September, 1944. Patton’s 3rd Army was across the Moselle River in the vicinity of Nancy, but the Germans launched a series of powerful armored counterattacks to restore the situation and crush the over-extended U.S. spearheads of 4th Armored Division. The 21st Panzer Division and 15th Panzergrenadier Division were thrown into the attacks. To stave off the Germans, troops were stripped from uninvolved units, leaving Combat Command A (CCA) of 4th Armored Division isolated near Arracourt and dangerously weak.
At 0730 on September 19, 1944, the German 113th Panzer Brigade emerged from the dense morning fog and slammed into Combat Command A. CCA at this time had only one company of M4 Sherman medium tanks forward, with a company of M-10 tank destroyers in deep reserve. 113th Panzer Brigade hit them with four companies of heavy Panther tanks and a company of assault guns, along with two battalions of panzergrenadiers (armored infantry).
When the sun set that evening, the result hardly qualified as a battle at all – more like a massacre. But Combat Command A was not the victim. Walking the battlefield the next day, the Americans counted forty-three knocked out German AFVs, almost all of them Panthers. The Germans admitted to losing more than that, but a number were towed away and later repaired. The two battalions of panzergrendiers had been shattered as well – overrun, scattered, and then mopped up except for a few survivors who escaped to the east, probably suffering between 500 and 1,000 casualties.
And what price did the Americans pay for this victory?
Six soldiers killed.
Thirteen soldiers wounded
Three tank destroyers and five Sherman tanks knocked out.
There is a theory which has been abroad for some time that the U.S. triumphed in World War II solely based on material superiority, that superior German soldiers and superior German equipment were worn down by sheer numbers and weight of firepower, airpower, and manpower. I think that theory is flat-out wrong and the battle of Arracourt is a powerful counterpoint to what is presented as the “typical” clash between German and American mechanized forces in the autumn of 1944.
Equipped mostly with 75mm-armed M4 Sherman tanks, CCA of the 4th Armored used superior tactics, knowledge of terrain, and interior lines to spring a series of ambushes and delaying actions which bled the Germans every step of the way, slowed them, broke up their cohesion and command structure, and then stopped them. Once the Germans paused to regroup and a second under-strength company of M4 Shermans arrived as reinforcements, CCA launched its own flanking attack out of the fog, rolled up the Germans from north to south, and all but annihilated 113th Panzer Brigade.
The technical term for that is “a righteous ass-kicking.”
4th Armored Division did not win with airpower or overwhelming artillery support; fog kept the airplanes home and made it almost impossible to bring down heavy fire concentrations on the Germans. They did not win with overwhelming numbers; they were badly outnumbered in both tanks and combat infantry. They won because they just plain out-fought the Germans. They fought harder and they fought smarter.
The commander of CCA’s tank battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams, went on to become one of the most celebrated American armored commanders of World War II, ending his career as Army Chief of Staff in the 1970s. The M-1 Abrams tank, arguably the most mobile and combat effective main battle tank in history, is named after him. Good choice.
Alone among U.S. armored divisions in World War II, the 4th Armored did not have an official division nickname. The original division commander, Major General John S. Wood was allowed to pick a nickname but replied that “4th Armored Division was name enough.” Later he would explain that the division “should be known by its deeds alone.”
Fair enough.
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Frank Frey said:
Frank,
Thank you for an excellent article. I get a little tired of hearing the Germanophile’s constant refrain that somehow the Germans were beaten solely by American production and of course “Hitlers Stupidity”. They make it sound as if somehow the Allies cheated. Typical losers refrain.
Frank Frey
March 31st, 2010 at 11:40 am
Frank Chadwick said:
Frank,
Thanks for joining in and it’s always my pleasure to sing the praises of the U.S. Army in WW II. The eminent American military historian Dennis Showalter refers to the hero-worship-like adulation of the German military in WW II as “Wehrmacht penis envy.” I, of course, would never say that.
But I would note how interesting I find it that Wehrmacht enthusiasts wax eloquent about how far-sighted the Germans were to develop the Luftwaffe before the war in such a way as to give them battle-winning air superiority over France in 1940, and then dismiss the allied victory in France in 1944 as not proving anything because, after all, the allies had air superiority.
Well . . . yeah.
April 2nd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Dan Livak said:
Frank: thank you so much for this article. My Dad, S/Sgt. Michael Livak of the 4th Armored Division, 84th Armored Recon Battalion, 25th Calvary Squadron, was wounded 22 September 1944 near Nancy, Lezey, Juvelize, France in an M4 Stuart Light Tank. He said the Panzers came out of the fog and fired at him after having filled the tank with 100 gallons of gasoline. His hair was burned off and rec’d schrapnel in his leg, but he saved his crew. I intend to tour the area of this battle and would love to speak to you regarding the “Battle of the Tanks” Arracourt! Thanks, proud son of SSgt. M. Livak
April 10th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Frank Chadwick said:
Dan: Thank you for joining the discussion and especially for sharing your Dad’s story with us. Lezey and Juvelize are only about four miles northeast of Arracourt and were on the northern edge of the battlefield on the 19th. On the 22nd the Germans threw the 111th Panzer Brigade against those two towns and the initial delaying force they encountered was the outpost line of 25th Cavalry Squadron. That’s where you father fought and was wounded.If you have the opportunity, try to get hold of the US Army official history of the Lorraine Campaing. It was some terrific very detailed topo maps of the area around those towns which will be a big help to you if you decide to tour the area.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:51 pm