Raid on Rocherath Battery

[Nathan Whyte]

Like in Epic Battles, the map will not be edited, so be descriptive with your posts. If you wish to send an edited map to the Mod-marker so your location, feel free. This develops an air of tactics and a fog of battle. If I feel you are not being descriptive enough, I will post a map where I believe your troops are, which will NOT[/u] edited, no matter how many complaints.

In every other battle I mod, I get streams of Bull. If there is any, at all, any snide remarks any complaints, then tough luck. They will fall on deaf ears, and my have a negative effect on you for the rest of the battle.

Map:



Posting Orders
Axis
Allied
Axis
Allied

You may decide which of you posts first, but the order will remain. You will have 48 hours to post, before the turn is forfeited. No ifs, no buts.


It is still just hours after the German counter-attack began in the Ardennes forest, and already they are making large tracts of ground back. However, the Allies after the initial shock aren’t just letting the enemy waltz in.

Near the village of Rocherath, Belgium, an Allied artillery emplacement has been set up, showering the surroundings with explosives and causing the Axis forces severe losses. Sitting within the grounds of a church are several 155mm Howitzers, and a small garrison of defenders. To try and save their men, a small Axis force has been dispatched to take the guns from the unsuspecting Allied soldiers.

Victory, or defeat here, could change the fate of the entire offensive.

[Jonas Merhoff]

Winter. What a drastic change from the Hauptmann's initial campaign in the North Africa, he thought as he trudged along in the snow with his men.Well not exactly his men Jonas thought to himself as he glanced over at the group of nine men that he was leading. They were members, Sergeants, of the Waffen SS. They were elite soldiers, meant to get their job done right. They were Aryan soldiers and meant to be Hitler's "best of the best". Jonas's role in the war had grown more insignificant as the years passed, now he was the puppet of an SS Major. Leading his men in the last German offensive... it was both an honor and an insult to the Captain.

But then Merhoff caught a glimpse of Erik Schneider, Anton Ramsden, and Alexander Wollf. He realized he did not walk along amongst this pure bred group of Aryans. He had Heiko Alkema leading the charge on the cliff, and suddenly realized the humiliation of these men. They were being controlled by members of a less- "elite" unit which to them was probably a disgrace. But the most humiliated was obviously Erik Schneider. He was a man with courage and was the only in the group who had realized the true evil of the Nazis. He requested to be transferred of the Waffen SS immediately and was humiliated when he was stripped his rank and thrown into a moribund division.. that was destined to work hand in hand with his own for the duration of the Belgium campaign. How embarrassing it must be to be commanded by some of the men he was once a superior to.

As Merhoff approached the church, the sudden realization that he could have already been spotted by an Forward Observer for the Howitzers hit him like a brick wall. Wherever there was artillery... there was a spotter. " Unten! Unten! Sie wissen was zu tun. Verner Bewegung Ihre Gruppe! Verschieben Sie sie! 1. Gruppe auf mir! " Jonas commanded in a hushed tone. Gripping the metal of his brand new MP45 tightly, he rushed into the forest to the East. Verner was taking Sgts Junker, Hueber, and Luft into the Western forest while Jonas took the rest of the men 2 Sgts and 3 riflemen to the East.

As each breath of crisp, winter air was pumped through the hardened, tough commander his thoughts burst into motion and began blurring. He felt the sudden sensation of reliving his childhood in seconds. He his bruised, blood stained bloody lying on a torn, soiled mattress sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. He watched as his father raised his belt and brought it down upon his back as he yelped and cried out in pain. Worst of all... he watched his mother weakened by cancer slowly die in excruciating pain. Jonas lost his natural control over his emotional memories and as they raced wildly he also lost his natural awareness of the harsh world around him. Then suddenly there was a loud crack and Jonas's world went black.

Several minutes later, Jonas awoke encircled by SS Sergeants and some loyal 21st riflemen. He searched the pure white snow for crimson stains here and there, but the Hauptmann none. Immediately, Jonas put the pieces together. He had been so consumed by his memories... haunted by his memories he had tripped and been knocked unconscious by the trunk of a tree, but had not suffered from a cut or blood. Jonas was woozy, but he stood with a new sense of pride. He had witnessed a familiar scene of a certain stormy night in that unforgiving room of his where he took an oath never to cry in his beatings again. Over the years though, Jonas had been disobeying other aspects of the oath. He realized how had actually been too kind. He was becoming a disappointment as a man and a soldier. Once more, he needed to step up and be a man. To lead with strength, but not as a "buddy" to his men. It was a reawakening to the Hauptmann as he stood by himself once more, without the help of those around him. An independent man.

Ordinarily his mind would be clouded with self-consciousness about his trip just as he was about leading these "elite" men. He slid the helmet over his head and fixed his white smocks as he looked at the men and gritted his teeth. The anger burning in his eyes told the men to shut up and keep moving and they nodded to him in fear and began to move. Respect. That's what the oath had been about. Honor and respect. So many years of failure and leading his dying division as a failure had led the Hauptmann to break his childhood oath... but no longer would that happen. Nor would he repeat it.

Moving onward, the group came upon the end of the woods where the trees ended and the road began. Jonas signaled for his men to get low, and they all awkwardly crouched as they attempted to hide behind the trees. They were only a few feet from the edge now, only barely able to see the a faint image of a church. Jonas silently signaled for two of the riflemen to stay put as he and the others moved more East. Upon reaching their own destination, Jonas crouched down again and the group spread out hiding against the most massive trees they could. They were waiting for the signal.

Translations:[/u]

" Unten! Unten! Sie wissen was zu tun. Verner Bewegung Ihre Gruppe! Verschieben Sie sie! 1. Gruppe auf mir! "
-“Down! Down! You know what to do. Verner move your squad! Move it! 1st Squad on me!”

