USDivisionsNormandy, Flames of War

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US INFANTRY DIVISIONS IN NORTHERN FRANCE
JUNE-AUGUST 1944
BY MIKE HAUGHT
US INFANTRY FORCES IN FRANCE
At their height, the battles for Normandy and Brittany
included 14 American infantry divisions. hese arrived
betweenD-Dayon6June1944throughtheendofAugust,
justasthebattlesfornorthernFrancewerecomingtoaclose.
Obviouslytherearetoomanydivisionsforeachtobefeatured
in
Overlord
,howeverasluckandAmericaneiciencywould
have it, you can easily adapt the simple Rile Company to
ieldthesedivisionsin
Flames Of War
.
Below are all of the US infantry divisions that played an
importantpartintheNormandyighting.We’veincludeda
briefhistoryaboutthedivision,motivationandskillratings,
special rules if applicable, and a Rile Company Diagram
to use, which represents that division between June and
September1944.
Itisimportanttorememberthatnotallofthefollowingdivi-
sionsarecreatedequal.heoptionsavailabletotheseRile
Companies represent what was available to that division
duringitscampaigninFrance.Betweenallofthesevariants,
youaresuretoindonethatsuitsyourplaystyle.
O
VERLORD
I
NFANTRY
D
IVISIONS
Don’t forget about the Infantry Divisions in the
Overlord
compilation book, which includes the 1
st
, 2
nd
, 4
th
, and
29
th
Infantry Divisions. Together with this brieing you
should have all of the Infantry divisions involved in the
battles of Normandy and Brittany between June and early
September1944.
US INFANTRY DIVISIONS IN NORTHERN FRANCE
Symbol
Division & Nickname
Arrived
Symbol
Division & Nickname
Arrived
1
st
Infantry Division
6June
29
th
Infantry Division
6June
‘BigRedOne’
‘BlueandGray’
2
nd
Infantry Division
7June
30
th
Infantry Division
10June
‘Indianhead’
‘OldHickory’
4
th
Infantry Division
6June
35
th
Infantry Division
11July
‘Ivy’
‘SantaFe’
5
th
Infantry Division
9July
79
th
Infantry Division
14June
‘RedDiamond’or‘RedDevils’
‘CrossofLorraine’
8
th
Infantry Division
4July
80
th
Infantry Division
3August
‘Pathinder’
‘BlueRidge’
9
th
Infantry Division
10June
83
rd
Infantry Division
18June
‘OldReliable’
‘hunderbolt’or‘Ohio’
28
th
Infantry Division
22July
90
th
Infantry Division
8June
‘Keystone’or‘BloodyBucket’
‘ToughHombres’
THE RED DEVILS
THE 5
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
he 5
th
Infantry Division was activated
intheautumnof1939inresponsetothe
outbreakofwarinEurope.Itbecamethe
irstUSdivisiontodeployoverseaswhen
it took over garrison duties in Iceland
in May 1942, freeing up a British unit
theretoreturntoGreatBritain.
After its garrison duty, the division
was moved to England, and then to
Northern Ireland to prepare for the
invasionofFrance.
he‘RedDiamonds’ofthe5
th
InfantryDivisionlandedon
UtahBeachon9July,immediatelyrelievingthe1
st
Infantry
DivisionanddiggingindefensivelyatCaumont.Afterafew
daysofcombat,theBritish15
th
(Scottish)Divisiontookover
most of the division’s front to launch Operation Bluecoat.
he 2
nd
Regimental Combat Team remained in place and
supportedthe2
nd
InfantryDivision’sattackseastofSt.Lô.
When Operation Cobra was launched, the 5
th
attacked
VidouvillecontinuingsouthandeastofSt.Lô.heycaptured
Angerson9August.AngerswasakeylocationintheSt.Lô
areaasithadsixbridgesspanningtheMaineRiver.
