Battle Analysis: the Moselle River Crossing, Hasty and Deliberat
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AD-A156 949 .--------------------.....------ SSI BATTLEBOOK I (SI BATTLEBOOK 22- LZ THE MOSELLE RIVER CROSSING Combat studies Inst tu tc Fort Leavenworth, KilrSAS DTIC~ -LEC T Ea -~~ ~ COMBAT STUDIES INSTITUTE 14 (';4LCSC-32f)2 pp m VnPBI M L DIVRMMU3VLCREgAS CSI BATTLEBOOK 22-B} THE MOSELLE RIVER CROSSING combat studies Institute Fort Leavenworth, Kansas DTIC EtECTE. JUL 2 9 98 B j•'P•1 yow .P.LIC.. .-. ......... __ __ __ __ __ [ I .":,}': : .•. 1-N C*T*RUC'i .N S R oRT% DOCL.CENTATIO PACEA______G__,_E_ _'; -,-:-:,,, ' :, GOVT ACCES-.'s tP. J3. !.ECiFiENT'S CATALOG NI;.ER Rier CroEssings at TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD CC,'ERER ia,dr tle Deliberate Analysis: River The CrossingsMoselle Riverat Dornot Crossing, and Arn~a-Hasty Student Paper \'ille, France ,,... 6. PE.RFOR MING OR O.REPORT N L61ýE R . , AJs Agee, Allred, Ancker, Bai'ley, Cutting, -* COTRACT OR GRANT NL'.aBERe) Edwirds, Al-Khatrash, Hughes, Just, Mayes, Newton, Ratliff, Tipton, Graham - i. PERFC•J.INHG ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10, P=CGRAM ELEMENT, PROJECT, TASK USACGSC, Combat Studies Institute, ATZL-SWI AREA &,%RK UNIT NUMGERS Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-6900 U1. C:NTPOLLINO OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE USACGSC, Combat Studies Institute, ATZL-SWI May 1984 Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-6900 14. NPj-EER OF PAGES 109 'i-.. T ' AGECY NAME ii ADDRESS(il ditferent from Controhlljn CO1ico) IS. SECURITY CLASS. (of this toper) UNCLASSIFIED IS &,DECL ASSI FICATION/DOWN GRADNG . 7.1 EDULE E"hDOR PUBLIC RELEASE: F1istribution Unlimited. Z,.,;STRiS;;TION STATEMENT (of Lhoedbsttact .afteI. d Btock 20, It difitene from Report) B. S. LE.M-E-NTARY NOTES "" •' £"=.:.• ?- .".:.. -. :€e't,tro sý."" it! ocae s.r), an"d ; yb,•mb ' :Dck F = bet,) listory, Battle Analysis, Case Studies, Military Operations, Tactical Analysis, hIt*tles,.,Military Tactics, World War II, Hasty Assault, The Moselle River Crossing, Armor Infantry, Tanks. '"inis battle analysis concerns the crossing of the Moselle River by elements of the K.X US Corps, Third Army, in September 1944. The action occurred at Arnaville, just south of Dornot, France, where the US 5th Infantry Division fought several division. al size German forces.- Included in the German order of battle was: 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division, 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division, Division Number 462, 15th Panzer Grenadier Division. The Arnaville crossing, which was successful, was a continuanc¢ of the river crossing effort after US elements had previously been unsuccessful in a river crossing attempt at Dornot. The main em.hasis of this battic i.-lvsis is on Lhe N','.,. riv crassing a 'n.vi .. Sources us±:d( i:, preparation f P-ct tie .' ,':e she.n at the bib:io.r•iy v. Both j,'i:;..rv and secondar V. c. infor;a,.t 6',.'n cotncerning this battle aro available. In aJ.gton to the ,-i. tional rep,•"tS a.d books listed in the bibliography, t.,re re numcrous :;1.. transcript ic:C. '4 hese interviews were conducted with both i dividual cor 'a t nL':ý: a4 well as w"h groups. Only U.S. units and personnel are i: Lervievi.d, aL.d t- . aterj,. t ;hnqaes are not discussed. It is not s-pecificaily known wh- the i:L. - viewer i,., •i r has there been an evaluation conducted as to the reliabili y and accuracy of the interviews. k.:though those involved in the action contri,:uLtd a " great deal of valuable after-action riaterial, one must accept that indivLual per- c-ptions are the products of individual interpretations. Facts present tCemselves in all of the reference material and it is only through reading a large volume of available data that one can successfully begin to separate fact from interpretation '. This analysis is the product of that* ate6ii~pt.. • , .... ,', 1~ .•I . •, . *" . .'," , .. : . .*. '" 4• ,' • ,,,, .*.F , 1• * *" "" ] '-,, . -. ... p.fl. ".r ' .,.r r. ." . , - .- . - .. - . •. , , , . .. -z THE MOSELLE RIVER CROSSING Hasty and Deliberate River Crossings at Dornot and Arnaville, France conducted by United States 5th Infantry Division * -during September 1944 Prepared by: Staff Group B, Section 22 Major William Thomas, leader Major Darrell Agee Major Mike Hughes Major Ken Allred Major Edward Just ,4 Major Clint Ancker Major Tommy Mayes Major Palmer Bailey Major John Newton Major John Cutting Major Les Ratliff Major Gene Edwards Major Bob Tipton Major Saud Al-Khatrash Major John Graham Submitted to the Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for subcourse P651, Battle Analysis. N A ".. ~ ~~DTA,•,'lTA.. '. Fort Leavenworth Ju.•i .,-t'. (,, May 1984 i•.h......... Dist ribut Ion/ -istoD. ft Table of Contents Abstract ................................................... 1 6. I. Introduction ... **,. **...... .. *$...... 