THE   BATTLE  OF  ARRACOURT

Situations 28-4-(1-3)

by Alan R. Arvold

	The Battle of Arracourt is considered by many historians to showcase American armored operations at their best during World War Two. Yet I have wondered over the years why this action was not included as a scenario in the PANZER LEADER game. My research showed that the battle lasted four days, during three of which, major combat occurred. While therefore too big to be put in the group of scenarios that came in the game, I felt that the Battle of Arracourt could be presented in the three-scenario format presented in this article.

	In September 1944, in the area around the city of Nancy in Northeastern France, spearheads of the U.S. 4th Armored Division under Patton's Third Army were beginning their envelopment of the German forces entrenched in that city. The northern pincer of this envelopment was CCA of the 4th Armored Division. As this force pushed deeper into the enemy rear areas, the Germans began organizing a counterattack to blunt the American drive and reinforce their own troops in Nancy. The situation was critical for the Germans, as the American offensive had torn a gap  between the German I st and 19th Armies which, if exploited by the Americans, would give them a clear path to the Rhine. The Germans assembled an armored forcedesignated the 5th Panzer Army which was composed of various depleted units such as the 11th and 21st Panzer Divisions, the 13th and 15th Panzergrenadier,  Divisions and three freshly raised Panzer Brigades; the 111th, the 112th, and the 113th. While this force was potentially very strong (it had over 350 tanks), it was divided between two different army commands, and because of disrupted communication and transportation lines, could not be committed en masse.
	The Americans, meanwhile, were not without problems of their own. As their forces drove deep into the German rear, the Americans were suffering increasing difficulties with ever-lengthening supply lines. In addition, they lacked the reserves necessary to exploit the breach they had made in the German lines. They had to make do with the forces available and push them on to the limits of their endurance. By 14 September, CCA, 4th Armored had captured Arracourt, and pushed on east of the town to consolidate their position; it would be five days before their trailing units would catch up with them.
	On the morning of 19 September 1944, CCA 4th Armored Division was scattered about the Arracourt area in small company-sized defensive positions, awaiting the arrival of those trailing units, which were off to the west at the Moselle River, pushing back a German counter-
attack which had temporarily cut off CCA from friendly lines. The German 5th Panzer Army had allotted the 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades to attack CCA that morning, but the 111th was held up and would not reach the area until late afternoon. Only the 113th would be in its attack position that morning. The stage was was set for the Battle of Arracourt.
	The three scenarios presented here are the main engagements that occurred at Arracourt. As one will see in all of these scenarios,  here are two board "Ds" in the mapboard layouts. This requires a second PANZER LEADER game for the scenarios. A second game would also be useful should you wish to avoid using substitute counters for those scenarios which call for them to "fill out" the OBs.

NOTES:
	Situation 28-4/1: On the morning of 19 September, leading elements of the 113th Panzer Brigade hit the forward outpost line of CCA 4th Armored located in and around Lezey, a town three miles northeast of Arracourt. The first assault failed; one tank company of the 37th Armored Battalion fought a running battle with the Germans as they tried to flank the outpost line to the south. One German thrust which did succeed was stopped by a tank destroyer platoon just west of Arracourt. The rest of CCA finally arrived, caught the last German attack of the day on its flank and pushed them back. By day's end, CCA had reduced the 113th to a third of its former strength.
	Situation 28-4/2: On the morning of the next day, CCA started to move northeast in order to bypass the German panzers and continue their own advance. Meanwhile, a German tank probe consisting of eight Panthers approached Arracourt from the southeast. It ran into the U.S. 191st Artillery Battalion which, with the help of a few friendly tanks obliterated the Panthers. But
the enemy armor presence forced the recall of the rest of CCA to return and secure once again the area where they had fought just the day before. The Germans used this time to bring up the 1lth Panzer Brigade to defend the area west of Ommerey, and when the Americans attacked towards Ornmerey, another fierce tank battle broke out. In this battle, the commanders of both forces fought in the front lines in their tanks rather then commanding their units from behind their own lines. As dusk fell the Americans, fearing a counterattack, made a sweep through the town of Moncourt, clearing it and destroying a German infantry battalion in the process. The
Americans then pulled back for the night.
	Situation 28-4/3: On the morning of the 21st the Americans again swept through the battlefield of the two previous days, but this time found nothing. The Germans had pulled back further east to regroup for an attack on the 22nd, which attack was delayed until about noon of that day. The attackers were a battlegroup consisting of the remnants of the 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades. Once again, they attempted to flank the forward elements of CCA, this time going around the Americans to the north. Although they destroyed the light tank units that were screening the northern approaches, they were held up at the town of Juvelize by a tank destroyer platoon. Meanwhile the rest of CCA assembled and counterattacked from the south, aided by fighter bombers. The Germans were pushed all the way back to their starting positions by nightfall.

AFTERMATH:
	During the night of the 22nd, the Americans reinforced their positions east of Arracourt and for the first time in days had a solid line of defense. For the next week there were more German counterattacks in the area around Arracourt, but these were by other depleted units of the 5th Panzer Army and none succeeded. In early October, CCA was withdrawn for a well deserved rest and refit period before its next campaign. During this same period, the German 5th Panzer Army was also withdrawn to prepare for the upcoming Ardennes Offensive. By the end of September, the Germans sealed the gap created in their lines by CCA. While it is generally believed that Germans arms succeeded in stopping CCA, it was in fact a lack of fuel that kept the Americans from exploiting the gap.
	PANZER LEADER has been a popular game since its introduction back in 1974. It continues to offer the wargamer a highly playable tactical simulation of armored warfare on the Western Front without the high complexity of ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER. It is my hope that these three new scenarios will add to the continuing enjoyment of this game.

The Panzer Leader at Arracourt
(Part 1)
Situation 28-4/1-Lezey: 
The Germans Attack

By Steven B. Wheeler

	Alan Arvold is to be congratulated for hismasterful creation of the three Arracourt situations (The GENERAL, Vol. 28-4). The trouble is, I can't figure out if he's a wizard, or a warlock. This trio of scenarios is, by turns, spellbinding and bedeviling. Sure, the panzer leader has powerful battlegroups with which he can deal hard blows, but he also has serious handicaps which make him vulnerable to the stout American forces  who  often pull victory from his grasp just as he clenches his fingers. Looking for action? Get out your set and devote a few hours to the battles of Arracourt.
	PZL enthusiasts may recall my past efforts to present solutions for a number of the  standard situations. Mr. Arvold's work inspired me to try solving these three new scenarios. While you discover how successful my efforts may be, remember that the situations are described with all  optional  and  experimental  rules  in effect. This is also true of the revised artillery miges from Carl Schwamberger's article, "The King of Battle: Artillery in the PANZERBLITZ Series" (The GENERAL, Vol. 25-3).

The German Strategy
	If you are one of those people who is predisposed toward playing the German side in a PZL situation, any time you see forty hard hitting Panther tanks in your order of battle, your pupils start to dilate. Come on, admit it! And then you look at the American starting forces and man, you can't wait to assemble your kampfgruppe. Just look at those puny Americans spread out all over the place!
	You could have a hard time deciding which group to chew up first, because you've got enough striking power to deal with anything the enemy has, and then some! Should you go after the US artillery with their pathetic screen of Stuarts, or race up to Grancelles and decimate the weak city garrison, or just steamroller the enemy tank company? Decisions, decisions; just like a cat in a fish market.
	Whichever course you choose, you should rule...at least during the first four turns. But around that time, the American reinforcements begin showing up in strength and cat, you'd better watch out for your tail.
	There's something about a long situation. The time element lends each player just that many more opportunities to regroup and launch a counterattack or take advantage of a bungle, or make one. Having grown up on the original scenarios, I've found myself somehow out of shape for the comparative marathon courses Mr. Arvold seems used to.
	There's also something about a situation that includes reinforcements. Things are going great and then the enemywhom you had backed into a comercomes out swinging with redoubled strength; you can wind up on the ropes. I've come to wonder why none of the original PZL situations incorporated reinforcements. But having suffered a number of unpleasant reversals thanks to Mr. Arvold's craft, I find myself almost longing for the standard "what-you-see-is-what-you-get."
	I say "almost" because I have come to appreciate Lezey as a true graduate course in PZL. It has offense, it has defense, it has special missions,  strong forces,  weak forces, forces which go from strong to weak and vice-versa, and it has all of that time. Buddy, as they say in the fight game, "Let's get ready to rumble!"
	Before you plunge your Panthers into an irresistible attack though, you'd better sit down and think strategy first, then tactics. In case your dilated eyes missed it as you gleefully rounded up your forces, the victory conditions are hardly a piece of cake. You see, it doesn't matter how many hapless GIs you pulverize. The only thing that counts is whether or not you can hold open an east-west road for twenty, make that TWENTY, turns. And your opponent has the last move. Have you noticed where your reinforcements enter the field? If you said, "Anywhere along the east edge," go soak your head. You are not awake enough to face a capable American combat commander. On turn six, your second wind arrives anywhere along the south edge of the board.
	Now you have to ask yourself a question: "Will two dozen MkIVs and a company of infantry with two batteries of 88s in tow be able to slug their way across two boards if you happen to have attacked in the north?" I'll give you a minute to ponder that.
	Well, I'd be the last panzer leader to suggest that you completely rule out a good opening move, and there are a number of reasons why you might want to start off hitting the north board. We'll even look at those reasons. But at some point, you have got to link up your forces because, by the time your medium tanks arrive, you are going to need every one of them.
	Have a look at the battle field. Let's try to determine which seems like the most defensible east-west road. The northern and southern routes are pretty similar, since they are the same map board. So you might be justified in viewing them as evenly defensible, except for the fact that the northern route provides the enemy more cover in approaching it. Quick Americans can sneak up on northern Artain, but they cannot do likewise against the southern one. The only problem with the southern route is that American reinforcements can enter right there at Merden. Just try dislodging two companies of mechanized GIs without the aid of artillery and see how successful you are.
	But what about the central board? Well, it's fine, if you happen to enjoy leaving your rear area open to counterattack and infiltration because all of your strength is tied up in a vicious city brawl. Like I said before, this scenario's victory conditions are enough to give any panzer leader a severe headache. If only you could earn points for killing enemy units and/or holding open a road!

