| Panzer Grenadier: North of Elsenborn
Developer’s Preview
By Doug McNair
January 2009
I’ve been covering the phones here at 119694_avalanche for the past few weeks, and talking to folks I’ve discovered that many of our customers don’t have internet access. And while it’s unfortunate that they can’t enjoy our Daily Content, it also means that we’ve inadvertently been discriminating against them lately by offering some of our newest products only in download form. So to bring our Luddite brethren back into the fold, we’ve begun dual-track release of our 10-scenario supplement products: downloads for those who want them instantly at a lower price, and printed cardstock booklets for those who prefer them that way or don’t have a web connection.
 The first supplement we’re releasing in binary form is Panzer Grenadier: North of Elsenborn, which chronicles the American attacks on Germany’s Siegfried Line in September of 1944. In addition to unexpectedly tough German units and substantial fortifications, the Americans must fight bad weather (which limits their air support) and the ammunition shortages that plagued 3rd Armored Division’s artillery support. The scenarios are a nice balance of American attacks on hardened German positions and German counterattacks intended to stabilize the line. Full summaries of all ten scenarios with commentary by me are below — we hope you enjoy them!
Scenario One
Hoefen-Alzen Ridge
14 September 1944
Seeking to penetrate to the Roer River dams, the U.S. VII Corps first had to widen the break in the German "West Wall" fortifications at Monschau. A battalion from the 60th Infantry Regiment, reinforced with tanks and tank destroyers, had the task of taking the ridge from the hastily-assembled German division holding the sector. While the West Wall positions – here called the Scharnhorst Line - were known to the Americans, unknown to them the German division command had assigned its only experienced troops to the sector.
Note: This scenario uses a board from Battle of the Bulge, a board and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, strongpoint pieces from Airborne, and Wire and AT Ditch markers from Afrika Korps.
Conclusion
The American attack met heavy fire from well-concealed German fortifications, and without tank or air support they could not break through the Scharnhorst Line. Lt. Col. Lee W. Chatfield pulled his troops back as night fell to await reinforcements and try again the next morning. The German Army had been shattered during the summer, but now that it fought on German soil a new determination was evident.
Developer’s Commentary
With no tank or air support and not much numerical superiority against entrenched defenders, I had to offer the Americans lots of objectives to make the Germans spread out their forces. Players score victory points for killing enemy steps and taking or holding town hexes, but the town hexes farther to the east are more valuable to the Americans since they would represent a significant penetration of the West Wall. There are lots of town hexes to choose from, so the Germans will spend lots of time running around trying to cover all their bases.
Scenario Two
No Time to Lose
15 September 1944
With three of the best American divisions — 1st Infantry, 9th Infantry and 3rd Armored — steadily chewing through the West Wall defenses, the German command became desperate to stop them. "Ninth Panzer Division armor will attack the enemy," raged corps commander Friedrich-August Schach, "and throw him back behind the West Wall. There is no time to lose." Accordingly, the badly-depleted panzer division moved out to confront the Spearhead Division, itself rapidly losing its own strength.
Note: This scenario uses a board from Battle of the Bulge and boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge.
Conclusion
The German ambush worked well, as the small battle group shot up about half of Task Force Lovelady's tanks. The German army commander, Gen. Erich Brandenburger, was not impressed, finding that the division command had no idea where its forces had deployed. The defeat of Task Force Lovelady had come more or less by accident, and Brandenburger fired both Maj. Gen. Gerhard Mueller of 9th Panzer Division and his chief of staff — but failed, in turn, to appoint a replacement, allowing the division's organization to deteriorate still further.
Developer’s Commentary
This is an interesting little ambush, with hidden German tanks and infantry poised to shred an American armored column as it drives up a road. But while the Panzers and tank destroyers will likely do lots of damage to the Shermans in the first few rounds, the German infantry has lower morale than the Americans and will have a tough time holding the road against the American advance once they reach it. Luckily for the Germans, they get to decide when to launch the attack on the unsuspecting Americans, so timing will be everything for them.
Scenario Three
Scharnhorst's Line
16 September 1944
With repeated infantry assaults failing to break the German position, 9th Infantry Division finally sent help from its attached 746th Tank Battalion. The West Wall's designers had recognized that this point, where the Scharnhorst Line bent to follow the German-Belgian border and a road crossed the ridge line, would be a natural target for any attackers. The well-sited and well-built fortifications could not be broken by infantry alone, but this time the Americans were bringing all of their many advantages to bear.
Note: This scenario uses boards from Battle of the Bulge, boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, strongpoint pieces from Airborne, and Wire and AT Ditch markers from Afrika Korps.
