Dieppe Raid

Dieppe Raid 1942 is a strategy boardgame modeling this historical event at the company level. From Joni Nuutinen: By a wargamer for the wargamers since 2011. The latest update: November 2026.

You are in command of the Allied force (Canadian Infantry and tanks, flanked with British Commandos) carrying out the infamous 1942 raid on the port town of Dieppe.

EXCEPTIONALLY: The aim is to capture as much of the nearby area as possible, hold it for a while (as long as safely possible), and then orderly evacuate before the Germans gather all their troops in this coastal area for a counter-strike.

HALL OF FAME NOTICE: Score will reflect both the cumulative VPs collected over time by holding the cities MULTIPLIED by the number of combat units evacuated successfully. So overly risky tactics will reduce the final score via lost units.

Historical background: The wider objective of this raid is multipronged: help the Soviet Union with a major raid on the Western Front to distract and tie down future German forces; boost the morale of the British public; give the restless Canadian 2nd division (which has been practicing for two years) some real combat experience; test how easy it will be to seize a German fortified port town (which is at this point considered to be absolutely needed to supply any major Allied invasions); capture various German secrets from the radar station and local HQs; and possibly get hands on a four-rotor enigma machine located in the German Admiralty headquarters.

The challenge of this scenario is that things get good in places, and it's difficult to cut and run before the inevitable German counterattack coming from all around overwhelms the Allied forces and cut units off the evacuation points.

Fair warning: This is one of the more difficult campaigns in this game series, well, if you have an aggressive style to expand.

"Dieppe was a costly lesson, but it was a lesson that we had to learn. It taught us that we could not simply launch frontal assaults on German-held positions, and that we needed to develop new tactics and technologies if we were to be successful in future amphibious operations."

- General Mark Clark

FEATURES:

+ Thanks to months and months of research the campaign mirrors the historical setup as accurately as possible within the limits of creating a game-play that does not entirely and instantly crush the player's ability to progress if the tactics are just right.

+ Thanks to a long list of in-built variation of location of units, weather, the never-twice-the-same AI logic, etc., each game provides a unique war gaming experience.

Think back to those weekends when friends crowded around a big table containing a thrilling boardgame: commanding army-pieces and trying to skillfully throw the dice! This game captures that same feeling, but without the setup drag or the inevitable ‘when can we all meet?’ debate as most friends got busy with life.