Tactics in Panzer Grenadier: North Wind
Scenario #5: Purple Heart Lane, Part 2
By Doug McNair
September 2007

12th Armored Division’s already bloody effort to crush the German Rhine bridgehead at Herrlisheim gets a lot bloodier in Episode 2 of my North Wind Scenario #5 replay. As the first hour of battle ended, the inexperienced American battalions hastily dispatched to the Rhine had easily rolled over the Volksgrenadiers guarding the roads north of the river, but got hit by a bus when tanks and troops of 10th SS Panzer Division rushed up to meet their advance. Fire from the Panther tanks has been devastating, wiping out more than a company’s worth of American tanks in just 15 minutes.

The Americans need to circumvent or force their way past the SS units, take a bridge and quickly get into cover on the south bank. The American tanks are no match for the Panthers, so they’ll have to take a secondary role to the American infantry, which is still in relatively good shape and can use its superior numbers and close-range anti-tank weaponry to deal with the Panthers and clear the way south to the river.

The battle continues.

Turn 5 — 1300 Hours

Due to last turn’s horrific tank losses, American initiative drops to zero, but the high casualties suffered by the Volksgrenadiers also drops German initiative to 1. Unfortunately, the Germans roll a modified 7 while the Americans get a 2, and the Germans win initiative by two activations, which they use to counterattack the Americans in both towns. First, the Germans send a third SS GREN unit into the hex with the Lost Company, leaving their Panther tanks out of the assault for now to deter the American tank column coming in from the northeast.

The Americans get first fire since they’re entrenched, but they roll a 1 and do no damage. The Germans roll a 3 on the 18 column and score an M2 result, but the Americans all hold morale! Then a platoon of Panthers in the southern hex of the northwestern town obliterates two M3 halftrack units (2 German VPs), while fire from the other Panther platoon and a GREN platoon is ineffective against the Americans in the adjacent town hex.

The American infantry in the northwestern town take time to recover morale while more INF move into the fields east of town to engage the Germans there. Opportunity fire from SS Panzergrenadiers plus halftracks in the fields disrupts one American INF unit, and then a lieutenant and a good-order INF unit assault the Volksgrenadiers in the fields northwest of town, demoralizing the German leader there along with a reduced-strength GREN.

The SS units west of town are now in an exposed position. If they counterassault the Americans in the northern town hex, they can’t bring their tanks with them because there are three Wreck counters in the hex due to all the halftracks that the Panthers destroyed there. So, the American infantry in town effectively has a blockade of flaming debris to hide behind. The SS units can fire point-blank into the northern town hex, but if they don’t shake the morale of the Americans there and if the Americans get initiative next turn, all the SS units in and around the town could get assaulted by American infantry and tanks. There’s no point in holding the field now that the Volksgrenadiers at the north end of it are all but gone, so the SS Panzergrenadiers and their halftrack and leader pull back to the road to guard the German retreat route out of town, and the Panthers pull back to the field hex just west of the road to keep the American tanks and halftracks to the west at bay.

American offboard artillery hits the Volksgrenadier roadblock north of the Lost Company’s position before the disrupted AT gun there can try shooting at the American tanks to the east (even disrupted it can still hurt light tanks). The AT gun holds morale, but the disrupted HMG unit with it fails and becomes demoralized. That clears the way for an American assault next segment, so German offboard artillery hits the Americans before they can do that, and the roll of 3 scores an X result that wipes out the already demoralized INF unit there and also demoralizes the lieutenant and the full-strength INF there (1 German VP). There will be no assault on the roadblock this turn.

The Americans then pull the disrupted M4/76 step out of the hamlet north of the river so it doesn’t don’t get obliterated by the Panthers two hexes to the south, and then the disrupted AT gun at the roadblock tries but fails to hit the M4/76s, while the HMG unit with it recovers from demoralization. The captain and his reduced INF unit on the road north of the roadblock then moves southwest to an assault position on the 50mm AT gun in the swamps west of the road, but opportunity fire from the AT gun rolls extremely well, scoring an M2 result that demoralizes the reduced INF. But the fact that the 50mm used up its fire for the turn as op-fire lets the lieutenant just south of the roadblock to take his HMG and halftrack north to an assault position on the roadblock, while still keeping the hamlet between him and the Panthers. The Germans fix that by sending a Panther platoon out of the town south of the river, across the western bridge and up the track to a point adjacent to the disrupted M4/76 unit. From there it will be able to obliterate both the halftrack and the M4/76 next turn.

