Battle of the Bulge as a Tactical Reference for Cold War/AirLand Battle Scenarios

AirLand Battle was the 1980's US Army doctrine. Controversial and flawed as it was, I keep trying to revisit it in my Cold War simulations and games like Steel Beasts ProPE, Flashpoint Campaigns, Fulda Gap, North German Plain and Danube Front. It is no secret for the seasoned Cold War gamer that the majority of the routes of advance towards the West would have been a nightmare for the Soviet Pact forces. Relatively narrow corridors between steep hills covered in forests ... Déjà vu?

The semblance of this type of terrain and the force composition of forces have the Battle of the Bulge written all over it. In his monograph/book (available from Amazon or for free if you search it), Major Fontenot takes those comparisons to the next level with his analysis of the performance of the US 7th Armored Division in the fateful WWII battle. His argument is that the expediency of artillery support, the use of patrols and blocking positions all contributed to a fight that looks pretty much like a poster child of AirLand Battle.

Command Ops Battles from the Bulge is my gold standard for all things Bulge and the picture above shows an scenario that features the battle for the 7th AD. This is going to be very interesting.

Cheers,