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CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #4: Foy History "In 20 December 1944, during the German Ardennes offensive, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich took the town of Foy from 1st Battalion, US 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, US 101st Airborne Division, suffering heavy losses in the process; 500-1,000 German troops and 30 tanks were lost, while 199 US soldiers and 13 officers were lost. The American paratroopers, including Easy Company, counterattacked on 9 January 1945 with assistance from artillery, and they repelled a counterattack at 4:15 AM on 14 January 1945. The Germans later sent in 14 tanks and a whole battalion to retake the town, and they succeeded. However, the Americans counterattacked at 9:30 AM, and they suffered significant losses due to a lack of cover in the open and snowy fields and during the house-to-house fighting. The Americans were eventually able to retake the town with the help of the US 11th Armored Division, and the Germans were forced back one last time, leaving the town in American hands. --- --- --- --- --- FANTASTIC PICTURES TAKEN BY @Hawk BRILLIANT MAP MADE BY @Watchtower

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CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #7: La Hardt History "In September 1944 the campaign for the liberation of Alsace began. The 1st French and the VIIth US Army encountered stiff resistance in the Vosges Mountains against an enemy determined to defend a land that was attached to the Reich in 1940. In November, the French finally broke through the Belfort Gap, rolling down the plain from the south towards Colmar and liberating Mulhouse on the 21st. With the Germans managing to reorganize an effective line of defense north of the city, flanking operations were launched in the La Hardt forest in order to take the Chalampé bridge on the Rhine. This would threaten the supply lines of the 19th German Army encircled in the Colmar pocket. From November 28 to December 3, bloody fighting raged in the woods to repel the French forces behind the Huningue canal, until the Jagdpanthers of the Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 gathered for the final assault..." --- --- --- --- --- Map edited by @GeoPat

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #5: La Gleize History "The plan of 22 December included the continuation of the drive to take La Gleize and Stoumont plus an attack to mop up the 1st SS Panzer Division relief detachment which had dug in north of the Amblève between Stavelot and Ster. This latter group was established on the nose of a ridge, from which its fire swept north, west, and south, and in surrounding woods. Two rifle companies of the 3d Battalion, 117th Infantry, working from the north, and the rifle company of the 120th Infantry attached to Task Force Lovelady, attacking from the west, found every move checked by mortars, Werfers, and bullet fire. Finally a rifle company was sent from Stavelot to hit the Germans in the rear. Thereafter the Americans were able to converge on the ridge, but as day ended pockets of the enemy still remained in the woods. During the day other enemy troops had crossed the Amblève and for a time isolated one of Lovelady's roadblocks north of Trois Ponts.1 But at no time on the 22d did organized units of the relieving force of the 1st SS Panzer Division succeed in breaking through to Peiper in La Gleize. At the west end of the Peiper pocket the night of 21 December had witnessed the final reduction of the sanatorium, opening the way for a direct attack on Stoumont by Task Force Harrison. Early that evening an officer of the 740th Tank Battalion had crawled into the enemy lines, scouting for a way to bring tanks around to the northwest of the building. Returning to his own lines he called for volunteers to build a ramp over the fill, or embankment, which had barred direct assault earlier in the fight. The ramp, constructed from shell castings, worked, and by midnight four Shermans were firing into the sanatorium. Shortly thereafter the Germans left the place. When the Americans entered the basement, they found that none of the civilian inhabitants had been killed or injured. General Harrison felt that it would be possible to bring in his attached armor and the 3d Battalion, 119th Infantry, from the north, now that the enemy flanking position on the high ground was gone. He set up this attack to precede the final assault from the west. Patrols, groping their way through the morning snowstorm, found Stoumont strangely quiet, but Harrison was well aware that the 119th had been seriously weakened and went ahead with plans for pounding the town with artillery" ---- --- --- --- --- Map created by @SgtAlex Screenshots made by @Hawk

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #1: Wacht Am Rhein History "The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945), also known as Unternehmen: Wacht am Rhein, was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. United States forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany’s armored forces on the western front which Germany was largely unable to replace. German personnel and Luftwaffe aircraft also sustained heavy losses. The Germans’ initial attack included 200,000 men, 340 tanks and 280 other tracked vehicles. Between 67,200 and 100,000 of their men were killed, missing or wounded. For the Americans, 610,000 men were involved in the battle, of whom 89,000 were casualties, including up to 19,000 killed. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II." --- --- ---

It's the CMP Community's Official Birthday today!

