The situation: The Americans and Germans play king of the hill in a three-map scenario, and the Americans get bonuses for exiting units and keeping Germans off the westernmost map. Historically, the U.S. lost this one. . . .

The setup: The U.S. enters from the west. The Germans can set up anywhere on the middle (board 77) and eastern (76) maps. I pile the Germans into the middle, blocking the road and siting the 88 for maximum coverage of the area in front of the main defense line. The panzers hide behind a hill, ready to pounce.

Summary: The G.I.s come on and, thanks to their low morale, start piling up disruptions and demoralizations all over the place. The threat of the 88 keeps the Americans from using most of their mobile forces. Early on it looks bad, with three INF and two Sherman steps lost to only one German INF. But this is a long game, and the U.S. is able to pull back and reorganize, and a company-size strike force is able to work its way onto the 20m hill in the northwest corner of board 77, flanking the German line and providing sighting for the off-board artillery. On turn 12 they hit pay dirt as the OBA takes out the 88mm, and one turn later a couple INF platoons take out the 75, and the remaining Shermans team up and take out the Panzers.

This completely flips the situation, and the Yanks proceed to break up the German line and shake some armor loose for a breakthrough. Eventually nine steps exit, the Americans control most of the high ground on board 77, and they get the bonus for keeping the westernmost board (78) clear. Step losses slightly favored Germany, but it wasn’t enough. 44-22 United States.

Analysis: A good mid-size battle with a lot of real estate. It runs a bit long, but that provides time for the sides to develop a plan instead of just lumbering forward and blasting each other. Fun game.