To the Meuse!

[TAIL GUNNER]

This AAR will chronicle the epic battle of the glorious German forces versus Dumnorix's pathetic Allied forces in a grand recreation of the first ten days of the Ardennes Offensive using his PG3D mod.

An overview of German forces available from the start:

6th PanzerArmee - "The Northern Shoulder"
I SS Pz. Korps
[*] 1st SS Pz. Div
[*] 12th SS Pz. Div
[*] 3rd Fallschirmjager
[*] 12th Volksgrenadier
[*] 277th Infanterie
[*] 150 Pz. Bde
LXVII Korps
[*] 272th Volksgrenadier
[*] 326th Volksgrenadier

5th PanzerArmee - "The Central Thrust"
LVIII PzKorps
[*] 116th Pz. Div
[*] 560th Volksgrenadier
LXVI Korps
[*] 18th Volksgrenadier
[*] 62nd Volksgrenadier
XLVII Pz. Korps
[*] 2nd Pz. Div
[*] Panzer Lehr Div
[*] 26th Volksgrenadier

7th Armee - "The Southern Flank"
LXXX Korps
[*] 212nd Volksgrenadier
[*]276th Volksgrenadier
LXXXV Korps
[*]5th Fallschirmjager
[*]352 Volksgrenadier

Also, Army and Corps-level assets available include numerous AA, AT, and various assault guns plus an ungodly amount of Artilley and Werfer battalions.
Various other divisions and units will arrive as reinforcements throughout the ten day battle.

Since Dumnorix has not included Antwerp on the map, I suppose the Germans will have to settle for the "Small Solution".....[:'(]

To the Meuse!

[TAIL GUNNER]

Day 1 Plan: The Northern Shoulder

[TAIL GUNNER]

Day 1 Plan - The Central Thrust

[TAIL GUNNER]

Day 1 Plan - The Southern Flank

[TAIL GUNNER]

December 16, 2:00AM - 6:00AM

The time for planning is over....
Artillery is plotted and troops are marshalled to their jump-off points to begin their assault on the unsuspecting Allies.

So begins the last great German offensive of WWII!



[center]The powerful Panzer Lehr Division awaits the "go" signal.[/center]

[TAIL GUNNER]

December 16th, 6:00AM - 8:00AM

"Wacht am Rhein!"
With these words, the Germans lunge forward; eager to relive the glory days of Blitzkrieg. The offensive begins with over 1200 pieces of artillery firing in unison along the entire front; shattering both the morning silence as well as the bodies of Allied soldiers unfortunate enough to be assigned to the Ardennes on this fateful day.

6th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

The two-thirds strength 272nd VG approaches Konzen through a smokescreen and finds the town defended by an American recon group. The division’s nine Hetzers are brought up to engage the target but miss their mark. The Americans withdraw.
326th VG also advances under cover of smoke, and engages three American battalions caught digging in on the road to Hofen. One enemy battalion is driven off, while the other two take minor casualties from the German fire and withdraw under artillery-laid smoke.
277th ID begins their western advance through thick forest on their way to Elsenborn Ridge. The division’s four Hetzers plus 741st PzJag Battalion’s twenty Hetzers provide an armored presence.
Further south, 12th VG clashes with two American infantry and a towed AT-gun battalion. The Volk units fare badly in the exchange, with one entire regiment running away and casualties taken by another. The Americans stand firm in their trenches.
3rd FJ fares much better, being assisted by several army-level assault gun brigades. An enemy recon group is chased out of Losheim with loss, while 217th SturmPz Battlion’s 17 StuPzIVs assault the enemy's towed AT battalion in Krewinkel and force their surrender. 150th Pz.Bde. will arrive soon to help exploit the gap in enemy lines.

5th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

18th VG begins the attack on two different fronts. The northern group consists of two VG regiments, engineers plus eleven Hetzers and will protect 3rd FJs southern flank. The southern group consisting of the third regiment plus bicycle troops occupies the small village of Sellerich; recently abandoned by an American infantry battalion which fled during the German artillery barrage. StugIIIGs from 244th StugBde. will assist.
62nd VG attacks and occupies the village of Brandscheid. With the help of the division’s fourteen Hetzers, the American infantry battalion defending the village is surrounded and forced to surrender.
Meanwhile, the powerful 116th Panzer attacks on a broad 7 kilometer front. Three American infantry battalions are pushed back and withdraw after taking casualties.
Eight kilometers to the southwest, the advance of 560th VG is held up by a single American infantry battalion. Both Volk regiments plus the division’s ten Hetzers fail miserably in their initial attack and take moderate casualties from the enemy's deadly counter-fire.
2nd Panzer begins their drive west towards the strategic crossroads at Marnach while to their south, 26th VG, the unfortunate victim of a friendly-fire incident, is held up by an American infantry battalion rooted in the village of Hosingen.

