| |
"Ignore the 'Nuts' in Bastogne."
| German 21 AM Comments |
Allied 21 AM Comments |
 The
Germans make a critical decision and decide to bypass Bastogne! The key
factor that made me choose this course of action is that I believe I'm
on track to get the 48 US units eliminated victory shift without having
to kill the 4 US units in Bastogne. During combat, I killed three US
units and surround 2 more; the US dead pile now is stacked 25 high.
Unfortunately, I lost my first mech unit. Get this: I rolled a 1-1
"Attacker retreat" (1/6) chance and couldn't overstack in one
of my retreat hexes! Oh, well, I should have planned better as I could
have avoided this by sequencing my battles differently. (I would have
advanced Dietrich who would have then ordered a standfast!)
|
 I
think Randy is selling the Allies a bit short. The Ourthe isn't breached
yet, and I'm confident that the Meuse will be blocked by Brits before
the Germans get there. OTOH, the losses continue to mount. It's true
that Marche will not be well garrisoned, assuming that I get to build a
fort there this next turn (21PM). That's open to question, as the
defense is pretty close to Marche and an advance may reach an adjacent
hex, blocking the fort. However, if the Allies can slow the losses,
later in the game their offensive capability will grow with air power.
Then the Germans must concern themselves with holding Marche, if
Bastogne has not been taken. |
Turn Navigator: [ December 16 AM ] [ December 16 PM ] [ December 17 AM ] [ December 17 PM ] [ December 18 AM ] [ December 18 PM ] [ December 19 AM ] [ December 19 PM ] [ December 20 AM ] [ December 20 PM ] [ December 21 AM ] [ December 21 PM ] [ December 22 AM ] [ December 22 PM ] [ December 23 AM ] [ December 23 PM ] [ December 24 AM ] [ December 26 AM ]
German Combat Notes:
Moderator Comments:
Post German 21AM Comments - Tom has to capture Bastogne or Marche to
satisfy the campaign game victory conditions. Perhaps he has made the wiser
choice to avoid Bastogne and count on a weaker defense at Marche. At this point,
it looks likely to be the case. As I predicted, John had to give up his mobile
reserve and throw U.S. 3rd Armor into the line as separate Combat Commands, the
result being that one of the units is already reduced. A critical question now
rears its head. Will the Germans be able to beat the Brits to the Meuse River
crossings? It's hard to tell at this time. The Ourthe River line will be
breached next turn and Allied losses continue to mount. It looks ominous for the
Western Alliance.
Post Allied 21AM Comments - Chuckle... Well, at least I can't be accused
of showing favoritism to a personal friend in my GM commentary. John did make a
nice counterattack at Ouffet that added strength to his Ourthe River line
defense. However, I still maintain the line will be breached easily by the
Germans next turn. Tom has been playing the campaign game differently than I do
by focusing on destroying the defending Allied Army, while I focus on capturing
territory. In this instance, Tom is doing better than I am in my campaign game
against John. Subjectively, I won't confess that Tom's is the better strategy at
this time. Tom bypassed Bastogne, while I took the time to take it out (four or
five consecutive turns of direct assault). Again, it is too early to say what
the ramification(s) of the big bypass will be.
|
