Engineer Combat Company (Winter) (UBX36) includes one Company Command Carbine team, 2iC Command Carbine team, two Platoon Command Pioneer Rifle teams, two Engineer Combat Platoons with two Operating Squads & one Weapons Squads, four optional Operating Squads, three Booby Trap tokens, four Small three-hole bases, four Medium four-hole bases & twelve Medium five-hole bases. The 291st joined the 51st and 202nd Combat Engineer Battalions, forming the 1111th Engineer Group attached to the US V Corps. The group followed in the charge across France, rebuilding bridges destroyed by the Germans. December 1944 found the 291st sprawled across a large but relatively quiet sector in Belgium. Elements were stationed in Malmédy, Stavelot, La Gleize, and Trois-Ponts among other smaller outposts. Check out the Engineer Combat Company (Winter) in the online store here...

The Battle of the Bulge In December 1944 the German forces were supposed to be on the back foot, so their desperate push in the Ardennes took the Allies by surprise. Desperate defence by the American and British Commonwealth forces gradually turned to counterattack as they fought to erase the 'Bulge'. Learn more about The Battle of the Bulge here...

As far as the engineers knew, they were safely tucked away behind the 106th Infantry Division, several miles back from the front lines. Like other US forces in the Ardennes, the German attack left the engineers isolated from V Corps and on their own. Confused and often conflicting reports drifted into Colonel Pergrin’s headquarters, but he quickly worked out that the Germans were up to something big. He collected his battalion from their remote outposts and established roadblocks at key locations such as Stavelot, La Gleize, Trois-Ponts, Amblève, and Malmédy. Soon, the engineers had platoons of the shattered 106th Infantry Division and the counter-attacking 7th Armored Division passing through their position. Pergrin pleaded in vain with both divisions to spare men to stay and help defend the town. None stayed, however he did inherit several abandoned anti-tank guns, a vital boost to his force that had minimal anti-tank assets. Learn more about the Engineer Support Platoon here...

At noon on 17 December a column of 140 men from the 285th Field Artillery Battery Observation Battalion, attached to the 7th Armored, ran into one of Pergrin’s roadblocks. The artillerymen ignored warnings that the enemy was operating in the area, and pushed on. Then, between 1530 hours and midnight, 17 wounded survivors limped their way back to the 291st. Right: The Engineer Combat Company HQ.

After debreifing the survivors, Pergin learned that observers had run into Peiper’s column and after a quick firefight they surrendered. Then suddenly, Peiper’s men opened fire on the prisoners of war, killing 84 of them in cold blood. Pergrin quickly dispatched patrols to the site to collect more survivors and then reported the incident to Allied command.

Below: An Engineer Combat Platoon with Command Pioneer Rifle team, two Operating Squads & Weapons Squads.

At 1930 hours, 17 December, Peiper’s leading panzers approached one of the hidden roadblocks manned by Sergeant Chuck Hensel’s squad from C Company. The men had set up daisy chains of several mines tied together by a rope, which could be pulled across the road in front of approaching panzers. As the Panthers moved closer, one of the engineers let loose a bazooka round which smashed harmlessly into the front of the leading tank. The Germans hesitated and withdrew, thinking the road was heavily defended. In actual fact, only Hensel and his few engineers stood between them and the vital Stavelot bridge! Meanwhile, two companies of armoured infantry and four 3” anti-tank guns took up defensive positions in Stavelot. After a short fight, the Germans managed to storm the bridge and bypass the bulk of the American defenders. Thinking Stavelot was secured, Peiper carried on pushing west.

Below: An Engineer Combat Platoon with Command Pioneer Rifle team, two Operating Squads & Weapons Squads.

From Stavelot, he sent a small force of Panzer IV tanks and pioneers to Wanne to capture a crossing south of his next objective. His own troops focused on the Trois Ponts. Separated by the Amblève River, the two forces closed on their objectives, but Pergrin’s engineers were one step ahead of them and both bridges were sent into oblivion with TNT just as the panzers approached. Peiper’s southern task force had to return all of the way back to Stavelot in order to cross the Amblève and rejoin the main force, wasting precious fuel. Peiper’s own force abandoned Trois Ponts and wandered north along the Amblève looking for a suitable crossing. Frustrated, Peiper found a hidden crossing overlooked by the engineers and finally crossed the river. However, Peiper’s new position was given away by an intense fighter-bomber attack which alerted the engineers. There was only one place Peiper could be going: Habiémont. A truckload of TNT arrived just in time at Habiémont bridge, and once again as the panzers approached, the bridge exploded. Peiper slammed his fist on his Panther and exclaimed, “The damned engineers. The damned engineers!”

Below: An Engineer Combat Platoon with Command Pioneer Rifle team, three Operating Squads.

