Attacking the Orscholz-Reigel defence line in November 1944…
Another day, another attempt to breach the German lines. This attack started off well, and good use of covering fire and maneuver allowed the US forces to close towards the two hills forming the first line of the German defence network. A mortar stonk managed to score a direct hit of the 38t Panzerturm, knocking it out, but one of the supporting M10s and the infantry with it blundered into a minefield, losing the M10 to an AT mine and some serious casualties among the infantry. They halted on this flank and awaited the engineers to clear the minefield.
On the other flank, the US mounted a full platoon attack on the single bunker and line of foxholes. Supported by engineers with flamethrowers, they laid down serious amounts of covering fire but a lone MG42 team managed to keep their head and cut down the advancing engineers leaving only two of them combat effective. It looked like the attack would stall, but the two remaining engineers had other ideas, and weathering yet more fire raced to the top of the hill and in an effort worthy of some serious medals, destroyed the fox hole positions with the flamethrower before the operator was cut down. But the lone remaining engineer sargeant wasnt done yet… managing to get a 'Beyond the Call of Duty' morale result, he launched himself on the MG42 team in the other foxhole and assaulted it in a lone charge. When the smoke cleared, the Sargeant was dead but he'd single handedly wiped out the MG nest, opening up the flank of the bunker on the hill.
Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield the engineers had cleared the minefield while two 105mm barrages knocked out another MG bunker allowing the advance to continue, while the remaining M10 managed a lucky shot and put an HE round through the slit of the bunker covering the road junction. German reinforcements arrived but very slowly, and the US attack, despite some heavy losses was building up a good head of steam and pushing forwards. But they ran into a lone German sniper, thrown forward to slow the advance as German troops raced to form a new defence line based on the houses and the intact OP bunker. He managed to keep two units pinned down long enough for the reinforcing units to get into position covering one of the objectives. This lone action would prove critical.
Back on the other hill, the Germans abandoned the bunker and in order to cover the trooos falling back, the OP bunker called in a mortar stonk on top of the hill. A wild dice through saw the rounds scatter widely and bay chance they came down directly on the troops following up the engineers. Luck then finally arrived for the Germans. First one mortar round landed among a BAR group, killing the entire group, and a second landed among a rifle team causing enough losses to see them too retire. A final round pinned another unit and this too fell back and this run of losses spelled the end for the US and their battle rating was exceeded and they began to fall back. Once more the German line had held, though the entire bunker line had collapsed. The US commander obviously not fancying losing anymore men that day. A run of high value chits had punished the US force, and despite the Germans having half the Battle Rating of the attacking enemy, they had drawn low value chits and several event chits, though still sat perilously close to their total. But the line held, for the second time…
The US are gonna give it one more shot at cracking the Orscholz-Reigel defence line…
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