This is still a work in progress, but it's looking good for the Germans (I'll finish this tomorrow). After three turns (and now night is lifting), Germany has killed four US steps with two others in an assault.

US set-up was perhaps not so great, although initially looked good. Das Reich must advance northwards across hilly, wooded terrain with a single road. US sets up 2xINF just north of the road junction on the southern board; sets an HMF+INF in two adjacent hexes (1208/1209) guarding the road on the southern 20m hill line of board 10. Mortars and two other INF in Tri le Chesling. Lastly, an INF+57mm dug-in to either flank, each 4 or 5 hexes E/W of the road.

At first, plan looked great: for two turns the first road block held tough against massive DF (note: -1 col shifts for: night; lt woods; hill; dug-in to compensate for the +2 adjacent bonus). With some concern, an assault went in using the Stugs + 2xGren ... surviving the US First Fire, the Germans "did their thing" with a combined arms assault (rolled '6').

2xGren groups also went after the US flank groups and have tied up those units.

As other SS units advance to the board edge, the two US HMG+INF groups decide that fighting it out in the town may be the better part of valor.

To be continued/ended tomorrow ... but wondering whether I might should have held the US force in a single grouping (or at most two). It seems that whilst the "road block" scheme might appear to slow down an advance, experience seems to suggest that, on average, division of force this way seldom seems to prevail (outside of the vagaries of die rolling).

So, after some unpleasantness ...

Turns 6-8 are mostly consolidation and Germans attempting recoveries from effective US artillery strikes.

The approach and assault on Tri le Chesling begins in earnest on Turn 9. The 2nd SS splits up to attempt an approach from the West (taking advantage of lt woods and hills) and also from the east to avoid the US being able to focus +1 combat modifiers on a single axis.

At turn 9: step losses => Germany = 1 US = 9 (but Germans had suffered a serious amount of morale failure which broke up the attack rather nicely).

At turn 12: step losses => Germany = 8 US = 15

At turn 14: step losses => Germany = 10 US = 17 Two hexes of Tri le Chesling were contested in assaults; one hex controlled by the US with a DIS-INF(R); rest controlled by Das Reich.

Thus, a minor German victory achieving "Eliminate at least six American steps whilst losing fewer German steps than US."

Game note: surprised by the 8/6 US morale as 82nd Airborne is usually depicted as 8/8. Perhaps as explained in the scenario notes, this is due to fatigue post march.