Here Be Sand - Battle

[♠ Aaron Mitchell]

Introductory Posts (Neutral/Hostile): Neutral
Location (Board and Sub-Board): Africa, No sub-board
Time of Day (24 Hour Clock): 0900 hrs
Current Weather Conditions: Hot, surprisingly, with no cloud cover. Gentle NE breeze.

Posting Order: Mitchell, Franz, Ealing, Strumfelder

img135.imageshack.us/img135/928/herebesandk.png

Sand. It the mind of Second Lieutenant Mitchell, it summed up the desert perfectly. The itchy yellow dust got everywhere and it annoyed everything, and he absolutely detested it. He got some satisfaction digging a burning butt of a cigarette into it, imagining the pain it would feel. There was a real evil side to the Briton.

Ever since the German positions had been spotted by an aerial reconnaissance unit, a plan to take it out had been established. If Mitchell had his way, they would’ve pounded away for a night with the heavy arty before rolling in the tanks, but instead a joint Anglo-American infantry force had been sent in.

He pulled himself out of the shade of the building and pulled himself to his feet. He wiped a bead of sweat that was already forming from his forehead, and let his Thompson dangle on its sling. He began walking forward, heaving on the cocking handle to get it ready to fire. He walked over to the Bren duo, who were wiping sand from the weapon to make sure it didn’t jam when it started. He nodded appreciatively at the guys taking the initiative. “Good job, lads,” he croaked, “Let’s get going, eh?”

He called over to Ealing, the Yank in charge of the operation as he pulled his water bottle from his belt. “We’re moving up. Follow on when you’re ready!” He took a final swig before screwing the top up and slipping it in the canvas holder. He tapped his spare magazines dangling from his webbing, before walking over to the sniper on point. “Anything?” he asked as the man below him peered down the scope.
“Quiet as a mouse, sir,” came the response as the man picked himself up, grabbing his rifle and getting ready to move. He turned to Sergeant Toye who was tapping his Sten impatiently. “Come on then!”

The lads moved towards the river, and plunged in to the mid-thigh high water, and waded across, enjoying the coolness as they came in to the grass on the other side. Mitchell threw himself down alongside the Bren and waited for a minute, looking for any movements. Nothing. He picked himself up, and began jogging across the sand. The men switched on instantly, shutting up and getting ready. They looked through buildings, and made sure it was secure before lowering themselves in to the shadows of the buildings, careful to avoid being spotted. To the south, Private Kay turned his scope towards the trench, looking through the targets in front of him, licking chapped lips with anticipation and the prospect of choice.

[Franz Walters]

Franz looked around the hot desert. He was inside a trench, surronded by friends, and somewhere out there, a bunch of Allies, ready to strike any minute.He looked around the trench.He looked down to see a small ammo crate.Franz pulled out the stock of his freshly polished Kar98,chambered a clip, and slamed the stock back into place."Is it always this hot?" Franz thought to himself.Franz saw a figure. He crouched down,and took the pair of binoculars from his neck. He viewed the figure.He tapped the shoulder of a friend.He whispered,"Go Tell Strum that we got a sniper spotted."The soldier nodded, then ran to tell Strum.Franz pulled his Kar up, and kept his knife in hand.He tapped the shoulder of the other soldier, and whispered,"Tell everyone to crouch down!"The soldier did so, and everyone took cover.By this time, the soldier had told Strum.Well, that was all Franz could do for now.

[Nicholas Ealing]

Nicholas Ealing felt almost lost in the lifeless wasteland that was the African desert. The red hot sun beat down upon him mercilessly, despite the early hours of the morning and, if anything, his men were even more disgruntled than he was.

Strictly speaking, this was a British operation, the 3ID were merely making up the rear-guard. But Nicholas was determined to lead that rear-guard. Erhard Strumfelder was rumoured to be holding the German garrison in the area the opportunity that Nicholas had dreamed about for so long - the opportunity to kill Erhard Strumfelder - had never been so close to being fulfilled.

