Patton's 4th Armored
CCA and CCB at Arracourt

by Michael Reese



AMERICAN SET-UP THE GAME STARTS WITH ONE AMERICAN FORCE IN POSITION AND THE OTHER OFF TABLE TO ARRIVE ON A GAME TURN EQUAL TO THE ROLL OF A D6. THE WEATHER IS FOGGY LIMITING VISIBILITY TO 150 METERS AND MAXIMUM MOVEMENT TO THE SAME DISTANCE. THE TWO BATTALION COMMANDERS WILL NOTE THEY HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THEIR ORDERS/MISSION FROM DIVISION. CCA IS ALSO ALREADY POSITIONED ON THE TABLE AND CCB HAS ITS ORDER OF MARCH/ARRIVAL DETERMINED. THE COMBAT COMMAND COMMANDERS MUST:

  1. Select subordinate commanders and assign them to tank or armored infantry battalions. If short players then have one player run two battalions.
  2. Assign FO Teams and jeeps from Artillery Battalions to Tank or Infantry Battalion HQ as desired.
  3. Determine if any battalions will cross attach companies with another battalion. This means a tank battalion will have a tank HQ and two tank companies and one armored infantry company, and the armored infantry battalion it received the armored infantry company from will have an arrnored infantry battalion HQ, two armored infantry companies, and one tank company. (see rules on attachments and cross attachments pages 3 and 29.)
  4. Issue orders to Battalion Commanders based on orders from Division and the tactical situation. These orders must be written In Accordance With (IAW) the SH (or CD2) rules and consist of the following. Order sheets for this have been provided.

THE NEXT SECTION CONTAINS THE SITUATION, INTELLIGENCE ON THE ENEMY, MISSIONS, THE AT START POSITIONS OF YOUR FORCES, AND THE LIST OF UNITS.

SITUATION: 20 September 1944 near Arracourt, France.

On 19 September the Germans launched a limited counterattack from the south against 4th Armored Division . Their lead elements were severely hurt when they encountered CCA's forward units. German losses are estimated at 30 Panthers and 10 to 20 armored halftracks and softskins. U.S. losses were light. One M4 Sherman and one M 10 Gun Motor Carriages (GMC) were lost (ie. a platoon/battery of each).

ENEMY FORCES:

Elements of 1 1 6th Panzer Division, Panzer Lehr Division, and Panzer Abt. 2113 have been identified. The majority of destroyed vehicles were from Panzer Lehr Division. German forces are expected to attack again this morning and have contacted units to the west which have thrown them back.

MISSION:

Advance to contact, locate the enemy, and close with and destroy his forces.

AT START:

CCA (-) 4th Armored Division (Lt. Col. Abrams). On table north of line H and east of line 11.

WEATHER:

Fog and Mist. Visibility is 150 meters (1.5"). The fog may lift. It is near 2 PM. The ground is relatively firm but the fields are boggy and soft. Aircraft could not operate yesterday and may not be able to operate today.

SUPPORT: ARTILLERY: Each Combat Command has one battalion of 105mm SP FH (M7 Priest) attached and one battalion of three towed 155mm FH off-table in General Support.

AIRCRAFT:

9th Tactical Air has promised support as soon as the fog lifts from their airfields. Roll a die six (D6) every turn at the end of your move. If a 6 then aircraft may appear from the north as follows: Roll a second D6. 1-2 2xP47 with six rockets and 8 .50 cal HMG ea. 3-5 2xP47 with two 500 pd (250 kg) bombs and 8 .50 cal HMG each. 6 2xP47 with two napalm tanks and 8 .50 cal HMG ea.

UNITS

CCA: CCA is regular except where noted.

