Take Ten! WTO (id:#58043)

Kinetic Energy Productions (Time on Target # 1 ID: TOT 1)   [next]   [previous]

Krewinkel, Belgium 1944-12-16 (37 others)

Overview:

The 18th Cavalry Recon Squadron was positioned in the villages of Afst, Krewinkel, Roth, Kobscheid, Weckerath, and Manderfeld. Normally tasked with gathering information, the cavalrymen were somewhat out of their element in a positional defense, especially since the requirements of the situation called for them to be dismounted. However, they rose to the occasion and constructed well-protected, heavily-camouflaged fighting positions and armed them with their vehicular heavy weapons, ready to face any threat. At 0530 hours on Saturday, 16 December, that threat materialized in the form of an artillery bombardment. At approximately 0600 hours, the shelling ceased. The Americans at Krewinkel, having suffered no casualties, silently held their positions. Suddenly -- with searchlights shining in the low-hanging cloud cover creating an eerie nighttime illumination -- a groups of German infantry approached in columns of four, laughing and talking, unaware of the presence of the cavalrymen. Those German units were disintegrated under the fire of the heavy machine guns. Regrouping, the German paratroopers attacked again en masse.

Defender: American (2nd Platoon, C Company, 18th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron)  

Errata (source)