I've always liked games on the Ardennes offensive and for the life of me I don't know why. A strange choice for a Brit, especially as the British forces played only a fleeting role near the end. The battle featured some of the least likable commanders on both sides, from Patton and Monty to the thoroughly unpleasant Peiper. The terrain and weather restrict movement, and most games are notoriously difficult for the Germans to win well, though they usually do better than historically. So what is it? It's the situation-it suits a game so well. Both sides get a real chance to attack and defend, and you can play shorter games covering the breakout or counterattack which are full of interest.

It's not just me. I've owned and played practically every game on the Ardennes, but I know players who play nothing but games on the topic. I was somewhat surprised when I saw The Gamers' offering on this topic was to be a SCS game as I never thought the system would cope with the snowy Ardennes terrain- how wrong I was. Looking at the number of copies of the game sold there are plenty of other gamers out there who like the game and it's now my favorite game on the subject. It is, however, difficult to play well, especially for the German side so I'm going to offer a few pointers on German play Panzers, roll!

Overview

The players notes provided with the game put it in a nutshell-the Germans have a lot to do and they need to do it fast. They need to make the most of the first few turns before the trickle of US reinforcements becomes a torrent. Looking at the victory conditions you might think you can go for a points victory-there are even enough points on Map B to give a massive German victory. Forget it! The US player will grind you down town by town using his superior artillery and air power. You have to go for one of the Victory Options and try for that elusive breakout. You need to maximize your advantages and minimize those of the US player, and that's what I'm going to show you.

German Advantages

Moving First

"That's no great advantage" I hear you complain, but it is. If you're using the fog of war rules-and let's face it, you should be-it's the only time you can be sure of exactly where all the US units will be. You need to get stuck in with the big hammer from the start and force the US player back so all he can do is respond. You know where you're going and he doesn't, so make the most of it.

Concentration

This follows on from the above. Plan ahead at least 2 or 3 turns in advance. Get your strongest units to the front where you need them, and try to keep the supply units and engineers there too. Punch through where the US player looks weakest, but stick to your plan and don't get sidetracked or diverted.

Bridges

Yes, bridges. You can build a bridge wherever you have an engineer unit-the US player does not have this ability. Use your engineers to build bridges to outflank the US positions, and pour units across in the exploitation phase. Then move your engineers on to the next river. In this respect the US player is much more tied to the roads than you are, as he can only rebuild blown bridges. On the first turn I always put up bridges from 2411-2412, 3012-2913, and 2912-2913. The last 2 might seem unusual, but they enable units in 2912 and 3012 to block the main St. Vith to Bastogne road in the exploitation phase. They also enable most of 116 Pz division to get across the Our and into position for Turn 2.

The US player will try to blow bridges you need to capture, so get Greif units next to the ones you really need-but note my ideas for deception in the section following on Greif units. A final point- remember the US player only has 3 attempts at blowing bridges per turn and that includes ones denied by Greif units.

Special Units

The German player has a range of special units and needs to use their abilities to the full. They won't win the game for you, but used properly they can improve your chances considerably.

Greif teams:

Keep these units hidden as long as possibleas a threat in being they will occupy the US player far more than as 0-1 -16 speed bumps. On the first turn I like to use two of them to improve the odds for barrages-one next to 18/14 Cav in 4909 and one in 2113 next to 3-110/28. Don't forget they can remain hidden to be the spotting unit. The other two Greif teams should be infiltrated for future use. Put them next to a bridge you really don't want blown, or as a double bluff, put them next to bridges so the US player thinks you will be advancing in a particular direction when you intend advancing on a different axis.

When using them to re-direct traffic, if one of the better US units heaves into view it can often be a good tactic to re-direct it towards your forces. St. Vith is good for this, as you can re-direct a unit along 4116 into the heart of the slower VG infantry who can surround and pulverize it. Finally, when you do decide to reveal a Greif unit, you move it to any of the 6 surrounding hexes so pick the one most inconvenient to the US player. A particularly aggravating way to do this is in the US supply phase when you can sometimes place important units out of supply.

