This scenario is Kampfgruppe Peiper push toward the Meuse River, during the Battle of the Bulge. Date is December 18 and 19, 1944. I scaled down the forces for both sides and changed some of the Americans rear units into infantry companies. The rules used were Command Decision II, and size of gaming table was 17 feet by 8 feet. Note for those of you without a wargaming clubhouse with a large gaming table, change the game scale to one inch equal 100 yards. Time scale is 30 minutes per turn.

This is best played if all the players only have a limited knowledge of this scenario.

Visibility

Visibility is total of six D10 dices, reroll on every even turn by the umpire for new visibility distances. Also the umpire keep track of German AFV fuel usage each turn and chances of vehicles miring off road in farm field (33%) or crossing any creek (50%) or river(l00%). Tiger II and Panther have a (16% or a roll of a 1 with a D6) of break down per turn they moved offroad. Repair of Tiger II or Panther is (16%) with its crew outside working on its tracks. Umpire needs to write up roster of all the German vehicles. I found that a sub roster of each German player with they vehicles made this task fairly easy.

German Problems

The main problem for the German players is to control a road net from the starting location to the exit point on the other end of the table. Also there's a limited amount of fuel for your vehicle movement. The longer the game lasted, more American forces will come in to play. You had to captured the bridges intact, before the American engineers can destroyed them. Lastly the Germans need to act boldly and keep on pushing forward every turn, regardless of losses.

American Problems

Problems for the Americans are, first they not expecting any German attacks in they rear areas, all beginning units can not be ordered to moved until they spotted enemy forces or are attacked or higher HQ notify them with order. American units must be deployed in company strength in the villages. They may not be deploy in any battleline defense. American can not choose they reinforcement or its enter points, both are determine randomly.

Radio communication and unit control was different at best, due to mountain terrain, weather and chaos of being surprise. I limited both the German and American HQ communication, due to above radio problems. Also I secretly informed the American HQ player that he could not send out orders until someone thought of informing him by radio or messenger that they spotted enemy units or were under attacked or his HQ was attacked or spotted enemy forces.

German Forces

Germans forces are veteran, morale 9, all the German forces enter at road location One.

• Battalion of Paratroopers(of the 3th Para. Division), riding on AFVs.
• German commander HQ of one jeep, one half-track, one radio truck, recon motorcycle and one command stand.
• Three Tiger II (1 x Company)
• Six Panther (2 x Companies)
• Six Pz IV f2 (2 x Companies)
• One SP 4x20mm AA (attached to HQ)
• Two Ammor Cars (Morale 10) Puma (1 x Recon Company)
• AT company of 75mm AT. with crew, trucks. (1 x Company)
• six trucks for carrying space ammo. extra fuel or infantry
• KG HQ of jeep, recon motorcycle w/MMG and radio van
• German have 350 points of fuel. Each vehicle must have amount of fuel points it is carrying noted.The umpire will keep track of all vehicle fuel usage each turn. German player can request at anytime to know it current amount of fuel they had left. It takes a whole turn (not in combat) to refuel or transfer fuel to any vehicle. If an AFV is out of fuel, its crew will abandon it.

Fuel Usage per Turn:

Road Travel Only

Tiger II: 4 pts of fuel
Panther: 2 pts of fuel
All other Vehicles: 1 pt of fuel

Off Road or in Combat

Tiger II: 8 pts of fuel
Panther: 4 pts of fuel
All other Vehicles: 2 pts of fuel

Note, vehicles not moving or not in combat of type do not use fuel for that turn. Combat is firing or being fired at or in close combat.

American

American forces are experience, morale 8, as following;

• Battalion ofInfantry
• American commander HQ of one recon jeep, radio truck and one command stand
• Company of 57 mm gun, with crew and transports (1 x Company)
• Company of engineers, 4 tons of supplies, truckborne, may place up to half of these supplies to blow 2 bridges (One ton per bridge) or lay minefields (only off road and clearly marked to all)
• All Americans forces start in the villages (Remember its wintertime and this is a rear area). American commander needs to draw a map and clearly mark where all they forces, mines, HE changes are located. American forces are only place on the table when they are spotted by the German.
• The American player decides for HQ unit with one recon jeep, radio truck and one command stand. The company of engineers and four rolls on the reinforcement table for his starting forces. Note, there no air support for the American starting forces. If air support is rolled, then reroll again.

Reinforcement begins on turn three, and every odd turn thereafter. First roll a D10 dice for what type of reinforcement you get, and second roll of D6 is for the enter point for those reinforcements.

