Forrest Pafenburg and Bruno Sinigaglio repeat the grognard scene ...	... while Phil Evans keeps the new blood at bay for another year.

Open Swiss Phase

A total of 26 games were played in the preliminary rounds by 21 different participants, allowing Battle of the Bulge 1981 to crack the 16-player threshold for the eighth consecutive doncon. Contributing to this success is the flexible format pioneered by El Lingle that allows grognards looking for tournament games to play after they have been eliminated elsewhere.

Of the 26 games played in the preliminary rounds, 16 were won by the Americans and 10 by the Germans but in the elimination rounds the Germans won all three games. The overall tournament totals were Germans 13 - Americans 16. The eight-turn tournament scenario developed by Randy Heller has been playing right at 50-50 for 18 years. The results since Bruno took over for our late friend John Grant in 2003 are now Germans 111 and Americans 111. Making it to the Final Four was three-time defending champion Phil Evans (52 points), first time contender Vinny Sinigaglio (38 points), Frank Sinigaglio (35 points) and perennial runner-up Forrest Pafenberg (27 points).

Single Elimination Phase

Semi-final: Phil's German opening attacks saw all of Forrest's U.S. units in the south escaping engage or exchange results; D Elims on 14th Cav, 99/394, and 106/422; An exchange vs the stacked 2/9 and 2/12; a DB4/AA3 vs 28/110 with German advance into Clerf; a DB3/AA2 vs 28/112; and engage and contact results vs the remaining U.S. units. The advance into Clerf was significant. The DB3/AA2 vs 28/112 was not an optimal result, but proved to be significant on the 16 pm turn.

Forrest responded to Phil's opening attack by retreating into rough terrain hexes immediately to the west of Clerf, and evacuating the two remaining regiments of 106 ID into rough terrain hexes, barring any immediate German threat to St. Vith. Endeavoring to save the frozen 333 Arty, Forrest moved a unit into 333 Arty's hex. 9/CCB moved into the nearby rough terrain hex JJ19.

Phil's 16 pm attacks yielded excellent results. Most significantly, 9/CCB was attacked with a concentrated German artillery die roll modification, resulting in DB3/AA2. German advancing units then cut off the only retreat hex for 333 Arty and the unit stacked with it. The subsequent attack here resulted in both units being eliminated; Phil moved the entire 12 SS Pz Div to the bridge hex MM18 to ensure favorable combat odds in this critical attack.

Subsequent turns saw Phil taking every opportunity to get attacks that had chances of D Elim or exchange results. North of St. Vith was a slow grind for Phil, but Forrest was obliged to keep enough units in this sector to defend Malmedy, Stavelot, and Trois Ponts. U.S. Air interdiction helped slow Phil's drive in the south. Phil used a 4:1 (-2) Blitzkrieg attack to take the rough terrain north of Bastogne and hexes adjacent to Houffalize. Both towns fell the following turn. Although Bastogne was fortified, Forrest had to spread out units of 10th Armor to defend the Ourthe river bridges, leaving only one 7-factor combat command available to defend the town. To guarantee seizure of fortified Bastogne, Phil had to get a 5:1 (-1) attack, which required almost all the 7th Army and 5th Pz Army nebelwerfer and artillery units available (41 factors).

Forrest managed to keep Phil from advancing out of Houffalize towards Parker's Crossroads by mounting a 3:1 counterattack in the dense woods nearby, but this netted an Engaged result. Knowing that Forrest would be unable to pull off the engaged U.S. infantry units, Phil maneuvered other German units north west of the Houffalize-Parker's Crossroads road and along the road from Vielsalm. This allowed a concentric attack on both the crossroads and the engaged U.S. units. Parker's Crossroads was seized with stacked Peiper, F. Escort, and 12/2 Pz regt. (34 factors). Arriving units of the 82nd and 101st Airborne proved insufficient to retake the crossroads, and the game was concluded, with Phil the victor with four objectives achieved: capture of Bastogne, Parker's Crossroads, more than 18 U.S. combat units eliminated, and less than three German mech/arty units lost.

Semi-final: On the 16AM turn Vinny's Germans killed 14cav, 106/24, 28/112,and 28/110. There were mixed results in the north and the south with retreats, contacts and engages, but the loss of four American units in the center made it difficult to from a good defensive line in the center where the Americans are weakest.

