1. Overview This is a simple simulation of the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944. Complete games take two hours played on a tabletop surface five feet wide by six feet long with 15mm vehicles and figures. Each game turn represent one day. The game begins on 16 December and ends on 25 December - ten turns. I think you will find this game as simple as chess. The Game Map The map depicts forty-four areas extending from the German border in the east to the Meuse River in the west and from Liege in the north to Arlon in the south. The areas along the eastern edge are the starting positions for German units. All remaining areas are in U.S. control at the beginning of the game and have point values ranging from 1 to 5. Each area is named for a town, village, or topographical feature. Roads connect some areas. Rivers pass along some area borders. There are bridges where roads cross rivers. Winning the Game The German player gets points for each and every area he controls and is in supply at the end of the game. There are a total of 100 points possible. At the end of game turn 10, German point total identifies the level of victory as follows: 0-25 points. American victory. The war ends on May 8, 1945. 26-50 points. German tactical victory. The war ends on July 4, 1945. 51-75 points. German operational victory. The war ends in August 1945 after the Americans drop atomic bombs on Germany. 76-100 points. German strategic victory. The war ends in August 1945 after the Americans drop atomic bombs on Germany, England, and the Soviet Union. 2. Units With a few exceptions, each unit represents a division. Units move and fight as a whole. Each unit has a combat strength representing the number of hits it can take before being removed from play. When a unit takes a hit, it receives a marker (typically a ring or chit of some sort). Remove units from play when they receive a number of hits equal to or greater than their combat strength. 3. Turn Sequence Each turn consists of eight phases and should take about ten minutes to complete. 1. German check supply. Units out of supply take one hit. 2. Germans place reinforcement on entry areas. 3. German move. Normal, road, or overrun. 4. U.S. defensive fire. Roll dice equal to combat power. Hit on six. 5. U.S. check supply.  6. U.S. place reinforcements on entry areas. 7. U.S. move. 8. German defensive fire. 4. Checking Supply Units must be able to trace a supply line from the area they occupy along roads from area to area, without passing through enemy occupied areas, to their supply source. Units may not draw supply line through contested areas but may draw supply line to contested areas. Merely passing through an area does not necessarily block enemy supply through that area. To block enemy lines of supply, units must physically occupy the area in question. German supply sources are the four roads leading off the eastern edge of the map. U.S. sources are all other roads leading off the map. Units out of supply must add one hit immediately. Remove units if applicable. Units out of supply may not use road march nor overrun that turn. 5. Movement There are three types of movement. Normal movement, road march, and overrun. Basic movement for all units is one area per turn. No more than three friendly units may end their movement inside the same area. Normal movement is from one area to an adjacent area. Infantry may always move into an adjacent area. When moving into woods/rough terrain, armor may only move into an adjacent area if there is a road connecting the two areas. Armor may cross rivers only at bridges. Infantry may cross rivers anywhere. Units may depart from an area that contains enemy units by taking one hit, but they may not use this option to enter another area containing enemy units. Road march is movement from area to area along roads. Units wishing to use road movement must begin their turn in an area free of enemy units. Units may not use road movement to move through enemy-occupied areas, but may use road movement to move into enemy controlled areas. American units may move up to four areas, German armor units may move up to three areas and German infantry units may move up to two areas per turn using road march. Units may not combine road movement with overrun attempts. Overrun. In the movement phase, units with a combat ratio of 6-1 (12-2, 18-3 etc) or greater than their opponents may attempt to overrun enemy areas. The moving player rolls one die. Overrun is successful on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. If the overrun attempt is successful, then remove the unit that was overrun from play. It gets parting shots equal to its combat power. The moving units may continue to the next adjacent area and conduct another overrun if the conditions exist. Units may conduct no more than two overruns per turn and may combine overrun and road march movement in the same turn. If the overrun attempt is not successful, then the moving units must stop in that area. 6. Defensive fire Units may fire (throw as many dice) as their current combat strength, but only at enemy units inside the same area they occupy. The firing player chooses an area, designates the firing unit and its target, and rolls the appropriate number of dice. You always hit your target on a roll of 6! How to distribute hits. The target player may distribute hits among his units any way he wishes so long as every hit is accounted for. 7. Reinforcements See Order of Battle. On the turn before reinforcements are due to arrive, players roll one die for each unit. On a roll of 1, they arrive one turn earlier than scheduled. On rolls of 2, 3, 4, or 5, they arrive as scheduled. On a roll of 6, they arrive one turn later than scheduled. On the turn reinforcements arrive, place them in an area with a road leading off the edge of the map. All German reinforcements arrive along the eastern edge of the map. American reinforcements arrive on the south, north, or western edges of the map designated by a letter corresponding to a road. American reinforcements may not enter areas occupied solely by German units. 8. Surprise On game turn 1 only, after the German player moves all his forces, both the German and American players roll one die for each and every area in which defensive fire is about to take place. If the German roll is equal to or greater than the American roll, then the German achieves surprise and the American may not issue any defensive fire in that area on that turn. 9. Designer notes My goal is to produce games that are simple, but not simpleminded. I think this game approaches that goal. Like chess, it is a simple game, but it requires a good bit of forward thinking. Things done, or not done, in the early turns, will surely create the conditions for the end game. The overrun rule can break the game wide open for a turn or two. For the German player, the hard choice will be how to exploit - deeply or shallow. It's true that the panzers can get loose in the U.S. rear areas, but to do what? Areas under German control only count for victory at the end of the final turn and must be in supply. That's hard to do. Have a good game. George Knapp's Battle of the Bulge: Map  Order of Battle Back to MWAN # 122 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com