US Forces around the twin villages were the 99th and 2nd Infantry Divisions.
The 99th infantry Division was holding the villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt with forward elements positioned at Lausdell. Infantry defending the surrounding area outside of the villages were in pill boxes and fox holes. The 2nd Infantry Division arrived in the evening of the 16th to reinforce positions held by the 99th. The Americans holding Lausdell were attacked by a much larger German force. "At Lausdell the German tanks managed to overwhelm the American lines at 08:00 hour and to fire directly at the foxholes. Sergeant Hunt saw from the village how soldiers were mowed down by machine guns after they had left their foxhole. A man lay wounded next to a tank that he tried to stop by putting his rifle between a track. Man to man fighting erupted while the American artillery tried to destroy the German tanks. Lieutenant Truppner understood that his position was lost and contacted the artillery to shell his own line. He and his men would hide in their foxholes. An artillery barrage followed, lasting 30 minutes, after which the German advance came to a standstill for a while. Nothing was heard of Lieutenant Truppner after this."
The American retreat to Rocherath-Krinkelt is as follows:
"around 10:00 hour McKinley received the order to retreat to Krinkelt: the last units of the 2nd Infantry Division had passed Lausdell. An hour later, as support, a new artillery barrage followed, lasting 30 minutes, followed by a counterattack from a recently arrived tank battalion. The1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment started to pull back. When Sergeant Hunt walked past the command post he saw McKinley standing on the side of the road. The Lieutenant-Colonel shook the hands of the passing soldiers and thanked them for their courageous performance. After arriving in Krinkelt, the number of men was counted: of the 600 men that went to Lausdell only 144 were left."
The 1st battalion reached Rocherath and entrenched on both side of the road north of the village along with heavy weapons. 2 battlaions entrenched outside of the villages facing east. The mission was to defend the road to Wirtzfeld and hold access to Elsenborn ridge so artillery could establish a position. The Germans were expected to come puring from the woods in a fast moving assault. The 23rd infantry from 2nd Division was attached to the 99th Division.
Two scenarios come to mind. Either the holding positions outside the villages can be recreated, or the ambush tactics of bazooka teams and hand to hand fighting within the villages can be played out.
Stock photos
Scource WW2 Aerial Reconnaissance Studies
No comments:
Post a Comment