The next game in our Salerno theme was the First Battle of the Tobacco Factory. The below excerpt from the US Army Center of Military History provides the historical background and a description of the terrain. This action was fought just to the west of the corridor between Sele and Calore rivers, which was the scene of our previous game — see our report on the Battle of Persano.
To accommodate seven players, we started our game at the point when the US infantry was committed to the battle, and we assumed that both sides would have withdrawn their tanks to refuel and rearm after the initial fighting had died down. Hence our table would see the German infantry dug into defensive positions, with all of the Americans entering from the south on Turns 1 and 2, and the German Panzer units arriving as reserves from the north starting on Turn 1. To fit in an eighth player who turned up a bit later, we added a second small tank company to the American force, and balanced this with the addition of three StuGs and two 88’s to the German order of battle.
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First Battle of the Tobacco Factory
The 157th Regimental Combat Team under Col. Charles Ankcorn, committed from Army reserve, was ordered to advance on the west side of the Sele River on 11 September to secure the fords north and west of Persano, and thus cut off the enemy attacks on the rear of the 179th.
This plan would bring American troops into the area north and west of the Sele for the first time during the operations. The land here displays long, gentle swells with scattered buildings and a few small patches of woods. The tops of the swells furnish long fields of fire, but draws could be used for covered approaches to many parts of the district. Close to the Sele is a tobacco factory (Tabacchificio Flocche), consisting of five large buildings arranged about three sides of a square. The Tobacco Factory crowns the large flat top of a swell providing excellent observation to the south along the road connecting Highway 18 with Eboli, to the east across the Sele bridge into the lower part of the Sele-Calore corridor, and to the north for a distance of 1,000 yards to a farm with a set of substantial buildings. But it is not possible from any vantage point to see up the Eboli road beyond the little river plain called the Grataglia, or to observe very far into the draws which approach the Factory swell from the northwest.
The gravel road, leading northeast from Highway 18 to Eboli, is the main route of the area. From the highway it runs across open fields, until about 700 yards north of the Tobacco Factory it drops sharply to the Grataglia plain. Here the Eboli road meets a minor road, coming straight east from Bivio Cioffi on Highway 18, and another smaller track which cuts east through the Grataglia to a ford across the Sele to Persano. The river plain is cultivated but there are scattered trees; on the west it is bounded by wooded hillsides, with a draw to the northeast of the road junction. From this junction the Eboli road bends to the northeast around the corner of a hill and gradually rises into the more broken country toward Eboli.
The fight for this area was to prove the great tactical importance of the Factory swell, for whoever held this swell commanded the Grataglia and thus held the crossings, controlling access up the Sele-Calore corridor toward Ponte Sele and eventually to Highways 19 and 91. The first of these roads was the main enemy route from Battipaglia to Eboli, the upper corridor, and Altavilla; the second was the main escape and supply route for the enemy forces all along the VI Corps front.
The 191st Tank Battalion (M), attached to the 45th Division, was the first American unit to contest German occupation of the Factory. As it moved northeast along the Sele on the 11th, well ahead of the 157th Infantry, it found in the vicinity of the Factory a German bivouac area with Mark IV tanks and personnel carriers. An enemy order captured later indicated that elements of the 1st Battalion, 79th Panzer Grenadier Regiment (16th Panzer Division) had moved down from Battipaglia on that day to outpost the line Torre Palladino Tobacco Factory-Persano.
Company B of our tanks, commanded by Capt. Donald H. May, advanced cautiously against the Factory at 1600, two platoons out on the west side of the swell and the third platoon on the east just above the 40-foot bluff along the Sele. The platoons on the left knocked out several half-track personnel carriers, machine-gun nests, and antitank guns in buildings and in strawstacks; but the enemy apparently had laid a trap with the personnel carriers as bait. As our tanks approached close to the Factory they met devastating fire of heavy caliber. In addition, small arms from the Factory on the east and the farm on the north finally put seven of our tanks out of action. Of these, five were burned out. Company B, however, remained in the general area until 2130 to assist the advance of the infantry.
The 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Preston J. C. Murphy, led the main push north. Company C moved up Highway 18 toward the gentle swell at Bivio Cioffi which dominated the west side of the zone, while the rest of the battalion advanced up the Eboli road against the Factory. At 1530 Company C met enemy fire at the Bivio, but pushed on to take the crossroads despite opposition from the strongpoint at Torre Palladino 1 mile to the north
MAP NO. 7
east. At 2100 the company set up road blocks north and west of the Bivio to hinder enemy movement and thus protect the advance of the rest of the regiment up the Eboli road.
Companies A and B had much more difficult fighting as they advanced against other strongpoints of the enemy outpost line to the east. Well-sited machine guns and mortars kept them under fire. Enemy tanks maneuvered in the open area between Highway 18 and the Factory and pinned down Company B at 1715. Fire from our artillery made the enemy more cautious and reduced his pressure on us. At dusk Company A went in on the left of Company B, but by 2300 these units had gained only the edge of a little draw 500 yards south of the Factory. At midnight the Germans still held the Factory and the Sele crossings.
