Winter Soldiers:
The Preview (Part One)
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
August 2013

“It adds some crunch.”

Nicole Lindroos, goddess of the Green Ronin, first taught me that phrase a long time ago to describe a role-playing supplement that adds many new rules to the game system. Both game masters and players like extra “crunchy bits” to add to their games, and if done well such supplements are usually very popular.

We intentionally built Panzer Grenadier along the lines of role-playing games, at least in regards to publishing, marketing and sales philosophies. So it was probably inevitable that we’d eventually import some of the other publishing paradigms from that end of the industry – it’s where most of my professional friends and contacts work, and I’ve written my share of role-playing books and supplements (and even have an Origins Award for one of them).

I had little to do with the actual implementation: Dave Murray came up with the Campaigns & Commanders rules set, that lets you guide a leader character through a series of battles in a campaign setting. So far we’ve published two campaigns books, War in the East and The King’s Officers. Additionally, there’s a New Guinea campaign in Kokoda Trail.

Very early in the design of the game system that became Panzer Grenadier, I had this notion that it would include a campaign game: players would command divisions, and fight battle after battle with the same forces. These forces would suffer losses, gain experience, receive reinforcements and so on. So you’d have an incentive to preserve your troops for the next battle, because you if burned them out to win short-term success, you’d pay the price over the longer term.

As much as I liked that idea, I could never figure out just how to make it work. Dave Murray did, building on a campaign game he created for our Rome at War: Fading Legions, which is scheduled to appear in our upcoming book supplement for that series, called King of Kings. It’s not really a derivation of Campaigns & Commanders, though it bears the signs of the same genius at work.

In the "Steadfast and Loyal" campaign game found in Winter Soldiers, you guide your roughly regiment-sized force from the U.S. 4th "Ivy" Infantry Division through a series of battles. The battles themselves play out much like a standard scenario of Panzer Grenadier, but the map boards used, entry of forces and so on is determined by a series of choices made by each player plus a few die rolls: they will never play out just the same way, since the actual commanders had an what was coming next but not perfect knowledge.

Your goal is to reach Wurzburg in the heart of Germany. A German opponent can try to stop you, or you can use the fairly extensive solitaire rules to play it alone. German forces aren’t nearly as defined as the Americans, since many formations tried to stop the 4th Infantry’s onrush, and both Army and Waffen SS forces may be encountered. The lack of a defined opposing division, plus the sheer odious loathsomeness of a Nazi-centric solitaire game, means that the solitaire option is only available for the American side.

Casualties suffered in one battle carry over to the next, with possibility of reinforcements to strengthen your force. Leadership can improve with combat experience as well, and you can choose to allocate your resources to bring in more airpower and artillery instead of ground troops.

To make all that work, the rules are fairly “crunchy.” None of them are very complex; they’re just a lot of them. Managing a fighting force is far more complex than leading it in battle. But the rules are pretty easy to use, thanks to some fine work by developer John Stafford. This is the sort of thing Panzer Grenadier has needed for many years, and I hope we can use it in many other contexts.

And then there are the scenarios. These represent a long-cherished goal, to meld together our Battle of the Bulge and Elsenborn Ridge games. Well, at least it was long-cherished by me. I designed Elsenborn Ridge, and I’m still very pleased with the way it turned out: it presents a solid narrative of the campaign and some of the scenario sequences within the game (like the fighting for the Twin Villages) are among the best in the series.

But there remained many actions I wanted to cover, but could not because Elsenborn Ridge has only four map boards, to keep its retail price at a reasonable level. I used those to display the vital terrain like the Twin Villages or the area around St. Vith. Elsenborn Ridge doesn’t strictly have “historical maps” but they are based pretty closely on actual locations with some modifications to make them usable in many other scenarios. Something had to give; there were not enough maps to include river terrain. That meant that the river crossing attempts by Battle Group Peiper would have to be excluded. Likewise, Elsenborn’s sister game, Battle of the Bulge, lacked Waffen SS pieces. But the SS did fight in the southern sector, most notably in a series of assaults against Bastogne that were not included in either game. And most importantly, they lost: the heroic American defenders of the Belgian crossroads smashed attack after attack. Portraying SS defeats is a good thing.

