The box cover is, well, it's a box cover. The boys at Avalanche Press had to scrimp somewhere, and the cover drew the short straw. Intrepid gamers can easily devise one of their own, but I think AP missed the boat on this one. There's a lot more going on here than just lining 'em up and slugging it out. The presence of leaders near the front can give a crucial column shift, and ammunition takes a hand, preventing players from blasting away at will with their guns and ships.
Success is dependent upon learning how best to balance morale, leadership, armor, and ammo.
Well, I question the wide disparity between the artillery support values for attack vs. defense. So, you should be able to saunter through the rules quickly, spending some extra time getting the various combat elements down. Something to remember for the second edition. These are important, because while the Germans must spread themselves thin to hold the Allies in check, all those 2-pointer German companies don't have a ZOC if left by themselves. This is balanced by Allied supply problems in the early going and a curious rule not allowing the Allies strategic movement for the first two days of the battle.