Peipers Charge Battle report

[Dave Fairlamb]

Hi all

Ok so as the reeders of the 20th century topic page know, the Good (me), the Bad (rob) and the Ugly (jim) of Section 8 games are playing a 3 table ardennes campaign from Wargames Illustrated. The rules we have used are BKCII because we love'em! with just a little modification they are good to use. This week Table 1

The Forces are:
German
CO (CV9) Peiper, 3x Panther’s, 3x Tigers and 1x Jagdpanther (not the right units but it’s all I had), 8x Panzer IVs, 5x Grille’s (models are Wesps and Hummels)
3x Wirbelwind’s (models are flackpanzer 38s and 1 Sdkfz), 5 SS units and 1 SS MG unit, mounted in halftracks, 5 Fallschirmjager Units with 1 MG unit.
5x HQs to command the units, all CV9
American
CO (CV9)
Roadblock (2x regular units and 1x MG), In the town of Bullingen, 5x Regular units and 1x MG, Top left hand corner of the table, 3x Sherman 76mm, 2x M10, 2x HQs (CV8)

[Dave Fairlamb]

Turn 1 to 4
Meeting Resistance!
Only the Elite German Fallschirmjager was deployed on the table in front of the American roadblock, the rest had to be ordered onto the table. It took them 2 turns to overwhelm the American defenders as the German armour slowly moved onto the table. (Thanks to some hysterical command blunders)
Despite some heroic actions the Americans were no match for the Elite German Para’s that were backed up by the formidable Grille’s 150mm guns, during this time the Americans in the Town of Bullingen had started to deploy in to the woods and fortify the town.
On the road to Bullingen
At the start of turn 3 the German Paratroopers and Waffen SS (now disembarked from their fuel guzzling halftracks) made out to assault the town of Bullingen. American Forces had deployed in the thick woodland to the south of the town and had also dug in inside the town itself. It was sure to be a costly attack for the Fanatical Nazi troops but again the awesome firepower of the Grille SPG’s were brought to bear on the defenders and after two whole turns of artillery bombardment had lost all of the 3 units that were in the woods.  Then followed a short but savage fire fight between the SS and the Americans on the outskirts of the town.
Turn 5 and 6
Assault and Tank Shock!
At the start of Turn 5 the SS were close enough to assault the town and capture the vital fuel. For the last 4 turns the Americans had been moving their tanks up and now stood poised to enter the town and make the SS units life hell. Quick thinking seen the SS assault the buildings and destroy 2 more American units. This was costly and the SS were down to 50% but the vital fuel was captured before the Sherman’s and M10s could make their presence felt. Meanwhile on the road the German Advance was steadily moving up and by the end of Turn 5 the Panzer IVs were taking fire from the American tanks in the town. A brief but decisive fire fight occurred between the Panzers and American tanks. For a while it looked like the Sherman’s and M10 would hold the Panzers off but a costly command blunder forced them forward and right into the path of the Panzers guns. The SS by now had mopped up the remaining American infantry and all off the Sherman’s and M10s were destroyed for the loss of only 2 Panzer IVs. Game over, German Victory!

[Steve J]

Thanks for posting Dave . I've just been reading about the Battle of the Bulge in Max Hasting's Armageddon, so all relatively fresh in my mind. Look forward to further reports.

[Dave Fairlamb]

Peipers Charge: Table 2
Hi all,
The events of table 1 mainly focused on the town of Bullingen, but now on table two it’s all about getting across the rivers. With American engineers poised to destroy the bridges at Trois Ponts the German advance would stall and have to exit the table at La Gleize. The Germans have only 8 turns to get off the table.
The news had been spread by American command that the SS were committing atrocities against American POWs. To represent the unwillingness of the defenders on table 2 to surrender or be captured, all American forces are counted as Veteran.

Roadblock on the first bridge (where the Germans deploy)
2x Veteran Infantry Units and 1x Veteran MG unit + HQ (CV9)
Town of Stavelot
5x Veteran Infantry Unit and 1x Veteran MG unit (3x halftracks) + HQ (CV9)
3x 76mm guns towed by jeeps + HQ (CV9)
Near the two bridges of Trois Ponts
3 Engineer units + HQ (CV8)

Turn 1 to 3
Hold at all costs!
Now in “commandeered” SS Halftracks, the German Fallschirmjager assaulted the next American road block. This time however the Veteran Americans dug in and fought with tenacity and guile. After two turns of savage fighting the Elite German Para’s could not breakthrough, it was then the heavy guns of the Grille’s were called upon to provide support for the faltering elites. It took only 1 more turn for the massive firepower at point black rage to utterly destroy all resistance at the road block. After the bodies were counted the German Para’s lost 3 units in taking the roadblock out and those losses would no doubt haunt them on table 3.
Turns 4 to 6
Now fully deployed in the town the American Anti-tank gunners made ready to withstand the German attack. The veteran units in Halftracks redeployed to the forests to set up an ambush and make the Tank crews lives hell on the twisting forest roads. The American engineers destroyed both bridges near Trois Ponts making the road La Gleize the only German option.
Then the Heavy German tanks made their presence felt by leading headlong advance right up to the bridge near the town of Stavelot. The German advance was so rapid (thanks to some amazing double 1s being thrown) that the vast bulk of the German forces were playing catch up for two whole turns
Turns 7 to 9
As the first German Tiger crossed the creaking bridge the American Anti-tank gunners opened up, all was in their favour; half-range and all guns could see the Tiger. After what would appear to be a multitude of good shots (15 die in total) the armour of the metal monster was sufficient to weather the attack. Once the anti-tank guns revealed their position the heavy tanks accompanied by the now in position Grille’s opened up and the game was over. German Victory but not within the 8 turn limit (that will affect American reinforcements on table 3)

[nikharwood]

Excellent Dave - this is shaping up nicely