The British commander, Mitchell, began to move forward with his men. Nicholas was happy to remain in the back seat of the operation; Mitchell was a Desert Rat, he surely knew the deserts like the back of his hand. He was a skilled soldier and a good man, a veteran of Tobruk, but when he had come face to face with the enemy in the desolate cold of Belgium, his ineptitude had cost the lives of countless men. Mitchell was a soldier of the African Desert but...Nicholas wasn't. And he felt lost. Lost in a world he had never been subject to before.

"Campbell," said the Lieutenant sharply as the British began to advance.

"Sir?"

"Get the men ready. Cross the stream...take up positions. Await for my orders, or otherwise those of Mr Mitchell's,"

"Sir," grinned Corporal Liam Campbell. Without hesitation, he span around and ordered for the 3ID squad to advance themselves.

Nicholas liked Campbell. He was intelligent, good-natured, strong and a skilled infantryman. But, then, he wasn't Norrington, who had been recently promoted to Sergeant and was currently leading a section of his own in Italy. Nevertheless, the Lieutenant was glad that he had the American Corporal at his side. He felt a lot safer because of it.

"Come on, boys!" yelled Campbell. "Let's show the redcoats what we can do, shall we? Forward march!"

The men crossed the river with little difficulty and took up positions behind a large building, protecting them somewhat from any hostile fire that may or may not be forthcoming.

Nicholas gripped his weapon with anticipation. It was the calm before the storm. The thunder and lightning was not far away...

[∬: Erhard Strumfelder]

Oh, I'm sorry we have a sniper. Mortars, on the other hand....Very...hand to hand...
- Rhys

I'm a hipocit - deal with it

- Strum



OOC: The trenches are designed like WWI era ones, with a firing step and are about seven feet deep, and about three and a half wide. The mortars are firing one round every 2.5 seconds.

img410.imageshack.us/img410/5083/herebesand1.png

A sniper? Why could these people never face true Germans in hand to hand? Were they scared that the great and athletic males of Germany would prove too much for their simple bodies, which were fed on greasy ‘fish and chips’? The Aryan race had proved they were the best in 1936, and Strumfelder planned on doing just that today. He couldn’t wait to spill Allied blood, and make the far off stream run crimson this morrow. It would glow in the sunlight and show all that facing Germans would only lead to one’s destruction.

The sniper would be an annoyance, but Strumfelder was just glad that the enemy plan was as blatant as their positions. The sniper would remove of the MG before their men would try to swarm the trenches in a human wave attack after they had picked off some men. If the fighting became fierce in the trenches, their tactical reserve which had crossed the stream moment ago would deal a heavy blow upon the supposedly weakened Axis troops. Many people were amazed at why Britain had built such a large empire. The answer was simple; they picked on men with spears and shields who could not defend themselves, and therefore their Generals required no intelligence. But Germany had built its empire out of strong military tacticians who had fought their enemies of equal and won.

Therefore, Strumfelder would show them how clever he could really be and show them just what they we going up against. He moved up to the trench wall and stood on the firing step, before using his binoculars to scan the area. In the distance he could see the Allied positions as they set themselves up. They were tucked up behind the adobe buildings. The sand had been disturbed, and the wind could not have done that when the area was so sheltered. Over to his right, he spotted a junior officer, looking at the one pip he wore. Between the buildings in the distance he saw another unit move up in a cluster. More lambs to the slaughter.

“Zeit für einige Feuerwerke, Herr. Die Minute hören Sie Gewehrfeuer, pepper Ihre Tötungzone mit einem dreißig-Sekunden-Wert des Feuers. Wenn, Sie das ' hören; verringern geöffnetes Feuer 42, Strecke auf Ziel fünf bis 10 Meter. Sie sind im geöffneten dann. Andernfalls werden sie innen durch die Gebäude gesäumt. Mörser einer, Ihre Tötungzone ist das große Gebäude zum Süden. Unterscheiden Sie sich Ihre Feuerpositionen pepper alle Seiten des Gebäudes. Mörser zwei, sollen Sie den zentralen Block von drei Gebäuden anstreben. Seien vorbereitet Sie, sie zu ebnen. Mörser drei, Ziel für die drei quadratischen Gebäude im Norden östlich des Dorfs. Sie sind Süden der zwei Nordhütten. Wir benutzen nicht Rauch noch; der Staub vom zerbröckelnden Schlamm mit Drosselklappe jene bastard heraus oder er zerreißen ihre Innere zu den Bändern.” The mortar teams quickly consulted a map, before altering the many knobs on their weapons to the smallest degree. Strumfelder then turned to the soldier which had brought him the detail of the sniper.