CCA HQ:

    1 HQ Std in Car/Jeep/or Truck 1 155mm BN FO in Jeep

37th TANK BATTALION 37th Tank Battalion is VETERAN

    37TH TANK BN HQ: 1 M4 tank REC SEC: lxJeep w/50 cal HMG ASSAULTGUN SEC: 1xM4 (105mm) Howitzer MORTAR SEC: 1xM4 81mm Mortar halftrack 4 Tank Companies: A COY: 1 Jumbo M4 (75), 1 Jumbo (76), 1 M4 (76) B COY: 3 M4 Sherman (76) C COY: 3 M4 Sherman (75) D COY: 3 M5 Light tanks

51st Armored Infantry Battalion

    51st AIB HQ: 1 HQ Std, 1 Jeep
    Recon: 1 Jeep w/50 cal HMG
    Support: 1 HMG Std in M3 halftrack
    1 M4 81mm Mortar Halftrack
    AA: 2 M4 halftrack w/50 cal HMG
    Antitank: 1 57mm ATG and halftrack
    Gun: 1 M8 75mm SP How
    A Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks
    B Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks
    C Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks

ARMORED ARTILLERY BATTALION

    HQ: 1 HQ FO Std, 1 Jeep
    3 Batteries each: 1 M7 105mrn SP Howitzer

ATTACHED UNITS:

    ENGINEER COMPANY: 3 Engineer Std in 1 M3 halftrack and 2 Trucks
    AA BATTERY: 1 SMG Std in M3 halftrack, 2 M16 GMC, 2 M15 GMC
    TD Gun COMPANY: 3 M10 GMC, 1 M20 Armored Car
    Cavalry Troop: 1 Jeep 30 cal MG, 1 Jeep 50 cal HMG, 2 M8 Armored Cars

RECOMMENDED PLAYERS FOR CCA= 3.

Player 1= CCA Commander. Players 2 and 3 each run a Battalion.

  1. At the CCA commander's choice he may cross-attach one infantry company for one tank company in the combat command.
  2. At the CCA commander's choice he must assign units from the ATTACHED UNITS (ie. ENGRS, AA, or AT) to either combat battalion.
  3. CCA HQ must attach itself to a battalion.
  4. The Artillery battalion may stay on table in GENERAL SUPPORT, or be attached to one of the combat battalions.

THE AMERICANS CCB

SITUATION: 20 September 1944 near Arracourt, France.

On 19 September the Germans launched a limited counterattack from the south against 4th Armored Division. Their lead elements were severely hurt when they encountered CCA's forward units. German losses are estimated at 30 Panthers and 10 to 20 armored halftracks and softskins. U.S. losses were light: three M4 Shermans and three M10 Gun Motor Carriages (GMC).

ENEMY FORCES: Elements of 116th Panzer Division, Panzer Lehr Division, and Panzer Abt. 2113 have been identified. The majority of destroyed vehicles were from Panzer Lehr Division. German forces are expected to attack again this morning and have contacted units to the west which have thrown them back.

MISSION: Advance to contact, locate the enemy, and close with and destroy his forces.

AT START: CCB (-) 4th Armored Division (Lt. Col. Fischer). North of the table edge and west of line 10. Arrives on a turn equal to the roll of a D6 on the road at A6. Write your die roll result here:

WEATHER: Fog and Mist. Visibility is 150 meters (1.5 inches). The fog may lift. It is near 2 PM. The ground is relatively firm but the fields are boggy and soft. Aircraft could not operate yesterday and may not be able to operate today.

SUPPORT: ARTILLERY: Each Combat Command has one battalion of 105mm SP FH (M7 Priest) attached and one battalion of three towed 155mm FH off-table in General Support.

CCB CCB is Regular except where noted.

CCB HQ: 1 HQ Std in Car/Jeep/or Truck 1 155mm BN FO in Jeep

35th TANK BATTALION

    35TH TANK BN HQ: 1 M4 tank REC SEC: 1xJeep w/50 cal HMG
    ASSAULTGUN SEC: 1xM4 (105mm) Howitzer
    MORTAR SEC: 1xM4 81mm Mortar halftrack 4

Tank Companies:

    E COY: 1 Jumbo M4 (75), 1 Jumbo (76), 1 M4 (76)
    F COY: 3 M4 Sherman (76)
    G COY: 3 M4 Sherman (75)
    H COY: 3 M5 Light tanks

53rd Armored Infantry Battalion

53rd Armored Inf Battalion (AIB) is Green

    53rd AIB HQ: 1 HQ Std, 1 Jeep
    Recon: 1 Jeep w/50 cal HMG
    Support: 1 HMG Std in M3 halftrack 1 M4 81mm Mortar Halftrack
    AA: 2 M4 halftrack w/50 cal HMG
    Antitank: 1 57mm ATG and halftrack
    Gun: 1 M8 75mm SP How

