bastogne: 
a desperate defense

EXCLUSIVE RULES

10.0 INTRODUCTION
	10.1 First Player

11.0 REINFORCEMENTS
	11.1 Quantity of Reinforcements
	11.2 When Reinforcements Arrive
	11.3 Where Reinforcements Arrive
	11.4 Reinforcements and Combat
	
12.0 LINES OF COMMUNICATION

13.0 ENEMY ZONES OF CONTROL

14.0 VICTORY CONDITIONS
	14.1 Exiting the Map

15.0 SCENARIOS
	
16.0 GAME NOTES
	
10.0 INTRODUCTION
Bastogne is a simulation of the German offensive into the Ardennes Forest, specifically near the Belgian town of Bastogne during the middle of December 1944. Each game turn represents half of one day, and each hex equates to about 850 meters. 

10.1 FIRST PLAYER
The German player the first player throughout the game (see 3.0).

11.0 REINFORCEMENTS
Enter reinforcements in the hexes listed, or in any hexes within the hex-range listed (inclusive) at the beginning of each respective player’s movement phase or mobile movement phase. A unit may move during the same turn it arrives on the map; however, no unit may arrive and end its movement stacked in a hex with any other unit.

11.1 QUANTITY OF REINFORCEMENTS
Reinforcements arrive during the following specific game turns. 

GERMANY
GAME TURN ONE	
Unit Type:	Hexes: 	
6-4-12	2913	
6-4-12	2913	
5-5-12	2913	
5-5-12	2913	
5-5-12	2913	
5-5-12	2913	
2-3-14	2913	
GAME TURN TWO	
5-5-12	2908-2915	
4-4-12	2908-2915	
4-4-12	2908-2915	
4-4-7	2908-2915	
2-3-14	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
3-3-7	2908-2915	
GAME TURN FOUR	
5-5-12	2908-2921	
5-5-12	2908-2921	
1-3-12	2908-2921	
3-3-7	2908-2921	
3-3-7	2908-2921	
3-3-7	2908-2921	
GAME TURN SEVEN	
3-3-12	Any hex south of 2918	
3-3-12	Any hex south of 2918	
3-3-7	Any hex south of 2918	
3-3-7	Any hex south of 2918	
3-3-7	Any hex south of 2918	
3-3-7	Any hex south of 2918	
GAME TURN 10:	
3-2-12	Any eastern mapedge hex	
GAME TURN 12:	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2918	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2918	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2918	
GAME TURN 16	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2915	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2915	
4-4-12	Any hex north of 2915	

UNITED STATES
GAME TURN TWO	
Unit Type:	Hexes: 	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex 	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex 	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex 	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
2-4-7	Any western mapedge hex	
GAME TURN THREE:	
5-4-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
GAME TURN NINE:	
5-5-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
5-5-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
5-5-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
5-4-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
5-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
4-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
4-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
1-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
GAME TURN 14	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
GAME TURN 16	
1-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
GAME TURN 18	
5-5-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
4-3-12	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	
2-3-7	Any southern mapedge hex	

11.2 WHEN REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Reinforcements arrive at the beginning of a player’s movement phase. A unit arriving when the movement phase begins must expend movement points normally in the first hex entered, and may then continue to move. Mobile units that did not arrive during the movement phase may arrive at the beginning of the mobile movement phase instead, and may continue to move normally.

11.3 WHERE REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Per the hexes or range of hexes listed under 11.1.

11.4 REINFORCEMENTS AND COMBAT
Reinforcements may participate in combat normally during the combat phase of the same turn they arrive. If a reinforcement unit’s arrival hex is occupied by any enemy unit, the reinforcement may not arrive until a game turn wherein that hex is no longer occupied by any enemy unit.
11.5 PANZER MOVEMENT PENALTY
Representing the dense woods of the Ardennes Forest, if any German "mobile" unit enters (or exits) any woods hex (unless via a road or trail) during any Movement Phase, that unit must expend half of its movement  to do so. Furthermore, any German "mobile" unit that enters any woods hex via a road is not entitled to the normal road movement cost (1/2), but must expend 1 MP instead. These penalties never apply to any U.S. mobile unit, however. 

