From: rayfreeman@aol.com (RayFreeman) Subject: Tigers in the Mist Replay (Part 1) The following is a solitaire replay of the 7th Army Attacks scenario of Tigers in the Mist played on June 18, 1998. Tigers is a game covering the first week of the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 which has recently made its debut on GMTs Project 500 list. The 7th Army Attacks is an introductory scenario to the game which is designed for play in under an hour. The scenario covers the attack of the German 7th Army against US units on the southern flank of the Ardennes. It is a very low density scenario using only 18 areas of the board. The US starts the scenario with 6 units totalling 11 strength points and receives 3 reinforcements with 4 SPs. The Germans start with 11 units totalling 30 SP, but no armor. They receive 2 armor units of 4 SP on the second turn. The scenario lasts 3 turns, from December 16 through December 18. The scenario objectives are Luxembourg and Mersch. To win, the Germans have to control one of these objectives and contest the other. German Impulse 16/1 Move There’s not a lot of room for fancy maneuvering in this scenario, however the best opening German move is not necessarily set in stone. This time, I decide on a massive frontal assault on the first impulse. 212 VG crosses the Sauer River in rubber boats to attack the dug in 12th Rgt of the 4th Infantry Div. at Echternach at 8-2 odds. To the west 276 VG and half of the 352 VG Div. ford the Sauer to attack 9 Arm Inf entrenched at Beaufort at 9-2 odds. The other half of 352 VG marches through Vianden to Diekirch. German Impulse 16/1 Combat The German attack at Echternach is given maximum artillery support while the defenders also receive artillery. US defensive fire is deadly as each unit of 212 VG loses a step. However, German artillery blasts open the defenses and the volksgrenadiers finish the job. 4/12 is wiped out and the Germans seize Echternach. At Beaufort the Germans only get one artillery fire mission as does the US. Both attack and defense are relatively ineffective. 276 VG loses only a single step while 352 VG is unscathed. Despite heavy return fire, the US loses only one step as well and therefore holds the position. German Impulse 16/1 Bridge Repair 605 Engineers fail to repair the critical Irrel-Echternach bridge preventing the Germans from exploiting the capture of Echternach on the following impulse. However 47/1 Engineers manage to repair the Nusbaum-Beaufort bridge. US Impulse 16/1 Having no penetration threats to worry about, the US decides not to move any of its units. German Impulse 16/2 605 Engineers again fail to repair the main highway bridge at Echternach. This ensures that the Wehrmacht will not be able to attack Consdorf until December 17th at the earliest. This is a small, but significant break for the defenders. German Impulse 16/3 The Germans move 7A Flak to Diekirch and 7A PzJgr and 44 MG Bn to Irrel. 605 Engineers finally repairs the Echternach-Irrel bridge. The main highway from Bitburg to Luxembourg is finally open to motorized traffic. US Impulse 16/3 US units redeploy to a better overrall defensive posture. 9 AI remains entrenched at Beaufort. 9 Arm CCA, the most powerful US unit, moves to Consdorf. 4/8 Inf slips into Junglinster. 78/2 Ranger Bn and the 803 TD Bn move to Larochette, across the Sauer River from Diekirch. The first US reinforcement, 70 Tank Bn stops in Luxembourg where it can react to threats against either victory objective. From: rayfreeman@aol.com (RayFreeman) Subject: Re: Tigers in the Mist Replay (Part 1) Tigers in the Mist: 7th Army Replay (Day 2) Reinforcement Phase 4/22- Inf available to US 614 Pz and 653 PzJgr available to Germans German Impulse 17/1 Move The Germans attempt to cross the Sauer River at Larochette. The Rangers attempt to blow the bridge fails. 7A/15 Flak and a unit of 352 VG enter Larochette at 7-2. 276 and 352 VG continue their assault on Beaufort at 8-1. A unit of 212 VG, 7A PzJgr, and 614 Pz attack Consdorf. German Impulse 17/1 Combat Each side get one artillery mission at Larochette. US fire is effective due to river modifiers and lack of German combined arms and each German unit loses a step. The German artillery blows away 803 TD, but the tough Rangers manage to stop the German infantry cold. At Beaufort, again each side gets an artillery fire mission. 