While still working on Elsenborn Ridge, I decided that we’d do a scenario book covering these “missing” battles. And there it sat for a while, until Mike Perryman picked up the ball and ran with it. He wrote 30 new scenarios, all of them using pieces and boards solely from Battle of the Bulge and Elsenborn Ridge (though you can use your pieces from Black SS instead of those from Elsenborn Ridge if you like). Here’s a look at the first ten:

Scenario One
Fuel Stop: Bullingen
17 December 1944
The planners at Oberkommando der Wehrmacht envisioned great things for Kampfgruppe Peiper when they transmitted the code word, Wacht Am Rhein, to launch the Battle of the Bulge. SS Obersturmbannführer Joachim Peiper's reinforced mechanized brigade intended to race through a gap created by the infantry and cross the Meuse River near Liege allowing the insertions of fresh mobile formations to capture the key Allied port of Antwerp and split the Allied lines in half. The plan relied on shaky logistics with little chance of friendly fuel supplies reaching the spearhead before the Meuse. Therefore when intelligence determined that an American fuel dump was located in Bullingen its capture became a top priority for Peiper.

Conclusion
After Kampfgruppe Peiper reached Honsfeld they swung north, encountering an independent engineer battalion deploying to stop them. Without the promised armor support the engineers were forced to engage the attacking armor with bazookas. The small successes they enjoyed were more than offset by the heavy casualties suffered. After refueling, Kampfgruppe Peiper rolled on.

Scenario Two
Failed Orders
18 December 1944
Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper was unwilling to admit he had fumbled his chance to take Stavelot by a coup de main the previous evening. His excuse to higher headquarters claimed his men were confronted by enemy armor as they approached the town, while infantry circled around to attack his flanks. This was later contradicted by his tank commanders who insisted the Americans were withdrawing. In any case, the pause allowed the Americans to rush reinforcements into the town during the night. His assault today would be tougher.

Conclusion
Headquarters had ordered the engineers stationed there to blow the bridge over the Ambleve River. Demolitions were set but their commander failed to give the order to blow the bridge allowing the Germans to capture it intact. Soon Kampfgruppe Peiper was once again racing towards the Meuse with the Americans scrambling for a way to stop them. If the bridge had been destroyed as ordered chances are Peiper would have been stopped then and there.

Scenario Three
A Dicey Proposition
19 December 1944
Yesterday Peiper's spearhead had passed through Stavelot leaving the problem of securing it for the trailing elements. When a lack of fuel prevented the Panzer IV battalion from advancing this made securing the town a dicey proposition. Complicating the situation was 30th Infantry Division was unwilling to concede the initiative and sent a battalion forward to retake it.

Conclusion
By noon all of Stavelot was in American hands save for a few houses at the western edge. When some of the refueled Panzer IVs launched a counterattack to retake the town, captured American jeeps in the lead element of the attack caused Lt. Colonel Frankland to call in artillery fire instead of directly engaging the enemy. This separated the German armor from their infantry support as the panzers continued on alone. The counterattack faltered when two of the leading tanks were destroyed just short of the bridge.

Scenario Four
The Vengeful Halftrack
20 December 1944
After racing to the front, the 82nd Airborne Division began moving towards Werbomont in the dark. From there they would be able to reinforce some engineers trying to hold in the key town of Trois Ponts in the morning. Around noon they reached the town without incident and decided to take the fight to the enemy at Cheneux. Lacking heavy support, the attack was led by an abandoned but fully fueled "77mm" halftrack they captured intact.

Conclusion
American accounts speak of a captured halftrack leading the charge and inflicting great causalities on the defenders until running out of ammo and retiring along with the GIs who had commandeered it. This does not correlate well with the fact that Kampfgruppe Peiper was already experiencing fuel problems and it seems unlikely that a fully fueled vehicle would have been abandoned by its crew to be found and used by Americans. Nevertheless, if the Americans had been able to strike a little earlier they would have hit a reduced company of grenadiers supported by a few flak wagons. As it was, when the American attack did kick off a fresh grenadier company was waiting for them in strong defensive positions, and sent them packing after a couple hours.

Scenario Five
Striking Back
21 December 1944
While the fighting for Stoumont raged to the west, Task Force McGeorge attempted to drive the Germans from La Gleize. The task was complicated by the narrow Sherman tracks which tended to bog in the mud and snow, thereby restricting them to the roads. Thus, the burden of the attack fell on the “poor bloody infantry.” On the German side morale spiked when Rottenführer Bahnes returned to the unit with a Panther tank he had spent two days behind enemy lines repairing.

Conclusion
Confining their Shermans to the road made the Americans sitting ducks for the superior armament of the German tanks and dug-in anti-tank guns. The Germans waited until the Shermans were executing a tight turn before opening fire. Losing two tanks in quick succession amid a flurry of incoming rounds, the American armor withdrew, leaving the infantry to go it alone. The GIs made some progress but eventually were driven back. After some time to regroup and rethink, the task force tired again but was similarly rebuffed in their outflanking attempt.

