacuees Units in a Shallow Water space do not count against the space's Naval Unit stacking limit.

Channel Route Space ("X, Y or Z"): Each Channel Route space may contain up to two Large Naval Units plus up to two Little Ships units.
The Mole Spaces ("M"): Each Mole space may contain one Large Naval Unit plus one Little Ships Naval Unit.
Shallow Spaces ("S"): Each Shallow space may only contain one Little Ships Naval Unit.
Dover Space: This space may hold any number and type of Naval Units.

b. Stacking Violations: In a situation where a unit is passing through a space and its move is halted by some game effect (for example, a German Artillery Attack) and this results in the Stacking Limit being exceeded, you must try to remedy the situation by the end of the phase. If that over-stacked situation cannot be remedied, the last unit(s) that was moved is placed back into the last legal space it passed through before entering this now over-stacked space. It retains any negative game effect it received during its move.

11.4 Channel Route "X". Naval Units may not move into any Channel Route "X"-only Water Spaces if the "Route X Not Open" marker is on the map. You may attempt to "clear" Channel Route "X" during the turn's End Phase. If cleared, Channel Route "X" spaces are used normally. Note that the "X, Y & Z" Water space can be entered even if the marker is present.

This channel route was the last to enter service as Allied mine-clearing operations were only begun after both Channel Routes "Y" and "Z" proved to be exceedingly risky for vessels. Route "X" was finally cleared on May 29th and evacuation craft could start traversing it at that point.

11.5 Naval Units and Combat. Naval units can be Disrupted and receive Casualty Hits from numerous types of attacks.

a. Disruption: A Naval Unit that receives a Disruption result is given a "Disrupted" marker. If the unit was moving when this result was received, it must end its move in the current space. If a Disrupted Naval Unit gets a second Disruption result, this converts to a Casualty Hit instead (see below). The unit keeps the "Disrupted" marker in this case if it is not eliminated.

b. Casualty Hit: A Naval Unit that receives a Casualty Hit is flipped from its Full-strength side over to its Reduced-strength side. If already on its Reduced-strength side, the unit is eliminated instead. Little Ships units that receive a Casualty Hit are immediately eliminated. A Disrupted Naval Unit that takes a Casualty Hit keeps its "Disrupted" marker.

11.6 Mine Attacks. German planes, U-Boats and E-Boats were constantly dropping mines all along the various shipping channels to harass Allied vessels.

a. Every Naval Unit that enters a space with a "Minefield" marker during its movement must temporarily stop its move. The unit then suffers an immediate Mine Attack. Units that start their move in that space are not subject to a Mine Attack (however, see Minesweeping below).

b. Mine Attack Resolution: Draw a Channel Attack Card and apply the "Mine Attacks" result indicated on the card (ignore all other results). Usually, the result will reference the DN of the Naval Unit being attacked. If the unit's DN does not appear, then the unit is unaffected by the attack. If no DN at all appears in the result, then it automatically applies, regardless of DN.

c. If the result "+Halt" appears, the unit must immediately end its movement in that space.

d. If the Mine Attack has no effect on the unit, you finish conducting its movement normally.

e. Minesweeping: If the moving unit is a Minesweeper-type Naval Unit, draw a Channel Attack Card and check only for the entry "Minesweeper Removes Mine Marker". If that entry is in the "Mine Attacks" section of the drawn card, the Mine Attack has no effect plus the "Mine" marker is removed from the map. If the entry is not listed, then draw a second Channel Attacks Card and apply the results of the Mine Attack normally. If an un-Disrupted Minesweeper-type unit starts its Movement in a space with a "Mine" marker, you may have it voluntarily undergo a Mine Attack per the above procedure before it conducts any normal movement (i.e., it does not have to move out of the space and back in to trigger the attack).

f. Mine Attacks in German Artillery Attack Spaces: Should a "Minefield" marker be in the same space with an "Artillery" marker (see below), a moving Naval unit must stop as normal. Then you resolve both marker attacks, with the German Artillery Attack being resolved first and then the Mine Attack. If the unit is "Disrupted" with the first attack and "Disrupted" again with the second attack, it takes a Casualty Hit for the second attack result.

