Black Day in Hatten

In early January 1945, the Battle of the Bulge had run its course, and numerous Allied units were drawn northward to stem the German tide. Taking advantage of this situation, OKW launched a second, less well-known western front offensive codenamed Operation NORDWIND toward the Allied southern sector. The …

1945-01-09

HF1

In early January 1945, the Battle of the Bulge had run its course, and numerous Allied units were drawn northward to stem the German tide. Taking advantage of this situation, OKW launched a second, less well-known western front offensive codenamed Operation NORDWIND toward the Allied southern sector. The target was the French province of Alsace and the ambitious plan required two German armies to encircle the American Seventh Army in and around Sarrebourg. The northern portion of the German attack stalled. To break the impasse, the Germans deployed Panzer-Korps XXXIX, its key offensive weapon, along a more southern axis. Rebuffed at Oberroedern, it moved further southward and targeted the twin villages of Hatten-Rittershoffen. During the early morning of 9 January, the Germans managed to capture the Maginot fortifications located east of Hatten. Kompanie 3, Bataillon I, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35 penetrated Hatten but was soon isolated from supporting units. A local counterattack by C Company, 242nd Infantry Regiment supported by a platoon of M18 Hellcats was laid on.

Hatten, France

Operation Nordwind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 31 December 1944 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine in southwestern Germany and northeastern France, and ended on 25 January 1945.

American

German

Scenario Type = Standard