150 Pz units:

These units don't pay EZOC costs, so don't attack with them, but use them to slide past US units leaving a ZOC for the hapless units to have to retreat through and hopefully lose extra steps. Unlike some games they never lose this ability, so keep them at the front of your advances where they can do the most damage.

Von der Heydte:

Always drop this unit- pick a drop hex along your preferred advance route. I usually pick somewhere around Malmedy or Bastogne but away from US units- sod's law dictates that if there's one unit in 50 hexes you'll land on top of it.

Werfer units:

The US player does have better and more numerous artillery, but your werfer units do pack a fair old punch. Keep them moving-they may not be in the vanguard of your assault, but you can still get them to where they can make a difference when the inevitable US counterattack begins. Get them plodding forwards immediately on Turn 1.

General Points

Don't panic:

You've advanced your units and they look awfully exposed-get up, walk round and look at the map from the US player's side-bet it doesn't look so bad now. You cannot hang about if you want to win the game, so you are going to have to take some chances. Your opponent should be the one panicking The best psychology for you is to just sit back in your chair with a smug smile-it never fails.

Read the rules:

It can sometimes be the simplest rules you overlook. Series rule Me is a case in point. It says you can always move a unit with a movement allowance of greater than one 1 hex-even through ZOCs. So do it. Surround units, even if you don't attack, get units off roads ready for exploitation movement, cross rivers, generally make yourself a nuisance. The CCA/9 Arm is the strongest unit in the south, so on turn 1 surround it with VG units. You won't eliminate it-in fact it's not even worth attacking but you can stop it doing anything useful for a couple of turns. Don't forget you can overrun units twice per phase, and if they're in armor-effect terrain it can be useful to do so using infantry units who can get better odds.

Roads:

Keep them clear for exploiting units and supply trace purposes. This is especially the case with infantry units who can move off roads quite easily, and also move effectively off roads too. If you need to attack 3-110/28 on turn I in hex 2112, attack from 2211 and don't advance after combat to clog the road for exploiting units. If you attack 18/14 Cav in 4909 from off-road hexes, you can overrun the artillery in 4511 with an infantry unit in the exploitation phase and if successful follow this up with 244 AG moving adjacent to St. Vith.

Reserve status:

Use this wisely. For example, you get to see the results of the weather rolls before you have to put units in reserve status. Put 3 strong panzer units under a reserve counter in clear weather and you're just asking to for a 5- airpoint barrage to DG the hex, losing a full turn's use of three strong units which you can ill afford. The same principle applies when placing units close to US artillery.

US advantages:

You need to minimize these. Their main weapons are artillery and air. In the early turns attack and overrun artillery units whenever possible, even at odds as low as 1:3 when you still have an excellent chance to eliminate 1step artillery units. It doesn't matter if you lose a unit too-I would always swap a VG regiment for an American artillery unit. If possible keep 5 hexes away from the US player's big guns-leave him only one barrage attack per turn instead of two.

Bypass units:

There are lots of US units East of St. Vith at the start. Attacking them can often retreat them into better defensive positions. It is often better tactics to barrage them to try and get them DG'd. Once they have no ZOC, you can surround them or cut them off and deal with them at your leisure.

Reinforcements:

Not yours, but the American ones. Look to see where and when they enter the map. For the first few turns, by far the greatest number arrive in the North. If you can keep them there you get a better possibility of a breakout in other areas. Another example is turn 3 when most of 10 Arm arrives from entry hex F. It's possible that if your offensive goes well you can block this hex--don't. They could then enter elsewhere and make a nuisance of themselves, whereas around entry hex F there's lots of good defensive terrain-let the American armor batter itself against your VG units. Look at the US reinforcement list and anticipate how their arrival will affect your plans.

Supply:

This is where your game plan will either fail or succeed. Keep the roads clear for supply units movement and supply trace purposes. Protect those supply units- you cannot rely on captured supply helping you too much, as any US player worth his salt will position them so that when captured they are the least use to you possible, as supply for US units will be the least of his worries. As the US player I would always take any chance offered to me to overrun a supply unit.