11.7 German Artillery Fire Interdiction. Long-range German artillery units were deployed in the city of Calais (located off the western side of the map). These guns constantly harassed any ships using Channel Route "Z" (especially during daylight hours) and the Allies resorted to traversing this area only at nighttime. Initially, only the "Calais Artillery" marker is in play, but depending on circumstances two more markers may enter play (these represent German artillery batteries at Gravelines and the coastal area near Nieuport - see 9.5 and 9.6).

a. Every Naval Unit that enters a space with an "Artillery" marker during its movement must temporarily stop its move. The unit then suffers an immediate German Artillery Attack (see below). Units that start their move in that space are not subject to a German Artillery Attack.

b. Day Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Day", draw a Channel Attack Card and apply the "German Artillery Attacks" result indicated on the card (ignore all the other results) in the same manner as with Mine Attacks (11.6).

c. Night Turn: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", draw two Channel Attack Cards and select the one card that you wish to apply for this attack. The other card is ignored and discarded. Then resolve the chosen card using the same procedure as Day Turn above.

d. If the result "+Halt" appears, the unit must immediately end its movement in that space.

e. If the German Artillery Attack has no effect on the moving unit, the unit finishes its movement normally.

f. German Artillery Attacks in Mine Spaces: Apply as indicated under 11.6f.

11.8 Loaded Evacuees & Scoring Victory Points. The primary purpose of Naval Units is to pick up Evacuees Units from the beaches and moles of France and carry them (safely) to the Dover area, where they will score you Victory Points.

a. During an Evacuation Operations Phase (see 12.0), eligible Naval Units may be loaded with Evacuees Units up to their listed Evacuees Capacity. Remember that the Evacuees Capacity is the number of Evacuees Units that can be loaded - not the Evacuee VP values.

b. Once loaded, the Evacuees Units are moved along with the Naval Unit, "carrying" them while moving. Note that loaded Evacuees Units do not count against the normal Naval Stacking Limit (11.3).

c. All Evacuees Units being carried by a Naval unit which suffers a Casualty Hit result also each receive a Casualty Hit and are flipped to their Reduced-strength side (or eliminated if already reduced). If a Casualty Hit causes the Naval Unit's Evacuees Capacity number to be reduced and as a result it is now loaded with too many Evacuees Units, the player chooses Evacuees Units to eliminate in order to meet the new Evacuees Capacity.

d. Evacuees Units may not be transferred between Naval units and once loaded, they can only be unloaded in the Dover area.

e. Unloading Evacuees in Dover: Those Evacuees Units that are loaded onto Naval Units and in the Dover area at the conclusion of any Naval Operations Phase unload for free at that time to score Victory Points.

f. Victory Point Scoring: You will score 1 Victory Point (VP) for each VP value of unloaded Evacuees Units (as printed on the currently faceup side of the Evacuees Unit counter). For example, a "2" Evacuees Unit will gain you 2 VPs. Add up all the VPs that you have scored this phase and then adjust the appropriate "Victory Points" markers on the Victory Point Track to reflect the new cumulative score. Important: Place unloaded Evacuees Units back into the bag/container.

Naval Operations Example

You draw a Naval Operations Turn Order Card, which means you can activate all your Naval Units once each. You first move the "Day/Night" marker up one space on the Day/Night Track and you note that it is still "Day". Most of your Naval Units are simply moved their full movement values without incident. However, you do move a Large Ships unit with a Movement Allowance of "5" from an adjacent space into a Channel Route space that already contains two Large Ships. Entering this space will thus cost the moving unit 3 Movement Points (1 MP for the space plus a 2 MP penalty for the two ships already there) and thus the unit can only move two more spaces before it must stop. You are desperate to get some larger ships to the beaches, so you decide to move a Large Ships unit through the "Calais Artillery" marker and take a chance. The ship unit has a Move Allowance of "4" and a DN of "3". It moves 2 spaces and then halts with the Artillery marker. The Naval Unit undergoes an immediate German Artillery Attack. You draw the top Channel Attacks Card (because it is "Day", you do not get to draw a second card and choose one) and check the "German Artillery Attack" section (only). It says "DN 1 = Casualty Hit + Halt; DN 2-3 = Disrupted". Since the Naval Unit's DN is "3", it suffers a Disrupted result due to the artillery fire. It is given a "Disrupted" marker and because it is now Disrupted, it must halt its move. Note that if the unit had a DN of "4", there would be no ill effect from the attack, and it could keep moving normally. You then want to move a Little Ships unit into the right-hand Mole space but there is already a Large Ship and a Little Ships unit there. Therefore, it cannot enter that space and must wait for a spot to open. Your final move is to move a Large Naval Unit loaded with three Evacuees Units (VP values "1", "3" and "3") into the Dover area. It unloads those units and scores you 7 Victory Points.