[Nicholas Ealing]

Lieteunant Nicholas Ealing stared stoically towards the Southern Road of Rocerath, his mind numbed by recent dispatches from the front line. Lausdell had fallen to the might of the Nazi war machine; Mitchell and his men butchered mercilessly by the unstoppable enemy. Few prisoners had been taken and even less had escaped with their lives and their freedom intact. But this was where it would end. He would defend Rocerath with his life, a life that was threatened even as he mused to himself. The Lieteunant glanced over to the church that stood hard by. He was not an overly religious man but it was at least some comfort that someone was, perhaps, looking over them. And if God didn't intervene then it was down to Nicholas. And Nicholas didn't feel particularly godly.

"Withdraw," he barked sharply, visibly shocking the four men at his side, the newly-promoted Sergeant William Havard and the three experienced privates under his command. "Get to the trenches, all of you. We can join the rest of them in there; a united front is what we'll need if we want to take the buggers down,"

Havard and his subordinates nodded obediently, and the five men jogged brisky towards the deep trench but feet away. They clambered over the side and entered it in single file, joining the further five men who stood resolutely within, preparing to repel the inevitable attack.

"Norrington," said Nicholas warmly, firmly shaking the hand of an old comrade of his, Michael Norrington, a gruff Yorkeshireman who had served under him many times before. "Well, I trust?"

Norrington - who had dropped his birth name, Mike Thomas, for the slightly more elaborate Michael Norrington, grimaced in what he hoped was a smile and raised two fingers to his scalp in respect.

"I'd be a lot better if my arse wasn't freezing off with ice and filth and God knows what else," he answered, half-jokingly, half-mutinously.

"First rule of combat, Mike," smiled Nicholas, clapping the Yorkeshireman on the shoulder. "Know thine enemy. The Germans live in filth - how better to get to know them than by following suit?"

A few chuckles raised from the trench but the morale among the troops was still devestatingly low and Nicholas knew it. He sighed and looked over his shoulder at the steep ridge of the mountain behind them.

"Corporal," he said cautiously. "Corporals," he corrected himself, nodding towards James Fox. "You have the great honour of being our rearguard. Train your rifles to the North; take particular care of the mountains. Bevan and his boys did a sweep of it a while back, but better to be safe than sorry, eh?"

Bevan and his men were the elite of the squad, staunch Welshmen all of them, NCO's who instilled fear in their own men, let alone the enemy. Their commander, Staff Sergeant David Bevan, was also doubling as the defenders' sniper; a strong arm in a fight and a skilled finger on a trigger. Maybe he was a little bit...odd...but there was no one Nicholas would like better to serve with and under him on the battlefield. Currently, they had positioned themselves in the church itself, although the sandbag bunker at the side of the mountain served as an outpost if the worst came to worse and retreat was the only option.

Fox and Norrington saluted and moved to the end of the trench, training their weapons grimly on the mountain and the blank canvas of snow that surrounded them. Nicholas turned to the rest of the men, currently commanded by the grizzled Irish-American, Sergeant Richard Lynch and opened his mouth in a bid to raise the men's spirits but was interrupted by a sudden stillness in the air. The calm before the storm...

Amongst the trees, Nicholas could just about make out the blurry shapes of the enemy, or at least he could see dabs of white that proved that they were clad in white camo to blend in with the snow. Fat lot of good that'll do for you in a forest, he thought to himself bitterly. It seemed the enemy comamnder had also broken a core rule in combat; never seperate your troops unless absolutely neccessary, as figures could be seen on both flanks of woodland. Nicholas considered opening fire but he knew it would be innacurate at best and futile at worst. Nevertheless, he trained his Bren Machine Gun on the Western flank of the woodlands, ready to pull the trigger if the enemy decided to abandon their positions.

"Lynch, you and your men, train your weapons on the Eastern Flank of the forest," he barked, and instantly the experienced Corporal and his men - Corporal Ashworth and the Privates Lynn and Golding - instantly snapped to attention and obeyed their commander's orders. "The rest of you, the same, but on the West, understand?"

Havard and his own men - Corporal O'Rourke and Private Robert Canterbury - did as instructed, joining Nicholas in the grim task of waiting until the enemy showed their faces.

"Remember, men," said Nicholas stoutly. "No wishy-washy nonsence, so style, no finesse. Just mow the bastards down and let the snow be stained with black Nazi blood," He turned to look at the men he would be fighting with - and more likely than not, dying with - and felt an odd surge of pride ripple through his body. "God bless America," he continued. "God save the King. And God have mercy on the buggers we're going to send to Hell tonight!"

A muffled cheer errupted from the trench and most of the men made the sign of the cross pietously; one or two even knelt down to kiss the fine earth in their own personal ritual or otherwise in a bid to appease the Lord. Only Nicholas, Norrington and Havard remained unfazed by this and held their ground, their eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Nicholas allowed himself one last look at the large church and too felt himself praying for himself and for his companions. And maybe, just maybe, God was listening...

[Heiko Alkema]

17 Minutes Prior

"Verdammt Schnee..." muttered Heiko as he trudged threw the deep snow under an imposing cliff. The strangeness of the comment struck him as soon as it left his mouth. Being from Bremen, he no stranger to snow. In fact, he had rollicked in the snow every winter even when he was well into his twenties. He had loved snow, but now the wet, bone chilling cold was driving him mad. Then again, everything drove Heiko mad these days. His uncle drove him mad; the Nazis drove him mad; the French drove him mad; these sergeants behind him drove him mad; the unseen birds around him cackling at his misery drove him mad.... a thought struck Heiko, Veilleicht ich schnappe ueber. Nein, he as the most sane person he knew...

