PBEM Campaign Battle 9 AAR
The Situation
Aug 1944, Dompaire France
Lt Col Cross DSO, commanding an Airlanding Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment, consisting of 5 companies:
3 Infantry companies:
Capt Langdon DSO A Company - Light Infantry
Major Baker B Company - Airborne
Capt Gilchrist MCC Company - Light Infantry
1 Support Company
Capt Picton(Engineer Platoon, Artillery, Transport, AT guns, Armoured cars etc.)
1 Tank Squadron - Royal Tank Regiment (RTR)
Major Ennis DSO (17 tanks, Challengers and Cromwells)
The objective of this ‘meeting engagement’ was to capture the town of Dompaire. The town was about 2KM across and had a small river blocking the German’s eastern approach; however, the river was bridged 9 times, with 7 bridges giving direct access to the town. The British approach from the west was quite limited and winding, with really only one or two roads. The northern approach to Dompaire seemed unlikely, as a bridgeless river limited most opportunities. The southernmost part of town had a Train station, then 500 yards of open ground and you got to a dense wood that covered one square KM.
It looked like the battle would mostly be within the town itself, which was a mix of dense wooden and stone buildings with open squares and plazas. But you could see that the Southern wood had strategic value to defend the south flank and assist in the control of the Train station and the southern part of Dompaire.
Although this is after the mid-point of the battle, it shows most of the battleground.
The Plan
The three Infantry companies were assigned to the Town, with ‘A’ company in the North (included a large stone factory) commanded by Capt Langdon DSO; ‘B’ company in the centre (included the church) commanded by Major Baker (Airborne); and ‘C’ company in the south (included the Train station) commanded by Capt Gilchrist MC.
The responsibility of the southern woods were given to Capt Picton and his support company. Picton would have a platoon of engineers, 2 heavy tanks, 2 armoured cars, 25 Pounder Field guns, a pair of 6 Pounder AT guns, along with half-tracks and a few other units.
The rest of the tanks of the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) would deploy evenly behind the advance of the three infantry companies, and give close support.
The infantry would advance directly eastwards across town to capture and hold as many objectives as possible.
The Royal Artillery were expected to play a vital role in this battle, which focused on a small geographic area. First, they would be asked to destroy as many of the 9 bridges as possible. Not because they had any chance of stopping the Germans from reaching the town, but because once in the town the destruction of these bridges would impede the Germans ability to maneuver, bring in reinforcements, or retreat.
The Battle
The Infantry made a mad dash for the heart of the town, using all available transport as well as foot slogging, while trying to stay organized. The Infantry soon made contact in the centre of town as expected; and the RTR got a couple of long range shots at a Self Propelled Gun, but the shells just bounced off the frontal armour.
The Luftwaffe showed up strafing a tank and Sgt Kirkpatrick’s Armoured Car which was slightly damaged. A few minutes later another plane also strafed Kirkpatrick’s AC, but although it was hit it wasn’t damaged this time.
In the south Capt Picton was organizing his support company. When first reviewing the map the south woods seemed a likely place for the Germans to attack the British right flank. Picton placed his Engineer platoon on the south edge of the woods, giving him control of the woods and the road that ran along the northern edge of the wood.
But then after everyone was in place Capt Picton changed his mind and ordered the engineers withdraw to the north side of the woods by the road. Lt Ainsworth’s Engineer platoon loaded back into half-tracks and started back across the field. As they did, German motorcycles and a couple of armoured cars showed up at the edge of the field catching Ainsworth’s HT in the open. In the brief fire-fight that followed Ainsworth’s half-track exploded killing everyone on board. Lt Ainsworth had won an MC back in Italy and will be sorely missed by his platoon.
Picton still had a 25 Pounder gun and an Armoured car at the south edge of the woods, and fortunately they were able to KO some motorcycles and two German armoured cars (including the one that had killed Ainsworth) and this seemed to drive them away. Capt Picton then personally took over command of the Engineer platoon.
Col Cross suspected this was a scouting party for a larger force but he failed to order reconnaissance; and Picton didn’t take any initiative, preferring to keep his forces within the safety of the woods and tree lined roads. Cross did however take the precaution of moving a platoon of infantry from ‘C’ company down to Picton’s sector in case an attack developed there.
