FEW FIRST LEVEL BUILDINGS IN HATTEN

The decision to make the majority of the building ground level was very carefully considered at the early stages of design. ASL rules make it much harder to clear out buildings that contain two levels and having upper levels would fundamentally change all of the scenarios and the CG.

 

SUMMARY

In short, it was difficult for infantry to operate effectively on 'first level' in the regular houses along the main Hatten street. The best way to reflect this in the ASL rules was to make all but the most stout buildings ground level only.

 

DETAILS

The pictures below match some contemporary and historical pictures with the mapboard. There are also some pictures of the battle damage to Hatten houses.

​

1. Only the houses along the main street tended to have 'multi-levels'

2. The attached buildings behind the main street houses were essentially farmyard sheds
>the roofs between the front house and the sheds were the same height
>the sheds tended not to contain upper levels

3. The Hatten houses tended to have narrow frontages and relatively weak roofs

4. There was little primary source documentation which depicted infantry defending upper levels of buildings.

​

CONCLUSION

The small frontage and weak roofs in the majority of buildings in Hatten provided little incentive to occupy upper levels as a key defensive position. Furthermore, there was little advantage from a LOS perspective because houses tended to have similar roof heights regardless of whether they had an 'upper level'.