2 BTN in Ruhr 2 - Crush and Clear

The date is 7 march 45 and we are attached to the 38th Infantry Regiment moving near Altenahr west of Remagen. Our orders are to clear the area west of the river Rhine of supply columns and depots of the German 5th Fallshirmjäger Division.




After Action Report.
We had a clear picture of our segment. To be able to stop all columns we had to move fast due to the fact that the terrain gave the Germans protection.

We moved in on the rear of the column and destroyed that part swiftly. As we moved forward we encountered some heavy resistance in the village. That made our troops hesitate a bit, which was enough for the front of the column to escape. Now fierce street fighting took place and the company commander had to encourage to troops to make the result we wanted faster.

The resisting Germans were neutralized and several prisoners were taken. Depots in the city were captured and we moved forward to take up positions on the Hills.

Lessons learned:

• Watch out for the PSKs and PFs. They have a great chance of destroying your vehicles.
• Command Rules sometimes makes it hard to move forward.
• Street fighting will always be bloody.

2 BTN in Ruhr 1 - Hammer and Anvil

After Hurtgen Forrest we were withdrawn for some R&R. We engaged some German Patrols that we throw back. The German Ardennes Offensive failed and we moved back into Germany and the Ruhr area. By the end of February the 309th Infantry Regiment had been cut off after entering Ruhrberg and the 2 BTN were called in to the rescue.

Alpha company moved in on a northern rout while Bravo took a more southern path. We had a level 3 Hill in front of us with a Forrest on its hill sides. German sniper activity took out two of our leaders, one from Alpha Company and one Artillery spotter. Any OBA assistance was out of the question now.

We managed to clear the Hill and moved on. The 309th moved towards us and clearly took some casualties. After more fighting we met up with 309. Together we cleared the sector and took up positions at the river bank, awaiting any German counter attack. It never came. Our mission was completed.

2 BTN in Huertgen Forest 3 - Clearing the Hill part2

Unfortunately we didn't make it. It was a to tough assignment to take the bunker. The approach was through pretty open countryside and our mortars jammed all the time. This ment that we laked enough smoke screens. Our men was constantly pinned down and we pace forward was too slow. In the end we managed to get a bir of the bunker i heavy closa combat but the time run out. Other will have to finnish the work.

2 BTN in Huertgen Forest 3 - Clearing the Hill

We have been chosen to assault the bunker. This is a tough assignment that will be costly to the TF. The bunker is surrounded by wire and minefields and the defenders will be hard to break down. I will try to attack on two fronts. The attack need to be protected by smoke screens so the accompanying battalion mortars come in handy. I'll be back as soon as we are making some progress.

2 BTN in Huertgen Forest 2 - Taking the foothill part 2

Mission successful. We managed to clear the town with only minor losses. As we carefully approached the town the Germans opened fire. We had to tread carefully not to give them easy shots. As the Germans started to break and had too few leaders to manage the rallies we attacked at surrounded the defending Germans. A lot of prisoners were taken and we could clear the town. We are now a step closer to attack the Hill 400.

2 BTN in Huertgen Forest 2 - Taking the foothill

The Battalion has got it's new combat orders. We are to clear the town of Bergstein and move as much as possible uphill to prepare the final assault on the Bunker. This is the beginning of the fight for Hill 400. The opposing force is the veteran 275th Infantry Division. It's been depleted and reinforced with badly trained units. There is snow on the ground being a bit of a bugger but we can count on some Air Support.

This is an interesting approach to playing GSASL. The TFs has been given different sectors of the same map and the TF that gets the best result will be the one leading the assault on the Bunker on the Hill. We have all to sharpen our strategy to get the honour to make the assault.

2 BTN in Huertgen Forest 1 - Clearing the position

We were ordered to clear the Kall Trail and the area around Vossenack. Warnings were issued that minefields and booby traps could be scattered in the area.

As we entered the area we discovered that the germans had positioned SPGuns in good firing positions. We had some trouble taking them out but eventually managed. This process slowed us down and wasn't improved by heavy rain. Unfortunately we lost some men during his clearing mission. The rain made the fighting a close combat fighting and a bloody one it was. At the end we couldn't clear our sector fully but we had made some progress. We just have to clear the sector bit by bit.