BaBu042 
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Ettelbruck Battle of the Bulge #43 |
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| (Defender) Germany | vs | United States (Attacker) |
| Formations Involved | ||
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| Germany |  |
914th Volksgrenadier Regiment |
| Germany |  |
915th Volksgrenadier Regiment |
| United States |  |
318th Infantry Regiment |
| United States |  |
80th "Blue Ridge" Infantry Division |
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| Overall Rating, 3 votes |
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3.33
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| Scenario Rank: --- of 940 |
| Parent Game | Battle of the Bulge |
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| Historicity | Historical |
| Date | 1944-12-22 |
| Start Time | 09:45 |
| Turn Count | 32 |
| Visibility | Day |
| Counters | 111 |
| Net Morale | 0 |
| Net Initiative | 2 |
| Maps | 4: 10, 11, 12, 9 |
| Layout Dimensions | 129 x 56 cm 51 x 22 in |
| Play Bounty | 132 |
| AAR Bounty | 171 |
| Total Plays | 3 |
| Total AARs | 1 |
| Battle Types |
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| Urban Assault |
| Conditions |
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| Off-board Artillery |
| Reinforcements |
| Terrain Mods |
| Scenario Requirements & Playability | |
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| Battle of the Bulge | Base Game |
| Introduction |
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The American 80th Infantry Division advance north as part of Patton's Third Army counterattack against the southern flank of the German penetration. The 80th's 318th Regiment advanced on Ettelbruck. From the east came the 914th Grenadier Regiment . Arriving slightly ahead of the Americans the grenadiers occupied the town and the fight for it began. |
| Conclusion |
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The advance of 318th Regiment's 1st Battalion was briefly halted by German artillery fire. After American counter-battery fire had put an end to the German fire, the advance resumed, but the initiative had passed to the Germans as they reached the town first. Following a barrage by the 8th Division's artillery, an attack was launched. One company managed to infiltrate into the outskirts of Ettelbruck. |
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| AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle |
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| Heer |
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| Army |
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| 6 Errata Items | |
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| Scen 43 |
Scenario has a major river but no ENG units, so the river crossing numbers should be ignored, unless players wish to invoke the 3rd edition optional rule that in such cases you can use the crossing numbers without ENG assistance. The crossing numbers of 5/3 are from the era of 1d6 (not 2d6). (petermc
on 2017 Jul 31)
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| Scen 43 |
There is a desync of 2 turns between the turn(time) indicators for reinforcements and special rules. I used the turn indicator rather than the time. (triangular_cube
on 2021 May 08)
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Two 105mms (ID#s 1204, 1205) have "16-31" fire values in black (direct fire), when they should be in white (indirect fire). (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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The reduced direct fire value of the Heer HMG became 5-5 starting with Fall of France. (plloyd1010
on 2015 Jul 31)
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The morale and combat modifiers of German Sergeant #1614 should be "0", not "8". (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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The movement allowance on the counters in Airborne is misprinted. It should be "3." (rerathbun
on 2012 Jan 30)
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| Ettelbrook...chaos, chaos, chaos | ||||||||||||
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This was a game of chaos. For the US, everything that could go wrong, did. I look forward to trying this one again. Seeing how it would go given the random element of die rolling for the German forces entry and reinforcements would be interesting as to see how the US would do with dice rolls being less catastrophic. Turn 1-4. These could be seen as the defining turns of the game. The Germans rolled 6s each turn, allowing 2 105s, (transported by trucks), 5 platoons of Grenadiers and 3 platoons of HMG to enter practically on top of Ettelbruck. The Germans may as well have set up in the town as they effectively blocked any idea of moving any US platoons to the town quickly by truck and waiting for reinforcements themselves. The US would have to try and take and already fortified town. Turn 5-14. The US units push up map 9 and 10, taking disruption and demoralization from German artillery, both OBA and the 105s. The US, trying to avoid losses until the assault, staying far enough back on the ridge on board 10 so as to not take fire from German units on the ridge west of Ettelbruck on board 12. US units that tried to spot for mortars to fire on the German units on the ridge were disrupted and unable to bring down effective fire. The result was the Germans not only occupied the town but they also had 3 platoons dug in on the ridge. The Germans did lose 3 steps to other platoons, which were withdrawn in to the town. Turn 15-19. The US gets arty and attempt to cut down the Germans on the ridge above Ettelbruck. The fire disrupts, but there is no demoralization or step losses. As turn 20 sees more German reinforcements, smoke is payed and an assault is attempted. It actually goes well at first as one dug in platoon is eliminated. However, it goes badly from there. One US platoon is eliminated and German arty is called down on US units joining the assault. Turn 19-25. The US calls in the remainder of its smoke and manages to recover and eliminate the rest of the Germans dug in on the ridge. The Germans have lost 9 steps to the US 4. The German got their reinforcements and the town is now heavily fortified. The US has to go for broke. Turn 26-32. The US tries in vain to get enough fire concentrated to get a toehold on the town. The Germans trade losses for time, replacing losses in the front line as they occur, even counterattacking the US forces on the ridge. (Wasn't a good move, but held the US up). In the end the US lose 11 total steps with nothing to show other than holding the high ground. German victory. |
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