Britain’s Battle of the Bulge:
Scenario Preview, Part Two
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
June 2021

There’s not a whole lot written about the British Army’s contribution to the Battle of the Bulge. Though much smaller than that of the U.S. Army, the British contingent (one corps with two divisions backed by two armoured brigades and an ungodly array of artillery) became involved in some intense fighting.

Philippe Léonard took up the challenge with Elsenborn Ridge: Britain’s Battle of the Bulge, which may be the only tactical-level wargame treatment of this campaign (and if it’s not, well, I don’t care and neither should you). Let’s have a look at the little book’s second scenario chapter.

Chapter Two
The Tip of the Salient

Scenario Three
Who Dares, Wins
Bure, South of Rochefort, Belgium
31 December 1944
Snow fell all through the last morning of 1944 as the weather continued to deteriorate. Even so, British forces began an advance against the tip of the German salient. The British 6th “Pegasus” Airborne Division sent out numerous patrols to reconnoiter the German positions. Belgian commandos serving in the British Army had recently been converted into a reconnaissance unit mounted on semi-armored jeeps. The unit became the “1st Belgian SAS Recce Squadron” just before they were thrown into the fray in the Ardennes. Under command of the 6th British Airborne Division, the Belgian column of 24 armored jeeps set out along with the 61st Recce Regiment to patrol the road between Wellin and Saint Hubert to cover the British southern flank. On 31 December they reconnoitered the approaches to Bure, a strategic village.

Conclusion
On 27 December, XXX Corps ordered Captain Blondeel’s Belgian Special Air Service (SAS) unit to the village of Froidfontaine south of Beauraing, there to join the 61st Reconnaissance Regiment. That outfit, equipped with light tanks, belonged to the British 6th Airborne Division soon to arrive from England. On 31 December the Belgian paratroopers set out to reconnoiter the village of Bure. Blondeel formed two teams of four jeeps, each equipped with twin Vickers machine guns, one under Lieutenant Van der Heyden, the other under Lieutenant Renkin.

Van der Heyden headed for Wavreille, to find access blocked by mines. The men quickly removed those obstacles, but on the outskirts of the village large felled trees blocked the jeeps’ path. Despite these difficulties, the patrol managed to penetrate Wavreille, which it found occupied by the Germans. Van der Heyden withdrew, but before returning to his base he sent Oultremont's jeep to reconnoiter the chapel at Bure where, on the way, they took a prisoner and captured five more Germans in the chapel.

For his part, at around 1215 Renkin passed through Resteigne and Tellin, which the Germans had left the night before, then moved towards Bure by gaining the heights to the south of the village. At the top of the hill known to the British as Nipple 360, his jeep came to a stop, its occupants noticing suspicious movements on the edge of the woods. Private Lorphèvre, the rear gunner, jumped from the jeep and strode about 30 meters through the thick snow before the sharp clap of a detonation broke the silence. Covered by his machine guns, Renkin stepped forward but retreated rapidly when an 88mm shell exploded a few meters from the jeep. While descending the hill, a second shell hit the vehicle head-on at about 1500. Paul Renkin, Émile Lorphèvre and Claude Comte de Villermont were killed instantly. Having heard the cannon fire, Lieutenant Van der Heyden headed for the hill, but enemy fire stopped him from reaching it.

On 3 January at around 1500 Captain Blondeel and Lieutenant Van der Heyden managed to reach the ridge where Lieutenant Renkin's jeep was hit. They were immediately harassed by mortar shells and machine gun fire which prevented them from retrieving the bodies of their comrades.

Notes
This is an odd little scenario, with British recon troops (manned by Belgians) racing around the map to spot the Germans and have a look at their defenses. Most of our games/books have something unusual in them, and this is the entry for Britain’s Battle.

