GOYA WTO (id:#56593)

Avalon Hill (AH:The General # 29.2 ID: G18)   [next]   [previous]

Rochelinval, Belgium 1945-01-07 (7 others)

Overview:

The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was a veteran airborne unit, whose distinctive patch was emblazoned with the acronym “GOYA” (for “Get Off Your Ass”). From the 21st of December through the 6th of January, the men of the battalion weathered “no sleep, frozen feet, knee-deep snow, cold food and hallucinations” in the dense forests while fighting alongside the 82nd Airborne Division. On January 7th, the battalion, now down to but 250 men, was ordered to take Rochelinval, a crossing point on the Salm River. The defending troops of the 183rd Volksgrenadier Regiment were known to be backed up by a flak regiment and a battalion of 105mm howitzers. The half-mile of open ground to be crossed to reach the buildings was covered with over a foot of snow. . .

Defender: German (Volksgrenadier Regiment 183)  

Errata (source)