The best scenario titles are not just descriptive ("Company C Attacks Again") or blindly alliterative ("Cluster**** at Closterdamm") or puns ("Manila Envelopment") or rhymes (Smith at Vith).
Ideally, a scenario title evokes something about the battle or situation, or it gives meaning to some aspect of the action, or it makes the reader think a little bit.
Without making any great claims to being a good scenario title comer-upper-wither, here are the rationales behind some of my scenario titles.
Welcome to the Jungle. I thought this would have good resonance value, as it is a song lyric. However, it was also appropriate on two other levels. First, it was the first action experienced by the unit the scenario pack was based around. Second, the scenario itself was conceived of as a good introductory PTO scenario.
Repple Depples No More. Repple Depple was slang for "replacement depot" and came to mean rear area troops, especially those who had not seen combat, or new replacements. I used this title because the slang term was a great, catchy "period" term, and because the action itself involved a Japanese force infiltrating behind US lines and attacking service units, etc., in the rear.
Hell on Horseshoe Hill. This is an example of the power that "slang geography" has for scenario titles. Horseshoe Hill was the term used to refer to a particular geological formation in the battle area. Because the term itself was alliterative, I added "Hell on" to give a feel for the battle.
Flamin' Frank. Okay, so I'm not proud of this one. It involved flamethrowers and a hero named Frank. 'nuff said. They can't all be winners.
Men Remembered Well. In the general action in which this scenario took place, someone won a Congressional Medal of Honor, and a well known song ("The Ballad of Roger Young") commemorated this hero. "Men Remembered Well" is taken from the lyrics of that song.
Big Guns at Bibilo. This is an example of taking advantage of local names. The scenario involved an American assault against Japanese gun positions at a hill called Bibilo. "Big Guns at Bibilo" has a very nice rhythm, and it explains the importance of the scenario.
Up the Numa Numa Trail. This is my favorite scenario title (and a great scenario). It is a very simple use of an incredibly evocative name for a piece of local geography. It involves a patrol heading up the eponymous trail that ran into the vanguard of a massive Japanese force heading south to launch an offensive.
Cut, Slash and Mow Them Down. This phrase was taken from the statement issued by a Japanese general to his troops before launching a major attack on American troops on Bougainville. Ironically, it was the Japanese who were mostly cut and mowed down. I thought the phrase was a great aggressive quote.
To Take Back A Hill. Not a very inspired scenario title; a straight description of the action--a US counterattack to regain control of a hill.
Buckeye Blitzrkrieg. Yikes, the dreaded alliteration. Oh well, you can't win them all. I used "blitzkrieg," because it is one of the few jungle actions of this unit that involved tanks.
The IJA's Last Battle. Not a great scenario title, I admit, but I wracked my brains for a long time and couldn't come up with anything better. It represents the last independent offensive launched by Japanese troops--actually occurring after their surrender.
Unlikely Allies. I like the rhythm of this short scenario title, but the main reason it is good is because it so concisely captures the conceit of the scenario: British and Japanese troops fighting on the same side!
Bloody Bari. This is a combination alliteration and play on words. The alliteration is obvious, and the play on words involves "Bloody Mary." Do two wrongs make a right? I don't know, but I actually like this scenario title quite a bit, as opposed to "Buckeye Blitzkrieg," which I can't defend.
Red Don. This scenario title--which I love--actually can be read two ways. First, a straight description. The scenario represents a bloody assault across the frozen Don River. Okay, red Don, I get it. Then, of course, it is also a pun of sorts on the movie "Red Dawn." Plus "red" connotes the Red Army, and the assault was a dawn assault and so on and so forth. I just like it.
Ghost Riders. Taken from the song, of course, to get that familiarity coursing through your neurons, but it is also evocative of a key feature of the scenario: Soviet reinforcements in winter camouflage riding tanks suddenly appearing out of nowhere. I loves it, my precious.
Village of the Damned. Also taken from a title! Man, three in a row. But again, extremely evocative, because the action centers around the hopeless resistance made by Italian and German soldiers trapped in a village by the Soviets when the main retreating Axis column left without them. It was their doomed last stand, and all were killed or captured.
Agonia ad Arnautovo. You have to be careful about using foreign languages for scenario titles. Done right, they are incredibly evocative; done wrong, and people just say "whaaaah?" I thought I was safe here. It's got alliteration but good rhythem, and the use of a foreign language makes up for the use of alliteration. Plus English speakers will easily discern it: Agony at Arnautovo.
Victory is Life. Originally, I had this in Italian. However, the meaning wasn't clear at all. The slogan for this one elite Italian unit was basically "for us, victory is life." It sounds better in Italian, basically meaning that achieving victory was the essence of life. I later changed it to a shortened English version of it. It's an okay title, but nothing inspired.
The Valley of Death. This was a no-brainer. This was the name given to a valley by the people who fought there. It's obviously evocative. So evocative that someone else who read about this action decided to design a scenario on the same action and give it the same title, at the same time I did! That bastard.
Tridentina Avanti! Unless people read the historical description, they may not get this title, which means it may not be a first rate title. Nevertheless, I like it. It is the "war cry" of the Tridentina Division: Tridentina Advance! The action depicts what is probably the crowning glory in the history of that division, and the war cry was uttered by one of its commanders as he led them into battle.
The Winter of their Discontent. Hey, a literary reference! And Shakespeare, too. I get extra points for that. It involves a bitter winter struggle with demoralized Italian troops. So it ideally is evocative of the situation.
The Hunters Become the Hunted. I thought this was natural. It involves a bunch of German parachutists (fallschirmjaeger, i.e., hunters from the sky) who get surrounded and defeated by Italians. It is evocative of the situation and uses the english translation of jaeger in a great way. Two points for the Pitman.
All Roads Lead to Rome. Hey, it's battle on a road to Rome, what better title could there be?
Flea Circus. This falls into the "what on earth could this scenario title mean" category. Flea Circus was the code name (in German) for the operation the scenario is based on. I thought it was very cool and exotic sounding.
The Last Day of the Cuneense. This is a straight descriptive title, involving the elimination of the remnants of the Cuneense Division, which sacrificed itself as a rearguard so that the rest of the Alpini Corps could escape.
Those are the titles from my published, or about to be published, scenarios.
Maybe tonight I'll post the reasoning behind the titles from my in-progress "Ruins of the Reich" scenario pack.