All,
0600-1400 local time
16 December 1944
Losheim, Belgium
US 14th Cavalry Group vs 8th Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjager Division
So, this is it, the first battle to kick off our extraordinarily ambitious campaign to play out the "Battle of the Bulge." I will admit, before playing even the first game, that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. This is a campaign that lasts ten days, with three phases per day, involving 27 different 'battlegroups' on each side. There is no set number of battles per phase, but the first phase is set up and there are a total of eight tabletop fights scheduled. If that holds to be the average, that puts us somewhere in the neighborhood of… 240 fights to finish this campaign. Not sure I could actually pull that off, but let's get this going and see how it works out.
So this is it, the very opening of the German offensive in the Ardennes (historical note: I know that, chronologically, this fight occurred after numerous other fights beginning around 0530, but I'm playing the campaign in eight-hour phases, and from that standpoint it doesn't matter what order I play the ames in). In this fight we shall see German paratroopers, backed up by some light armor, attacking a US Cavalry unit consisting of some light infantry with some light armor. Somehow it has ended up that my older son is playing the Americans, while my younger son and I are playing the Germans. We are playing this game using a mashup of Ivan's 5Core rules and Warlord's Bolt Action rules. I'd intended on adding Battlegroup Wacht Am Rhein's "Battle Rating" and chit-pull morale system as well, but I did not as I wanted to keep the game moving as quickly as possible in an attempt to keep the boys' attention.
With armored cars burning on the road and under heavy fire, the Germans push forward to the outskirts of Losheim.
Braving German mortar fire, Colonel Denver wades into the mess and rallies the troops!
A Panzerschreck screams in at an American Stuart light tank.
To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
link
Next fight coming up soon!
V/R,
Jack