Battlegroup: Wacht am Rhein

About the game

DECEMBER 1944, THE BELGIAN ARDENNES... With the German army seemingly on the verge of defeat, the Führer ordered it to stage a new surprise attack, aimed at splitting the Allied army's advancing on Germany. Timed to utilise the winter weather, Operation Wacht Am Rhein committed Germany's last reserves in an ambitious gamble to turn the tide of the war. On December 16th, the offensive struck in the Ardennes forests. The unexpected attack would become the largest American battle of the war in Europe... • BACKGROUND A general overview of Operation Wacht Am Rhein, from the initial infantry offensive on day one, to clear the routes for the following panzer attacks on day two. It covers; 6th Panzer Army in the north in hard fighting for the Elsenborn ridge and the deep penetration of Kampfgruppe Peiper. 5th Panzer Army's drive in the centre and the surroundings of St Vith and Bastogne. 7th Army's supporting attack in the south. • ARMY LIST Designed to be used with the army lists already published in Battlegroup Overlord, this book contains a single new army list, for the freshly raised Volksgrenadier Divisions, as well as many new additions to the Overlord army lists for refighting the battles of late 1944. It also includes units for the German disguised infiltration teams of Operation Greif. • SPECIAL RULES New special rules to adapt the core Battlegroup game to the winter battlefields of 1944-45. The rules recreate the character of the Ardennes fighting, with German infiltration tactics, the morale effect of their powerful surprise attack and the winter weather's limiting of Allied air support, along with the snow falling to impede operations on the ground. All help to create games with the distinctive feel of the bitter 'Battle of the Bulge'. • SCENARIOS AND CAMPAIGN Nine new historical scenarios, including a detailed narrative campaign for Kampfgruppe Peiper's ill-fated race to the Meuse river. 72 page softback campaign supplement detailing the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes December '44 - January '45 Please note you need the Battlegroup Overlord campaign supplement and the mini ruleset to play Wacht am Rhein.