Decision Game's Grand Operational Simulation Series is a first for me, and an interesting system. The use of two different combat results with a single cumulative dieroll modifier was particularly interesting; the attacker needs to roll high, and the defender needs to roll low. It's an interesting mix of rolling different die for multiple results without utilizing different modifiers. Altogether, as a single package, it was rather agreeable. But, I won't unpack the system itself. Let's unpack the scenario in question: To Save Bastogne.
The is self-described by Decision Games as a "great two to three hour scenario that's meant to be played tournament style." It deserves a thoughtful breakdown. It's a quick slash and punch scenario. Few counters on board at the start and a few hours later, it culminates in a resounding crescendo. If you do it wrong as the attacker, it comes to a resounding crescendo on the outskirts of Bastogne.
Let's look at the victory conditions and starting set up. CCR of 9th US Armor and CCB of 10th US Armor set up on board. Alone, they cannot stop the Germans. The 101st arrives just in time to roll into Bastogne. They have enough time to set up Improved Positions E and N of Bastogne, but not trenches. The US player can either use the engineers to prioritize defense emplacements for the US armor, leaving less than ideal options for the Screaming Eagles, or they can build for the latter, leaving the US armor even worse off. And sacrificing the US armor outright may not be the right option.
The US player gets a maximum of 8 victory points in To Save Bastogne. They lose 1 point if there are not two units from CCB/10Axx remaining at game's end. Let's contrast this with the German conditions.
The Germans get zero victory points for Bastogne. ZERO. And rightly so. Bastogne is not the German objective. It's a needed transit hub, nothing more. And, given the maneuver limitations to the Panzer Lehr division, that fact is only more obvious (to be seen shortly). The Germans get 2 victory points for every Kampfgruppe that exits the map to the West. They get an extra victory point if they do it before December 20. Realistically, given this latter provision, only the Kampfgruppen of the 2nd Panzer Division can take advantage of the extra victory point. Panzer Lehr is restricted by the southern edge of the map (my only pet peeve with this scenario). Panzer Lehr is confined by-and-large to a single road, out of the Ardennes, and into Bastogne. With CCB, US Engineers, and later the 101st Airborne in their path, they really only have one choice: to blast their way through. So let's do the math. The Germans need a victory by exiting their Kampfgruppen off the Western edge. Only Four Kampfgruppen meet the requirements: KG Haus (Lehr), KG Coch (2 Pz), KG Holt (2 Pz), and KG vPorsch (Pz Lehr). It's not obvious if the units belonging to (KG?) Guett constitute a KG; the Scenario book designation simply says "Rest of 2Pz arrives ..." and KG vFall doesn't count. Pz Lehr's vFall and vPorsch are the only two KG that are limited by the south-edge road. They have to attack past Wardin and through the southern woods, over streams, and in broken ground. It's bad terrain, and it creates a VP crunch. If they (vFall and vPorsch) can destroy enough units from CCB, the Germans only need 8 VP to win; they don't need to even get close to taking Bastogne.
Historically, 2nd Panzer bypassed Bastogne and left the 26 VG Div and Pz Lehr to continue the siege. If the German player can use vFall and vPorsch to destroy the armor of CCB, the Germans can send KG Coch (Dec 18 PM), KG Haus (Dec 18PM) and KG Holt (Dec 19 AM) around Bastogne and sprint for the victory exit. If KG Coch and KG Haus can get out before Dec 20 - use the extra night turn if needed - they get 6 VPs. Get KG Holt out before game's end, that's 8. Even if the German player doesn't kill off enough of CCB, that's a tie by victory point standards.
It's all about the math, and it gets interesting if you play it by the math. As the Americans, do they see the Germans sprinting to outrun them and position themselves in their path, weakening the position around Bastogne? Do they bide time, settling for a draw by saving CCB? There are a lot of options. Indeed, it makes for a great tournament scenario, and it's worth the food for thought. The Germans win by playing a hit and run. Getting bogged down in a slog with the 101st is the last thing you'd want to do. That's what I did (because I forgot about the exit VPs. Sue me ... or court marshal me.)
Dec 18 AM & PM Turn:
1st Army and 8th Corps Engineers begin preparing defenses SE & East of Bastogne. They et up improved positions (little more than slit trenches, fox holes, AT pits and barbed wire) along streams, tree lines, and open ground in need of obstacles to slow the German advance. Withdrawing from Skyline drive, the elements of CCR, 9th Armor try to consolidate their forces and form a solid, cohesive road block to the advancing elements of the 2nd Pz Div. (KG Coch). They hold around Longvilly, awaiting the first strike. KG vFall arrives to their SW. Since it's heavy forrest and poor roads they have to traverse, and limited by the terrain, CCR is content to leave ad hoc groups of armored engineers, and various armored companies, to slow their advance (CCB 10th Armor is on the way to man the SE line in front of Bastogne, near Wardin).
