| Operation Hatchet | |||||||||||||||||
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| Date | October 11 - October 30th, 1942 | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Decisive American victory | ||||||||||||||||
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Operation hatchet was the American drive to Winnipeg in WWII
origins[]
Winnipeg was described as 'The nail that holds Canada Together'. rail lines carried the raw materials of western Canada, to the factories of eastern Canada. taking Winnipeg would cut Canada in two, and bring the war to a swift conclusion
launching the offensive[]
the American VIIth army began by crossing the border between North Dakota and Manitoba, but met heavy resistance from a string of fortifications, reinforced by German King Tiger tanks. This led to mainly tank warfare, with US Pershing tanks battling Cromwells, Challengers and Mosleys across the plains, with both sides incurring heavy losses. The Mosley came as a surprise to the American forces, as it was better protected than a Pershing. the new British Comet cruiser tanks also came as a nasty surprise, as they were also markedly superior.
The drive to Winnipeg[]
With the tanks subdued, a group of Marines, led by Captain Kirk Douglas, found some unused Cromwells in a base, and they came up with the Winnepeger tank(basically a Trojan horse), and they also found blueprints and schematics for the experimental Ratte and Maus tanks. 3,000 US Soldiers would wear British uniforms and use British Tanks to gain entry into Winnipeg (Patton disapproved of this because of it being risky, but he authorized it because he did not want Winnipeg to become a slaughterhouse since it was extremely well defended), then they would force the Mayor of that town to surrender, thus capturing the most strategically important city in Canada, and ensuring America's victory in the war.
The British Counterattack[]
British forces immediately mounted a furious counterattack to re-take Winnipeg. But since America had captured the city mostly intact, they used the town defences to great effect. The stolen 3.7" 'cracker' guns were used to great effect, shredding the incoming tank assault, and holding on the city..