Turn 1: Germans 145
Allies 50

From the third turn and later, the Allies value will go increasing gradually, while German value decreases. If Malmedy massacre occurs, the Allies shock value will jump up faster.

The German player needs to be fast and aggressive in the first 9 turns. Be careful, shock effects will disapear about in the 13th turn. The US will recover a normal shock value on the 9th turn. So untill then you must breakthrough the fastest you can, and try to reach the Meuse river before 23rd of december. Try to occupy Liege. It's a supply center. It will prevent your SS units from being under supplied. You'll be able to launch a paradrop on the second turn, do it carefully. Air is an Allied territory, and the Heydte KG is weak. Drop your units near the front, so you can join them faster. Its not sure your drop will be successfull because of awful weather and the ennemy aircraft superiority. If it's not, drop them on friendly territory and use them like any other land-unit. Hopefully Skorzeny teams will have succeed in passing through US lines, they will be very helpfull in slowing US reinforcements. When the tide turns, keep on fighting aggressively, and dig in every town. This is your last great offensive, try not to ruin it.

If you're on the Allied side, the first 6 turns may be very hard to go through.Try to slow down German rush at any cost. Reinforcements will arrive gradually so use them in the right way. Be careful to put enough garrisons to defend Liege and Bastogne. The fifth army heading may be huge. Don't panic and keep your eye on the main roads, on Bastogne, Marche and Baraque. On the 22nd and 23rd of december Patton's units should arrive in south of Bastogne. It's your turn to strike ! Be powerful and aggressive. If Bastogne is lost, you must get it back.Watch your supply sources, if they are captured, your reinforcements will be unable to arrive and you coudn't do without. In this scenario, your main forces are off-map so you must do the best while waiting, with so few units. On the 23rd of december and later, you'll have to turn on the tide. Be aggressive but don't you want to take it all too fast. You may waste your forces and the possibility to push back Hitler's best units. Go on gradually, as reinforcements arrive, and try then to cut off German supply lines. You're about to go through the greatest US challenge of WW II; I hope you'll enjoy it.

"Wacht am Rhein" Operation
December 1944, Germany has almost lost all its conquests in western Europe. The Allied forces are preparing the last rush into German territory. Hitler thought Germany had not yet said its last word. He wanted to throw a last die, to take again the inititiative of launching a great offensive in the Ardennes.He hoped, to do as well as he did 4 years ago against France, to breakthrough Allied lines to reach Antwerp port. Allied forces in Europe were in real need of this major port. Taking this port would separate the northern front from the south's, and keep Allied units away from an essential source of supply. Hitler hoped this would bring back the Allies on the negociation table to settle peace. He would then turn back to fight the Soviets face to face. German best units were taken off eastern front. For the occasion a new SS Army was created : the 6th. And the best new German tanks were allocated to this units : Panthers and King Tigers.
But German best generals didn't beleive in Hitler's plan. The fifth army leader, Von Manteufel proposed a "small solution", going only to the Meuse river. German generals, Rundstedt for example, thought Hitler's plan was surreal. The conditions were not the same as in 1940.Despite all that, Hitler decided by himself to keep the plan as it was in the beginning.

US unprepared troops were completely overrunned on the first days of the battle. The Allies didn't expect a German strike on the Ardennes, that's why such a little garrison was left there : about 6 divisions.On the 6th Army front, Peiper's Kampfgruppe attempted a break through untill Stoumont. On the 5th Army front, the 2nd Panzer Division almost reached the Meuse near Dinant 7 days after the beginning of the assault. But it seemed to be more difficult than the Germans thought. US soldier was better than Hitler imagined. Heroic resistance of the front line units allowed the reinforcements to come on time and prevented a bigger damage. From the 24th of december, US army and some elements of the 30th British Corps started a hard but successful counter-attack destroying German winning hopes. Moving vehicles in the Ardennes was very difficult, and German units were often out of supply. Hitler didn't worry about most of the material problems, like supply, winter conditions, and ennemy air superiority. Thank's to this battle the Soviet army was able to make a huge step forward on the Eastern front. Eisenhower knew it was time to destroy the best of German army, and Hitler gave him the possibility to do so.