12.0 Evacuations Operations

The goal of Miracle at Dunkerque is to rescue as many Evacuees Units as possible, transporting them from the piers and beaches of France to the safety of England. Creating, maneuvering, and loading Evacuees Units in order to begin accomplishing that goal is achieved through the use of Evacuation Operations. When one of the two Evacuation Operations Cards is drawn, you may conduct an Evacuation Operations Phase. The number of Evacuation Actions you can perform is based on the current location of the "Evacuation Actions" marker on the Evacuation Actions Track.

12.1 Day/Night Update Step. First, advance the "Day/Night" marker one box on the Day/Night Track, but only if it is currently in a "Day" box. If it moves from a "Day" box to the "Night" box, flip the marker to its "Night" side.

12.2 Number of Evacuation Actions. During the Turn Setup Phase of each Game Turn, the number of allowed Evacuation Actions is set to "2" and you place the "Evacuation Actions" marker in that box of the Evacuation Action Track. However, if the La Panne node (M11) is currently captured by the Germans (i.e., a German unit is in sole possession of the node) then set the allowed Evacuation Actions to "1" instead. The number of Evacuation Actions allowed can also be adjusted throughout the Game Turn in various ways. These adjustments remain in effect for the rest of the Game Turn (the marker will be reset at the start of the following turn).

a. Night Operations: If the "Day/Night" marker is currently set to "Night", increase the number of Evacuation Actions by one.

b. Operation Dynamo: Choosing this GHQ Command Action will increase the current number of Evacuation Actions by one.

c. Event Cards: Certain Event Cards will increase or decrease the number of Evacuation Actions.

Optional Advanced Rule: Those players wishing for more of a challenge may opt to set the Evacuation Actions marker to "1" during the Turn Setup Phase (instead of "2"). However, if La Panne is lost in this case, set it to "1" anyway (not "0") ... unless you really want to make it tough on yourself!

12.3 Types of Evacuation Actions. There are five eligible Evacuations Actions you can use. You may do any that are eligible and may even do the same action repeatedly, constrained only by the total number of allowed Evacuation Actions (12.2). However, each Evacuees Unit may only conduct one action. The Evacuation Actions are:

Move Evacuees Unit
Create Evacuees Unit
Rally Evacuees Unit
Build a Provost Jetty
Repair the Mole or a Provost Jetty

12.4 Move Evacuees Unit. This action allows you to move one eligible Evacuees Unit to one adjacent East Dunkerque, Beach, Shallow ("S"), Mole ("M") or Channel Route "Y" Area/Space connected by an Evacuation Arrow. The unit can only move in the direction(s) indicated by the arrow.

a. Evacuee Stacking Limit: Normally, there is no limit to the number of Evacuee Units that may be placed or moved into any legal area, except for the Shallow (S) Water space. Only one Evacuees Unit may be in a Shallow space at a time, not including any Little Ships Naval Unit that may be there.

b. Evacuees Unit Stacking Priority (Queuing): If more than one Evacuees Unit is in an area, a single stack of such units must be formed. Envision this stack as a queue of evacuees, waiting their turn to activate. The top unit of the stack is the Evacuee Unit that has been in that area the longest, with any newly arriving Evacuee Units (whether by movement, creation, or event) being placed at the bottom of the stack. This is the Evacuees Unit order of activation, with only the top unit of the stack being able to be activated by the player. The other units in the stack must wait, only to be activated when they are at the top of the stack (or, of course, if they are the sole Evacuee Unit in the area). This general protocol applies for the Move Evacuees Unit, Create Evacuees Unit and Rally Evacuees Unit actions.

