Storm Over Dien Bien Phu

Overview

Storm Over Dien Bien Phu is a 2-player wargame simulating the Battle of Dien Bien Phu from March to May 1954, focusing on the French central strongpoints of Gabrielle, Anne–Marie, Beatrice, Eliane, Claudine, Huguette and Dominique. One player controls the French forces, and the other player controls the Viet Minh forces. In the spring of 1954, General Giap shocked the world by doing what had previously been considered impossible—defeating a Western occupying force. Storm Over Dien Bien Phu simulates the climactic moment when the isolated French forces (composed of French legionnaires and elite paratrooper units), and crumbled under the unrelenting pressure of the Chinese–backed Viet Minh forces. Using the Area Move system redefined in Storm Over Stalingrad, the game features the use of cards to augment game play, adding to the tension experienced by both sides. The rules are similar in length to those seen in Storm Over Stalingrad, and are of the same level of complexity, with additions made for the situations encountered in this battle. Additional rules added to the game include sapping, assaulting, and the French supply situation. In addition to these new rules, new cards have been created in order to represent events encountered during the battle. These include “Detonate Mine Shaft”, “Rats of the Nam Yum”, “Giap Demands Success”, “Propaganda”, “Débouchez à Zéro!”, and “B-26 Bombers”. Game Scale: Turn: 1 week Map: Area Unit: Infantry Platoons/Companies Game Inventory: One 22" X 34" mapsheet One and a half countersheets (264 5/8" counters) One 12 page Game Rulebook Card deck with 55 full-color cards Four six-sided dice Complexity - Low Solitaire suitability - Low Playing time - Up to 3 hours Designer: Nick Richardson Developer: Brian Youse Game Artwork: Nicolas Eskubi