Conclusion
This time, American firepower made a difference and they managed to take Hoefen, one of the towns along the ridgeline. But elsewhere the German defense remained firm despite the commitment of tank, artillery and air support. The Siegfried Line was living up to its reputation, and allowing the Germans time to recover from the disastrous losses of their retreat across France.
Developer’s Commentary
Here a much larger American force assaults the Westwall, but bad weather makes American air support iffy and German morale is equal to that of the Americans. So, with massive fortifications to support them, the Germans will be a very tough nut for 9th Infantry Division to crack.
Scenario Four
Homeland Security
16 September 1944
Nazi Germany poured vast sums of money, concrete, steel and labor into its "West Wall" defenses, but even the stoutest fortifications are useless with no one to man them. When the U.S. VII Corps began its attack on the first belt, known as the Scharnhorst Line, in some places the Landesschützen or "homeland security" battalions simply ran away rather than fight. But when they reached the second fortified zone, known as the Schill Line, they found a very different situation.
Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, strongpoint pieces from Airborne, and Wire and AT Ditch markers from Afrika Korps.
Conclusion
After several days in which they displayed little fighting spirit, the Germans finally rallied to try to hold their fortified line. Hidden anti-tank guns knocked out half a dozen Shermans, and the Americans called in infantry reinforcements. Fighting raged among the pillboxes for the remainder of the day before the Americans finally broke through and declared the West Wall breached.
Developer’s Commentary
Here the Americans have a better shot since they’re up against a lower-morale enemy and they’ve got reinforcements to draw on if their tank support gets cut up by German guns. But this is the first scenario where 3rd Armored Division is leading the assault, and the chronic artillery ammunition shortages plaguing that division will make life easier on the Germans, who would otherwise be worn down by bombardments over time.
Scenario Five
Restoring the Line
17 September 1944
The Germans had constructed multiple belts of fortifications, but even so were loath to give up any of their positions without a fight. With the Scharnhorst Line compromised by the 60th Infantry's advance, Gen. Erich Brandenberger of Seventh Army fired Col. Eberhard Roseler of 89th Infantry Division and ordered his successor, Maj. Gen. Walter Bruns, to mount an immediate counterattack to restore the positions using some dubious reinforcements.
Note: This scenario uses boards from Battle of the Bulge, boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, strongpoint pieces from Airborne, and Wire and AT Ditch markers from Afrika Korps.
Conclusion
"Strengthened" by a battalion of Luftwaffe fortress troops, the German attack went forward with surprising enthusiasm and soon drove into the town of Hoefen. Confused by the strong reaction by the "beaten" Germans, the American regiment milled about for several hours before mounting a counterattack that drove the Germans back out. Signs like this should have warned the American command that the German Army still retained a significant combat capability.
Developer’s Commentary
Here a good-sized German force counterattacks a small salient held by US 9th Infantry Division. The board is large and there are lots of valuable town hexes for the Americans to cover against German assaults. But the hardened Wehrmacht troops do not outnumber the Americans, and the low-morale Luftwaffe troops supporting them won’t last long in town assaults. The Germans will have to concentrate their forces carefully to overwhelm key American positions and avoid getting bogged down in too many assaults.
Scenario Six
The Last Bullet
17 September 1944
As Third Armored Division chewed through the Schill Line's fixed defenses, the German command despaired of stopping them. "Seventh Army will defend the West Wall to the last bullet," army commander Gen. Erich Brandenburger decreed. "The penetrations achieved by the enemy will be wiped out." A fresh division finally detrained to support the defenders, and 81st Corps flung it at the Spearhead Division head on.
Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge.
Conclusion
After a heavy preparatory bombardment, the Germans came forward in a classic bayonet assault. Hopes of overwhelming the Americans through numbers and determination fell apart under murderous artillery fire. The 12th Infantry was a battle-hardened unit, brought up to full strength with well-trained replacements and possessing its full allotment of artillery and support weapons. None of that mattered, as the American defenses held with only minimal casualties and inflicted gruesome losses on the attackers. The American assault had been delayed, but at a frightful cost.
Developer’s Commentary
This is a quick scenario in which a large German infantry force attempts to retake towns captured by the Americans. The Germans have numbers on their side but only two tank units, and that will rob most of their town assaults of the vital +1 column modifier for combined tanks and infantry. Still, 3rd Armored Division continues to be plagued by artillery ammunition shortages, so the German infantry has a better chance of making it to their objectives in good-order.
Scenario Seven
Early Morning
18 September 1944
The fresh German 12th Infantry Division attacked with considerable spirit, but the American divisions of VII Corps had been hardened themselves by the campaign across France. Unable to make much of an impact with bayonet charges, the new division re-grouped to make another attempt on the village of Schevenhuette, this time with a night assault.
