THE GREEN HELL, 26 NOV. 1944.
5th Armoured Division has failed to break through the 'Wilde Sau'and the icy meadows north of Germeter are littered with the wreckage of its Combat Command R. On the 26th the spearhead of the 8th US Infantry Division reaches the last offshoots of the Forest heading eastwards. It has been a hard and painful advance through the thick woods - a nightmare of fog, icy rain, deadly sharpnels and wood splinters squirting all around at every shell burst. But at last the GIs succeed in clearing the woods and regroup for the final dash towards the Hurtgen village. Despite their overwhelming strenght it will take the Americans a long struggle (till the afternoon of the 28th) to do their job, because of the stubborn German resistance.  US units involved: 121st Infantry Regiment (Col. T.J. Cross) of the 8th US Infantry Division plus a battalion of the 13th I.R. with armour and artillery support. German units involved: 344th Infanterie Division (mainly its Heeres-MG-Battalion 31).  TECHINCAL NOTES - (1) US Infantry platoons have their "leader" units' data (weapons) customized, as in the previous Hurtgen scenarios. (2) US Artillery: in order to provide more indirect fire support I have boosted the number of barrells/tubes for the on-map howitzer/mortar units, which are more properly designated as "platoons". TACTICAL NOTES - (1) This is a long, large scale scenario which involves some tough hand-to-hand fighting both in the forest and in the suburbs of the Hurtgen village. (2) Use artillery for suppressive fire (even if you don't have LOS) rather than risking your armour among the trees. (3) It's worth to try an outflanking manoeuvre in the woods, in order to avoid the loss of too many infantry squads which will be invaluable in the final street fighting.  Fulvio Vardabasso. /end