** Rules, 12 full colour mission maps, and counter sheet included. **
The Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9th to April 12th 1917, was part of the Battle of Arras in north-eastern France and took place during World War One. It was the first time that the four Divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together as one and is arguably Canada's most celebrated military victory. The Ridge itself was a crucial strategic location and previous attempts by the British and French to take it had failed. New tactics for assaulting trenches were employed, where enemy units were pinned and suppressed with machine gun fire and other weapons before infantry ran in with bayonets to finish the job. Soldiers were given more flexibility to make decisions 'on the fly' supported by non-commissioned officers in situations where officers had been lost to enemy fire. In addition, troops were allocated specific roles, for example as specialist grenade throwers. The German defences were under-prepared to use their own new tactics for defending trench positions. In addition, the Canadian forces were advancing behind a rolling barrage of artillery fire which caused German soldiers to run for cover into underground chambers to avoid annihilation. This helped the Canadians to enter the trenches before the enemy could recover and reinforce. The Ridge was taken, and the battle was over in four days.
In the game, the Player will take control of a Sergeant who finds himself as the highest ranking person amongst a selection of various units, representing small groups of remaining men in rifle squads, grenade squads and machine gun teams, seeking to achieve various Objectives. The exploits of each of the four Divisions of the Canadian Corps is represented by its own campaign across three connected mission maps, giving twelve mission maps in total.
The aim of this book is to present a clear, accessible, and quick to learn game, so that players can get into the action quickly. It does not try to replace more complex wargames which often take many hours to learn and to play. Each of the 12 missions can be played in around 30 to 60 minutes, and each one should provide plenty of replayability due to the random set up of the initial forces and the outcome of the many action points in the game.
This book is a solitaire wargame. You play the game, and the enemy is controlled by the game book (or the Artificial Intelligence or 'AI'). You will need a handful of standard six-sided dice. Four will do, but the more the better. Methods to play the game include:

• Cut out or copy the counters provided on the final page of the book, stick them to card and cut them out with a good quality craft knife or pair of scissors.
• Photocopy the maps and draw/write on the pages lightly in pencil and erase when necessary. You can use any annotations you choose for the units, that make sense to you.
• Lay the book flat (it's well-bound, it can stand it!) and use cubes, miniatures, or similar tokens for the units.
• Use some kind of acetate and dry-wipe markers.
• Take a photo of the maps on a tablet and use the "edit" function to draw and erase. For example, on an iPad, tap "edit" in the Photos App and then tap the three dots in the circle and choose "mark-up".