Welcome to LOW
VOSGES NIGHTMARE, a depiction of the bitter battle that took
place in Wingen, a town at the foothills of the Low Vosges during
early January, 1945. Wingen sits in a small valley along the Moder
River between Bitche to the north and Saverne to the south. Described
in the following bucolic terms, “...the village and the surrounding
area looked very much like a winter scene one might expect to
find on a Christmas card back home. Smoke rising from a few chimneys
made the houses appear warm and inviting...” Wingen would
erupt on 3 January 1945 and become the focal-point of Operation
Nordwind.
This module consists of eight scenarios, all playable on a new
‘winterized’ historical map. This new map is not indentical
to the previous ‘green’ paper edition and has remastered
levels, buildings and uses a KGP-style woods, icy river fills,
and more. Ownership of the ASLRB, plus modules providing American
and German Nationalities is required.
The stirring drive
by Patton’s 3rd Army is credited by many historians with
being the decisive blow that saved Allied armies during Hitler’s
Wacht Am Rhein offensive, aka “The Battle of the Bulge”.
The re-deployment of the 3rd Army also played a part in the next
act in the play known as the waning days of the Third Reich. Hitler,
von Rundstedt and Blascowitz looked to the Alsace region for what
would be the final major attack on the Western Front following
the failed Ardennes offensive.
On December 22, 1944 plans were laid for a New Year’s Eve
offensive code named “Nordwind”. Four German infantry
divisions were to attack east of Bitche with the aim of capturing
the Wingen-Wimmeneau-Ingweiler road. Success of this first stage
would allow armored units to erupt from the Low Vosges mountains
and push into a bridgehead across the Rhine north of Strasbourg.
During the first days of January 1945 German forces pushed out
of the Low Vosges forests to capture the towns that lay along
the snow-covered route of attack. One of these towns was Wingen,
along the Moder River. American units there were initially caught
by surprise as battle-hardened troopers from the 6th SS Mountain
Division stormed in and captured the town. American reinforcements
were soon pouring in from the west and the south and despite bitter
fighting, by January 5th the German offensive had been brought
to a standstill. Lacking exits from the Vosges, planned armored
reserves stood idle and Operation Nordwind ended in failure.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
WITH EACH COPY:
- > A set of
10 scenarios set on the winterized historical map
- > Color special
rules in 3-hole format
- > A bonus sheet of 280 ½ American Bulge Infantry and a sheet of 88 5/8" AFVs and Guns
- > An all new 'winterized'
historical map on 4 boards with many changes over the previous
'greenie' edition, including more detailed village terrain!
