Armored Knights

All Armored Knights games come with, or allow:

Numerous Charts and Tables
Rules Written on the Seven Battlefield Operating Systems
Detailed, but not overbearing, focused on Combined Arms
Excellent Solitaire Play

This series has gotten a serious refresh. A first project was released based on the German advance through the Ardennes Forest in 1940 and Guderians’ XIX Korps crossing of the Meuse River at Sedan, and following breakthrough. This game is small and an excellent learner game. A second project is based on the German offensive in 1942, Case Blue. The new rules now focus more on simple die roll modifiers and not on variable combat strengths.

V******************************** Armored Knights Games and Series ********************************V

North Afrika: Two battles relates to the fighting for Tobruk. The first is the British offensive in November 1941 to relieve the fortress, which succeeded. And the second is the offensive by the German Panzer Armee in May 1942, which almost led to disaster.

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Case Blue: A large series of games based on the German summer offensive during 1942. This series will start with a Base game that is smallish and manageable to play with a small footprint. The starting battles will be the preliminary operations, such as Wilhelm, Fredericus II, and Storfang.

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Gazelle: Israel’s most daring battle to cross the Suez Canal. General Sharon’s Ugda (an Israeli Division), leads the offensive into Egypt and in a hard fought set of small fights ends up cutting of the Egyptian 3rd Army.

The Gazelle Box Cover:

This game won the Bronze Award from Wargamer.com for 2011. This offering, Operation Gazelle, is focused on the Israeli attack to cross the Suez Canal and force the Egyptians to retreat back into Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Armored Knights, Operation Gazelle, the battle of the Israeli offensive to cross the Suez Canal and invade Africa and cut off the Egyptian Army elements that were on the east side of the canal. This game focuses on combat at the battalion level on a scale that makes representing large battles real fun. It will also have its own innovative and unique way to handle the combat multipliers for engineers, anti-tank, intelligence, and recon elements. The players will find this does not always work the way they want and the support troops sometimes fail to do the mission they are assigned to do. They might even have a detrimental effect. Both players will be challenged from the start of the battle. The Egyptians will find that counter-attacking is very difficult as the higher command did not believe what they were told about the Israeli positions on the west bank of the Suez Canal. The Israelis will find that getting across the canal is one thing, holding the crossing is another, and spreading out across the west bank is another still. Players will be rewarded for mixing the different combat support elements to enhance each attack or defense. As happened during the battle the Israelis will find it very hard to attack Egyptian infantry alone or against their anti-tank screens. Six scenarios are available to play the whole battle through the cutting off of the Egyptian 3rd Army, or just some important parts dealing with the attacks on Ismailia or Suez City.

Game Design: Chris Fasulo Sr
Map Artwork: Kyle Gebhardt

This game comes with:

(8) 11×17 Color Map Sections
(4) Color Order of Battle Cards
Approximately 600 Die Cut Counters

Price is $98 + FREE Postage

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Guderian Crosses the Desna: With the success at Smolensk behind them the German High Command changes the plan in the east to take Kiev, instead of Moscow, first. Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Group has the task.

The Guderian Crosses the Desna Box Cover:

This is a stand alone game and an excellent introduction to the Armored Knights game system. The game has one 22×34 map equivalent, one sheet of 216 counters and markers, and a some small scenarios. Three scenarios detail the actions of the 3 days of battle. The first scenario is small and short. It’s a race to the bridge in the German attempt to capture it in a coup de main. The second scenario is the full 3 day battle. The last scenario is the German bridgehead forces trying to hang on and expand the lodgment.

A sample of the map for this game:

Armored Knights is about battalion level combat. This offering, Guderian Crosses the Desna 1941, is focused on the German attack to start the great encirclement of Kiev.

This battle starts on 25 August 1941, just after General Guderian goes to visit Hitler to convince him to allow the German Army to attack Moscow next. Hitler decides that he wants to try and capture Kiev next. He is mesmerized by the rich farmland and industry there. Hitler manages to convince Guderian that Kiev is a better target. When Guderian gets back he sets his troops in motion. Their first test is to capture a major highway bridge over the Desna at Novgorod-Seversky. His advanced elements fail to take the bridge in a coup-de-main on the 25th. They regroup and make a more deterined effort the next day. Aided by some inept Red Army bridge guards the Germans succeed and they establish a bridgehead. On the 27th they must endure some minor counter-attacks.

The force structure is small enough for a great solitaire game and introduction to the game system. System basics are an I-Go U-Go system with units being able to conduct overruns and engage in combat. Unit strengths vary as a result of what supporting arms you stack with the battalion sized units. Main combat units are infantry, artillery, and armor battalions. Supporting arms such as recon, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, military intelligence, and engineers are built as companies. Players are able to provide Close Air Support to aid the ground pounders and leaders like General Model even play a part in providing your troops with their best chance of success.

Unit samples:

Game Design: Chris Fasulo Sr
Map Design: Rick Barber
Map Artwork: Kyle Gebhardt

This game comes with:

(4) 11×17 Color Map Sections
(1) Color Order of Battle Card
Approximately 200 Die Cut Counters

Price is $93 + FREE Postage

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Guderian Crosses the Meuse: With the success of moving through the Ardennes Forest in a surprise move behind him, General Guderian drives his XIX Panzer Korps hard in a crossing of the Meuse River near Sedan. Guderian’s Panzer Korps is the largest in the invasion of France and consists of 3 Panzer Divisions and the Gross Deutschland Motorised Infantry Regiment. They face elements of General Huntzinger’s French 2nd Army. These French troops, and their commanders, are not at all prepared for what is about to happen. The French are fighting a battle in the manner it might be fought in the late 1930’s and their use of combined arms is weak.

The Armored Knights game system is updated a bit in this title. I am changing the %change in combat strength to shifts to the left and right when players add different combat arms to their combats. This will make the game less math intensive and save the battery in your calculator for other things, such as the grocery bill.

The Guderian Crosses the Meuse Box Cover:

Here are some images of French and German units. The Panzer Divisions are organized with 2x Panzer Regiments and 1x Schutzen Brigade, along with supporting arms.

Game Design: Chris Fasulo Sr
Map Design and Artwork: Robert Weebe

This game comes with:

(4) 11×17 Color Map Sections
(2) 11×17 Color Orders of Battle
Approximately 2-3 Counter Sheets

Price is $133 + FREE Postage

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All Armored Knights games focus on maneuvering Battalions for Infantry, Armor, and Artillery, and Companies for the supporting arms such as Engineers, Recon, Anti-Air, etc.