Wild Bill
Posts: 6821
Joined: 4/7/2000
From: Smyrna, Ga, 30080
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These were the twenty I did on that theme of Patton. We still might get it done
B&G Part One
1. THEIR FIRST FIGHT. Port Lyautey, Morocco. November 10, 1942. General Patton tells General Truscott, commander of the force landing at Port Lyautey, "Lucian, if you're going to kick the enemy in the ass, you're going to have to do the same to your own men to get the job done. That's what I want; get the job done!" Now troops of the 9th Division and part of a ranger battalion makes a 3 pronged attack on the Vichy airfield.
2. STIFF OPPOSITION. Near Oran, Algiers. November 8, 1942. In the landing area of the Central Task Force, the French have set up a strong point on a series of steep cliffs which overlook the beaches near Oran. Assigned to take the
position is the 3rd Battalion of the newly formed Ranger units. Elite, well trained soldiers comparable to the British commandos have drawn the short straw for taking a hard objective.
3. THINGS FALL APART. Sidi-bou-Zid. February 14, 1943. As the American army moved ahead into Tunisia, Patton was ordered to take the post of military commander in Morocco. The absence of Patton's military leadership was to be keenly felt. Erwin Rommel puts the new forces to the test. Units of the 10th and 21st Panzer strike out against the US 1st Armored and 1st infantry divisions at a place called Sidi-bou-Zid.
4. SOME STAYED AND FOUGHT. Near Sbeitla. February 15, 1942. Some ugly pictures have been painted of the first big battle between US and German forces. Not all tankers and foot soldiers routed in panic before the Afrika Korps. As units of the 2nd Armored division headed west in retreat, a small group of ad hoc tanks and infantry set up an ambush against the onrushing German armor and troops. Major Frank Duncan with tanks from Company B gleans volunteers from the troops moving through the pass and prepares a brutal surprise for Rommel's gang.
5. A FIGHTING SPIRIT. El Guettar, Tunisia. March 24, 1943. The bloody nose that the US forces suffered at Sidi-bou-Zid prompted General Eisenhower to find someone to imbue a new fighting spirit into the American soldiers. It was George Patton who accepted the offer and took charge of II Corps. He tells his men to "grabe the enemy by the nose and kick him in the ass." Now a new confrontation between a rifle company of the 18th Regiment reinforced with armor support and attacking Afrika Korps forces of the 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment is about to put that fighting spirit to the test of hot and cold steel.
6. A TOUGH FIGHT. Near Gela, Sicily. July 10, 1943. In command of the entire American 7th Army in the invasion of Sicily, Patton is determined to reach the goal of Messina first, even though ordered to only guard General Montgomery's
flank as the British head north. The American 1st Division drives through Gela, but meets strong Italian resistance from the 33rd Regiment of the Livorno Division. These are hard fighting Italians, and they determined to defend
their homeland at any cost.
7. NEAR NISCEMI, SICILY, JULY 10, 1943. The Allied landings on Sicily were the first step on the road to the European mainland. The airdrop of the 504th Regiment is a disaster. The skytroopers are scattered from their drop zones. Some are inadvertently dropped into the sea and drown in the darkness. Those who do get on land immediately set about stopping enemy reinforcements from getting to the beaches. A roadblock is set up on the Niscemi Highway, using two captured Italian antitank guns.
8. MAD AS HELL. Palma de Montechiaro. July 11,1943. Truscott's 3rd Division was the fartherest to the west of the landing area and moved out quickly along Highway 115. At a small village, white flags appear, but they are from the civilians. As GIs approach, the Italians open fire. Colonel Heintge, furious at what appears a betrayal of the truce flag, grabs some troops and charges into the city with demolition charges.
9. SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!. Near Agrigento, Sicily. July 16, 1943. After almost a week of being on the island of Sicily, the Allied advance seemed to grind to a halt. Montgomery and his Eighth Army were stuck, and the American II Corps was doing little better. Patton was almost apoplectic to get something going. Making a personal visit to Colonel Dammer of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, he gives him personal orders to get to Porto Empodocle and protect the flank of the 3rd
Division so it can get going.
