‘Reuler’

Reuler : 16th December 1944

Scenario played 3rd August 2009

As the details of the German advance emerged, General Norman Cota, commander of the 28th Infantry Division sent a large part of his small reserve to defend the village of Reuler. Reuler was just east of Chervaux, a village of the Clerf River with valuable bridges the Germans needed to capture if they hoped to continue their drive west.

A battery of the 109th US Artllery battalion were located in Reuler along with a platoon of infantry and M16’ . It’s capture would be the key to the opening round of the battle. At 1015 hours the leading two platoons of German infantry entered the battlefield. Rather than head straight for Reuler, they instead had been ordered to push south and cut off the main road to euler to any would be US reinforcements.

For 45 minutes, both American and German troops skipped around the Ardennes firs whilst the artillery battery limbered up and was driven away from the village to the perceived safety of the woods. With the village practically empty, and US reinforcements quite distant having had their speediest route cut off by the two German platoons in advance, the remaining Germans were able to file towards Reuler.

But luck shone on the German vanguard platoons. As well as cutting off the main road, they were suddenly confronted by the sight of the American battery unlimbering before them just 400m away. Immediately, their commander ordered the infantrymen to open up on the unsuspecting US artillerymen Within 15 minutes of engaging them, thanks to super accurate assault-rifle and bolt-rifle fire, the battery had been wiped out completely. Thus within an hour, the German objectives for Reuler had been achieved completely without the loss of a single Grenadier!