Boom

The roar of Allied artillery brought him back to reality. Looking up he could see the muzzles of the guns peeking out over the edge of the cliff, a barely visible black haze hovering in front of them. Hauptmann Merhoff had placed it at the head of a special team, his task: to scale the aforementioned cliff and strike at any Allied defenders from behind. Heiko had been thrilled at the prospect of leading one of his squads on a daring cliff-climbing assault and stabbing those Allied bastards in the back, both figuratively and, if luck was on his side, literally. Then the American had insisted that they put as much firepower into his force as possible. So now, instead of four highly trusted, though inexperienced, Wehrmacht men, four child-murdering SS sergeants were behind him probably drilling holes with their eyes into the back of Heiko's unpure, non-Aryan head. The silver-lining and irony however was that the SS were the most pathetically obedient people Heiko had ever met.

The SS men behind him all had MP40's, climbing gear, and winter camouflage. Heiko had all that as well, minus the MP40. Instead he had a 98k slung across his back which felt like an antique in comparison. It was a reliable weapon though, the one on his back now was the same one that had been on his back in Poland, France, Norway, Russia, Afrika and that short stint in Yugoslavia. This rifle was now as much apart of Heiko as his own hands. Heiko loved his rifle and he was sure it loved him in return. Maybe that was the psychosis talking again...

Boom

The thunder of the guns at the top of the cliff derailed his train of thought again. He remembered the thunderstorms back home that had fascinated him as a child, the rolling cracks of thunder sent bolt of excitement shooting down his spine ever time; these booms however sent a chill crawling down. The much more distant growl of exploding shells brought him back to the present.

Heiko pulled a little map from a pocket on his chest and stared at it for a moment, looked up at the muzzles of the guns above him and the barely visible steeple of the church tower. There was still a good distance between him and the guns, but he didn't want to pop his up, get seen, and have his head popped off. He decided that this was close enough.

He stopped and turned to look at those behind him, SS sergeants Eichel, Ziegler, Kappel, and Lang. Adjusting the 98k and gear on his back, Heiko looked the child-murderers in the eyes "Eichel, Kappel, Lang, Sie sind eine Mannschaft. Ziegeler, Sie sind mit mir." He glanced at his watch, "Wir haben funfzehn Minuten vor Hauptmann Merhoff fangt seiner Angriff an. Ob wir kommen fuehzeitig an, dann wir werden ein Meter unter dem Rand warten. Überprüfen Sie jede andere übersetzen noch einmal, dann vorangehen heraus, wenn bereit."

Heiko looked over Ziegler's equipment and vise versa. Heiko and Ziegler started ascending first with Heiko leading, followed a moment later by the others ascending to his left with Kappel leading.

----------
Translations

"Verdammt Schnee..."
- "Damn snow..."

Veilleicht ich schnappe ueber
- "Perhaps I'm going mad."

"Eichel, Kappel, Lang, Sie sind eine Mannschaft. Ziegeler, Sie sind mit mir."
- "Eichel, Kappel, Lang, you're a team. Ziegler, you're with me."

"Wir haben funfzehn Minuten vor Hauptmann Merhoff fangt seiner Angriff an. Ob wir kommen fuehzeitig an, dann wir werden ein Meter unter dem Rand warten. Überprüfen Sie jede andere übersetzen noch einmal, dann vorangehen heraus, wenn bereit."
- "We have fifteen minutes before Captain Merhoff commences his attack. If we arrive early, we will wait one meter below the edge. Check each other's gear and start when ready."

[S.SGT David Bevan]

Staff Sergeant David Bevan's squad formed up in the church in a single line. They all had their weapons gripped tightly in their hands and Corporal Harper had his sword bayonet fixed to the barrel of his Lee-Enfield. The five men were glad to be experiencing combat again.

"Hurry to your posts and make ready for an enemy counter attack a nearby village has recently been lost and the same will not happen here. The enemy are likely to outnumber us and outgun us but we hold a great defensive position. Take down their commanders first and NCOs second until all that are left are grunts. Fall out" Barked David.

The three Sergeants rushed out of the church and took up position by a sandbag bunk. Sergeant Hagman looked down the cliff searching for any movement or silhouettes. Evans and Jones surveyed the Western approaches their iron sights searching from tree to tree.

David and Harper climbed the ladder up into the bell tower of the church. The Field observer had obviously finished signaling artillery for the time being. David and Harper aimed their rifle out of the window and began searching for any approaching AXIS forces. David searched for enemys at a distance through his telescoping sight while Harper watched along the cliff.

"Radio Operator, close the trapdoor and go down prone with your pistol"ordered David.

Sergeant Evans surveyed the area with his Thomson ready to send a well aimed three round burst into the chest of any enemy who approached.

"Fire in accurate bursts. We can't risk hitting the ammo depot"Ordered Evans to the other Sergeants.

If there were any enemies out there Evans was determined to find them before they could cause any damage.

[Nathan Whyte]

First of all, I'm not very impressed with either of you Allies. Really, you shouldn't have an inkling about the cliff climbers. In fact, I know for sure if you didn't know that Axis forces were scaling that, you would have nobody stationed there at all.

I've had a word with Heiko, though to try and even things out. To me, it seems cheating that you have "coincedentally" placed a load of SMG-wielding Sergeants in a prime over watch for where Heiko and Co. will climb.

Secondly, due to DBev making a physical change to the Battlefield, here is an updated map:

img292.imageshack.us/my.php?image=battle2originalqo6la7.png

Can PuNk/JT/Dan remove the sandbags from his mini-profile, please. BOO-YA!

Let the offense begin!

