_______A HUNGRY TIGER**

German Advance vs US Army Defend*
__Salerno, Italy, Sept.15, 1943*
__________Turns:15*
*
Scenario Design: Wild Bill Wilder*
_______bwilder@bellsouth.net*
________"Wild Bill's Raiders"*
*
_____Scenario Size: Medium*
__Estimated Playing Time: 1 Hour*
Note: This scenario should be played from the German side only or as a two player game.**
______Historical Background**

The "soft underbelly of Europe" was the focus of attention by the Allies in their efforts to get into mainland Europe. From North Africa to Sicily and then to "The Boot," the hope was that such an attack would draw a lot of German attention to Italy. This would cause forces to be withdrawn from France and the even larger Operation Overlord.**

General Mark Clark and his Fifth Army began the landings of "Operation Avalanche" at Salerno on the west coast of Italy. The day before, Italy had officially surrendered. This had thrown Hitler into a frenzy and he issued orders for his armies in Italy to occupy the country, now not as allies, but as conquerors (which in many Italian minds was already a grim reality!). **

Sadly, there seemed to be a sense of overconfidence on the part of Clark and his subordinates. They moved forward slowly, carefully and endured little opposition initially. That would soon change.** 

Field Marshal Kesselring's first reaction was one of panic. Though he had the forces at his disposal (over 600 tanks alone) to squash this invasion, he sent forces in piece-meal. This merely served to slow the Americans. It was not enough.**

On September 15th, Battlegroup Schoener was sent into action with the mission of penetrating American defenses and driving straight to the beaches. The Kampfgruppe was composed of various units including tanks of the 503rd Heavy Tank Btn. armored cars, and foot soldiers of the 67th PG Regiment. They were all a part of the German 10th Army, under the command of General Vietinghoff.**

Kesselring had given strict orders for the immediate mobilization and commitment of any units available for the task of throwing the Americans off the beaches at Salerno. The Germans very nearly succeeded.**

Leaving Cappicio the Kampfgruppe smashed into the lines of the 
141st Regiment. They were now close enough to sense the odor of sea water. Colonel Andrew Price, executive officer of the 141st described the fierceness of the battle.**

"It was like fighting tanks barehanded. I saw riflemen swarm over the top of moving German tanks trying to shoot through slits or throw grenades inside. Other tanks would machine gun them off. They ran over wounded men... and spun their treads."

Sgt. Heinrich Loth's Tiger tank #216, "Frau Blum," (named after the 
mother-in-law of one of his crew members}, moved into the action. The 
recently installed new engines gave the old Frau some much needed pep. 
It was the dawning of September 15th when the German force hit the line.** 

The initial point of contact caved in quickly to the overwhelming German armor. It was almost at the beachhead when resistance stiffened.
American antitank guns and a few artillery pieces that had just been 
landed took the panzers under fire.**

Infantry struggles were occurring in the midst of the tanks and grenadiers and GIs went hand to hand over the rocky ground. Loth's tank gave a good account of itself. Leading the way for the panzer grenadiers, it tore through enemy defenses, destroying two machine gun nests. When a lone M-4 Sherman fired on Frau Blum, the 75mm bounced off the thick Krupp steel as a rubber ball would bounce off the pavement. The unfortunate crew of the Sherman got off two rounds against the Tiger before an 88mm shell ripped off its turret.**

After about 30 minutes of hard fighting, the sound of freight trains 
roaring past was heard. Instead of trains, however, they were 8" and 16" shells carving huge paths through the humid seashore air as they 
pummeled the attackers.**

One of the Tiger's in Loth's group had a near miss from a mammoth 16" round. Loth watched in horror as the 50 ton tank was lifted into the air, landing with a sickening crunch on its turret. No hatches opened. Evidently the concussion and the following flip had eliminated the entire crew.**

Then roaring in low over the horizon, "Jugs" (P-47 fighter support aircraft) roared into the conflict, winking with their eight deadly machine guns. The 50 caliber rounds ripped into the German infantry. Many were literally shredded by the large machine gun bullets.** 

The commander of the Group, Colonel Schoener, grimly gave the order for 
withdrawal. Of the twelve initial tanks in the assault, only 3 returned 
from the battlefield.*

For his participation in this action, Heinrich Loth would receive the 
Iron Class 2nd Class. He continued to participate in the fighting in Italy. Frau Blum would later be lost to rocket firing Allied aircraft, and be replaced with another Tiger. Loth was finally killed outside of Rome nearly a year later. - WBW**
Sources:**
The Texas Army, Wagner*
Panzertruppen II, Jentz*
The Tiger Tank, Ford*
Mark Clark, Blumenson*
Tiger 1 Heavy Tank, Jentz*
The Mediterranean and Middle East, Moloney* 