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Battle #9: Silver Fox History "As early as Jul 1940, Germany had her eyes on the nickel mines of Petsamo, a Finnish port very recently seceded to the Soviet Union as Finland lost the Winter War. During Blue Fox operations, German forces moved into Finland after negotiations that brought the ambitious Germany and the vengeful Finland together. The offensive struck Russia on 22 Jun 1941, the same day that Operation Barbarossa was launched to the south. The people of Finland often referred to this invasion as the beginning of the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union. Two German divisions struck from Norway and penetrated Petsamo which was already surrounded by Finnish troops. The port fell quickly from the shock of the surprise attack. The second phase of the attack was launched on 29 Jun 1941 as German and Finnish troops marched across the barren northern terrain. Exposed German vehicles in this coverless terrain became easy targets for Soviet air and artillery attacks, and logistics became so difficult that the attack virtually halted as they approached the port city of Murmansk. The southern pincer in the attack was fought over entirely different terrain as the one in the north toward Murmansk. The southern offensive was also launched on 29 Jun with German troops marching through thick ancient forests. The advance through the roadless forest halted the southern offensive as the barren terrain had done to the northern pincer. The Soviet troops, enjoying a much shorter supply line, slowly gained dominance as skirmishes took place on the stagnant frontlines. German Lieutenant General Eduard Dietl, commanding officer of the offensive, declared the operation a failure on 22 Sep after seeing all his troops being tied down and his frontlines becoming defensive lines." --- --- ---

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Battle #6: Thermopyles History "The Olympus line is outflanked and the Allies are on the run, trying to reach their ships in time. But 2 brigades from the British Commonwealth Forces have to cover the retreat, with no hope for victory. The place they have chosen couldn’t match better to their cause. The sacred place of Thermopyles is about to face one more struggle. The Allies, few against many, inspired by the sacrifice of the Spartans nearly 2500 years ago, are determined to hold the Germans for as long as it is needed. They are the last obstacle before the enemy conquers Athens, just like Leonidas and his 300 were standing with no fear against the Persians. In the morning of the 24th of April, the Germans unleash their armored hordes. Glory is about to crown the arms of the defenders of freedom once more… " --- --- --- ---

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Battle #5: Zuydcoote History "After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in SEP1939, marking the beginning of the Second World War, the BEF was sent to aid in the defense of France. Nazi Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands on 10MAY1940, and three of their Panzer corps attacked France through the Ardennes and sped to the English Channel. By 21MAY1940, the Nazis had trapped the BEF, the remnants of the Belgian forces, and three French armies in an area along the Northern coast of France. General John Vereker, Commander of the BEF, immediately saw that evacuation across the Channel was the best option and began planning a withdrawal to Dunkirk, the closest location with suitable port facilities. On 22MAY1940, a halt order was issued by the German High Command, with the approval of Adolf Hitler. This gave the trapped Allied forces time to deploy defensive works and retreat large numbers of troops toward Dunkirk, to fight the Battle of Dunkirk. From 28–31MAY1940, in the Siege of Lille, the remaining 40,000 troops of the French 1st Army fought a delaying action against seven Nazi divisions, including three armored divisions. On the 1st day of the evacuation, only 7,669 men were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, a total of 338,226 soldiers had been rescued by a ragtag fleet of over 800 boats. Many of the troops were able to embark from the harbor’s protective pier onto 39 British destroyers and other large ships, while others had to wade out from the beaches, waiting for hours in the shoulder-deep water.Some of the evacuated soldiers were ferried from the beaches to the larger ships by the famous “Little ships of Dunkirk”, a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, and lifeboats called into service for the emergency. The BEF lost 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign and had to abandon nearly all of their tanks, vehicles, and other equipment." --- --- --- --- --- Map edited by: @king_tigernator Thank you to @Hawkfor providing the pictures.

