WP in CMAK

[Mr. Tittles]

In a moment, the first volley was on its way. Eight mortars coughed with monotonous regularity, spitting out 25 pounds of white phosphorus, and in less time than it takes to tell, a deadly burning screen of phosphorus enveloped the Panzer tanks and attacking infantry, blinding and searing. The tank drivers lost their sense of direction and charged blindly into each other, off roads, into trees, into gullies, into men. The infantry, caught in the same screen and flames, lost their will to continue the attack, beat at the flames, screamed and milled, vainly seeking cover.

To make the situation more interesting, the mortar men of Company C reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out high explosive shells, mixing them liberally with the white phosphorus. The attack against the 38th Infantry Regiment slowed down considerably.

From 1430 hours and 1600 hours, the 4.2 mortar men laid out their murderous mixture of smoke, flame, and HE, This allowed the infantry the breathing space they needed, moving back to stronger defensive positions. Many of them tiled past the mortar positions, down the muddy road to the rear, and as they passed, they waved and shouted greetings: "Attaboy!" "Give 'em Hell!"

[Mr. Tittles]

I saw another figure by a doorway. I called out to him. "What outfit is in this town?" He yelled "Americaners – Americaners" and he ran down the street. We got out of the town and radioed back for artillery. Our 105MM showered the town with white phosphorus shells and set most of the buildings on fire. We then attacked with the help of our tanks which had pulled up behind us. After we took the town, the German artillery battered us very heavily.

[Mr. Tittles]

A little later on we heard the steel treads of a German tank coming down the road. As it got closer we could see it was one of Germany's largest tanks – a Tiger Royal. As it got close to the roadblock, our 57MM opened up on it. It was like shooting peas at it – those shells just bounced right off of it. It continued to rumble toward us. When it got alongside where I was dug in, I fired my bazooka at it. I hit the tank on its turret and that shell didn't penetrate it either. I think it just made them mad. The tank stopped and began to rotate its 88MM gun toward me. Fortunately, I had cut the wire of a barb wire fence behind me, so I left the area. The tank fire a couple of shells in my direction and then moved forward. As it approached the "T" intersection, our Sherman tanks with the 75MM guns opened up on the Tiger – their shells didn't fare much better than my bazooka or the 57MM shells. The 75's bounced off the tank. The Tiger opened up on our Shermans and knocked them both out. In fact, one of the 88s went in one side of a Sherman and out of the other side. When the Tiger got up to the "T" intersection it was too large to fit around the corner and as it was trying to maneuver around, we called in our artillery from our 105MM self propelled guns and their shelling with white phosphorus set the German tank on fire. As the German tankers bailed out, we captured them.

The bitter cold weather stayed with us – cold and snow, so no air cover. As we moved down the roads or fields attacking the Germans, we would stay by the rear of a tank and get a little heat from the exhaust pipe. The only bad feature of that, however, was the Germans would zero in on the tanks with anti-tank artillery and machineguns. Our light tanks were equipped with a short barrel 75MM and machine guns, so they were no match for armor. They were used against infantry and ground troops. The Shermans were a match for the German Mark Series tanks but not the Tigers. In one sector we surrounded a large number of German troops. They were mainly Wehrmacht (draftees) but they had "SS" officers commanding them, so they didn't give up until they were almost demolished.

[Mr. Tittles]

6. When tanks are advancing, they must use their guns for what is known as reconnaissance by fire; that is, they must shoot at any terrestrial objective behind which an anti-tank gun might be concealed and take these targets under fire at a range greater than that at which an anti-tank gun is effective; in other words, at a range greater than 2,000 yards. They should fire at these targets with high explosive or with white phosphorus, because if the enemy receives such fire, he will consider himself discovered and reply at a range so great as to render him ineffective.

7. When tanks are passing or approaching hedges or walls, they should comb them with machine guns so as to remove the danger from close defense anti-tank grenades and sticky bombs.

8. When tanks use smoke or white phosphorus against infantry, tanks, or anti-tank guns, they should continue to fire into the smoke with high explosive or with machine guns if they are within range in order to prevent enemy movement.

13. Tanks should remember that anti-tank guns are not armored and are therefore susceptible to effective results from high explosive and white phosphorus. If, therefore, they are unable to get their artillery up to remove the anti-tank guns, they should engage these guns with high explosive at a range in excess of 2,500 yards and from defilade, or if they have good observation, by indirect fire methods, because under these circumstances the high explosive will get the guns, and the guns will not have lethal effect against the tanks.

14. When tanks are taken under surprise fire by anti-tank guns or by other tanks, they should immediately fire several rounds of white phosphorus short of the target and then maneuver to get a telling shot when the smoke clears, or when the enemy emerges from it.

15. In tank versus tank duels, the first round should be armor piercing. If this fails, the second round must be white phosphorus and short so as to give our tank a chance to maneuver, because by keeping it's gun laid on the smoke, it has a better chance of getting in the second telling shot than has the enemy, who when he emerges from the smoke does not know the location of our vehicle.

g. Tank attacks can be stopped by artillery concentrations of white phosphorus and high explosives.

Patton

3 April 1944

SUBJECT: Letter of Instruction No. 2

TO: Corps, Division, and Separate Unit Commanders

[ November 03, 2003, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Tittles ]

[Mr. Tittles]

Half of the men who survived the river crossing lost their rifles and helmets. All mortars and three of the four machine gun sections were also lost.

Grenades were redistributed and rifles were taken from the German prisoners. Major Regan lead his men south of Niederau to a road fork at the edge of a patch of woods. The men of Companies K and L went all the way preceded by a rolling barrage of white phosphorus artillery shells, reaching the edge of the woods at 0430. Here they waited for Company I to join them.

[Mr. Tittles]

Why isn't there white phosphorus in CM?

"WP was, so far as our research shows, rare on the battlefield. Very few weapons could fire it, so right there we question if we should bother with it in the first place. And when used HE or Smoke could have done just a good of a job at CM's level." -Steve

[Mr. Tittles]

Heavy machine gun fire from enemy strongpoints, which consisted of mutually supporting, dug-in, logged emplacements, manned by eight to ten men, continued to impede the advance southeast of Vossenack. Mortar fire fell almost continually in this area, and small quantities of white phosphorus artillery were used by the enemy.

Southeast of Kleinhau, satisfactory progress was made by the 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry. Farther south, in the 121st Infantry sector, the 2nd Battalion was still unable to advance.

Note: I have come across sporadic reports that the Germans did use WP infrequently.

[Battlefront.com]

Whatever point you are attempting to make is obviously been made and not of much interest to anybody. Therefore you can stop spamming our Forum any time now. I'm closing this thread up and I STRONGLY advise that you not start up another one.

Steve