Operation Michael

About this board game

Operation Michael is a two-player board wargame about the German offensive launched on March 21, 1918, with an approximate playing time of 180 minutes. Subtitled Ludendorff’s Last Chance, it portrays Germany’s attempt to regain the initiative on the Western Front before the full might of U.S. forces could be felt.

The German plan is to drive between the British and French armies. If successful, the offensive could force the French to fall back toward Paris while trapping the British against the coast and compelling their surrender. The game also reflects the influence of tactics developed on the Russian Front by General Oskar von Hutier.

As German Stosstruppen move to engage the enemy, the Allies build up their tank forces for a counter-attack. The map uses a scale of 1.2 miles per hex, while playing pieces represent formations ranging from regiments to divisions, giving the campaign an operational perspective.

• One full-color paper map sheet
• 420 full-color cardboard counters across two sheets
• Ten scenarios
• A Series Rules booklet and a Scenario Book
• Two dice

Part of the Standard Combat Series as volume 9, Operation Michael is rated low in complexity and highly suitable for solitaire play. Its ten scenarios provide multiple ways to explore the German “Peace Offensive” and the Allied response. Originally released in 2002, the game focuses on the decisive strategic possibilities of one of the First World War’s major offensives.