	Let's return to the map and inspect the enemy starting positions. Wouldn't it be great to bag the US self-propelled artillery? Just the thought of shooting them to pieces with some well-placed 75mm shells is enough to warm a panzer leader's heart (provided, of course, that you don't suffer horrid losses from the 105s in the process). Still, bagging the enemy guns would do a whole lot to improve your chances for victory. Moreover, the only units in the way are those little toy tanks with the ludicrous 37mm guns. Let's say you rip up the southern route, intent on trapping the US guns without which the GIs become merely further victims to massed tank HE salvoes and infantry close assaults. It is true that a southern blitzkrieg can yield a very good chance of encircling the Stuarts in southern Artain and eliminating them. You might even have the good fortune of catching some of the US self-propelled guns. But to do this, you must split your forces.
	Should you split your battlegroup? The answer is a conditional Yes. The primary reason is that your forces are strong enough to clobber the weaker enemy dispositions without too much danger of taking unacceptable casualties. The condition is that you make the right kind of split. Send four Panther units with four infantry platoons riding their decks against the Stuarts in a frontal attack while the rest of your tanks advance past Sambleu to threaten Grancelles and deprive the Stuarts of an early reunion with their buddies. The Stuarts will necessarily be well in front of the American artillery, probably occupying all hexes of southern Artain to deny you first turn access to the bridge. You should be so lucky as to face an opponent who places his light tanks in any positions which enable you to roll over that bridge on the first turn. If you have such luck, you will promptly sweep onto the Merden ridge on turn two in force and possibly catch this opponent's guns either in place or displacing. Happy hunting.
	Stuarts in Artain force you to deploy your tanks around the town in such a way as to insure the enemy does not merely stop on the bridge to further delay your crossing of the river. Upon advancing over the ridge, gain Nece on the second turn as your main tank body assiduously avoids Grancelles to occupy the hill behind Nece. This puts you in command of the central area of the field, including the northern road into Grancelles. In one stroke, you deny the enemy quick access into the city. This also makes impossible rapid reinforcement of Merden, effectively cuts off the Stuarts' escape, and bags any other units your opponent may have recklessly pushed into Nece. But best of all, you are nearly in command of the entire southern eastwest route with minimal casualties, if any.
	The first time you use this blitzkrieg strategy, be prepared to tangle with the US artillery when you reach the Merden ridge. This means: Do not poke two lonely Panther platoons up there. At least four will be needed to survive the American's salvo and return fire.
	However, an experienced combat commander will not let his artillery be caught. Such an opponent will begin displacing his guns as soon as your panzers are reported heading past Sambleu. By the time you can occupy the Merden ridge against this customer, he'll have his M7s on their way to safety and you will have to be content with capture of the ridge, Nece and whatever remains of its defenders.
	By turn four, you should have six or seven of the Panther units overlooking Merden, if not actually in the town or adjacent to it. With them should be the tankmounted infantry and possibly the truck-mounted landser as well. That depends upon what Americans remained in the Nece area. The rest of the heavy tanks still occupy the hill between Nece and the ridge to command the forward edge of Grancelles and make sure nothing comes through Kuhn. This is also an excellent observation point from which to spot enemy units moving anywhere to the north. But just as you are getting set, along come the enemy reinforcements, Woe to you if you simply park your panzers along the ridge east of Merden. The American infantry then enters on foot, double timing to the edge of the woods, 