7th Armee - Operational Summary

5th FJ units attack on two fronts; a regiment to the west drives the Americans from the village of Weiler while another regiment positioned south assists 352nd VG with their assault on the defended village of Fouhren. Another regiment from the 352nd VG attacks the American defenders at Bettendorf but is repulsed by heavy fire.
To the east, units from 276th VG occupy Reisdorf but come under enemy artillery fire while units from the 212th VG occupy the abandoned village of Echternach.




[center]Tough going for the 12th VG Division![/center]

[TAIL GUNNER]

December 16th, 8:00AM - 10:00AM

"Panzer Lehr Unleashed"
The Panzer Lehr Division gets the green light and promptly heads west at full speed to join the fray. The division consists of 104 tank and tank destroyers, but is light in infantry. Both motorized regiments are only half-strength.

All along the rest of the front, the American defenders bend and break in most areas, but often stand firm and blatantly defy the Germans in others.

6th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

The Allied recon group abandons Konzen so 272nd VG quickly occupies it. The Allied unit still lurks nearby, as does a HMC M7 self-propelled artillery battalion which is chased off after losing a vehicle to the Hetzer's gunfire. The division sustains minor casualties from enemy artillery fire.
326th VG continues to clear the road to Hofen, engaging several American infantry battalions along the way. The Americans choose survival over valor as they disengage the Germans and melt into the thick forest to the south of the road. One German battalion is hit with artillery fire and sustains minor casualties.
277th ID steadily makes their way west through thick forest, but the Hetzers must travel south towards 12th VG’s area of operations to find a way through the thick forest. They are fired on by a hidden engineer and infantry battalion as they probe for a path. The American units then slip deeper into the dense woods.
Further south, 12th VG makes little progress, having most of its Volk battalions shaken up by American counter-fire and accurate artillery strikes which cause the inexperienced Volks to flee. German artillery successfully softens up several of the enemy defensive positions, but the Germans are in no position to capitalize.
3rd FJ and the assault guns push hard to the west, capturing Lanzerath and Manzerfeld in the process. Several casualties to the paratroop battalions are sustained from an enemy 155mm artillery battalion which is spotted 2km to the west of Auw.

5th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

18th VG's northern front occupies Roth and works to surround an American infantry battalion to the southeast. However, the Americans are able to slip away. The southern front pushes on towards Bleialf which is currently under siege by units of 62nd VG. An American engineer battalion defends the village but flees before it can be surrounded.
Meanwhile, 116th Panzer pushes onwards toward St. Vith and captures the villages of Winterspelt and Elcherath along the way. The Panthers attempt to enter Steinebrüch and secure a bridge over the Our River, but are blocked by an enemy infantry battalion and trucks.
To the southwest, 560th VG successfully assaults and forces the American blocking force from their trenches after the enemy position is softened up by heavy artillery fire. The Americans retreat out of sight to the west.
The Panthers of 2nd Panzer use a smoke screen for cover and plow through a roadblock on the approach to Marnach, and are greeted by ineffective fire from a towed AT battalion. As artillery fire is called in, the rest of the division fans out and prepares to surround and take the village.
On 2nd Panzer's southern flank, units from 26th VG force the American infantry battalion from Hosingen and claim the village for Germany. Enemy armor makes its first appearance, as a company of enemy light tanks are spotted in the distance.

7th Armee - Operational Summary

A regiment of 5th FJ paratroops, with assistance from a infantry battalion of 26th VG, surrounds and forces the surrender of the American infantry battalion defending Weiler. Another regiment positioned south assists 352nd VG with surrounding the American infantry battalion defending Fouhren and force its surrender as well.
352nd VG’s battered southern regiment pulls back from Bettendorf and will await reinforcement.
To the east, units from 276th VG spy a American armor battalion south of Reisdorf. The third regiment to the east approaches Berdorf, which is defended by an American infantry battalion and towed AT gun battalion and was recently hammered by German artillery.
Tragically, a 7th Army engineer battalion sent by truck to assist the Volkgrenadiers was blasted by a roving M7 HMC battalion from considerable distance which caused moderate casualties to the unit.
Meanwhile, units from the 212th VG cross the Sauer river to the east through the newly captured village of Echternach and occupy Osweiler.



[center]116th Panzer closes in on a vital bridge![/center]

[Dumnorix]

Hallo Juggalo
Please take not screens here with incorrect bridge-graphic, take back the bases and the hight-option. This is not the optimal graphic to show others my mod !!!

