Untitled Document
BATTLE OF THE TWIN VILLAGES: KRINKELT-ROCHERRATH
i> This is the FELDGRAU-OLIVE DRAB EDITION
The Battle of Elsenborn Ridge was the only
sector of the American front lines during the Battle of the Bulge
where the Germans failed to advance.[1] The battle centered on
the Elsenborn Ridge east of Elsenborn, Belgium in the Ardennes
forest. West of Elsenborn Ridge, near the cities of Liège
and Spa, Belgium, was a vast array of Allied supplies and the
well-developed road network leading to the Meuse River and Antwerp.
The Germans planned on using two key rollbahns or routes through
the area to seize Antwerp and force a separate peace with the
United States and Britain. Capturing Monschau and the nearby village
of Höfen, and the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt just
east of Elsenborn Ridge, were key to the success of the German
plans, and Hitler committed his best armored units and infantry
troops to the area, including the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.
The green, untested troops of the 99th Infantry
Division had been placed in the sector during mid-November because
the Allies thought it was an area unlikely to see battle. Their
soldiers were stretched thin over a 22-mile front, and all three
regiments were on line, with no reserve. In early December, the
2nd Infantry Division was assigned to capture a vital crossroads
marked by a customs house and a forester’s lodge named Wahlerscheid,
at the southern tip of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. They
transitioned through the 99th division's lines and after a deadly,
costly battle, capturing the crossroads. But the Germans counterattacked
in what the Americans initially thought was a localized spoiling
action, but was actually a leading element of the Battle of the
Bulge. The 2nd ID consolidated their lines, pulling back into
Hünningen, and then to the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt,
and finally at the dug-in positions held by the 99th ID at Elsenborn
Ridge.
SHIPPING NOW!
What you get!
- >> YOU RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING: 1
× ‘winterized’ historical map on 9 folding boards;
8 scenarios on 10 cards; a 4-page Special Rules document in 3-hole
punched format; and 4 sheets of color die cut counters in Feldgrau
for the Germans and Olive Drab for the Americans (1 × Bulge
U.S. Infantry/SW Counter 2017_a + 1 × Variant German Infantry/SW
Bulge 2017_3 + Bulge AFVs/Guns 2017_2 + Bulge AFVs/Guns 2017_2).
