Bulge 16.01s alt

[Plain Ian]

Turn 43 Allied – South


I used most of my artillery against KG (A) since this is Clear terrain. I then used 19th Tank Bn to fire at the same target which went well but return fire Disrupted my tanks. (half losses caused by 19th Tanks) I moved 609th TD Bn back and it Disrupted (only 3xM10’s) to join the 803rd TD Bn (15 M18’s) and sent the 704th TD Bn to join the 19th Tank Bn. I lost 2 tanks, 1 to enemy fire and 1 to breakdown. An A rated unit moving 1 hex into woods and it losses 1 unit to breakdowns....what are the chances....

I evacuated the Clear terrain (B) and moved red fatigued units to the rear.

I moved up 1-319th and it bumped into the Pz Lehr recce unit. No fire triggered. Duh. I debated about whether to move on...or back...but decided to dis mount the boys. No fire triggered. I didn’t bother trying to fire. I tried artillery but no joy. I brought up the 25th Cav which is an A rated unit and good for night moves off road. 2-319th brought up in case he retreats and road is clear.

4th Armoured HQ attempted to move forward and Disrupted....bummer.

Not happy with situation. Pretty stupid move with 704th. Its my best unit and I’ve stuck it out front with two Disrupted units. He has 3 stacks with 800+ men in each and could attempt multiple assaults if he wants? The last few turns have shown that he will now assault tanks in Woods.

I should have let him have this wood hex and set up my defense based on Brouch and the Woods hex (TRENCH) to the north of it.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 43 Allied - south of Bastogne


Well I moved up at Magerotte and he did have a unit as back up. I didn't press hard and casualties were minimum.

317th of 80th Division has been brought forward. 2-318th moved a few hexes and will patrol next turn to scout out any defenses on the main road. No rush and I don't want to burn night fatigue .

[Plain Ian]

Turn 43 Allied – Rarmont – SPA



It was mostly artillery plus selective firing against his forward units. I continue to fall back. I’ve just about pulled everything out of the Cheneux area. I still have to get the D rated 33th? (well thats what it shows in PzC?) Arm Eng (7th AD) out of the woods. Its going to Disrupt. However I might put this move on hold IF there is no real enemy threat?
My only concern at the moment is if he appears south of the river at Stoumont and La Gleize.

(A) 29th Eng fell back while 17th Tank Bn (CCR 7th AD) stayed behind and dealt out some nasty fire to the 560th VGD Bn. I think 560th is D morale so hopefully they are Disrupted and will fall back. There should be some 116th Pz armour to the NE on the Basse-Bodeaux road which might bring retribution next turn? Since I’m armoured and in a Village he might not use artillery against me. 29th is low fatigue but Low Fuel/Disrupted.
(B) At Basse-Bodeaux the 2-117th/38th did the same to the Pz Lehr infantry in the Assault Gun/infantry group. Unit now shows XX? So its clearly not a Bn sized unit. Maybe its time to halt my retreat?
© La Gleize I used artillery on his KG Hansen and KG Sandig infantry. The 2-120th was left behind to hold up his movement. I will just have to see how many men I lose against his SS stack when I open up the next turn. He has 3 SS infantry groups and probably 40+ tanks including 9 King Tigers?
(D) A/3-32nd Tanks moved SW to join C/3-32nd and Disrupted. The 3-36th Armd Infantry fired on the Pioneers clearing obstacles. Not really a fair fight.
(E) 2-119th fell back towards SPA whilst 743rd Tanks and 526th fell back north. Artillery was used against both enemy groups, but not much. I thought about moving the 1-119th south to harass his loc/supply. 1-119th has recovered back to Fatigue 35 and is at 76% with 587 men. I chickened out. If he doesn’t move a blocking unit in next turn I’ll go ahead.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 43 Allied – Elsenborn



Last tactical map. Not much to see really. I moved all my disrupted units west and halted everything else as I didn’t want any night disruptions.
I had some 1st Infantry Div reinforcements which I rushed forward. The 634th TD Bn, but these are 36 x M10’s so not much help unless well dug in. The 745th Tank Bn was moved over to counter his assault gun group. Its a B rated unit with 29 x M4’s. I assume this is a tank battalion which was permanently assigned to the 1st?

(A) Stupid move, I brought down the second Cavalry company of the 38th to see what was there. I fired once for no effect then I should have retreated. I fired again and he fired back. Fatigue jumped from 0 to 27! I should have known better to use a Company sized unit even though on paper they look strong. (20 armourd cars) I guess now he’ll sit and fire and pour some artillery on it. It will be wrecked.
(B) Another stupid move. I moved up the AAA unit and it Disrupted and was fired on. It jumped from 76 fatigue to 100. It’s in Woods so that should give it some protection. I think my aim was to project a ZOC on the road NE to prevent him moving more up there. If he uses artillery against it then it will also be wrecked.
[C] I pulled back my armour. The 741st was already disrupted so that was an easy decision. 613th TD Bn (20 x M36’s Morale C) fell back one hex and it didn’t disrupt. I debated whether to move it again to get it away from his ‘Panzer Death Stack’, and in the end I left it where it is. MAYBE IF THE GAME ENGINE IS NICE I WILL GET OFF ONE SHOT AGAINST HIS TANKS BEFORE THEY TAKE OUT 5 OF MINES.........watch this space folks.
(D) 1-16th fired on 12th VGD Bn. Not spectacular results but every little bit helps.
(E) 2-18th took on the 3rd PGD Bn and did reasonably well. I think 25 of the losses were down to this Bn and the rest to artillery. The 2-18th suffered some losses but I can’t remember how many.