H.Balck

[TAIL GUNNER]

ORIGINAL: Dumnorix

Hallo Juggalo
Please take not screens here with incorrect bridge-graphic, take back the bases and the hight-option. This is not the optimal graphic to show others my mod !!!

H.Balck

Yeah, I always forget to switch between winter and summer graphics between our two PBEM games.....my bad!

EDIT: Fixed.

[TAIL GUNNER]

December 16th, 10:00AM - 12:00PM

"To Be an Artilleryman"
Despite some minor setbacks occuring primarily among the Volk divisions, the German armored units begin to break through the thin lines and wreak havoc in the Allied's rear areas.

6th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

272nd VG continues to play cat and mouse with the Allied cavalry group near Konzen. The Allied units have withdrawn toward Monschau but the German's advance is continually thwarted by artillery strikes.
326th VG begins to secure the road to Hofen, and are assisted by 6th Army’s 253rd Engineer Battalion which destroys several M3A1 scout cars that are blocking the way. The Americans retreat to the southwest under cover of smoke.
Several kilometers south, 277th ID and the two dozen Hetzers make steady progress through thick woods towards Elsenborn Ridge. The southern prong of the German's advance engages an infantry and engineer battalion that are attempting delaying actions.
As the dispirited 12th VG’s infantry regiments rest and plan their next move, the division's engineers and six StuGs attempt to advance on the road to Bullingen, but yet again face stiff opposition and retreat. 150 Pz. Bde., which consists of a regiment of paratroopers and 12 old Panzer IIINs, is tasked to assist the beleaguered Volkgrenadiers.
3rd FJ and the assault guns claim the village of Auw, and with the help of 18th VG’s eleven Hetzers, the battalion of M1 155mm artillery and their tractors to west of Auw are annihilated.

5th Panzer Armee - Operational Summary

18th VG's infantry battalions are given orders to clear the Schnee Eifel woodlands of any American forces in a giant pincer attack. The German advance from the southern pincer is ambushed by a hidden American infantry battalion entrenched north of Sellerich and retreats after heavy losses.
62nd VG claims the village of Bleialf, recently vacated by an enemy Engineer battalion which retreats to the northwest. An American 105mm artillery battalion is spotted to the north, positioned near the village of Radscheid. The Hetzers wheel around to engage this new threat, and disable two guns with HE fire.
Meanwhile, 116th Panzer's armored units surround and capture an American infantry battalion blocking the route to Steinebrüch. 700 men are taken prisoner. The Panthers then take aim at a 155mm artillery battlion to the north of the village and disable two guns. West of the Our River near the village of Bracht, two more American artillery battalions are spotted. Panzer Ivs take aim and disable four of the big M1 155mm guns. To the south, the panzergrenadiers blow dozens of American trucks apart as they approach the village of Hackhalenfeld, where yet another American artillery battlion is present. The village of Liedenborn is also captured.
560th VG catches up to the infantry blocking force, and cause more casualties to the disrupted Americans which quickly flee. However, accurate artillery strikes hamper the German advance and cause some casualties.
After a heavy artillery pounding, the AT and infantry defenders of Marnach find themselves under fire from multiple units of 2nd Panzer, whose armored units storm the village and destroy the enemy's AT weapons, and cause the American infantry to retreat. The road to the vital city of Clervaux is almost open. However, a brash American self-propelled TD unit attacks the division's northern flank, destroying six StuGs and several recon vehicles before retreating back towards Heinerscheid.
26th VG pushes west and viciously attacks an American infantry battalion and the company of American light tanks. Eleven of the tiny M5A1s are destroyed by Panzerfaust and Hetzer fire. Also, a fleeing 105mm artillery battalion is ambushed by one of the Volk battlions, who are able to destroy 8 guns and their carriers. Enemy retalitory artillery strikes do cause some German casualties.

7th Armee - Operational Summary

5th FJ advances along three points, with a regiment and the engineers approaching the village of Hoshceid to the west, another regiment plus 30 StuGs approaches Brandenbourg to the southwest, while the final regiment moves south toward Bastendorf.
Most of 352nd VG heads south to assist their comrades near Bettendorf. The regiment already south of the main body cautiously enters the outskirts of the town.
Units from 276th VG move south while the third regiment to the west approaches an American AT battalion defending Berdorf. An enemy infantry battalion fled the village during artillery strikes, but the AT unit resists attack and repels the Volk regiment attempting to advance. A regiment from 212th VG as well as that division's 5 StuGs will assist. The small village of Dickweiler is also occupied.


[center]62nd VG's Hetzers strike fear among American arty crews![/center]