Opening Assaults

North:

This is where the bulk of units for both sides are. Many German players are put off looking at the large number of US units and plan for a breakout elsewhere. I think that this is the area where the Germans have their best chance of an early success. There is a big weakness-the ZOC of 394/99 in 5309 is all that stands between you and a major breach of the line. With your first-turn barrage you have a better than 50% chance of a DG or better result against this unit-this means no ZOC, so you can flood units through the gap in the movement and exploitation phases. I wouldn't assault this unit on Turn 1 as you could end up pushing it back onto your advance routes and clogging the roads with your units at the same time.

Next, unless you rolled a 2 or 3 in your barrage against 393/ 99 in 5610, that's another ZOC gone. In the Exploitation Phase, the Recon units of 12 SS Panzer can get within 1 hex of Malmedy-if that's the way you want to send them. One of the 12 SS Panzergrenadier units can move into Elsenborn and another into Bidllingen, where-unless the US player is a total idiot-you will capture your first supply dump. You can also advance units of 277 VG towards Rocherath Krinkelt, take out the artillery unit and block any worthwhile attack toward Biillingen.

But wait, it gets even better. If you can eliminate 18/14 Cav in 4909 (and you should), you can use the exploitation phase to get a good number of the 3 FJ and 12 VG infantry through the gap too. Then, as I said earlier in the section on roads, you can push other units along the road towards St. Vith.

If it all goes pear-shaped and you miss on one of the barrages, you can overrun twice and assault any blocking units and you should force a way through. It will mean you won't have so many units with which to exploit and you won't get so far, but you can still make a decent penetration.

The final main decision you have to make in the north is what to do with 1 SS Panzer division and the 150 Pz units. There's no way you can get away from it, they're in a very bad position at the start. You have to decide where you want them committed and stick to it. You will either have to plod through the traffic jam hexes as best you can or else filter them towards the center or south along the roads. There's something to be said for committing them in the North as was done historically. The early US reinforcements appear here and it can be a nice surprise having 1 SS greet them. This will mean you have less to face elsewhere and thus have a better chance of making ground in the center and south. Conversely, if you can successfully move them through the central area, they could well be the force to achieve the elusive breakout.

Center:

In this sector you don't have too many strong units except for 116 Panzer Division. I usually try to pocket as many units as possible using the VG Divisions and allow 116 Panzer to head to where the action is. If you've taken my previous advice and built a bridge into 2913 you can get quite a few of the units through here in the exploitation phase. It might also be worthwhile having a shot at eliminating 424/106 in 3711, because if you're successful you can divert some of 116 Pz towards St. Vith as well.

Now we come to 2 Pz. You have a choice here. They are quite capable of taking Clervaux in the exploitation phase, but you will almost certainly lose at least two units doing so. Go on, go for it-the benefits of taking Clervaux on Turn 1 are well worth the risk. You should be left with an overrun on the Divarty in Clervaux by Gutman B at 1-3 odds. You can only lose I step (it's all the unit has), and you have an excellent chance of eliminating the artillery and taking the City hex with follow up units. If you don't want to risk seriously damaging 2 Pz you can always opt for a safer assault on Turn 2 instead. Note I said safer; it will probably take you longer as well, and this could well cost you dear in the long run.

South:

Basically here you have very little strength. So just make a thorough nuisance of yourself with the units you have. Use the VG divisions to eliminate any US forces you can, and restrict the movement and options of others. Get all the nondivisional artillery you can onto the roads and moving westwards. Surround CCA/9 ARM with 276 VG division-it may be worth attacking if you managed to DG it during the barrage phase. PZ Lehr can be advanced to the south as then they will not have any traffic jams to contend with; you can then use them to capture Diekirch and Ettlebruck on Turns 2 and 3. They can then hand over defensive duties to the VG units whilst they in turn head west where they will be sorely needed in the turns to come

And that's basically it. I haven't said too much about the actual setup and placement of supply units as that depends upon where you're making your main effort. You must push and push, plan ahead and take every chance offered to you. Make the most of the first few turns and you're in with a good chance of winning. Keep going for a major victory for as long as you can and only go for a points win if all else fails. Keep your momentum going for as long as possible, because as soon as you let up the US player will sense it immediately and the initiative will go to your enemy. Happy hunting.