GOYA

The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was a veteran airborne unit, whose distinctive patch was emblazoned with the acronym “GOYA” (for “Get Off Your Ass”). From the 21st of December through the 6th of January, the men of the battalion weathered “no sleep, frozen feet, knee-deep snow, cold food and …

1945-01-07

G18

The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was a veteran airborne unit, whose distinctive patch was emblazoned with the acronym “GOYA” (for “Get Off Your Ass”). From the 21st of December through the 6th of January, the men of the battalion weathered “no sleep, frozen feet, knee-deep snow, cold food and hallucinations” in the dense forests while fighting alongside the 82nd Airborne Division. On January 7th, the battalion, now down to but 250 men, was ordered to take Rochelinval, a crossing point on the Salm River. The defending troops of the 183rd Volksgrenadier Regiment were known to be backed up by a flak regiment and a battalion of 105mm howitzers. The half-mile of open ground to be crossed to reach the buildings was covered with over a foot of snow.

Rochelinval, Belgium

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II, and took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of the war in Europe. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor.

American

German

Scenario Type = Standard