Scenario Four
Smash III
Bure, South of Rochefort, Belgium
3 January 1945
The British XXX Corps intended its offensive, titled Smash III, to relieve the U.S. VII Corps at the bottom of the pocket created by the Germans in December, not far from the Meuse River. The American troops could then fight the decisive battle towards Houffalize, to the north-east. XXX Corps planned to seize the villages of Bure and Wavreille, and then exploit in the direction of Grupont and Forrières on the river Lomme. In order to do this, they would first need to seize the heights above Bure, known as Chapel Hill, with the tanks of 2nd Fife and Forfarshire Yeomanry and the infantry of 8th/Rifle Brigade.

Conclusion
Chapel Hill was a delightful and breezy elevation commanding an excellent view of the surrounding country and, what was more important, an uninterrupted view of the village of Bure. Of course, the Germans had emplaced themselves atop Chapel Hill. When the chapel itself, guarded on three sides by thick woods, was attacked there was a clash with German self-propelled guns (probably StuGIIIG from PzJg Abteilung 38) that ended up with several tanks of the 2nd Fife & Forfar Yeomanry disabled. Corporal Dave Findlay knocked out a German self-propelled gun, but was in turn wounded. The Fifes repelled a German counter-attack, hitting enemy vehicles at a range of about 2 miles. Quite a number of the Fife tanks were knocked out by enemy self-propelled guns before the hill was finally reported to be in British hands.

“The night of the 3rd was very cold and rather dangerous,” Major A.A. McLoughlin wrote after the war. “The arrival of F Coy/8th Rifle Brigade near the top of the hill, late in the afternoon was both unheralded and unsung. If it sounds a frigid welcome, we were content to let it be so. . . . our mood was not particularly receptive to the picturesque charms of our surroundings, and . . . it was later to become frankly abusive after a few hours’ trench-digging. The 6th Airborne Division had a difficult task in Bure. This they finally accomplished with the tanks from the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. Our own role meanwhile, and for the day to follow, with of course the support of the big boys, was to deny the enemy the use of the high ground and also prevent him exploiting any possible counter-attack. It is satisfactory to recall that the duty was effectively performed.”

Historical Notes
6th Airborne Division
The British 6th Airborne Division was established in May 1943, under the command of Major-General R.N. “Windy” Gale. It consisted of the 3rd Parachute Brigade, the 5th Parachute Brigade and the 6th Airlanding Brigade. The 22nd Independent Parachute Company (pathfinders), 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (light tanks), the 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment Royal Artillery (75mm cannons), along with three anti-tank and antiaircraft batteries and Royal Engineers rounded out the division.

XXX Corps went into action with the 6th Airborne Division on the left and the 53rd Welsh Division on the right. They were powerfully reinforced with artillery and armor. The 6th Airborne Division had the support of the 29th Armoured Brigade, 34th Tank Brigade (minus the 9th Royal Tank Regiment), the 53rd Recce Regiment, the 61st Recce Regiment, the 1st Belgian SAS Squadron, the 6th and 68th Field Artillery Regiments, two SP batteries of the 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment (Achilles tank destroyers), two towed batteries of the 91st Anti-Tank Regiment, C flight, 662 AOP Squadron (Air Observation Post – artillery spotters). Additionally, 6th Airborne Division had the backing of the 3rd AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery) a brigade-sized formation usually serving as XII Corps artillery, with two medium artillery regiments and two heavy artillery batteries, and the 4th AGRA, usually part of I Corps, with two medium artillery regiments, a light anti-aircraft regiment and an aerial observation flight.

Supporting 53rd Welsh Division, 5th AGRA (usually XXX Corps artillery) had four medium artillery regiments, a heavy artillery regiment and its own observation flight. The division also had the help of 33rd Armoured Brigade, the remainder of 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment and another observation flight.

Notes
Neither side brings a lot of troops to the fight, which is probably a mistake for both sides because the stakes are pretty high. The Brits have to kick the Germans off the high ground, and though there are not many Germans, they do not wish to be kicked and they have an assault gun to help them remain unkicked.

And those are the opening scenarios of Chapter Two. Next time, it’s the rest of the chapter.

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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and NASA Journalist in Space finalist, he has published a staggering number of books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children and his dog, Leopold.