276 VG loses a step from its previously intact unit. The Germans then overwhelm the remnants of 9 Arm Inf. Consdorf is a critical battle as this area controls the front door to both Junglinster and Larochette. The odds are 9-3. Neither side is given any artillery support, a shock to both sides. The American tankers shoot poorly, costing the Germans a single step from 614 Pz. The German response is devastating; 9 CCA is smashed and Consdorf captured. This stunning victory more than counterbalances the delays in repairing the highway bridge on the 16th. The tide of battle may have turned in favor of the Wehrmacht. US Impulse 17/1 4/8 entrenches in Junglinster and prepares for the inevitable German attack. German Impulse 17/2 The Germans form a Kampgruppe of 653 PzJgr, 212 VG, and 44 MG to hit Junglinster at 6-2 odds. In a calculated gamble, both German engineers attack Larochette at 2-1. A Junglinster, the German gets 1 artillery mission while the US gets none! US fire is ineffective and the Germans are unscathed. It looks very bad for the US, but only one US step is lost and 4/8 holds the position. This makes it highly unlikely that the Germans can capture Luxembourg, so the 2-1 on Larochette now becomes critical. The US gets its artillery, and American shells and bullets wipe out both Engineers! Suddenly the Wehrmacht is in deep trouble, stopped one area shy of both objectives and without any reserves to attack with on the 3rd impulse. US Impulse 17/3 The US does not move on the 2nd impulse since the Germans have no threats for the remainder of the day. On 17-3, the US moves 4/22- to Mersch and brings their last reinforcement, 10 Arm Inf to Luxembourg. From: Subject: Tigers in the Mist: 7th Army Replay (Day 3) Tigers in the Mist: 7th Army Replay (Day 3) German Impulse 18/1 Elements of 352 and 276 VG, supported by 7A/15 Flak attack the Rangers at Larochette at 8-1. The US gets artillery support and the Germans do not. The lack of combined arms results in 2 German steps being lost. However, the Rangers are finally overrun and now only the Lizette River and a single battalion of US infantry stand between the Germans and Mersch. 212 VG, 44 MG, 352 VG, and 653 PzJgr attack Junglinster at 9-1. Each side gets artillery. This time there are no last minute American heroics and the defenders are overwhelmed after killing a single step from 212 VG. US Impulse 18/1 4/22- digs in at Mersch and 10 Arm Inf digs in at Luxembourg. 70 Tank Bn stays in Luxembourg. It is up to these last units to hold the line if the German juggernaut is to be stopped. German Impulse 18/2 The last German reserves are committed to battle. 212 VG and 614 Pz move into Luxembourg for a 4-3 attack. 7A PzJgr moves to Larochette, but the 4th infantry blows the Mersch-Larochette bridge, preventing an attack on Mersch and virtually guaranteeing a US victory. At Luxembourg, each side get an artillery fire mission. The Germans lose 2 steps to defensive fire. Their situation is now indeed desperate as they must kill all three US steps in order to gain a no decision result in the scenario. Unfortunately, the odds of this occuring are roughly 1 in 63. Luck is not with the Wehrmacht and only one US step is eliminated. The Germans manage to contest Luxembourg, but the US controls Mersch. This results in a tactical US victory. This scenario is a bit more luck dependent than others within the game due to the narrow frontage involved. The key to the scenario is an early investment of Consdorf. If the Germans can get troops into Consdorf on the 16th, they are definitely ahead of the curve. This scenario is really meant to be a quick playing introduction to the Tigers system, and uses 85% of the rules of the game including fording rivers, bridge repair and demolition, entrenchments, and movement and combat modifiers. The other scenarios (The First 3 Days, 5th Panzer Army vs VIII Corps, and the Campaign) take 3-6 hours to play and are much better tests of skill.