This is just one in a series of Panzer Marsch games we have been playing over the last few months.  Most of them have been based on historical OB's and battle reports, such as our refight of 2nd Kharkov (during which, unfortunately, my camera crapped out, so there are few photos of the event...) and some smaller actions during the Allied breakout of Normandy.  With the Christmas Season upon us, it seemed the right time to delve into the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's futile attempt to push the Allies back.

But enough of this, on to the action!  Remember, this is a battle report, and will not exactly coincide with the actual historic event...

Our little "recreation" begins in the pre-dawn hours of December 16, 1944.  The American's are resting, totally unsuspecting the German assault that will be unleashed at any moment.  There is no doubt that the Germans, given enough time, will take the village and crossroads as they greatly outnumber the Americans in armor and men.  The German's objective is to get into town and secure the crossroads within 10 to 12 turns.  If it takes them any longer then the GI's have delayed them enough to make the German's first day goals an impossibility, resulting in an American victory.

German efforts are hampered by the fact that there is only a single road leading into the village.  Advance though the countryside is hampered by thick snow.  The Americans are not only outnumbered, but they are caught unawares with their units being activated only under particular circumstances.
 
"No sign of the enemy, sir."
 
An American truck park.
 
American Shermans also in park.
 
Americans changing watch.
 
As GI's were swapping out positions in the front lines, the Germans launched their attack.  Fast recon elements were the first in.  They deployed alongside the main highway and proceeded to shell the outlying American outposts.
 
German recon units begin their attack.
 
A quick GI gets a bazooka into action.
 
The Germans push down the highway.
 
A halftrack tries to slow the enemy.
 
The Americans flee their outpost.
 
The Americans at the outpost had to abandon their position before long, as German pressure and shelling were causing heavy casualties.  They had dispatched a halftrack to harrass the flank of the German advance, but a turreted recon halftrack had taken it out with it's 20mm cannon.
 
Things weren't all going the German's way, however, as a concealed American 57mm AT gun had taken out a couple of vehicles.  The German's hesitated to deal with this threat, concerned about the carnage it would wreck on the flanks of their advancing Panzer IV's.
 
On the other side of town, a second American outpost was under heavy shelling by German Tigers and Panzer IV's.  Their radio not working, two runners were sent back to bring the American tank commander up to date so he could know where best to deploy his Shermans.
 
American runners on the move.
 
The tank commander had heard the commotion, and his men were in their machines, trying to get the engines fired up.  Unfortunately, they were having some difficulties and so the Shermans were late getting into action.  In the photo below, you can see the tanks trying to get started as a second 57mm AT gun covers them.  If you look in the left hand upper corner, you can see the runners trying to get to the tank park.
 
View from the tank park.
 
Germans debuss before the assault.
 
GI's watch the bridge...
 
The second outpost is over run!
 
The German's time limit was fast approaching.  Thanks to their initial hesitation, they now had no time to spare, and they sent their Panzers forward into town in a reckless rush to secure the crossroads in the center of town.  As they approached the bridge, the American Shermans had finally warmed up and were deploying into town and along the river front in order to shell the approaching Germans.
 
Shermans, move out!
 
A Sherman watches the crossroads.
 
The first German Panzer IV roared over the bridge and into the center of town.  There were no American tanks in sight to stop it, but a daring GI with a bazooka had taken up position near the corner of the bridge...
 
The first PzIV crosses the bridge.
 
More GI's rush to the action.
 
The bazooka round tracked the German tank, which retaliated with a spray of MG and HE fire.  A Sherman rushed into action and took out the panzer with a side shot.
 
The Germans were now desperate.  The destroyed Panzer IV was blocking half the bridge, and there was only room for one more tank to get by.  The tank commander, unhesitating in his bravery, drove his vehicle across the bridge in an attempt to secure the remaining gap.  Unfortunately for him, the American bazooka man was still crouched by the corner of the bridge.  With a single round he blew the turret off the Panzer IV.  Its burning hulk blocked off the rest of the bridge, which meant the rest of the German tanks would have to back off while the village was further plastered with artillery and engineering vehicles were brought up to clear the wreckage.  The Germans eventually secured the cross roads, but only after a long delay.  They would not meet their first day's objectives.
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THE CONCLUSION

This was one of those games where one side could not "win" in the classical wargaming sense.  Instead, they had to meet different objectives, in this case delaying the superior force for a certain amount of time.
 
Personally, I enjoy these kinds of games more than the classical head-to-head equal forces battles that are so common.  As we say at Flagship Games, "Life's Not Fair, Our Games Aren't Either."  While this is tounge in cheek to be sure, the reality of warfare is that seldom do opposing forces meet in equal numbers.  The old phrase regarding the recipient of victory being the guy who gets there first with the most is more often true than not.  A scenario like this poses a real challenge to both sides, especially if the outnumbered side can stop whining about the odds and get into the event just like the real commanders had to.
 
Anyway, there was never any doubt that the Germans would take the village and the crossroads, however, they were unable to do so within the given time limit, in spite of a huge force and plenty of support (n the form of artillery missions.  The final result was an American victory, albeit something of a phyrric one.
 
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HOW WE DID IT:

We played on an 8'x8' table at Wagoner's Miniatures and Hobbies, a local gaming establishment.  Unlike many of our other Panzer Marsch games which usually take a fair bit of planning, I threw this one together in a week so we could play before the end of December.  The playing surface is white felt, the trees are by either Woodland Scenics or LeMax, and the hedges are by the later.  The roads, river and many of the buildings are by Scenic Effects, while some of the other structures are by Hovels or Grand Manner.
 
The figures are by a mix of manufacturers, as are the vehicles.  Everything is 20mm in scale.  The figures were primarily painted by Fernando Enterprises, while yours truly painted most of the tanks and guns.
 
To get the winter effect, we liberally sprinkled everything with Woodland Scenics "snow", a lovely and perhaps toxic concoction that does the job nicely.  The best part is that when you are done you can just blow the stuff off your figures.  Instant winter battles without rebasing - awesome!