Players may think of this as a FIFO process - first in, first out.

Evacuees Units not at the top of a stack may not be chosen for activation, even if the player has unused Evacuation Actions remaining. However, all Evacuees Units, regardless of their position in the stack, are still subject to combat and event results.

c. Only un-Disrupted Evacuees Units may be moved. If a unit is Disrupted, it must Rally first.

d. Evacuees Units may only enter a Channel Route "Y" space if there is a Naval Unit in the same space and it is eligible to load the unit.

e. Evacuees Units entering an eligible Water space with a Naval Unit may freely load onto that unit if the Naval Unit's Evacuees Capacity rating is not exceeded. Place the Evacuees Unit under the Naval Unit. Note that Evacuees Units sharing a space with a Naval Unit do not affect the Naval Unit Stacking Limit (11.3).

f. Ferrying: Using a single Move Evacuees Unit action, you may move an Evacuees Unit directly from a Beach node to an un-Disrupted Little Ships Naval Unit in the connected Shallow Water space and then immediately move and load it onto a Naval Unit in the connected Channel Route Water space. The Ferrying Little Ships unit may not already be loaded with an Evacuees Unit nor may it be Disrupted.

This allows the Little Ships unit to act as a kind of "bridge" to a larger naval unit. Note that Ferrying is the most efficient method of evacuee movement as it moves an Evacuees Unit from a Beach node directly to a Channel Route space in one move and for only one Evacuation Action.

g. East Dunkerque Mole Bonus: If "The Mole" marker is not "Damaged", you may freely move up to two Evacuees Unit from the East Dunkerque node - one unit can be loaded onto a Naval Unit in each "M" Water space (so two Evacuee Units total but not onto the same Naval Unit). These moves do not count against your allowable Evacuation Actions this phase and can be performed at any point during the phase. If "The Mole" marker is on its "Damaged" side, then this bonus cannot be used.

Provost Jetties Bonus: If a "Provost Jetties" marker is assigned to a Beach Zone and is not "Damaged", you may freely conduct one bonus move with an Evacuees Unit located in that same Beach Zone (only). This bonus move may only be a Beach -> Shallow space move or an eligible Shallow -> "Y" Channel Route move. This does not count against your allowable Evacuation Actions this phase and can be performed at any point during the phase. If the "Provost Jetties" marker is on its "Damaged" side, then this bonus cannot be used.

The East Dunkerque Mole and Provost Jetty Bonuses are free, extra actions that can be taken and don't count against your allowable number of Evacuation Actions. Also note that up to three free Provost Jetty Bonus actions can be taken - one at each Beach Zone with an un-Damaged "Provost Jetties" marker. Remember that a Beach Zone encompasses its two Beach nodes and its two Shallow Water spaces. So, these bonuses are important to your evacuation efforts and need to be exploited whenever possible. Also note that you can build the markers and use them in the same phase.

h. La Panne: The small town of La Panne (M11) served as the center of Allied headquarters and housed the only telephone line back to England. If this node becomes German controlled, then your starting Evacuation Moves are reduced to "1" during the Turn Set Up Phase. If you are able to recapture the La Panne node (i.e., retreat the German unit out of the node and occupy it with an Allied Combat unit) then the normal Evacuation Move allowance is reinstated beginning with the following Game Turn.

12.4 Create Evacuees. With each use of an Evacuation Action, you may do the Create Evacuees action and create one new Evacuees Unit in the East Dunkerque node or any Beach node (however, see British Corps Assembly Zones - 12.4c). No other types of nodes can be used for Evacuees Unit creation and the node may not contain a German unit. The created Evacuees Unit is drawn randomly from the bag/container and placed into any eligible node.

