First off, this series is being done as a bit of a lark as wargaming has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas so if anyone is offended, please just stop reading now.

On the 3rd day of Christmas War Gaming, my true love gave to me…

3 Disguised Forward Observers Calling in Mortar Fire

Lanzerath Ridge is a solitaire wargame that takes place on the first day of the Battle of the Bulge December 16, 1944 during World War II. In the game, the player takes control of a small group of American soldiers from the 394th Infantry Regiment I&R Platoon who must defend against the attacks of German paratroopers and fusiliers. The goal is simple but very difficult to achieve as the player has to attempt to do as well or better than the historic defenders by holding the attackers from taking the town of Lanzerath, Belgium for as longa s possible in order to delay the advance of an entire SS Panzer Division. With limited actions each round, the player has to utilize their resources to attack the advancing German forces while also trying to accomplish objectives such as denying the Germans their equipment and strategically withdrawing to live to fight another day. The game lasts four rounds and each round has its own Assault Deck from which enemy counters are drawn along with nasty surprises such as mortars and MG42’s.

Historically, the battle lasted most of the day and was broken up into 4 separate attacks by the Germans. Following the second attack, a German medic waving a white flag walked onto the field from the town below. He requested a ceasefire and time to give aid and remove the wounded German soldiers who lay on the bloody battlefield and the Americans agreed. The Americans watched as the German medics assembled litter teams and carried the wounded Germans into the nearby town of Lanzerath. During this time, the leaders of the division had their men redistribute ammunition and prepare themselves to take up their guns once the period of reprieve was over. While the Germans were tending to their wounded, one of the soldiers (Milosevich) noticed one of the medics leaning over a soldier he thought was dead and the medic appeared to be talking into a radio. Soon mortar fire landed near the platoon’s location. Milosevich told his superiors what he had seen and killed the disguised forward observer with a carefully aimed shot from his M1 rifle.

In the game, during Attack Periods 3 and 4, the player will now have to consider various Objectives that can be accomplished to affect the game as well as scoring extra Victory Points. At the outset of Attack Period 3, the player will have to prepare to place the 3 Medic Counters on the board near the 3 different 4 Assault Spaces. As was described above, during this time these Medic Counters represent the German efforts to gain greater intel on the platoon’s location and defenses under the auspices of tending to their wounded and radio back to their headquarters to better target the incoming mortar fire. While this Objective Card is out on the board, and until the Disguised Forward Observer Counter is discovered from among the 3 facedown Medic Counters, the first time a Mortar attackers card is revealed, the player will shuffle the attacker Medic Counters face-up (showing the Medic side) and place them alongside the three identified Assault Spaces.

While the Disguised Forward Observer Objective Card is on display, all Mortar card attacks will roll 2 six-sided dice, and use the higher number rolled. In addition, defenders can take various actions to Reveal the Medic Counters searching for the Disguised Forward Observer. They take a Reveal Action on a Medic Counter that they have a line of sight to and if it is one of the real Medics, that Medic will be removed from the game. If they find the Disguised Forward Observer counter, they can then take an Attack action to try and eliminate the flipped and revealed Disguised Forward Observer. Once the Disguised Forward Observer counter is removed, the player will also remove the Disguised Forward Observer Objective Card and the benefit to the German attacks will be removed.

These little pieces of history being infused into wargames is always one of my favorite parts as I always learn something new.

I shot a series of 4 playthrough videos and posted them on our YouTube Channel a few years ago. I mostly played the game correctly and I had a good time. I have since played the game another 15 times and really enjoy it and I hope you do as well. Here are links to those videos:

Part 1 – Attack Period 1 and Intro (58:32)

Part 2 – Attack Period 2 (36:28)

Part 3 – Attack Period 3 (33:20)

Part 4 – Attack Period 4 and Final Comments (33:16)

I also have written an in-depth series of Action Point posts that cover various aspects of the game and you can read those at the following links:

Action Point 1 – look at the game board focusing on the Defender Combat Positions and Assault Tracks for the enemy Assault Counters.

Action Point 2 – Defender Counters and their Special Attributes and Action Designators.

Action Point 3 – makeup of the Enemy Attack Deck and discuss how the cards drive the assault and work against the player.

Action Point 4 – the interesting new Vehicle Counters and their uses.

Action Point 5 – Examples of player actions including Attack, Adjust Fire, Close Combat, Assist, Command and Recover.

Action Point 6 – strategy points and suggestions for a better outcome.

Finally, I wrote an entry in our Beautiful Boards of Wargaming Series highlighting the fantastic work of Nils Johansson on the game and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/11/17/the-beautiful-boards-of-wargaming-lanzerath-ridge-battle-of-the-bulge-from-dan-verssen-games/

If you are interested in Lanzerath Ridge: Battle of the Bulge, you can purchase a copy for $69.99 from the Dan Verssen Games website at the following link: https://dvg.com/product/lanzerath-ridge-core-game/

You can catch up on the posts in this series to date at the following links:

A Lone Sherman Tank Caught in a Crossfire – Lone Sherman: The Pacific – A Solitaire Wargame from Mike Lambo

2 Aircraft Bombing – General Orders: World War II from Osprey Games

-Grant