Prummern, November 1944

Prummern

November 18 1944

This is my attempt at creating a tabletop game base on the US/British attack to seize Prummern in November 1944. In writing this I am not in any way criticising or making any negative statements aimed at other scenarios published about this action – please don`t take offence as none was intended.

History

Prummern the first phase of Operation Clipper, the British attempt to close off the German salient around Geilenkirchen.

Geilenkirchen is situated on the Wurm River, some 20 km (12 mi) north of Aachen. The surrounding area is undulating, alternating between woodland, farmland and industrial villages. The area was crossed by a network of passable minor roads, some major roads and a railway line. The Wurm is the major geographic feature, the salient was a German position on the Siegfried Line (Westwall) at the boundary between the British Second Army and the American 9^th Army. It restricted the movement of Allied forces and was a potential threat.

Due to a critical lack of manpower, it was agreed that the US 84^th Infantry Division (Major General Alexander R. Bolling) would be attached to XXX Corps to assist in the operation. Placing the Americans under British command avoided any problems arising from a divided command. The plan called for the 334^th Infantry Regiment to pass through the troops manning the frontline, advance north-east 2 miles (3.2 km) and take Prummern and the surrounding high ground, east of Geilenkirchen, they would be supported in the attack by British armour.

At 06:00, before dawn, on 18 November, giant searchlights - canal defence lights of the 357th Searchlight Battery, Royal Artillery provided hazy indirect light by bouncing the lights off low cloud (often referred to as Monty`s Moonlight) for the mine-clearing flail tanks from “A” Troop 1^st Lothian and Borders Yeomanry supporting the infantry. These tanks moved toward the German mine field between Geilenkirchen and Immendorf, but, on the wet ground, mud lessened the flails′ effectiveness and so US engineers followed with mine detectors.

After a brief artillery bombardment, the US 334^th Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel John H. Roosma; advanced through the cleared strips at 07:00 and easily secured the high ground east of Geilenkirchen. When the attack resumed, supported by British Sherman tanks from the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, there was steady progress and the regiment's objectives were achieved by late afternoon.

The 334^th and their supporting armour faced elements of the German 183rd Volksgrenadier Division commanded by Generalleutnant Wolfgang Lange which had been fighting in a purely defensive role around Geilenkirchen since mid-September. Being pushed steadily back into the fortifications of the Westwall, during which time they had also been methodically ordered to launch futile counter-attacks with their already depleted resources to try and recapture lost ground. Attached to the division was XVI Landwehr Fortress Machinegun Battalion who`s men manned the bunkers.

My table

Loherhof farm and flanking bunkers

Hill 101

Prummern

Allied forces

US 334^th Regiment (84^th Infantry Division) commanded by Colonel John H. Roosma

1^st battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Lloyd H. Gomes

With:

Battalion HQ (includes FOOs for artillery support)

3 infantry companies with:

3 x 10-man platoons + support weapons coy (.30cal, 60mm mortar, bazooka)

Close up of a company support company

Battalion support weapons coy with:

81mm mortar battery, .30cal MMG platoon, AT (57mm guns) platoon

Photo includes a composite battalion HQ group

 2^nd battalion (as above) commanded by Lt. Col. James H. Drum (wounded around 10.30am) commanded passed to Major Eleazer (Battalion Exec)

Attachments

“A” & “B” squadrons Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry

Please ignore the Free French decals

“Drewforce” 79^th Armoured Division with:

Sherman Crab (Flail tanks) from “A” Troop 1^st Lothian and Borders Yeomanry

Churchill Crocodile (flamethrowers) from 141^st RAC

AVREs of 617^th Assault Squadron RE (see scenario notes)

 Elements of “B” company 638^th Tank Destroyer Battalion (see notes)

Free French M10 pretending to be an American M18

 Battery B 326^th US Field Artillery

105mm howitzers

121^st Medium Battery RA

5.5” howitzers

German Defenders

1 weak company of XVI Landwehr Fortress Machinegun Battalion manning first line of bunkers with:

2 x 12 man platoons (LMG, Panzerfaust)

Battalion 183rd Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Hampfuer) with:

HQ: CO, 2IC, FOO team (Panzer Artillery 106), 2 RTO, 2 officers, NCO, 6 runners, Panzershreck team, sniper, medical unit

3 rifle companies each with: 4-man HQ, 3 x 9-man platoons (LMG, Panzerfaust)

Support Coy: 2 x MMG, 2 x 81mm mortars, panzershreck team

Attached

1 x Pak40, 1 x `88

Battery, II battalion, Panzer Artillery Regiment 102 (105mm)

Reinforcements arrive by truck by either northern road after turn 15

2^nd Company Panzergrenadier Regiment 10, 9^th Panzer Division with:

Coy HQ (CO, NCO, RTO, 2 runners)

2 infantry platoons – 10 men each (LMG, Panzerfaust)

1 reduced infantry platoon – 5 men + MMG team 

Scenario special rules

 AVRE`s whilst noted in accounts of the actions around Geilenkirchen I`ve not read of them actually being involved at Prummern so haven`t included them in my game.

 638^th Tank Destroyer Battalion were equipped with M18 Hellcats, I don`t own one so have substituted an M10 for my game

 Mud – the ground is totally waterlogged with areas of deep mud – tanks move off road at half speed due to this!

