H&L Donville, fifth Scenario of Carentan

[asl3d]

The Battle of Bloody Gulch took place around the Manoir de Donville or Hill 30 (U.S. Army designation), approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Carentan in Normandy, France, on June 13, 1944. It involved elements of the German 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, and the American 501st, 502nd and 506th, Parachute Infantry Regiments of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, reinforced by elements of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division.

[asl3d]

The Battle of Bloody Gulch took place around the Manoir de Donville or Hill 30 (U.S. Army designation), approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Carentan in Normandy, France, on June 13, 1944.
It involved elements of the German 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, and the American 501st, 502nd and 506th, Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIR) of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, reinforced by elements of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division.
During the battle, the manor house of Manoir de Donville was the headquarters of the German forces. American soldiers nicknamed the road running past the manor "Bloody Gulch", after a place mentioned in a popular western movie.

[asl3d]

The 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division had been formed in November 1943, but was far from enjoying all the planned troops. With only 60% of its leaders, and significant shortages in motorized forces, the division was mobilized and put into service. Its commander, the SS-Gruppenfuhrer Werner Ostendorf, decided to reconquer Carentan attacking from the two roads to the west of the city. The attack would not be preceded by artillery fire or patrols to enjoy the tactical surprise, and its attack strength would be the SS-Panzer Abteilung 17, equipped with 48 StuG IV assault guns.
Ostendorf was sure that the appearance of a large number of armoured forces would decide the battle in his favour since most of the combats in the sector had taken place between troops of infantry with shortage of anti-tank weapons. Following the StuG of the SS PzAbt 17 would attack the 37th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment.

[asl3d]

When the 101st Airborne entered the town of Carentan on June 12, 1944 (D-Day + 6) after heavy fighting on the two previous days, they met relatively light resistance. The bulk of the surviving German defenders (from the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment) had withdrawn to the southwest the previous night after a heavy Allied naval and artillery bombardment. Both sides realized the importance of the town: for the Americans, it was a link between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, and would provide a base for further attacks deeper into German-occupied France. For the Germans, recapturing Carentan would be the first step towards driving a wedge between the two U.S. landing beaches, severely disrupting and possibly even destroying the Allied invasion.

[asl3d]

The remnants of the 6th Fallschirmjäger resupplied and were reinforced by assault guns and panzergrenadiers of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division on the night of June 12–13. The combined force counterattacked northeast towards Carentan at dawn on June 13, just as the 506th and 501st PIR were attacking southwest to enlarge the American defensive perimeter around the town. The 506th took the brunt of the attack, and by 10:30 a.m., the outnumbered and outgunned paratroopers were pushed almost back to the outskirts of the town.
Under intense German fire, F Company of the 506th's left flank broke and fell back. This exposed D Company's right flank, who also fell back, leaving E Company all alone. Cpt. Thomas P. Mulvey, the commanding officer of F Company, was relieved on the spot by Lt. Colonel Robert Strayer.

[asl3d]

When a German tank attempted to penetrate the left flank, two soldiers of E Company successfully destroyed it with a bazooka. Meanwhile, battalion headquarters stopped the retreat of D and F companies, pushing them forward 150 meters to cover the left flank. The 2nd Battalion of the 502nd PIR took up positions to the right of the 506th, but by 1:00 p.m. they too had suffered many casualties, and the German attack was on the verge of breaking through their defences.
At this critical point, sixty tanks from Combat Command A of the 2nd Armored Division and accompanied by infantry of the 29th Division, counterattacked southwest from Carentan at 4:30 p.m., inflicting severe casualties on the Germans and forcing them to withdraw. The German attack had been stopped after noon. The inexpert grenadiers had met with a hard fight in the bocage.
The American victory led to the linkup of forces from Utah and Omaha beaches, creating a secure lodgement area for further American operations. The 101st Airborne was relieved in Normandy by the 83rd Infantry Division. During the battle, the US paratroopers had 2,500 casualties.

[delta07d]

Looks amazing, cant wait for this scenario.

[asl3d]

“Donville”, the fifth scenario for the historical module Carentan of Heroes and Leaders mod, is already available in the post:

tm.asp?m=4374224#

I hope you like it, delta07d.