Some 200 miles to Bastogne’s south–southeast, the old town of Colmar would soon become a landmark in French military history. Whilst the US Army had borne the brunt of the German offensive in the Ardennes, events to the south would be inextricably linked.

On 28 December, Hitler announced a new offensive, Operation North Wind (‘Unternehmen Nordwind’) to his divisional commanders. The plan would see a major advance through Alsace-Lorraine, specifically the Vosges mountains and Alsatian Plain, to attack the US 7th Army and French 1st Army. Whilst Hitler made it abundantly clear that the primary objective of Operation North Wind was the destruction of enemy forces in the region, there was also a secondary purpose. Alsace-Lorraine had been a bitterly contested area between France and Germany, as both nations believed it was their own territory – by attacking French forces in this very province, Hitler would deal a double blow by staking his claim and demoralizing his adversaries. This would also greatly disrupt Patton’s advance in the Ardennes. Perhaps of even more surprise to the Allies was the aerial support provided to the assault in the form of Operation Baseplate (‘Unternehmen Bodenplatte’), which saw hundreds of Luftwaffe aircraft employed in an effort to achieve air superiority across the Low Countries.

A German command group attempts to keep the offensive going

When the attack began on New Year’s Day, the thinly stretched American forces had serious problems to contend with. The US 7th Army had been sending a steady stream of reinforcements and supplies to the Ardennes and was now itself in need of support. Faced with the threat of the overwhelming German advance, Eisenhower gave the order to withdraw US forces to the west, abandoning the recently captured French city of Strasbourg. As the forces of the German 1st and 19th Armies advanced westward, Eisenhower frantically ordered a reversal in the supply chain to now send men and equipment south from the Ardennes to support the battered US 7th Army facing Operation North Wind.

The reaction from French command was nothing short of cataclysmic. In Paris, de Gaulle ordered General de Lattre, commander of the French 1st Army, to defend Strasbourg before then appealing directly to Churchill and Roosevelt to intervene. De Gaulle then sent another of his generals, Juin, to deal with US command personally. With tensions already high due to French accusations of insufficient supplies from US forces and American accusations of a lack of results from the French, the situation now deteriorated further: the ensuing meeting between Juin and General Bedell Smith nearly resulted in physical violence.

De Gaulle and Juin visited Eisenhower and Churchill to discuss the situation: de Gaulle threatened to remove all French forces from Eisenhower’s command. Eisenhower responded in turn by reminding de Gaulle that his armies were existing on American supplies, weapons and equipment and that would all be removed unless he obeyed orders. He backed this up by pointing out that the problem they now faced would not have existed if the French 1st Army had succeeded in eliminating the Colmar Pocket.

The Colmar Pocket was a bulge in the front line south of Strasbourg. Allied advances had pushed German forces back to the River Rhine from the Vosges all the way down to the Swiss border, but a pocket of fierce resistance had dug in around the town of Colmar. This German pocket would be an ideal staging post to threaten US forces to the north.

De Gaulle was offended by Eisenhower’s response. He explained that whilst strategically his plan made sense, the territory they were discussing was sacred to the French and withdrawal was not an option. This opinion was backed by Churchill, and eventually Eisenhower agreed with the two. Just when it seemed that Franco-American relations were on the rise, de Gaulle then sent a message to Paris to inform the cabinet that the decision was a result of him summoning Churchill to report to him, and allowing Eisenhower to be present. In turn, Eisenhower was forced to report the change in plan to Roosevelt – a man who deeply disliked de Gaulle. Eisenhower would later say that after the weather, the French caused him more problems during the war than any other single factor.

King Tigers emerge from the woods

With the immense threat posed by German forces across the region, Allied reinforcements poured eastward from every available command. Amongst these was the 1st Free French Division under the command of General Pierre Garbay. The division had landed in southern France as part of the follow up to Operation Dragoon and also had veteran soldiers who had fought in North Africa and Italy. Garbay’s men were moved to defend a sector extending from Plobsheim to Sélestat, a 25 mile line running southwest from Strasbourg.

The German attack reached the French defenders to the south of Strasbourg on the morning of 7 January. Two strong columns, led by heavy tanks and tank destroyers, advanced through the area between the canal du Rhône au Rhin and the canal of Ill, heading for Krafft and Rossfeld– Herbsheim. Elements of the Bataillon de Marche 24 were cut off by a rapid German advance, whilst soldiers of the Bataillon d’infanterie de marine et du Pacifique suffered heavy bombardment whilst defending Rossfeld– Herbsheim.

Faced with a series of bridges across the River Ill and the area’s network of canals, the German offensive moved rapidly to take the key bridges that were vital to maintaining momentum. French engineers were ordered to prepare the bridges for demolition, and to destroy them only when enemy forces had closed within 50 metres. This defensive action proved to be a resounding success in the majority of areas, but to the southeast of Erstein a German column was able to cross an intact bridge. German forces continued their seemingly relentless push towards Krafft, but met stiff resistance at Herbsheim where fighting continued into the night.

