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[Plain Ian]

Turn 40 - south German Turn



Michael moved up more of Panzer Lehr this turn. Looking at what is visible I'd say that this was ALL of it. Artillery fire was low with most of it concenttrated against 90th Cav. I lost 2 armoured cars to artillery and 2 more to ground fire.

Turn 40 - south US Turn



I decided to hold my ground this turn and fire.

The Panzer Lehr infantry in the south were well targeted and the 11th Tank Bn managed 2 hits on his StuG unit.

609th TD and 2-12th also did well but I lost an M18 in return fire.

D/37 TNK moved up and found more enemy on the river by Boevange. An M5 was lost and it withdrew. I sent in 37th Tank Bn and it did quite a bit of damage. The M4 tank Bn's have a defense of 20 which hopefully means they can weather artillery well. However I know he has a company of Jagdpanzers out there which may cause problems.

4th Armoured (purple flash on bottom) now arrived. 3 tank battalions and 3 armoured infantry battalions available. There is also the Divisional tank destroyer unit 704th TD Bn but the M18 has a defensive strength of 4 so has to be used carefully.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German



Turn losses above. Michael has kept up the 500 man loss and also increased my losses in tanks although 50%-60% of these are armoured cars or M5 light tanks I think.

I'm sorry I won't be able to finish Turn 40 maps. I'll jump straight into Turn 41.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German - South




With an hour left to dusk the Germans have finally swung into action. Two major attacks.

Artilllery started falling on 55th Arm Engineers and the 2-8th. Moderate casualties. (8 men) Then without warning a massive assault fell on 11th Tank Bn led by Panzer Lehr infantry and Assault guns, supported by at least a battalion of the 212th VGD. (Blue A and B)

The German assault pressed on despite losing an Assault gun and 7 grenadiers. The 11th Tank Bn fell back in disarray (Disrupted) onto the 70th Tank Bn (4th Infantry) leaving a damaged tank behind (1 lost) (Red A)
The Germans occupied the ground. It was a costly assault as the Germans lost a further 30 men and suffered a large amount of disruption.

Boevange-sur-Attert (west) The 90th Cav had been holding the village for most of the day under artillery and constant tank attacks from across the river. Ominous news had filtered in that a massive German tank column (Blue F) was gathering in Boevange (west). Shortly after 2pm the assault began and after a short fight the gallant cavalry were put to flight and evicted from the village. 2 armoured cars were lost in the fight and a further 11 during the assault/retreat. The Germans lost 1 man and 1 tank.
During the retreat the 90th Cavalry commander decided to retreat NW towards the 37th Tank Bn. (Red B) The relief for the 90th was short lived as the Germans moved an Engineer unit to cut off the loc of both units. The 37th commander was far from happy being Isolated by the retreat of the 90th AND finding himself LOW AMMO????? The 37th DID NOT FIRE DURING THE GERMAN TURN????

The rest of the turn consisted of artillery and Werfer fire plus movement of German units into line.

The 2-12th lost 59 men to 8 mortar attacks despite the fact its in Woods. (-30%)

The 55th Engineers lost 38 to mortars from 6 attacks.

Despite this 4th of July attack NO WERFERS were spotted!!!!!
EDIT - not true, I've just realised that there are 2 spotted hexes which could be Werfers north of Boevange. Target for my artillery!

The situation looks daunting. I’m not sure if 4th Armoured will be enough, or if I would have been better using the 80th Infantry Div. The 4th only has 7 manoeuvre Bns (8 if you include the Engineers) whereas the 80th has 11 plus the Engineers.
However the 80th are all C Morale whereas the 4th are all B’s with a few A morale units!

I’m up against Pz lehr with the 212th (B rated VGD) and the 352nd (C/D rated) with some support from the 5th FJD. There is no sign of the 276th VGD but I think it might be on flank duties or possibly guarding the bridge he has put up? The 276th VGD is a low grade unit (D/E)

I’ll have to think what to do here. Probably set up a new defensive line further back and pull back at least a Regiment of the 80th from its move north. 2 turns to night.

EDIT - further thought. I wonder if I have enough artillery to Rubble Boevange (west) where he has his armour. This will prevent him using the bridge to reinforce the area? I have about 7 105mm/Priests? Is that enough?

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – Bastogne



Not much to report here. The Germans have possibly gone onto the defensive here, or are switching troops elsewhere? Fuhrer Begleit Bde and 2nd Panzer active but the 26th VGD was quiet. Michael has hinted in his emails about the tough opposition from 2 Airborne Divisions but I think he exaggerates slightly.

Michael went for the easy target of the 2-506th and wheeled up a successive line of units to fire until I guess he reached the stacking limit. 60 men were lost to this tactic with a further 11 lost to 2 barrages by Werfer. The 2-506th did inflict 11 losses in return fire.

The 1-504th was also targeted by artillery after a unit from the 26th VGD moved up to act as spotter. 25 men lost.

Patrols by 106th Div still show 2 co.s of Panthers from 2nd Panzer in north.

The spotted unit next to Bastogne should be a Werfer?

Pressure in this area has eased but I don’t think it is over. I will continue to withdraw in certain areas while holding the main road. Not a great area to defend with a River and Woods behind me and only two crossing points.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – Basse-Bodeaux/La Gleize


Germans over ran the A/543 TD unit which I’d left behind to slow them down. Not a successful ploy. I really need to think about using these towed units better. 5 lost in the assault and 6 destroyed by artillery when it fell back on the 2-117th (30 Div) in T mode.

The 38th Arm Inf Bn was hit by artillery losing 13 men.

In the replay I could see further units of 116th moving up. Another Panther Co (XX) and a possible Mot Gren Bn (XXX). The good news is that Basse-Bodeaux is Rubbled which will slow down T mode traffic.