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"So what is the real opportunity offered by the initial American
dispositions? Well, aside from getting lucky due to an opponent's
screw-ups, your most consistent shot at winning Lezey is to roll into
Grancelles and blast the city defenders with concentrated panzer fire
and massed infantry assaults. Sure, it's a meat grinder approach,
but it worked for Ulysses S. Grant."
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and you will probably never get rid of them. And while you try to shell them enough to enable the landser to knock them out with close assaults, the US guns are sure to rake your troops. Meanwhile, the US armor concentrates to challenge the panzers to long-range duels or even launches a counterattack from Grancelles.
	You could try stationing panzers and infantry in Merden and along the western end of the
woods, but then the US doughs simply close assault as they enter and you are still in a fix. If you don't believe me, try securing the southern route while US howitzers and infantry chew your troops up and his tanks keep yours engaged. Given that an experienced opponent will not let his artillery become Panther meat, the best you can hope for with a southern blitz is trapping the light tanks. Doesn't it seem a shame to waste so much striking power on such a puny target? How much more satisfying to thunder
into northern Merden, shrug off the American ordnance, pursue the enemy tanks, catch them and deal some hard licks from which they will not recover.
	But then, the enemy just might get in some lucky shots before they escape over the hill and knock off a platoon of your best tanks. Enraged, you charge after them to find they have stopped
on the reverse slope where they once again destroy one of your platoons with massed fire at
point blank range. You cleverly engage them at two-to-one odds to give yourself a chance to disrupt them all as they attempt to withdraw through the woods to Nece. You probably do pin most of them, and in the following turn you annihilate one or two of the stricken enemy and leave enough Panthers there to finish the job. By the time all of the targets are destroyed, you are closing in on Grancelles. In fact, you are in range and have probably taken fire from his tank destroyers. This may cause you to hold up in Caverge, because you have already lost two of your best units and you know the American reinforcements are arriving.
	Avoiding Grancelles, you push on to take northern Artain and secure the northern route, but what happens after that? Pretty soon, the Americans get their infantry into woods and behind the high ground southwest of the village. The doughs sit tight until your landser attack and they and their artillery pals start in. Before long, you begin losing troops at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, your own reinforcements have arrived on the southern board and have made a wide detour to avoid getting mauled by the superior American tanks. Finally, with most of your combat units grappling in a death match to open one of the routes out of northern Artain, the enemy scout cars and Stuarts infiltrate to cut the road at the last moment and you can do nothing about it. That's one sad end to a lot of bitter fighting. The northern power trip yields just what every power tripper should get: nothing,
	So what is the real opportunity offered by the initial American dispositions? Well, aside from
getting lucky due to an opponent's screw-ups, your most consistent shot at winning Lezey is to roll into Grancelles and blast the city defenders with concentrated panzer fire and massed infantry assaults. Sure, it's a meat grinder approach, but it worked for Ulysses S. Grant. With a full battalion of Panther tanks trying their utmost to destroy him, you can bet the enemy is shaking. And a shaken enemy is one
who is prone to making mistakes. For example, it is the middle of turn four and you are clawing the stuffing out of the original defenders who are crammed into the eastern hexes of the city. The enemy reinforcements arrive, but they cannot properly deploy because of the congestion and confusion. Your troops are concentrated, in control, poised to make another heavy blow. The enemy is off balance, lacks coordination and makes a mistake by sending a stack into the wrong hex. Your cannon engage, the landser shift and close assault and the enemy is seriously weakened, possibly crippled. And it can easily happen if you are purposefully aggressive.
	What is it that finally makes an all-out attack on Grancelles the best of three rugged options? It is a combination of factors. First, there is no way that you can catch the American self-propelled guns. If you do start to get close in the early going, the combat commander moves them out of harm's way. This means that they will be around to fire on you just when your infantry has to do their job. And you
lack heavy guns which can soften up the heavy US infantry. But, you do have ample panzer cannon who can take on that role as long as the enemy infantry is in a hard target such as a city hex. Furthermore, the US howitzers can attack your landser at only half strength in city hexes. Grancelles offers you as level a playing field for your infantry as you can get in this situation.  And make  no mistake  about it,  your infantry are the final key to winning this contest.  Do  not  throw  away  a  single  platoon. Unlike U.S. Grant, you have to be much more conservative with your troops.
	But let's get back to where you're seriously crippling the enemy. By turn four, you will have them backed up to the western-most hexes in Grancelles. If you only had one more turn without interruption, the city would be yours and probably ultimate victory. But the US reinforcements manage to roll in together with the tanks from the north board which were made to detour through Artain. And they bring along two full companies of armored infantry. Those nine and ten point defense factors make for some tough stacks to kill, but you should have at least nine Panther platoons left, so you have enough fire power to keep the enemy hard pressedas long as you are careful. Having said that, let me also point out that no WWII panzer leader relished the prospect of a city fight. Just one man with a bazooka firing from a window could pick off a leading tank and stall a column where several more
could be lost while trying to locate the enemy or back out of danger. In the game, an exposed stack of four Panther platoons can be suddenly disrupted by a stack of engineer-led infantry. So let's illustrate being careful as not letting one stack of infantry or panzers get caught out on their own.
	You cannot let the defenders engage a single stack with most of their armor and then close
assault it with an engineer bonus. If that happens to two stacks of anything, in any mix, you will not win this game. Keep your attacks coordinated and concentrated to force the enemy to spread his firepower. Fix it so you can gang up on him, not vice-versa.
	One little technique I have used to good effect (when I want to prevent a stack from becoming surrounded) is to force the enemy to clear the adjacent hex with fire before he can move in infantry. There is always a chance that he may fail to clear the hex by rolling a 5 or 6. But which unit do you sacrifice? How about an extra truck counter? If you are a stickler for historicity, it can be argued that this simulates snipers. It is legal and it does give you a chance of keeping the enemy from jumping your troops from at least one side. Trucks, of which you have plenty in this situation, are also useful in
screening panzer stacks from a sudden close assault. This is particularly handy in cases where the enemy cannot engage the trucks with fire to clear the way for the infantry.
	Okay, so by now it is turn seven and the American is bringing his full weight to bear. You may take some losses and have an important stack disrupted; it's gut-check time. You have to decide if it's best to stand in there and hope to weather the storm, or pull back. If you can get the fresh MkIVs into position to disrupt enough of the enemy who has your men in trouble, then you should probably hang tough. You may be surprised how much hammering a good strong sack can take and still pull through. A little later, when it looks like you are going to lose some vital units if you continue to stay the course and you have the chance to pull out most or all of your forces, maybe even sacrificing a disrupted Panther unit...well, it may be time to regroup. It might just be the cagiest move you can make. Picture it. You've meted out some hard licks and now you're pulling back after taking some losses, but not as many as the enemy. He sees you move out and he's hurting. Determined on pay-back, he advances to land a wicked parting shot. But you've kept your panzers together inside of half range and you nail him, but good. Friends, this can be a game winner. Even if your opponent does not expose his troops to a ruinous blow, you can still retain the initiative by striking with your re-concentrated forces from a different angle, or in a different quarter altogether. This strategy is familiar to chess players who know the value of controlling the center of the board.
	It is quite possible that your having struck with all of your might in the center has caused the enemy to largely neglect his flanks to grapple with your schwerpunkt. You might even get a game where the opposition fails to outpost southern Merden at all. This foolishness virtually hands you the southern route on a silver platter as your reinforcements storm onto the board from the south and make quick work out of securing the Merden area. Just keep in mind that even a single company of armored infantry can make life miserable for you if they happen to disrupt one of your stacks when they enter. And this  clearly  demonstrates  why  you  cannot blithely lose any of your infantry. You will need at least five rifle platoons on hand to subdue one company of armored GIs.
	Maybe it's better to let your opponent think you have no interest whatsoever in the southern
route as you are totally committed to the city fight. Heh, heh, heh...what a sucker! After he enters all of his reinforcements into the Grancelles battle, you pull back and flood through Merden to capture the south route. Now he's got to try running the gauntlet of your long range Panthers to dispute Merden. Unfortunately, a veteran combat commander may call for smoke screens that will ensure his troops reach Merden. He can even do so during the final turn of the game. Yes, while your 88's dominate the wide-open terrain on the eastern half of the field from infiltration (assuming the enemy does not sneak an observer into spotting range and pick them off with pinpoint 105 barrages), and while you keep enough force in the Nece vicinity to keep that secure, and your Panthers and infantry move around to avoid the US guns and keep the enemy tanks at bay, he can always sneak in to steal the show.
	Aside from cunningly outwitting the opponent in Lezey, or taking advantage of a serious mistake, and not making any yourself, the best strategy for you to adopt is to try to hurt the enemy so badly that he cannot mount any late game heroics to challenge your hold on the southern route. Obviously, you'd love to kill all of his Stuarts and scout cars so they won't be around on the last turn. That's a tall order, but so is making it through Grancelles and punching out his artillery. No. Your best shot is to so weaken the enemy so that he cannot contest your hold on the south road. That requires you to conserve enough of your troops that you can properly guard it once you've got it. And keep in
mind the value of panzerblitz assault. The game could turn on eliminating a stack of US infantry in the open and this tactic can get the job done in a most satisfying manner.
	Unfortunately for the German player in Lezey, I've seen the US forces so shot up that they were down below fifty percent, and yet they still denied German victory by a last-turn scramble up to a road hex. While Lezey is a lot of fun to play, it is anything but a push-over for the panzer leader.