This forces the hand of the tank column by the woods to the east. Two M4 Sherman platoons move northwest to a firing position on the Panthers, while the rest of the tanks move north to deal with the Volksgrenadiers who are still in the northern town. The Shermans take opportunity fire through the light woods from the remaining Panther platoon in the town to the south, but the Panthers roll terribly and miss!

German mortar fire is ineffective, and American tanks move south from the woods to the fields east of the northwestern town. Fire from the heavy 120mm German mortars and 88mm guns on the hilltop disrupts the HMG unit that moved adjacent to the roadblock hex, and American tanks and halftracks close in on the Volksgrenadiers in the fields west of the northwestern town. The Volksgrenadiers in the neighboring assault hex try to recover morale while one of them still isn’t demoralized (it will give a rearguard to any who flee the hex), and they’re all successful! American mortar fire on the disrupted Volksgrenadier unit right next to the assault hex is ineffective, but that unit fails to recover morale.

The demoralized American lieutenant and INF unit north of the roadblock fail to recover and flee to the swamps, the Volksgrenadiers in the northern town charge south to take them on, and the turn ends on recoveries after the SS mortars in the eastern town demoralize the HMG unit by the roadblock. The score is now Americans 12, Germans 29.

Turn 6 — 1315 Hours

Initiative stays the same, and the Americans win it by one activation. The opportunity to kill or tie down lots of Germans is simply too good to pass up, so the Americans defer firing their Shermans at the Panzers north of the Lost Company (whose chances aren’t that good anyway — they only hit on 11s), and instead have two INF units plus an ENG and a lieutenant assault the Panthers and Panzergrenadiers in the southern town hex, while an ENG unit moves into the town behind them. The Americans will be firing only on the 18 column while the Germans will fire on the maximum 30+ column, but there are many more Americans where the lead company came from. Unfortunately, the Americans roll a 1, but the Germans don’t do much better with a 2. All the Germans except one Panther unit pass the morale check (the Panther is disrupted), while the 1 damage result the Germans scored kills an INF step (1 German VP) and disrupts all the Americans except for the undamaged INF unit. Just one of the three American units is able to fire its short-term AT weaponry, but it rolls a 3 and doesn’t come close to hitting a tank. Still, the assault ties down two Panther platoons and one of Panzergrenadiers, so that limits German options in the town.

But that’s not the Germans’ priority. The Panthers in the eastern town who can spot the M4 Shermans through the light woods fire and obliterate 3 Sherman steps and demoralize the fourth (6 German VPs). The lieutenant two hexes north of the other Panther unit wastes time no sending his halftrack unit in to assault the roadblock (since the halftrack won’t be there in half a minute anyway) while trying to rally the demoralized HMG unit outside the roadblock hex. Unfortunately, the halftracks roll a 2 and do no damage, while the Germans roll a 5 on the 13 column and kill the halftracks (1 German VP). But the HMGs recover morale. This is of no import to the other Panther platoon, which promptly smokes the disrupted M4/76 step next door as well as the final, demoralized M4 step (4 German VPs).

