Combined Arms: 5 Games Illustrating the Battle of the Bulge

Overview

“Do I really need another *insert battle/conflict* game in my collection?” For anyone that is in the wargaming hobby I’m sure you’ve asked this question. When I was starting out a couple years ago I know I often would ask this question. It made me consider why our hobby has so many games over certain conflicts and/or battles. If you’ve visited any social media group on the subject you’ll see many jokes on the number of Bugle, Waterloo, Gettysburg games that have been made over the years.

What I wanted to explore was if this was a purely marketing phenomenon. Do these battles just make games easy to sell. However, maybe there is something more to explore here. Perhaps there is something different to explore after all?

To do so I got my hands on copies of several games on the battle of the bulge. What I did was play through them all to see how they covered the battle. Could they all tell the same story of the bulge? How could they use different mechanics and scales to bring the same feelings? Well lets find out…

Games

The games I selected were ones that I’ve either picked up for my collection or friends had in theirs. I ended up with five different games. That is five different designer viewpoints to discover all over the same battle. Here were the games I chose:

• 1944 Battle of the Bulge: Published by Worthington Games, Designed by Dan Fournie
• Celles: Battles from the Bulge Vol. 1: Published by Revolution Games and Designed by Roger Miller
• Enemy Action Ardennes: Published by Compass Games, Designed by John Butterfield
• Bastogne: Screaming Eagles Under Siege 18-27 Dec’ 44: Published by Multi-Man Publishing and Designed by Dean Essig
• Lanzerath Ridge: Valiant Defense Vol. 4: Published by Dan Verssen Games and Designed by David Thompson

Historical Overview

After the invasion of Normandy June of 1944 Allied forces fought across France and reached the German borders by December. Exhausted and with supply lines thin the Allies rotated fresh units to the front. Several units were inexperienced and had not seen combat. Along with this many felt the Germans were in full-retreat and were all but defeated. Unfortunately for the Allies the Germans were able to mount a massive assault. This was led by the German 5th Panzer, 6th Panzer, and 7th armies and planned in total secrecy.

German Push West

The German plan was to push through the Ardennes Forest quickly and cutting the Allied force in two. The 6th Panzer Army was to cut through the northern sector and make the shortest route to Antwerp. The 5th Panzer Army was to make the push through the center towards Brussels. The 7th Army was to protect the southern flank.

The 6th Panzer faced stiff resistance in the early days of the offensive. For example, the first day of the battle 18 men of an Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon held the advance of the Germans for 16 hours. Poor roads and damaged bridges were also mounting up and causing significant delays to the German forces.

The 5th Panzer Army had much more success and pushed forward as far as Celles near Dinant. By December 24 they were threatening to cross the Meuse River. The British XXX Corp held the west side of the river and were able to stop the advance.

Further south more elements of the 5th Panzer were able to push through St. Vith. They eventually made way to Bastogne, which was a town with major crossroads and vital to lines of communication. The US 101st Airborne was hastily deployed to Bastogne to hold the crossroads. However by December 21th they were surrounded and cut off. The fighting and conditions were terrible, but the lines held and Germans never took Bastogne.

Allied counter attack

By Christmas day 1944 the allied had recovered and shifted reinforcements to the area. General Patton’s 3rd Army made a miraculous advance to reach Bastogne by December 26th and relieve the besieged city. The clearing weather also played a major part allowing the allies to take advantage of air superiority. They utilized aircraft to drop supplies to areas such as the 101st supporting Bastogne. Along with that they were able to target German artillery batteries and provide air support to defenders.

Near Celles the US 2nd Armored fought hard and pushed back the 2nd Panzer Division. All along the front the German lines started to crumble as the extended forces could hold out. The Germans had little gasoline to push any farther even had they held.

As January arrived German forces fought desperately to hold the line but were overwhelmed by Allied counter attack. By the end of January the German forces were forced to end any offensive operations along the front and fell back to original positions.

Major Historic Elements

Historically I found several key elements that were repeated through the various games. These were as follows:

• Complete and total surprise by Germans on December 16th
• Poor Weather early in the offensive that slowed Germans, but also grounded the superior allied air forces
• German lack of fuel
• Roadblocks, Blown Bridges and Early Traffic Jams that slowed German progress
• Operation Greif: English Speaking German troops in allied uniforms and vehicles that went behind enemy lines to disrupt allied lines of communication
• The 101st Airborne’s efforts to hold Bastogne while cut off from allied forces
• Allied recovery and push back starting by December 25th

Let’s take a look at each game and see how these topics were covered individually.