The American Strategy
	The American player in Lezey must be adept at role-reversals, must be fast on his feet and must be willing to exchange heavy blows. Slow thinking and timidity will lose you this game. To win, you need brains and guts. Starting off with a thin screen of units covering the width of the battlefield means only one thing if you want to survive into the later turns: You must be prepared to delay the enemy and risk no units without good reason. Move the guns. The best place for them is behind the woods northwest of Grancelles where they can only be spotted by enemy units on the hilltops overlooking
the city. They cannot be engaged from those hilltops, however, but they can be brought under heavy mortar fire which could knock off a lone battery. That is, provided the Krauts get their big 120mm tubes within range. If you see these moving up, it may be time to relocate the howitzers again.
	Not risking units without cause does not apply to blocking the southern road with one or both of the engineers arriving on the first turn. If the enemy is trying to swamp the southern route straight off, a single platoon roadblock will gain crucial time. He may feel the need to keep some units back to deal with this thorn in his rear just when he'll need everything he's got to guard the Merden area against your fourth turn reinforcements.
	Speaking of the southern route, I cannot recommend too strongly the tactic of keeping one engineer in the woods south of Merden. These guys can eventually link up with armored infantry to give that extra potency to their close assaults. Be sure to post these engineers early in the game, because it may be tough getting them into the area later on. Luckily, you have sufficient engineer platoons on hand to allow one to mark time in the Merden vicinity.
	Another engineer special mission that must happen on turn one is sending a platoon to the northern Artain bridge and ready it for demolition. Neutralizing this bridge instantly limits the enemy to two east-west routes and secures the northern flank, sheltering your artillery. You may never have to drop the bridge, though. Just having it prepared and the engineer on hand ready to twist the detonator handle is usually enough to dissuade a German move in that direction. And the best part of this mission is, it almost always can be accomplished before the Krauts are able to interfere. The only way the
Germans can get back to that bridge in time to prevent demolition is if they are determined to
secure the northern route. And against such a thrust, you have the winning hand every time. Just remember not to move the engineers away until it is certain there is no longer any danger of the Germans making a successful try at the northern route. If it develops that you desperately need these specialists elsewhere, blow the bridge before they leave.
	There is a second bridge to prepare for a letdown. The northernmost one in Grancelles allows the most rapid transit through the city. If the enemy tries for either flank and gets stymied, he may attempt to switch to the opposite flank. Demolishing this span will force him to fight his way through Grancelles, where you can be waiting for him. He will not be able to simply overpower the northern hexes and sweep on through. Instead, your troops can grind him up until his time or ability runs out. Of course, you will not have time to demolish any Grancelles bridges if your opponent elects
	Keeping a foothold in Grancelles for your fourth turn reinforcements is crucial. Use your trucks to delay the German advance. Try to conserve all of your engineers and machine gun units, not to mention the invaluable Hellcats.
	A prime factor in your ability to weather an all-out German assault in the center is a meticulous set-up. On the southern board, put one Stuart in each of the Artain hexes where they deny early access to the bridge. In that way, they buy time for the howitzers to displace. Put the M7 self-propelled guns together in Merden where they can motor behind Grancelles. On the Northern board, group your tanks on the forward slopes of the ridge above the village. From there they can engage panzers entering the town and interdict enemy convoys trying to move into Caverge.
	On the central board, the worst thing you can do is leave Sambleu unguarded. An unguarded
Sambleu allows the Germans to nimble up to Grancelles on the first turn and stand ready to pulverize the forward hexes en masse on the second turn. In addition, once on the verge of the city they command the roads into town from Caverge and Nece.
	The next worst thing you can do in Sambleu is put Hellcats in an exposed position. Sticking your Hellcats in Sambleu almost assuredly means you will lose them to a blitzkrieg. While the Panthers may ignore a scout car and a truck in Sambleu, they will not be so cavalier with one of your best anti-armor units. Keep the Hellcats in the northern hex of east Grancelles. From there, they might pick off a Panther, or at least disrupt one, maybe even two, before pulling back across the river.
	Do not lose so much as a truck in east Grancelles. Just pull back behind cover onto the bridges until the enemy enters town, then be ready to haul out again. Once the Germans get full stacks of panzers and infantry into the eastern hexes, though, you may have to start sacrificing trucks. Let the krauts shoot up some excess transport, and maybe roll a 5 or 6 and have to attack with infantry. Better to spend a truck or two than lose combat units you will need in the imminent street fighting. Now on turn 2, jab again with both Hellcats, then move them back out of danger. Chances are, these guys will be the only armor you'll have until the Stuarts arrive (if they ever do).
	In his first turn advance, the enemy has no need to expose his forces to tank fire from the Merden ridge. This means your armor can displace to the limit of their movement allowance. But that only places them in the Nece vicinity, so that turn two presents the options of rolling into Caverge, or keep on west to gain Grancelles by the back door. Do not hazard these tanks in a precipitate duel with the Panthers unless you want to lose the game. Just accept the fact that you are not strong enough to challenge the big boys until you get a lot more help. If you make this decision as you move them in turn one, you can be a couple of hexes closer to Grancelles, and that can make a significant impact on the game.
	By turn four, you are barely hanging onto western Grancelles. The circumstances may even be desperate, but do not fail to orenare for two infantry companies. You cannot afford to delay these troops due to carelessly jamming key hexes to the stacking limit or not paying attention to the rule that vehicles move first. Even in the face of the enemy's savage attack, you must be precise in your dispositions of the tanks and other vehicles so that the infantry can get into town in the right hexes, hopefully where they can be joined by surviving engineers. Turn four deployment is pivotal.
	Once you have the troops on the board, resist the urge to wade in piecemeal. If you have to lose a machinegun unit and hazard a tank platoon to shield your gathering strength, do so, but
carefully. Spare no effort to bring the artillery into play. If you expect the next turn may leave them without spotted targets, plan unobserved fire missions. (Use the experimental rule discussed in "Fighting the Panzer Leader: The Battles of the Bulge"The General, Vol. 24-2. For your convenience, the rule has been reprinted below in shorter form.) An unobserved barrage might disrupt a stack of Krauts in east Grancelles who would otherwise bore in for an injurious attack. Also, get spotters into woods hexes around the city. For example, on turn seven, you could set up the 81mm mortars in the woods south of Caverge. From there they can call in missions and might spot long-range 88's that try to set up on high ground around Nece.
	Stay focused on the fourth turn reinforcements for another moment. Although one less platoon of doughs in Grancelles is not likely to mean disaster or victory, do not fail to send an infantry platoon into Merden to link up with the engineers you posted there at the start of the game. Get the GIs there now, before the sixth turn and keep them there as long as there is a threat to the southern route. This infantry-engineer team might just win the game for you.
	Would it be a surprise to hear that the battle for Grancelles is more important to the enemy than it is to you? This happens to be correct. The Germans must grind up enough of your troops so that they either break through to your artillery, or simply eliminate your ability to counterattack. For this reason, you find yourself walking a tightrope to avoid falling into the abyss of losing too many units, but being aggressive enough to knock off sufficient enemy units to persuade him that taking Grancelles is not his road to victory. Never recklessly hazard a stack of armor without a strong stack of infantry and engineers at hand to keep the tankers out of serious trouble. Keep your stacks strong so they can absorb fire, but never allow the enemy to concentrate his panzers against any one stack, unless you want to lose it. Force him to dilute his firepower. In fact, there may come a time where one of your best stacks is disrupted and the only way you can save it is to push forward two more stacks which threaten to disnipt the panzers if they insist on hanging around to finish off your stricken troops. This is where brains and guts meet.
	From turn six on, you have the strength to get the better of the krauts in a city fight, especially by using your artillery effectively. During several turns, the guns will have to take up the slack for firepower lost due to disrupted armor stacks. Again, you must keep spotters on hand. Meticulous use of your strong infantry/engineer and armor teams should eventually squash even the most determined attack on Grancelles.
	Once the Germans begin to back out of the city, you have just about won the game (provided you have the infantry and engineer team in the Merden woods and the northern Artain bridge is neutralized). When the enemy starts to withdraw, hold everything! Get up from the table for a minute and cool down. Do not rush after him and run straight into a haymaker. Remind yourself that the situation is twenty turns long. Let them go. Take the opportunity to straighten out your troops in case he plans an immediate return. Mount up some doughs and an engineer, just in case you have to run them
down to Merden. Chances are, if the panzer leader is giving up on Grancelles, he is ready to try the southern route.
	If you now have two or three infantry platoons reinforced with engineers in the Merden
woods, you will win. This is especially true if you have managed to destroy most of his infantry. In the process of the enemy's endeavor to eliminate your GIs and secure the Merden area, you will be able to call in highly effective barrages on his exposed troops. Even if your defenders are disrupted, you should be able to keep the guns busy through use of spotters in Grancelles and the woods west of the city. Do
not underestimate the usefulness of your tanks sniping at the panzers at extreme range. Here again you are forcing the enemy to divide his attention between your stubborn infantry and intrepid armor which threatens to "KO" some of his tanks if he ignores them.
	For the American player in Lezey, it will usually all come down to the southern route and the battle for Merden. The Germans may try it after a repulse at Grancelles, or they may attempt to take it on the run with the turn six reinforcements, or they may head straight for it from the outset. If they go right for the southern route, your job is simple. Move the artillery to safety, get engineers into the woods below Merden and guard against a lunge into Grancelles. Even if the Merden area is lousy with Jerries on turn four, you can get two infantry companies into the woods by double-timing onto the field. The infantry can always enter and close assault Germans at the edge of the woods, maybe even after some of your tanks charge through a exposed stack. For sure, the Merden battle can become a pretty wild melee, but the bottom line will always be the same: your heavy infantry and artillery will pulverize the German infantry and deny him the southern route. Don't forget that if all else fails (which it won't), the scout cars can dash up to the road on the last turn and void a kraut victory in the unlikely event it
should come to that.
	The American combat commander in Lezey definitely has the tools at his disposal to win the
situation. All he has to do is conserve them until they can be gathered together, then employ the lot with skill. Even with average ability and despite rather poor luck, Lezey should remain liberated and all east-west routes under your control despite the appalling imbalance of the initial forces.

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Unobserved Bombardment

	With the following unobserved bombardment procedure players will be able to plot unobserved fire missions for indirect fire weapons. This experimental rule can allow both players to strike opponent's positions from the first turn to the last. To the right is the unobserved bombardment diagram consisting of the target hex surrounded by the scatter hexes. Each hex contains a number corresponding to possible die rolls. Above the diagram is the targeting die roll modification chart. To plot a fire misjsion a player writes down his intended target hex, and the unit which will perform the mission, in the turn prior to desired execution. On the following turn the player rolls one die and consults the modification chart. The player then rolls one die and refers to the targeting diagram to determine if the strike will be on target. Having determined the actual impact hex, the player may then roll for combat results.