    E Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks
    F Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks
    G Company: 3 Rifle Std in M3 halftracks

ARMORED ARTILLERY BATTALION

HQ: 1 HQ FO Std, 1 Jeep
3 Batteries each: 1 M7 105mm SP Howitzer

ATTACHED UNITS:

    ENGINEER COMPANY: 3 Engineer Std in 1 M3 halftrack and 2 Trucks
    AA BATTERY: 1 SMG Std in M3 halftrack, 2 M16 GMC, 2 M15 GMC
    TD Gun COMPANY: 3 M36 GMC, 1 M20 Armored Car
    Cavalry Troop: 1 Jeep 30 cal MG, 1 Jeep 50 cal HMG, 2 M8 Armored Cars

RECOMMENDED PLAYERS FOR CCB= 3.

Player 1= CCB Commander. Players 2 and 3 each run a Battalion.

  1. At the CCB commander's choice he may cross-attach one infantry company for one tank company in the combat command.
  2. At the CCB commander's choice he must assign units from the ATTACHED UNITS (ie. ENGRS, AA, or AT) to either combat battalion.
  3. CCB HQ must attach itself to a battalion.
  4. The Artillery battalion may stay on table in GENERAL SUPPORT, or be attached to one of the combat battalions.

GERMAN SET-UP

THE GAME BEGINS AROUND NOON OF THE 20TH SEPTEMBER 1944. 111TH AND 113TH PANZER BRIGADES ARE COUNTERATTACKING NORTH AGAINST PATTON'S ARMY. THE ASSAULT BEGAN YESTERDAY WITH 113TH PANZER BRIGADE SUFFERING HEAVY LOSSES AMONG THE ATTACHED PANTHERS OF I BN PANZER REGIMENT 130, PANZER LEHR DIVISION. AS THE 111TH GERMAN BRIGADE COMMANDER YOU WILL ISSUE ORDERS TO YOUR SUBORDINATE BATTALION COMMANDERS AND RUN THE BRIGADE HQ. THE ELEMENTS TAKING PART IN THE ATTACK HAVE BEEN LIMITED DUE TO THE LOSSES OF YESTERDAY AND THE DIFFICULTY IN ASSEMBLING YOUR FORCES. YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF DOING A FLANK MARCH. (SEE RULES FOR SH)

  1. ASSIGN YOUR BATTALION COMMANDERS TO UNITS.
  2. DETERMINE HOW YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH YOUR MISSION.
  3. ISSUE ORDERS TO EACH OF YOUR BATTALIONS in accordance with the SH rules (write a turn #, and draw an arrow to show the path of march. The arrow head will indicate the objective).

THE NEXT SECTION CONTAINS THE SITUATION, INTELLIGENCE ON THE ENEMY, MISSIONS, THE AT START POSITIONS OF YOUR FORCES, AND THE LIST OF UNITS.

SITUATION:

An attack north against General Patton's Third Army by LVIII Panzer Corps has been ordered by Adolf Hitler. It began yesterday, the l9th September. The attack failed with losses of 29 Panthers from 113th Panzer Brigade as well as heavy losses in infantry. 111th Panzer Brigade is being thrown in to continue the attack.

MISSION: The 111th Panzer Brigade is to thrust north towards Moyenvic eliminating or bypassing resistance. A rapid tempo must be maintained to the attack. Moyenvic is located off the north table edge on road 14A.

AT START: Elements will begin offtable and arrive on a table edge on the turn designated by the Brigade commander. The location on the table edge is defined as being south of Gl on the SW edge and on any south edge of L. The Germans may use up to a third of its force to do a flank march. Indicate which units are doing this, where on the board edge they will appear, and the turn they will come on. An additional -1 will be added to the die roll to determine if the units arrive on time (SH page 5).

SUPPORT: None.

UNITS: 111th Panzer Brigade is Green. In addition, German units may not change orders once in combat (see SH page 7 left column bottom 3 lines) as they normally can.