Important: If you draw a "0" value Evacuees Unit, eliminate that unit from the game and you do not get a replacement (it is a lost action).

a. Procedure: The exact Create Evacuees process depends on the Month of the current Game Turn:

During May Game Turns (#1 through #4), you may create one Evacuees Unit per action in an eligible East Dunkerque or Beach node. Note that Combat Units may not be converted during May Game Turns.
During June Game Turns (#5 through #8), you may now only create new Evacuees Units by converting Allied Combat Units into Evacuees Units. You may convert one Combat Unit in the East Dunkerque node from any British Corps or one Combat Unit in a Beach node if the unit is from the assigned British Corps. The converting unit may not be Disrupted nor may there be a German unit in the node.

During the first half of the game, Evacuees Units represent injured soldiers, civilians, cooks, headquarter employees, and other non-frontline units gathered at the beach to leave. According to Colonel G. H. Whitfield (Gort's assistant adjutant general): "Men who belonged to untrained or poorly officered regiments and corps broke to pieces when the heavy bombing raids occurred ... I am not surprised that small bands of men, utterly helpless and lost, were reported as wandering about Dunkirk trying to find shelter from the next raid." This is the first wave of evacuees. Only after the beaches were mostly devoid of these poor souls are the fighting units able to convert to Evacuees Units and disembark.

b. Converting a British Combat Unit: An un-Disrupted British Combat Unit can be converted into Evacuees Units starting with the first June Game Turn. This is done by spending an Evacuation Action, choosing to Convert Evacuees and then replacing an eligible Combat Unit with an eligible Evacuees Unit(s). When converting, randomly draw the Evacuees Unit counter(s) from the bag/container and replace the converting Combat Unit with the drawn counter(s). Remove the Combat Unit from the game. The number/condition of the Evacuees Unit(s) is dependent on the Combat Unit's status when converted:

Fresh Combat Unit Counter: This unit converts into two Evacuees Unit counters. If the unit is on its Full-strength side, the Evacuees Units are deployed showing their Full-strength sides. If the unit is on its Reduced-strength side, then both Evacuees Units appear on their Reduced-strength side. If the drawn Evacuees Unit has a "0" VP value (based on side) it is eliminated instead, and the Evacuees Unit is lost.
Battleworn Combat Unit Counter: Use the Fresh Combat Unit Counter procedure above except that only one Evacuees Unit counter is created.
GHQ and Corps Support Units: The British GHQ unit and four Corps Support units are valuable assets to the Allied war effort, so they are treated as Fresh Combat Units (despite being Battleworn counters) for conversion purposes (only). Thus, they will each convert into two Evacuees Units.

c. British Corps Assembly Zones: British Combat Units can only be converted to Evacuees Units after Game Turn #4 and only if located at one of the two Beach nodes that are part of the Beach Zone assigned to their Corps or at the East Dunkerque node. Each of the three British Corps are assigned a Beach Zone as follows:

I Corps = Bray Dunes Beach Zone (J10/I11 and K11)
II Corps = La Panne Beach Zone (L12 and M11)
III Corps = Malo-les-Bains Beach Zone (F9/E9 and H9/G11)
Any British Combat Unit can be converted to an Evacuees Unit at East Dunkerque (D8/C7), regardless of their Corps affiliation.
Exception: If both Beach nodes of a Corps have been captured by German units and surviving units of that same Corps cannot be moved to East Dunkerque due to being cut off by German Garrison nodes, then (and only then) may these units be evacuated via a different Corps Assembly Zone Beach node. However, these cut off British units may only be converted into one Evacuees Unit at this point, regardless of their counter type.

d. Evacuees Counter Limits: Any number of Evacuees units may be created in a turn, providing you have enough Evacuation Actions to do so. If there are no available Evacuees unit counters (i.e., they are all in play already) you may not create more Evacuees Units. Remember that Evacuees Units that are scored for their Victory Points at Dover are returned to the bag/container and thus can be redeployed into the game. Evacuees Units that were eliminated, for any reason, and drawn "0" VP value units are removed from the game and cannot be used again.

e. French Combat Unit Restriction: French Combat Units cannot be converted into Evacuees Units until the June 2nd Game Turn (#6). French units can be converted like British Combat Units in the East Dunkerque node or in any Beach node (they do not have Corps restrictions).

