Rate 3 for this play. The rating at the top is the average for all of my plays.

Usually I don't play a bad scenario twice, but this this one I had to make some mods to make this one better. I tried a couple of mods, with the one making the most impact was adding a visibility restriction for the first two turns. Restricting LOS to 2 hexes for the first two turns will allow the Americans to get established on the board, but they cannot get too close otherwise the will get pounded by the Germans. It still is not easy for the Americans, they will still need to close and assault the Germans in the bunkers. In my play here is what happened:

Turn 1 Infantry moves on the board on the right side of the road, while the M4's and M4/76 move up the road staying 3 hexes out. Germans check their ammo and bore sight their guns.

Turn 2 The infantry move up two hexes from the German line. German Op fire starts to take a toll with disruptions and demoralizations. American OBA strikes at the AT gun and demoralizes it which triggers the tanks to move forward. The Germans hold the AT fire for the next activation and use their OBA to get the first step loss of the game. (Note at this point I was wondering about the visibility rule). The German Stug gets a shot at the M4/76 and kills one step. Fow ends the turn.

Turn 3 American units start to recover as American AT fire kills a step of the Stug and demoralizes the remnants. Germans turn to the OBA to try to strike at the Americans, more INF and HMG are disrupted. With the German AT limited, the M5's move up to try to get close to the entrenchments. German HMG fire misses and the American units that were disrupted and demoralized start to recover.

Turn 4 The Germans start with direct fire on the M5's but again miss. The M4's turn to support fire for the infantry and M5 assault. They demoralized the 20mm AA gun and disrupt the GREN with them. The American Major orders an INF and ENG to move to assault the 20mm AA gun and GREN. The M5's assault the demoralized AT gun and supporting GREN. They score a kill but two M5's are disrupted. A reinforcing GREN sneaks into the entrenchment. Other American units recover as well as the reduced Stug recovers to a disrupted status.

Turn 5 The American INF and ENG assault the 20mm AA and GREN scoring a step loss but fail to inflict damage on the Americans. German OBA hits some of the recovering INF units and disrupts them again. American OBA hits the bunker with the HMG and disrupts it. German leaders struggle to recover their disrupted units and provide OP fire against the advancing Americans.

Turn 6 Big turn for the Americans. The M5's, recovered during the last turn score a 2 step loss, knocking out the GREN that snuck into the hex in the prior turn. The AT remains disrupted as well as the reduced GREN. The INF/ENG assaulting the 20mm AA and GREN score a kill and the Germans loss the 20mm, the remaining GREN is demoralized despite the help of the German LT in the hex. The Germans look to hold the the town and have a good chance. Both strongpoints are 5-3 and 4-4 respectively. Behind them German GREN's and the STUG struggle to recover.

Turn 7 M5's attack again with another step loss, this time the AT gun is lost and the reduced demoralized GREN, double demoralizes leaving the bunker in American hands. M4 support fire on the town disrupts the 5-3 strongpoint. The Germans look to recover more units, but first first the OBA at the advancing American INF's scoring another step loss. But the Americans take the other entrenchment that they had assaulted. American HMG's move up to take the next assault on the town.

Turn 8 Final turn, the M5 moves into the town to attack the 5-3 strongpoint, reduced for being demoralized. They demoralize the strongpoint as the second group attacks the other town with the 4-4 strongpoint. The combine assault team of INF/HMG/ENG make the difference, step loss so they take the town hex. A third group of M4/INF/HMG go after the HMG bunker and score disrupt the HMG and GREN, but the INF get demoralized.

Final score Germans 18 Americans 15. This is a better score than the first game which the Germans had over 20 points to the American 1.