Trading Blood for Time - The Matrix Games version of West Front

Noville, 7km E of Bastogne, Belgium: [Best played as Allied] The second phase of the battle of Bastogne was nothing more than a deadly race. Once Eisenhower decided to commit his strategic reserve, the crack 101st Airborne Division was tasked with the defense of Bastogne. But would it be in American hands when they arrived? To buy time, VIII Corps commander Maj. Gen. Troy Middleton threw out armored roadblocks. Combat Command B/10th Armored Division was divided into three teams. One was assigned to each of the roads approaching Bastogne from the east. A young Major named William Desobry was assigned the northernmost approach and the defense of a town called Noville. Having been probed in the early morning fog of the 19th, the Americans knew the Germans were close. But at 1100 hours the fog lifted "like a curtain" and revealed the leading elements of the German 2nd Panzer Division maneuvering for the attack. Knowing that 1/506 Parachute Infantry Regiment was on its way, Desobry was determined to hold the town and keep the Germans at bay.