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German Forces: The Germans started with a dismounted PzGd. company on the table, supported by four HMGs, four 8.0 cm mortars, three PaK.38 50mm antitank guns, and two patrols of recon halftracks. A Panzer company was in reserve with ten PzIV.G (late), three StuG.III, two 2.0 cm AA halftracks, and two towed 88’s.
American Forces: The Americans started with two full Rifle companies, both with LMGs and 60mm mortars in support, an off-board battery of 105mm howitzers, a Tank company of ten Shermans and four M10s, and a second Tank company with twelve Shermans.
Objectives: The table had three objectives: The Tobacco Factory on the eastern end of the table, the Torre Paladino farm on a hill located at the center of the German baseline on the northern edge of the table, and the crossroad at the village of Bivio Cioffi on the western end of the table. The side that held the majority of these objectives at the end of the game would be the winner.
German Deployment: The Germans set up one PzGd. platoon in and around the Factory, one platoon in a large wheat field in the center in front of Torre Paladino, and one platoon in and around Bivio Cioffi. The PaK.38 antitank guns were placed in an orchard next to the railroad track, where they could cover the west and center of the table. The mortars were set up behind Torre Paladino, and the recon halftracks were screening the center.
American Deployment: Entering from the south, one Rifle company advanced on a wide front in the west and center, with one platoon advancing in a column along the railway, concealed by the heavy brush on both sides of the track. The second Rifle company advanced directly toward the Factory. The advance on the Factory was supported by the first Tank company, with the M10s, which moved along the eastern edge of the table, staying out of sight in the low ground next to the Sele River.
Moves:
The German commanders, observing the large enemy force heading toward the Factory, concluded that the objective there could not be held, and decided to concentrate their forces to defend Torre Paladino and Bivio Cioffi. Thus they ordered the PzGd. platoon at the Factory to withdraw, moving to the center of the table to join the platoon in the wheat field in front of Torre Paladino. The Germans also assumed (incorrectly) that no more US tanks would be arriving, and ordered the Pak.38 antitank guns to limber up and move to Torre Paladino. Finally, one platoon of Pz.IVs arrived and deployed north of the Factory.
The Americans continued to advance on all fronts, and the second Tank company arrived from the south, advancing through the fields toward Bivio Cioffi.
The arrival of a second US tank company took the Germans by surprise. To counter this move, they directed their remaining Panzer reserves to move into firing positions along a brushy creek to the north of Bivio Cioffi. The PaK.38s were ordered to reverse course and move to support the tank battle in the west. (The antitank guns eventually took up covered firing positions near the northern end of the railroad track, but they were too far to the rear to affect the tank battle.) Meanwhile, all other German assets were concentrating at Torre Paladino, with the 88s and AA halftracks moving there, along with the Pz.IV platoon that had deployed north of the factory.
The Americans in the east tried to catch the Germans as they withdrew, but to no avail. An exchange of long range tank fire saw one Sherman and one M10 destroyed. The Rifle company occupied the Factory with one platoon while the other two platoons veered toward the center to engage the two PzGd. platoons in the wheat field; the US got the worst of the exchange of small arms fire. The Rifle company in the west started to come under fire from the German mortars and recon halftracks, and was forced to halt and dig in.
These setbacks to the US were somewhat balanced by the destruction of both of the German 88s by long range fire from the M10s and US artillery fire. Also, one US rifle squad was able to make a small assault on Bivio Cioffi and captured one house next to the objective. A German counterattack on the following turn swiftly ejected this US squad and regained control of the objective.
The mid-game settled into two long range tank battles. In the west, shells flew past Bivio Cioffi in both directions, as six Pv.IVs and three StuGs took on ten Shermans. In this situation, the US tanks found themselves totally outclassed, and all of the Shermans were eventually eliminated for the loss of only one Pz.IV. In the east, the four Pz.IVs at Torre Paladino were confronted by nine Shermans and three M10s that were spread out along the tree line north of the Factory. Losses here were more even, with two Pz.IVs and three Shermans being knocked out. Meanwhile, the exchange of artillery, mortar and small arms fire in the center resulted in attrition to the infantry of both sides, with the outnumbered PanzerGrenadiers nearing their breaking point.
With time running out, the Americans had to make a push. The US had a lock on the objective at the Factory but there was no way they could capture either Torre Paladino or Bivio Cioffi. However, if the US could get units some close enough to contest one or both of those objectives, the US could perhaps salvage a draw or steal a win.
In the west, the US push on Bivio Cioffi fell short. The rifle platoon that was closest to the objective failed to unpin, and a more distant rifle platoon failed its “follow me” attempt, and ended its move too far from the objective.
In the center, the US infantry surged forward, along with the six surviving Shermans. Bazooka fire knocked out two German recon halftracks, leaving the remaining PanzerGrenadiers unsupported. A series of assaults by the US tanks and infantry eliminated most of the defending Germans, and pushed the few survivors back toward Torre Paladino. The way forward to the objective was now open, but time was called!
Thus our game ended in an ahistorical German victory. In the historical action, during the phase of the battle covered by this scenario, the Americans managed to capture both the Factory and Bivio Cioffi. The Germans would later counterattack, and the Factory would change hands several times.
- TJ