ATS PARKER'S CROSROADS - THE BATTLE OF BRAQUE DE FRAITURE LARGE HEX WINTER EDITION
Ten miles west of Vielsalm lies a small crossroads settlement known among its Belgian inhabitants as Baraque de Fraiture. It also happens to be the second-highest point in the Ardennes, though the slope is so gradual that is appears to be flat ground. Running through the settlement is the north-south N15 Highway, leading from Bastogne in the south to Liege in the north. Intersecting the N15 is the N28 secondary road, running from St. Vith to La Roche. Coincidentally, the N15 also corresponded to the boundary between the 3rd Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division.
The first US units to occupy the crossroads were elements of the 106th Infantry Division which had been battered and forced back in disorganization by the opening onslaught of the German attack. Arriving on December 19th following their retreat from the St. Vith area were remnants of the 589th Field Artillery Battalion. Unable to properly pronounce the name, the troops quickly dubbed it “Parker’s Crossroads”, after their commander, Major Arthur C. Parker III. By this point, however, Parker’s `battalion’ consisted only of three 105mm howitzers and about 110 men including surviving service troops. These men had managed to escape encirclement on the Schnee Eifel, losing contact with their division commander in the process. Parker eventually received orders from the 174th Field Artillery Group instructing him to establish a roadblock at Baraque de Fraiture. Later that day a platoon from the 203rd AAA Battalion, attached to the 7th Armored Division, arrived at the crossroads and joined the defense at Parker’s request. The multi-barreled antiaircraft guns of the M16’s and the single M15A1 were a welcome boost to the tiny garrison’s firepower. All hands nervously anticipated a German assault.
What you get!