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Battle #3: Stonne History "After the breakthrough at Sedan, German troops began to consolidate their bridgehead against a possible French counterattack. On May 15th, early in the morning, the Infanterie Regiment Großdeutschland and the 10th Panzer Division were tasked to take the heights at the small village of Stonne, in order to protect the southern flank of the main German thrust westwards. However, they did not expect to encounter the French 3rd Armored Division and 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division that arrived late the previous evening, too late to counterattack. In the following days, the small village switched sides 17 times, earning the nickname "Verdun of 1940." --- --- --- --- ---

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Battle #2: Hannut History "The Battle of Hannut was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of Belgium which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut in Belgium. It was the largest tank battle in the campaign. It was also the largest clash of tanks in armoured warfare history at the time. The primary purpose of the Germans was to tie down the strongest elements of the French First Army and keep it away from the main German attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, as laid down in the German operational plan Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), by General Erich von Manstein. The German breakout of the Ardennes was scheduled for 15 May, five days after the German attacks on the Netherlands and Belgium. The delay was to entice the Allies into believing the main thrust would, like the Schlieffen Plan in World War I, come through Belgium and then down into France. When the Allied armies advanced into Belgium according to the Dyle Plan, they would be tied down by German offensive operations in eastern Belgium at Hannut and Gembloux. With the flank of the First Army exposed, the Germans could thrust to the English Channel which would encircle and destroy the Allied forces. For the French, the plan in Belgium was to prepare for a prolonged defence at Gembloux, about 34 km (21 mi) west of Hannut. The French sent two armoured divisions forward, to conduct a delaying action against the German advance and give the rest of the First Army time to dig in at Gembloux." --- --- --- --- --- --- Thank you to @Hawkfor providing the pictures.

CMP FH2 Campaign #16: Darkest Hour Scrimmage

Star Citizen Social Come and join the Star Citizen group for a social event where we take on missions around the Stanton system. All are welcome. We have plenty of ships from single-seaters to multi-crew leviathons to try out! Jump into Teamspeak and look for the group on a Friday evening at 18:00UTC, or come and post in the #sc-general channel on Discord. You can also join our organisation: ANTCORP at https://robertsspaceindustries.com/orgs/ANTCORP

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #11: Hochwald History "In February 1945, there was little left for most of the Wehrmacht to go home to. The Soviets were an unstoppable juggernaut rumbling out of the East and overrunning desperate outnumbered Nazis. The Allies had opened a second front in Occupied France and were squeezing the Nazis out of Western Europe. The Nazi’s lost their western ports, thusly they suffered an attenuated supply line, factories that were cramped desperate underground organizations and most of the countryside was in a state of perpetual anomie. Few know that the heroes who opened the gate into Germany were really Canadian and British forces who were the first to cross the Rhine at Xanten. The Nazis of course stole the Rhineland because Hitler felt it had been once German land, and now a replevin made possible by the Treaty of Versailles. As I have stated before, the Wehrmacht could hurt you as badly in retreat as they could on the offensive. They were well organized, highly disciplined, blooded and ideologically motivated to bring down as many invaders as they could. This was the irony. After having invaded a dozen or more countries and inflicting millions of casualties, they now saw themselves as victims, defending the homeland. The Battle of Hochwald Gap was almost as big as Normandy, but with three times the number of casualties. The Canadians assembled a force of 90,000 infantry, 1300 artillery guns and over 1000 tanks, most attached to the Canadian 2nd Division. They faced a force of about 10,000, with a handful of Panzer Mk. Vs, less than 100 Panzer Mk. VIs and a handful of PAK 28 anti tank guns. The Battle itself a was masterpiece of defensive combat by Germans who intimately knew their own territory and set up one tank trap after another. Outnumbered hopelessly, the German fought about as well one could expect. The Canadians, under the Command of Guy Simmonds, had M4 Shermans armed with a short-barreled 75mm gun and just 2 inches of armor. One in five of the Canadian tanks were Fireflies, basically an M4 Sherman with a British 17 pounder, capable of stopping a Panzer. The short-barreled 75 mm could do little against the Tigers or the Panthers firing against their front plating armor. That said, they had ten times the number of tanks, and like Stalin said “Quantity is a quality all itself”." --- --- --- --- Map edited by @GeoPat

