Dorset Wood in the Rain

Despite days of intermittent rain, by evening of the 18th the Allies XXX Corps had completed the encirclement of Geilenkirchen with the British 43rd Wessex Division to the north and the U.S. 84th Division to the south. As the GIs attempted to penetrate into the strongly held city, the …

1944-11-19

A100

Despite days of intermittent rain, by evening of the 18th the Allies XXX Corps had completed the encirclement of Geilenkirchen with the British 43rd Wessex Division to the north and the U.S. 84th Division to the south. As the GIs attempted to penetrate into the strongly held city, the Wessex’s 214th Brigade moved to secure the north suburbs, with the 1st Worcestershire Battalion gaining the village of Tripsrath by nightfall. With the 15th Panzergrenadier Division nearby, however, a counterattack was expected. The 9th dawned soggy, overcast, and generally miserable – more of the same. The poor road conditions had held up the battalion’s antitank guns. Nevertheless, by 1100 hours the Worcesters were in position to support the American action at Geilenkirchen as a prelude to advancing on Straeten and Waldenrath. When the expected German counterattack emerged from the woods to the west of Tripsrath, it demonstrated forcible that the Worcesters were in an exposed position.

Tripsrath, Germany

Operation Clipper was an Allied offensive by the British XXX Corps (which included the American 84th Infantry Division) to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in mid-November 1944. Clipper was the preliminary to a wider Allied operation, Operation Queen, to gain control of the Roer valley and of the Hürtgen Forest. 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 9th Army. It restricted the movement of Allied forces and was a potential threat.

German

British

Scenario Type = Standard