12.0 LINES OF COMMUNICATION
If either Bastogne town hex (1317 or 1416) is currently occupied by any enemy unit, the US will lose one support fire marker (per each Bastogne town hex that is currently occupied by a German unit) out of each subsequent game turn’s allotment while the Bastogne town hex(es) are occupied by any German unit. 

13.0 ENEMY ZONES OF CONTROL
Reinforcements may be placed in an enemy zone of control, but must abide by the normal rules (see 6.0).

14.0 VICTORY CONDITIONS
To win the game, the German player must exit at least 12 full-strength (not depleted) mobile units (any German unit with printed movement allowance of 12 or more) off of any west edge map hex(es), as well as capture both Bastogne town hexes (1317 and 1416). To qualify as “captured,” a German unit must either currently occupy or be the last to have occupied hexes 1317 and 1416. Each captured objective hex, must not be within any enemy unit’s zone of control.

NOTE: German units may not exit the map as a result of any retreat combat result; a retreating unit doesn’t qualify as an exited unit for purposes of determining victory.

If the German player has only achieved one of the two victory conditions, the game is a draw. If the German player fails to achieve both victory conditions before the last game turn, the game is a US victory. 

14.1 EXITING THE MAP
A German unit that exits the map must expend movement points to enter an imaginary hex presumed to be adjacent to the map’s edge. The terrain is assumed to be identical to the terrain in the German unit’s last hex before it exits the map, and it must pay the movement point cost in the imaginary hex as in that last occupied hex. A unit moving along a trail or road leading off of the map is assumed to be moving into an imaginary trail or road hex, per the road movement cost.

A German unit may only exit the map during the German Movement or Mobile Movement Phase, not during any combat phase. 

Any US unit’s zone of control is assumed to be projected into the imaginary hex normally for purposes of movement.

Once any German unit exits the map, it may not return for any reason.

15.0 SCENARIOS
Bastogne has one historic scenario of the German offensive into the Ardennes Forest, in the area around Bastogne, and the US attempt to hold that vital road hub.

Set-up the following units in the hexes indicated below.
GERMANY:
No German units begin the game on the map.

UNITED STATES
Unit Type:	Hexes: 	
5-4-12	Any hex, except in the 2800 or 2900 row	
4-4-12	Any hex, except in the 2800 or 2900 row	
4-3-12	Any hex, except in the 2800 or 2900 row	
4-4-12	Within two hexes of either Bastogne hex	
4-3-12	Within two hexes of either Bastogne hex	
1-3-12	Within two hexes of either Bastogne hex	

16.0 GAME NOTES
The Germans’ ultimate goal of the Ardennes offensive was an impossibility for all practical purposes; the idea that German forces could breakthrough to reach (and capture) Antwerp suggests an appallingly shortsighted appreciation of accumulated Allied strength in Western Europe in 1944. Few among the German high command, sans Hitler, ever believed that the operation had any chance of success.

Whatever potential there was for a greater success than was achieved was squandered by numerous operational misjudgments by the Germans; bypassing Bastogne is the most notable and famous of them all, of course. This is not to imply that the Germans underestimated Bastogne’s importance to the operation (to wit, the road hub there), but rather that the Germans underestimated the tenacity of the American units (elements of the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions, as well as reinforcements from the 101st Airborne Division) tasked to defend the theretofore indistinctive Belgian town.

The Germans could have certainly captured Bastogne if they had committed enough forces to assail the town, but the timetable of the overall offensive required the leading formations of the German spearhead (5th Panzer Armee) to circumvent Bastogne…presuming that follow-up units would be able to seize the now-isolated town effortlessly. This is the situation in Bastogne when the game begins; the German player must accomplish both objectives to win the scenario; If the German player captures Bastogne but is unable to exit sufficient units off of the map (at least 12 mobile units, per 14.0), the wider Ardennes offensive is assumed to be seriously jeopardized (such a delay would have thoroughly impeded the 5th Panzer Armee’s impetus). On the other hand, if the German player fails to take Bastogne—even if he exits sufficient mechanized units—his circumstance will mirror the Germans’ historical dilemma.

