Manarch
Way back in my
teens I came home from school to find my Dad had thrown out my entire
collection! Hundreds of plastic figures (metals being far too expensive for me
back then) and dozens of plastic kits and di-cast models, to say the least I
was devastated. This of course put an end to my wargaming hobby until in my
early twenties, whilst working in Cardiff I wandered into a games shop and saw
"Bastogne", an A4 campaign booklet for Command Decision rules by Frank
Chadwick and Greg Novak. The booklet had some colour and B/W images of 20mm
models and soldiers, painted and set-up for battle; this brought back memories
of the illustrations in the books by Charles Grant, Terrance Wise and Don
Featherstone; this one chance discovery drew me back into models and eventually
wargaming.
For the first
few years my hobby fixated on Bastogne and the Ardennes offensive almost
exclusively, the desperate fighting in the mud and snow between German and
American units of varied abilities has much to attract the wargamer who likes
challenging games yet doesn`t want the Allied air superiority to dominate the
battlefield. Part of the battle which fascinated me most was the first few days
where US infantry, surprised and outnumbered, managed to hold back the might of
5th Panzer Armee, just long enough for SHAEF to scrabble its reserves forward
to bolster the line. Without the dogged defence and sacrifice made by these men
(long overlooked) 5th Panzer Armee may well have reached Bastogne before the
101st airborne and the outcome of the battle changed dramatically.
Now
many years later I find myself with a big collection and a wargames room in
Spain with a permanent 8x4` table. My lads and I try and have a game whenever
we are there for more than a week, so for Christmas 2017, I decided to revisit
old ground
History
The 28th
Division held the southern half of VIII Corp`s front. The three regiments were
deployed along its frontage: the 109th in the south, 110th in the centre and
the 112th in the north. The 110th Regiment (Col. Hurley Fuller) was actually
responsible for about half of the divisions total frontage! The 110th also had
to make do with only two of its three battalions on the line, as the third had
been taken by division and held in reserve! The Regiment`s only option was to
hold a series of isolated strong-points, blocking roads for any enemy advance.
These were supplemented by active patrolling during daylight and advanced
listening posts overlooking the Our River.
On the German
side General von Luttwitz`s 47th Panzer Corps
was tasked with seizing crossing points over the Our River and capturing
the strategic road junction of Bastogne, then moving onto the Meuse. The
frontage for his initial plan with two divisions corresponded almost exactly to
the defensive frontage of the 110th Infantry!
The
game
Taking advantage of our larger
table in Spain I have decided to run this historically based game, set during
the first few days of the Ardennes offensive. Concentrating solely on the
battles and area concerning the I (and later II) battalions of the US 110th
Infantry Regiment. The game offers an interesting challenge with the Germans
having to move across difficult terrain against an entrenched alert enemy.
The game starts at 0800 some two
hours after some intense artillery, mortar and rocket fire has smashed down
across the 110th strong-points. All I Battalion positions were hit -
Heinerscheid ("A" Company), Grindhausen ("D" Company)- both
north, off table as far as our game is concerned north and Marnach
("B" Company), Munshausen ("C" Company) and Reuler (Battery
"B" 109th Field artillery). This barrage not just caused casualties
and damage but cut all the telephone wires leading between positions and back
to the rear, effectively cutting off each unit from both Battalion and Regiment
plus one-another! The barrage lifted after about 30 minutes, but additional
short salvos persisted over the next couple of
hours.
In the early
hours of December 16th 2nd Panzer Division began sending
its panzergrenadiers across the Our. After struggling up the steep valley sides
through thick under-growth and trees and a minefield they finally arrived at
their jump-off points for their first objective - Marnach, the time was 0800.
German orders
2nd
Panzergrenadiers are spearheading the attack, your orders are to seize Marnach
and open the roads to the Clerve River bridges ahead of the armoured and mobile
elements; awaiting completion of engineer build bridges over the Our river to
the East.
The weather is
cold and wet with low lying fog, the terrain rough and very wet, all this has
combined to delay the progress of your lead units, but finally you are in
position to attack.
Use combined
infiltration and direct assault tactics to achieve your objectives.
US
orders
Your Battalion
holds a series of company sized forward outposts along the ridge overlooking
the Our River (the German frontline). Your orders are to set listening and
observation posts during the day supplemented by combat patrols. These have a
two-fold purpose: 1. Standard frontline field practice. 2. Training and
acclimatising of new and green replacements into the companies, platoons and
sections.
Your Division
has been assigned to this quite sector of the front to recover and refit from
the mauling it took during the battles for the Hurtgen Forest region. Many of
your soldiers are fresh replacements and those remaining veterans are worn to a
thread.
At about 0530
this morning all your frontline outposts were hit by quite heavy artillery,
rocket and mortar salvoes. Virtually at once all communications to the rear and
other outposts ceased as the shell fire cut telephone cables; you are on your
own!
You decided to
stand your men on alert and the Germans continued to shell your positions on
and off over the next few hours, between shelling the sounds of heavy vehicle
traffic drifts across the valley from the east (the German side).
About thirty
minutes ago your scouts reported hearing men moving up through the wooded
hillside towards the road which runs along ridge (known as Skyline Drive), this
is it......