At La Gleze he continued to follow my withdrawal. That is Clear terrain one hex NE and SE of la Gleize, so I expected heavy losses.

2-120th lost 33 men to artillery and ground fire whilst the 23rd Arm Inf lost 30.

The 3-33rd Tank Bn lost 2 tanks to Peipers' armour. I’m surprised I didn’t lose more? Possibly he is experiencing Low Ammo? The reason I say this is because 3-33rd has just gone Low Ammo! Rats.

I was gratified to see my units hitting back with defensive fire. His KG Hansen-Sandig © took at least 46 men losses due to movement and return fire.

I will fall back on La Geize but I doubt if I can make a stand there?

I’m not sure which way his 116th will go? Its a big unit, I would send it in all directions. North to Cheneux, west to Webermont and SW to Rarmont. Michael won’t do that, he’ll pick one and keep everything stacked.

I need to look at the bigger picture to decide what to do at Rarmont.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – Spa



Only one action here.

The withdrawing troops of the 743rd Tank Bn (30th Div) were startled to hear the sound of very heavy tanks. A line of Panthers appeared with 20+ King Tigers following up slowly behind. Surely they weren’t going to cross the marsh? The US tankers watched with open mouths as the beast lumbered towards them, their wide tracks easily pulling tham across the frozen marshy ground. Within seconds the 743rd had lost 4 tanks. The unit pulled back to the safety of the woods!

That was the only thing that happened. The 743rd went from 36 tanks to 32 AND its fatigue went from 67 to 105???? I checked to see if the unit was fully combined and yes it shows [3] so I’m mystified why the fatigue increase was so severe? Unit now has a Morale C!

I’d positioned a Lt Tank Co, D/2-32nd to the south to give me warning if he moves south west. He has instead gone direct for Spa. 3 Wood hexes and he will be there and I don’t think I can stop him.

I’m sure I looked at the probability of breakdowns from moving one hex a turn in woods. If he starts out with 20+ King Tigers, I think he has a good chance of reaching Spa with all 20+ intact! I’ll do the calculation again.

By the way I’m assuming 20+ King Tigers because Michael did have the unit broken down at one time? If it has been combined then it can easily have 40+. (it starts with 43 in the game?)

I’m a bit surprised to see the Panzer IV unit Disrupted? That must have been artillery from last turn?

I will have to look at the bigger picture to decide what to do at Spa.

Weather Report for this turn says -



If it is SOFT or MUD tomorrow I'm not sure if that will interfere with his supply? Anyone?

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – Elsenborn



Well the news from Sourbrodt was grim. The 254th Engineer battalion which was cut off last turn, had surrendered. 150 men were killed, wounded or captured as the Germans stormed the village. Enemy losses were negligible.

US High command fears that the loss of Sourbrodt would be the start of a general assault on the US rearguards, were thankfully not proven correct. The Germans contented themselves to artillery fire and probes to confirm my positions.

Losses to Werfer attacks were very high.

The 1-18th came under sustained mortar fire and lost 52 men. It has gone from 156 fatigue to 204 and Morale D.
The 2nd Combat Engineers were let off lightly, they lost 20 men but their fatigue is still reasonable at 51.

German tactics this turn are a bit puzzling, since he has been attacking very hard here all day. However there are some clues.

• The 3rd FJD unit digging in.
• The single probes by 12th VGD and 277th VGD.
• The lack of 12th SS armour and infantry.

This suggests that he believes he has done enough and wishes to conserve his elite units, or is redeploying them? He possibly thinks that it is pointless to chase me into the Hohess Venn?

However there is a VP hex at Monschau so I don’t think that he has given up in this area. I still expect him to attack north towards Monschau using the Clear terrain.

I will contine to pull back......everywhere!

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – South Overview Map



Here’s a quick planning map.

80th Div spread out to north and assigned to VIII Corps. Plan was to send it Neufchateau but because of enemy inactivity I had decided to set up a forward defensive line from Bercheux to Martelange.

501st Para Rgt also moving north but 1 Bn still stuck down at Attert.

4th Armd Div just about committed to battle in the south. Because of the lack of heavy bridges on the R. Attertit from Redange to Boevange is difficult for the 4th Armoured units (tracked) to move easily north of the river. Road network is also poor.

5th FJD positions and 276th VGD position is guesswork.

Edit III Corps HQ arrives tomorrow morning 6am 21st Dec (Turn 46?) but next sizeable reinforcement is the 26th Inf Div 12 noon on 21st Dec. (Turn 49?)

[Plain Ian]

Turn 41 German – VII Corps Overview Map



84th Division spread to cover as large an area as possible.

334th Rgt had been set in motion towards Webermont last turn.

Basse-Bodeaux and Cheneux Groups already moving backward.

La Gleize will become untenable when Cheneux group retreats.

There are some more reserves off map to north at Jalhay for use with V Corps.
745th Tank Bn (1st Inf) 30 x M4 (58%)
2-32nd Tank Bn (3rd Armd) 30 x M4 (58%)
1-36th Arm Inf Bn (3rd Armd) 759 men (100%)

Edit One thing I should add is that if things look desperate for the US player then it won't be any easier for the German. He won't have much more units than me to achieve far more targets than me.

[ComradeP]

I'm not sure you can actually turn hexes to rubble when there's no enemy unit in it. I tested it a few times, and it didn't seem to happen.

Supply uses motorized movement. Compared to snow/frozen conditions, soft conditions have a lower movement cost modifier (200% compared to 250% in Moscow '42), but mud has a very high movement cost multiplier of 400% so he'll notice that in the local supply values (as will you).