[Jonas Merhoff]

OOC : 1. It hasn't been over 48 hours, as I have been waiting for Nate's above post. 2. Have a lil patience, judging by when you posted it would have only been 10 minutes after the other 48 hours.

Slipping up his left sleeve, Jonas hand was exposed to the harsh wind that bit at his arm. As he looked at his watch, he realized it was 3 minutes to the initial assault but only 2 until he and his men moved out. He had his men synchronize their watches for each stage of the assault. In approximately 2 minutes, the 2 rifle men a bit to the east would charge out into the hole from an artillery shell before them as Jonas and the 4 men gathered with him did the same for a different hole. Moving together in numbers would help confuse any sniper or observer for enough time to get into the safety of a hole. The riflemen would fit snug in theirs and quickly open fire on the bell tower while they had the element of surprise. The other 5 men wouldn't last long huddling in the small hole for long and would need to move up. 1 minute afterward, Heiko Alkema's squad would ascend the cliff and flank the dug in Allies. Around the same time, the 3 Sergeants would advance on the trench and open fire to confuse and wound the men in it before falling back to a safe range.

Jonas had his MP45 slung over his right shoulder as he held out his left hand before him, staring down at his numbers. His right hand shot up along with his index and middle finger to alert the men. They all knew what they had to do and checked their equipment thoroughly while preparing for a perilous run to the guns. It could result in a few ways. Ultimate victory, humiliating defeat, or somewhere in the middle. With the riflemen to deal with any pesks in the tower and Heiko to deal with the men to the West, Jonas felt his chances of success were quite high. His middle finger dropped down, leaving only his index left pointing to the sky.

- - - - - - -

Alexander Wolff and Anton Ramsden were hidden behind a small grouping of trees at the edge of the forest, out of sight of the church. Wolff looked like the striking image of Jonas, only 20 years younger, as he raised his index finger. He had his Kar 98 Rifle gripped firmly in his left hand. He felt his job was the most risky, as he could be going head to head with a man with a telescopic sight while he and Ramsden only had their standard issue rifles. If they could actually hit a sniper, they would have to get the job done on the first shot or risk death. If they couldn't get the shot on him, perhaps they would give enough time for the Captain to make it across the road to the guns.

Anxiously, he let his index finger drop into place and his sleeve slid down to cover his right arm. He shot his right arm forward to signal to move, and he and Ramsden were up at the their feet in seconds darting out into the open. Both his hands gripped his rifle as it swayed to the left then to the right as he sprinted for his life. He was certain Jonas was running into the open just as he was as he dropped into the hole. It was arranged for him to be the first shot, so as he instantaneously positioned himself at the top, Ramsden was lying more in the center, deepest part of the hole. Wolff held his breath as he moved his iron sights onto a figure in the window. He waited, but not for too long, and then released a bullet before retreating down deeper into the hole as Ramsden climbed to the top. Ramsden copied Wolff, peeking over the edge of the hole and steadying his sights onto the Southern window of the bell tower. Holding his breath, he prepared and then fired the shot off. Retreating back down into the center, Wolff returned with his rifle readied and they repeated the process once more to ensure the main force of the assault would not be hit. At the end, they were left hiding in the lowest part of the trench huddled together for warmth ready to shoot once more.

- - - - - - -

Simultaneously, Jonas tore a smoke canister out from his waist and pulled the pin as he darted out into the open. The signal to move. He chucked it forward towards the end of the road, North-West, to ensure their movement wouldn't be visible. Schneider hopped down into the hole and brought his rifle up to his shoulder before taking aim on a figure in the trench. He opened fire and quickly climbed back out of the hole vanishing into the smoke behind the rest of his squad.

Now hurrying out of the smoke across the road, they were slightly visible again. They had past view of the trench, but they weren't much of a concern. Around the time Schneider shot off his bullet, the 4 Sergeants should have given the trench quite a share of bullets. Jonas raised his MP45 and let loose a concentrated burst of fire at the window of the bell tower, to keep anyone in it down. The 2 Sergeants with him were opening fire on the men at the guns to make sure they didn't escape. They let off 12 bullets each, one at the Eastern gun and one at the Western once they came out of the smoke. Schneider dropped down into the protection of the second, bigger hole near the trench and took aim on the two Eastern bell tower windows for protection. He had already released the bullet shell with the bolt.

Jonas, Sgt Klien, and Sgt Meier dropped down into the trench South of the two Howitzers. Jonas took aim at the Western gun and in a short concentrated burst, filled the 2 men their with lead. The two Sergeants focused on the Eastern gun and did the same to the men there before jamming another stick of ammo into their gun. Without hesitating they moved West down the line in the trench. Klien stopped at the bend in the trench, and steadied his weapon on the church windows while keeping low. Jonas and Meier moved all the wall down the line to the cliff, with Meier aiming upwards at the two windows and Jonas aiming down the West. He could see down to a sandbag, but chose not to open fire on the men behind it. Perhaps they would come to him. But if they so happened to turn around and run at him he would drop them in seconds with a new clip in his gun. Or was that Heiko, he might have already gotten up top. Schneider, relieved of watching the bell tower, now aimed toward the trench to hold back anyone trying to get out of it.

- - - - - - -

A Few Minutes Earlier...

Sgts Verner, Luft, Junker, and Hueber neared the end of the forest towards the Western trench. They could spot a corner of the church ahead and a bit of the trench, but chose to lay low and wait. They were going to open fire on the trench while Heiko came to the top and Jonas crossed to the guns. Verner was obviously top dog, having participated in the attack on the crossroads with Jonas. He was staring down at his watch and figured that Jonas and his men must be moving out. So now they would wait for the bullets. 1 bullet was fired and another would be on it's way. After that 2 more would be fired as well as a 3rd from Schneider. The trenches would be mainly caught by the excitement happening to the South-East, maybe even trying to shoot the Germans down. Now as the time to attack.

