Fischfang - Smashing the Anzio Beachhead

Please note that this is a DTP (Desk Top Publishing) game designed on a desktop computer and all components, including the counters which will have to be cut and mounted, are printed on paper. These are designed by some very well-known designers and are a low cost alternative to today's professionally produced games. On rare occasions, some of these games are reproduced by other companies with higher quality components including die-cut counters but most of them are not. If you believe this game to have a professionally produced version, please contact us with your inquiry and we will help you to locate it if it does indeed exist.

Fischfang (Fish Trap) depicts the German operation starting on February 16th, 1944 to destroy the Allied invasion landing at Anzio. Of all the operations to smash the Allies back into the sea (10 miles away), Fischfang was the most destructive and determined.

The burden fell upon the 76th Panzer Corps now armed with some of Germany’s most advanced tanks: Tigers, Brummbar, Elephants, Na-shorns, and Panther. History records the battle as a throwback to WW1 because of the rain and mud that restricted the German tanks to roads only and the determined resistance of American troops despite being greatly outnumbered. The operation provided an equal playing field for both sides: the Germans had the numbers and superior armor while the Americans had overwhelming artillery and air strengths, which would grind down the German superiority rapidly in four days. The weather played havoc for both sides but favored the Americans as it restricted the German panzers to roads and predictable routes of advance. Regardless, the Germans pounded away and by the fourth day and neared the breakthrough they had sought-then, they stopped at the Flyover.

Part of the problem for the Germans was their reluctance to use their reserves in the manner they had developed-the Blitzkrieg. The command refused to commit the reserves of the 26th Panzer Division early on and instead waited for that right moment that would never come! By the time they had, it was too late. As a game, playtesters have called it, "a very balanced game" and making the wrong move at the wrong time may tip the balance.

Game Scale: Each hex is 400 yards. AFV units are platoons, all others, unless noted, are company size for the Allies. German units are mostly battalion. Each turn is 8 hrs, from February 16-20, 1944.