Next turn I think we will see more action here. He must know the VP at Monschau is vulnerable, I expect to see more armour appear here. Which is possibly fine since it means less armour moving on Verviers.

[Plain Ian]

Overview North



Quick map of the north. There hasn't been much change recently. Possibly he has decided to stop and see if he can hold on to what he has achieved so far?

[Plain Ian]

Overview South



Here is the big picture in the south. I haven't filled in the units in XII Corps as it is a bit messy. III Corps HQ is due soon in the south so I'll have to start looking at HQ subordination. VIII Corps range is pretty good (25) so I may just pull out XII Corps HQ and send it north. Will have a look at this.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 44 German

Points after German Turn.



Net Losses for Turn 44



Not a great day to be a US tanker in a M18. A horrific 33 lost plus a whole unit destroyed. (609TD Bn) And the worst thing was only half of these losses were tank on tank. Volks Grenadiers and Werfers killed the rest??? I also lost 11 M36's, 7 Greyhounds, 4 M5's and possibly 2-3 M4's. I'll take a stiff drink and watch the replay again.

I anticipated some of these losses but not on this scale. I guess the best defense against German tanks is .....no tanks.

Good news though I destroyed 2 German tanks. So lets see, that's 1 US tank Battalion (assume 30 tanks) to kill 1 German tank in this game..........I think I'll just wave that white flag now.

I really don't know why the Germans bother fighting during the day in this game. Best moving at night and firing. That way they make US units take fatigue from losses PLUS the US units also suffer night fatigue even though 90% of the time they don't fire back. ....but yes they were involved in combat. Duh.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 44 German – south


You would think after 43 turns I would have a better understanding of how to play this game. Putting Tank Destroyer units with poor defensive values in the front line IS NOT a good tactical idea.

A. Germans bring up another Battalion of 212th.

B. They launch an assault with units from group B against Company D 10th Tank Bn which fails but causes massive fatigue and destroys 3 tanks. (Result 3/3) I would assume that they used the 212th VG which is a B rated unit? If so holding them off with 8 x M5's was a pretty heroic defense. A later artillery barrage kills a further M5.

C. He withdraws a Bn of the 352nd (Disrupted?) and reinforces it with a Bn of 212th. Sustained ground attacks are launched against the 704th TD Bn by all adjacent infantry units supported by Werfer and artillery fire.
Werfers kill 7 x M18’s, artillery 3, and infantry 8. 704th reduced from 32 runners to 14 but does not Disrupt as its an A class unit. Germans lost 36 men from various units and suffered one Disruption. (Pioneers)

D. The Germans then brought out the Death Star....sorry their armour from Boevange-sur Attert. Opprortinity Fire failed to dent any armour. Their target was the 609th TD Bn. 3 shots took out 15 M18’s and eliminated the unit. The 803rd was not targeted. (It has 3 M18’s and was Disrupted)

The end of the turn sees the 704TD Bn along with 19th Tank Bn and 2-12th Bn surrounded by ZOC with only two fall back options well one really and that’s south. That probably just delays the inevitable.

I suppose I could sit tight go down guns blazing getting off 3 shots in my turn? 3 Panthers for 18 M18’s? I could also send out my tanks from 4th Armoured (8th/37th/35th) which together have 123 M4’s to battle it out in Clear terrain with him. (The 8th gained/repaired a tank as did the 19th last turn) I don’t like the odds though.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 44 German – Magerotte



Well Germans withdrew from south of Magerotte leaving the Fusileer Bn behind? Not sure why? Heavy artillery fell on 3-501st killing 13, and whilst they had their heads down the enemy escaped. No fire triggered. The Fusileer Bn then engaged the 3-501st and was quite deadly. 18 killed. 3-501st did return fire and killed 14 and they lost a further 4 to artillery. The 2-501st lost 6 to artillery.

Both Para Bn’s are at Fatigue 95 so should be rested. The 2-501st finally was finally re supplied with Ammo.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 44 German – Basse Bodeaux



German ‘stealth’ weapons were deployed. My boys stood and watched the half tracks roll up and the 75mm being deployed as per usual. Well actually I did get two Fatigue hits against one unit. In return the Germans took out a tank of the 40th. (the Bn was already Disrupted)

I get that these units are setting up outside the range of allied weapons then casually picking them off but it just looks strange? I can’t remember ever getting a hit when they move up and unlimber????
No action at Rarmont?

Basse Bodeaux he withdrew the infantry (probably disrupted after last turn, down to XX) and just used artillery on the 38th. It lost 16 men and Disrupted. Its a C class unit. The 2-117th slipped into the yellow fatigue.