There was much argument going on within the British High Command and government officials as to what to do with the French troops. Some individuals wanted them left behind and others wanted to save them. Plus, many Frenchmen rejected evacuation and opted to remain in France to fight for their homeland. Others wanted to escape and come back later to exact their revenge on the Germans.

12.5 Rally Evacuees Units. You may choose any one Disrupted Evacuees Unit and remove its "Disrupted" marker.

12.6 Build Beach Provost Jetties. You may place one new "Provost Jetties" marker in any Beach Zone that does not already have one. Place the appropriately named marker between the two Shallow Water spaces for that Beach Zone (Malo-les-Bains, Bray Dunes or La Panne). There is a max of one marker per Beach Zone and the jetties exist for both Beach nodes of that zone. Note that if a marker has been eliminated from the game, it cannot be built again.

The Royal engineers used trucks to build jetties into the water from the beaches east of Dunkirk. Some of the trucks were driven into the surf above their tires and then the tires were flattened. The escaping troops were then able to walk on top of the trucks to reach the waiting boats.

12.7 Repair Provost Jetties or the Mole. You may repair one "The Mole" marker or "Provost Jetties" marker if it is on its "Damaged" side. If repaired, flip the relevant marker back to its front side. The marker is then no longer damaged and functions normally from that point on. Note that if a marker has been eliminated from the game it cannot be repaired.

Evacuation Operations Example

You draw an Evacuation Operations Turn Order Card, which means you can activate Evacuees Units. You first move the "Day/Night" marker up one space on the Day/Night Track and you note that it is moved from a "Day" box to the "Night" box, so you flip the marker to its "Night" side. Therefore, you immediately move the "Evacuations Actions" marker up one more space, into the "3" space. This gives you three Evacuation Actions to use. You first use a Rally Evacuees Unit action to remove a "Disrupted" marker from a valuable "4" Evacuees Unit. Next, you do a Create Evacuees Unit action (it is a May Game Turn) and draw a random Evacuees Unit from the bag/container and place it in the East Dunkerque node. Finally, you conduct a Move Evacuees Unit action and move an Evacuees Unit from the Beach node into the connected Shallow water space, which also has a Little Ships unit in it. You then Ferry that unit to an awaiting Large Ships in the connected Channel Route "Y" space and immediately load it onto the ship (which does have space in its Evacuees Capacity), placing it under the Naval Unit counter. Now you decide to conduct your free moves (they could have been taken earlier if you wanted) as you have the "The Mole" and "La Panne Provost Jetties" markers in play and they are not damaged. Therefore, you freely move an Evacuees Unit into an "M" space and load it onto a Little Ships unit located there (it also has enough Evacuees Capacity). You then also freely move an Evacuees Unit from an "S" space in the La Panne Beach Zone into the adjacent Channel Route "Y" Water space, which also contains a Large Ships unit. The Evacuees Unit is immediately loaded onto that Naval Unit (again, if it has enough Evacuees Capacity).

13.0 Turn End Procedures

This phase occurs after all Turn Order Cards are drawn and resolved. Proceed through each Turn End Phase step in order.

13.1 German Reorganization Check. Starting with the May 29th Game Turn (#2), roll a die to determine if the German Wehrmacht begins its reorganization and redirects its panzers for the final drive into southern France:

1 - 3 = the Reorganization is delayed. Roll again next Game Turn during this phase and add +1 to the die for each turn that the Reorganization did not start (so it will automatically trigger with the Game Turn #5 roll). Keep doing so until the Reorganization begins.
4 - 6 = the Reorganization is begun (see below).

a. If the Reorganization begins, flip all German units on the Left Flank (Tracks "A" through "F") over to their back sides during the following Game Turn's Set Up Phase. These newly flipped units must reduce their normal Movement allowance by one node during the Game Turn that they Reorganized (only).

b. On the second Game Turn after Reorganization begins, conduct the same procedure with the German units of the Center (Tracks "G" through "L"). Units of the Left Flank now function normally (with their new rear side values and identities) for the remainder of the game.

c. On the third Game Turn after Reorganization begins, do the same with all German units on the Right Flank (Tracks "M" through "R"). Units of the Center now function normally.

d. From the fourth Game Turn afterwards, all German units function normally using their rear side values and identities and this step is ignored.

