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Fallschirmjager at Medjez el Bab
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5th Fallschirmjager Regiment at Medjez el Bab By Mike Turner Background 0430 hrs, 25 November 1942, Medjez, Tunisia
Pressure was on the British General Anderson and 1st Army to begin the attack toward Tunis. He had three elements prepared to advance, 36th Brigade and 11th Brigade of the 78th Division and a composite US group named Blade Force.
Along the coast 11th Brigade of the 78th Division approached the Medjerda River, and the village of Medjez el Bab. The 11th Brigade plan of attack required one battalion to approach the town from each side of the river, while a third element came from the west to seize commanding ground.
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2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel L. A. Manly, attacked the town of Medjez on or about 0430 hours in an effort to seize the town and the bridge across the river. The Lancashires were supported by the 175th Field Artillery Battalion, a US 105mm towed Battalion.
Several days earlier, Hauptmann Wilhelm Knoche commanding the 3rd Battalion, 5th Fallschirmjager Regiment, arrived to defend the town.
His Fallschimjagers were reinforced by an Italian anti-tank Company, two dual purpose 88mm guns from the 10th Panzer Division and a Kampfgruppe from the 190th Panzer Battalion.
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Unfortunately, the Allied attack was a disaster. The full moon did little to hide the approaching infantry from the veterans of Crete and the Low Countries, and long range machine-gun fire killed Lieutenant Colonel Manly soon after the start of the attack
Two companies pressed on and valiantly fought their way across the river, seizing building on the far side. Soon after sunrise the Fallschimjager mortars isolated the British Infantry and a combined Fallschirmjager and Panzer counterattack sent them back across the river, where the Fallschirmjager HMG’s raked the companies.
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5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, 11th Brigade, 78th Infantry Division
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9. Kompanie, III Battalion, 5. Fallschirmjager Regiment
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1st Rifle Company HQ 2x SMLE Rifle Team "White Knees" Armoured Fist Command Card |
2 points
-5 Points
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1st Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x PIAT Anti-Tank (PIAT Command Card) 1x 2-inch Mortar
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13 points |
2nd Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x Boys Anti-tank Rifle 1x 2-inch Mortar |
11 points |
3rd Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x Boys Anti-tank Rifle 1x 2-inch Mortar |
11 points |
Vickers MMG Platoon 2x Vickers MMG |
2 Points |
2nd Rifle Company HQ 2x SMLE Rifle Team "White Knees" Armoured Fist Command Card
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2 points
-5 Points
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1st Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x PIAT Anti-Tank (PIAT Command Card) 1x 2-inch Mortar |
13 points |
2nd Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x Boys Anti-tank Rifle 1x 2-inch Mortar |
11 points |
3rd Platoon 7x Bren Gun & SMLE Rifle Team 1x Boys Anti-tank Rifle 1x 2-inch Mortar |
11 points |
3 inche Mortar Platoon 6x 3-inch Mortar |
9 points |
Vickers MMG Platoon 4x Vickers MMG |
4 Points |
Support 175 Field Artillery Battalion (Page 46 Fighting First) |
105mm Field Artillery Battery 4x 105mm Howitzer |
10 points |
105mm Field Artillery Battery 4x 105mm Howitzer |
10 points |
Total |
100 points |
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9th Fallschirmjager Company HQ 2x MP40 SMG Team |
3 points |
1st Fallschirmjäger Platoon 7x MG42 & K98 rifle team 1x 2.8cm anti-tank rifle |
11 points |
2nd Fallschirmjäger Platoon 7x MG42 & K98 rifle team |
9 points |
3rd Fallschirmjäger Platoon 7x MG42 & K98 rifle team |
9 points |
Fallschirmjäger sMG42 Machine-gun Platoon 4x sMG42 HMG teams |
6 points |
Fallschirmjäger Mortar Platoon 4x 8c Stummel Mortar |
8 points |
Support Platoons |
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8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon (see Afrika Korps page 32) 4x 8.8cm AA guns |
24 points
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Panzer III (Uparmoured ) Tank Platoon (see Afrika Korps page 19) 3x Panzer III (uparmoured |
24 points |
Total |
94 points |
RESOURCES: Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, The United States Army in World War II, by George F. Howe. An Army at Dawn, The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume 1 of the Liberation Trilogy, by Rick Atkinson.
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Last Updated On Wednesday, November 3, 2021
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