Keizersveer, Holland / Dezember 1944 (Gettysburg, PA)

For this event, we were portraying the elements of 1.Kompanie/ 2 Bn / 1052nd GR RGT / 84th Infantry Division in Holland.  Following the failure of Operation Market Garden, the Allies Forces in Holland, namely British, Polish and Canadian forces began another major offensive in October to open the waterways north of Antwerp to make it fully operational.  From October 8, 1944 to November 8, 1944, Commonwealth Forces were able to push the Germans back to positions north of the Maas River and south of the Waas River. For the Germans, the situation was not as aggressive.  After being surprised and heavily engaged in Operation Market Garden, the German Army in Holland was in almost continuous combat.  Also, the badly decimated German combat units in this area were not a priority for the German High Command due the upcoming Ardennes Offensive.  One such unit was the 84th Infantry Division.
 
The 84th Division was initially formed in France in February 1944, with its main combat element being the 1051st and 1052nd Grenadier Regiments.  After being decimated in the Normandy campaign, the 84th was sent to the Somme area of France for refit in the late summer of 1944.  The division was pronounced fully refit and ready for combat in early September of 1944.   The majority of replacements for the division's refit came from Reserve and Fortress Battalions along with Luftwaffe personnel.  After Operation Market Garden began, the 84th was sent to the Nijmegen area and engaged the US 82nd Airborne Division.  This campaign left the 84th Division heavily weakened, which followed by the aforementioned Commonwealth offensive in October, left the 84th Division in battle group strength by the end of November. 
 
In early December, another infantry regiment, 1062nd Grenadier Regiment, was added to the 84th to bolster its ranks.  At this time, the 84th was one of the main German combat units in Holland that was expected to cover a large area and be able to mount a defense against any anticipated offensive actions by Commonwealth forces.  However, the 84th had a large area to defend and very little manpower to do it with.  Therefore, they were forced to establish defensive positions around key road intersections, villages, and what little high ground there was in Holland.  One such area that the 84th was expected to defend was the crossroad near the village of Keizersveer, Holland.  The area northwest of the village contained several dirt and gravel roads, that if exploited by British armored units, could bypass the main road into the village and attack the village from the rear.