Verner was in the North-Western corner of the forest, nearest to the dump. Junker was a little South-East of him, towards the end of the trench. East of him was Luft who would shoot at the left side of the bridge like roof on the trench. Hueber was in the North-East corner of the forest who would be shooting towards the roofed area and a bit right of it. Their bullets would cover quite the distance of the trench and distract the trench.

And so it started in between the first and second rifle bullets. Verner neared the edge of the woods where there was only snow and opened fire towards the bend of trench down to the roof. A second afterward Junker reached the edge of the forest opening fire on the end of the trench outward to the bend. He was the most careful, as his bullets could hit the fuel dump so he fired in the most accurate bursts aiming low. At the same time as Junker, Luft neared the edge almost stepping out and opened fire on the left side of the roof, being careful if he shot West so he didn't clip the fuel dump. Finally, Hueber followed suit opening fire towards the right side of the roof to get anyone who attempted to go Westward.

The shooting only lasted for a few seconds, and was a quick and hard strike and then a retreat so the Axis didn't take casualties. They all fired in short, accurate burst of 5-6 bullets until they emptied their 32 round clips. Verner emptied his first and immediately dashed back until he was out of range of the trench. Next was Junker and Luft, and Huber advanced backward slowly at first to give them covering fire before breaking out into a sprint himself. They regrouped, reloaded, and aimed towards the edge of the forest for any counter attack. They were out of view of the trench now, but if any Allied soldiers got in sight they would open fire.

OOC: Feel sorry for you Nate. A lot going on at once. So heres the order of everything. 1. The 2 riflemen run out a few seconds before Jonas and his men. 2. Jonas keeps moving forward to the smoke as the riflemen hit church. 3. The 4 Sgts do their thing before Jonas gets all the way to the trenches. 4. The Sgts fall back, Jonas reaches the trenches and wipes out the gunners. Happened with in seconds/minutes of each other.

[Nathan Whyte]

Moderation Post

[/u][/size][/center]

Well, first of all THANK YOU![/u] Jonas, for doing a very good post. It’s ones like these that I dream of (Not true, I dream for perfectly legible posts where surrender is imminent, and I have to do jack all. Anyway….), and a happy Mod is a generous mod. Bear that in mind.

Anyway, let the fun begin, eh?

• Wolff and Ramsden, the two Pvts sprinted out from the trees to the relative safety of the crater. However, as they ran, David Bevan spotted the white-clad figures emerge from the trees almost instantly. He managed to take aim at Wolff and fire a single bullet at the soldier. This round hit Wolff in his chest, to the right hand side, cracking a rib and jamming in the broken bone. David managed to get a second shot in the general direction of Ramsden, but this bullet missed, thudding into the snow by the soldiers feet.
  
  
• HOWEVER, with the shock of his bullet moving through his entire body, Wolff fell forward into the trench, knocking Ramsden in with him. David Bevan, in his haste, assumed the two soldiers were dead. He would be wrong.
  
  
• As Jonas and Co. move out from the trees, S/SGT Bevan’s attention turned to them. He managed to shoot Sgt. Klien, and this round, perfected by either luck or desperation, slid through the head of the Sergeant, killing him instantly.
  
  
• Ramsden on the ground however, saw this as the perfect distraction. He managed to aim at the perched enemy soldier and fire. The round was an incredible feat of marksmanship, and actually hit the front of David Bevan’s scope, smashing the glass, and rendering it useless. A second round followed, and impacted in to the right arm of David Bevan, jamming itself in the muscle by the shoulder.
  
  
• Now, Bevan saw enough sense to get behind the wall of the church to avoid further damage.
  
  
  ***
  
  
  
• Jonas Merhoff throw the smoke grenade, and began moving before the smoke deployed properly.
  
  
• Schneider, jumping in to the small crater, took aim at the figure in the trench across the road, but struggled to get an accurate round off at the heads showing. His round missed, thudding in to the mud a few meters in front of the trench.
  
  
• The semi-automatic American weapons fired back, trying to get Schneider and his team mates as they moved along the ground, but a prevailing North-Easterly blew the smoke so it obscured the targets. Somehow, none of the bullets hit.
  
  
• Sgt. Meier and Merhoff successfully managed in killing the Artillery Cadets, the unarmed boys being quickly mowed down, even as they tried sprinting off to safety in the East.
  
  
• Schneider, trying to suppress the Eastern Windows of the tower, failed to find any targets.
  
  
  ***
  
  
  
• The Sergeants trying to advance on the trench had some rotten luck though. In the break of the silence, their boots cracked frozen fallen foliage and crunched in the snow. If they had moved a few seconds earlier, or later they may have been luckier…
  
  
• Lt. Ealing and the various soldiers in his trench opened up as the white smocks showed against the green. The large calibre bullets obliterated the frozen trees and found the following marks:
  
  - Verner – He ended up making the most noise. The second he showed himself, he found three M1 Garand bullets out to meet him. The rounds impacted his chest, hitting muscle, bone, but most importantly, his left lung, deflating it.
  - Luft – Luft managed to avoid injury, and retreat backwards into the woods. His bullets did, however, kill Corporal Fox, destroying the Allied soldier’s chest and face.
  - Junker – Junker fired down a brief burst, hitting the Western-most Private (Rhys, name.) Junker saw what happened to Verner, and ran over to the other Sergeant, and dragged the fallen soldier backwards from the line. Although it did put him in a better position, the wounded soldier’s abdominal muscles were already damaged, and this movement tore them, causing him more pain
  - Hueber - Hueber received a firm burst from a Bren gun for his trouble, and the large calibre bullets killed the man by stitching through his chest destroying various organs. Blood loss got to him before help could.
  