Lanzerath Ridge

• Scale: Tactical
• Unit size: Individual soldiers
• Map size: woods just outside of town of Lanzerath
• Timeframe: December 16th first day

I’ve covered this game often. It focuses on the heroic stand by the 18 men of the I&R Platoon of the 99th Infantry Division. This became one of the most decorated platoons in the entire war. Their actions held the 6th Panzer Army’s advance putting it behind schedule by 16 hours.

This is a solo siege game in which the player controls the valiant defenders against waves of German assaults. It is the 4th in the Valiant Defense series and this one streamlines the rules. It shows the importance of setting overlapping fields of fire by machine gun units. More so it shows how well placed guns in well fortified positions can hold out against overwhelming frontal assault.

Out of all the games this one felt less of the other elements of the Bulge. I attribute this one to a couple factors. The scale was so small that many of the other historic elements just weren’t felt zoomed in this close. Several of the items I mentioned before: Bridge interdiction, supply shortages, weather just don’t have an impact given the size and scale of this game. That said it is a fantastic solo game and the map is absolutely gorgeous! I still highly recommend it as a solo game and it tells a very compelling story of heroic defenders.

Bastogne: Screaming Eagles Under Siege

• Scale: Operational
• Unit Size: Platoons and Companies
• Map: Bastogne and the immediate roads leading into around around the town
• Timeframe: December 18-27

Overview

This Hex and Counter game is part of the Standard Combat Series (SCS) of games. The rules of SCS make it extremely easy to play. The series rules cover all the basics of movement, attack, zones of control, etc.. However the game also contains a game specific rule book that covers the items unique to this game.

The first unique approach to this game is the absence of supply rules. Given the scale and time of this game, effort is made to focus on unit maneuvers and holding the line. The American forces were surrounded and cut off for the duration of this game. So typical such supply traces don’t serve a major purpose. There is limited artillery for the US early on that forces the American to ration its use. Later turns call for rolls to see how much artillery ammo you might recover (from supply drops that were few and far between historically). This made sense given the history of the conflict but still gave a desperate feeling to the American player.

The other unique aspect of this game are the road move rules. Units can travel by road for as far as they like as long with a few caveats. They cannot enter enemy zones of control and each time they change road type they must expend 1 of three points. The smaller scale of the map (400 meter per hex) and timeframe this feature is used to support deploying units around the town. Both on the allied side to quickly set defensive lines and on the German to try and cut off American forces. Even infantry could cover the thousands of meters in a day. From a game mechanic it forces the US to deploy in a pocket to prevent Germans from popping up behind them quickly.

Historic Elements

Historically this game very much captured the desperate defense. Very quickly US forces deplete artillery and watch as reinforcements push in from the east to quickly surround the city. Victory points for the Germans in this one are interesting. They get 2 VP each time they start a turn inside of Bastogne. This shows the importance of holding the town and its cross roads. They also get significant points for holding the three routes A, B, and C. Each represent main highways on the way west towards the Meuse River. Lastly, there are several German units that over the course of the game are called to leave the map. The German player gets points for the number of surviving units that leave. These units are pulled out to continue the push past Bastogne towards other objectives. Interestingly they are some of the more powerful units in the game.

Like other SCS games certain units, mostly armored units are “exploit capable.” These are units that can attack normally, but later in the turn utilize movement to attack again. This helps illustrate the importance of Armor in spearheading attacks and opening holes for infantry to move in.

Celles: Battles from the Bulge Vol. 1

• Scale: Operational
• Unit Size: Battalion
• Map: Hex = 1 mile across, Hotton (eastern edge) to Givet (western edge)
• Timeline: 23-27 December 1944

Overview

Celles represents the “high water mark” of the German advance and puts the players in the position. The point where the Germans were strongest and poised to push across the Meuse River. The game itself is a chit draw activation hex and counter with very low counter density.

The focus of this game is on maneuver and utilizing movement for attack. Most of the units in the game are motorized armored or cavalry units. A handful of infantry units start the game for the allies. They are best used for defensive purposes. The star of the show for the allies is the second armored division. It enters with powerful reinforcements over the course of the game.

Movement is accentuated by how combat is resolved. Movement points are used to trigger attacks. Light attacks suffering a penalty to DRM and heavy attacks using all movement achieving a DRM bonus.