5
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
2
ND
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
10
TH
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
‘Red Diamond’
or ‘Red Devils’
11
TH
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
DIVISIONAL SUPPORT
19
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
46
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
50
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
21
ST
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(155
MM
)
5
TH
R
ECONNAISSANCE
T
ROOP
(
MECHANIZED
)
T
HE
700-M
ILE
S
AGA
AfterthebreakoutatSt.Lo,the5
th
wastransferredtoGeneral
GerorgePatton’snewhirdArmy.Duringthepursuitacross
France the Red Diamonds broke all of the records in the
USArmyformarchspeeds.hedivisionmarched700miles
in 27 days, maintaining a cracking pace of about 50-90
miles(80-145km)perday.Todothis,themenlivedonK
Rations alone, leaving all of their kitchen gear behind and
usedthekitchentrucks,andliterallyeveryothervehiclein
thedivisionastransports,includingtanks,tankdestroyers,
artillerytractors,jeeps,andtrailers.
heyrodethroughallweatherfromsuntorainandinnight
aswellasday,learningtosleeponthebackoftanksandjeep
trailers.Initsadvance,theRedDiamondliberatedAngers,
Chartres, Fontainebleau, Montereau, and Reims before
headingtotheGerman-Frenchborder.Onlyoncewerethe
Red Diamonds outpaced by an armoured division, when
threetanksofthe7
th
ArmoredDivisionenteredVerdunon
31August,onlytwohoursbeforethearrivalofthe5
th
Infan-
try’sdoughboys.
7
TH
E
NGINEER
C
OMBAT
B
ATTALION
ATTACHMENTS
735
TH
T
ANK
B
ATTALION
818
TH
T
ANK
D
ESTROYER
B
ATTALION
(SP)
he5
th
Infantry’sbreakneckadvanceacrossFrancecametoa
screechinghaltalongwiththerestofPatton’shirdArmyin
earlySeptember.herewasnomoregasolineforthespear-
headsandforthemoment,the5
th
hadtopauseitsmarch.
Aheadofthemweresomeofthemostdiicultbattlesthey
wouldhavetoface.GettingtoLorrainewasonething,over-
comingtheGermanfortresscityofMetzwasquiteanother.
FIELDING THE 5
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
To ield a Rile Company from the 5
th
Infantry Division,
usetheRileCompanydiagramonthefollowingpage.Use
thecolumnmarked
France is the Red
Diamond’s irst major
campaign. As such,
a Rile Company
from the 5
th
Infantry
Division is rated
Conident Trained
.
RELUCTANT
CONFIDENT
FEARLESS
CONSCRIPT
TRAINED
VETERAN
.ItusesallofthenormalAmerican
specialrulesfoundintherulebookonpages236-240.
5
TH
I
NFANTRY
D
IVISION
RILE COMPANY
5
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
(I
NFANTRY
C
OMPANY
)
HEADQUARTERS
You must field one platoon from each box shaded black and may field one platoon from each
box shaded grey.
All of your platoons must be marked with
or with no symbol at all.
Rile Company HQ
SUPPORT PLATOONS
INFANTRY
MACHINE-GUNS
ARMOUR
ARTILLERY
Machine-gun Platoon
Field Artillery Battery
Rile Platoon
Independent Tank Platoon
MACHINE-GUNS
INFANTRY
ARTILLERY
ARMOUR
Machine-gun Platoon
Field Artillery Battery
Rile Platoon
Tank Destroyer Platoon
ARTILLERY
Field Artillery Battery (155)
Towed Tank Destroyer
Platoon
INFANTRY
Chemical Mortar Platoon
Mortar Platoon
TRANSPORT
ARTILLERY
Rile Platoon
INFANTRY
MACHINE-GUNS &
ARTILLERY
Truck Section
Field Artillery Battery
Ammunition & Pioneer
Platoon
Corps Field Artillery
Battery
INFANTRY
Corps Field Artillery
Battery (155)
Weapons Platoon
ANTI-TANK
Engineer Combat Platoon
AIRCRAFT
Anti-tank Platoon
RECONNAISSANCE
Air Support
ANTI-TANK
AOP
Cavalry Recon Platoon
Anti-tank Platoon
ANTI-AIRCRAFT
Air Observation Post
RECONNAISSANCE
Anti-aircraft Artillery
Platoon
Intelligence & Recon
Platoon
Anti-aircraft Artillery
(Self-Propelled) Platoon
ARTILLERY
Cannon Platoon
Assault Gun Platoon
Armored Mortar Platoon
 THESE ARE MY CREDENTIALS
THE 8
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
he8
th
InfantryDivisionwasactivated
in 1940 and in 1943 the unit spent
sixmonthsintheheartoftheArizona
desert
8
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
desert
warfaretraining.WiththeAxisdefeatin
NorthAfrica,theneedforaspecialised
desert-ighting
receiving
specialised
13
TH
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
disappeared
andthe8
th
wassenttonorthernIreland
to prepare for the invasion of France.
