As the 2nd New Zealand Div pushed west towards Orsogna in December 1943, a battlegroup of the 18th Armoured Regiment, 22nd Motorised Battalion and some armored cars of the Divisional Cavalry made a feint along the Melone - Guardigrele road.

The board was mostly open muddy fields dropping off from the twin track. Vehicular off road movement had a good chance of bogging.

Jon had 2nd Company of Halftrack borne infantry (with 5 Big Men total) from the 22nd NZ Motorised Battalion. Eleven M4 Shermans from B Squadron, 4th NZ Armoured Brigade and two Staghound armored cars.

He came in on the eastern edge of the table centered on the road. The infantry had debused from their M5 halftracks No sense in getting them bogged!

Ridge road to Salarola

NZ Blinds at the bottom edge. Easily spotted in the open country.

German held buidlings

The defenders are really on the backfoot along the front here and hope to consolidate their lines by Orsogna. The best they could do is delay the Kiwis. As such they have a reinforced platoon sized unit of grenadiers (with 3 Big Men and 2 MMGs) from the 1st Battalion, 9th Panzergrenadier Regiment, two Panzer IVGs from the 8th Company, 26th Panzer Regiment. They have a pair of 81mm mortars and 4 tubes of 10.5cm howitzers on call. A demo charge to destroy a chunk of road and enough AT mines for a couple of 6" strips.

3rd platoon advancing on the left

All off road movement was at a -1 pip/dice. The armor moved along the road with the Staghounds in the lead.

Shermans move along the road

Following the staghounds. The 2nd platoon of infantry was to the right of the main road. The company CO and HQ section is off road to the left.

Staghound halted at T junction

The right track goes north to Cerhiara off table. Germans are still unspotted at this time.

Armor fanning out

And taking a chance of getting stuck. The Staghounds moved down the track to the north

Slow advance

Jon kept his units well spread out. The German artillery was unfortunately unable to connect early on so I waited for the Kiwis to get withing effective range of my MGs and small arms.

MG on the left

First shots did a little damage but the 2" mortar team managed to block most of its view. And the Allies had plenty of guns to return fire.

Demo charge and another MMG opens up

At least the demo charge exploded causing the road to be blocked at that point. My other MMG opened up on the Kiwi 2nd platoon.

More Grenadiers in the olive trees

My right flank was about to be flanked The dug in section did put some casualties on the advancing Kiwis as they crossed the muddy field. But Jon swung further left and got around my thin screen.

Meanwhile my PzIVs fired from the olive trees in attempt to at least take out the Staghounds but only managed to immobilize one. The M4s put some HE down on the section in the trees north of the road.

Combat across the front

A German MMG team is in the building The other MMG team is blinded by smoke and packing up to pull back to the buildings.

Smoke clearing from big explosion

The combined fire from the armored cars and Shermans and infantry drove my left hand section out of the trees.

MMG team pulls back

And the MMG team in the buidling is blinded by smoke now.

Getting around the flank

The German right is gone and the PzIVs are having trouble moving-and hitting anything.

It’s ironic that the Shermans managed to move across the muddy fields much easier than the poor panzers close to firmer ground. The panzers are just visible at the top edge of the olive trees

Successful advance around the crater

And the PzIVs continue to miss. The M4s did not however and KO'd one panzer.

PzIV in a bind

The troop of M4s were coming at the surviving panzer forcing it to back up. Right towards a PIAT team.

Germans pulling back everywhere

I was really counting on the muddy ground channeling the KIwis into a nice killing zone, but the Shermans scooted around the road block. Meanwhile no sign of German mortars or 105s fire.

PIAT in the butt

The end of the panzers.

Shermans heading into the Panzerschreck zone

Not to worry. They missed a shot too.

One bogged M4

The right hand Kiwi infantry platoon continues to slowly advance Grenadiers consolidating around buildings and trees. Still no German artillery.

Another view of the advance

More Shermans on the road

They had 11 total M4s. Jon didn't commit them ‘til they had room to move on using the road.

Only thing slowing the M4s down is mud

The 'schreck did get a second shot off that damaged the lead Sherman. The still mobile Staghound also got bogged along with a M4 from the HQ troop.

All over but the running

The German FO teams are leading the dash to the rear. All the other grenadiers are also re-locating to the northwest. Some quicker than others.

Kiwi victory!

The Germans didn't have a real chance but certainly could've caused more damage if the artillery had arrived and the PzIVs were more effective.

Overall casualties for the New Zealanders were 22 and the company CO killed. One Staghound immobilized and one bogged. Only one M4 damaged and three were bogged One infantry platoon and one troop were still on Blinds at the end.

The Germans had both PzIVs knocked out and lost 16 men out of 40.

From the official history:

The German engineers had prepared four demolitions along the northern road, but it was not until they were half-way to Melone that the tanks, though under frequent shellfire, were delayed by cratering.

It was by then nightfall, and the Germans who had held the line of the road during the day were falling back. Our own infantry followed hard on the heels of the German rearguards, who stalled off pursuit by a second demolition, by small-arms fire from the cover of village buildings along the way, and by blowing up in the middle of the road a lame tank which had been towed back from the main road junction.

Near the village of Salarola three Germans tarried too long and fell prisoner. One of them, coolly directing the retreat of his rearguard, was the 27-year-old commander of I Battalion 9 Panzer Grenadier Regiment, by reputation ‘the most capable and bravest’ battalion commander of 26 Panzer Division.

Still the men of 2 Motor Company pressed on in the darkness and they were nearing the junction of the two lateral roads when a third demolition was blown in their faces, making a hole about forty feet across. This in turn they skirted, only to find the enemy covering the road from posts sited in the prearranged delaying line before the Melone–Orsogna road. Not until next morning, the 3rd, did the company confirm the enemy's withdrawal from this position – a hurried withdrawal, it appeared, from the amount of abandoned equipment left scattered about.

Mark Luther