Panzer Campaigns: Bulge 44 - After Action Report
The Situation:
St. Vith, 42Km NE of Bastogne, Dec 21st, 1944:The defenders of St. Vith had done a magnificent job holding back the flood of German forces from the east. The town stuck out like a peninsula into the forming bulge, causing the order to be given to take the town without armor support, if the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade did not get there in time. The defenders, in the meantime, were almost ready to pull back through an escape route held open by the 82nd Airborne Division at Vielsam and Salmchateau. [Size medium]
Played as Human German vs. Computer American: Default optional rules used.
On initial examination of the situation it appears that the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade is poised for an end run along the Northern route through Poteau and Vielsalm and then exit off the map, leaving the remnants around St Vith for the two Volksgrenadier Divisions, the 18th and 62nd. I am anticipating that the fight in the South will be stiff but once my Panzers outflank the defensive positions, the entire front should collapse.
My plan therefore was to tie down as many forces as possible in the St Vith area, while the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade exploits along the north side to achieve a crossing of the Salm near Salmchateau. I chose this crossing over the river above the village of Vielsalm because of the bridges, many of the Brigades vehicles would need the heavier bridges to the South and there was no need for two crossing points. Additionally, I felt that there would be a significant threat of counter attack from the southeast, holding the southern village in strength would forestall this and give superb flank protection. The two Volksgrenadier Divisions were a problem; they start the scenario weak and spread thinly. The 62nd to the south is in a slightly better position but has a significant flank problem. The 18th in the Center is the weakest and has some difficult terrain to cover; I have set limited goals for these two units as can be seen in the next map, the main job of these units is to tie down forces, thus allowing the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade to exploit through the northern route.
Turn 1: Proceeded as planned, the Volksgrenadier Divisions encountered some resistance but overwhelming artillery support kept the Americans quiet. The Fuhrer Begleit Brigade executed a crossing in the Born area without resistance - all is going well.
Turns 3-6: Piquet and bypass: Resistance in and around St Vith is stiffening. Significant elements of the 7th Armored Division are dug into excellent positions along this front and the Volksgrenadier Divisions are having a tough go of it. In the north, the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade has come across strong mechanized forces of CCA 7th Armored. The Americans are in position around the town of Recht and are denying the main route to Poteau. Aditionally, some Tank Destroyers (TD) have shown up on the main route from the South, I had planned to guard this axis but did not expect a reaction so quickly, I will need to clear the TDs out quickly or they will interfere with my movement and supply.
I am now on the horns of a dilemma and must choose between speed and security. The safe way out of this situation would be to clear CCA out of my way and continue along my planned route. This will take time and I am not sure how much of this vital commodity I will need later in the battle. At a much higher risk, I could bypass the Recht position, ignore Poteau for now, and head northwest to Wanne then directly south along the Salm to pocket CCA and achieve the same crossing sites. Complicating this option is the need to clear the TDs to my south with at least a battalion. Because of speed and potential payoff, I chose to take the risk and bypass to the north of Poteau. I leave two battalions of TDs and a battalion of Grenadiers to keep CCA occupied; clear the American TDs from my southern flank with a battalion of Panzer Grenadiers and push to the northwest with my tanks, reconnaissance and engineers. Here we see how the Americans have reacted to the threat and have pulled back from the river, to mitigate the possibility of being outflanked; it looks like the gambit is working. In anticipation of a flank security problem, two battalions of 88mm anti-tank guns are also being rushed through the widening gap.
By the end of turn 6 it appears as though the risk has paid off. The 2nd Panzer battalion of the Gross Deutschland Division, my only tank unit, was in heavy engagement with the 82nd Airborne Division in the town of Veilsalm; with reinforcements racing forward and CCA of the 7th Armored Division had withdrawn to Poteau. The American TDs, which had been causing a problem on my flank, have broken under pressure from the 2nd Bn 100 Panzer Grenadiers and now a pocket was forming around St Vith. It was not all good news however, CCB of the 7th Armored had counter attacked in the St Vith area and had broken a Regt of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and it looked like my center was about to crack.