The reinforcement are as follows;

1. Air Support; pair of P47s, limited to two turns on board. Must has a pre planned fly route, fly level is either very low or low(due to low cloud ceiling) and bomb load determine before the game starts. Americans should do up three air support flies just in case. If this item is rolled a fourth time, then its no reinforcement.
2. Company of medium tanks and company of armor infantry in half-tracks.
3. Company of 90mm AA guns (l 6% D6 roll of 1) or 40mm AA guns (16% D6 roll of 2) or 57mm AT guns (16% D6 roll of 3) or single 105mm howitzer (16% D6 roll of 4) with crew and transport. or 33% of nothing (D6 roll of 5 or 6).
4. Company of engineers with D6 tons of supplies, all truckbome. If this item is rolled a second time. then its no reinforcement.
5. Rear support of two trucks with 15 points of fuel in each, one stand of support infantry, they must try to exit off the other table side edge. If this item is rolled a second time, then its no reinforcement.
6. Two Companies of Infantry, if this is roll again the rest of the battalion come on. all are truckborne.
7. Recon jeep with MMG (33% D6 roll of 1 or 2) or M20 (33% D6 roll of 3 or 4) or M8 (33%).
8. Rear support column of D6 empty trucks, one stand of support infantry, they must try to exit off the other table side edge. If this item is rolled a second time. then its no reinforcement.
9. Single tank destroyer (50% D6 roll of 1,2 or 3) or company of tank destroyers (16% D6 roll of 4) or single empty truck (33%).
10. Artillery (off board) Support for this and next tums only, of 3 x 105mm howitzers. Any company HQ can act as FO.

All on coming USA reinforcements except air support must pre planned they whole route for the game, until American HQ (Battalion or Company) unit contacts them by radio or meet them to gives them they new orders. Air support must spotted enemy units or be contact and directed by a battalion or company HQ, before they can attack.

Victory conditions

For the Germans: Control road net from they starting location to exit point of US reinforcement number three or four . Road net must be free of any enemy units within six inches of it and bridges on the road net still intact. Naturally the American win, if the Germans didn't meet they victory conditions.

The scenario ends when the Germans have held the road net for two whole turns. Or American overwhelm the German or the Germans run out of gas.

Determining who played whom. First I randomly picked two players who knew the CD II rules well as the Commanders of either side. Had the USA Commander player organized his forces in two groups (he also had to draw the forces location on a map) and another two USA players received either the first or second reinforcement command. The German Commander organized his forces into four groups on 3 x 5 cards. The Both Commanders commanded they HQ's and any forces attached to them. I had the other six players randomly picked the other six 3 x 5 cards. Any American player whom had his command eliminated or ended, were given the next reinforcement coming on.

Optional. Team of four players can bid against the other team, for whom gets to play the Germans. Each side will try to under bided each other, in how much fuel they will need to win as the German. The lowest bidder gets to play as the German.

Radio Communication rule. Both the German and USA HQ/commander can try to send communication/orders with they HQ radio. I limited the commanders to two radio attempts if his HQ didn't move or only one attempt if he move or was in combat. The American commander player I informed secretly that he could not send a order until he was notified by another USA player that the Germans were attacking or HQ was attacked or HQ spotted an enemy unit.

It was a 50% chance ( 1 or 2 or 3 on a D6) for each radio attempt to be successful. Commanders could only try contacting another player once per turn. Commanders and all players were ask not to communicate with each other during the game, unless they were successful with they radio attempts or were in stand to stand contact of each other HQ or could write a message and send it by recon vehicle to another player.

Any player can try a radio anempt to request support, fuel or direct air support or artillery support or etc. They radio communication attempt does counts against they commander's two communication attempts per turn allowed.

Searching villages and road side woods, German player could get luckily and find some American fuel. I allow for only for only two of these mini-fuel dumps. Every time a German player states that he was searching for fuel, I roll a D6, 16% chance of finding 10x D6 of fuel. The German player has to allot a stand or a vehicle crew a whole turn for the searching and another turn for the refueling from the same location any fuel that was located. I also allowed any German player to load fuel on to spare trucks and move them forward to refuel other vehicles. I never informed anyone of they chances or that there were only two mini-dumps. One German player spend halve of the game searching everywhere, after the second fuel dump was located.

Terrain and Game Notes

1. Mountain/Hills were limited to infantry only, impassable to all vehicles, excepted mountain roads.

2. The four small bridges over the Lienne creek are limited to wheel vehicle traffic only.

3. N highway and R&R bridges can handled all vehicles.

4. I place one or two farm fields around each village or in the open areas, for miring vehicles.

5. Allows American engineers to mined roads during the game.

6. Game time was twenty turns of daylight, before nightfall. Game ends when German HQ player decide he didn't have a chance anymore or he completed his victory conditions.

7. German can not recovery fuel from destroyed vehicles. It takes a turn to remove fuel from one vehicle or refueled a vehicle.

8. Note the German starting location is also one of the US player's reinforcement locations.

Large Version of Map (slow download 132K)