The WW2 battle simulator: how Bocage works
Bocage is a free, in-browser simulation of a Normandy infantry battle in June 1944. A US rifle platoon attacks a German position in the hedgerows. Nothing is scripted: every man decides for himself, one second at a time.
What gets simulated
- Squad tactics. Squads advance by bounds from hedge to hedge. On contact, a base-of-fire team (a BAR or a machine gun) pins the enemy while the rifle team works round the flank, then assaults with grenades.
- Wounds and medics. A bullet hits a body part and bleeds. An aidman crawls out to the wounded, stops the bleeding and gives morphine. Wounded men are followed for thirty days afterwards, so the after-action report shows who lived, who was crippled and who died of their wounds.
- Morale and suppression. Most rounds miss, but every round that lands near a man pins him down. Seeing friends fall and losing leaders wears morale away, and men break, run or surrender.
- Artillery, mortars and smoke. Shells take seconds to arrive, and men nearby shout "Incoming!" and hit the dirt. You can call down a barrage yourself.
- Buildings that come down. Walls breach, roofs fill with holes, and a house shelled hard enough falls in, burying men inside.
- Ground, height and weather. Hedgerows block sight and bullets, crests hide men, and rain, fog and mud change what anyone can see and how fast they can move.
- Snipers, machine guns and armour. Snipers choose a hide and a target, machine guns overheat and need a loader, and tanks and anti-tank guns appear in some battles.
How to play
- Just watch. It opens at the first shots, with a camera that follows the fighting.
- Call in a barrage. One button drops artillery on the nearest enemy in view. Tap a soldier to see who he is and what he is doing.
- Skip to result. Run the whole battle to its end and read the after-action report.
- Take full control. Your own camera, every overlay, smoke, a sniper shot, and a panel with every man's details.
Every battle can be replayed
A battle is fully determined by its seed number. The same seed gives the same ground, weather, forces and decisions, so you can share a link to an exact battle and compare how it unfolds. The simulation runs entirely in your browser: no server, no account, nothing to install.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. It is free, with no account and no ads, and the source code is public on GitHub.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Open it in any modern phone browser. The screen is simplified by default, with one large barrage button, and "Take full control" opens everything.
Is it historically accurate?
It is a simulation of the kind of fight that happened in the Normandy bocage, not a reconstruction of one real action. Weapons, tactics, wounds and terrain are modelled on how those battles were fought, but the battles themselves are generated.
Who wins?
Either side can. Attackers usually win by holding the objective, such as the crossroads, the farm, the road junction or the town square, or by destroying the defenders. Roughly one battle in four is a German counter-attack.
What else is here?
There is a second simulation, a village of fifty-odd people who farm, feud, fall in love and face a council. Open the village simulation.