Tanks moving off road must roll every move to avoid becoming bogged down: 1-2 on D6 results in a stoppage, the next turn a further roll is required to free the tank (5-6 required), but if a further “1” is rolled the tank is lost and permanently trapped!

Wheeled vehicles cannot move off road!

Unmarked minefields – mines and booby-traps appear to have been scattered about without plan. The German defender can place 2 off 4 x 6” mixed low density fields and 3 off fake fields anywhere between the railway and Prummern.

Bunkers can hold up to 6 men and are virtually impervious to all attacks, but defenders cannot return fire if “buttoned up”

Loherhof farm has been fortified as part of the forward line of resistance and buildings provide hard cover with overhead protection

Hill 101 has been partially fortified with trenches (some with overhead protection) and barbed wire

 Sources

Forgotten Battles: The West Wall by Peter Heath ISBN978-7399954-3-0

Rapid Fire! Brothers in Armour by Colin Rumford & Richard Marsh (Valiant Miniatures Ltd)

Brothers in Arms by James Holland ISBN 978-0-5521-7791-7

The Battle for Geilenkirchen by Ken Ford ISBN 0-7153-9208-5

 Web pages:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Clipper

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operation-clipper-fight-geilenkirchen

https://tankdestroyer.net/images/stories/ArticlePDFs2/638th_History_Complete_-_Reduced_OCR.pdf

Pages 27-31 cover the fighting around Geilenkirken

https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/3605/

Pages 2 &3 give brief accounts of the daily AAR from the 638^th TD battalion during the Geilenkirken fighting

 The Game

 The game starts when the Sherman Crabs of the Lothian and Borders Yeomanry finally clear a path through the minefield. They lost several tanks which became bogged down and the heavy mud lessened the effectiveness of the flails so US Army engineers followed and assisted clearing the lanes with metal detectors and lifting mines by hand.

I decided one Crab would lead each column of Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry until they reached the railway line. “A” troop had to cross the entire width of the table behind the embankment (as they did historically) due to their lane becoming so swampy it became impassable.

Turns 2-3 saw the British tanks advance, “A” troop saw what became a regular occurrence with tanks getting stuck, then freeing themselves the next turn – this slowed everything down to a snails pace. “B” troop reached the railway line backed up by “E” company of the the US 2^nd battalion

Turns 4-6 “B” troop plastered the bunker in front of them and “E” company moved forward under their protective fire, they did lose a few men to accurate German artillery fire. “A” troop struggled along behind the embankment, each and every turn saw at least one tank stopped in the heavy mud until finally on turn 6 the lead tank found itself totally immobilized after two consecutive 1 were rolled!!

Turn 7 The bunker in front of “B” troop surrenders, but of course there is another across the road, so they move to engage it! “A” troop and the Crab engage the first bunker on their side of the table with cannon fire whilst "A" company of the US 1st battalion moves forward.

Turn 8 “B” troop and “E” company move to engage the second bunker, pouring fire into it to keep the defenders heads down and buttoned up.

One of the “A” troop tanks supporting “A” company on the other side of the table has a lucky escape when a nervous German misses him with a Panzerfaust at point blank range!

Turn 9 retaliation by the “A” troop tank is swift

Supporting infantry from “A” company storm the building and kill or capture all remaining defenders.

On the other side of the table a “B” troop tank is knocked out by a Pak40 concealed in Loherhof farm

But fire from the other tanks and “E” companies support platoon have finally silenced the bunker.

Turn 10 “A” troop and “A” company silence their bunker, but the infantry come under fire from Loherhof farm

Both “B” troop tanks fire on the Pak 40 (after it hits but fails to penetrate the Firefly) and wipe out the nasty threat

Turn 11 “A” troop and “A” company prepare assault Loherhof farm, both US battalion HQs call for artillery onto Hill 101.

The effects of batteries for 105mm and 5.5” artillery was quite profound

Turn 12 “A” troop shelled Loherhof whilst “A” company moved into the assault

The Firefly of “B” troop together with combined artillery, 81mm and 60mm mortar fire pounded Hill 101 to devastating effect, the Germans could only reply with mortar fire (unobserved and inaccurate)

Turn 13 Half of “B” troop pitches into Loherhof,

On the other side of the farm complex “A” company get a nasty surprise from yet another bunker, luckily a tank for “A” troop is there to try and supress it. Whilst the company launches its attack

Turn 14 “E” company of 2^nd battalion has taken quite a few accumulative casualties (including the company CO) and fails its morale, luckily “F” company has arrived and takes over the attack on Hill 101 – where accumulative casualties have broken the defending German company who abandon the hill.

A Sherman from “A” troop breaks into Loherhof a panicked defender misses it with a point blank Panzerfaust shot (luck was with the British tankers today), US infantry also storm the compound

Turn 15 “A” troop move to suppress the next bunker, “A” company clear the remaining buildings of Loherhof.

British tanks and “F” company move up onto Hill 101

Turn 16 German reinforcements arrive from the north

This seemed like a good place to end. The Allies have control of the high ground over-looking Geilenkirchen which was the objective of this operation. Yes the didn`t have Prummern, but the Germans only have a couple of infantry companies and virtually no heavy weapons left.