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Counter-attack on Mortain

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Title
Counter-attack on Mortain
Description
"We must strike like lightning!" - Adolf Hitler to Field Marshall Von Kluge 'Operation Luttich' began shortly before midnight on the evening of August 3rd. Under direct orders from Hitler, four armored divisions launched a counterattack westward across the Cotentin …
Subject
Source
Publisher
Date
1944-08-07
Scenario#
13757
Scenario Description
"We must strike like lightning!" - Adolf Hitler to Field Marshall Von Kluge 'Operation Luttich' began shortly before midnight on the evening of August 3rd. Under direct orders from Hitler, four armored divisions launched a counterattack westward across the Cotentin Peninsula toward Avranches. Their objective: to cut Patton's forces in half, thereby bottling up the Allied breakout. The 2nd SS Panzer Division pushed into Mortain before dawn and sent a column toward St. Hilaire. But the value of holding Mortain was severely undermined by the 120th Infantry entrenched on hill 317. The 2nd Panzer Division drove west along the River See until it was halted near Le Mesnil-Adelee. In the center, 1st SS Panzer and Panzer Lehr Division were stopped after taking St. Barthelemy. The northernmost element of the push, the 116th Panzer Division failed to launch its attack. The US commander, "Lightning Joe" Collins, countered and ordered armored and additional infantry forward from the reserve. By late morning, Allied aircraft swarmed the area; with a clear view of the German advance from Hill 317, the 120th was able to call in accurate air and artillery fire all day.
Location
Mortain, France
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counter-attack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain in northwestern France from 7 August to 13 August 1944. The offensive is also referred to in American and British histories of the Battle of Normandy as the Mortain counterattack. The assault was ordered by Adolf Hitler, to eliminate the gains made by the First United States Army during Operation Cobra and the subsequent weeks, and by reaching the coast in the region of Avranches at the base of the Cotentin peninsula, cut off the units of the Third United States Army which had advanced into Brittany. The main German striking force was the XLVII Panzer Corps, with one and a half SS Panzer Divisions and two Heer Panzer Divisions. Although they made initial gains against the defending U.S. VII Corps, they were soon halted and the Allies inflicted severe losses on the attacking troops, eventually destroying most of the German tanks involved in the attack. Although fighting continued around Mortain for six days, the American forces had regained the initiative within a day of the opening of the German attack.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
American
Additional Information
Game Type: Standard
Board Type: Countryside
Website Access: Available

Geolocation