3 II. The Strategic Setting....... .. ..... ... ........... 6 World War II - The Global Strategy of War.... ... se. I] II. The Tactical Situation ...... ...... ......... .. ...... 15 The Moselle Valley of Eastern France. .. .. .. .. .. ]16 Composition and Capabilities of U.S. Forces........ 20 Technology . 00 .. e . 0 0 . 0 4 22 Logistical and Administrative Systes.s ... 0 0. ... 25 Conrand, Control, and Communications System .... .. 27 Intelligence ..... .. ... .. .... 0 ........... 29 Doctrine and Trainin . ..... .. *00 * 0* 30 Condition and Norale. ........................... 30 Leadership ........ .......... .. ....... ........ 31 Composition and Capabilities of German Forces...... 32 Technoloý,,y . .. .. .. ... .... 0... .... ......... 3 '5 Logistical and Administrative Systems ....... 35 SIntelligence Command, Control],0....... an1d........... Communications .................. Systems .... 3736 Doctrine and Training ... ....... .. .... 0.00..0.0. 3( Conditions and C ...........................1orale 39 Leadership........................*** ... 0000.. ... 39 Immediate 11ilitary Objectives. ........... ....... 40 Feasible Courses of Action . 4a0..00. ..... .. .. .. .. 00... 4 IV. The Crossing at Dornots..................... ........ 48 V. The Crossing at Arnaville... ....... s00..... o ........ ..... 55 Planning for the Operation......................... 56 Initial Crossing Operations ................. 58 1.]x panLtumay. (Iin, 0 the00 Bridpeead..,r0.0 000e0*ea00d. .o0e* . s . 65 S;u i.mcmary7 ..... ........... 73 VI. Analysis of the Action................................. 76 Immediatevoi nificance .... 0 . .. ..... ... 77 Long-term 77i7nificance............................ I litaryJ Le;s on s Learned............ ... .. 00. ..0 Objective. .*0006a0006000000a000000000000000000 79 Offensive ....................................... 00 Economy ... U5 Haaneuv r.r.............aoo0000.....0... 00...... * a. 80 Unity of Cormnnand. 000,-00000a 0 00* 0 a000. 0 o . 0 U ecurity- 0•• •ea0 e s e s 9s o s .6 s 40 o a0e s a . Str.ike*90 ".'... 4C1i .- Surpri se Strik................................. 90 Simplicity ....... ............ .... .... .......... 91 Summary ............................................ 92 No t es S . 94 Appendix A - Strategic Overview of World War II ............. 95 Appendix B - U.S. Order of Battle ..................... 101 Appendix C - German Order of Battle......................... 103 Appendix D - Maps 1, 2, and S S.' 4W% p5t*. "LC ABSTRACT COMMON REFERENCE: Moselle River Crossing, September 1944 TYPE OPERATION: Offensive, Hasty River Crossing (Dornot) Offensive, Deliberate River Crossing (Arnaville) OPPOSING FORCES: U.S.: 5th Infantry Division with attached and supporting units German: 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division 3d Panzer Grenadier Division Division Number 462 15th Panzer Grenadier Division (elements) SYNOPSIS: The U.S. 5th Infantry Division, a part of XX Corps, crossed the Moselle River south of Metz in September 1944. In an attempt to exploit . perceived German disorganization, the Americans attempted a hasty crossing of the Moselle River at Dornot, France, on 8 September 1944. This attempt met heavy resistance and resulted in failure. Command and control pro- blems and the inability to move tanks across the river contributed to the defeat. Two days later a deliberate crosing was successful at Arnaville, 4km south of Dornot. Factors con- tributing to that success were tactical surprise, effective use of fire support includ- ing close air support and tank destroyers in overwatch position, combined arms cooperation, and the employment of smoke. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cole, Hugh M., The Lorraine Campaign. Washington, D.C., Superintendent of Documents, 1950. Dickens, R.C., After Action Report Against the Enemy. Fifth Infantry Division, October 1944. Greenfield, Kent Roberts, American Strategy in World War II: A Reconsideration. Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1979. The Historian and the Army. * - w *.a, i - * a • ,. I -, . MacDonald, Charles B. and Matthews, Sidney T., Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt. Washington, D.C., Superintendent of Documents, 1952. Moselle River Crossing at Arnaville. Interviews with battle participants. Washington, D.C., Washington National Records Center, 1946. Rosenblum, Marcus (Marc Harris)., The United States in the Second World War. New York, Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1946 The XX Corps: Its History and Service in World War II. Prepared and written by XX Corps personnel. Werner, Max, Attack Can Win in '43 Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1943. -2- . 5.5 .. 5-... **&~.,.. **.*. &.,4 . ... ... .... ... .,2S *-- I. INTRODUCTION -3- This battle analysis concerns the crossing of the Moselle River by elements of the XX U.S. Corps, Third Army, in September 1944. The action occurred at Arnaville,