 Targeting Modifier Chart
Die_Roll______Modifier
1                  +1                 N
2                   -1                  |  
3/4                  O       w <--+--> E
       5                   -1                   |
       6                  +1                  S

	Example: The American player wants to disrupt a suspected German concentration in the eastern half of Wiln. He plots his artillery strike by assigning which guns will fire the mission. At the start of his combat phase of the following turn he announces his bombardment and the target. When using hidden deployment his opponent must state whether any of his units were within the area the strike could impact. If not, the American guns lose that turn, otherwise the strike proceeds. For his target roll modifier he rolls one die and checks the modification chart. For example, if he rolled a "5" he would subtract one from his targeting roll. He then throws a die and gets another five, from which he subtracts
his roll modification result: 5-l=4. A target result of "4" means his artillery will impact the hex northeast of the intended target. If there are no German units in that hex, the designated artillery units lose that turn since they were committed to that fire mission. However, if there are German units in that hex the American fire would affect them normally. Except for the targeting procedure described above, unobserved bombardment follows all the rules for indirect fires.

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The PANZER LEADER At Arracourt
(Part II)

Situation 28'4/2
Ommerey: Duel of Commanders

By Steven B. Wheeler

	This aptly named situation is fun to play, but rarely results in anything other than a draw. The reason can be seen from the opposing forces and can be summed up in one word: balance. As strong as both forces are, neither side has a dominating edge. With this being the case, it's no wonder that both commanders fought with their vehicles in the front line in the historical action. Both sides need every gun in this struggle of equals.
	Of course, the Germans have their Panthers with their long reach, but they also have the comparatively weak MkIVs. And, they have only the heavy mortars, which means the 111th Panzer Brigade will have a tough time dealing with the American mechanized infantry.
	As we have seen in the first meeting of these opponents, the US infantry can be very destructive. Even though there are only two companies without engineer support in this situation, the
Germans still cannot duke it out with these guys in open terrain. Not only are they capable of disrupting the Germans on their own or with halftrack support, but they soon call in the artillery.

The German Strategy
	Let's carry on with taking the German side first and determine what are the German objectives for this situation. Curiously, the victory conditions are not the typical mirror image. The panzer leader must control the two Artains while the combat commander need capture only one of these, but also needs to occupy St. Athan. While the German player couldn't care less about the latter town in one sense, he must include it in his plans if only to deny it to the enemy. [Note: for the sake of clarity, let's use a prefix device to easily distinguish between the two Artains. The northern village will be written as N.Artain, the southern as S.Artain.]
	Since the enemy enters anywhere along the north edge of the field, St. Athan is not an immediate concern. Highest initial priority must be the denial of N.Artain to a quick opening thrust. This is an easy proposition because you have enough anti-tank weaponry on hand to thoroughly discourage a bold opening charge on N.Artain. Just be sure to move your 88s off of any hilltop hexes after the initial turn. Relocate them to slopes where they can use their superior range to good effect. For initial placement, I like the north end of the N.Artain-Nece ridge. This allows these deadly weapons to cover both towns. However, once the Americans enter elsewhere, move them to the western slope where they can still cover the plain in that direction and have a good field of fire toward St. Athan. 88s in high open places are too readily killed via artillery strike before they can do sufficient damage.
	Initial placement of the MkIVs gives you another pause for concern. These thin-skinned units must be ready to retire to protected terrain after their initial salvoes, even if their gunnery is largely successful. One Shennan platoon at half range will at least disrupt a MklV platoon. One M4/76 at half range will kill. Just get sloppy with your medium tanks for a couple of turns and see how dim your chance for even a draw will become.
	The "good" panzer leader should be able to protect N.Artain with the 88s, a platoon each of Panthers and MkIVs, and two companies of infantry. The rest of the MkIVs and one Panther platoon can make life miserable for any Americans trying to enter north of Nece. All remaining units form a delaying force in Grancelles.
	The reasoning here is this: if the Americans are dissuaded from a headlong charge into N.Artain, they must enter on either of the flanks. One look at the eastern flank is all any combat commander will need to ditch that possibility. I mean, would you like to spend most of the game bottled up in the woods, far from either of your objectives? Not unless you are bent on losing. So the Americans will opt for the western flank. This is a much more sensible course of action as they can roll up to S.Artain in force and run you off from the high ground. You have no engineers, so the bridge will not be a problem. Once he has that town, he can maneuver forward behind the screen of the high ground.
	It  is  inevitable  that  the  enemy  will  take S.Artain. As soon as his artillery is set, he can use it to provide a smoke screen into which his tanks can advance onto the forward slopes or even the crest. You will be stuck either waiting around and letting him have the first shot, or withdrawing from the vicinity. If you stick around and take the first round lumps, the enemy will then use his howitzers to strike any of your stacks that remain stationary for too long. You may inflict some casualties among his tanks, but he will score some hits too and carry the town long before twenty turns are up.
	The next contest becomes St. Athan. This area offers your troops a bit more room to maneuver, and affords a potential trap for the armored infantry, provided you have not allowed too many (say, two platoons or more) panzers to be lost in the S.Artain skirmish. Station eight infantry platoons in northern St. Athan and put your tanks into positions from which they can cover the town, the hill to the south and the ridge north of S.Artain. Thanks to your delay from Grancelles through S.Artain, the US force shouldn't be able to fully occupy the hill south of St. Athan before turn II or 12. You might even send a company of Panthers into a delaying position on the southern slopes of that hill to slow the American approach to these heights. Eventually, the American infantry will force your armor to evacuate, but you may gain an extra turn or kill some Shermans. Don't lose any panzers here.
	The Americans again lay down a smoke screen on the hilltops overlooking St. Athan and roll their tanks into them. This time, you have no choice but to make a stand. The Panthers can face the American Shermans from the slopes northeast of town, but the MkIVs do not enjoy the range advantage of the heavier tanks. One company can move behind the trees west of town where they can still cover the tip of the village. The other company must shelter behind the buildings with the infantry. Here, they will be exposed to long-range Sherman fire from the slopes north of S.Artain, but that is better than half-range fire from the tanks on the hill.
	I highly recommend that you move out of town. You are not strong enough to take a barrage of 105mm shells and then a close assault of heavy infantry. Neither do you want them exposed to concentrated tank fire. Let the Americans enter the town, blast them with your panzers, then hit them with a close assault. You must knock off one of his companies and this is the surest way to do it.
	The balance of the game is given to resolution of the St. Athan struggle. Chances are not quite even that you can completely deny it to the Americans. His tanks must duel with yours and cope with the 88s, but his artillery keeps him in the game and will eventually mangle your infantry. You will destroy some of his tanks, he will shoot up some of yours, but at the end of the game, possession of St. Athan will remain contested.