Of the 7 bridges to the east of town 5 were quickly destroyed by the Royal Artillery. But the last 2 were probably too solid for 5.5inch guns to demolish, and the attempt was eventually abandoned. However, not before one of the guns missed the bridge by 150 yards and by chance hit a German lorry carrying an ammunition canister. This caused a considerable explosion which was followed by the sound of cheering Brits across the battlefield.
The Luftwaffe attacks on the British tanks intensified. One tank was immobilized and then Sgt Lake’s tank was attacked by two aircraft and was destroyed, no survivors. Lake had just been awarded a Military Medal for exceptional performance in his first battle, and then was promoted to Sgt. He was killed before he even got to fire a shot in his second battle. British AA guns were busy, but there were a lot of misses before Sgt Evans finally damaged a plane.
The British vehicles weren’t having a good start. A Cromwell tank was immobilized by artillery, then a half-track was disabled when it crashed into a building. Another half-track was immobilized by a Stuka, and then one of the precious heavy Challenger tanks was immobilized by a German armoured car. The Challenger which was situated close to the south woods, was then KO and there was a rumour that it was a Tiger tank that had finished it off. Though it turned out that the only heavy tanks the Germans had in the area were a brace of Panthers.
Meanwhile, despite these setbacks, the British forces were scoring some kills of there own. Some German cavalry and ACs heading in the direction of the train station were destroyed or routed; and Lt Shannon’s Cromwell tank KO a SP gun in the North. Lt Shannon had 9 kills from his previous three battles and this 10th kill meant he now held the Battalion record.
The battle for the town was now raging. The Germans had at least two well equipped infantry companies in the town, supported by self-propelled guns and armoured cars. Although the British had three infantry companies in the town, one platoon from each company was in reserve or protecting the rear flanks. To deal with the German infantry Cross relied heavily on the Royal Artillery to suppress them, and this was followed by close support from RTRs tanks, and then the Tommies would move forward and try to finish them off.
The British infantry pressed forward leaning into the barrage, but then ran into serious resistance at the south end of the main square. Here an intense fire-fight developed in and around the town hall with its domed roof. This was the bitterest fighting of the battle, with infantry on both sides being pushed back and rallying to return to the fight.
Major Ennis DSO, of the RTR, quickly realized the gravity of the situation and led his tanks into the fray around the town hall. He was forced to group over half a dozen tanks in a small area, and prayed the German artillery didn’t zero in on them. Ennis also took a serious personal risk by exposing himself to an AT gun, but he succeeded in killing some of the crew (despite this, the AT gun managed to withdraw and later put up a very brave and stubborn defense on the far side of the river). The Germans responded with their own armour and in the shoot-out a StuG III hit Ennis’ tank which exploded. No one got out.
Major Ennis leads his tanks into the critical fight for town hall, moments before he was killed.
Major Ennis is the highest ranking officer to be killed under Col Cross’ command. He first fought with Cross in Italy in October 1943 where he earned his DSO.
Despite this great loss, Ennis’ men fought on, quickly knocking out the StuG III and other armour, but not before losing a couple more tanks. Again the precise Royal Artillery seemed to make the difference and slowly the Germans were pushed out of the town hall and its surrounding buildings.
The fight for town hall had involved three or four platoons from two different companies, but Lt Usher’s platoon (‘C’ company) bore the brunt of the assault and suffered over 50% casualties. Two of his sections lost 7 men each. The RTR had lost 3 tanks. The Germans lost 2 SP guns and an Armoured Car, but it’s thought their infantry casualties were even higher than the British.
Meanwhile Capt Langdon’s ‘A’ company in the North, with the support of only two tanks, fought all the way to the river, pushing back or eliminating the German infantry and were now swinging south.
The two tanks supporting ‘A’ company were led by Lt Shannon. He also had the newly promoted Sgt Lake MM under his command, but as mentioned earlier, Lake’s tank was destroyed by the Luftwaffe right at the outset. Shannon and the other tank in his troop, commanded by Sgt Warrick, did a superb job in their support of Langdon’s ‘A’ company, knocking out just about every piece of armour they came in contact with. At one point Warrick had two SP guns shooting at him which he miraculously survived. Shannon and Warrick went on to rack up 7 kills between them.