  

Bloody hell. I think that’s all, and I think that has to be one of the largest mod posts ever. Well, I like to think so.

Next Post:[/u]Ealing![/color]

[Nicholas Ealing]

OOC: Not as long as your favourite, Jonas'. In my defense, not much to write about when you're...lying down in a hole amongst your own filth. And no, I'm not on holiday in Birmingham... ;D

"Open fire!" bellowed the Lieteunant, as all hell broke loose. It wasn't a meticulously planned command, it wasn't a rising speech but it got the job done. And that was all that Nicholas needed.

The next few seconds seemed almost as if they were in slow motion. The enemy had staged a semi-suicidal attack on the defenders and they were paying the price; but they had taken their change from the 3ID's till. Nicholas was forced to watch in horror as James Fox was gunned down, falling crumpled to the floor, his eyes staring sightlessly in their sockets. The Lieteunant gave a roar of anger and leapt up from the trench, butchering one of the enemy, one of the men who had killed the young corporal...

And then almost as suddenly as it had began...the attack stopped. Nicholas panted heavily and ran a hand through his dark blond hair, matted with sweat and blood and turned around to see his men's grim faces staring back at him. There were no other casualties. Just Fox. And...and the boys.

Their blood stained the snow crimson and Nicholas suddenly realised that he had never been so angry in his life. He had never felt a hatred so pure for the men who had slaughtered the innocent children. He...he wanted revenge.

"Havard!" he barked, a split second after the attack had been splintered. "You and your men - aim at the craters to the South. The little bastards like spending their time up holes if you get my meaning, so get firing! Drive the buggers out!"

Havard nodded with a flustered salute and instantly, he, Corporal O'Hara and Private Robert Canterbury opened fire on the remnants of the men in the craters - the very same men who had opened fire on Staff Sergeant Bevan not a minute earlier.

Nicholas turned to the rest of the men, bar Norrington and Private Lynn, who were avidly training their weapons on the mountains and surrounding areas.

"Open fire on the North-West of the forest," he commanded harshly. "Take down the cowards who waddled over there instead of facing American lead,"

Lynch, Ashworth and Golding nodded and without hesitation, sent wave after wave of bullets slicing through the trees, the last line of protection for the enemy who hid behind them. At last, Nicholas turned to Norrington and Lynn.

"You know what to do," he said warily, before turning back to Lynch and his men and setting down his Bren machinegun on the side of the trench. The weapon was a forests' worst nightmare; the dryads who some said protected the spirits of the trees would be of little help against the weapon of mass destruction that Nicholas clasped in his hand. Perhaps the so-called "treehuggers" he had heard so much about wouldn't be his biggest fan, but, he thought to himself as he noted the crumpled body of a Nazi Sergeant, they'd have to join the queue. He doubted he was particularly bold in Hitler's good books at the moment.

"I'll write a book, you bastards," he muttered to himself. "And it'll be in your black blood,"

Gritting his teeth, with one eye closed, and an eyebrow furrowed in concentration, the Lieteunant squeezed down in the trigger - and kept it down. Bullets ripped through the chilly air viciously; Nicholas only hoped that they would find a more substantial target to...well...rip into. Preferrably, German flesh.

The two seperate squads, binded together in hatred of the Nazi attackers, accepted Merhoff's challenge. Whether the cards would play in their favour, none of them knew.

But, Nicholas mused to himself, in a game of chance, you must always have a few tricks up your sleeve. He patted the two grenades that he had reserved for this very battle. Up your sleeve, he grinned to himself, or clipped to your belt...

[Nathan Whyte]

Moderation Post

[/u][/size][/center]

Well, this should be easy enough. Also, Rhys, one of your Pvts should be dead.

• Firing into the trees on the West of the map, Ealing and his men scored another wound. Luft recieved a round in his right calf, the bullet cleanly slicing through the muscle and out the other side.
  
  
• The other soldiers managed to hit the ground and avoid injury, the large trees providing plenty of cover.
  
  
• Firing over the crater, the two soldiers in it managed to get low below the lip and avoid fire. However, the bottom of the crater was full of defrosting water, and has soaked through their clothes. With the low temperature, the risk of hypothermia is ever increasing.
  
  
• Further bullets in to the forest on the East have failed for one main reason. Nobody is in there.
  
  
• The move involving the northern soldiers is null and void. It's hardly fair having Heiko fired at before he's even on the map.
  

Next Post:[/u] Heiko![/color]

[Heiko Alkema]

Heiko and his men simultaneously breached the cliff a minute after the first pops and cracks of rifles. He now found himself prone in the snow several yards from his intended destination, they had drifted several metres during the accent. Two things immediately set off alarms in Heiko's head and caused his heart to sink into the pit of his stomach.

First, he'd come up between the church and three men who were behind some sandbags, one of which was staring right at him. Second, down past the church two rifle barrels were also staring him in the face, though he hoped they were too far away for decent shots. Both of which lead him to one thought: "Scheiß".

Heiko's head snapped back to his men, all prone like himself with MP40's up and ready, gestured toward the sandbag defender's and whispered, "Schieß!" Each gun burped out four four-round bursts into the mostly unsuspecting sandbaggers. Heiko wasn't able to fire as he hadn't taken his rifle off his back before he came over the edge as the other soldiers had, he quickly corrected this and had his rifle in his hands and the safety flipped off by the time the SS guys had finished firing.

Surprise had been lost, thus Heiko had no trouble bellowing out "Los!" and pointed the church tower, the SS quickly responded, coming up and dashing the few metres to the tower, two firing a few rounds down toward the western trench, the other two watching the tower windows. Coming to a kneeling position, Heiko leveled the sights of his rifle on one of the Brits down in the trench looking at him, took a breath, and pulled the trigger. One shot was enough for Heiko and he dashed off after the sergeants to the tower without waiting to see the results of his shot.

