On December 10, 1942 units of the German 10th Panzer Division pushed west along a muddy road toward the town of Bordj Toum. The town was protected by mines laid by the U.S. 16th Combat Engineers, and by US AT, HMG and infantry units that were positioned in the town. A number of other infantry, HMG and artillery units were situated on top and west of the northeast hill and around the west side and in the wadi that was south of the road. Shortly after 0800 hours, a Pz.IIIH platoon and a motorcycle unit were ambushed by opportunity fire from both a 105mm howitzer of the 27th Field Artillery Battalion and an M3/81 from 1st Armored Division, Combat Command B lurking behind the wadi.. The damaged Axis units obstructed the road, while other German units streamed west on both the extreme north and south flanks. Three US Lee platoons moved east to a positon just south of Bordj Toum, and at 0830 hours, three more moved east along the road to bolster the town defense. The pesky 105mm artillery platoon scored a second damaged panzer with a hit on a Pz.II that was scouting the south flank. By 0915, the M3/81 had been eliminated, and the combined mortar/105mm battery was disrupted from OBA. Active skirmishes were being fought on the northeast hill and around the south wadi. By 1000, the Germans had moved closer to Bordj Toum, overrunning the US 105mm emplacement, and an M3 that was assisting the units on the northeast hill fell to a Pz.IVF2. A Pz.IIIJ had moved close enough to the town to eliminate a Lee platoon on the ridge east of town. Over the next hour, German units closed on the town from the south and center utilizing the road, which only had decoy mines, for a faster approach. Panzer platoons had partially cleared the town, eliminating two Lee platoons along with an M3/105 unit. Capt. Howser led the US engineer, infantry and HMG units west out of town to avoid the marauding panzer units. However, an M3/INF/HMG group on the northeast hill was still holding fast and limiting troop movement along the road and north flank, and a lone US infantry platoon on the hill southeast of town was valiantly holding off the charging German ground units. The Germans continued to press, and by 1215 they had dispatched the remaining Lee platoons, eliminated the Lt. and M3 that were holding the northeast hill, and had the Americans on the run with a sole remaining officer, the Captain, in command of a demoralized mix of units. By 1245, the remaining unit in town, a 37AT platoon, was destroyed and the town was secured by the Germans. By 1300, the battle was essentially over, since the disrupted US units on the northeast hill were blocked by German troops had no chance to cut off the road, and the demoralized group on the northwest hill could not be rallied to attempt to either recover the town or stop the flow of German units west on the road. This ended in a major German victory.

The Americans started out strong and well positioned, but the overpowering number of both German officers and units, their superior morale, and the extra range for armor fire by their tanks made a difference. The map is a challenging one for the Germans to play because of both the limited “mud movement” and the role of the wadis. For a while, it appeared that the US might have a chance, as there were 10 fog-of-war turns, out of the 21 played, and four occurred in a row, ending turns very early and moving the clock along. But, then turns played out in full, the mines in the road happened to be decoys, and the Lee platoons couldn’t hit anything. The Germans moved quickly and were able to meet all three objectives of clearing the road of Americans, having control of Bordj Toum, and exiting 7 points (actually 10 by the end of Turn 21) for a “major victory”. Total steps lost were 30 for the US and 11 for the Germans, and initiative went to the Germans on 15 of 21 turns, many of which included multiple action segments to start the turn.