Hitler was anxious about losing his beloved panzers and he wanted them ready for "Fall Rot" (the campaign in southern France). He met with Gen. Kleist in late May 1940 at an airfield near Cambrai to discuss the situation at Dunkirk. Kleist remarked that a great opportunity had been lost there. Hitler replied: "That may be so, but I did not want to send the tanks into the Flanders marshes. The British will not come back in this war."

13.2 German Reinforcements. There are two German units that may arrive as reinforcements later in the game - the 9 Schutz Brig. and the 61st Infantry (both of XIV Corps). Beginning with the June 1st Game Turn (#5), roll a die separately for each of these units.

1 - 3 = the unit does not enter and must be rolled for again next Game Turn. Add +1 to the die for each turn that the Reinforcement did not enter.
4 - 6 = the unit will enter the game immediately.

a. If the successfully entered unit is the 9 Schutz Brig., roll another die and place the 9 Schutz Brig. unit on the rolled Track, as follows: 1 = Track A; 2 - 5 = Track B; 6 = Track C.

b. If the successfully entered unit is the 61st Infantry, roll another die and place the 61ST Infantry unit on the rolled Track, as follows: 1 = Track B; 2 - 5 = Track C; 6 = Track D.

c. Both Reinforcement units can enter on the same Game Turn if the necessary die rolls are made but they may not be placed on the same Track. If that happens, re-roll until you get a different Track letter.

d. The German Reinforcement units are unique in that they are markers and when they enter the game, they are simply stacked with the German unit that is assigned to the Track on which they arrive. They will then remain stacked with that German unit and add their Combat Factor and Defense Number to that German unit's values. From that point forward, the unit and marker are treated as one combined unit and will move and fight together. Remember that a unit's Defense Number can never exceed "5".

13.3 Probing the Perimeter. All un-Disrupted German units that are not adjacent to an Allied unit (including an Evacuees Unit) on their Track are moved one node along their Track. Disrupted German units not adjacent to an Allied unit remove their "Disrupted" marker but do not move.

13.4 Zudycoote Hospital Healing. Any one Allied unit (Combat or Evacuees) located in the Zudycoote Hospital node (J10/I11) may Recover one step, flipping from its Reduced-strength side to its Full-strength side, or it may remove a "Disrupted" marker. Note that the unit cannot swap counters to recover a step - once a unit is using its Battleworn counter it cannot be replaced by its Fresh counter.

The Hopital Maritime (1910) was a sanatorium where the sick could come to convalesce by the seaside. It was a large red brick building with 1,400+ beds. When the British established the perimeter, the hospital was immediately commandeered by the Royal Army Medical Corps for the treatment of the wounded. Thousands of men were sheltered and healed there during the battle.

13.5 Channel Route "X". If the "Route 'X' Not Open" marker is still on the map, roll a die:

1 - 3 = there is no change. Roll again next Game Turn during this phase and add +1 to the die for each turn that the marker was not removed (so it will automatically come off with the Game Turn #4 roll). Keep doing so until the marker is removed.
4 - 6 = the channel is cleared. Remove the marker and beginning with the following Game Turn you may move Naval Units onto Channel Route "X".

13.6 GHQ Unit Maintenance. Remove either the "Command Action Used" marker and/or any "Disrupted" marker from the GHQ unit if either is present.

13.7 Game Turn Marker. Move the "Game Turn" marker to the next box on the Game Turn Track. If the June 4th Game Turn (#8) has just been completed, you proceed to Victory Point Determination (14.0) to find out how you did.