US
initial dispositions and OOB, 16th December 1944
Marnach
"B"
Coy 110th Infnatry
HQ (CO, 2ic, RTO, NCO)
3 x rifle platoons with:
Lt or NCO, SMG, grenadier, BAR, 6
x rifle
Support platoon with:
.30cal MMG team, 60mm mortar
team, Bazooka team, 4 ammo bearers w/rifle
US infantry company support weapons platoon
"D"
Coy Infantry
MMG team (3 men w/water-cooled
.30cal)
"B"
Battery 109th Field Artillery
FOO team (spotter + RTO)
"B" Company, 630th Tank
Destroyer Battalion
Recce platoon with:
2 x Jeep (one w/.50cal) CO, RTO,
4 men
Gun section with: 76mm + crew
& tow
Munshausen
"C"
Coy 110th Infantry
HQ (CO, 2ic, RTO, NCO)
3 x rifle platoons with:
Lt or NCO, SMG, grenadier, BAR, 6
x rifle
Support platoon with:
.30cal MMG team, 60mm mortar
team, Bazooka team, 4 ammo bearers w/rifle
Cannon
Coy 110th Infantry
M3 105mm Howitzer + crew &
tow
Reuler
"B" Battery 109th Field
Artillery
2 x 105mm guns plus crews + tows
Battery HQ (CO, 2ic, RTO) + Jeep
Supply platoon (10 rifle armed
figures + truck)
Platoon, Battery "B"
447th AAA AW Battalion (Mobile)
40L56 AAgun + crew & tow
Reinforcements:
Arrive Munshausen 1100hrs 16/12
2x M4 tanks (707th Tank
Battalion)
From Clervaux 0600 December 17th
"E" & "F"
Coys 110th Infantry (As "B" Company above)
Elements "H" Coy 110th
Infantry:
2 x .30cal MMG teams + truck
2 x 81mm mortar teams (can be
directed by either infantry company HQs) + truck
1 x 57mm AT gun with crew + tow
3 x M4 Sherman (707th Tank
Battalion)
1 x M10 tank destroyer (630th
Tank Destroyer Battalion) should be an
M18
German
Forces
German battalion HQ group
Initial units:
Enter from the
east (Our River) 0800hrs 16/12
I Battalion, 2nd
Panzergrenadier Regiment (dismounted less weapons company) with:
Battalion HQ
4 officers, 2
RTO, 2 x FOO teams
Defense/recce
platoon with:
10-men - NCO, 2x
SMG, LMG team, sniper, 4 rifles, inc 1 panzerfaust
Pioneer platoon
with:
Officer/NCO,
Flamethrower, 8-men
Anti-tank
platoon
2 NCOs, 2 x
Panzershreck teams, 4 men
3 rifle
companies with:
HQ: CO, NCO,
RTO, 2x runners
3 platoons off:
officer/NCO, 2x SMG, LMG team, 5 rifles, inc 1 panzerfaust
Support:
II Battalion,
74th Artillery Regiment
Reinforcements @
1000hrs 16/12
II Battalion 2nd
Panzergrenadier Regiment (dismounted less weapon company)
As I battalion
above
2 companies 2nd
Panzer Auflarungs Abteilung (dismounted) each with:
HQ: CO, RTO,
NCO, runner
2 platoons off:
2 officer/NCO, 2 LMG teams, 6 SMG/Stg44
1700hrs 16/12
Elements II
Battalion, 3rd Panzer Regiment
3 x Panzer IVH
2 x Stug III
1900hrs 16/12
Transport and
support elements I Battalion, 2nd Panzergrenadier Regiment
Our table
Left side with
Munshausen in the background
Manarch with Reuler further back
Central view
Munshausen
Reuler
Manarch
The initial
moves saw the German 1st Battalion or 2nd Panzergrenadier Regiment (2nd panzer)
advancing slowly towards the US positions. My dispositions in attack was 1st
Kompanie reinforced with a pioneer platoon would attack Marnach head-on with
2nd Kompanie on their right (north) with orders to advance to the road then
pinch in and envelope the town. 3rd Kompanie on the left (south) was to move up
to the road and cut it preventing US forces from moving reinforcements into the
town. Both 2nd & 3rd Kompanies bolstered by a Panzershreck team.
Meanwhile
"B" Company 110th awaited their arrival
Supported by the artillery battery in Reuler
And "C" Company in Munshausen
1st Kompanie and
the pioneers walked into a world of hurt! They barely got off the start line
before moral sapping casualties occurred. Their right most platoon, eventually
joined 2nd Kompanie as it moved out of the line of fire. Though the CP did
bring in some directed artillery fire causing some US casualties.
2nd Kompanie had
more luck with one of its platoons stumbling onto a weak point in the US
defensive plan, this was quickly exploited by a second platoon supported by the
arrival of the survivors from 1st Kompanie; this caused the Yanks to fall back
across the highway..
3rd Kompanie totally
achieved its objectives though it did take casualties from directed artillery
fire
By 9.30am (turn15)
2nd Kompanie`s CP crossed the highway and advanced to the crest of the ridge
along with one platoon cleared the ridge and began bringing directed fire onto
Battery "B" in Reuler; who almost immediately bugged out.............
The rest of 2nd
Kompanie plus the survivors of 1st Kompanie moved into the town, fighting house
to house against the defenders.
By 10am (turn
20) the Yanks held just one house and with the German 2nd Battalion about to
arrive, we called it quits.
Tough if not
impossible task for the Americans to hold Marnach, the boys agreed that without
artillery support there was no chance of the remaining "B" Company
guys holding off a new fresh battalion long enough for the 707th tanks to
arrive at Munshausen at 11am. But one US company had effectively destroyed a
German one and blooded two others in the process. Historically when the tanks
drove from Munshausen to Marnach on the afternoon of December 16th, they found
no evidence that "B" Company was still there and the place was full
of Germans.........
