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This month's Forgotten Battle is...
The Battle of Arracourt
Intro
The battle of Arracourt was occurred from September 19 to September 29 in 1944. It was fought between the American 4th Armored Division and the German 5th Panzer Army near the commune of Arracourt, in Northern France. This eleven-day clash of tanks would become one of the greatest in Western Europe during World War II.
Part I
After the Liberation of Paris, the Western Allies began pushing towards the border between France and Germany. Their target was a strongly defended line called, the Siegfried Line. Unfortunately the American advance temporarily stopped after running low on gasoline and ammunition. After a three-day resupply, thousands of American soldiers resumed their advance into northern France.
The Americans were unaware that the Germans had bolstered their defenses on the Siegfried Line and were preparing to launch a counter-attack. Emboldened by the American's three-day pause, they were hoping to cut through the Allied line, and push them back into the sea. Unfortunately, many of their tanks were destroyed in Allied aerial strikes before they could even begin their counter-attack.
By the time the Germans got underway, the Americans had resumed their advance and crossed the Moselle River on September 13. After learning this, Hitler ordered his Panzer brigades to attack and push the Americans back across the river. The converging point of the two armies was the French commune of Arracourt. On the night of September 18, a heavy fog rolled in and grounded American planes. At dawn the next morning, the Germans began their attack.
Part II
The Wehrmacht forces included two Panzer Brigades of the 5th Panzer Army. Under the command of General Hasso von Manteuffel, their force mostly consisted of Panzer (panther) IV and Panzer V tanks. Armed with a 7.5 cm KwK 42 gun and protected by 100 mm armor on the front, these tanks were more than a match for anything that the Americans had at their disposal. They were nearly invulnerable to head-on attack and had much better range. However, their heavy armor and armaments limited their speed to less than 30 miles per hour. Their armor was also much weaker on the sides. Also included were a few Panzer Mark VI Tigers. Protected by more than 120 mm of armor and armed with an 88 mm cannon, these were the most feared tanks in the Wehrmacht army.
The American forces were under the overall command of General George S. Patton. Facing the German attack at Arracourt, was Combat Command A (CCA) of the 4th Armored Division. The man who was commanding this group was Colonel Bruce C. Clarke. Most of the American force consisted of M4 Sherman medium tanks. Unlike the Germans, the Shermans were armed with a 75 mm gun and protected by only 8 mm of armor. But what they lacked in armor, they more than made up for in speed and maneuverability. The Shermans could drive at speeds of 40 miles per hour and could handle almost any rugged terrain. Their small size made them especially useful in France's forested areas.
Also included were elements of the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion. This group consisted of M18 Hellcat tank destroyers (TDs). Armed a 76 mm cannon and with a speed of over 60 miles per hour, these machines had the firepower to penetrate the armor of Panzer. Unfortunately, like the Sherman's, their speed came at the cost of heavy armor (only 13 mm).
Part III
At first on of September 19, the German panzers only encountered light resistance. The first major engagement took place just after 8 AM. Approximately 40 tanks 113th Panzer Brigade encountered a small platoon of M18 Hellcats. The first four hellcats ambushed the first line of panzer tanks. The panzers then quickly returned fire and destroyed three of them. But then four more hellcats flanked the panzers and hit them in their vulnerable side armor. By afternoon, the hellcats had successfully knocked out 19 of the attacking panzers while only losing three of their own.
A day after this engagement, more panzers converged on the CCA's headquarters. After noticing this, Colonel Clarke ordered a column of tanks to head them off. When a brigade of panzers entered a valley, they were confronted by A Company who engaged them in a firefight. Although they lost a few of their own, the M4s of A Company fired smoke rounds at the panzers. Although these rounds could not penetrate the latter's armor, they succeeded in blinding their vision. This in turn, allowed a second company of M4s to drive around and flank the panzers from their left. By the end of the day, 43 panzers were destroyed. Later that night, Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton ambushed another column of panzers at the village of Montcourt and wiped out nearly all of them.
After suffering heavy casualties, the Germans decided to divert their attention away from Arracourt. On September 24, the launched an attack on the French village of, Château-Salins. Defending Château-Salins, was the American 8th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division. Amid a heavy downpour, the fighting began in the afternoon. Using the high ground to their advantage, the M4s and M18s successfully held off repeated attacks by the panzers. Then, American airplanes descended on the battlefield and annihilated the Germans. The few who survived, were forced to retreat.
Epilogue
The battle of Arracourt continued for another five days. By September 29, the Germans had had enough. They retreated back towards the Siegfried Line, and battle was over. The casualties for the battle had been massive for the Germans. Of the 5th Panzer Army's 262 tanks and assault guns, more than 200 of them had been destroyed. Their number of human losses is unknown, but it is believed to be in the thousands. By contrast, the 4th Armored Division had lost 41 M4 Sherman tanks, 7 Hellcat tank destroyers, 225 men killed, and 648 wounded. Until the Battle of the Bulge in December, this was the largest tank battle between Americans and Germans.
Although the Lorraine Campaign was far from over, the Americans had won a major victory at Arracourt. For the rest of the war, the 4th Armored Division was known as, "Patton's Vanguard". Today, the battle of Arracourt is remembered as one of the greatest and most tactical triumphs of American tanks during World War II.