At Capt Langdon’s recommendation, Lt Shannon was awarded a Military Cross and Warrick a Military Medal, not only for their excellent support of ‘A’ company, but their complete competence and assertiveness in the north freed up valuable British tanks for other sectors.
Further south Lt Shannon’s best friend Lt Picton also had a good day. Picton’s tank was constantly in the thick of it. He KO a Panther tank, SP gun, SPAAA, a cavalry section and two infantry sections. He had scored 6 kills by battles end, and in addition seriously damaged an armoured car and a Stug III. For his contribution to the battle Picton was also awarded a MC. This is rather coincidental as Picton and Shannon started their war together in April in Italy. They both were awarded a Mentioned in Despatches on the same day for a Battle in May, and now in their fourth battle they both win a MC. Shannon now has a total of 12 kills (the battalion record) over four battles, and Picton 9 kills.
British vehicles were constantly under air attack throughout the battle, and this caused many to be immobilized. This included three or four tanks, three or four half-tracks and a jeep. Although not all these were immobilized from the air, most were; and many were then repeatedly targeted by the Luftwaffe as sitting ducks. Having never had even half this many immobilized vehicles in a battle before, the British were slow to realize that they should have started bailing out the crews to safety. As it was, some of these vehicles went on to be destroyed and their crews killed.
About 30 to 45 minutes into the battle Lt Shannon of the Royal Artillery (cousin of Lt Shannon in the RTR) spotted a German formation deep behind British lines. It consisted of a Panther tank, five armoured cars and a motorcycle section. The Royal artillery had just about run out of ammo, but those few guns that still had a few rounds cancelled their last volleys to save them for possible direct fire. Shannon got off a few HE rounds at the Panther but only succeeded in panicking a few of the nearby armoured cars.
The small German formation behind British lines didn’t pose a large threat, but it could turn into a nuisance. Capt Picton’s support company was responsible for the rear, and fortunately he had a wide variety of units in reserve to deal with them. Picton’s response was efficient, and he soon had an ad-hock force closing in on them. However, he was not able to save Lt Thompson’s heavy mortar section which instead of hiding, engaged the Germans at close range and was wiped out by an armoured car.
One of Picton’s six pounder AT guns hit the Panther several times from about 700 yards, but couldn’t penetrate its armour at that range. Despite this, four armoured cars and the motorcycles were all KO in quick succession. The other armoured car later attempted to capture a rear bridge but it was KO in a close assault by some of Picton’s infantry who were waiting in buildings by the road.
Behind British Lines. Picton’s men have just KO an armoured car, and now there is only the Panther to deal with, which is surrounded by a wide assortment of units.
The Panther was now alone and although it managed to briefly evade detection some infantry spotted it hiding in some trees. After suppressing it with small arms it was expertly knocked out by Sgt Heart’s Challenger tank. The Panther’s commander turned out to be Major Becker, who not only succeeded in escaping the burning wreck of his tank, but also managed to evade capture.
Back at the front, with the town hall under British control, Cross turned his attention to the ‘still standing’ road Bridge to the East and the crossroads to the SE. Major Baker’s Airborne company ‘B’ led the charge to the east, while Capt Gilchrist’s battered company ‘C’ headed for the crossroads in the South East.
Col Cross (in red hex) with Capt Gilchrist on the road 200 yards SE of Cross.
By this time the Royal Artillery had about run out of ammo, and were distracted by the German infiltrators, so with artillery support waning ‘C’ company charged towards the crossroads. Capt Gilchrist led the charge by actually running down the road itself. The Germans attempted to defend the crossroads and Gilchrist found himself shooting his way down the road, and even finished off a few German sections as he went.
Col Cross followed Capt Gilchrist on foot at a distance of about 200 yards. Cross’ jeep, attempting to stay nearby, was destroyed by German artillery as it approached the crossroads. Cross’ driver was killed. This was possibly the fifth driver that Cross has lost in nine battles. It seems to be quite a dangerous job.
Capt Gilchrist (in red hex) at the crossroads.