While there, the division retrained
itself, focusing on night operations. Fully one-third of all
trainingtimewasdevotedtonightightingandtacticsand
thedivisionbecamequitegoodatit.
division
28
TH
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
‘Pathinder’
121
ST
I
NFANTRY
R
EGIMENT
DIVISIONAL SUPPORT
B
REAKOUT
he division landed in Normandy on 4 July 1944 and
marched straight into combat at the Ay River. here the
divisionwasattackedbytheGermans,butanighttimecoun-
terattack by a battalion from the 121
st
Infantry Regiment,
restored the situation. During the breakout, the division
wasparcelledoutintothreeregimentalcombatcommands.
he13
th
InfantryRegimentwasassignedtothe4
th
Armored
Division to help take Rennes. he 28
th
Infantry Regiment
followedthe6
th
ArmoredDivisionasitchargedtowardBrest.
he 121
st
Infantry Regiment supported the 83
rd
Infantry
Division’s attack on St. Malo. Once the three regiments’
missionswerecomplete,thedivisioncamebacktogetherand
tookupthelinebetweenthe29
th
and2
nd
InfantryDivisions
encirclingBrest.
43
RD
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
45
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
56
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(105
MM
)
28
TH
F
IELD
A
RTILLERY
B
ATTALION
(155
MM
)
8
TH
R
ECONNAISSANCE
T
ROOP
(
MECHANIZED
)
12
TH
E
NGINEER
C
OMBAT
B
ATTALION
ATTACHMENTS
709
TH
T
ANK
B
ATTALION
B
REST
he8
th
InfantryDivision’smissionwastoassaultthefortress
cityfrontallywhiletheotherdivisionsstruckatthelanks.
he8
th
’sspecialnighttrainingbecameacriticaladvantagein
isolating and reducing German strongpoints. As the three
divisions pressed toward the city centre, space was getting
tight,sothe8
th
wasremovedtotheCrozonPeninsula.
hePathindersmovedtheCrozonPeninsula,southofthe
city where the remaining German defenders made their
last stand. With the help of Task Force A, the 8
th
wiped
out the pocket. On 19 September 1944, the German
644
TH
T
ANK
D
ESTROYER
B
ATTALION
(SP)
General Hermann Ramcke, commander of the Brest gar-
risons,surrendered.BrigadierGeneralCharlesCanham,the
8
th
InfantryDivision’sassistantdivisioncommanderreceived
his surrender in Ramcke’s command bunker. he German
toldCanham,‘Iamtosurrendertoyou.Iwanttoseeyour
credentials.’Canhampointedtothearmeddoughboyswho
had accompanied him and said bluntly, ‘hese are my cre-
dentials.’hePathinders’Brittanycampaignwasover.
FIELDING THE 8
TH
INFANTRY DIVISION
To ield a Rile Company from the 8
th
Infantry Division,
usetheRileCompanydiagramonthefollowingpage.Use
thecolumnmarked
N
IGHT
A
TTACK
he 8
th
Infantry Division originally specialised in desert
warfare. When the war moved beyond North Africa, the
divisionretraineditselfinnightattacktactics.
A Rile Company from the 8
th
Infantry Division does not
use the Truscott Trot special rule. Instead, a player com-
manding a Rile Company from the 8
th
Infantry Division
may use the British Night Attack special rule on page 246
of the rulebook. his allows Rile Platoons containing only
Infantry teams to use the Spearhead special rule (see page
261 of the rulebook) when making a Night Attack.
.ItusesallofthenormalAmerican
specialrules(exceptTruscottTrot)foundintherulebook.
France is the
Pathinders’ irst
major campaign. As
such, a Rile Company
from the 8
th
Infantry
Division is rated
Conident Trained
.
RELUCTANT
CONFIDENT
FEARLESS
CONSCRIPT
TRAINED
VETERAN
8
TH
I
NFANTRY
D
IVISION
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