HSG 3AD Dead of Winter - Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

26 February, 1945 Blatzheim, Germany The German Army was being mauled by the Western Allies. The Germans in the West had been reduced to a strength of only 26 divisions. At this time the German Army on the Eastern Front consisted of 214 divisions. The Western Allies fielded a force of 85 full strength divisions, 23 of which were armored and 5 were airborne. The Siegfried Line was broken and the German Army was running for the Rhine River. Here they would make their stand. Here they could hold the Western Allies behind the mightiest river in all of Europe. The Western Allies were just as determined that the Germans not get behind the Rhine River. That they should not pull their meager forces back and form another defensive barrier as formidable and costly as the Siegfried Line had proven to be. 23 February the US Ninth Army was across the Roer River and advancing as many as fifty miles a day. The German Fifteenth Army was in full retreat. Just to the southwest of the Rhine River was a major water barrier. The Erft Canal. This was a natural place for the Germans to try to hold the Americans and buy some time. The 3rd Armored Division was racing the Germans to the Erft Canal. The winner would get thousand of German soldiers either for the defense of Germany or for the POW camps. Could the 3rd Armored Division reach the Erft Canal and force a crossing before the Germans could contain them? It's time to find out.