Important!
Made with TotH's Editor version 0.2.70 (2018) - To be played under version 1.1.21 of the Game.

BETWEEN CORNIMONT & LA BRESSE, Vosges, France, 16-18 October, 1944:

At the end of an Italian campaign where it distinguished itself during the breakthrough of the Gustav line, the 6th MTR
(Moroccan Tirailleurs Regiment) arrived in Marseilles mid-September and was stationed there until the end of the month.
Now considered a veteran unit of the First French liberation army led by General de Lattre ("une belle unit" as its CO,
Col. Raymond Baillif used to say), it was temporarily assigned  to General de Monsabert's 2nd Army Corps which was already
engaged in harsh fighting in the High Vosges range. The transfer by truck began on October 6, reaching the Luxeuil-les-Bains
region two days later.

On October 14, after relieving an exhausted, Algerian Tirailleurs unit, the regiment was ordered to seize "Le Haut-du-Faing",
a small massif approximately 1 000 meters (3,000ft) high that allowed the Germans to control two narrow valleys (400 meters or
1,312 feet lower) that are leading up to the strategic, High Vosges ridges, a little further east. On the night of October 15
and on foot across dense, muddy woods, the 6th MTR advanced to its start positions, with the attack scheduled for dawn.
Sadly for the soldiers and their leaders, there wasnt much artillery available. Just 15 minutes of initial barrage with follow-on
support from the two battalion HQs was expected to be available by radio, and those communication links would be tenuous
due to bad weather.

What the French werent aware of was that the Germans had dugin for the winter along an ad hoc but rather strong main line of
resistance they named "Winterlinie" (Winter Line). Moreover, they had also reinforced their positions with powerful, self-propelled
artillery (Hummel).

The same, bloody scenario would also play out just a few kilometers east in a larger massif called "Le Grand-Ventron", prompting
the French Commander-in-Chief to finally suspend operations in the face of the arduous conditions and mounting casualties along
the wind-swept heights and shell-pocked terrain.

French (US) --> [<- German

Germans: DC, HMG, INF (mainly 1st & 2nd Line), LMG, MMG, MTR (light), OBA (150mm, 80mm MTR), Ordnance (light AA & AT; MTR), PF,
PSK, AFV (few, light only)

French (US): BAZ, DC, FT, HMG, INF (mainly 1st Line, few Elite), MMG, MTR (light), OBA (80mm MTR, 150mm), AFV (few, fire support only)

LOS: Day - 8 hexes / Night - 1 hex / Random visibility enabled (due to frequent fog in that region, even during summer)
MAP: 2 x 4 Sectors
TYPE: Forest, hills & rural (dense woods, meadows & peat-bogs, slopes), isolated farming buildings & one small town

BEST PLAYED AS (first play): FRENCH (side B) / Thereafter AI Opponent may vary
AI ATTITUDE: If Human plays French -> HOLD (AI uses Special Commands) / If H. plays German -> ADVANCE (AI uses Special Commands)

DIFFICULTY: HARD (at least) / VERY HARD (recommended)
FOW: ENABLED
QUALITY PATH: HIGH
Random Visibility in Campaign Game: ON
If a SIDE loses all units, a Scenario/CG ends: ON

SCENARIO LENGTH: 36 Game Turns / May end on [1D6 <= 1] from Turn 31 / Side B only goes on the Last Turn

VICTORY OBJECTIVE:
The side with the required Victory Points is the winner / Both sides gets VPs for owning VP Objectives / No KIA-EXIT VPs

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for a really good depiction of Western Europe's autumn environment: ASL3D (SEPT.-OCT.) AUTUMN MOD

AFTERMATH:

The battle of "Le Haut-du-Faing" lasted October 16 to 28, 1944, and while the result was a tactical, French success it came at
the price of exhausting the 6th MTR too. This CG only covers the first three days of the offensive. The real end of the German
counter-attacks took place the next day, October 19, but they have been launched only for the sake of honor, without insisting ...

After that, the fighting on the entire High Vosges front is no more than an artillery duel. The decision will have to come from
elsewhere ... There, in the meantime, like around the Atlantic Pockets, in the Netherlands, at Aachen, in the Hrtgen Forest,
at Metz and in the Lorraine or in the plains of Alsace (Strasbourg, Colmar & Mulhouse) that War won't never be over for Christmas.

Acknowledgements: to Big Ivan, Hailstone, Paullus, Rico21, rmmwilg, UP844 for their help (ie. advice, encouragement & support).
Their experience & their game's knowledge were essential to me. If you like this scenario, know that it owes them a lot.

Keep You and Your Loved Ones Safe.
Have Fun! That's just what I want.

LN59 - July & August 2020