Panzer Grenadier: Black SS
Developer’s Preview, Part Four
By Doug McNair
October 2010

Here is the final installment of my commentary on the scenarios in our Panzer Grenadier scenario book supplement, Black SS.

Scenario Thirty-One
Obsession Junction
10 August 1944

Each side had dug in its heels at RJ278, and it had become a matter of pride to control it. The Germans had stopped trying to overwhelm the roadblock at L'Abbaye Blanche to the south and did not send any reinforcements to Kampfgruppe Ullrich so that RJ278 could remain well-defended. For their part, the Americans had worked all day to bring up enough armor support to insure that they controlled RJ278 at sundown.

Conclusion

The Americans steadily advanced until an antitank gun destroyed their dozer tank. The fighting then seesawed until a small kampfgruppe from SS Lifeguard hit the American left flank. The Americans fell back with the Germans declining to follow.

Developer’s Commentary

Per the title, this is another scenario with the Americans attacking to capture the same road junction they’ve been obsessed with for several days. The forces are somewhat different than in the previous scenarios at the same location, but other than that it’s a straight replay.

Scenario Thirty-Two
Raus Prevails
10 August 1944

In order to insure Task Force Gillis had enough firepower to relieve the trapped Americans on Hill 314, every Sherman from the 737th Tank Battalion was attached to the force. Knowing the importance of their mission, General Joe Collins of VII Corps had 2nd Armored Division send a company of Shermans to Task Force Gillis as well. SS Reich Division could only contest the advance with their thinly stretched recon battalion and a few antitank guns.

Conclusion

The American divisional chief of staff had little experience in operational matters, and his attack plan was amateurish. Recognizing this, the commander of 737th Tank Battalion gathered all the pertinent parties together and managed to assign fire missions and areas of responsibility for all the participants. The Americans departed on time and steadily advanced despite losing a number of men and tanks. Knowing he lacked the resources to stop the attack, Sturmbannführer Raus utilized his superior mobility to harass the Americans. All the chasing and wild firing at the Germans ran the Americans low on ammunition and fuel, causing the Shermans to become tentative. Just south of La Croix des Sept Coeurs, the Americans finally called it a day.

Developer’s Commentary

After reworking the map a bit to make it better match the terrain, I determined that there weren’t enough German units in the scenario to cover all the town hexes and keep the Americans from exiting the north edge (keys to victory in the original scenario design). So instead, I went with victory conditions that reward the Americans for clearing the Germans off the road and reward the Germans for stopping them. That makes it much easier for the outnumbered German units to mount an effective defense.

Scenario Thirty-Three
Counterattack
11 August 1944

As Gen. Omar Bradley contemplated a bold stroke to encircle and destroy the German panzer divisions that had attacked Mortain, he ordered the divisions near Barentan to hold their lines as a starting point for the attack. At 35th Infantry Division's headquarters, staff officers heatedly debated whether or not to pull back an unsupported infantry battalion when faced with an imminent counterattack. That was deemed too risky, so the exposed troops prepared as best they could.

Conclusion

The Germans struck hard, with a couple panzers proving particularly troublesome. After driving the Americans off to the west, the Germans raced south where they engaged in an inconclusive firefight. Both sides soon tired of the fight and contented themselves with the status quo.

Developer’s Commentary

Per the title, this one is basically a rerun of the previous scenario with the Germans attacking instead of the Americans.

Scenario Thirty-Four
Retaking Romagny
11 August 1944

Thirty-Fifth Infantry Division had been ordered to secure the Mortain-Barenton road despite German counter-attacks. When fanatic SS men refused to pull back or surrender and laid ambushes for medics and supply columns, the division commander, Gen. Paul Baade, formed "killing parties" to track them down and wipe them out. Meanwhile, he ordered Major Robert Herlong to take his battalion and secure Romagny. He assigned Herlong a full company of tanks to help, and the major worked out a well-thought-out plan.

Conclusion

Once B and C Companies attacked from the west, Herlong had the Germans’ attention and sprung his surprise. Company A supported by all the armor raced in from the south and entered the village. While they were securing the village the rest of the battalion worked their way eastward.

Developer’s Commentary

This is another scenario on the same board as the Romagny Town scenario from earlier in the book. There aren’t enough Germans to cover the town hexes and prevent the Americans from exiting the east edge, so I turned this into a quick and simple town-taking scenario with a flat VP schedule due to the relatively large number of town hexes the Germans must cover.

Scenario Thirty-Five
Honor at any Cost
11 August 1944

While other units in the sector were ordered to assume a defensive posture, 12th Infantry Regiment was to keep attacking until RJ278 was secured. Their supporting tanks had finally crossed the river Doree after two days of trying and were ready for action. Most of the morning was spent organizing the attack, which jumped off at 13:30 with the regimental command staff personally leading the spearheads.

Note: This scenario uses boards from 1940: The Fall of France and pieces from Cassino ’44 and Elsenborn Ridge. Only use American leaders from Elsenborn Ridge and German leaders from this supplement.

Conclusion

Regimental CO Colonel James Luckett was everywhere inspiring his men. Lieutenant Colonel Gerden Johnson was severely wounded when his spearhead was counterattacked by some Panther tanks. The Americans had followed their leaders to within 200 yards of the bewitching RJ278 despite heavy causalities before they were stopped. When Colonel Luckett asked division headquarters if he could start tomorrow's attack at 0900 instead of 0800 he was refused. Honor needed to be satisfied ASAP.

Developer’s Commentary

Here the Americans get one last shot at taking Road Junction 278. Everything’s the same as in previous RJ278 scenarios, but with many more units.

That covers it for Black SS. Come back soon for designer’s commentary by me on more of the scenario books and supplements we’ve released recently or will be releasing soon, such as Great War at Sea: U.S. Navy Plan Scarlet, Second World War at Sea: Combined Fleet and Infantry Attacks: To Hell With Spain!

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