When he reached the northern wall of the trench, Heiko waved to Hauptmann Merhoff who was by now waiting in the eastern trench. Heiko turned, using the corner of the wall to steady his rifle, again leveling his sights on a tiny British helmet in the trench, and pulled the trigger of his faithful K98. He ducked back behind the wall before someone could retaliate.

"Bleib beim den Mauern. Pass die Fenster auf. Los!" He said pointing to the tower windows and then down the eastern side of the church; If someone had the balls to lean out the windows to shoo them, they'll be met with a hail of lead. Heiko moved off around to the eastern part of the church

Along the way Heiko took the grenade from his belt and handed it to Sergeant Zeigler saying, "Nehmen Sie dieses, gehen Sie das Ende der Kirche. Warten Sie dort auf mein Signal, es in die Mitte des Grabens zu werfen. Wenn Sie getan werden, bleiben Sie hinter der Ecke und stellen Sie jedes mögliches coverfire zur Verfügung" Zeigler took the grenade and went off to get into posistion. "Was Sie anbetrifft kommen drei, Sie mit mir in die Kirche. Lang, passen Sie die Tür zum Aufsatz auf. Kappel, passen Sie die Haustür auf. Eichel, halten ein Auge durch ein unversehrtes Fenster ab, um Kappel aller möglicher nähernden Truppen zu alarmieren, die versuchen, innen zu erhalten, wenn sie in der Hilfe ihn repluse sie erhalten." By the time Heiko had finished speaking, Zeigler was ready and looking at him. Heiko flipped the safety of his rifle back on, ready to smash threw the northern most window. He gave a nod to Zeigler.

On cue, Zeigler unscrewed the cap on the bottom, and tossed the cap aside. There paused for a moment, took a deep breath, yanked the porcelain ball, took a step out and threw the grenade down the trench. Without waiting for the explosion he darted back behind the solid church wall.

Heiko waited until the grenade left Zeigler's hand before he smashed his rifle butt into the window to avoid drawing attention to him. Heiko cleared the edges of debris for safe entry and hopped through. The other sergeants quickly followed through the same window and deployed out to their assigned positions. They were ready to throw back anything the Brits and Yanks could muster up.

Heiko smashed through a window on the opposite side just after the grenade detonated. Using the windowsill to help level his sights, Heiko settled them just above the chest of rather dangerous looking Brit with a light machine gun and sent another bullet zinging through the air, ducking back behind the wall to avoid return fire.

----------
Translations:

"Bleib beim den Mauern. und pass die Fenster auf. Los!"
- "Stay close to the walls and watch the windows. Go!"

"Nehmen Sie dieses, gehen Sie das Ende der Kirche. Warten Sie dort auf mein Signal, es in die Mitte des Grabens zu werfen. Wenn Sie getan werden, verbinden Sie uns in der Kirche."
- Take this, go the end of the church. Wait there for my signal to throw it into the center of the trench. When you are done, join us in the church.

"Was Sie anbetrifft kommen drei, Sie mit mir in die Kirche. Lang, passen Sie die Tür zum Aufsatz auf. Kappel, passen Sie die Haustür auf. Eichel, halten ein Auge durch ein unversehrtes Fenster ab, um Kappel aller möglicher nähernden Truppen zu alarmieren, die versuchen, innen zu erhalten, wenn sie in der Hilfe ihn repluse sie erhalten."
-As for you three, you are coming with me into the church. Lang, you watch the door to the tower. Kappel, you watch the front door. Eichel, keep an eye out through an unbroken window to alert Kappel of any approaching troops trying to get in, if they get in help him repulse them.

"Aufenthalt mit Kappel und nicht ließ jedermann durch diesen Eingang!"
-Stay with Kappel and don't let anyone through that doorway!

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Timeline: 1) Sgt's shoot sandbags 2) Heiko shoots trench and Sgts move to tower 3) Heiko moves to tower shoots trench again. 4) Zeigler throws grenade 5) Grenade detonates, Heiko shoots trench 3rd time.

[Nathan Whyte]

Moderation Post

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• Heiko and Co. managed to ascend the cliff without drawing attention. After drifting to the East, they managed to get behind the trio of Sergeant that had been placed in the sandbags. Their MP40's obliterated the unsuspecting men. All three died almost instantly, however, one fell sideways, still alive down the cliff, screaming as he went.
  
  
• The racket drew attention instantly. David Bevan's Corporal in the tower began shooting down at them. However, the rapidly moving soldiers below managed to get out of the way.
  
  
• Firing towards the trench, Heiko' muscles were weak after the long climb, and his rifle swayed. The bullet went way off. The same was with his subsequent shot.
  
  
• When Ziegler tried throwing the grenade, his tired arms gave out on him. The grenade barely made it halfway before the long handle getting it stuck in the snow. It exploded there, sending a large spray of shrapnel up. Nobody was hurt, but it caused the Allies in the trench to drop down.
  
  
• This had a negative effect for Heiko when he tried shooting Ealing. Ealing had dropped below the lip of the trench and he didn't have much of a target. He missed, but the round thudded into the muddy wall of the trench, spooking some of the Privates.

Next Post:[/u] David Bevan[/color]

[PuNk! ™]

This battle is temporarily being frozen.[/b]

I've recieved quite a few words of concern regarding your judgements Nathan and I feel I must step-in momentarily to try and justify what's happening here. So if you would please forward a PM to me regarding your recent mod-marks and sudden changes on the map, it would be much appreciated.

