Potential scenario idea

[DRG]

This is JUST a thought but the other day in responding to a question about cutting back artillery ( no.......... ) I found some info on a German attack in Holland in Oct 1944 which might ( MIGHT..... ) be interesting in the right hands ( I don't have the time this year and scenario design isn't my area of expertise........) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=51089 post 2 starting "During the night of the 26/27th October 1944"

and that lead to this

“Surprise Attack in the Peel Marshes”

by Lucian Heichler>>

OCMH R-Series Manuscript R-6

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Transcribed from the original document in Record Group 319 (Office of the Center of Military History[1]), Stack Area 270, Row 19, Compartment 30, Shelf 4 (OCMH R Series / entry 145 / R6 Surprise Attack in Peel Marshes) [in the OCMH Historical Manuscripts, call number 2-3.7 EB] at National Archives II in College Park, MD by Wesley Johnston, son of Walter Johnston of Company “B”, 38th Armored Infantry Battalion.>>
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The original spellings and format are generally retained in the transcript. Word wrap, in which a line of text continues to the next line, is not necessarily as in the original. Words broken with a hyphen (-) at the end of the line in the original are transcribed without breaking them. Hand-written text is transcribed in italics. The original text is typed double-spaced, but single-spacing is used in the transcription.>>
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If there is any question of accuracy, please contact Wesley Johnston ([email protected]) so that the original scanned images can be checked to assure that the transcript does or does not match the original.>>
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This document was prepared by Lucian Heichler as a supporting document for the writing of the volume “The Siegfried Line Campaign” by Charles B. MacDonald in the OCMH series “U. S. Army in World War II” (commonly referred to as “the green books”, since they were first published in hard green covers, with no jackets). In the book, MacDonald references Heichler’s study in footnote 27 of chapter X (“The Peel Marshes”) on page 243: “See also Lucian Heichler, Surprise Attack in the Peel Marshes, a MS prepared to complement this volume and filed in OCMH.” The document was intended to give the German perspective on their surprise attack in the Peel Marshes in the southeast Netherlands.>>
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The German attack began on 27 October 1944 in the area of Nederweert – Meijel – Liesel, with the primary initial attack coming through the town of Meijel, although attacks were made on other places along the front as well. The area that was attacked was defended by 7th Armored Division, numbering roughly 10,000 men. But the reality was that the area that was attacked was held only by widely spread elements of 7th Armored Division's 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, which had a total of about 900 men. In fact, at Meijel, there was only one troop (C) of 87 Recon, whose Morning Report on 26 October 1944 (the day before the attack) showed 5 officers and 127 men in position to defend against what would be an attack of an entire armored division (9th Panzer) of 11,000 men.>>
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Thus the initial attack overwhelmed the few scattered American defenders. More elements of 7th Armored Division were moved into the battle on the first day, but another German division (15th Panzer Grenadier) with 13,000 men was also moved into the battle, thus pitting 24,000 concentrated German troops against about 10,000 initially scattered but later concentrating American troops on the first day (27 October).>>
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Overnight on 27-28 October, the British moved into the battle's northern area, allowing the US 7th Armored Division to concentrate on the south, and the German attack was stopped by the afternoon of 29 October, though they did try to resume the attack the next day.>>
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The 7th Armored Division units near the canals continued to suffer losses during the first week of November, which is not covered in this study. The units holding these areas received much shelling from the Germans on the other side of the canal, until the 7th Armored Division was relieved on 7-8 November.


further detail including tank numbers and availability HERE