What is a Wargame
What is a Wargame All of the US movement on September led to several battles. In the north, the US 357th regiment moved towards Thionville, but the main function of the 357th was to protect the offensives north flank. Just south of the 357th, the 358th regiment ran into the weak German 1126th regiment. The Germans were deployed in the forest and prepared to resist the American advance. The forest provided ample opportunities for the less numerous Germans to ambush the stronger American units. Faced with this unfavorable situation, it's not surprising that the US 358th was thrown back. The same fate befell the US armored combat command A directly to the south. Although the combat command had more firepower than a US infantry regiment, it was even more at a disadvantage attacking Germans in the forest. In this case, the Germans were the Unterfuhrer regiment which consisted of students and instructors from a nearby NCO school. These were tough troops and combat command A was unable to push through them. Both German units did not take advantage of their victories to advance to the west. The Germans knew the Americans would be back the following day.
But this skirmish in the north was not the main event. Just to the south were the outer works of the Metz fortifications and this is where the main event occurred on the 7th. It was a mixed success for the Americans.
The 2nd and 10th regiments of the 5th infantry division closed in on fort Jean d'Arc, near the town of Gravelotte. Unfortunately, road congestion prevented both regiments from making a concerted attack on the German 1010th regiment holding the area. Only the US 10th regiment got an attack in and the Germans in the fortifications, weak as they were, managed to repulse the Americans attack.
Eight kilometers to the south, the students of a nearby German NCO training school, organized into an under strength Unterfuhrer regiment, bore the brunt of a concentrated attack by the equivalent of a full US division (the 11th regiment of the 5th infantry division and combat command B and R of the 7th armored division.) The Germans were sent back seven kilometers towards Metz, pursued by the US 11th regiment. The elements of the 7th armored division were held back largely because there simply wasn't room to move them forward in the wake of the retreating Germans.
Turn 1: American Combat Phase
The U.S. player will now conduct four attacks. Note that whenever possible, attacks are made so that one attack will put advancing (after successful combat) attacking units surround enemy units. That way, during a subsequent attack, the surrounded unit will be destroyed if it is forced to retreat. Remember this, it's one of the cardinal rules of wargames, and warfare itself.
Starting in the north, the 358th regiment attacks the German 1126th regiment. The 1126th regiment has a combat strength of one. The U.S. 358th has the strength of four. This gives a combat differential (attacker strength, minus defender strength) of plus three. Consulting the Terrain Effects Chart, we see that attacks made on units defending in a forest result in a leftward column shift of two columns on the Combat Results Table. This means that the attack will be made on the zero column of the CRT. The U.S. player rolls the die for a five and he must retreat. The U.S. player retreats into hex 0204.
The German player wisely decides not to pursue, because the defensive possibilities are much greater in the forest than outside of it.
The second attack is of the U.S. combat command A against the German Unterfuhrer regiment in hex 0505. Here the differential is plus five, and again two columns to the left must be shifted because the defending unit is in the forest. This time a four is rolled, and the U.S. unit retreats to hex 0306. Again, the German unit stays put, because it is much safer in the forest.
The third attack is by the U.S. 10th regiment against the German 1010th regiment, in hex 0507. This time the differential is plus four, but the German unit is in a fortified hex and the shift is three columns on the CRT. A two is rolled, which indicates no result and both units stay where they are. This was a crucial attack for the Americans. If this battle had been won, the US 10th regiment would have left the German Fahnenjunker regiment to the south only one hex to retreat into. If the Fahnenjunker regiment was forced to retreat two hexes, the Fahnenjunker regiment would have been destroyed because the game rules do not allow retreats (as a result of combat) across rivers. As it turned out, the Fahnenjunker regiment did have to retreat two hexes. But because the German 1010th regiment held its ground, the Fahnenjunker regiment was able to get away.
The fourth attack, probably the most critical one, takes place against the German Fahnenjunker regiment in hex 0509. This unit is being attacked by combat command R, the 11th regiment and combat command B. The total differential is plus 14, which means combat would take place on the plus 10 column. However, the defending unit is on a fortified hex and thus the combat is resolved three columns to the left (on the plus five column). A one is rolled, and the Fahnenjunker regiment must retreat two hexes. The only available hex to retreat to is 0607. The U.S. 11th regiment advances after combat into 0509 and 0608. This completes the U.S. combat phase.
Things have not gone too badly for the German player so far. It could have been a lot worse; if the German 1010th regiment had been pushed back, the American 10th regiment would have been occupying hex 0507. This would have blocked the retreat of the Fahnenjunker regiment (if the American player rolled a one), and this would have busted the German line wide open. It would not have been the end of the game, but the Germans would be hard pressed to recover.
That situation, by the way, is a classic tactic in wargaming (and war itself): that of setting up one attack with another. The American player should have sent combat command A against the German 1010th regiment in 0507, with two units attacking the 1010th (combat command A and the 10th regiment). The 1010th regiment would almost certainly have had to retreat; even if a one had not been rolled on the attackers in the south against the Fahnenjunker regiment, the Germans would still have been knocked out of many of their fortified hexes. This demonstrates yet another aspect of wargaming: that there are many solutions to the historical problem the game presents you with.
The initial American attack had been surprising in its vigor, but that was what the Germans had come to expect from George Patton, the only American general they considered on a par with German commanders in terms of aggressiveness. The repulse of the northern hook of the American attack enabled the Germans to thin out their troops up there and build up their reserve. The major battle was obviously going to be around
Metz itself, as Patton showed his hand by making a forceful, and successful, attack on one of the outlying forts on the 7th. Most of the available German units in the area were concentrated around Metz and that is where the Germans were prepared to make their stand.
Wargame Test
Drive : Turn 1: U.S. Movement Phase
Wargame Test
Drive : Turn 1: German Combat Phase
