Historical Background:
Unternehmen Nordwind*, the drive to Strasbourg, was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. Launched on January 1, 1945, it was initially successful as the Axis forces broke through the thinly stretched U.S. 7th Army line and drove toward Strasbourg. Elements of the 79th Infantry Division, however, were able to stall the German 1st Army and 39th Panzer Corps at the villages of Hatten and Rittershoffen, two small Alsatian towns just north of the Haguenau forest and a mile or so apart. Surrounded by German forces on three sides, the 42nd US Infantry Division was rushed forward to relieve them. The battle raged for almost a month, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
*This battle is mentioned at 17:03 in this great video
Briefing:
Axis 5 cards. Allied 5 cards, move first.
Conditions of Victory:
7 Medals
Hatten and Rittershoffen are each a Permanent Medal Objective for the Allied player if he manages to relieve their garrison. To relieve a garrison, a friendly unit must begin their turn in a hex that is adjacent to a town hex occupied by a garrison. There are three garrison units in this scenario: the infantry unit in Hatten and the infantry and artillery units in Rittershoffen. Place a Battle Star on these units to identify them as garrisons.
Special Rules:
Re-Supply rules (Action 24) for Half-Tracks (Troops 18 ).
Place a badge on Axis elite infantry and armour units (Troops 2), and on Axis Engineer units (Troops 4).
Place a badge (or use the proper figures) on the Allied Mobile Artillery unit (Troops 14).
Special Weapon Assets late war rules (SWAs 4) are in effect for units equipped with Anti-Tank Guns (SWAs 5).
Allied player may conduct Air Strikes (Actions 3).
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and are not used in this mission.
Scenario link
Report
A complex and absorbing R Borg scenario.
Plenty of special units and rules to get you thinking!
Set up:
A scenario with a different layout - Allies are on both sides of the board, with 3 US units trapped near the German baseline (circled in red):
The Allies pushed forward in the centre and left to relieve the unit in Hatten, taking a number of medals but at a high cost.
The Axis concentrated on their own left flank, successfully destroying American tank unis, but again at a high cost.
An exciting finish saw the Allies win 7-6, with decisive action in the centre.
Finish:
Another highly recommended scenario for a game lasting about two hours (including set up).