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All,
1630 Local Time
9 November 1942
Near Port Lyautey, French Morocco
The Major was livid, again… Following Captain Henry’s successful seizure of ‘Murderville’ and ‘The Meatgrinder,’ Task Force Reisman had been tasked with making an assault on the Kasbah, an old French fort northeast of the invasion beaches, smack dab between them and Port Lyautey, the ultimate objective. The US 9th Infantry Division had made several unsuccessful attacks on the Kasbah from the west/northwest and needed to fall back, regroup, and reorganize for continued combat operations, so high command decided to have TF Reisman give it a try from the southwest. Major Reisman was furious because 9th ID artillery and airstrikes pounded the Kasbah all morning, then lifted at 1230 in order to allow TF Reisman to attack. The only problem was, it was now 1630 and TF Reisman had still not launched its attack…
Major Reisman had tabbed Captain May’s Dog Company for the attack on the Kasbah but, following the chaos of the amphibious landings, the attack on Mehdia, and the French counterattack, the various TF Reisman units were still hopelessly intermixed and mixing gear, and it took time to get it all sorted out. A lot of time, in fact, so much time that Dog Company missed its jump-off time, but the units had finally separated themselves and gotten back to their tables of organization. Major Reisman was forced to radio through to HQ and notify them of the delay a total of three times before Captain May was able to move his company up to the line of departure and signal they were prepared to launch.
The preparatory fires on the Kasbah had ceased at 1230 local time (no one has unlimited ammo), but Major Reisman was able to beg 9th Infantry Division artillery to resume bombardment to cover Captain May’s advance to the line of departure. At the arranged time the guns fell silent; Captain May gave a nervous glance at his wristwatch: 1630, time to go. “Alright boys, up and at’em!”
Overview, north is up. The Kasbah is located in the northeast (top right), and the French have Strongpoint Marie on a small hill in the southeast (bottom right), with the Wadi Sebou running between the two and flowing northwest (top center left) towards the sea. The river is bridged at a nearby (unnamed) village, but it is shallow in this area and can easily be waded by infantry. The US line of departure is the left-hand baseline.The ground here is a bit of a canyon, surrounded by low hills, hardball road running through it, broken only by the river and patches of rocky ground and brush.
The American force runs in a line from top left to bottom center left, while the French are clustered in the Kasbah (top right) and SP Marie (bottom right). I placed the Americans where they will start the game, having stood up and moved out in skirmish line immediately after the preparatory barrage lifted, about where they’d be once the French recovered from the US artillery.
The opposing forces, with Americans on the left, French on the right. The American force consists of Captain May (bottom right) leading all three of his rifle platoons and a weapons platoon, with a pair of M7 Priest self-propelled guns attached (being used as assault guns). Their French foe is packing quite a punch, pretty much equal in size to the attacking force, which is never a good idea. Additionally, the French are experiencing a serious bout of high elan due to being considerably protected by the 4′ walls of the Kasbah and the strong trenches of Strongpoint Marie and having successfully seen off three infantry attacks by the Amis, which will be reflected in their morale rolls/checks.
The US barrage has lifted; the dusty GIs rise up and begin advancing, the only sound being the clank of their gear as they make their way across the rocky desert floor. The silence is broken when Cpl Bledsoe’s water-cooled .30-cal MG (bottom right) opens fire, peppering the stone walls of the Kasbah (top left, with the American CO at center).
The American SPGs (bottom left) engage the Kasbah as all three rifle platoons advance (left top, left, and bottom center).
It’s a veritable inferno, with artillery, SPG, anti-tank gun, machine gun, mortar, and small arms fire ravaging the landscape, both sides suffering heavy casualties!!!
Under heavy pressure, the Yanks press home the attack, with 2nd Platoon crossing bridge (far left) towards the Kasbah (just off camera to top left) and 3rd Platoon advancing (center) on Strongpoint Marie (top right).
The French counterattack with light armor!
The American infantry respond… To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:https://hakunamatatawars.blogspot.com/2023/02/hell-on-wheels-operation-torch-fight-6.html
The next day the Task Force was essentially provided no orders, as peace talks with French leadership were being carried out. But Major Reisman was not satisfied to simply sit on his hands, so he ordered his men in vicinity of the invasion beaches and Mehdia to carry out aggressive patrolling (though they were told to stay well clear of the Kasbah and Strongpoint Marie!), while he sent elements of his Armored Reconnaissance Company on an even wider right hook, around the Kasbah, looking for a back door to Port Lyautey. Of course, it wasn’t long until they ran into French defenders, which is our next fight (and last of the landings in Morocco).
V/R,
Jack
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