The German player’s mission is difficult, but he has far more combat power at his disposal throughout the scenario, especially during the first half of the game. The Germans’ aggregate combat strength (the attack and defense strengths of all German units) is more than 330 points, whereas the US’ total combat strength is only slightly over 260 (moreover, a quarter of the US’ combat strength doesn’t arrive in play until the game turn 18). The German player’s firepower superiority is significant, although the US player possesses somewhat more support fire throughout most of the game, especially after game turn 9. Normally such a disparity of opposing combat power is overwhelming, notwithstanding other advantages available to the weaker side (e.g., terrain). 
	In Bastogne, however, the German player cannot storm US units recklessly; the prerequisite that German Mobile units must exit the map as full-strength units (i.e., not depleted) necessitates caution. Because of the combat system’s proclivity for “Ex” (exchange) results, the German player must conduct his assault with finesse; panzer thrusts that outpace their supporting infantry will become susceptible to attrition, particularly as the US support fire allotment increases.   

The US player’s operational predicament in Bastogne is the converse of the German player’s objectives; he must hold Bastogne, and also prevent German mechanized forces from exiting the western edge of the map. To this end, the US player must take full advantage of the terrain whenever possible, and zealously block the trails and especially roads leading off of the map’s west edge (this means that holding Bastogne is important for its own sake, because of the road hub there). Generally, US units should avoid defending in open terrain hexes (which should be thought of as ideal tank country) except when imperative for operational reasons.

Predominantly, the US player will be fighting defensive engagements until he receives reinforcements from Patton on the eighteenth game turn…at which time the leading elements of Patton’s Third Army (primarily the 4th Armored Division) are given an opportunity to intervene (historically their objective was the relief of the US 101st Airborne Division still defending Bastogne). It is at this time that the importance of Bastogne will become more evident yet; if the German player has decisively captured both town hexes, he is then provided a tenuous opportunity to redeploy his units to form a screen against the approach of Patton’s units. If, however, Bastogne is still under siege when Patton’s relief force arrives, an American breakthrough towards the outskirts of the town is much more feasible. Certainly, this complicates the German player’s situation, depending on how many units he has already exited off of the map, and what manner of force he can still redeploy to hold off Patton’s counterattack. 

During the “Battle of the Bulge,” Bastogne typified the determination of the American G.I., despite being surprised, outnumbered, cut-off, unsupplied and assaulted by some of Germany’s toughest outfits (such as the 2nd Panzer Division and the Panzer Lehr Division, for example). The German plan presumed that a winter offensive would nullify Allied airpower, and thereby allow the panzer divisions to push to the Meuse River by December 23rd. Of course, this presumption was predicated upon the notion that German arms could overrun any resistance encountered (in the absence of enemy air support)...a presumption that was not merely false, but a significant underestimation.

But, even if the Germans had captured Bastogne and reached the Meuse or beyond, the Ardennes offensive was unlikely to achieve anything more than a fleeting reprieve; neither of the two senior German commanders (Generals Rundstedt and Model) believed in the operation’s prospects for success. Paradoxically, none in the Allied high command believed that the German Army was still capable of such a major offensive in late-1944 (much less during the height of winter). In essence—as so often occurs in war—each side sorely misjudged the other.  
	 	 	      —Eric Harvey

CREDITS
Design: Larry Pinsky
Redesign: Eric R. Harvey
Cartography: Redmond A. Simonsen
Map Graphics: Joseph Youst
Counter Graphics: Eric R. Harvey & Larry Hoffman
Rules Booklet Layout: Callie Cummins
Development and Playtesters (original team): Manfred F. Milkuhn, Larry Catalano, Kevin Zucker, Linda D. Mosca. 
Playtesters (redesign): Eric R. Harvey and J. Scott Morris. 
© 2010, Decision Games, Bakersfield, CA. Made & printed in the USA. [BastogneRules_V4]