Battle of Arracourt

DATE: 30/03/2025

TIME (GMT): 18:00

ERA: WW2

MAP(S): Normandy

TYPE: COOP

TEAMSPEAK: ts1.biaarma.com

GAME: Arma 3

EVENT: Official

AUTHOR(S): Aris for Brothers in Arms Community

SLOTS: 66 / 76

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RATING: (7)

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The Battle of Arracourt took place between U.S. and German armoured forces near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France between 18 and 29 September 1944, during the Lorraine Campaign of World War II. As part of a counteroffensive against recent U.S. advances in France, the German 5th Panzer Army had as its objective the recapture of Lunéville and the elimination of the XII Corps bridgehead over the Moselle River at Dieulouard.

Arracourt was the largest tank battle involving U.S. forces on the Western Front until the Battle of the Bulge

With local superiority in troops and tanks, the Germans anticipated quick defeat of the defending U.S. 4th Armored Division.With better intelligence, tactics and use of terrain, 4^th Armored Division and the XIX Tactical Air Command defeated two panzer brigades and elements of two panzer divisions over eleven days of battle.

For the battle, German units assembled 262 tanks and assault guns.The German force initially comprised two panzer corps headquarters, the 11th Panzer Division and the 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades. The experienced 11th Panzer Division was short of tanks, having lost most of its complement in earlier fighting. Although the two panzer brigades had new Panther tanks, they were manned by fresh crews who had only received two weeks of training and could not read maps appropriately. The need to quickly respond to the sudden advance of the 4th Armored Division and a fuel shortage left the crews with little time for training and little proficiency in tactical maneuvering in large, combined arms operations.

The U.S. 4th Armored Division consisted of the 37th Tank Battalion, the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion, the 66th and 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalions the 177th Field Artillery Group and the 191st Field Artillery Battalion.[6] Also present were elements of the 35th Tank Battalion, the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion, the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion, the 25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, the 24th Armored Engineer Battalion, and the 166th Engineer Combat Battalion.

 

The 5th Panzer Army outnumbered US 4^th Armored Division in tanks and was equipped with Panther and Tiger tanks, superior to American M4 Sherman tanks in frontal armour protection and main gun range, countered by the U.S. tanks' faster turret traverse and stabilized guns. In close air support, U.S. forces enjoyed an overwhelming advantage. Earlier sorties by U.S. fighter bombers caused some German panzer units to fail to arrive in time for the battle, as they were damaged or destroyed in separate encounters with other Allied forces.

On 18 September, amidst deteriorating weather and increasing fog, U.S. tactical air forces were unsuccessful in an attempt to locate and destroy advancing German armored units. However, while the weather had shielded the German advance from air observation and attack, it also handicapped the 5th Panzer Army. Poor visibility combined with a lack of motorized scouting and reconnaissance units in the new Panzer Army formations prevented German armored forces from properly coordinating their attack, which soon degenerated into a disjointed series of intermittent thrusts.

The first German attack, mounted by the 111th Panzer Brigade, fell on the 2nd Mechanized Cavalry Group and the 4th Armored Division s Reserve Command at Lunéville on 18 September 1944.In sharp fighting, the understrength U.S. forces, recently augmented by reinforcements from both the U.S. 4th and 6th Armored Divisions, managed to beat back the attack, destroying twenty-four German armored vehicles.Wood (commander of 4th Armored) and his corps commander Eddy, believing the Luneville engagement to be only a local counterattack, initially decided to proceed with a planned corps offensive, however, reports of increased German activity throughout the night of 18–19 September led to postponement of the attack.The Fifth Panzer Army, having failed to take Luneville quickly, simply bypassed it and began moving north to strike at 4^th Armoured exposed position in and around Arracourt. The resulting battle was one of the largest armored engagements ever fought on the Western Front.