Operation Dynamo (France '40)

The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops around the mid-point of the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".

May 24th The Allies hold on to their positions, largely thanks to Hitler's halt order. 

May 25th Calais falls to the Germans. The Allied pocket shrinks in anticipation of the evactuation.

May 26th The Germans grind against the Allied positions, slowly pushing them back. Hitler's halt order comes to an end.

May 27th The evacuation begins, while the French forces at the tip of the pocket withdraw. The Germans try to break through near Dunkerque, but are barely held off.

May 28th With the surrender of Belgium, the Allied pocket becomes ever smaller and thinner than ever. The sole consolation is the continuing evacuation as the German grip tightens.

May 29th The Allies withdraw closer and closer to Dunkirk, while still keeping the Germans at bay. The evacuation continues at pace.

May 30th The Allies, almost exclusively the French, make a last stand to enable the final evacuations.

May 31st Despite a German breakthrough near Dunkirk, the evacuation is complete.

Festung Europa

June 1944, Operation Overlord is about to begin...

Summer '44: The Allies' offensive in Normandy soon bogs down in the face of determined German opposition. A new front is opened with Anvil-Dragon in the south of France, with the hopes of taking Marseille and diverting German efforts.

Autumn '44: The Allies have broken out of Normandy, Paris, Marseille and Milan are liberated, Brussels is wide open. The Germans have regrouped in central France, ready to strike at the Allies if they overreach.

Winter '45: Brussels and Antwerp are liberated, the latter providing a much needed extension of the Allies' supply line. The way to Arnhem and over the Rhine is tantalizingly open. In Italy, a well executed German attack recaptures Rome.

Spring '45: The Allies and the Germans face off along the Siegfried line, while an American army rushes through Arnhem to capture Hamburg. With this threat looming on Berlin and the Red Army closing in from the East, Adolf Hitler is killed, leaving the fate of Germany uncertain.

Summer '45: In the early months of the summer, the Soviets storm Berlin and capture the city, effectively ending the war in a bittersweet Allied victory.

Cannae 216 BC (C&C Ancients)

Now, fully aware of the threat posed by Hannibal, the Romans assembled a truly large army, perhaps up to 80,000 strong, led by two consuls and two pro-consuls. Unfortunately, on the day of battle, the incompetent consul Varrus held command and determined to attack Hannibal, who had posted his army in a location that negated the Roman advantage in numbers – bluffs on one flank and the Aufidus river on the other. Undeterred, Varrus simply packed his legions one behind the other into the constricted area and launched the mass headlong at the Carthaginian center. They advanced into yet another trap. Hannibal had deployed his excellent cavalry and heavy infantry on the wings, leaving his medium infantry and Celt levies in the center. The Roman advance did indeed push the Carthaginian center back and inflict losses, but in the meantime the Carthaginian cavalry had routed the Roman cavalry on both flanks and closed in on the rear of the Roman army while the heavy infantry advanced on both Roman flanks. Surrounded and unable to maneuver, the Roman soldiers were slaughtered by the thousands, and the army was destroyed. Cannae was Rome’s greatest military defeat, and Hannibal’s greatest victory.

The Carthaginians advance on the Romans and are harassed as they get into position. The Romans successfully bait a cavalry attack on their right by Hasdrubal, which results in the loss of the Carthaginian heavy cavalry. (Rome 1, Carthage 0)

Hasdrubal withdraws with what is left of the Carthaginian cavalry on their right, while Maharbal draws blood on the Roman left flank. (Rome 1, Carthage 1)

 The Romans attack on the center and the right, leaving both sides battered but still in the fight. (Rome 1, Carthage 1)

Hannibal takes advantage of the weakened lines in the Roman center to split the Roman army in two. (Rome 1, Carthage 3)

In turn Varro and Atilius take advantage of the equally vulnerable Carthaginian lines to mount an attack from the right. (Rome 4, Carthage 3)

Hannibal's campaign against Rome comes to a halt when he is killed in battle and his army is routed. (Rome 7, Carthage 3)

Paying the Piper (Battles of Westeros)

"Fire and pestilence! Is nothing to be believed anymore? That ridiculous popinjay of House Piper still runs free somewhere, but not here in the Riverlands. No! Here, we find ourselves alone, asked to play the buffoon by House Stark. In our zeal to squash Marq Piper and his raiding parties, we have strayed too far from our encampment and now the Stark dogs nip at our heels, threatening to cut off our return path.

They are fools to have attempted as much. If we push hard enough, we can get a few men through to apprise Ser Jaime Lannister of our situation, and then these Northern scoundrels will find they have enmeshed themselves in a battle they are unfit to win." -Terrance Crakehall

The Lannister forces rush in to take the village seperating the Stark army. Lord Karstark's men on the right make a strong opening attack, but the Mountain intercept the cavalry sent to capture the Lannister crossings in the rear.

The Lannisters cling on their central position, sheltered by the buildings. What remains of the Stark's light cavalry is destroyed by Ser Addam Marbrand and his knights.

Lord Karstark makes some headway and recaptures one of the buildings, while a small force of Stark troops try the right flank again, in the hopes of capturing the crossings.

The Mountain makes his way to the village and crushes all opposition, capturing once more the central building. Meanwhile, Lord Karstark makes a mad dash for the Lannister rear and their crossings, managing to reach one of them.

Lord Karstark charges another crossing, defended by Ser Addam Marbrand, capturing both the crossing and the knight, but it is too little and too late. (Lannister 4, Stark 2)

Enemy Actions: Ardennes

The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign in its western theater during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, on the Western Front, towards the end of World War II, in the European theatre. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement), also sustained heavy losses.

The offensive begins with limited german successes, save for elements of the 5th Panzer Army which manage some breakthroughs, notably capturing Bastogne. Unfortunately for the Germans, there is no fuel stockpile to be found there.

The Germans continue their push in the center of the American lines, also making a big attack on the north and nearly breaking through the American defense.

During the 19th and 20th, the German salient in the center makes a thrust to the northwest, but the Americans halt the advance on the River Ourthe. In the north, the Americans are slowly pushed back towards Vervière.

By the 21st, Vervière falls into German hands, threatening Liège. Despite this breakthrough, the Germans find themselves unable to advance anywhere else.

The next day, Liège is reinforced by the Americans and the rest of the defensive line holds fast. With little hope of another breakthrough, the Germans give up.