Scenario Six
Hot Time at Trois Ponts
21 December 1944
On the 20th of December the 504th Airborne Regiment dispatched a battalion to Trois Ponts tasked to keep the bridge there in friendly hands. Of course, this bridge distinguished itself by being the only one in the area capable of supporting tanks and heavy supply vehicles. Kampfgruppe Peiper, now dangerously low on fuel, planned to capture the town and bridge, grab the nearby fuel dump of 2 million gallons, and push on. It was only a matter of time before they made their play.

Conclusion
Before the Germans arrived a large number of engineer personnel from various units in the area joined up with the paratroopers toting every unattended .50 caliber machine gun they could find. The extra machine guns were quickly incorporated into the defenses. But despite the added firepower, the paratroopers were slowly pushed back over the river at a great cost to both sides. Once across the river the engineers blew the bridge. German attempts to wade across were bloodily rebuffed — another way over the river had to be found.

Scenario Seven
Stymied
21 December 1944
While the bulk of Kampfgruppe Hansen forged toward Trois Ponts, one battalion infiltrated north in an effort to relieve the pressure on Kampfgruppe Peiper. The grenadiers managed to slip across the Ambleve River at Petit Spa but when the accompanying StuGs attempted to cross the bridge collapsed. The grenadiers continued their advance north sans armor support, trying to fulfill their objective and link up with Schnellgruppe Knittel. At the same time three American task forces were bearing down on the same group.

Conclusion
Both the Germans and Americans were striving to reach Stavelot to turn the tide, but success also required securing the three villages just to the west. Fighting raged in and around the villages all day in this meeting engagement, with neither side gaining an upper hand. Tactically the Germans could claim a victory as the delay allowed the SS men isolated and holding out at Stavelot to live to fight another day.

Scenario Eight
One Last Attempt
22 December 1944
The previous evening remnants of Kampfgruppe Peiper had withdrawn to La Gleize, critically short of fuel and other supplies. The effort to air-drop supplies to them during the night went awry, so the SS dug themselves in deeper and prepared to defend their ground until Kampfgruppe Hansen reached them. Meanwhile, Obersturmbannführer Hansen pushed two more companies over the Ambleve River to strengthen his desperate counterpart’s anvil, but his hammer, his dozens of panzers, were still stranded south of the river.

Conclusion
Things started off badly for the Germans when the 1st Battalion's Commander was killed while scouting the battlefield before sending his men forward. Nevertheless, these veterans of the vicious Eastern Front fighting needed little encouragement to reach their trapped comrades at Stavelot. But German intentions did not matter today. The 117th Infantry Regiment was in no mood to give ground and stopped the grenadiers’ attack cold. The two companies of the 3rd Battalion attacking Petit Coo fared much better, driving Task Force Lovelady from the village and capturing their recon platoon almost intact. But misfortune struck the German leadership again when upon leaving Petit Coo, the battalion commander caught a bullet, throwing the attack into confusion and eventually stalling it completely. This would be another day with no relief for Peiper's men.

Scenario Nine
What Really Happened at Les Tscheous?
22 December 1944
The Americans slowly wedged Kampfgruppe Peiper into an untenable narrow corridor. If allowed to continue, Peiper and his men would have to either surrender, die, or escape on foot. Supplies could not reach them, and the fuel situation was desperate. Using the last of his reserves, Peiper sent a small strike force to expand the perimeter by taking Les Tscheous.

Conclusion
The American unit’s after action report declared that artillery fire sent the Germans reeling backwards and they never came close to entering the village. However, corps headquarters records also document that they stood up a scratch task force containing armor from one division and infantry from another to secure the village. As neither side mentions a night attack, one could conclude that Peiper's men did, in fact, take the village on this date, which then had to be recaptured.

Scenario Ten
Turning the Tables
23 December 1944
Kampfgruppe Hansen had shrunk to a shadow of its former self in the past two days trying to reach the trapped Kampfgruppe Peiper. The armor still languished south of the Ambleve River, and the few anti-tank guns supporting the infantry across the river had dwindled from battle losses. The primary focus of the command staff shifted away from rescuing Peiper to how to defend themselves against the expected counterattack.

Conclusion
The Americans planned their attack well, hitting the depleted battle group from two different directions as the men in gray were starting to advance. The Germans sorely missed their panzers as the American tanks battered their positions, wounding yet another battalion commander at Petit Coo, and grinding the 12th Company to nothing. On their way to Biester the Americans mauled the opposing 11th Company as well, killing their company commander in the fighting. It took six miles of fighting retreat pell-mell through the woods before the Germans found their grit before the Petit Spa Bridge, and stopped the American advance.

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.