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #10: Hatten History "In January 1945 the Germans launched another offensive into Alsace; unlike the Ardennes Offensive, the objective of this offensive was the destruction of Allied forces- in this case, the US Seventh Army and French 1st Army. Called Operation Nordwind, this armored thrust drove into the Alsatian plains, threatening to break through the Vosges Mountains to the rear of the Seventh Army. In the second week of January, Nordwind came to two small towns situated less than a mile apart- Hatten and Rittershoffen. For nearly two weeks, armored units from the US Sixth Corps and German XXXIX Panzer Corps fought each other here with such ferocity that even some of the most seasoned German veterans would have reason to later say that it had been the most difficult battle of their careers." --- --- --- --- --- --- Map created by @Papillon Screenshots taken by @Hawk

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #9: Operation Nordwind History "Late in the day of December 31, the left side of the American line near Sarreguemines suddenly trembled as the Germans opened fire with a well-placed barrage of artillery rounds, followed by a charge of 2,000 men of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division heading straight for the 397th Regiment of the 100th Infantry Division. The next day, the four infantry divisions of XC and LXXXIX Corps (the 256th, 257th, 361st, and 559th Volksgrenadier Divisions), advancing quietly through the Low Vosges without a preliminary artillery preparation, and with their movements masked by fog and thick forests, infiltrated near Bitche the only unit standing in their way—Task Force Hudelson (94th and 117th Cavalry Squadrons, 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, and a company of tank destroyers)—and managed to penetrate 10 miles into the seam between the 44th and 100th Divisions. That move shoved TF Hudelson aside, hit Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick’s 45th Infantry Division, and drove a wedge between Patch’s two corps, the XV and VI. This assault was followed the next day by the experienced and well-equipped 6th SS Mountain Division, which thrust farther south and captured the town of Wingen-sur-Moder in the west of the low Vosges Mountains. In an effort to contain the penetration, Patch released the 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command B to VI Corps. But the 12th Armored was relatively green and no one knew if they could do much to stop the enemy avalanche barreling through the mountains. With bullets flying and shells screaming overhead, the stunned American troops reeled from the blow and began falling back until some order could be restored to their lines. This was the opening gambit for a series of moves that, over the next three weeks, would severely test the mettle of Seventh Army throughout Alsace-Lorraine. As the Germans began their Alsace offensive, Eisenhower again gave serious thought to moving 6th Army Group back (thus losing all the ground that had been gained during the fall) and abandoning Strasbourg." --- --- --- Map edited by @Pr0z4c

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #8: Herrlisheim History "Herrlisheim was the scene of intense fighting in January 1945 between the 553rd Volksgrenadier Regiment, the 35th, 119th and 2nd Panzer Grenadier Regiments, 10th SS Division and elements of the United States 12th Armored Division of the Seventh Army. The fighting began as part of Operation Nordwind which was the last offensive by German troops on the Western front in the war and was focused on the recapture of Strasbourg. The 553rd Volksgrenadier crossed the Rhine River and established a bridgehead around Gambsheim on January 5. Three days later, the 12th Armored Division started to attempt the reduction of the bridgehead and attacked Herrlisheim directly on January 16. In the second day of fighting, elements of 10th SS Panzer Division joined in the attack and inflicted very heavy casualties, virtually wiping out the 714th Tank Battalion and the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 12th Armored Division, who suffered 1,250 casualties (out of a Division strength of 10,000 men) and lost 70 combat vehicles. The next day as 10th SS Panzer attempted to exploit its victory to the west of the town, it was their turn to take heavy losses as the US forces slowly withdrew. The badly battered town was finally liberated on January 31 by the United States Army as the Germans retired after the overall failure of their offensive." --- --- --- --- --- Map edited by @Papillon Screenshots taken by @Hawk