111th PANZER BRIGADE HQ

    HQ: 1xHQ Std, 1xCommand Car
    AA SEC: 1 Sdz 7/1 20mm Quad, 1 Sdz 7/2 37mm Flak
    RECON PLT: 1xRifle Std, lxSchwimmenwagon (SW)

2111th PANZER BATTALION

    HQ: 1xMark IV/H
    RECON PLT: 1xMark IV/H
    ENGR PLT: 1x25 lM, 1xEngr PLT (Rifle/Flame)
    AA PLT: 1xSdz 7/1 Quad 20mm
    PANZER KOMPANY 4 - 3xMark IV/H
    PANZER KOMPANY 5 - SAME as Panzer Kompany 4
    PANZER KOMPANY 6 - SAME as Panzer Kompany 4

I PANZER BATTALION HQ PANZER REGT 116. 116TH PZ DIV.

    HQ: 1xPanther Command Tank
    RECON: 1xPanther
    ENGR: 1x25 1/7, 1xEngr PLT (Rifle/Flame)
    AA SEC: lxSdz 7/2 37mm Flak
    PANZER KOMPANY l - 3xPanther
    PANZER KOMPANY 2 - SAME as Panzer Kompany 1
    PANZER KOMPANY 3 - SAME as Panzer Kompany 1
    PANZER KOMPANY 4 - SAME as Panzer Kompany 1

2111 PzGrenadier REGIMENT

    1xRegt HQ Std, 1xTruck
    2x81 mm Mortar Std, 2xTrucks

I BATTALION HQ:

    HQ: 1xREGT HQ Std, 1xCommand Car
    RECON: 1xRifle Std, 1xSW
    ANTITANK: 1xSdz 11, 1xPak 40 75/L46
    1st Company (Gep) - 3xRifle Std, 3x251/1 APC
    2nd Company (Mot) - 3xRifle Std, 3xTrucks
    3rd Company (Mot) - 3xRifle Std, 3xTrucks

II BATTALION HO:

    HQ: 1xREGT HQ Std, 1xCommand Car
    RECON: 1xRifle Std, 1xSchwimmenwagon (SW)
    ANTITANK: 1xSdz 11, 1xPak 40 75/L46
    5th Company (Mot) - 3xRifle Std, 3xTrucks
    6th Companv(Mot) - 3xRifle Std, 3xTrucks
    7th Company (Mot) - 3xRifle Std, 3xTrucks

ATTACHMENTS

    Heavy Weapons Company (Mot) 1xTruck, 1x120mm Mortar Std 1xTruck, 1xHMG Std
    Assaultgun Company - 2 SGIII/G
    Engineer Company (Mot) - 3xEngr Std (Rifle/Flame), 3xTrucks

2111th MIXED PANZER RECON KOMPANY

    1x250/9, 2x250/1, 1xRifle Std, 1xHMG Std

The RECOMMENDED NUMBER OF PLAYERS ARE as follows: Five. One Brigade Commander, four subordinate Battalion commanders.

JUDGES SHEET

The following rules are in effect for this game.

  1. WEATHER. The game begins with fog which limits visibility to 150 meters (1.5") but doesn't affect movement. This fog will lift on a die roll of 12 (boxcars)(rolled every turn by the Chief Judge) and will lift at a rate equal to a D6 inches per turn. If the fog hasn't lifted by TURN 10 then the Chief Judge will roll a D6 in secret for the number of turns until the fog lifts.
  2. RIVERS. The rivers in the game are fordable. Roll a die when a unit checks for a ford. A roll of 1-2 = No Ford. 3+ = Ford, firm bottom. Add +2 to die roll if rolling within 50 meters of a bridge. Treat movement through Fords as rough ground.
  3. FIELDS. Fields are soft ground, boggy from the rain EXCEPT Panthers lose 1" movement instead of moving 1/2 speed. (due to wide tracks = lower ground pressure)
  4. The US CCA's 37th Tank Battalion is commanded by Lt Col. Creighton Abrams. The CCA was organized into two combat teams, the tank heavy team being led by Lt Col Abrams. This unit was well trained and led by one of the best armor commanders in the war, so it is considered to be Veteran.
  5. PROMISE US player air cover every time he asks. However, it will never come because the air fields are socked in.
  6. Germans may not change orders while engaged unless a Veteran unit. This simulates the command problems the Germans had with their new, untrained units (which is also why the Germans are considered GREEN and REGULAR instead of the normal REGULAR and VETERAN).

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© Copyright 1996 Hal Thinglum

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