D-Day (1961)

D-DAY portrays the Allied landings in France and the resulting drive to the Rhine. Play takes the form of 50 game turns, each representing one week of real time, during which the Allies must establish a beachhead, breakout, organize a Patton-like dash across France, and sustain 10 divisions across the Rhine in the face of heavy German opposition.

This was the first wargame to feature a hexagonal grid.

Re-implemented by:

• D-Day

From The Avalon Hill Company History, 1980

D-Day original version is termed 1961A; Rules Revised 1962 (termed 1961B); Game Revised 1965 and again in 1977
Designed by Charles Roberts
1961B Designer unknown
1965 Design by Larry Pinsky
1977 Design by James Stahler
1977 Development by Richard Hamblen and Don Greenwood

The original version is termed D-Day 1961A. The rules were revised in later 1961 or early 1962 (version 1961B). The mapboard and rules were revised in 1965 by Larry Pinsky and the rules were again revised in 1977 by Jim Stahler. The box and counters have remained constant. D-DAY was the first of the "classic" games which remains popular in postal circles to this day (1980), although the 1977 edition rules are a vast improvement and have breathed life into a game which was previously fast becoming forgotten.

The image illustrated is not the cover of the first edition; this featured a drawing of several officers gathered around a map table.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.1
  • D-Day – “Plan Red--from Purdue U.” (Strategy) Carl F. Knabe II
  • D-Day – “Plan Red-Face--from Holloman Air Base” (Strategy)
  • D-Day – “D-DAY--Chicago Style” (Strategy) Robert Olson
  • The Question Corner - D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.2
  • D-Day – “Plan Red-Phooey” (Strategy) V. P. Philips
  • D-Day – “Credits and Debits on Plan Red.” (Strategy) Carl F. Knabe II
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.3
  • D-Day – “Cracking the "Unstoppable D-DAY Defense"” (Strategy) Victor Madeja
  • The Question Box - D-Day, Chancellorsville, Tactics II, Dispatcher, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.4
  • The Question Corner - Afrika Korps, Tactics II, U-Boat, Stalingrad, D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.5
  • Midway, D-Day, Tactics II, Stalingrad – “Midway, D-Day, Tactics II, Stalingrad Re-worked” (Variant Discussion) Victor Madeja
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.1
  • The Question Box - Afrika Korps, Midway, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day, Gettysburg
  • Play-by-Mail Grid-Coordinates - D-Day, Stalingrad, Waterloo
  • D-Day – “German Tactics for D-DAY” (Strategy) Ken Hoffman
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.2
  • D-Day – “New D-Day '65 - Hot off the Press” (Commentary)
  • D-Day – “D-Day Used in Medical Research” (Commentary) Capt. Charles Wickstrom
  • D-Day – “Another Look at D-Day” (Discussion) Laurence Plumb
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.3
  • D-Day – “D-Day '65 Re-visited” (Discussion) Laurence Plumb
  • D-Day – “Operation Robert - D-Day” (Strategy)
  • D-Day – “New D-Day '65 Invasion Diagram in Error” (Discussion)
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.4
  • D-Day – “Defensive Reserves” (Strategy) George Phelps
  • D-Day – “Tactics & Strategy Part 3” (Strategy) David Whiskeyman
  • D-Day – “Stop the Allies on the Beaches” (Strategy) Don Drewek
  • D-Day – “You Can Defend All Areas” (Strategy) Brenton Ver Ploeg
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.1
  • D-Day – “D-Day: the Left Hook” (Strategy) Barry K. Branch
  • D-Day – “The D-Day That Was” (Historical) Ralph Fellows
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.2
  • D-Day – “Bombing in D-Day” (Strategy) James Hales
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.3
  • D-Day – “Maintain the Offensive in D-Day” (Strategy) R. William Smith
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.4
  • D-Day – “Ultimate German Defense” (Strategy) Mike Clothier
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.5
  • D-Day – “Festung Europa: Plan Red Revisited” (Strategy) Carl F. Knabe II
  • D-Day – “D-Day - Chicago Style” (Variant Discussion) Robert Olson
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.6
  • D-Day – “D-Day: The Real Thing” (Strategy) Michael Obolensky
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.2
  • D-Day – “Normandy - the Way it Really Happened” (Historical) Hans Kruger
  • D-Day – “Allies Kaput” (Strategy) Mark Rudolph
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.3
  • D-Day – “The Best Invasion Area - D-Day” (Strategy) Gary Zintgraff
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.1
  • Waterloo, D-Day – “Wargamers' Clinic Exercise #2” (Strategy) M. R. Brundage, M. Kohn, & M. J. Frankwicz
