This is the fourth of four RJ 278 scenarios I've played. This one is a primarily infantry led assault by the US (more infantry, but less armor and no air support compared to, especially, Sc#27 & Sc#31).

After reading the scenario description, I selected the 10-1-1 colonel adn 11-1-2 lieutenant colonel for the US. The Waffen-SS kept its battle-hardened 11-1-1 hauptsturmfuhrer who has survived all four scenarios holding a village hex. This was small potatoes compared to Kharkov.

US sent infantry on one M4 platoon "over the hill" vs. the villages; the HMG cadre and some INF up the gap; and six INF + rest of the armor and the 11-1-2 LtCol east, then north up the road.

Several key elements:

1. US artillery made no significant contribution. Seemingly an endless series of 6-8 rolls by the OBA and the on-board mortar stack.
2. The Waffen-SS combined its mortar stack with the NW; these factors were much more effective in causing morale failures and/or step losses. Together with some sharp shooting by the HMG stack in RJ278, the Waffen-SS simply eroded the US HMG cadre.
3. Many assaults were "fizzles" with 1-1 or 1-2 rolls. Germans mostly passively defended using town and/or dug-in first fire advantage. US even had three AT assault shots at the PzV, but missed in each case.
4. Dramatic Moment: A Waffen-SS grenadier company moved to reinforce a blocking hex containing a reduced platoon adjacent to the large fields; the US stack of 2xM4+1xM10 moved adjacent; got initiative; rolled a two on the '30' DF column for a 3X result! The Panther platoon commander, having moved his unit onto the small hill, suddenly saw a blaze of US HE fire erupt from the fields to his south demolishing the breastworks and his comrades occupying them. Traversing his turrets to port, the Panther's 75/L70 guns brought forth vengeance destroying a platoon each of M10 & M4 (the hit against the M10 was a natural '12' + 6 ... I don't think even the treads were left).
5. By game end, the US had advantages in assaults in both villages 1208 and 1207 (the panther was now in one of these) and were about even in two assaults with the dug-in blocks in 0805 and 0706. One INF platoon had tried an assault against the HMG holding RJ 278, but was demoralized.

So the critical factors here, I think, were the inability of US artillery fire and DF to "soften up" the SS forces prior to assault and some fairly weak rolling (on both sides) in assault combat. The US armor basically gets in one "shot" per unit before the PzV kills them. Total step losses: Ger = 12; US = 35 (tanks counting dbl).

So taken as a set of four scenarios, this RJ 278 mini-series seemed to go pretty much as it did historically. In none of the actions denoted by a Black SS scenario did the US capture the junction and that was the case here although in three of the four scenarios it was a "close call." So overall very enjoyable, but I'll look forward to some new terrain!