SCENARIO 11: DEFEND THE BRIDGE

It is the morning of 7 January, and the lead elements of the German attack are now locked in battle with the defenders of the 1st Free French Division. Although the attack has been anticipated, the poor visibility and rapidity of the German deployment have enabled units to surround and isolate pockets of French resistance.

Some of the key bridges in the area have already been destroyed, but others remain intact and threaten to give the German attackers a clear route of advance. The Allied forces must dig in, hold their line and stop the Germans taking one more step across the sacred ground of Alsace. The German attackers must press home their advantage and punch through the solid French resistance to maintain their offensive.

FORCES

This scenario is designed to be played with equal forces. The Allied force may be American or Free French. American reinforced platoons are chosen from the Battle of the Bulge army list on page 72 of Armies of the United States whilst a French force is selected from the Free French in Europe, Late 1944/Early 1945 list. German reinforced platoons are chosen from the Operation Watch on the Rhine army list on page 98 of Armies of Germany 2nd Edition.

SET UP

This scenario is played on a 6’ x 4’ gaming surface. A bridge large enough for a heavy tank is set up in the middle of the table, crossing a river. The river should be 8” wide (available scenery permitting) and runs from corner to corner. Ruined buildings flank both sides of the bridge. All ground aside from the river, road and bridge is snow (see Snow section).

DEPLOYMENT

The Allied player must deploy first. At least half of his force must be deployed anywhere on the northeast side of the river. Any units not deployed are in reserve (see page 132 of the Bolt Action 2nd Edition rulebook).

The German player must deploy one infantry unit and one other unit no closer than 12” to the bridge. He must then nominate at least half of his remaining forces to come onto the board in his first wave. All other units are left in reserve (see page 132 of the Bolt Action 2nd Edition rulebook). The German player may use pre-deployment but may not deploy any unit on the Allied (northeast) side of the river. No outflanking may be attempted.

Defend The Bridge

FIRST TURN

Note that no order test is required to move units onto the table as part of the first wave.

SPECIAL RULES

FROSTBITE

This action sees both sides still suffering the effects of a particularly harsh winter. Both players’ forces are subject to the Frostbite rules. Cold weather clothing is available for both sides; see the Cold Weather Clothing section for more details.

PREPARATORY BOMBARDMENT

The German player rolls a die; on a 2+ a preparatory bombardment strikes the enemy positions (see preparatory bombardment on page 131 of the Bolt Action 2nd Edition rulebook). On a result of a 1 the barrage fails to materialize, but you have your orders and the attack must go ahead as planned.

POOR WEATHER

Due to low cloud cover and falling snow, air support is unavailable for both players. See the Poor Weather section for full details.

AMBUSH

Any deployed Allied unit may begin the game in Ambush.

DUG IN

Allied units which begin the game on the table may be dug in. See the Dug In rules for full details.

THE RIVER AND BRIDGE

The riverbanks are too steep to be negotiated by any vehicles, and so vehicles must cross at the bridge. Infantry can attempt to cross the river but must do so on a Run order, but move at half their normal rate whilst in the water. Infantry in the water count as being in soft cover. The bridge cannot be blocked by vehicle wrecks; the remains of any vehicles destroyed on the bridge can be barged out of the way by other vehicles without penalty.

OBJECTIVE

The German player must move his forces across the river to win the game. The Allied player must stop him.

GAME DURATION

Keep a count of how many turns have elapsed as the game is played. At the end of Turn 6, roll a dice. On a result of 1, 2 or 3 the game ends; on a roll of 4, 5 or 6 play one further turn.

VICTORY!

At the end of the game calculate which side has won by adding up victory points as follows. If one side scores at least two more victory points than the other, that side has won a clear victory. Otherwise the result is deemed too close to call and honours are shared – a draw!

The German player receives two victory points for every surviving unit that has crossed the river and one victory point for every enemy unit destroyed. The Allied player receives one victory point for every enemy unit destroyed.

THE AFTERMATH

The German offensive to the north and south of Strasbourg met with determined defence from battle hardened Americans, and Frenchmen fighting on home soil. To the north, the 25th Panzergrenadier and 21st Panzer Divisions were repelled by the US 14th Armored Division at Haguenau Forest, whilst in the Low Vosges the 6th SS Mountain Division was halted by the US 45th Infantry Division. With his hand forced, Hitler committed the 7th Fallschirmjäger Division and 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, his final reserves.

To the south, the 1st Free French Division held their ground against the German invaders but suffered heavy casualties. By 25 January the division had suffered some 2,000 casualties, but Operation Nordwind had stalled entirely. With the German front weakened considerably, the way had been paved for the push towards Berlin.

German Panzerschreck Team