With a Panther and a couple of StuG IIIs defending the crossroads, Gilchrist was glad of RTRs support. The Panther damaged a British armoured car, but then Sgt Murray’s Close Support tank got the Panther in the sights of his 3.7 inch howitzer. This Howitzer was primarily intended for soft targets, but the RTR sensibly issued each tank with 4 HEAT rounds just incase… As it turned out Sgt Murray only had 3 left. The first two missed the Panther completely, but Murray’s last HEAT round got a solid hit and clearly damaged it quite badly. Lt Picton quickly finished off the Panther.
Capt Gilchrist didn’t even pause once he’d captured the crossroads; instead he turned onto the main road and started running east towards one of the destroyed bridges which was his next objective. His company tried to keep up with him, and later claimed that Gilchrist now holds the Battalion 1200M record. Gilchrist scored 3 kills during his run down the road, and was awarded a well deserved Bar to the Military Cross he won in July.
By the end of the battle the British had captured 19 of the 21 objectives, and it was considered a decisive British Victory.
A & B company in the north are swinging south while Capt Gilchrist’s ‘C’ company close in on bridge objective.
Post Mortem
The British plan was not that imaginative, instead leaning on the artillery that was hoped to be effective within the close confines of the town. This could have backfired as artillery can be rather ineffective against infantry within buildings. However, to really get the protection of the buildings the troops would have to be stationary; and in this battle the Germans were moving. The Germans certainly felt that it was the British artillery that won day, along with an effective combined-arms follow up.
The Royal Artillery had twelve 5.5 inch guns which achieved 4 indirect fire kills, including an armoured car, truck and ammo canister. But the suppression these guns caused was the key that allowed the RTR and British infantry to finish off the heavily armed German infantry with virtual impunity.
The RA actually ran out of ammo just after the halfway point; but by that point the battle was pretty much decided. Ironically, the Germans started to target the RA with their own artillery and air-strikes just after most of the British guns fell silent.
Overall things went well for the British. What didn’t go well was the high casualty rate of the RTR and other vehicles. This was largely because of an inadequate air defense.
British Casualties
A, B and C companies had 28, 27 and 53 casualties each. With Capt Gilchrist’s ‘C’ company suffering twice as many as A and B. The only two infantry sections completely wiped out were both traveling in half-tracks at the time.
The RTR Squadron had 10 of its 17 tanks destroyed, 1 immobilized and 2 damaged; leaving only 4 unharmed. Nine crews were lost, compared to four tanks KO and only one crew lost in RTR’s last battle.
Not sure how many of these losses were a result of the Luftwaffe, but overheard radio chatter reports that one pilot claimed at least 6 kills.
German casualties
The Germans only had four aircraft; two Ju 87 Stukas and two Hs 129 fighter bombers. None were shot down, but one of each type were quite badly damaged.
Two heavily armed infantry companies were completely wiped out. Only a Lt Schoen, along with two of his men, didn’t become casualties.
8 of the 10 German SP guns were destroyed.
9 of the 10 Armoured cars were KO.
Another 9 half-tracks or SPAAA units were KO.
Both Panther Tanks were KO, but Major Becker evaded capture.
Lt Col Tost lived to fight another day.
Honours and Awards
Military Cross
• Capt Gilchrist MC (C company) wins Bar to his MC
• Lt Webster (A company) wins a MC for leadership, rallying his platoon time and time again, spearheading the Infantry advance in the north, and scoring an additional 3 kills (including a close assault on a half-track) giving him a total of 7 kills in this his fourth battle.
• Lt Shannon RTR wins MC
• Lt Picton RTR wins MC
Military Medal
• Sgt Warren RTR wins MM
• Corp Keyworth (Airborne) wins MM for a swift and daring attack on the final objective, skillfully KO a SP gun at 150 yards with a PIAT and achieving 3 ‘kills’.
Mentioned in Despatches
• Capt Picton (Support co) wins a MiD for calling in accurate artillery and effective leadership in dealing with the forces that got behind British lines.
• Sgt Heart RTR wins MiD for quickly KO the AC that immobilized his CO, and for KO 3 other enemy units including Major Becker’s Panther and Motorcycles in the rear.
• Sgt Garland (sniper) wins MiD for professionalism under fire, staying calm and finishing off 3 enemy units.
• Sgt Baldwin (Armoured Car) wins MiD for excellent handling of his AC. Knocking out at least three enemy armoured cars (including the one that killed Lt Ainsworth) and fearlessly taking on a Panther tank.
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