  • The Question Box - The Battle of the Bulge, Midway, D-Day, Afrika Korps, Blitzkrieg, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.4
  • The Question Box - The Battle of the Bulge, Blitzkrieg, D-Day, 1914
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.1
  • D-Day – “Strategic Defense of France” (Strategy) Alan Augenbraun
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.3
  • D-Day – “German Defense of Normandy” (Historical) Alan Augenbraun
  • The Question Box - Anzio, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.4
  • D-Day – “German Defense of Normandy - Part II” (Historical) Alan Augenbraun
  • D-Day – “Defense of Festung Europa” (Strategy) Louis Menyhert
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.5
  • D-Day – “German Defense of Normandy - Part III” (Historical) Alan Augenbraun
  • D-Day – “The D-Day Thesis” (Strategy) George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.6
  • D-Day – “German Defense of Normandy - Part IV” (Historical) Alan Augenbraun
  • D-Day – “Plan of the Month: Defense Plan III” (Strategy) J.R. Norman Zinkhan
  • D-Day – “The D-Day Thesis - Conclusion” (Strategy) George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.1
  • D-Day – “Plan of the Month: On the Defense of France” (Strategy) Ty Bomba
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.2
  • The Question Box - D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.3
  • D-Day – “TAC Air in D-Day - Part I” (Historical) T/Sgt Robert A. Burge
  • The Question Box - The Battle of the Bulge, Blitzkrieg, Football Strategy, Le Mans, 1914, Jutland, Anzio, Afrika Korps, D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.4
  • D-Day – “TAC Air in D-Day - Part II” (Variant Discussion) T/Sgt Robert A. Burge
  • D-Day – “D-Day '44 Tourney Version” (Historical) Ty Bomba
  • The Question Box - Afrika Korps, Kriegspiel, D-Day, Midway, Anzio, The Stock Market Game
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.5
  • D-Day – “Winning with the Wehrmacht” (Variant Discussion) Alan Augenbraun
  • D-Day – “Gamble or Play it Safe??” (Strategy) William B. Searight
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.2
  • The Question Box - Luftwaffe, PanzerBlitz, D-Day (Cumulative Q&A for D-Day)
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.4
  • D-Day – “CONTEST NO. 46” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.6
  • D-Day - Contest 46 Answer (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.2
  • The Question Box - Blitzkrieg, Bismarck, Kriegspiel, D-Day, France, 1940, Midway, Anzio, 1914, Luftwaffe, Jutland
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.4
  • “COVER STORY: The Classics - Afrika Korps, The Battle of the Bulge, Waterloo, Stalingrad, D-Day” (Commentary)
  • D-Day – “Fortress Europe” (Strategy) Jonathan Lockwood
  • The Question Box - D-Day, Guadalcanal, The Battle of the Bulge, Blitzkrieg, Gettysburg
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.1
  • D-Day – “D-DAY Defended” (Strategy) Gary Gygax with Robert J. Kuntz
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.2
  • The Question Box - OOPS!, Midway, D-Day, Afrika Korps, Kriegspiel, Luftwaffe
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.4
  • D-Day – “Anatomy of a Defense” (Strategy) 2nd Lt. Rob Beyma
  • The Question Box - Luftwaffe, The Battle of the Bulge, Blitzkrieg, Richthofen's War, France, 1940, D-Day, Afrika Korps
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.5
  • D-Day – “Reader Buyer's Guide Submission Form” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.6
  • Reader Buyer's Guide - D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.1
  • D-Day – “D-DAY: Variation & Play” (Variant Discussion) Robert W. Garbisch with Brian Libby
  • D-Day – “Beach by Beach” (Strategy) Don Greenwood With Dave Roberts and B. Sinigaglio
  • D-Day – “Variant Unit Counters” (Insert)
  • D-Day – “CONTEST NO. 60” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.5
  • D-Day – “D-Day Airborne Operations” (Historical) William B. Searight
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.6
  • The Question Box - Alexander the Great, Afrika Korps, France, 1940, Midway, D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.2
  • The Question Box - Anzio, D-Day, Jutland
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.1
  • The Question Box - D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.6
  • D-Day –“D-Day, Evolution of a Game” (rule analysis DD61 through DD77, variants) Joel Davis

Panzerfaust Article List:

• Number 52 Mar-Apr '72-

A Second Look at D-Day '65 by Chuck Lane

• Number 56 Nov-Dec '72
  • D-Day - "The Battles for France" (Variant), Ty Bomba
• Number 62
  • D-Day - "Realistic D-Day" (Variant), Carl Bennett