malmedy

Date : December 21st, 1944
Location : Malmedy (nothern shoulder of the bulge), Belgian Ardennes
Weather : Day, Fog
Ground : Light Snow (suggest to install Tom's famous Bulge Mod as well as bmp 1219 winter "fence" mod° (author ?)
Skorzeny disguised his troops and armor with american uniforms and markings, you can install the Operation "Greif" Sheeps Clothing mod that you find here : ftp://ftp.combatmission.com/combat_missions/mods/ssm/clubfoot_ssm.asp

Action : Slightly amended scenario that can be played from both sides against AI, but is also very challenging and balanced when played as PBEM or TCP/IP.
"Default set-up" as well as the "free to place units" option will give satisfactory gameplay.

This is a semi-historical "What if" scenario. In other words, what would have happened if the paratroopers of Von Der Heydte had succeeded to block the roads to Malmedy and had harassed the reinforcements sent in by the US. In reality, these paratroopers landed too dispersed or not at all on the plateau (The "Hohes Venn") north of Malmedy and were not enough a substantial force in order to block this acces to the nothern shoulder of the Bulge .

Game length : 55 turns
Map : 2.000 m x 2.000 m

Situation (Historical) :

The first action of 21 December, as it turned out, was neither against Peiper nor at the La Gleize pocket, but an engagement at Malmedy with new German troops thus far unidentified as a regular tactical unit. The night before, an enemy force had assembled in Ligneuville, five miles south of Malmedy. This was the notorious 150th Panzer Brigade which, under the command of the equally notorious Colonel Skorzeny, had been especially trained to seize the Meuse bridges as a part of Operation Greif. When the German plans to reach the Hohes Venn on the second day of the counter-offensive miscarried and the regular German formations were checked so far from the Meuse as to make a dash by this special task force out of the question, Colonel Skorzeny sought for some other road to fame and glory. His recommendation, made to the Sixth Panzer Army commander, that the group be reassembled and committed as an ordinary combat unit was accepted, and the capture of Malmedy was assigned as its first mission.

Sources :
Battle of the Bulge
Map design : "McAuliffe"
based on the topographical map 50 / 5-6 IGN Belgium and personal visits of the battlefield.
Remark :
The under-passes may look a little bit odd, but this was the only way to make them accessible to AI controlled forces.