Montélimar: Anvil of Fate

About this board game

Montélimar: Anvil of Fate is a company-scale World War II wargame for 1–4 players, covering the August 1944 battle that followed the Allied invasion of southern France. A game can run for up to 3000 minutes, offering a detailed contest between advancing Allied forces and German units racing toward safety.

After landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allies advanced rapidly up the Rhône valley. With Aix-en-Provence captured, Major General Truscott activated Task Force Butler and sent this roughly regimental-sized force ahead to block the main German escape route. The task force established a defensive position on the high ground north of Montélimar and had to hold until relief arrived.

German forces must push through the narrowing window before larger Allied formations from the south and east can join the fight. The historical outcome reflected the conflict’s uncertainty: the Allies inflicted heavy losses and captured or disrupted substantial equipment, yet many German forces escaped and a major opportunity was lost. The game presents this as a tense race between containment and withdrawal.

Montélimar uses the Company Scale System, with 500-meter hexes and turns representing two hours by day and four to six hours at night. It is the first game in the Liberation series, while sharing a related system with Saipan: The Bloody Rock and Guam: Return to Glory but offering a distinctly different feel.

• Five full-color 22 × 34-inch mapsheets
• 1,056 double-sided 5/8-inch counters
• 40-page rulebook and 56-page scenario book
• High solitaire playability and medium-high complexity

With its large map footprint, company-level units, and extended playing time, Montélimar: Anvil of Fate focuses on the pressure of delaying action, encirclement, and escape during a pivotal campaign in Western Europe.