  
The American Strategy
	The American combat commander at Ornmerey can hand the game to his opponent with rash action, and similarly, he can only win if his opponent makes some blunders. In the face of an opponent of equal power, your best strategy is to keep everyone together and ready to take advantage should fortune smile upon you.
	As discussed earlier, there are only two worthwhile avenues to reach your objectives. One is to storm onto the field straight for N.Artain. This will produce an immediate clash with the enemy's main body, but it also allows his forces to open up on yours from the high ground at half-range as you enter. I doubt even Custer would go for that deal. Include any entry between the two northern rivers as an immediate attack on N.Artain because the area is covered by the same forces, just not initially at half-
range.
	The second avenue is to enter around Caverge or the extreme western corner. This has the disadvantage of starting farther away from your objective, but it also provides ingress during which your forces will not be shot to pieces. If you entertain a notion that it's okay to lose even a pair of tank units before the main engagement begins and still win the game, have someone pinch you. You're dreaming. Maneuver is your strategy for gaining the best position from which to assault both objectives. Working the enemy off of the commanding terrain will save you casualties both in the approach and the attack.
	You must first deal with the German outpost in Grancelles. Enter Caverge with two stacks of
four armor platoons to immediately threaten the enemy. Have a third stack enter to the west and motor into the woods ready to enter Grancelles as soon as possible. Make sure the third stack is strong enough to survive a 2:1 attack (say, the third M4/76, the M4/105s and two Stuarts). He will be able to engage two stacks, but must then withdraw to avoid fire from the other. You would be lucky, if the enemy allows a couple of Panthers to become disrupted in Grancelles. He can't afford dopey losses, either.
	After several turns of your one-two, one-two-three advances, the Krauts will be pushed back beyond the S.Artain ridge. But they'll be set up on the far side of S.Artain, reinforced to dish out some half-range salvoes. This could be fatal to your plan for the capture of St. Athan. Even if it means pausing for a turn, get the M7 Priests into a position from which they can indirectly lay down two hexes of smoke. Then move two full tank stacks into the screen. If the Krauts are still around for your next turn, let 'em have it! Chances are, they will decline to give you the first shot and depart. The panzer leader will probably conclude that the risk is too great that you will disrupt and eventually kill enough of his armor to seriously weaken his ability to withstand an attack on St. Athan.
	But just because you've made the enemy pull back doesn't mean he's chicken. Charge after him and you'll run into a haymaker, maybe even experience a panzerblitz assault from the worst perspective. Go ahead and occupy the reverse slopes of the ridge north of town, though. Bring up the infantry, and the anti-tank guns, maybe even move the howitzers to the slope above the bridge. You have to keep moving now, because it's getting to be turn 9 or 10.
	Meanwhile, the enemy is setting up a little welcoming party for you around St. Athan. He might move a company of Panthers onto the southern slopes below town from which he can shell S.Artain and engage units attempting to move up. This will slow your movement to that hill unless you are prepared to use another (one hex) smoke screen. The stretch of open road between the boards is liable to be covered by other panzers to the north. There could be a full stack of MkIVs just waiting for Shermans to come poking their tubes over the low ridge or carelessly park in the open between the
boards. Direct-fire smoke cover into the appropriate road hex to enable your troops to keep moving forward. By the time your infantry unloads on the southern slopes and works their way into position on the hill to force any panzers to leave for healthier positions, it is getting to be turn twelve or thirteen. Time to launch the final assault.
	Again, hit the forward hilltops with smoke and move up the tanks. That's the nature of offensive smoke screens, you see. You have to fire them into open hexes (clear of your own troops, that is). You can stay hidden in them until you start firing out of them. Repeat this tactic now to gain the heights and get in the first shots. The enemy can't back up any more and he'll take advantage of rough terrain, too. Make your shots count. You'll have to decide when to concentrate for a sure kill and when to go for a
series of disruptions as the doughs advance into the town.
	If you are lucky, you'll find the German infantry waiting for your attack and you'll get in the first shot here, too. However, a cagey panzer leader will work it so that his infantry jumps yours first, maybe even after he's shelled them with some of his tanks. Hope your GIs can take it and hang on, because it gets very chancy trying to secure the town with just one company. Fortunately, the odds are in your favor, especially if you've sent some half-tracks along to beef up the stack. Then, too, someone can get on the horn to the artillery. Next turn, the guns can start pumping barrages into the Krauts for a real
fun time.
	Do not forget to bring up your M4/105s. These are the perfect weapons for disposing of his 88s (provided they are in range). If you can't reach them with direct fire, by all means call in some 105mm indirect fire. WWII tank jockeys did not fear the 88mm gun for nothing. If you let them survive even one turn longer than necessary, you'll see why.
	It is an interesting phenomenon in this situation that the German heavy tanks don't really need to care about your artillery. If you shower them with high explosive shells, that just means his infantry gets a break. He will have to watch out with his lighter tanks, though, and you might catch a stack with a telling concentration if he's not careful. But in the main, your tanks will be trading shots with the panzers, unless your infantry needs some immediate help from massed fire.
	The end result, barring extremely bad luck or ineptitude on your part, is that you will wear down his infantry. He'll wear down yours maybe not as badlyyou'll kill a few of his tanksmaybe a few more of his than he gets of yourssince he has those rather frail MkIVs, and at the end of the game, both of you will still be in St. Athan.
Well, it's a draw, but it is not a loss... I guess it depends on your philosophy.

The PANZER LEADER at Arracourt
(Part III)

Situation 28-4/5 Juvelize: The Finale

By Steven B. Wheeler

	Situation No. 28-4/3 pits an American defender replete with hard-hitting artillery, potent Allied tank guns, three flights of Thunderbolts and the superb armored infantry against a German attacker who has the usual long-ranged Panthers, a reinforced battalion of infantry, adequate anti-aircraft coverage and a most welcome parity in artillery. Though it is true that the Germans have the initiative, the Americans can set up in such a manner as to absorb an initial blow and make a strong counter-attack while the enemy is in exposed positions. Something must give.

