This 10-turn scenario has 8 platoons of 1st SS Panzer division moving on foot at night trying to break out and back accross the Salm river, lead by the Colonel, Major, a Captain and 2 LTs. Maintaining a picket line in the dark is 4 platoons of US paratroopers, a Para-HMG and a mortar lead by a major, a captain and 2 LTs. The scenario uses less than half of board 12, using the area from 1301 to 1307, with rows from xx08 and higher unused. The US may set up hidden but playing solo I skipped that. No mention of using illumination from the single US mortar so I just used him to fire (innefectually as it turned out) on call at German targets. The SS men enter the board from the west edge in 2 groups to the north and south of the area in play, and with the US set up 4 hexes back, no contact is made until point blank fire starts occuring to north and south on turn 2. The central 2 stacks of paras, the one being lead by the captain and having the PMG moving to the south and the other to the north to assist the pickets. The Germans make progress as 2 stacks make it to, over and beyond the river with 8 steps, but the other 2 German stacks get bogged down with disruptions, initially the only damage being done by the paras in the dark, so an SS LT and his 2 platoons decide to assault an American picket of just 1 platoon with an LT before odds sway against them. This time, assaulting in light woods, the dice favor the defenders. Germans roll poorly while the Paras roll a 2, a 2X result, demoralizing the German LT and one reduced platoon while the 2nd reduced platoon suffers disruption. Next turn, the other stack of Paras join the fight and finish off the SS troops but miss grabbing the demoralized LT. To the south, the SS stack remaining on the west side of the river decides to make a dash for it, but the LT and one platoon become disrupted in the river, leaving the other platoon to move on one hex past and into the leadership zone of the SS Colonel. Next turn, US paras fire again and miss, the disrupted SS move out of the river to the east, and there is now 10 steps of SS clear and 2 disrupted steps on the river bank east of the river. The US cant win, but take shots to try to reduce the numbers of SS men heading home but roll 6s and 7s, causing no additional damage. All but the disrupted SS units have moved further east into the woods where the paras cannot see them at the 2-hex visibility, and a final turn of shots at the disrupted troops fails to cause further damage. Germans win this round. Good short game to run between opening gifts and fixing Christmas dinner.

Given the 3-0 previous outcome and single pre-existing AAR, this scenario turned out much closer than expected.

TheDoctor set up the hidden US initial dispositions until the SS moved within one hex. I also granted the Germans the 10-1-2 obersturmbannfuhrer to represent Peiper personally.

By game end, the Germans did get off the requisite five units (10 steps); one DIS; whereas the others were bogged down in assaults: the -1 col shift for defending in woods was a great boon to the US side (and a half-step Para held on for a distressing amount of time).

US lost three steps; Germans two.

The US paratroopers set up hidden in the woods. The German grenadiers have to get past them and cross the minor river.

I used a scripted approach to handle the hidden US units. I set up the US first in a thin line across the German line of advance. I set up the Germans in two columns of four platoons (two per hex). I then rolled one die for each column to determine their entry hex. The Germans would advance directly ahead until they ran into the Americans. With seven entry hexes available I planned to reroll sixes, with 1-3 entering row 6 and 4-6 entering row 7. This would make a southern entry (where the river was closer) slightly more likely.

The Germans rolled a 2 and a 3 for entry, putting the columns together in the south. The lead units of each column easily survived the opportunity fire from the hidden Americans and assaulted the southern end of the US line. The paratroopers shifted south to block the grenadiers.

Even with three grenadier platoons in the assault, they took 45 minutes and some casualties to clear the assault hex. In the meantime the remainder of the Germans moved around the assault toward the river. Mortar and opportunity fire from the Americans was completely ineffective. The Americans did manage to get in front of the grenadiers again, but the assault went the Germans' way, wiping out the two paratrooper platoons in 30 minutes with no German casualties other than one disruption.

The Germans got all but one platoon across the river with half an hour to spare. Historical, but not very balanced.

The Americans have too few units to effectively block the Germans. If they spread out to block them, the grenadiers can combine and steamroll them in assaults. If the paratroopers combine, the Germans can go around them. Between the darkness and the heavy woods, they just can't get enough firepower to damage the grenadiers with opportunity fire.

This scenario has an interesting situation, but heavily favors the Germans. One suggestion to make it more balanced is to use the hidden unit and ambush rules from PG: Guadalcanal.

This small scenario is a night action, with SS units escaping across a river. Trying to prevent the escape are some US Para's who can all begin the game hidden, played across just a half board this is a quick scenario but not a particularly good one, though of course this was a solo play using the suggested hidden units rule in the 4th edition. The SS can chose an axis of attack and overwhelm the US forces at any one point, and should cross the river in sufficient numbers to win well before the ten game turns they have available. Should be a better game with two players but I would still expect an SS win unless the US commander gets lucky.