| In the winter of 1944, American and British
forces reached the German border from the
North Sea to Switzerland. Many thought the
Third Reich would soon be finished. But the
Germans had carefully gathered reserves of
men and tanks to hurl into a final counter-attack.
Fortunately for the future of western civilization,
they had Adolf Hitler shaping the offensive’s
goals. German panzers would storm through
the Allied lines in the Ardennes, a tight
region of forested hills in eastern Belgium.
From there, they would drive across Belgium
to the key port of Antwerp. British armies
to the north would be cut off and forced to
surrender. The Western Alliance would break
apart in an orgy of blame. Nazi Germany would
be saved.
The Germans more or less attempted to carry
out Hitler’s insane orders. American
forces gave ground slowly, and then pressed
in on the Germans from all sides in what became
known as the “Battle of the Bulge.”
The German defeat destroyed the reserves that
might have extended the war for many months.
Battle of the Bulge covers the battles
from the southern sector of this campaign,
in the Panzer
Grenadier game system. There are
50 scenarios, all taking place in December
1944 and January 1945. Actions range from
small but intense infantry fights to wide,
sweeping tank battles. The famous stand at
Bastogne, the river crossing at Clervaux,
and many more clashes are covered. Battle
of the Bulge is a complete standalone
game, not requiring any other products for
full enjoyment.
Battle
of the Bulge
map sample |
 |
Battle of the Bulge has four 11x17-inch
playing maps. Some scenarios use only one,
two or three of them.
All the troops and tanks of the American
and German armies that fought in the Ardennes
are included. These are the most powerful
armies yet matched in the Panzer Grenadier
system. Both have good infantry and good
leadership. Both have elite paratroopers,
with high morale but not-so-great firepower.
The Americans have the edge in artillery,
the Germans in tank quality.
The Americans bring masses of Sherman medium
tanks, plus some Stuart light tanks and the
piece that’s puzzled thousands of gamers,
the M8 Scott Howitzer Motor Carriage (a 75mm
assault gun on a Stuart chassis). They have
the very speedy M36 tank destroyer, with special
move-and-shoot abilities, as well as the more
mundane M10.
The Germans have many more interesting tanks
and assault guns: Panther, PzKw IVH, Hetzer,
StuGIIIG, StuGIV and Wirbelwind are among
the armored array. But far too often German
infantry has to walk into battle, and their
guns are pulled by horses. Their best leaders,
veterans of five years of steady warfare,
are better than the top American leaders.
But likewise, their least capable leaders
are much worse than the least of the Americans.
Battle of the Bulge together with
Guadalcanal
provides the pieces necessary to use the scenarios
from our Jungle
Fighting book.
Links:
Stock APL0305
Status: This item is no longer available
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