Villers-Bocage Grogs, front and center!

[Kingfish]

OK Class, lets turn to page 130 of our 'Steel Inferno' textbook. We begin with the second paragraph. Follow along as I read a passage from the book:

"Some time after 1300 hours Mobius ordered his 1st company into Villers-Bocage. They were accompanied by the Panzer Lehr Mk IVs"

Question: How many Tigers and Mk IVs participated in this attack? Note the following description from Lieutenant Gordon, who describes 4 Tigers and 1 Mk IV being attacked by C Company, 1/7 Queens. Rolf Mobius describes having to withdraw after losing 3 tanks, and the British discovered 6 Tigers and 2 Mk IVs in the town after the battle.

Lets continue to the next page, third paragraph down. Here it reads:

"Some time after 1430 hours Brigadier Ekins, commander 131 brigade, paid a short visit to Lieutenant Gordon in the town. By this time it was raining. Gordon, a highly experienced officer, told him that enemy infantry were beginning to infiltrate his positions"

2 Question: was it raining during Mobius's attack, a hour and half earlier, and did any German infantry accompany this attack?

[John D Salt]

Originally posted by Kingfish:

[snips]

"Some time after 1300 hours Mobius ordered his 1st company into Villers-Bocage. They were accompanied by the Panzer Lehr Mk IVs"

Question: How many Tigers and Mk IVs participated in this attack?

"Villers-Bocage through the Lens" (Daniel Taylor, After the Battle, London, 1999) is the most authoritative source I have yet seen on the battle, and it doesn't say.

It does say (page 59):

"Mobius arranged his force so that he left a detachment securing the eastern end while Obersturmbannfuhrer Hannes Philipsen led four Tigers into the town itself.

"The Panzer IVs of Panzer-Lehr had already started to edge into the town but, unsupported by sufficient infantry, were having a hard time of it. A group from 6. Kompanie of Panzer-Lehr-Regiment tried to puish into the south of the town but at a crossroads they came across two of their tanks already disabled by an anti-tank gun firing from the side road. They paused before trying to negotiate the junction and the lead and second tank were quickly able to get across and round a corner beyond. Gefreiter Leo Enderle in the third tank decided to stay put, close by the right-hand side of the road, and wait. He heard over the radio that the leading tank had been knocked out and when the second tried tor eturn over the junction it, too, was struck by a shell from the anti-tank gun.

"Enderle and the following tank, commanded by Unteroffizier Rother of 5. Kompanie, were about to try to take the junction when two Tigers came up the road behind them, overtaking the Panzer IVs, to try to take out the anti-tank gun. In the subsequent exchange of fire, one of the Tigers was hit but the gun was silenced."

This seems to indicate elements of two Panzer Lehr companies, and an absolute minimum of 4 Pz IVs and 4 Tigers. Total Tiger losses at the end of the day were 5, all from 1. Kompanie of 101st SS Pz Abt 101, not including vehicles immobilised and subsequently recovered (such as Wittman's vehicle). On page 76 the book says "It is impossible to be certain of the number of Pz IVs knocked out since Panzer-Lehr was thrown into battle piecemeal and parts of the saem unit could have been fighting elsewhere."

Originally posted by Kingfish:

[snips]

2 Question: was it raining during Mobius's attack, a hour and half earlier, and did any German infantry accompany this attack?

German infantry get a mention, fighting in the south of the town around the railway station and succeeding in pushing "A" Coy back during the afternoon and by 18:00 getting close to Battalion HQ.

As to the weather, on page 67 it says

"By now the fighting in the town itself had been going on for over two hours and and the weather had changed from dull overcast to heavy showers."

Hope this helps,

All the best,

John.

[John D Salt]

...and a quick peek in Jentz' "Panzertruppen" vol. 2 reveals (page 182) that 15 PzKpfw IVs from the Panzer Lehr were involved in the V-B battle.

All the best,

John.

[Kingfish]

A very very very belated thank you to John Salt for his help. I've recently released another VB scenario, this time using the Desert Fox's "Operation Perch-VB" map, and this info on the German OOB has been very helpful.