Note: This scenario uses a board and pieces from Battle of the Bulge.
Conclusion
The Germans infiltrated more than a company's worth of troops into the village before the Americans became aware of the attack, and then things began to fall apart. Unsuspected tanks opened fire at point-blank range, joined by heavy machine-gun fire. Despite having achieved surprise, the Germans reeled back with heavy losses.
Developer’s Commentary
Here’s a quick little night assault on an American-held town. Silencing the Sherman tanks in the town is vital to German success, as the unsupported German infantry will fall back if faced with combined-arms assaults from the Americans.
Scenario Eight
In the Mood
19 September 1944
The U.S. Army's most successful tank commander, Sgt. Lafayette G. Pool, destroyed 258 enemy vehicles in just three months of combat. He usually insisted that his M4 Sherman, "In the Mood," lead his 3rd Armored Division task force but with the tank and crew scheduled to depart for a War Bonds tour of the States Lt. Col. Walter Richardson placed "In the Mood" on the flank instead. The task force moved out in its new configuration to take Münsterbusch from its determined German defenders.
Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge.
Conclusion
This time, it was the Germans' turn to ambush Pool. He spotted a hidden anti-tank gun, but his loader — a temporary replacement that day, as part of his regular crew had already begun to rotate out of the line – jammed the 76mm gun's breach in his haste to load. The Germans fired first, hitting "In the Mood" in the turret and shattering Pool’s leg. As the medics gave him shots of morphine, Pool’s last action of World War II before passing out would be to demand that "someone fix my . . . tank."
Developer’s Commentary
Here the Americans have penetrated past the West Wall, so the Germans don’t get the fortifications that have been their main defensive advantage thus far. However, they do have Panthers, Hetzers and AT guns that can shred the oncoming Shermans. So, the Americans need to hope that 3rd Armored Division’s unreliable artillery can keep up a steady barrage and wear down the German infantry so the American infantry can go in against unsupported Panzers and clear the way for American armor to advance.
Scenario Nine
On the Donnerberg
21 September 1944
Seeking to widen the breach in the German lines east of Aachen, 3rd Armored Division sent a depleted task force from its Combat Command B against Hill 287, known to the Germans as the Donnerberg. The height overlooked Stolberg, an important town now held by the Americans, and division command feared the Germans would use it to spot for artillery fire. With their remaining tanks and armored infantry, Task Force Mills charged up the hill.
Note: This scenario uses boards from Battle of the Bulge and Road to Berlin, a board and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, and Strongpoint pieces from Airborne.
Conclusion
In a quick assault, Task Force Mills took the hilltop and cleared off the German defenders. The Germans had placed their anti-tank guns behind the hill's crest to shield them from the direct fire of the American tank destroyers and self-propelled artillery supporting the attack, and when the American tanks crested the hill the Germans knocked out half of them. The Americans had their objective, but had paid too much for it in the estimation of their division commander, Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose.
Developer’s Commentary
Here the Americans have just a short distance to cover before charging up the hill, but it’s a big hill and it will take time to clear the Germans off it even though they have lower morale. American artillery can fire smoke to cover the advance and they’ve got a combined-arms force attacking unsupported German infantry, but as always, bad weather and ammunition shortages makes 3rd Armored Division’s air and artillery support unreliable.
Scenario Ten
Off the Donnerberg
22 September 1944
Rose sent a second task force to join the first on the Donnerberg, but feared that even so they could not hold against a determined counterattack. The Germans gathered reinforcements and sent them up the hill, with the Americans pouring smoke rounds down on them to confuse the situation.
Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Battle of the Bulge, Elsenborn Ridge and Road to Berlin. Only use leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.
Conclusion
Exhausted and depleted, the Americans reeled back from the German attack. Rose authorized a withdrawal and under heavy smoke cover they abandoned their hard-won hilltop positions. The German Army had been badly hurt in the previous months, but even its infantry divisions retained the capability to attack when properly supplied and supported – something the Americans would re-discover in a few months' time.
Developer’s Commentary
The Germans get the last laugh, mounting a counter-charge up the other side of the hill and hitting the beat-up and depleted Americans with superior numbers. But both sides have a morale of 7/6, so even though American morale is substandard the Germans will have a hard time clearing them off the hill if the GIs can keep their tanks and infantry together and mount combined-arms assaults.
That covers it for North of Elsenborn. Stay tuned for previews of the next boxed game in the Panzer Grenadier series, Cassino ’44!
You can download extra wire and anti-tank ditch markers here.
North of Elsenborn is available in print and in PDF — order now! |