Turns 7-9: Consolidation: Some desperate measures are needed to hold in the center, a collapse here would cut off the supply line to the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade and put their stunning advance in jeopardy. In the west, there is steadily building pressure from the 82nd Airborne which is making a crossing of the Salm unthinkable at present, especially with a relatively intact CCA pocketed behind my lead units - its time for consolidation in the north, Poteau is captured and the guns are brought forward.
Although loath to weaken the striking force, I am forced to commit the 2nd battalion of the Panzer Grenadiers to support the 18th Volksgrenadier Division north of St Vith. The defenders are not prepared for this powerful unit supported by StuG Bde 244 in the rear and a large force of CCR and CCB 7th Armored as well as elements of the 28th Infantry Division are pocketed north of St Vith. Simultaneously, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division makes a surprising crossing of the river to the south and is about to unhinge the defense - the threat to my center is negated.
Turns 10-14: Hold until relieved: The Americans are not through yet. At dusk CCA makes another appearance in the north with a drive directly at Wanne. The entire night is spent with 88mm AT guns and TDs blazing at point blank range to hold the supply line open. Eventually this attack is beaten off but at the cost of almost one third of my 88s and a few nervous moments. Top priority through the night is to establish an alternate supply line from Poteau to Vielsalm, complicated by the 82nd Airborne counterattacking constantly and breaking the Panzer Grenadiers garrisoning the river town. A dawn attack stabilized that situation and restored the east bank back into German hands. A second supply route back to the start line had also been established.
In the area of St Vith the night was quiet due to exhaustion on both sides. Many of the American units were broken inside the pocket, but fatigue and disorganization prevented me from exercising a Coups de Gras. The only chance was to serenade the surrounded Americans with artillery and get a good night's sleep.
Turns 15-20: A dawn attack into the St Vith pocket was marginally successful, gaining the town, but grinding to a halt before the trapped units could be captured. There was little left to do, except bide my time, until units became rested enough to wade in and capture the thousands of Americans pocketed and broken. Enough resistance remained however to make this a time consuming issue and the pocket remained until the end of the game. CCA of 7th Armored made one more push for Wanne, but was again beaten back by concentrated 88mm fire. The push by 82nd Airborne was finally put to a halt when two battalions were caught crossing the river in transport mode, by the PzIVs of the Fuhrer Begleit Brigade, the river was held by both sides and a further operation will be needed to cross the Salm. A final thrust was made through the exposed southern flank of 18 Volksgrenadier Division but was halted by diverting forces from the St Vith pocket.
Conclusion: The end result was a decisive victory for the Germans however, there were some significant areas where improvement could have been made. The wide right hook was a gamble that paid off, but probably cost me the ability to cross the Salm in strength. In the center, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division will be out of action for several days and the 18th will have to do some serious reconstitution. All in all this was a fun game with a nice mix of maneuver and slugging, quite winnable but with some very real threats if you are not on your toes. I recommend this game for anyone who is tired of the slow going in the snow and wants to get some track miles behind them - driver advance!
Points: 700 (major victory 550). Losses: German, 2070, 52 vehicles and 37 guns. American, 4367 men, 47 vehicles and 163 guns.
Bart Gauvin
I have been playtesting for the last six years or so, primarily working on the Campaign Series, and have designed several scenarios and one Linked Campaign Game. When given the opportunity to playtest for HPS I jumped at it - this is an excellent system. At 42 years of age, I have a wife of 18 years and live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada with our two teenage daughters. I am a Major in the Canadian Army and my current employment is in the Army Headquarters working professional development and leadership issues. Although a late starter on my education, I have just achieved my Bachelors Degree in Military Arts & Science through the Royal Military College of Canada. Wargaming caught my interest while in high school in the early 70s' with Tactics II and 1914 and I've have been having fun ever since.
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