GERMAN STRATEGY
	In my opinion, the most challenged player in this scenario is the German. Look at his victory conditions:  he must either destroy more of the enemy or exit units off the west edge of the battlefield. To destroy the enemy, he first has to come to grips with the enemy. That means moving up to give battle under the eyes of American air power. That's enough to give any panzer
leader the shakes, let alone having to traverse the length of a board attempting to exit. To say that
this is difficult is beyond understatement, especially when German transport consists of thin skinned trucks.
	Those victory conditions were enough to make me put off "The Finale" until well after I'd played the other two Arracourt situations. The most harrowing aspect to leap at me was the image of rocket-firing P-47s knifing down on my panzers in open terrain. Even if they didn't score instant kills, my main battle tanks would be sitting dispersed in plain sight of enemy armor or observers just waiting to call in another strike and artillery fire. With the loss of just two Panther units, not only would my attack stall but my hopes of forcing an exit would die outright. As for thinking of what eight .50 calibre machine guns per plane can do to loaded trucks, well, this was enough to chill my blood. I soon realized that the key for the Germans is their artillery, and not just the howitzers. If the Germans get into a slugging match with the heavyweight US armored
infantry, they will need artillery support, desperately. Once the US planes locate the firing artillery, the AA guns must be ready to knock them down at half range before the big guns
are silenced.
	Buried in the traditional fine print was the "fine" fact that the victor need only amass more pointseven one more pointthan the opposition. It dawned on me that I didn't have to  take unnecessary  lumps  trying  to  push through Grancelles or Nece to exit a remnant of my forces. All I had to do was make the Americans lose a few units, then be ready for them to try to even the score.
	However, the Germans move first and initiative  is  an  advantage  not to  be  surrendered
lightly. It goes against my nature to sit around for a turn hoping the enemy will fall onto my sword. That sort of tactic usually invites the enemy to leap onto your back. Therefore, I had to find a way to use the guns to cause the Americans some casualties without risking too much
in the process.
	Suppose an observer - say the 81mm mortars - starts in the cover of some woods near the
junction of the boards where they can see the US outposts. (You can do this by using the "Woods
Hex Concealment" experimental rule from an article  in Vol.  25,  #3.)  Now you have  an observer who can call in my artillery on known or suspected enemy positions. The missions are
spotted, so we don't have to worry about off-target drift. Of course, this assumes that the US
player will post some units in the forward towns and woods. Fortunately, human nature and the
tactical situation urge a player to put a few guns into these concealed positions.
	In the happy circumstance of the American player not putting units in these spots, you can
roll a strong combined arms force right up to Grancelles and into a smoke screen from which you can shell the daylights out of his positions, then draw back out of harm's way using Sambleu and a smoke screen to foil the air power. The fact is, the Amis do not have the strength to cover both boards with enough fire on each to stop a mass of 44 tanks advancing under smoke screen cover. They have just enough power to stop an advance on one board only while they screen the other one. If that screen has no depth, hit it hard before the enemy tanks can react.
	You might get lucky enough to play someone dumb enough to post Shermans in Sambleu, but don't count on it. Any veteran (and that is what makes up the 4th Armored in September, 1944) will realize that posting some of his dear tanks in exposed positions is asking for his Sunday punch to get ruined on Saturday morning. No, you'll most likely find anti-tank guns, scout cars or Stuarts in these places. Get ready to blast them. On turn one, your artillery should give the Americans a black eye. Three rolls of the die should suffice to blow up two or three units. Once that is done, you're already winning. Just don't expect the Americans to let it go at that.
	When you're looking to provoke the enemy into attacking you, you'd better be set for him
when he does. Let's be clear about this: his initial advance is your golden opportunity to put the game away. You must have your troops in positions which enable them to halt and destroy
several US  tank platoons while they are approaching. The Panther's long 75mm guns enable you to engage the enemy before he can hit back. At arm's length is where he must be kept, because you do not want the US infantry to close on you. Once those boys pitch into your infantry, you can expect to start taking serious casualties and you probably will lose the game. The armored infantry alone can keep your units pinned, but when they start calling in the fire from the 105mm guns, your men are toast. Do not forget that the American howitzers can stay safely out of reach behind Grancelles or the western Artain, shelling you all day long with impunity. Alas, the enemy air force denies your guns the same privilege.
	Even if you set up your artillery way back in the hills, the Thunderbolts will seek them out.
Furthermore, if you keep your guns away from the front, you must keep the anti-aircraft batteries with them, leaving your forward units naked to attack from the sky. The American air power
forces you to keep your units together under the anti-air umbrella. Fortunately, the cover around
Nece is sufficient for all of the artillery. You won't have to worry about far-flung units being menaced by American scouts. Best of all, if they have to, the guns can lend their direct fire to the
front line if something goes haywire and the enemy breaks through into view.
	In the initial turns, your artillery puts a hurt on the enemy. Eliminating one of his units puts you in the winner's column, until he eliminates one of yours. Do not expose any of your troops to unprotected attacks from the air and certainly avoid foolish losses at the hands of US tanks. In fact, starting on turn 2, your main concern will be shooting down planes that are trying to wipe out your artillery. Once the US player has expended his air power on this, your panzers
will enjoy a lot more freedom of maneuver. 
	It should take the Americans a couple of turns to realize that you are not going to come out into the open, but your firing artillery becomes a target for his Thunderbolts immediately. Due to the three-planes-per-flight restriction, it may take three turns or longer for his war birds to penetrate your AA and effectively strike your artillery. Several turns will pass before he concentrates his ground forces and gets them into their jump-off positions. It may take longer
if you play someone who concentrates solely on the air battle and lets his ground forces idle.
	During your initial deployment, be sure to disperse the AA guns. Avoid the folly of setting up the 88mm AA guns in the same hex as the 15cm howitzers! Keep the AA batteries within half range of the units they protect in order to allow concentrated fire. When the enemy comes, the 88s can take care of one plane per flight, leaving the Wirbelwind to knock down a second and the lighter guns to take care of the third. You might try placing the 15cms in a town hex with a dismounted infantry platoon and a truck to bolster its defense. Now, two fighter-bombers must survive the ack-ack to wipe out your main guns. Finally, place the 88s where they can use their
anti-tank capability to maximum advantage. Take a look at the near end of the woods northwest of town. From there, they can cover all of the artillery and blow away anything that tries to come down the road from Wiln. You might keep an infantry platoon with these valuable guns, too.
	As for the rest of your infantry and transport, just keep them under cover while the planes are around. Two companies dismounted on the safe side of the main hill line with their trucks in the trees make a decent-sized, close assault force available in the event the Americans gain the heights. They are also handy if your panzers create a situation allowing a safe advance for some kills.
	While the planes are going down in flames and the American is marshaling his ground troops, you should be able to maneuver your armor a little bit. By pushing your tanks forward a few hexeskeeping to rough or covered terrain you can keep the enemy away for an extra turn or two. This is important. In football terms, this is "ball control" or "protecting a lead." You want to run down the clock on this situation, because the American will get his artillery and heavy infantry into the fray if given enough time. During the early turns, while the planes are preoccupied, move your Panthers, carefully keeping under cover, to the forward hexes of Artain and the woods and ridge. From there, they cover the open ground over which the Americans must advance. Twenty hard hitting behemoths will slow him down, make him approach Artain with caution. He may lay down smoke to approach without taking the casualties he can't afford.
	You will have to work hard to see that the Americans do not get over the Artain/Nece ridge too quickly. The panzers must remain on the western side of the smaller Artain ridge to duel with the advancing US armor. For a turn or two, you can keep them at bay. However, keep the U.S. artillery in mind. Stay too long in one hex and you'll be on the receiving end of "in coming" mail. Getting your tanks pinned in these forward hexes will lead to disaster. Once your armor shield is gone, order yourself a coffin.
	When you are forced to leave the ridge and town, draw back to the hill line above the river. Position your Panthers and half of the Mark IV's on the heights so that they can engage the U.S. tanks as they occupy the ridge you just left.
	A favorite tactic of the real Germans was to have their own forward positions registered with their artillery. That way, they could swiftly call in a barrage on the enemy as they gained  those positions and milled about regrouping. Then the Germans would counterattack and take their positions back. It worked with gratifying regularity.
	There is only one problem with this plan in this situation. By the time US forces are concentrated and into your forward area, his air power has probably knocked out some of your
guns, perhaps the heaviest ones. Yes, even using the 88s in their AA role will not prevent some daring pilot from diving his shot-up plane through your flak to release two 1,000 pound bombs right onto your big guns. It's small consolation to watch the stricken Thunderbolt trail smoke as it makes off to the west knowing the survivors of your best battery are now in the care of the medics.
	Chances are, you will have the 75s and the heavy mortars on hand to harass the US advance. You should call upon them without reservation. It's also likely that the Americans had to spend most, if not all, of their planes to get through to your big guns. Of course, 75mm howitzers and 120mm mortars are not going to kill a stack of Shermans. In fact, they will have a hard time pinning a stack of armored infantry. Keep them busy all the same to aid your crucial panzer shield.
	Have you ever wished that all German panzer units followed the SS pattern and contained five tanks instead of four? Fighting four tanks in a Panther platoon rather than five, the American
Shermans become capable adversaries. Against four MklV tanks instead of five, the US Fireflies and Hellcats become deadly. This is a major reason why the Germans cannot lightheartedly probe into American territory even if there were no planes. Although the Hellcats have a weak defensive factor, they can set up in concealed positions, of which there is a good selection. From their hiding places, the Hellcats can deal a lethal blow to your panzers,  then use their mobility to "high-tail" it out of trouble. The good news for the German player is that the Hellcats are not an offensive weapon as long as you have your Panthers. If the US tank destroyers try to get into range, undisrupted Panthers will make mincemeat out of them. Don't expect to see the US player advancing his Hellcats against undisrupted panzers.
	On the other hand, he will not hesitate to lead any attack with his 76mm Shermans. Here
again, you have him out-ranged. The long reach of the Panthers becomes your key to victory, but
you can not simply park your tanks on the best hexes and stay there for perpetual intimidation. Every second turn, you'll have to move or come under a crippling barrage. Then as soon as you move off of the ridge west of Artain, the Americans will use it as a blind behind which they can advance. The U.S. tankers know that their best tactic for surviving a slugging match with Panthers is to get on a terrain feature which doubles their defensive strength. When you have to quit the ridge west of Artain, and the GI's are ready to close in on it so that you can't get back there yourself, pull all of the way through the town and get your tanks onto the hilltops above. Now you are ready to strike the U.S. tanks as they occupy the slopes to get at you.
	At this point in the match, the tactic of placing your tanks in terrain where they are visible from the air assumes that the U.S. planes are finished with rocket attacks. If he got lucky against your heavy guns and still has a flight of planes available, you must move up the Wirbelwinds to keep the armor under half-range AA protection. Your AA batteries should be able to deal with a flight of Thunderbolts while the Panthers administer their lethal blows to the enemy armor. Any lone plane that does make a complete bomb or rocket run will likely disrupt a single Panther unit.
	At some point in turns 7, 8 or 9, the US tankers drive onto the low ridge west of Artain en masse to come to grips with your panzers. You get the first shots, so make them count. You need kills. If you concentrate your fire to gain 2-1 odds, you can engage four platoons, leaving five unscathed (six, if he's brought up the 105mm Shermans). That is enough punch to disperse one or two Panthers or kill a MklV platoon and disperse one or two others, or . . . well, you get the idea. What will happen to dispersed panzers in a couple of turns? The same thing that will happen if you merrily leave your tanks in the same hexes for three turns. Incoming mail knocks off your armor shield. Have the mortars and 75mms standing ready to lay down a smokescreen. The best countermeasure for dispersal by direct fire, as well as the threatened indirect fire, is to call in smoke and move the units the next turn. Unfortunately, you may be unable to lay  smoke onto more than one hex per turn, depending upon how many guns you have left. [For realism, you should limit the availability of smoke shells per battery to a maximum of two or three turns per game.]
	Now you have an armor duel on your hands. Chances are high that your Panthers will destroy several US tank platoons for each unit you lose. Once you've knocked off two or three American units, he will be at a decided disadvantage if he has to close up to let loose his infantry.
	As far as your infantry goes, you must be very careful in deciding whether to commit them in close assaults on crippled enemy tanks. The presence of US infantry is the deciding factor. What is the advantage of your finishing off a couple enemy tanks if you eventually lose three or four infantry platoons in the process? You might need your men to repel a late-developing enemy infantry thrust. The best counsel is to be patient with the foot soldiers and when you do commit them, make sure they get in the first assault.
	By the final turns, you should have an edge in number of enemy units destroyed. Keep his tanks at bay and don't do anything silly to blow your lead. It's an awkward position in which the German player finds himself, but with calculated play, he can wind up defeating the Americans.

