HOTTON, BELGIUM,
21 December 1944: After
revealing itself prematurely, the spearhead group of the 116th
Panzer Division remained quiet for about ninety minutes. During
that time, the Americans had time to improvise a defense. A roadblock
was established in the Rue Haute using Bailey bridge components.
Command was assumed by Major Fickessen of the 23rd Engineer Battalion.
Fickessen organized 200 men from various staff, messengers, engineers,
as well as supply and rear echelon troops. At 0900 hours a group
of four Panthers slowly moved from the heights toward the east
of town, probing for a way to the bridge. They first tried the
Rue Haute, spotted the roadblock, and clanked off to some nearby
gardens. One Panther continued on alone and returned to the Rue
Haute a little farther up the road. There, the massive Panzer
faced off against a diminutive Stuart, which was quickly destroyed.
The Panther then engaged a Sherman, brewing it on the second shot.
The German crew then backed away after seeing some anti-tank mines
sitting on top of the ground. The retreating Panzer was struck
on its side by shots from an AT-gun and some bazookas near the
south bank of the Ourthe. The crew quickly bailed out, leaving
the German platoon leader, Oberleutnant Köhn, pressing forward.
He entered the Rue des Ecoles near a second building without being
engaged, but then reversed back the way he came, fearful of unseen
enemy. Back among the gardens, Köhn halted his tank and was
attacked by a Bazooka team. The Panzer leader rotated his turret
to face the threat but unbeknownst to him, a lone Sherman from
the 7th US Armored Division had been found in the repair shops
at Marche and requisitioned to bolster the south bank defense.
Sited near the bridge, at the corner of Rue Parfonry, it was offered
a rear shot and with two rounds from its 76mm gun, the Panther
was brewed. The other two tanks pulled back after half-hearted
attempts to reach the Rue des Ecoles near the railway line. As
a side note, the south bank defenders also engaged a lone German
75mm gun-armed half-track, spotted near the Ti-Château’s
heights, and destroyed it with fire from their 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft
gun.
Moving images
of the Battle of the Bulge often include German soldiers in their
long greatcoat scuttling across the fields from their dark forest
lairs, the men of the Volksgrenadier divisions. Now YOU
can push cardboard around while you play out the epic stand at
Hotton on three fully remastered maps from Devils In the Woods/Sudden
Full Contact in one updated edition that includes bonus counters
and a total of 20 scenarios in all. All of the scenarios are laid
out in the new format and owners of our recent Nordic Twilight/BDF
II releases should have all the combat counters needed to play
without needing to dig into their standard-issue collection when
combined with the new counters provided with ASLComp DARKEST
DECEMBER.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
WITH EACH COPY:
- > A set of
20 scenarios set on the historical maps
- > BONUS
counter sheet
- > Color cover
- > 3 historical maps in folding
paper format in various sizes
- > Special Rules in 3-hole
format
