Struck in the Teeth - German attack

[MikeJ19]

I've moved onto the next scenario - this time the Stuck in the Teeth scenario as the Germans.

Here are my initial planning thoughts -

Things to consider
Flank protection
Where are US reinforcements coming from?
North - unlikely
West – most likely

Intelligence
I need to take time to look at what the US forces are doing?
How they are organized and when and where their reinforcements arrive and how they get deployed?

Enemy Forces
9 Coy sized forces along the front
Mix of Infantry and Engineers
4 Mech Inf Coys shown in defence
This are my initial key en forces to fix

US Forces are from 112th Inf Regt
Absorbing replacements
This should affect their cohesion
Not likely to see tanks early on

Parent formation is the 28th Inf Division
Hopefully, this means that the US will not have many tanks

No initial sign of US Arty forces.
They could have a huge impact when I try to cross the Our River
If possible, I need to hit them early on – if I find them

Friendly Forces – On Map

North
116th Pz Div
Two Bns start on the map
2nd Bn 60 Regt
1st Bn 156 Regt

South
56th Div
Two Bns start on map
1st Bn 1130 Regt
1st Bn 1128 Regt

Other
Lots of Arty units – no ammo to start though
One Engr Coy in South

Friendly Forces – Reinforcements

Arriving in North
2nd Bn 16 Regt (Pz IVs) – between D1 1230-1430
Remainder of 60th Regt – between D2 1030-1230
Remainder of 16th Regt – between D2 1130-1230
Remainder of 156th Regt – between 1430-160

Arriving in South
2nd Bn 1128 Regt – between D1 1830-2030
2nd Bn 1130 Regt – between D1 1830-2030

Here are the Objectives:

[MikeJ19]

Mission Analysis

Superior Commander’s Intent
Need to exit forces – in West for maximum results.

Assigned Tasks
Seize crossing points over Our River
Exit forces to West and North

Implied Tasks
Destroy enemy forces

Main Effort
Exiting forces off the map
West first and then North

Terrain

Hockerlinie runs horizontally from North East to the centre south of the map. It restricts movement of forces, forcing a single file breakout from initial positions. It does not go much South of Ouren

Major River (the Our) runs from North to South across the front
Six crossing sites (from North to South)
Bridge (unprimed) near exit to Burg Reuland
Ferry at Stubach
Bridge at Ourenhausen (10 VP)
Ouren Bridge North (9 VP)
Ouren Bridge South (9 VP)
Crossing point near Feuerbach - limited to foot crossing

Approach to river is wood covered all the way along
Approach to the Ouren and Ourenhausen bridges is very sloped, and tricky
Good North-South road along eastern side of Our River
Fast speed route – going N-S – about 3-5 Ks West of Our river

Large number of small towns - 3 towns control approaches to Our River in Centre and all 3 are Objs
Two larger towns provide cover to the West of the river
Weiswampach to North (10 VP)
Heinerscheid in South

US options
1. Defend forward of river – along the ridge
Once defences breached, fall back to Our River
Reinforce to hold key bridges and supply lines

2. Withdraw to Our River
Defend the choke points that the bridges are

3. Block in the North, forcing me to the South

Thoughts
My attack is a surprise - I need to be fast off the blocks to maximize early advantage

The Pz IVs that arrive early in the afternoon are going to be key to my success

There is not much time here, so speed is going to be important

The VPs for the three towns expire quickly, so it is my best interest to take them early

I think the US will likely select Option 1, would be nice if I could bypass the forward defences – but I will need those VPs.

Need to neutralize US Arty if possible – they do a ton of damage


German Options
1. Drive on bridges
2. Push North
3. Left hook

Option 1

[MikeJ19]

Option 2

[MikeJ19]

Option 3

[MikeJ19]

Discussion
Time is short
About 30 hours to capture bridges and push to exits
Therefore speed is important
Bridges are important, but exiting is more important
Need to keep moving north and west

Decision
I’m going to try Option 1
Keep it simple and keep options open
Need to take bridges quickly.

Moves
When 2 Bn 16th arrives – it needs to link to 60th Regt to support attack

Fire support
Need to attack US Arty whenever possible
May need to time attacks so that fire support can be provide to each attack
This will be balanced against speed

[rickier65]

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out for you.

Thanks
Rick

[MikeJ19]

Opening stages

[MikeJ19]

D1 1326

I've picked up the three villages on the East bank. Now turning my focus on capturing the bridges...

[dazkaz15]

Ill be following Mike, thanks for starting another [;)]

[MikeJ19]

Daz,

Thanks. I'm enjoying your AARs as usual.

It is now 1430 on D1 and the Pz Coy has arrived. It has made me re-evaluate my initial decision to task it to support the attack on the bridge by the 60th Regt - see slide for details.

[MikeJ19]

Upon further investigation, I decided to attach 5 Coy to the 2nd Bn as the commander of the 5th seemed to be a little better. Hopefully, this means he can work better with the Infantry - time will tell.

[MikeJ19]

Changes everywhere

Well, as often happens in battle, the enemy has messed up my plan. So, on the slide below, you will see lots of changes to my original plans. These changes do not affect the overall intent of my plan, but make me wonder if my "planners" looked closely enough at the overall situation.

[MikeJ19]

D1 1949

Life has been interfering with my playing - oh well. Hopefully, I will get some time now to finish off this attack!

Here are my moves to take the three bridges....

[MikeJ19]

D1 2030

That was not good! Now I have to change my plan....

[rickier65]

oh, nuts! bad luck that!

Rick

[MikeJ19]

Rick,

It is very disappointing - Oh well, these things happen...

[MikeJ19]

D2 0032

My forces continue to push forward and have managed to secure the Ouren Bridge South and are pushing towards the North bridge now.

Minor US counterattack near Harspelt has been stopped.

[MikeJ19]

D2 0032 - Northern approach

I'm pushing towards the northern crossing site and exit - using lots of my fire support to help push the enemy out of the way. This is going to be key as I need to get the points for the exiting forces.

[MikeJ19]

D2 - Morning

I'm starting to push Westward in the middle and the push towards the northern exit continues...

[MikeJ19]

D2 1001 - North

The advance to the northern exit is progressing well. Should be able to push some reinforcements through here.