10. THE END RUN. Brolo, Sicily. August 8, 1945. Fearful that the British will beat US troops to Messina, Patton creates an ad hoc landing group from the "Provisional" Corps including some infantry, small support weapons and a few pieces of armor. Landing craft are in short supply so only some 600 men are sent on a mission of arriving behind the German defenses and cutting them off. But now the question is: Who is cut off?
B&G Part Two
ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE: Angers, France. August 7, 1944. Patton's newly formed Third Army has the task of exploiting the opening in the German front lines at St. Lo. The tanks and armored infantry roll south, west and then turn to the east. Hearing of an intact bridge at Angers, France, Patton himself grabs some troops and tanks of the 3rd Division and sends them rolling to take it. Their mission is to take that bridge.
ALL GUNS BLAZING: Vitry, France. September 4, 1944. The Third Army cannot be stopped by the Germans, or so it seems. At the town of Vitry, France, Colonel Clarke, CCB, 4th Armored charges boldly, with all tanks firing. The 88 Crews are stunned and leave their guns. The town and the bridge are theirs till elements of the 17th SS Panzer Division appear.
VICTORY IS NOT ALL SWEET: Bougere, France. September 12, 1944. Captain Oscar Holsum has the mission of stopping a German column advancing towards the 4th Armored. Two platoons are deployed north of the town and another on a nearby hill. To Holsum's surprise, German armor descends on the isolated platoon where they find themselves in peril.
THE BOSS IS WATCHING: Near Nancy, France. October 12, 1944. Old "Blood and Guts" was always visiting the front lines. On this occasion, he arrived in time to watch units of the 35th Infantry Division, supported by tanks, enter woods near Nancy to flush out hidden German troops.
“GOOD AS ANY SOLDIER”: Berange Farm, France. November 12, 1944. During World War II, most black soldiers played a secondary role, either in maintenance or supply. As the war developed and manpower shortage became more acute, black men also took up arms to fight. A new unit to Patton's 3rd Army, the 761st Tank Battalion, was made up primarily of African-American tankers. They performed heroically with heavy losses during the battle at Berange Farm, in support of the 328th Regiment.
BRIDGES BURNED: Pettite Hettange Highway, Moselle River. November 12, 1944. A vital part of the November offensive of Patton's 3rd Army was the crossing of the Moselle River. Using rubber boats and a few amphibious vehicles that Patton had scrounged, the 359th Regiment got across. A pontoon bridge built by US engineers was hit by artillery fire. Less than a platoon of M-10s got across to back up the GIs under heavy attack.
AIRPOWER AND FIREPOWER: Near Saarlautern, Germany. December 8, 1944. Attempting to overcome stiff German resistance with strong airpower when weather permitted, General Patton orders an assault on Saarlautern a day early to take advantage of clear skies. Tanks of the 6th Armored are placed in the buffer zone where the bombs will fall to keep Germans from filtering into it during the intense bombardment.
HEADED NORTH: Chaumont, Belgium. December 23, 1944. As the German juggernaut fought its way through the Ardennes, Patton was prepared to react. Sending three full divisions north with little warning was a spectacular feat. The 4th Armored is trying to get to Bastogne to aid the besieged 101st Airborne Division. After taking Chaumont, CCB is suddenly hit hard by a very strong and determined German counterattack.
TAKING TRIER: Trier, Germany. March 2, 1945. Its the last lap of the race, and Patton's 3rd Army is still running hard. After cracking the Siegfried Line, Patton keeps the 10th Armored Division, even though requested to return it to SHAEF Reserve. He uses the tanks and armored infantry to crack open the German defenses at the key city of Trier.
YOUTH WITH NO FUTURE: Weidenbach, Germany. March 12, 1945. The convulsive death throes of the Third Reich produced immeasurable desperation among the German people, especially the youth. As Units of Patton's 3rd Army close in on Weidenbach, pitiful remnants of the once mighty panzers, along with suicidal young Germans, filled with desperate enthusiasm, ride out to meet the American invaders in a death fight.
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Wild Bill
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 In Arduis Fidelis Wild Bill Wilder Independent Game Consultant
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