Dec 18 Night Turn:
With KG vFall stopped along the edge of the woods SE of Bastogne (Bois De Surre), CCB races to construct improved positions around Wardin. CCR works to do the same around Longvilly, with the Germans in sight. With the American ad hoc armor set up firmly in the way of Pz Lehr and 2nd Pz Div, the Army Engineers of the US 1st Army head north, to prepare additional defenses along the Houffalize-Bastogne Road.
The German Kampfgruppen prepare assaults to dislodge the American armor in their path. From the east, the 77th Regiment of the 26th Volksgrenadier Division arrives in support of KG Coch.
Task Force Rose of CCR, 9th Armor, is struck first. The M7 priests of CCR had attempted to slow the recon elements of KG Coch before sundown, but unsuccessfully. Unhampered, the German recon elements probe the American front. Noting the thin line of defenders, the German armor prepares a knockout blow to TF Rose. 1 mile east of Longvilly, TF Rose is overrun. The only reports to that effect are the brief sound of cannon fire and calls for support, only to go unanswered.
The German tankers and armored infantry of Pz Lehr's KG vFall attempt a similar strike to the SW. 4 Miles from Bastogne, the armored engineers and American tank destroyers outside Marvie halt the Germans in their advance. The Germans retreat to the tree line unbloodied, but unable to claim the success of their comrades in the 2nd Panzer Div.
Dec 19 AM Turn:
With their northern anchor gone, the rest of CCR severs contact with KG Coch and their hold on Longvilly. The 2nd Battalion is relocated to Bizory with the Command's artillery elements. 3rd Battalion only makes it as far as Niederwampach. In better news, the Screaming Eagles arrive. The division's artillery is stationed around Bastogne and the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) races to join the line with CCB. The other 3 regiments follow in tow.
Observing the advance armor of KG Coch, 3 Bn CCR calls in what it expects to be its last request for artillery support. From their positions, they observe the knock-out of the KG's recon elements a mile outside of Longvilly.
The Germans of KG Coch immediately change course of action once they receive word from vFall of the arrival of American paratroopers. The KG slits in half. The recon elements (KG Coch 1) head north, through Bourcy, to Noville, faced by the US Engineers of the US 1st Army at Foy. The 77th VG regiment follows, reaching Bourcy. KG Coch 2 (the remaining armored elements), supported by the arrival of KG Haus, strike Niederwampach. 3rd Bn/CCR is overrun and annihilated.
Dec 19 PM Turn:The 327 GIR joins CCB, the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) joins the last of CCR in the woods north of Foy, the 502 PIR waits in reserve in Bastogne, and the 506 PIR heads NW for Longchamps. From Wardin, CCB calls in a strike on the armored infantry of KG vFall on the edge of Bois de Surre, inflicting minor casualties and disrupting cohesion.
Guett's KG arrives and moves toward Bertogne, 2 Miles from Longvilly. vFall & Coch 2 assault CCB + 2Bn/327 GIR at Wardin (the first of many assaults to come). The Germans get mixed results. The Germans manage to knock out some of the American Shermans, but they fail to break through. The fog, weather, and operational pressures force the Germans to pull back some of their armor for the evening.
To the north of Bastogne, the remainder of KG Coch (Coch 1) leads an assault from Recogne on the town of Foy, held by a battalion of the 501 PIR and a battalion of the 502 PIR. It's a bloody affair. The American Paras are redoubtable. They suffer heavy losses (2 full steps), but they hold the line. For their efforts, the Germans lose a number of panthers in their attempt to push the Americans out of Foy.
Dec 19 Night Turn:
The battered paras in Foy pullback to Bastogne, replaced by 2nd Bn 502nd PIR nd the 705 TD Battalion. The 506th PIR shifts to man the line NW towards Longschamps. The 2nd Bn 506th is extended out on the far edge of the line. In the dying evening light, American artillery in Bastogne deals further damage to German armor outside Noville.
The Germans are more active, launching a major assault all along the line. Coch 2 relocates to the Houffalize road in support of 2nd Pz's assault on Bastogne from the north. Elements of 26VG Division and Pz Lehr assault the 327 GIR & CCB east of Bastogne in force. W/ every battery's ammunition expended, there are five separate engagements around Bastogne on the night of December 19th.
1) The NW Flank: KG Holt breaks from the rest of 2nd Pz Div to launch a frankly strike from Longschamps. The 2nd Bn 506 is badly bloodied. They suffer losses to KG Holt and fail to deal any real damage to the advancing panzers, but they hold the line. They refuse to allow passage over the stream.
2) Wardin, the fortress: vFall KG and elements of the 26VG division again try to dislodge CCB & 327 GIR. The Germans, unlike their comrades in KG Holt, again show no evidence of coordination, especially in the dark. The attack stalls, allowing both sides to pull back non-essential personnel. The glider infantry, from their foxholes and positions dug-in in Wardin, observe the German armor again pull back to the tree line.
3) Foy & The Houffalize Road: The American positions in Foy are again under attack. It's a bloody affair, but one not that yields any fruit. The Paras of 2nd Bn 502 PIR and tankers of the 705 TD Bn hold the line. From their positions in Foy, they manage to knock out a number of the German armor and recon elements. Like Wardin, the attack on Foy stalls.
