This was a PBEM using double blind rules.

I played the Americans. Mission: Defend St. Vith in order to Deny Germans use of the crossroads. Leader Draw: Studly LT 10-1-1, and mediocre CPT 8-0-0. Set-up: 1. Company CDR (8-0-0) in hex 1105, with M3 and INF PLT. Purpose was for the Commander to have a commanding view of the battlefield in order to call off board artillery the entire game. The INF PLT and M3 were a tactical reserve. 2. In the town. 1 x LT, 2 xINF PLTs, 2 x M3, 2 x M8. Task was to defend 0809, 0710 at all costs (or adjacent hexes). 3. On the north hill, 1 x M8 in Hex 0715 to screen the concealed approach through the woods. The M16 was set up on 0913 to provide direct fire support into the engagement area in front of St. Vith.

Plan: The Americans would use its massive artillery support to target Engineers and disrupt STUG IIIs. M8s would engage infantry and move to harass enemy flanks, with M3s and M16s shooting to disrupt the tempo of the enemy infantry. Infantry would remain hidden and try to compel the Germans to commit their Stugs into the town unsupported before my armor reinforcements showed up.

Result: The plan worked like a charm. The Germans committed his entire force forward of the town in the open. The OBA broke up his attack and on successfully demoralized one of his Stugs too. Once his direction of attack was known, My M8s collapsed the screen and moved back into the town. My M16 was disrupted by his arty, and it retreated behind the town to recover. As his demoralized troops retreated to the southern woods, I used 1 M8 platoon to move rapidly to hex 0404 to force him to leave the protection of the forest.

I mistakenly left an M3 and M8 platoon in 0707 to shoot at infantry and his Stugs destroyed them in turn 1. However, the heavy arty, broke up his attack and he pulled his infantry back while committing 2 x STUG platoons into 0710. Here 2 x INF platoons and the LT and M3 assaulted and destroyed 2 x steps, even without infantry AT weapons. Throughout the rest of the game, he never made it deeper than 0710. He had to pull out, but destroyed 1x M3 in the process. This was helpful as with 3x wrecks in the hex, he could no longer close assault into the hex with armored vehicles.

The rest of the game was spent with him trying to flank the town or gain a foothold. Each time, massing OBA and opportunity fire sufficiently kept him from organizing an attack. He successfully rallied a STUG platoon and got into the rear of St. Vith, destroying my M16.

With some lucky shots and and a 12 recovery roll on his part, all his leaders became casualties about 2/3 of the way through the game. Now with only 1 1/2 STUG platoons, no leaders to drive and reorganize the assault, and with his Engineers demoralized, he had to call off the attack.

My reinforcements did not arrive until the last four turns (11:00). The used strategic movement while covered behind the covered hill and emerged at hex 0704 to effectively decimate the remaining STUG platoons.

At game end the Americans lost 10 steps, but held St. Vith. The Germans lost 14 steps, all their armor and leaders.

Recommendations for playing the Americans: 1. Success comes from removing his combined arms advantage. Target Engineers, leaders, and Stugs to deny him column shifts. 2. Off board Artillery. Do what ever you can to keep it coming in every turn, it is your best and most powerful weapon. -If you can afford it, place one of your leaders in 1105, which is key terrain for observation, and his ability to commit forces to detect and engage the hex only takes them away from his main effort against the town. - Max your arty. Every OBA attack should have at least one attack on the 55 column to maximize damage probability against his infantry and if you should use it against the stugs, getting an "X" result is the only way to force a morale check. 3. M8s. There is no value in using your M8s to try to engage the Stugs. Use them to harrass his flanks in the woods. Their superior speed should be able to hide in the light woods, and deny the use of the terrain as safe havens for his demoralized units, forcing them to run further away and not recover. 4. Close assault. I made the mistake of exposing my M16 early. I should have kept him hidden in the town, like hex 0809 as a counter attack force. This powerhouse unit, when paired with an Infantry unit and leader will max out close assault values! - Again, deny him the use of positive column shifts. Take out engineers and leaders, and dislocate his infantry from his Stugs to deny combined arms advantages. - don't forget to roll for infantry antitank weapons. I never succeeded in getting them, but if so, they would have packed a wallop against his Stugs. - Use your higher morale to your advantage to conduct assaults. A leader and your higher morale will negate the -2 column mod for attacking in a town. - mass your firepower with infantry and M3s, which do not count against your stacking. - Create an "alamo" You will lose your softer vehicles to the Stugs, put them where you can get 3 wrecks in hex 0809, or hex 0710. This denies the German the ability to close assault with his Stugs, and if you have successfully denied his use of engineers or leaders, he will constantly be challenged to overcome the -2 town modifier. 5. finally, your plan cannot depend on your reinforcements. If the M4s ever arrive, use them smartly en masse to shoot off 6 x armor efficiency shots against the Stugs. Get up on the hills to add a -1 mod against the stronger Stug firepower

The two suggestions for the Germans are to make use of the northern covered and concealed approach in the light woods to get in close to St. Vith. Also, consider task organizing a shock force of Stugs with infantry and engineers and a leader or two riding on tanks to get to the town quickly in a combined arms formation that will max your column shifts before the American can widdle you down with artillery fire.