As Peiper’s column sped beyond the reach of the 291st, help arrived at Malmédy. Two 90mm anti-aircraft guns, the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate), the 526th Armored Infantry Battalion, and the 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion bolstered the engineers just in time as Otto Skorzeny’s 150. Panzerbrigade attacked on 21 December. The 99th held the line, while the engineers manned roadblocks and set up ambushes, helping to repel Skorzeny’s assault. After Malmédy, the 291st joined the rest of the V Corps in eradicating the ‘bulge’, rebuilding bridges and paving the way. By war’s end, the 291st had made seven river assaults and constructed 74 bridges, 11 of which were built under fire, including a record setting 1000-foot (300m) bridge built at Remagen in 32 hours. For their actions, the 291st was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. Designed by Evan Allen Painted by Aaron Mathie

Below: An Engineer Combat Platoon with Command Pioneer Rifle team, three Operating Squads.

291st Engineer Combat Battalion Special Rules An Engineer Combat Company uses all of the normal US special rules found on pages 236 to 240 of the rulebook. In addition, they also use the Boy Scouts, Why We Fight, and Eightballs, Oddballs, and Screwballs special rules. Boy Scouts Over 80% of the battalion were former members of the Boy Scouts. The old scout motto ‘Be Prepared’ certainly gave rise to clever booby traps that helped stall Peiper’s charge. Instead of placing a Minefield or three Barbed Wire Entanglements for a Pioneer Supply Truck (see page 263 of the rulebook), you may instead place up to three Booby Traps (see page 230 of the rulebook).

Below: The Booby Trap tokens.

Why We Fight The 291st Engineer Combat Battalion had the sad duty of collecting survivors of the Malmédy Massacre and reporting the incident to headquarters. All Americans platoons from a company with the Why We Fight special rule use the British Bulldog rule (see page 246 of the rulebook) in Assaults involving any SS platoons. Eightballs, Oddballs, and Screwballs The engineers ranged from well-educated civil engineers to self-taught mechanics and Colonel Pergrin made sure that they all knew the score and no one was left in the dark. Engineer Combat Platoons use the German Mission Tactics special rules on page 242 of the rulebook.

Those Damned Engineers Defend Another Bridge

Contents of the Engineer Combat Company (Winter) Box Set

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Command Team Figures Description of Components a. 3x Radioman carrying radio figures. b. 2x Company Commander figure. c. 1x Radioman talking on radio. d. 1x 2iC commander figure. e. 2x Platoon Commander figure.

Assembling the Company Command Team Simply arrange figures A, B and one of figure C to taste on one of the small three-hole bases provided. Assembling the 2iC Command Team Arrange figure D, one NCO figure and one Rifleman figure of your choice on another of the small three-hole bases provided. Assembling the Platoon Command Teams To model the platoon command teams, arrange figure E along with one of figure A and a NCO figure of your choice to a small three-hole base.

NCO Figures Description of Components a. Standing NCO with SMG. b. Kneeling NCO with SMG. c. Standing NCO with SMG with hand up. d. Standing NCO with rifle.

Description of Components

a. 2x Mine detector figure A. b. 2x Mine detector figure B. c. 4x Satchel charge figure A.

d. 4x Satchel charge figure B. e. 2x Mine laying figure A. f. 2x Mine laying figure B.

Description of Components

a. 4x Kneeling riflemen figures with rifle raised. b. 4x Kneeling riflemen figures loading rifle. c. 4x Standing riflemen figures with rifle on hip. d. 6x Kneeling riflemen figures aiming rifle. e. 7x Standing riflemen figures with lowered rifle.

f. 5x Advancing rifleman figures. g. 4x Standing riflemen figures aiming rifle. h. 4x Riflemen figures with bayonet attached. i. 4x Standing riflemen figures with rifle by side.

Assembling The Pioneer Rifle Teams

Assemble the Pioneer Rifle teams on the medium five-hole bases provided. Each Operating Squads consists of two Pioneer Rifle teams; each of these is modelled using five figures. The first team should consist of an NCO figure, at least one engineer figure and the remaining figures are made up of Riflemen. The second team consist of at least one engineer figure with the remaining figure made up with riflemen. Tip: The box set also contains enough figures to model the Pioneer Rifle teams that replace the HMG teams.

	HMG Teams Description of Components a. 4x Gunner figures. b. 2x Loader figure A. c. 2x Loader figure B. d. 4x HMG tripods. e. 2x Ammo belt sprues. f. 4x HMGs.
Assembling the HMG Team On the medium four-hole bases, arrange the HMG on the tripod with the gunner figure behind and the loader on the left-hand side.

Bases Description of Components a. 4x Small three-hole bases. b. 4x Medium four-hole bases. c. 12x Medium five-hole bases.