14.0 Victory Point Determination

After completing the Game Turn #8, the game is over and you now need to find out how you did. The historical result was a true miracle, so your performance will be measured against that result. Check the Victory Point Track to find out how many points you've accumulated and then add any applicable En Route Survivors VPs (14.1) and subtract any City Capture penalties (14.2) to get the net total Victory Points (VPs).

14.1 En Route Survivors. If at the end of Game Turn #8 there are any Evacuees Units still loaded on board Naval Units (i.e., saved from the beaches/moles, but still not yet at Dover), you will score additional Victory Points for those units. Add up the VP values of all such Evacuees Units and halve that total (rounded down) - you will score that number of additional VPs at the end of the game.

14.2 City Capture Penalty. For each of the three City nodes in the game that are controlled by a German unit at game end, deduct 5 VP for each Dunkerque node captured (B4/A5) and D8/C7) and deduct 3 VP if the Nieuport node (R3/Q4) is captured (so the maximum penalty will be -13 VP).

14.3 Victory Point Schedule. Compare your net Victory Point Total to the schedule below to find out how well you played:

VPs	Outcome
54 or fewer	Catastrophe
55 - 59	Disaster
60 - 64	Defeat
65 - 69	Bloody Poor Show
70 - 74	Fair
75 - 79	Successful
80 - 84	Job Well Done
85 - 89	Bloody Good Show!
90 - 94	Outstanding Victory!
95 - 99	Glorious Victory!
100 +	Miracle!

Designer Notes

Thank you for purchasing Miracle at Dunkerque - we certainly hope you enjoy it. One aspect of the design that should be highlighted is that this game is not really a "war game" as much as an "escape game". The emphasis of the design is not to beat the Germans in combat, but rather to allow your forces to survive to fight another day and eventually defeat the Nazis on the battlefields of North Africa, Italy, and Normandy. This makes the game a unique experience to play and thus quite appropriate for such a singular event. There's no question that Operation Dynamo was an unequalled accomplishment in military history. The successful evacuation of 336,000 British and French soldiers from the harbor and beaches of Dunkerque in May and June of 1940 was indeed a miracle. This campaign lends itself well to a solitaire game because the German army, navy and air force have but one mission - crush the British Expeditionary Force before it can escape. The Allied player on the other hand (that would be YOU) has many decisions to make as to where to defend, where to counterattack and how fast to retreat toward the relative safety of Dunkerque and the nearby beaches. As you play this game, you should feel the tightening of the German stranglehold on the Allies. As fast as you get men off the beaches, moles and jetties, even more evacuees appear, waiting to escape. Once off the shoreline, the ships are not guaranteed safety either, as they can strike a mine, be attacked by the Luftwaffe, or hit by artillery fire from the high ground at Calais, Gravelines or even the coastline around Nieuport. Thus, accomplishing a game result even close to the historical achievement will be difficult. I've set the victory/defeat levels on a sliding scale to encourage the player to try to beat his/her previous score. But it will not be an easy task to save 300,000 plus souls while you are being bombed, strafed, and attacked by the vaunted German Wehrmacht, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe.

Please be aware that this game is not meant to be a detailed simulation of this operation. I have instead opted to provide a somewhat abstract, generalized view of the overall situation. The scope of the game is for you, the player, to make the big choices of where your troops will deploy and the management of the evacuation of survivors. The game board represents general deployment zones with only major terrain features shown. The Combat units themselves are not precise in their representation as many of them were only partial units, amalgamated pieces of units or stragglers with no unit cohesion. Evacuees units can be made up of jumbled groups of cooks, mechanics, headquarters clerks, etc. as well as escaping fighting men. So, while the details are somewhat obscured, the decision making is not.

The player needs to defend the towns and canal line while also sending units towards Dunkerque and the beaches for evacuation. During May turns you can create evacuees from the nameless mass of men and women on the beaches, but starting in June you must convert fighting units into evacuees. This creates the dilemma of who stays to fight and who runs for the safety of the ships.

I think you'll discover different and more efficient strategies and tactics the more you play. I tried to make the game as accessible as possible while still maintaining the historical simulation aspect of the design. Ultimately, I just hope that you enjoy it and have fun with it. Good gaming!