“The German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge is very interesting from the standpoint of casting an alternate reality. First of all, not very much needs to change for the outcome to be different.”
- John Prados, Operation Herbstnebel, Smoke Over the Ardennes
So, I decided to try to wargame some of the Bulge battles using winSPWW2. And to add some randomness (with a dice or two) in order to change things up a bit. Will probably take forever to complete...
The broad picture:
December 1944 - Germany has stockpiled enough ammo and fuel to sustain the Wacht am Rhein/Herbstnebel offensive.
The Luftwaffe has been concentrated to the West, including the bulk of the air units from the Eastern Front leaving that front dangerously weak – but in accordance with the theory of massing your best forces for a decisive blow and the understanding of the difficulties of conducting large scale offensive ground operations under allied air superiority.
The offensive aims at taking Antwerp and the destruction of the Allied northern armies.
The offensive will be played from the German viewpoint as a series of campaigns and maybe single battles.
Logistics and maintenance friction will play a role in reducing the number of available vehicles, especially for the German side.