Storm Over Arnhem (1981)

This is the first of the Area-Impulse games done by Avalon Hill which later included Thunder at Cassino, Turning Point: Stalingrad and Breakout Normandy. The game simulates the ferocious battle for the Arnhem Bridge on September 18-21, 1944.

The game begins with the British holding the area around the bridge, surrounded by the Germans. They try to hold out for as long as they can.

Each full turn covers 8 hours and includes many mini-turns (or impulses). Each impulse, the player can move or fire a small number units. Once moved or fired, the units are "spent" and cannot move again until the next turn.

Combat is handled by calculating attack defense values and each side rolling 2 dice. The difference (if the attacker has the higher total) in final point values is the number of casualty points the defender must lose by spending or destroying units.

The games is of relatively low complexity for a wargame and rates 3 (out of 10) on AH's difficulty scale.

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.19,No.1
  • Storm Over Arnhem – “The Combatants of Arnhem - Contrasting Approaches to Storm Over Arnhem” (Strategy) Thomas C Springsteen, Don Greenwood
  • Storm Over Arnhem – “The Crossing” (Variant) Courtney F. Allen, Don Greenwood
  • Series Replay - Storm Over Arnhem, Alan R. Moon, Don Greenwood, Courtney F. Allen
  • Design Analysis - Storm Over Arnhem “Designer Notes” Courtney F. Allen
  • The Question Box - Storm Over Arnhem
• The GENERAL Vol.19,No.2
  • Series Replay - Storm Over Arnhem Part II, Alan R. Moon, Don Greenwood, Courtney F. Allen
• The GENERAL Vol.21,No.1
  • Storm Over Arnhem – “The Nieuwe Kade Gambit - Defensive Set-Up for the British in SOA” by Stephen Llewellyn
• The GENERAL Vol.25,No.3
  • Storm Over Arnhem – “Prelude to the Storm Over Arnhem- A Historical perspective” (Strategy) Chuck Lane