This is one of my favorite maps of the base game. There's always a risk of the game becoming a rout for one side or the other, but unlike many of the other games where this can happen, you do actually have some control over it, and it can happen for both sides, equally... as will sadly be evident from the match I played with Wiking44...
There are some interesting elements, right off the bat. For instance, the Germans are caught against the back line - in all three flanks, and the allies are in a pretty good defensive position, BUT they will have to leave that to push seriously against the Germans. The lack of any artillery for the entrenched side is what makes this different than many of the other scenario setups.
I started as the Allies and Wiking44 as the Axis.
I had a fair starting hand - MOVE OUT, RECON IN FORCE, PROBE CENTER, and ATTACK RIGHT - nothing fancy, but not bad.
Wiking44 immediately played INFANTRY ASSAULT to move as many of his center infantry into better defensive positions. This is always a very good idea for the German player. And I followed up with another "Chess opening"... moving the two allied Armor in the town of St.Vith out and around the mountains to be a potential threat.
We both stalled a little for a couple of rounds, sniping at each other's units. I was coming out worse in that exchange, however, so I decided something had to be done.
I tried a strategy that has worked for me before on St.Vith. Normally having 4 cards is a significant weakness, leaving you no way to plan anything ongoing - but on St.Vith, the Germans are vulnerable to attacks on all flanks - especially early on. So I tried to simply push as much as I could, using whatever cards I got to both confuse and stress my opponent. The risk being, of course, that if he didn't break, I would be in serious trouble.
... unfortunately he didn't break.
And for a while it looked as if I might lose 6-0... but in the end I got it up to 6-3 - not good, but not impossible to come back from.
Second round I had another interesting starting hand, but since I had to win 6-2 I couldn't just barge ahead, I had to be sneaky-like...
I had both MOVE OUT and ARMOR ASSAULT - as well as an ASSAULT, a PROBE and an ATTACK... unfortunately on three different flanks. And, as I mentioned - the Germans can't defend all flanks, so I had to chose.
I noticed how Wiking44 was moving his armor around to concentrate on my Left Flank, while not making moves to protect his un-sandbagged infantry. This smelled of a trap for me - so I - uncharacteristically for me, I must admit, used an entire ASSAULT card to move all my units into cover...
I then tried to go for an offensive on the opposite (my right) Flank. Only to get AMBUSHED, and when I tried to come back, using my ARMOR ASSAULT, it completely fizzled and I was once again left "standing with my pig-tails in the mail box" - as we say in Denmark. I quickly realized I couldn't win 6-2 - and tried to get an honorable win, but as I ran out of good cards, Wiking44's got increasingly deadly.
In the end I lost 6-3 again.
Thanks to Wiking44 for stepping in. And congratulations with the win...