With Task Force Power getting smashed by Panthers, Task Force Rammer needs to get moving, so in hopes of finishing off the Volksgrenadiers in the fields west of the northwestern town they pile one platoon each of M4 Shermans and M3 halftracks into the assault hex while two more M3 halftrack platoons assault the disrupted GREN unit in the hex northwest of that. The assault on the disrupted GREN is ineffective, but both sides do well in the other assault, with the Americans killing a GREN step and demoralizing both of the other GREN steps plus the lieutenant with them (1 American VP), while the Germans kill a halftrack (1 German VP), demoralize an INF and disrupt the M4 Shermans. The Germans have no leaders in positions to spot for artillery on the Americans — the only one who could is in the assault hex in the town. So he orders a counterassault on the Americans there, and the assault on the 30+ column (they get a +3 bonus for higher morale, a leader, and combined tanks and infantry) rolls a 5 for a 2 damage result, wiping out the only good-order INF unit the Americans have there and demoralizing the other INF and the ENG unit there as well. However, the American defense demoralizes the Hauptsturmfuhrer leading the assault and disrupts the undisrupted Panther platoon in the hex, so the German position there is getting slowly degraded. The American infantry then swarm into the field east of the town, with prep fire from a disrupted INF unit demoralizing the GREN unit holding the east end of the German line! The two halftracks with the GREN are unaffected, and opportunity fire from them against advancing American HMG units kills an HMG step, disrupts one unit plus the major and demoralizes the other HMG unit (1 German VP). But that will be of no use to the Germans if the American tanks come through the fields from the northeast and take up position adjacent to the halftracks and then blow them away next turn. So, the Panthers in the field southwest of town move east and into the hex with the halftracks, since the American tanks and infantry west of town are all bogged down in assaults with Volksgrenadiers. The American tankers in the field don’t care. This is the only chance they’ll have for point-blank fire on Panthers who aren’t in town or woods cover, and if they abandon the disrupted infantry in the field, Panthers, Panzergrenadiers and German halftracks will mow the infantry down like grass. So two platoons of M4 Shermans advance next to the Panthers and pray that they get initiative next turn, while a platoon of Scott tanks (who can’t penetrate Panther armor) heads east to attack the German mortars in the woods.

Back east, the SS Panzergrenadiers assault the Lost Company again, but the American INF get First Fire, killing an SS GREN step (1 American VP) and disrupting another GREN. That drops the German assault down to the 9 column, and it rolls a 2 and does no damage. Then American offboard artillery hits the roadblock north of town and demoralizes the AT gun there. Then the Volksgrenadiers from the northern town move south to an assault position on the demoralized American INF units in the swamp, running a dogleg to stay outside American tank fire range from the east. The Americans in the swamp recover morale, but German offboard artillery fire demoralizes the INF unit there again. The American tanks east of the swamp move north to the town, staying outside of Panther range and hoping to get a shot at the Volksgrenadiers next turn before they can assault the swamp.

The German mortars in the central woods pull back from the Scott tanks getting ready to fire on them, American mortar fire is ineffective, and the SS Panzergrenadiers and their halftrack south of the town move up to an assault position on the American tanks in the field east of town. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll after a few recoveries. The score is now Americans 14, Germans 43.

Turn 7 — 1330 Hours

The Americans win initiative by one activation, and the Hail Mary attack of the Shermans on the Panthers east of town goes off. One shot out of four hits, and a Panther platoon loses one step (2 American VPs) and the other gets disrupted. But a disrupted Panzer unit still can shoot effectively at Shermans (especially point-blank), and they destroy an entire Sherman platoon with one shot (4 German VPs), while the halftracks with them fire point-blank on the American HMG units in the field to the north. They roll an 11 for an M2 result, and it demoralizes both HMGs. But the demoralized SS GREN unit with the Panthers fails to recover and flees. Then the American lieutenant brings an ENG unit into the town assault hex next door while trying to rally the other troops there. The demoralized ENG unit recovers and stays, but the reduced, demoralized INF fails and flees to the northern town hex.

The Americans hold the line for now, hoping for more reinforcements from the north rather than attacking the Germans while weakened. But the Germans have none of that and assault the Americans even though their leader is demoralized and their Panther units are disrupted. They still get to attack on the 18 column, but the Americans get to defend on that column, too. Both sides roll a 3 for an M2 result, and the American ENG unit that just recovered from demoralization gets demoralized again. But the SS GREN unit gets disrupted and both Panther units get demoralized, and the demoralized Hauptsturmfuhrer fails to recover and flees! There may be hope for Task Force Rammer after all! But, not to let American hopes get too high, the GREN and halftrack units in the field east of town assault the last M4 Sherman there … but rolls only a 1 for an M morale check, which disrupts the Sherman unit but doesn’t kill it.

