Winter Soldiers Preview,
Part Two
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
August 2013

After a couple of dozen books published for our games, we’re still tweaking the mix of scenarios, background and game stuff (variants or strategy). Gamers/readers seem to want “all of the above,” and we do our best to supply it.

Panzer Grenadier: Winter Soldiers goes farther to one extreme than any of the others. It’s a scenario-rich environment, with 30 new ones by Mike Perryman, all of them taking place during the Battle of the Bulge. They use just two of our games, Battle of the Bulge and Elsenborn Ridge.

Our normal practice would have been to flesh out the rest of the book with background articles on the campaign and the armies involved, and maybe a little bit of game strategy. I’d like to include more strategy, but really good game-play writing is hard to come by,

Winter Soldiers would have been very similar, but then Dave Murray came along with his campaign game for the 4th Infantry Division. I decided that I wanted to run this as soon as possible, and Winter Soldiers, then being put together, seemed the perfect fit. Under John Stafford’s development the campaign system grew in terms of text size; most game rules tend to do this. By the time it was ready, it had squeezed out all of the planned background text.

I like the campaign system a lot; so far, we haven’t heard a whole lot of play reports from players nor do I expect that we will for a while yet. Playing out the individual battles takes about the same amount of time as a standard Panzer Grenadier scenario, but the campaign includes many of these. It’ll be a while before enough players have completed campaigns and let us know how they went. But the system’s pretty easy to grasp, and we do know that a lot of players like what they see.

I’d like to use it in many more circumstances. The divisions covered in the Divisional Downloads would seem excellent candidates for campaign coverage. We’re planning one for the upcoming Panzer Lehr book, and I’m sure it will see use in other contexts as well.

But in Winter Soldiers as in all of the Panzer Grenadier books, it’s the scenarios that form the heart of the book. While we may not have heard much about the campaign, we’ve had a lot of feedback on the scenarios, and so far it looks like Winter Soldiers may be the best received yet. Here’s a look at the second ten:

Scenario Eleven
Tightening the Noose
23 December 1944
As part of an all-out American effort to eliminate the troublesome Kampfgruppe Peiper two infantry battalions with armor support were to advance on La Gleize from the west. At the same time Task Force McGeorge was to strike the town from the north and east. Peiper was well aware of American intentions but was unable to effectively respond due to the lack of fuel.

This scenario requires boards from Battle of the Bulge in addition to boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Battle-scarred veterans of the Eastern Front, the SS Lifeguard did not cower from the American onslaught. The grenadiers carefully laid their fields of fire, dug their trenches, checked their ammo, and waited. The few operational tanks pulled those without fuel into positions dominating the likely approaches. The calm efficiency of Hitler’s finest repulsed the Americans at La Gleize, but their efforts were insufficient to prevent the Americans from linking up to the south and completely isolating the kampfgruppe. An increasingly frustrated Peiper radioed headquarters requesting permission to breakout; permission was denied.

Scenario Twelve
If at First You Don't Succeed . . .
23 December 1944
While the 119th Infantry Regiment pried away at La Gleize from the west, Task Force McGeorge closed from the north and east. Headquarters was getting impatient with the task force which had launched repeated ineffectual attacks towards from multiple directions without putting a dent in the defenses. It was time for one more push from the north to clear Les Tscheous (reported as already in American hands), then go “all-in” on La Gleize.

This scenario requires boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The first wave of Task Force McGeorge came hot and heavy, driving the Germans from Les Tscheous. It appeared they had finally thrown the monkey off their back, but Germans like to counterattack. The SS did with a vengeance, with a little help from a small handful of panzers that actually had fuel. Possession of the town see-sawed back and forth, with neither side able to throw the other out completely. In the end, the American efforts around La Gleize accomplished very little this day. Late in the evening, 800 desperate German soldiers set off on foot along with their humbled leader to reach friendly lines.

Scenario Thirteen
Schnellgruppe Knittel
24 December 1944
Although the forces sent to rescue Kampfgruppe Peiper had shot their bolt, withdrawal was not yet an option. To give Peiper and his men time to reach friendly lines, it was imperative that the rescue elements remain north of the Ambleve River despite the mounting pressure. The recon battalion under Sturmbannfuhrer Knittel defended Highway N23 near the Antoine Farm.

This scenario requires boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Schnellgruppe Knittel had suffered almost 300 casualties in the fighting north of the Ambleve River so far. Despite this, the determined SS stopped the attacking Americans dead in their tracks. Back to the drawing board.

Scenario Fourteen
Christmas Escape
25 December 1944
Trapped behind enemy lines with success no longer a possibility, Peiper assembled his men in La Gleize shortly after dark on the 23rd. He called for a handful of volunteers to stay with the wounded, destroy their abandoned equipment, and delay the pursuit for as long as possible. Then, their failure weighing heavy on their minds, the survivors set off on foot to reach friendly lines. The travelled as quickly as possible throughout the night, pausing to hide from the ubiquitous American aircraft surveillance during the day. After sunset on Christmas Eve they resumed, the cold and lack of food taking its toll on the men’s strength but not their discipline. According to a captured American major accompanying them during the forced march, discipline remained superb. The beleaguered SS managed to avoid Allied detection until within sight of the Salm River and safety.