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #6: Verdenne History The Fight at Verdenne "On the night of 4 December the 84th Infantry Division was deployed along an arc of some twelve miles reaching from Hogne, northwest of Marche, through Waha, south of Marche, thence bowing back to the northeast in front of the Marche-Hotton road. On the right, the 4th Cavalry Group formed a screen masking the infantry line. The center at the moment was quiet, but on the left the 116th Panzer Division had broken through the outpost line and despite the successful American counterattack made late in the afternoon still held an entrant position at Verdenne. The 116th Panzer faced a lone battle as it prepared to carry out the Fifth Panzer Army orders for attack westward. Thus far the fighting on its right in the sector east of the Ourthe River had not gone too well; neither the 2d SS Panzer nor the 560th Volks Grenadier Division managing to gain ground on the 24th. To the left the attention of the 2d Panzer was centered on Foy-Notre Dame and Celles far to the west. Nonetheless so long as Luettwitz' armor had any chance of breaking through to the Meuse the 116th had to continue its attack to breach the American defenses north of Marche and press forward as a covering shell for the drive to Dinant. General Bolling knew that some Germans still were around Verdenne on the night of 24 December, but the 84th Division was unaware that the enemy had slipped on into the woods between Verdenne and Bourdon until a lucky fluke revealed the new threat. About midnight Companies A and K of the 334th Infantry and Company L, 333d Infantry, started along the woods trails and byroads to converge in a night assault against Verdenne. Moving in from the west, Company K took a wrong turn and suddenly bumped into a column of six or eight tanks. Sgt. Donald Phelps, marching at the point, went forward to check the lead tank. Suddenly a figure leaning out of the tank shouted, "Halt!" Phelps, recognizing the German accent, took a snap shot at the figure who screamed as the bullet struck. The German tanks opened fire with not only their machine guns but their main armament, and the American infantry file hit the dirt. Severely lacerated before it could break away, the remaining forty men of Company K joined the main assault against Verdenne an hour later." --- --- --- --- --- Map edited by @GeoPat Screenshots made by @Hawk

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #3: Bütgenbach History "Early on the morning of December 21, SS Panzergrenadiers, now supported by Nebelwerfers and heavy German artillery, slammed against the 26th’s defenses in and around Dom Butgenbach. The battle raged all day long and into the night, with the SS penetrating American lines repeatedly, only to be pushed back by American infantry, tank destroyers and artillery. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their ground, and looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. The dead SS Panzergrenadiers, many of them as young as 15 and 16 years old, were described by American patrols to be “as common as grass.” American graves registration counted some 782 German dead in front of the 26th’s positions alone. The burnt-out hulks of 47 German tanks lay scattered about the landscape, some of the vehicles burned for days after the fight was over. The following day, the 12th SS attacked the 26th Infantry again, this time with much less strength but in the same ferocious manner. Several German tanks made their way into the town, only to be knocked out by roving bazooka teams or American artillery. Many American survivors of the attacks made against Dom Butgenbach owed their lives to the divisional artillery of the “Big Red One.” The artillerymen supporting the riflemen on the line fired an astounding 10,000 rounds against the German attacks on the December 22 alone. Such was the ferocity of the artillery fire, that while several German tanks broke the lines, not a single Panzergrenadier managed to make his way close to the American defensive foxholes." --- --- ---

CMP FH2 Campaign #15: The Last Winter Battle #2: Elsenborn Ridge History "The main drive against Elsenborn Ridge was launched in the forests east of Rocherath-Krinkelt on the early morning of 17 December. This attack was begun by tank and panzergrenadier units of 12th SS Panzer Division. 989th Infantry Regiment of 277th succeeded, after heavy and costly combat in the woods, in overrunning the forward American positions guarding the trails to the villages, capturing a large number of prisoners and leaving many small units isolated. By 11:00, this attack had driven units of 99th Infantry Division back into the area of Rocherath-Krinkelt. These units were joined by forces of 2nd Infantry Division moving into the villages from the north. The German attack swiftly bogged down against the heavy small arms and machine gun fire from the prepared positions of 99th Infantry Division on their flanks. The German infantry struggled to make their way through the dense woods and heavy brush in their path. The German forces also drew a rapid response from American artillery, who had registered the forward positions of their infantry. The artillery fired on the exposed advancing Germans while the American troops remained in their covered foxholes. The troops around the villages were assisted by tanks from 741st Tank Battalion, assisted by a company of 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion equipped with M10 tank destroyers, a company of 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and a few towed 3-inch guns from the 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion. They were instrumental in helping hold back the German advance in the fighting in and around Rocherath-Krinkelt. To the northeast of the 99th Division, the 1st Infantry Division had been recuperating near Liege, from nearly constant combat since it took part in the Normandy landings on 6 June. When the German counterattack broke the division hastily relocated to the unguarded southern end of the 99th's line near Bütgenbach. Troops from the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions, moved into position to fortify Elsenborn Ridge and complete the defense. The 9th Division held positions on the northern portion of the ridge, in the vicinity of Kalterherberg." --- --- ---