| REVIEW OVERVIEW | |
| Scenario Rating | |
| SUMMARY A Twilight of the Reich scenario with lots of close in action, which is common for this module. Peyton gave it a 8/10 and I give it a 7/10. Either way we still had a blast. | 4 OVERALL SCORE |
SITREP
Given the long period of formation stateside, the men of the Century Division had been saddled with the unwanted reputation as a prade unit. Once the unit came ashore at Marseilles in October 1944, they quickly rewrote this narrative by being part of the first army since the first century BCE to cross the High Vosges Mountains of northeastern France, breaching the Winter Line and gaining access to the Rhine River plain and the German border. Eventually, the 100th Infantry Division would acquire a new sobriquet, “Sons of Bitche,” after capturing the heavily fortified town of Bitche, Germany in mid March 1945.
In April 1945, as a key element of Lt. General Jacob L. Devers’ 6th Army Group, the soldiers of 100th Division would be tasked with capturing the 700-year-old Swabian city of Heilbronn, a key industrial and railroad center. Although much of the strategic value of the area had been reduced through a devastating Allied bombing campaign, a variety of retreating German formations now collected themselves in Heilbronn to make a last stand on home ground. Key among these survivors were units from the elite SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 17 “Götz von Berlichingen,” whom American forces had been battling since June. A hodgepodge of other defenders in the city included engineer battalions, training regiments, sailors, and veterans of the Afrika Korps.
Under the command of Major General Withers A Burress, a Virginia Military Institute graduate with a reputation for achieving his assigned objectives without needlessly risking the lives of his men, the assault on the devastated city would not be an easy feat. One GI of 100th Division’s 399th Regiment eventually characterized the nature of the combat for control of Heilbronn as one of “house-to-house, room-to-room, over dead Krauts, through rubbish, under barbed wire, over fences, in the windows, and out the doors, sweating, cussing, firing, throwing grenades, charging into blazing houses, shooting through floors and closet doors.”
The Players
Germans (Brandon):
Grenadier-Regiment 689, Volksgrenadier-Division 246 and Grenadier-Regiment 223, Volsgrenadier-Division 16 with Grenadier- Regiment 1121, Volksgrenadier-Division 553, Kampfgruppe Bodendörfer
Americans (Peyton):
Companies A and B, 1st Battalion, 397th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division and Company C, 781st Tank Battalion and Company B, 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion
After Action Report
Taking a break from the east front and our Red Barricades campaign to try out a new Twilight of the Reich scenario. We picked this scenario because it was one of the few western front scenarios of the module and it had a nice combined arms OB’s. It was also small enough to fit on our table, which we were both ready to play some table top ASL after playing on VASL for the past few months.
The scenario started as most do in Twilight of the Reich, with rubble/debris generation. Then we used our weapons and fortifications points to purchase extra support weapons and concealment markers for our squads. The Americans purchased an extra bazooka 45 and MMG. The Germans purchased a flamethrower and some extra LMG’s.
The Germans attacked from off board with 2 assault guns, 2 Panzer IV’s and an over whelming amount of infantry all split into two groups. The Americans have to hold 3 objectives on the map worth various victory points. The factories in the south, a small road segment in the center of the map and St. Kilian’s church just north of the road segment. Extra victory points are also awarded for each AFV destroyed and CVP not including prisoners.
The Americans had to hold out until turn 3 of the 7 turn scenario to receive their large reinforcement group offboard, which included 3 Sherman tanks, 1 M18 tank destroyer, and several elite and first line squads.
With just two squads and a leader to defend the 5 factory buildings, the American defenders which were quickly surrounded and overrun by the first German assault group. The second German group moved in quickly to surround the church and main road which was defended by a much larger force with heavier weapons. The leading Stug assault gun was ambushed by a HIP American half squad with a bazooka in the upper floor of a flanking building. The shot landed and instantly knocked out the vehicle, but the back blast eliminated the half squad.
The remaining Panzer IV used its smoke dispenser to give cover the German second line and Volksgrenadier squads, which moved into bloody melee combat knowing that numbers and momentum were, for the moment, on their side. An assaulting second line squad equipped with a flamethrower went berserk under American machine gun fire resulting in it charging, being reduced to a half squad, then with a triple point blank flamethrower shot eliminate the MG. Two full defending squads were cut off and forced to surrender. The church was taken and the defenders routed.
The American reinforcements arrived one turn too late. The M18 hellcat tank destroyer rolled head on from off map and was instantly destroyed from an ambushing Panzer IV. The only Sherman “Easy Eight” took a more cautious route flanking the remaining Panzer IV at the church, but a well aimed panzerfaust from the supporting infantry set it ablaze. With that my opponent surrendered and the Germans claimed victory at Heilbronn.
We were a little confused as to how the Americans were expected to hold for the required 3 turns with such overwhelming German forces, which makes it more unbelievable that they were able to in the actual historical battle!
Good game to my opponent. It was nice to get ASL back on the table top with the new module!
GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!! 
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