Victory points in the game come for Germans for each turn started adjacent to the Meuse River. If they ever reach 20 points it is assumed they have crossed and the game ends in German victory. Other victory points are given to holding other key towns along the map with the side with most points winning.

Historical Elements

This game was a bit larger in scope than both Bastogne and Lanzerath Ridge. That said it did illustrate a few historical elements:

Allied Air is represented by a tactical chit that can be pulled during activation. However it is only useful if the turn is a day cycle. It is very powerful as it reduces the German actions by 1 for the rest of the turn AND it allows attack of any one German unit on the map. This shows how powerful the Allied air support was when the weather allowed aerial support.

Early German strength is shown here early as the Allies struggle to hold Hotton, Marche, and Rochefort. The Allies start with the 84th infantry and only a small amount of actions. However by turn three the US 2nd Armor begins to be deployed and starts to push back against the Germans.

Like the other larger games in the series crossing the Meuse is key to German victory. The game includes rules to simulate this crossing by gaining enough VP points for starting adjacent to the river.

1944 Battle of the Bulge

Scale: Operational

Unit scale: Divisions, some smaller brigade and battalion levels

Map: Entire Battle theater

Timeframe: December 16 to Dec 25

Overview

Though the scope of this game covers the majority of the German offensive, the game is surprisingly easy to play. The game uses custom dice in lieu of a CRT, there is no stacking, and enemy Zones of Control stop movement.

That said the game is very quick and gives a lot of credit to some of the major historical aspects. Like many of the other games the Germans start off very strong in this game. The defending allied units are weakened units and spread thinly.

The game comes with a resource point (RP) track. Each turn each side gets a set amount of RPs and these are used to order units. The RPs are used to activate units to move, to attack, as well as refit each turn.

Early turns favor Germans with 20 RP to 6 for Allies but by the final turns Allies and Germans are on more similar footing in RPs.

Historical Elements

For as simple of rules the game has, it includes a lot of the historic elements. Allied units are able to hold bridges if they are within the Zone of Control of a friendly unit. This eliminates German ability to use bridge for movement and slows progress. It forces Germans to cross rivers slowing them down, or to attack and remove the allied unit holding the bridge.

From unit perspective the game includes rules for the American airborne units of 82nd and 101st airborne. These units do not suffer combat or movement penalties for being out of supply. This ties into Bastogne where units don’t worry about supply. It also is useful in using these units to hold key areas where they may end up cut off just as they did historically.

Included is SS Panzer Brigade 150 that was part of Operation Grief. This unit is modeled in the game as it can try to pass an Allied ZOC without stopping by a die roll. If passed it keeps moving, but if it fails the roll it is discovered and becomes like all other German units for the rest of the game.

A slew of optional rules increase complexity but tie into the history of the battle:

• Variable Weather rules allow a die roll to set weather each turn. Bad weather favors Germans and good weather grants additional Allied air support and can limit German RPs for the turn
• German Fuel Shortages: Beginning turn 5 German Player can roll and certain units might become out of supply to model fuel shortages
• Hidden and Phantom Markers: These are used in fog of war and hiding what units are in the area as lines of communication were strained on both sides it makes anticipating incoming forces more difficult.

The game also has several scenarios. Some that just involve trying to exit an armored unit off a western map edge. Others include conditions that involve holding key cities. Again much like Celles the concept of moving armored units off map to show advancement beyond the Meuse is used to illustrate German success.

Enemy Action: Ardennes

• Scale: Operational
• Unit Size: Regimental and Brigade
• Map: Entire battle theater (2.5 miles per hex)
• Timeframe: Dec 16 through Dec 29

Overview

While Enemy Action: Ardennes (EE:A) covers the same area at a similar scale as 1944, the games are VERY different. EE:A is card driven and utilizes a unique chit draw combat resolution. It has a large focus on the operational areas of each army/corps. It also pairs a greater focus on Zones of Control, bridge control and allied roadblock construction.

Also the game is very famous for not only being a two player game, but including separate maps and rules for German solo and Allied Solo games. For the purpose of this article I played both the 2 player and German Solo systems to compare.

The card decks are constructed each turn in a very unique deck construction element. This gives a lot of variability to every turn of every game. Also the cards themselves have multiple uses. Some can be used to activate only certain divisions, Corps, Armies, or even Army Groups. They also can be used to trigger evens in some cases, or to give a combat event during combat.

As mentioned earlier, combat chits are drawn to resolve combat. While a lot of these favor certain combat odds: 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, etc. Others give defender benefits for terrain or only hit if artillery or air support is in play.