AMERICAN STRATEGY
	The Americans in "Juvelize - The Finale" are both fortunate and unfortunate in the make-up of their forces. If you play this side, you have strong tank firepower and a full battalion of self-propelled 105mm howitzers tor artillery support. You also have a full battalion of heavy-weight armored infantry. Best of all, you have the Air Corps overhead. On the minus side, the Germans are just as strong as you on the ground and two-fifths of your best tank guns cannot afford to roll forward in an assault. This being the case, the Germans are more than your equal in tanks, because they have you out-ranged. Sure, you hope the Germans will come out after you so that your Thunderbolts and concealed weapons can take care of them. Yet, given the choice, a veteran panzer leader will decline this opportunity. (Unlike the historical enemy, your opponent cannot claim he's bound to follow idiotic orders from higher up.) However, if your opponent is overly aggressive for some reason, like simple bone-headedness, you'll win handily.
	What are your options for making sure a rash opponent gets his just desserts? First of all, don't be careless in setting up. About the only things you could place on bare hilltops or slopes  within  sight  of concealed  Kraut observers are full company stacks of medium tanks. This is necessary to be in position in case your opponent is crazy enough to charge you. It also gives his artillery a target to fire at so that your planes can spot them and do their job. The odds are your tanks will weather the barrage, but move them to another hex as soon as all three are unpinned. Don't move one or two away and let his guns finish the remaining tanks off. Be patient. His guns may play possum for a turn and this will give you a green light to move.
	Consider your forces in the light of the terrain you must defend and in light of the German victory conditions. You obviously cannot let the Germans roll through your sector to grab the exiting bonus, but is it possible for him to do so with your Thunderbolts overhead? In the north, even a quick moving column could not avoid air attack due to the length of open road between Merden and the woods east of northern Nece. With your fly-boys on station over the forward half of the field,  any convoy stretching twelve road hexes will be rocket fodder. Sure, he could lay down a couple of smoke screens (one per hex) along the road, but there is still the open stretch before Nece. If you stop a few of his vehicles there, he'll be stuck battling for the town under unfriendly skies as your forces gather to counterattack.
	Alternately, you can position two of your infantry companies across the reverse slopes of
the Merden ridge. His artillery cannot strike with observed barrages to open a hole. If he sends his convoy churning up the ridge and gets stuck trying to punch his way through on the bare hill, your artillery mauls his armor at a cost of two or three of your infantry. Then he'll pull back, and you can launch a counterattack with your armor that ruins his day as you chew up his depleted tanks and blast his supports.
	With regard to the southern route, most of your infantry should be dug in on the Merden ridge, but enough of your armor should be covering Grancelles. You can forego putting anyone in Sambleu, but you should have some Hellcats in Kuhn covering the direct route into the city. Other Hellcats can wait in the woods adjacent to Caverge where they cover the bridge and Sambleu. Place some 57mm anti-tank guns in the woods near the bridge on both sides of the road. Caverge itself need contain nothing so as not to be a target for early shelling.
	In Grancelles, you are probably safe enough placing two platoons of Shermans in the eastern hexes. This is because no kraut observer can seethat far into your area to place observed fire. You set up first, and have an anti-tank unit or a scout in some woods near the Caverge bridge, which means that  he cannot place any units on the exposed hills in the forward areas when it is his turn to set up. This means that enemy armor rolling up to Grancelles, even within a smoke screen, will be far advanced into your sector where your tanks, planes and artillery can shoot the daylights out of them even if, and especially if, they get into the city.
	A competent panzer leader will not let himself in for that kind of debacle. He will realize that his forces are simply not strong enough for a full-scale offensive. It'll just be your lucky day if you face an opponent who can't see it that way. On the other hand, a wily opponent will find a means to cause you some casualties without risking his ability to meet a counterattack.
	But just because you, "the player," happen to be sitting above the mapboard and can see all of
the pieces doesn't mean your units have such an omniscient view. In reality, military units only know what is out in front of them by information gained from reconnaissance patrols. While patrols and air recon could see some distance behind the lines, most units would be under cover when the plane went over and foot patrols could only cover so much distance on a night's excursion. However, patrols would generally know the front line positions in the area, and the enemy could surmise that you would out-post road centers, villages, etc. All the German player has to do is call in barrages on likely targets until he scores some kills. This puts you in the loss column, if you fail to hit back.
	It's a good thing the situation is a long one. You may need all of those turns to come to grips with your opponent and reach a satisfactory conclusion. As mentioned above, do not let your tankers, infantry and scouts sit on their duffs while the Air Corps braves the enemy flak to knock out his guns. Avoid stripping one sector entirely when you concentrate, though. Don't allow the enemy the chance of sneaking some fast units offboard for cheap exit points. Position the Hellcats to cover the sector from which you pull your troops and leave the anti-tank guns in place. You might even move the M7s into Nece while you concentrate your forces to deal a heavy blow.
	For a moment, consider how much fun it would be to move through Wiln and circle around to come up against German Nece from behind! Just imagine falling on the Kraut supports as their panzers wait for you in Artain. Forget it! While you move most of your heavy units over the river and through the woods, the Germans mount up and smashthrough your remaining defenders to exit and win, especially is you have depleted your air cover by then, maybe despite your air cover if he can still lay down smoke. No, even though you have the time for fancy manuevers, you cannot leave your sector open to the threat of a German advance. For the same reason, it is doubtful that even a shortened foray through Wiln and due south over the ridge would succeed. You must attack head-on. Of course, the enemy isn't going to lay aroundwatching you roll up to Artain without doing his best to hinder your advance. Fortunately for you, the 105mm guns will see to it that any of his units that stay in place too long will be severly punished.
	To close on Artain, you will have to force the enemy back. Expect him to make a stand on the big ridge line. Head the armor for the reverse slopes of the low ridge west of town and occupy it with every main battle tank. Expect to start slugging it out with the Krauts. Sure, this takes guts, but what are the alternatives? You simply have to stand toe-to-toe for several turns until you can get the howitzers into action on dispersed panzers. The Germans aren't the only ones who can call in smoke. Drop white phosphorus on the forward slopes and roll into it. Of course, you have to plan for this in advance. You can't afford to wait around for two or three turns once the 75mm shells start flying. Masking your armor in smoke turns the tables on the enemy. All of a sudden, all of the armor has cover, except your tanks are hidden and his have exposed themselves.
	If you pull this trick out of your bag, the enemy will have to move into cover because he cannot stand on the ridge top taking shots and not giving them. Be alert for an opening in which the armored infantry can safely move up. Now what will his panzers engage: your tanks, or the infantry moving into the town? Here's where the sacrifice of most of your air cover pays off. By eliminating the enemy's big guns, you have made it very difficult for his infantry to trade shots with your sluggers and come out ahead.
	In fact, there are two ways to get these game winners into play. The first option is moving through Artain to go after whatever is on top of or behind the ridge. The enemy might just engage a
couple more of your tank outfits and retire behind the high ground leaving one or two disrupted
panzer platoons for you to finish with your howitzers and infantry. Hopefully, this will tip the victory scale in your favor and you won't have to charge on to take Nece. The second option is to bring the infantry in from the north. Keep the panzers occupied to the front while your infantry detours through Wiln and erupts into the forest northwest of Nece. If you can get them that close to the enemy's supports, you should have happy hunting among anti-aircraft batteries and possibly transports. Even if the easier pickings elude you, you now have a full battalion ready to hit the town itself during the course of which you will be able to call in the 105s to knock off substantial numbers of the enemy.
	Your commitment of the infantry is sure to mobilize the enemy. If he pulls back from the ridge top with his panzers, you had better be careful about charging up there. He can still have ample weaponry on hand to mangle you and win the game. At that point (at least turn 11 or 12), take stock of who's winning. If you are, go with "ball control" and don't expose any of your outfits unnecessarily. Bring forward the Hellcats to help out if the German decides to surge over the high ground for a last try at winning the game. Just don't put weak units like anti-tank guns into Artain where heavy mortar barrages could eliminate them.
	There is one more tactic that is worth a try in stretching the enemy's resourcesto help guarantee your victory. Send the Stuarts and Greyhounds swinging way around to the north to come in behind the Germans. They can pick off some trucks and whoever else thinks they aresafely out of reach. Just don't  lead them into a trap. These thin-skinned units can't take much fire before their raid turns into a game loser. They must rely on mobility and speed to get into position for a safe strike, or at least threaten to do so. This ploy may also keep some of the enemy infantry away from the main threat. That could also mean all the difference should your infantry make an attack on Nece. If the Krauts decide to evacuate the town, the Stuarts can be in prime positions to pick off some loaded trucks. What a lovely thought!
	To wrap it up, just remember that your goal is to kill at least one more of the enemy units than you lose. When you've reached that goal, what's the use of risking more troops? Turn the tables on the Krauts. Pull back to favorable positions and make him come after you again. If he has to climb back up the ridge to get his panzers into firing position, you'll have the first shot and can make them count. If your infantry is on the slopes below the crest, they can deal with any disrupted panzers. Should the German player be rash enough to try sending his infantry over the hill, you'll really have a turkey shoot. If they have reached the woods behind the ridge, well, you might press an attack, or you might not. If
you've won, don't blow it. If you haven't yet, you shouldn't be far from it with the infantry ready to deal the final stroke. This is a long situation. Once the Air Corps knocks off the Germans' main artillery, then time, mobility and the infantry should hand you the game.