No-one's being scorned here, but neither do I want anyone to feel cheated, which is why I'm requesting a quick run-down report of why certain actions have been made upon the behalf of the mod-marker.

During this time, I will be reading over everyone's posts made in a hope to understand Nathan's verdicts better and the members within it. Again I'm sorry for any delay caused, but I am concerned of a few issues here and I would like to understand them better, in a means to sort things out - if anything needs sorting.

This battle will resume shortly, please bare some patience.
Thank you,
~Danny[/color]

[PuNk! ™]

Un-Frozen![/b]

Alright I've spent a good part of a whole day or more thinking this over and after speaking with Nathan and seeing some of the evidence, I can understand why certain actions have been made and why certain people may feel a little cheated by what's happened.

This battle shall continue as planned and no mod-marks will be changed.
Before I recieve anymore words of concern, I have thought this over very vividly and I see no massive problems with the moderation provided, where it would need a total re-write or edit.

I understand the Axis entry route (cliffside) was changed and this obviously has given the Axis a very big edge within the battle, but I can also understand the moderation point of view and why this simple movement was allowed. The Cliffside is one long piece of ground, have it have been seperate cliffsides (seperated mountain/hill tops), than this mod-mark may have been edited slightly with a different outcome. However, the cliffside is one long piece of ground and moving along it to scale down elsewhere is totally fine in my books and obviously, Nathan allowed this tactic and strategy to happen; Entering a little differently on the map.

I do think the Allies set up their defenses a little oddly, whereas they should have been covering the ground as a whole, rather than the certain points where they knew the Axis were advancing from the sign-up thread. This killed the realism to an extent - as you should not have known the enemy were going to advance from those locations within the battle it's self.

So you can safely assume, trying to be cheeky doesn't get you entirely far in future.
Although I do respect the fact you attempted to defend yourself at those key points where the enemy would advance, but maybe you should have thought it through a little better. Setting a sandbag bunk up to face the cliffside and additional experienced units watching the cliffside, seems very unrealistic. Why not use the bell-tower to house these units and possibly oversee the cliffside? That would have been more realistic.

So overall, I am completely fine with the mod-mark made and I would like this battle to carry on.
~Danny[/color]

Just to add on to that, Allies, if you'd placed your men a bit further back, near the ammo dump and faced the whole cliff, Heiko probably would have scaled right in to your killing zone.

Anyway, David, 48 hours to post.
- Nathan

[S.SGT David Bevan]

OOC: I heard the time limit for a post is three minutes. This may seem like it would take ages but it could actually be done in a minute and a half and easily in two minutes. And Nathan I just want to remind you I have a cert as it has'nt been used before in battle and most people have probably forgot I have one.

As a shot entered Davids arm he crouched down quickly and screamed feigning death. Seconds later Harper did the same. David sat there panting for a few seconds surprised that he couldn't feel any pain. He was high on adrenaline.

Harper noticed the wound and set about tearing two thin strips of uniform. He tied the first piece tightly around Davids wound and used the other to mop up the blood before tying the second one to Davids arm. As he did this David began to brief him on their next move.

"We've got to take out as many of them as we can before Earling brings help. Radio Operator you can open the trap door for Harper and he'll throw a grenade into the church. I will simultaneously throw a grenade towards the enemy in the trench outside. Then we will attempt to finish off the enemy in the trench. Remember Gwell angau na chywilydd" whispered David.

David swiftly removed the damaged scope from his modified Lee-Enfield and brushed off all the shattered glass with his sleeve. He then flicked up the iron sight and let the rifle hang on it's sling.

Harper and the Radio operator nodded and smiled grimly. Harper took a grenade from David and lay prone on the ground near the trap door. The Radio operator positioned himself on the side of the trap door opposite to the handle ready to pull the trap door up quickly. Harper gripped the grenade tightly in his outstretched hands. His thumb and index finger gripped the pin but did not pull it yet.

Harper counted quietly but easily loud enough for the radio operator to hear. When he reached a point between two and three seconds the Radio Operator quickly flung the trapdoor open without exposing any of his body to anyone who could be waiting below. As soon as the trap door opened Corporal Harper dropped the grenade down the hatch and it sped down towards the enemy. Before the grenade had even exploded the radio operator had closed the hatch.

Meanwhile David positioned himself crouched at the East side of the tower beside the southern window. He pocked the muzzzle around the corner and fired three shots of blind fire towards the enemy in the trench. He carefully got down prone and crawled to the Northern window hoping the enemy would still be watching the Southern window. He took cover beside the Northern window ready to make his move.

He was going to throw his grenade with his left hand due to his right arm being slightly wounded. It was times like this he was glad to be ambidextrous.

He extracted the pin. He then waited for precisely two seconds before leaning some of his body out of the cover and in one fluid movement his left hand shot into the air hurling the grenade in an over arm throw powerfully towards the enemy in the trench. By the time the grenade had left his hand it had been three seconds. The two grenades exploded simultaneously sounding as if only one charge had gone off.

Seconds later harper and the Radio Operator had joined David by the windows. They took cover. Suddenly and simultaneously they leaned out of the cover of the stone walls and opened fire on the men in the trench below. David was aware this could be an overkill as he had already thrown a grenade towards these exact same men but he needed them dead. David and the Radio Operator fired their pistols in well aimed double taps towards the heads and chests of their targets. While Harper fired four shots towards the enemy.

David and Harper then swung back into cover. And the Radio Operator went back to watching the trap door pistol in hand. David drew his Browning High Power and let his rifle hang on it's sling. It had done it's work. David and the Corporal only showed enough of their body to keep an eye on the enemy in the trench but would open fire if the enemy showed any signs of life. David and his companion knew all the tricks in the book when it came to feigning death and would not allow themselves to be fooled.