Historical Elements

Enemy Action: Ardennes of all the games I played was by far the most detailed and most complex. This game has everything: Fuel depots the Germans must capture or eventually cards may put divisions out of fuel later. Another key element: bridge destruction by Allies, and events to repair/build new bridges for Germans. This is a way to slow down German forces with much smaller US forces. Rules for Zones of Control force Germans to not be able to move through allied ZOCs even if Allied units are much smaller. Allies can drop roadblocks, especially frustrating for German solo game. The roadblocks stop movement immediately. Luckily for the German player some cards include Operation Greif events that allow the Germans to ignore these roadblocks. This ties into the historic elements of what these disguised troopers were doing.

The game starts with a lot of historical elements in how the December 16th turn goes. In it the German starts with several attacks (depending on solo or 2-player) to which the allied player cannot play combat tactics or respond. In this section the German cannot move forces until he finishes all attacks. Afterwards the typical back and forth card play starts. Also like all games the German forces start much stronger and have a much larger hand size of cards. The Allies as they recover and begin to push back later in the game start to get a larger hand showing the available resources they have to fight back.

Combat in EE:A is resolved by drawing a number of combat chits from a cup. This is much different than a standard CRT. I found that while it is much slower to resolve, the effects are much less predictable. Some chits give Attacker losses due to better terrain the defender is in, some are based off of combat odds, and others only hit if playing air support or artillery combat events.

There is a bit of push your luck element to these combat chits. There is always a minimum to draw the number of steps in the defender stack, but the attacker can then to choose if they want to draw up to a maximum. Usually this is the number of units attacking with modifiers for using elite units, combat tactics, and several other things.

On the defender side losses an be absorbed by retreating a max of 2 hexes, however retreating 2 hexes results in units becoming disrupted. So often there is a choice on the value of holding a position and just taking step losses.

I found that to combat the swinginess of the combat chits, combat is wise to use cards for combat events plus using any forces less than 4:1 odds becomes a gamble. This shows that much like historical event the much stronger forces such as the 6th Panzer, were delayed and held up by units that on paper were much more weaker and less experienced and I felt that the combat chits really highlight that aspect for better or worse. It is definitely something that is not for everyone and even myself I found wanting to just roll some dice and move on quickly many times.

Conclusions

So after playing through these games what did I learn? A few things:

1. Some battles were very large and having games to focus on smaller scopes are like focusing on a certain scene from a movie and how it moves the plot along. Lanzerath Ridge, Celles, and Bastogne only tell narrow parts of the battle of the bulge, but these stories give a lot more context to the greater battle.
2. There are many ways mechanically to tell the same story with different complexity. Both 1944 and Enemy Action tell the story of the major part of the German advance. However even something such as bridges are handled differently. Enemy Action uses rules for blowing bridges, repairing and building new ones and road blocks to slow down Germans. Take that to the contrast of 1944 which just uses a few sentences in the ZOC rules to say that having an Allied unit adjacent to a bridge means the bridge is under control
3. Having different games of different sizes allow you to explore a topic in varying depth to time ratio. Sometimes you might want something quick to play that gives you the feeling and story but you can be done in less than two hours. Other times you might want a game that takes all day or perhaps you play over a week leaving on your table. A game that really gets into the depth and details that takes a lot of chrome

So if you ever are thinking “Do I need another *insert battle/conflict* game?” I think the question isn’t quantity, but the things to ask is “what is this game wanting to highlight?” Is it focusing on one certain aspect of a conflict that you haven’t seen in detail? Is it greater depth or more abstracted allowing a quicker playtime than others in your collection? Are there mechanics here that are new or highlight historicity of the conflict in a way you haven’t seen before? To me these are the questions we should ask when looking at our collection.

I found it very interesting month playing through these games. I’m not sure I’d recommend it often, but if you do have games on the same battles I’d encourage you to look at them and ask some of the questions above. How does each game look at the same conflict through a different lens? Much like having different movies or books on a topic, historical games can provide interesting insight into some of the conflicts that shaped human history. By touching this many games I did learn much more about the Battle of the Bulge than I did going in and did so in an a way that was engrossing. That is one of my favorite parts of historical gaming and I’m sure if you are reading this it is for you as well!

In closing I’d like to thank my good friend, Jordan Cameron, who introduced me to Celles and allowed me to hang on to it to explore more for this article. I’m glad that I had this experience an hope that you found it entertaining! Now on to explore something that is NOT related to the Bulge!