"Strike Two..."

German Pre-Move Commentary: Nothing left to do but go for the long shots and try to maximize the number of such opportunities next turn.  My approach will be to try to shock defenders and then get a combat roll sufficient to push any remaining defenders away.

I've made sure that the critical Marche and St. Vith hexes are garrisonned.  In the deep south, my infantry units will continue to push.  Any threat in this area is likely easily thwarted but I'll minimally pull some mech units back in order to provide an exit threat as well as screen the south.

Post-Combat Comment:  The bombardments succeeded but I didn't hit the 1/6 chance of gaining a bridgehead.

This German move proved to be a real wild ride. Tom rightly focused on the Dinant bridge crossing where I failed to build an improved position and allowed the German Player a combined arms shift. Two successful bombardments threatened a German river crossing which would have been very difficult to throw back. Alas the odds and results shined on the Allies. The Germans have crossed the Meuse River on the far south side of the map and have pretty much cleared the Allies from the east bank of the Meuse River on the north side of the map. We're down to the wire.

I'm feeling that, barring a string of very lucky die rolls, I can prevent the Germans from capturing a bridge and moving across the Meuse River on the final game turn. Something I should have done on the previous game turn was to place Patton or Monty directly on the Dinant bridge crossing hex to give the Allies an extra step of defense. I now possess complete control of the air, which will make the German task even more daunting. All three of the most powerful U.S. armored divisions are poised to take advantage of their coordinated defense bonus. I see a few opportunites for local counterattacks. The belated drive to relieve Bastogne begins with the arrival of U.S. 35th Inf.