Fireball Forward: Hitler's Plan to Retake Normandy – Mortain Counterattack Scenario Book

Mortain Counterattack - Hitler's Plan to Retake Normandy

The Führer had another great idea to win the war. The situation in Normandy had changed dramatically since D Day and he was determined to turn it to his advantage. Although the British/Commonwealth forces remained bogged down around the city of Caen, the Americans were on the move. After being tied up in the hedgerows of western Normandy, they launched Operation Cobra and were now breaking out, driving west along the coast heading for the Brittany ports. If the Germans could strike out and sever the advance of the American Third Army under General George Patton they might be able to force the retreat of the Americans back toward the Normandy coast or at a minimum slow down their advance and breakout into central France. The target was the seaside town of Avranches located at the base of the Cotentin peninsula.

It was a desperate struggle that saw the battle-weary American troops of the US 30th Infantry Division (ID) and one armor Combat Command stop four panzer divisions. It will most be most remembered for the heroes of the 2nd Battalion of the 120th Regiment/30th ID who held out for six days on Hill 314 overlooking the town of Mortain. Their stubborn resistance slowed and then stopped the German advance toward the coast.

The fourteen scenarios in this book cover the action from the initial assaults on August 7th, 1944 through the final attacks on August 11th as the Americans continued to force the Germans back in an effort to relieve the encircled troops on Hill 314. The majority of the scenarios cover August 7th as it was clear that after that day the Germans had already lost most of their forward momentum despite repeated attempts to continue the drive to Avranches.