The Americans then wipe out the two reduced Volksgrenadier units northwest of the town and their lieutenant (2 American VPs), but a demoralized American INF unit in the assault hex fails to recover and flees. Then the Volksgrenadiers assault the demoralized American INF unit in the swamps north of the eastern town. They hit them on the 30+ column, but they roll horribly while the Americans roll very well on their M2 morale check, and nobody takes any damage. American offboard artillery then hits the roadblock hex, and finally rolls well. The roll of 3 scores an X result, which kills an HMG step and demoralizes the other step, and does compound demoralization to the AT gun, wiping it out (2 American VPs). The Germans then bring in a halftrack unit to try to finish off the Lost Company, but once again the Americans mount a brilliant defense, rolling a 5 on the 18 column for a 1 damage result that kills the halftracks before they can add their firepower to the German attack (1 American VP). It also disrupts the Ostfuhrer leading the assault but doesn’t hurt the morale of the three GRENs. But the GRENs score only an M morale check, and the Americans pass that easily. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll, and the Americans actually have had a good turn for a change. The score is now Americans 21, Germans 47.

Turn 8 — 1345 Hours

German initiative drops to zero, and the Americans win initiative by one activation. It’s not much of a chance, but it’s the only one they’ve got, so the one good-order American ENG unit in the town assaults the leaderless, almost completely demoralized Germans there, while the other American ENG tries to recover. Both sides are at low strength and both roll badly, so neither side does any damage, and the ENG unit fails to fire its AT weponry — but other ENG recovers! The tank leader with the disrupted Panther in the adjacent hex then sends two halftrack units into the assault hex to smack down the Americans while the Panther recovers. The Panther does not recover, but the assault does very well, rolling a 6 for an M2 result that demoralizes the good-order ENG. But the other ENG and its leader hang on, and the M1 result that the Americans score demoralizes a halftrack, and one of the two demoralized Panther units fails to recover and flees. The Shermans in the field east of the town fail to recover before they get assaulted again, and the subsequent assault demoralizes the Shermans.

The demoralized American INF in the swamp to the east tries to recover morale before they get assaulted again by the Volksgrenadiers, but they fail and flee the hex, and the resulting free shot rolls a 5 on the 30 column and wipes out the INF, but their leader escapes (2 German VPs). The Germans know what’s coming next, so they send a Panther platoon north on the road to dissuade the American tanks in the northern town from firing at the Volksgrenadiers in the swamp. The Americans do it anyway — they have no other course but retreat — but the fire is ineffective. The 50mm AT guns in the swamp west of the road fire at the lighter tanks but just barely miss, and American offboard artillery disrupts one of the Volksgrenadiers in the swamp.

The Germans don’t have any reserves left to throw at the Lost Company — the three wrecks in the hex prevent the adjacent Panzers from going in there, and there aren’t any other combat units in the town — so the three GREN platoons go at the Lost Company again, and American First Fire demoralizes the only good-order full-strength GREN left there. The Germans roll a 1 and do no damage. Somehow, the Lost Company is doing a hell of a lot better than the rest of 12th Armored right now. The Americans then demoralize the last Volksgrenadier platoon northwest of the western town, while an M4 Sherman unit recovers to good-order and a demoralized INF unit fails and flees. German artillery on the hilltop demoralizes the HMG unit next to the roadblock. Both sides then go into recovery mode, with the Americans near the western town hoping to get enough units into good order so they can finally push the Germans out of there, and the Germans hoping to recover units so they can prevent that. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll, and the score is now Americans 21, Germans 49.

So at the end of the second hour of battle, the lines haven’t moved much but the Germans fighting in the western town are weakening. If the Americans can push them out of the southern town hex and demoralize the Panthers, they’ll have an open road to the bridge on Board 20, and if they make it across the river their VP deficit will evaporate quickly. Can they make it? Tune in next time and find out!

Operation Nordwind is yours to attempt in
Panzer Grenadier: North Wind, available now!