The plan
One could just start the game, fire the scenario, try whatever inspiration he has and pray. But this is the sort of game where you can spend even more time planning than playing, and this is the most rewarding way of playing it.
So this is what you see when you start the scenario :
Your forces consist of most of KG Peiper :
- one mechanised infantry bn
- one panzer bn (Panzer IV and V)
- a few support units (flak, engineer, para)
The rest of KG Peiper will arrive during the day (artillery, heavy tank bn with tiger II). On day one you will also see 1 SS Div HQ with KG Knittel (recon bn).
KG Sandig arrives on the second day, it is an infantry motorised regt, minus one bn which is with Peiper from the start.
Lastly, KG Hansen arrives on day four with its whole infantry motorised regt.
On the american side, nothing in sight except two small units in Stavelot right in front of our troops. Our attack caught them by surprise but reinforcements will rush from the west and the north the coming days.
The objective is quite simple : you start from the east and you have to exit a maximum of units from two exits objectives on the west (Werbomont) and north-west (Aywaille) of the map. Those objective have an "AE" beside them, meaning that the game will end with a decisive victory if I can exit enough units through them.
Other objectives includes taking important bridges and destroying the enemy, but all of these smaller objective are of much less value than the exit objective.
So my main idea will be to achieve decisive automatic victory via the exit objective. I can do that to Werbomont or Aywaille or both. I prefer Werbomont : not only is it shorter, but also enemy counter-attacks from the north will have a longer way to go and I can use the Amblève between me and them to slow them down. That is, if I come there first
Now, how to go to Werbomont ? The best road is Stavelot - Trois Ponts - Basse Bodeux - the bridge on the Lienne south of Chevron - Werbomont. A first problem is the US units in Stavelot. They cant blow the bridge because it is not primed, but I need time to setup an attack and repulse them out of the town. A second bigger problem is Trois Pont. There are two bridges there, and both are primed... Perhaps there will be no Americans, perhaps the explosive will misfire, but that's a lot of "perhaps". I need at least one other solution.
A first solution is to stay on the northern bank of l'Amblève, cross the bridge in Cheneux and go back to the main road. This is the historical move. Another solution is going south using this smaller bridge in Petit Halleux, then rejoin the main road in Basse-Bodeux. There should be less enemies there but the road is not that good.
One last problem is the primed bridge on la Lienne before Werbomont. I have to get there first if I want to have a chance ! If this bridge is blowned, I will have to use the one next to Bra in the south or going north to Aywaille.
Both cases will be very hard, so speed will be a key factor in this battle.
My first order : the mechanised inf bn will attack and secure Stavelot, while the panzer bn will split in half, one half will go directly to Trois Pont on the track south of l'Amblève and the other half will take the south road to secure the bridge in Halleux. Then I will see which road is open.
Now let's start the engines !
