Invasion 1944:
Scenario Preview, Part Five
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
May 2021

And now we come to the final chapter of Panzer Grenadier: Invasion 1944, with even more intense infantry fighting as the Americans are on the verge of busting out of their beachhead and rampaging into and across France.

There are tanks on the battlefield too, but in this game they’re almost always an adjunct to the infantry. That was actually their purpose and their most common deployment; most wargames (ours included) focus on engagements where armor played the leading role. But usually, it was the infantry that did the heavy lifting, and that’s the case in Invasion 1944. Let’s have a look.

Capturing St. Lȏ
St. Lȏ was the gathering point for eight roads and a rail line. There was simply no other spot in First Army’s sector more important to breaking out of Normandy, nor was any other spot so desperately defended by the German Seventh Army. While First Army’s first major objective after establishing a lodgment was the capture of Cherbourg, the capture of St. Lȏ was a close second. It was expected that the town would be secured by D+9. As we have seen, the bocage and the German paratroopers assured that the schedule would not be met.

The 29th Infantry Division’s breather that began on the 19th of June was extended day after day, first due to the storm and then due to the logistical issues that arose from the storm, which limited First Army to a single thrust over that period. As each day passed the division became stronger and passed more of the lessons learned during early June to the replacements who had arrived in the meantime. When it came time to push for St. Lȏ again, the 29th would be ready.

SCENARIO SIXTEEN
Devastated
11 July, 1944
Rested after a much-appreciated lull in the fighting, the 29th was ready to return to action. Assistant division commander Norman “Dutch” Cota had introduced new tactics, while his boss Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt allegedly set up a division-sponsored whorehouse for his men. All that remained was for the sun to rise and the air cover to arrive. Gerhardt was sure that success awaited his division, but someone neglected to inform the Germans. Before the attack could begin, the Germans launched their own spoiling attack.

Conclusion
Many Americans felt their positions had been scouted by a German medic under a flag of truce, because the paratroopers infiltrated the American lines before their presence was detected. The Germans used the night, the freedom from Allied aerial disruption, and possibly medical skullduggery to great advantage in this spoiling attack. Lieutenant Werner Kersting’s plan so disrupted the Americans that they were five and a half hours late in launching their own attack.

Notes
This time the Germans get to attack, and they have a tough force of paratroopers who have the numbers, morale and artillery to make some gains against the unprepared Americans. They have to accomplish a lot in order to win, but they have what they need to do it.

SCENARIO SEVENTEEN
Nectar of the Gods
13 July 1944
After advancing a few hedgerows the Americans were halted by the stiffening defenses with the 115th Regiment’s Company L engaged in a fierce fight for an apple orchard with no apparent military value. The U.S. official history speaks of heroic efforts to retain procession of this orchard from relentless attackers, then questions why either side was willing to absorb the punishment they were taking. It spoke loud in what it did not say.

Conclusion
The Germans were finally driven from the apple orchard in mid-afternoon not by the fanatical fury of Company L but by the two battalions that were enveloping their flanks. Upon the German withdrawal the Americans found that the paratroopers were unable to take their stock of Calvados, a particularly potent apple brandy seen briefly before as the source of much bravado in the capture of Cherbourg. It was known locally as “the nectar of the gods.” Surprisingly, no receipt for the captured brandy was ever issued by the regimental quartermaster.

Notes
It was an alcohol-fueled culture in those days, and young men really did risk their lives for a bottle of booze. The Germans are pretty tough even when cold sober, and this is going to be a difficult task for the attacking Americans.

SCENARIO EIGHTEEN
Forward Again
15 July 1944
Both sides used the 14th to rest and reorganize with the 29th Infantry Division requesting far more MOS 745 (rifleman) than the replacement depots could supply. The replacements who did arrive showed up alone or with a few strangers, friendless and confused. They would be thrust directly into the front lines, often late at night just in time to participate in a dawn attack. Often these replacements died without ever knowing the names of their messmates or vice versa. Nevertheless, Gerhardt – who had already gained a reputation for ignoring his division’s casualty rate - insisted on yet another assault come dawn.

Conclusion
Gerhardt was openly referred to as a corps commander by his men and more than a few of his officers because, “He has a division in the field, a division in the hospital and a division in the cemetery.” He would be demoted to colonel after the war both for his division’s excessive casualties and his own “moral lapses” (those divisional whorehouses). Some observers felt that Gerhardt was motivated by a lust for fame rather than a devotion to duty. After this action he felt confident of success as the 115th Infantry Regiment corralled an astounding number of prisoners. Despite the captured Germans, the division had secured just 600 yards of ground while absorbing 119 more casualties. Maybe the Germans were beginning to break.

Notes
The Americans have the numbers here with strong armor and artillery support, but the Germans are determined paratroopers (that means they have high morale and plenty of good leaders) and are well-equipped with heavy weapons. That includes an 88mm battery that will immolate those Shermans if they come within its sights.

SCENARIO NINETEEN
A No Go
16 July 1944
Excitement ran at a fever pitch for the staff of the 29th Infantry Division as St. Lȏ seemed ripe for the taking. Indeed, on the previous day Major Sidney Bingham (see Scenario 1) had led his battalion through the German lines so decisively that they had become separated from the rest of the regiment. Even though XIX Corps had ordered a stand down for the day, Major Bingham’s isolated battalion needed help to hold their position. Colonel Godwin Ordway of the 115th Infantry was ordered to send one of his battalions to their aid at dawn. Surprisingly the colonel showed no enthusiasm for the undertaking.

