Background
The Battle of Arracourt took place between U.S. and German armoured forces near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France between 18 and 29 September 1944, during World War II. As part of a counteroffensive against recent U.S. advances in France, the German 5th Panzer Army had as its objective the recapture of Lunéville and the elimination of the XII Corps bridgehead over the Moselle River at Dieulouard.
With local superiority in troops and tanks, the Germans anticipated quick defeat of the defending Combat Command A (CCA) of the U.S. 4th Armored Division. With better intelligence, tactics and use of terrain, CCA of the 4th Armored Division and the XIX Tactical Air Command defeated two Panzer Brigades and elements of two Panzer divisions over eleven days of battle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arracourt
The Game
The scenario was loosely based on an old Wargamers Digest scenario. As with most of these scenarios, their needs to be some thought put into the victory conditions, as these tend to be more tactical learning exercises. Once that was figured out, my buddy decided that the initial battle would be based on the Germans holding the main road open (it was the line of communications for the 111th Panzer Brigade). The Germans would then be required to push back the US forces to better secure the road, as their mobile reserves entered the fray.
Terrain: The table was laid out with a crossroad, small town, woods and farm land bordered by large hedges. The result is a battlefield that is fairly broken up and with reduced lines of sight.
Forces: The US forces were built around an infantry company that was supported by a Tank Destroyer section, Recon and Artillery. The Germans were Panzer Grenadiers supported by a section of Stug IIIs and Marders, Artillery and a Recon section. The US forces were reinforced later with a Sherman company, while the German received a Pz-IV company. The US forces also had late arriving air support.
Early Game: The initial forces were both in road column and had to deploy from the march. The US forces spread out across the front to try to overstretch the the outnumbered Germans and try to break through the point where the Germans could not cover. This approach took time and the German player managed to counter all the US moves and hold onto the road.
Late Game: The US were the first to receive their armored support, they sent it against the open German left flank and joined the Infantry already in position. The attack moved forward slowly and gained the upper hand. They were able to destroy the flanking German infantry Platoon and wipe out the defending Marder section. The attack made it up to the main road in strength. The German armor arrived slowly, and concentrated on the US Infantry threat to the German right, while awaiting the rest of the tanks arrival. Once the company arrived in strength, one platoon was left to hold the German right and push back the Americans. The main force moved towards the US armor attack to try to push it back. With the Stugs and PZ-IVs, the Germans were able to destroy the US armor and push back the Americans. With that, it was clear the US had been defeated and would have to fall back and consolidate. The game resulted in a German victory.
- Manueffel