Historical Background:
Further up in the center, this same morning of December 16, 1944, Fifth Panzer Army attacked the positions held by the U.S. 28th and 106th Infantry Divisions. Thinly spread and outmatched, numerically as well as materially, the 422nd and 423rd infantry regiments dug-in in the Schnee Eifel sector, soon found themselves threatened by a pincer attack of 18. Volksgrenadier-Division. The Germans overtook the villages of Roth and Bleiaf, leaving the US Artillery near Auw by Prüm exposed. Desperate counter-attacks by the reserve US Engineer battalions temporarily stopped the German advance; but lacking direction from their commander, 422nd and 423rd remained dug-in, as the Germans closed off any possible path of retreat. On the 19th, low on ammunition, the two regiments were finally forced to surrender.
With up to 9,000 men lost and a substantial amount of arms and equipment, the Schnee Eifel battle would go down in US Army history as “the most serious reverse suffered by American arms during the operations of 1944–45 in the European theater”.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing:
Axis Player
[Germany]
Take 6 Command cards.
You move first.
Allied Player
[United States]
Take 4 Command cards.
Conditions of Victory:
6 Medals.
The three towns hexes of Roth by Prüm, Auw by Prüm and Bleialf, are Permanent Medal Objectives (Turn Start) for the Axis forces.
The road hex with an Exit marker on the Allied player’s baseline is a Sudden Death Objective for the Axis forces.
Special Rules:
Winter Combat (Actions 25 - Combat Cards) and Winter Weather (Actions 26 - Winter Weather) rules are in effect.
Place badges on the 6 German elite Infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
Place a badge on the 2 US Engineer units (Troops 4 - Combat Engineers).
Place a badge on the 3 Allied and 1 Axis Tank Destroyer units (Troops 24 - Tank Destroyers).
Special Weapon Asset rules (SWAs 4 - Special Weapon Assets) are in effect for the Allied unit equipped with Anti-Tank weapons (SWAs 5 - Anti-Tank Gun Late War) and the Axis unit equipped with a Machine Gun (SWAs 7 - Machine Gun Late War). Place the proper badges on these units.
Scenario link
Setup photo:
In the first game, I played as the Axis, while my opponent took the Allied side. The Axis had strong dice rolls, while the Allies lacked cards in the sections under attack. The Axis quickly captured the town of Bleialf, but Roth by Prüm put up more resistance before eventually falling. After securing both towns, the Axis claimed a decisive 6-0 victory, though many of their units suffered casualties.
End Photo:
In the second game, we switched sides and began the battle. The Axis attack wasn’t as coordinated as the German assault in the previous game, leading to heavy losses. However, Axis superiority proved decisive, and the Allies struggled with poor card draws. In the end, the Axis secured a narrow 6-5 victory.
End Photo:
Conclusion: Not as good as the previous scenario and not balanced I think but it’s historical accurate (because the allies lost this battle).
If you played this scenario please share your experience.