Conclusion
The night before the attack dishwashers, clerks and other roustabouts were ordered into the front line to fill the depleted ranks of the 115th Infantry Regiment. Colonel Ordway remained unhappy about the mission and only followed through with it on direct orders from General Gerhardt. The attack miscarried and another couple of hedgerows cost the Americans 66 more casualties. Even officers succumb to battle fatigue and Gerhardt fired Ordway two days later. A brilliant chief of staff when serving under Gerhardt during the invasion’s first week, the rigors of front-line command and the growing casualty totals had proven too much for him. He was not the first, nor would he be the last. Meanwhile the Germans were stupefied that the Americans would not concentrate for a large assault but remained content to throw battalion-level attacks all along the front.

Notes
This is a small scenario, without a lot of troops on either side. That favors the Germans, since they hold some very strong positions and the Americans don’t have the force to overwhelm them. They’re going to have to work hard to win this one.

SCENARIO TWENTY
Still Dangerous
16 July 1944
General Charles “Cowboy Pete” Corlett had ordered XIX Corps to do nothing more than rest and reorganize for the 16th. The Germans were not privy to his order and had decided to infiltrate through the gaps that had developed in the American line. This would allow them to separate each formation and force them off Martinville Ridge one by one. Or so they hoped.

Conclusion
By nightfall shocked American formations were still perched on Martinville Ridge though much reduced in strength. Officers were left to wonder how a beaten foe managed to inflict the day’s carnage on them and if they had the strength to liberate St. Lȏ. The fighting in the bocage country had been brutal to both sides as American rifle companies had sustained almost 100% casualties since D-Day while on the German side the 3rd Parachute Division had seen 70% of its strength destroyed. Unlike the Americans, though, the Germans would see precious few replacements.

Notes
The Germans are on the attack, but this time the Americans almost match their numbers and have tanks and airplanes to help out. This is gong to be a hard one for the Germans, who have to accomplish a great deal in order to win.

SCENARIO TWENTY-ONE
The Major of St. Lȏ
17 July 1944
The 29th Infantry Division had been battered and once again needed a long rest and plentiful replacements. Gerhardt’s proclamation that his division would reach St. Lȏ at any cost stunned the battalion commanders who worried about simply holding their positions. Gerhardt brushed aside objections and ordered his staff to formulate plans with Major Thomas Howie’s battalion given the difficult assignment of reaching Sidney Bingham’s isolated battalion. Howie understood that drastic measures would be required as he informed his company commanders of their objectives.

Conclusion
Just after 0730 Howie briefed his company commanders on the coming mission when an enemy mortar barrage hit. Howie waited until he was sure all his men were safe before he attempted to reach his own foxhole. It was the last thing he ever did as shrapnel pierced his lung and killed him within minutes. Gerhardt would order his flag-draped body brought into a liberated St Lȏ on the hood of a jeep so that he would be the first American into the city, and had it prominently displayed as a symbol of the sacrifices endured by his soldiers. American public fancy was captured by a poem in Life Magazine and as no name had been used due to wartime censorship this brave man became known simply as the Major of St. Lȏ.

Notes
The Americans have the numbers, artillery and air support to finally drive the paratroopers out of their positions. And yes, abuse of a corpse was a criminal act under 1944’s UCMJ, too.

Post Script
A week after the fall of St. Lȏ, the Cobra offensive and the pursuit that ensued ensured that the American forces would be able to break free from the bocage and the tenacious defense of the overmatched German forces.

The ultimate breakout was a foregone conclusion. All senior German officers had reported that the front in Normandy would break by the end of July under the most optimistic assumptions. While the German command had been dismissive of Allied tactics, the ceaseless grinding annihilated the German forces, which a more concentrated breakout may not have achieved. Losses per division per month for both the Allied and German forces in the Normandy campaign exceeded those experienced on the Eastern Front. The Allies simply could feed more units and more replacements into Normandy than could the Germans.

The experience in Normandy had been transformative for the American Army as well as the German forces. The Germans had entered the campaign sure of their ability to use their tactical and operational expertise against the Americans to great effect and came away stunned at the material superiority and air supremacy of the Allies. The survivors had seen entire divisions reduced to disorganized battalions. While order had been lost many of these men would form the basis of the resistance to come as they rallied on the West Wall. The SS militia remained completely certain of the ultimate success of German arms. The regular army troops, without the ideologically-driven fantasies motivating the SS, felt otherwise. The survivors would fight desperately to defend Germany but they knew after Normandy that they could not win.

While victorious, the American Army that emerged from the bocage bore little resemblance to the one that entered at the beginning of June. In addition to horrendous losses experienced in the close-order battles, entire divisional commands had been purged as men of all ranks fell prey to indecision, fear and paralysis. The U.S. Army was ruthless in purging itself of men who could not or would not take the steps necessary to defeat the Germans. Indeed, one regiment went through five colonels in a single week.

The American Army that began the pursuit through France was far more tactically competent than the one that landed on Omaha and Utah beaches. The men who led them had met the challenge of this intense combat and had learned the keys to defeating the German’s operational expertise. While the war had another 10 months to go, the end had been foretold just beyond the beachhead.

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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 vast numbers of books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children and his dog, Leopold. Leopold actually wrote most of those.