Frank tried a strategy not seen previously. On 16PM the Americans retreated in the center to positions that no German infantry could reach. It was successful and disastrous at the same time. The Germans picked up a great deal of ground in the center, but risked exchanges of mech units, because no infantry was present to help in the attacks. Vinny obliged by rolling three exchanges, which killed three German mech, but also left the American center bare.

Frank delayed as best as possible under the cimcumstances, but Vinny was able to capture Bastogne on 17PM. At this point Vinny was nursing three Victory Points and should have been able to cake walk to victory, but he forgot to protect his rear and cover bridges to the east. Frank brought 10th Armor in behind Vinny's krauts and was lucky to blow every bridge that could provide supply. As a result, the entire German 7th Army and most of the 5th were placed out of supply.

On 19pm the Germans captured Trois Ponts for 4 VP. The Americans mounted a counterattack at 2-1 (-1) plus an attack to kill a fourth mech unit, but both failed. Thus, Vinny earned a hard fought victory over his big brother. Frank commented to their father that with that 16AM opening Vinny can never again complain about dice.

Final: Phil's 16AM German combat results were a mix of good and bad. In the south, 4/12 was engaged and 28/109 exchanged. At the Our River, a lucky DB4/AA4 vs 28/110 and a DB3/AA2 vs 28/112 fell into his lap. In the north: attacks vs 99/395 and the stacked 2/9-2/38 resulted in AB1; 99/394 and 14 Cav were eliminated. In the center 106/422 was killed, but 106/423 and 106/424 escaped with Contacts. Overall, the repulse of the German attacks in the north were offset by the favorable results in the south and center.

On the US 16AM turn Vinny placed 9CCA at KK31 adjacent to Ettlebruck, infantry into rough terrain hexes west of Clerf, a surviving 106 ID regiment into rough terrain hexes to the east of St. Vith, and the remaining units forming a line hinged on Rockerath-Krinkelt - rough terrain - Monschau. In addition, Vinny placed units in an attempt to save the frozen 333 Arty by stacking a unit with it.

Apparently, lighting can strike twice in the same place. On his 16PM turn, Phil executed an attack that repeated the trapping and killing of 333 arty and its reinforcing regiment. By the way, that unfortunate arty unit was also overrun in 1944. Elsewhere on the board, massed German artillery assured the fall of Rockerath-Krinkelt, and German advances occur between Monschau and Elsenborn and in front of St. Vith. In the center, Phil attacked down the road towards Bastogne.

On his 16PM turn, Vinny fell back into St. Vith and occupied the crossroads hex HH17 between the Ourthe river and Vielsalm, backed up by an arty in HH16. On his 17AM turn, Phil attacks the U.S. unit in HH17 with a 4:1(-2) blitz, and rolls a "1" (Blitz 4) with major consequences. The Blitz 4 sees German PzGr units advance towards Houffalize, the rough terrain hexes adjacent to the Vielsalm - St. Vith road, and directly behind St. Vith, surrounding the unit there. Phil's subsequent attack vs St. Vith results in the elimination of the defending U.S. unit, and a robust German advance down the road towards Vielsalm. Near Elsenborn, a solitary, exposed, U.S. arty unit is attacked and eliminated and the German advance after combat surrounds an adjacent U.S. unit, which is also eliminated in the same combat phase. Exchanges near Monschau and Martelange exacerbate Vinny's precarious situation.

In the following turns Phil pressed his advantage in the center. Vielsalm and it's adjacent bridge were taken with German units thrusting north towards Trois Pont and west towards Parker's Crossroads. To the west of Houfflaize, Phil again executed a 4:1 (-2) blitz attack, resulting in German mech units taking the bridge in hex Y23, the river confluence in hex Z21 and hexes behind Bastogne. Attrition of U.S. units is heavy as Phil attacks all along the front using high attack odds and maximum use of artillery and air support.

By the end of Phil's 19AM turn, the Germans have La Roche, a bridgehead in X22, Bastogne, Parker's Crossroads and Trois Ponts and more than 18 U.S. units eliminated. Phil has successfully defended his title and pulled into a tie with the game's designer, Bruno SInigaglio, with four titles each.