01.2018 Monte Altuzzo: Gothic Line 1944

Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (2018)

Product Type:
HASL/Historical Module

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
Desperation Morale has not examined this product and cannot verify claims of its contents. Contains a historical map composed of an unknown number of glossy heavy paper/light cardstock 12" x 18" map panels, ? pages rules, 8 scenarios, and "at least 736" die-cut counters

Commentary:

Note: Critical Hit publishes products at a high volume and its products have a general history of quality control issues.  Critical Hit provides no review/evaluation copies and typically prices its products very high.  For all these reasons, Desperation Morale no longer acquires all, or even most, Critical Hit products for analysis and write-up on this website.

This entry, then, is not a typical Desperation Morale write-up but rather more of a placeholder and historical marker.  If Desperation Morale ever acquires a copy of this product, this placeholder entry will be replaced by a full write-up.

Monte Altuzzo: Gothic Line 1944 is a historical module published by Critical Hit in 2018 depicting the successful American assault against German positions on Monte Altuzzo in Italy in September 1944. This module should not be confused with Operation Olive: Gothic Line 1944, which is a Critical Hit module about a different part of the Gothic Line. For once, this is a new module and not a renamed reprint of an older title.

The highlight of Monte Altuzzo is the historical map, a largish map that must be assembled from a number of glossy 12″ x 18″ heavy paper/light cardstock map panels. Assembling a number of these panels together can be a pain, but not all scenarios require the whole map area.  The terrain depicts a large, very impressive hill formation; the eponymous Monte Altuzzo.

The product includes 8 scenarios, all of them Americans vs. Germans. One of the scenarios, MA#8 (Shellfire and Resolve), is a monster-sized historical scenario using the whole map and many counters; it is intended to take the place of a campaign game, a type of ASL that Critical Hit has mostly abandoned.

Leaving aside the issue of quality, there is no denying that, in terms of quantity, Critical Hit has paid far more attention to Italy as a subject for historical ASL modules than has any other publisher.

Monte Altuzzo is very expensive, priced at this time at $99.95.

Around the same time as Monte Altuzzo was published, Critical Hit also made available–for separate purchase–an alternative larger version of the Monte Altuzzo map, dubbed the MONSTER Map set.  It seems too big to be practical. These maps by themselves cost $99.95.

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