This scenario requires a board from Battle of the Bulge in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The best source for this action seems to be American Major Hal McCowen who was an unwilling participant in the adventure. He recalls that at 0100 the exhausted Germans had decided to seek shelter in the village of Bergeval to rest before crossing the river when the two sides stumbled into each other. Shots were fired and initially everyone went to ground. Shortly thereafter, the Americans charged supported by mortar fire and drove the German rear guard toward the river. In the confusion of the night firefight Cowan escaped to friendly lines, and the Germans slipped away from the American paratroopers and crossed the river. The 505th’s paratroopers had no time to pursue as their orders directed them to pull back west from the Salm River line and establish a new position.

Scenario Fifteen
Christmas Eve Surprise
24 December 1944
XVIII Airborne Corps ordered Combat Command A into the gap between the 82nd Airborne Division and the arriving 3rd Armored Division south of Manhay. This reinforcement did nothing to alleviate the 82nd Airborne Division’s apprehension about their vulnerability to the onrushing SS panzers. Corps HQ relented and ordered them back to Manhay. CCA received a similar order and was preparing to pull back late on Christmas Eve when all hell broke loose.

This scenario requires boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Unterscharfürher Ernst Barkmann drove the lead Panther as it hit Combat Command A just as it began executing its withdrawal orders. Company C of the American 40th Tank Battalion virtually ceased to exist in a matter of minutes. Other formations followed, taking heavy casualties, and soon both Manhay and the high ground to the north had been lost. CCB was soon on their way to help.

Scenario Sixteen
First Action
24 December 1944
Third Armored Division formed Task Force Brewster to aggressively recon the Parker Crossroads area and ascertain the enemy strength and intentions. Several days into the Wacht Am Rhein offensive, division headquarters ordered TF Brewster to drive back the SS hordes in their vicinity. With only seven Sherman tanks, an armored infantry platoon, and two companies of the 509th Separate Parachute Battalion, this was a tall order. Even when some stragglers wandered in including a tank destroyer platoon from 9th Armored Division things still looked pretty dicey. Finally, just as a company from the green 75th Infantry Division reported to the task force, the Brewster ran out of excuses and launched the attack.

This scenario requires a board, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
This was the first action for the 290th Infantry Regiment and it showed. But to be fair even an experienced outfit would have had trouble fulfilling their orders, which was reflected in the mediocre performance by the other units involved in the attack. The SS sent the inexperienced and unenthusiastic Americans packing after a couple hours of skirmishing, their possession of the east-west road never seriously contested. That night the Americans nervously listened as the enemy infiltrated north around their positions.

Scenario Seventeen
A Manhay Christmas
25 December 1944
The previous day had been a disaster for CCA as they had been attacked while preparing to withdraw. They became disorganized and quickly lost seven Shermans before they could get off a shot. Soon ten more Shermans were burning on the battlefield, greatly reducing CCA’s ability to resist. Manhay and the high ground to the north had been lost in the confusion. CCB soon arrived to stabilize the situation. On Christmas day the two formations were to secure Manhay.

This scenario requires boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Seventh Armored had recovered from the previous day's confusion and made good initial progress towards Manhay. However, as the infantry approached the town’s outskirts the armor’s attention was diverted elsewhere. Deprived of their mobile fire support, the infantry could make little headway against the town’s defenders. Meanwhile, General Ridgway wanted a scapegoat for the Christmas Eve disaster so he fingered Colonel Rosebaun who had just been recommended for a Silver Star for his leadership at St. Vith. “There is nothing so subject to the inconstancy of fortune as war,” wrote Miguel De Cervantes.

Scenario Eighteen
Christmas at Belle Haye
25 December 1944
Unable to expand their position, Task Force Brewer’s new orders required them to hold their ground at all cost. With both flanks secure, this order was reasonable at the time it was issued. Later, when the formations on both sides were ordered to fall back, it exposed both flanks of Task Force Brewster. Soon, what had been a trickle of SS working around them became a torrent.

This scenario uses boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
After frantic radio calls to HQ, Major Olin F. Brewster finally received orders to fall back. He formed up his polyglot force and began feeling his way north. Unfortunately for the Americans, the SS were lying in wait, and disabled the tanks at both ends of the column. This effectively blocked the column and the soldiers panicked, abandoned their vehicles, and fought their way back to friendly lines on foot. Once there, General Maurice Rose did everything in his power to court-martial the major for abandoning government equipment, but he was unable to make it stick.

Scenario Nineteen
Tri le Chesling
26 December 1944
At 0200 on Christmas morning the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment began their march through the cold to reach their new positions around Tri-le-Chesling. Arriving long after daylight they set their defenses as best they could. Some of the men received a hot Christmas dinner while others dined on cold rations. The front remained tense but quiet until early the next morning.

This scenario requires boards from Battle of the Bulge and pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The Germans sent a reinforced panzer grenadier battalion against Tri le Chesling with the hope of drawing attention away from the fighting around Manhay. It didn't work, as the glider men handled the attack without the need of reinforcements. The SS fell back after suffering heavy casualties.

Scenario Twenty
Manhay Subdued
26 December 1944
In order to secure Manhay General Matthew Ridgway released the 3rd Battalion of the 517th Separate Parachute Regiment from the corps reserve. A “Time on Target” fire mission on Manhay was to be carried out by eight artillery battalions. Finally a few of the surviving Shermans of the 7th Armored Division were to support the paratroopers. This time the SS would be crushed by overwhelming firepower.

This scenario requires boards, pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The paratroopers took Manhay by storm, then dug in and drove back numerous small counterattacks and infiltration attempts. Things which had looked so promising for the Germans just a few days ago had turned sour; 2nd SS Panzer Division HQ ordered a fallback position south of Manhay prepared.

Like what you see? Order Winter Soldiers today!

Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and award-winning journalist, he has published over 100 books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children and his dog, Leopold.