4) The Observation Post: One mile east of Bizory, American armor and infantry of CCB (2Bn), occupying a commanding position looking east, have largely remained unmolested, but now the German strikes fall on the American center. The German strike, unlike that all along the flanks, is well coordinated. Heavy armor and supporting grenadiers burst through the American line, sending 2nd Bn CCB reeling into Bizory. The American line is punctured.
5) The Bizory woods: The woods NE of Bizory are thinly manned by the remaining elements of CCR (9th Armor). They occupy a non-essential part of the line, but a part still in the German way of Bastogne nonetheless. The Germans opposite them launch an attack that first pierces and then crumbles the thin American line. The last of CCR is annihilated and, driving into their positions, Pz Lehr threatens to sever CCB & 327 GIR from the US Paras.
As dawn approaches, the gunfire subsides, German trucks redistribute what limited ammo remains to the batteries outside Bastogne, and both sides take stock of the positional shifts over night.
Dec 20 AM Turn:
The Americans make emergency shifts of the front line. The 1/502 & 3/502 are rushed to Neffe and the 1/506 & 3/506 relieve the 2/506 Outside of Longchamps. 8th Corps artillery continues to pound the Germans close to the American positions. Their heavy concentration causes heavy losses among their armor.
As a consequence of their failed attempt to outflank Americans in Bastogne to the North as Pz Lehr attacked from the east, the 2nd Pz division is forced to ration their remaining gas, limiting their ability to press attacks. With the benefit of daylight, the Germans continue their attacks:
1) Longchamps Assault: KG Holt and Coch 2 (finally able to link up and coordinate their thrusts in daylight) hammer the US Paras of 1/506 and 3/506. The Germans force a crossing over the stream outside Longchamps and send the US Paras packing.
2) Wardin (the impregnable bastion): The Germans of KG vFall and 26 VG Div redouble their efforts, crossing familiar terrain (strewn with evidence of their failed assaults). In the daylight, the Germans are able to spot the foxholes and fixed positions in Wardin manned by the men of 327 GIR. The Americans of 327 GIR suffer heavy casualties, but they still manage to hold. Dug in with the men of CCB, they keep vFall from entering and overwhelming the village.
3) The Desperate Defense of Neffe: The 1/502 and 3/502 brace for assault against the majority of KG Haus. Both battalions suffer irreplaceable losses, but they prove immoveable.
4) Bizory: Pioneers, heavy weaponry, and a swarm of Volksgrenadiers throw the American infantry and armor out of Bizory. They're forced to retire into positions in Luzery without means to improve their defenses.
5) Foy: The location on the Houffalize road finally falls to the Germans. 3/501 is nearly wiped oup. KG Coch 1 and Guett blast the Americans out of Foy. With CCB & 2/501 thrown out of Bizory, the remaining paras have no choice but to flee west (effectively severing the battalion in two; not a good turn out). Now with only two miles to Bastogne, the Germans threaten to cut off 2/3rds of the 101st from the divisional HQ.
Dec 20 PM Turn:
The Americans go into damage-control mode as best they can. (At this point in the game, I still hadn't realized that the Germans get absolutely nothing for taking Bastogne. I was too focused on nailing the mechanics of the game I suppose). The Paras maneuver to try and meet the constricting pressure on Bastogne. To do so, they give ground, making several concessions, the most challenging one of which is abandoning Wardin.
In the dying light of the 20th, the Germans launch a major strike on the NE & continue to apply pressure from the NW in a series of local enagements:
1) Hermroulle: KG Holt and Coch 1 launch a well coordinated assault. Without the benefits of entrenchment, the 2nd Bn 502 suffers casualties and is forced to withdraw.
2) Luzery: Just 1 mile from Bastogne, the heaviest concentration of German heavy armor launches a well coordinated strike on the Americans in Luzery. Devastation. 1/501 PIR, engineers from the 101st, and supporting armor from CCB suffer irreplaceable losses. The Americans stream into Bastogne with the Germans fast on the heels. The End is Nigh.
3) Neffe: The results of Luzery are repeated by Pz Lehr (their first outright victory against the 101st Airborne). The 1/502 and 3/502 cannot hold the line, and are ejected from the village.
4) Wardin outskirts: The German artillery for once proves disastrously effective, striking well cited positions. Even still, KG von Fallois fails to capitalize on the strike. Another futile attempt as the Americans, despite damage to their new positions, inflict losses among the German armor.
Dec 20 Night:
The sun sets and gun fire finally quiets. The German armor of 2nd Pz are within one mile of Bastogne. It's a near-run thing, but the Germans don't have what they need to drive the Americans out of the town. At that, the Germans concede (especially as they receive news of American armor driving up from the south).
A final look at the map. A great game, that I'll have to replay now that I know the rules. Til then, off to learn the Gamers/MMP's OCS.-- Dan