“Erklären Sie dem Magnesium-Artilleristen, Feuer, wenn, der feindliche Durchlauf in das offene Gebiet vor den Gebäuden nur zu öffnen. Er kann sein Feuer möglicherweise nicht gezeichnet werden lassen. Wenn er auf Probleme stößt, bitten Sie ihn, einen Läufer zum Anruf für Mörserfeuer zu schicken. Gehen Sie dann zu Ihrer vorhergehenden Position zurück.” The soldier nodded and trudged off back through the trench system. Finally, Strumfelder turned to his propaganda cameraman, who was now filming the mortar crews readying for battle. “Erhalten Sie einige Schüsse von ihnen ihre Oberteile abfeuernd und dann den Schaden, die er verursacht. Filmen Sie sich oder keine verletzten deutschen Männer. Ich bin mit verletzten oder toten Briten glücklich.” The man nodded, as Strumfelder cocked his weapon and admired the parts. He’d had it and all his equipment cleaned that morning.

Translations
“Zeit für einige Feuerwerke, Herr. Die Minute hören Sie Gewehrfeuer, pepper Ihre Tötungzone mit einem dreißig-Sekunden-Wert des Feuers. Wenn, Sie das ' hören; verringern geöffnetes Feuer 42, Strecke auf Ziel fünf bis 10 Meter. Sie sind im geöffneten dann. Andernfalls werden sie innen durch die Gebäude gesäumt. Mörser einer, Ihre Tötungzone ist das große Gebäude zum Süden. Unterscheiden Sie sich Ihre Feuerpositionen pepper alle Seiten des Gebäudes. Mörser zwei, sollen Sie den zentralen Block von drei Gebäuden anstreben. Seien vorbereitet Sie, sie zu ebnen. Mörser drei, Ziel für die drei quadratischen Gebäude im Norden östlich des Dorfs. Sie sind Süden der zwei Nordhütten. Wir benutzen nicht Rauch noch; der Staub vom zerbröckelnden Schlamm mit Drosselklappe jene bastard heraus oder er zerreißen ihre Innere zu den Bändern.”
~ Time for some fireworks, gentleman. The minute you hear gun fire, pepper your kill zone with thirty seconds worth of fire. Should you hear the '42 open fire, reduce range to target by five to ten meters. They will be in the open then. Otherwise, they are hemmed in by the buildings. Mortar one, your kill zone is the large building to the south. Vary your fire locations to pepper all sides of the building. Mortar two, you are to aim for the central cluster of three buildings. Be prepared to level them. Mortar three, aim for the three square buildings in the north east of the village. They are south of the two northern huts.
We will not use smoke yet; the dust from the crumbling mud with choke those bastards out, or it will rip their insides to ribbons.

“Erklären Sie dem Magnesium-Artilleristen, Feuer, wenn, der feindliche Durchlauf in das offene Gebiet vor den Gebäuden nur zu öffnen. Er kann sein Feuer möglicherweise nicht gezeichnet werden lassen. Wenn er auf Probleme stößt, bitten Sie ihn, einen Läufer zum Anruf für Mörserfeuer zu schicken. Gehen Sie dann zu Ihrer vorhergehenden Position zurück.”
~ Tell the MG Gunner to only open fire, if, the enemy pass into the open area in front of the buildings. He may not let his fire be drawn. If he is encountering problems, tell him to send a runner to call for mortar fire. Then return to your previous position.

“Erhalten Sie einige Schüsse von ihnen ihre Oberteile abfeuernd und dann den Schaden, die er verursacht. Filmen Sie sich oder keine verletzten deutschen Männer. Ich bin mit verletzten oder toten Briten glücklich.”
~ Get some shots of them firing their shells, and then the damage it is causing. Do not film myself or any wounded German men. I am happy with wounded or dead Britons.

[♠ Aaron Mitchell]

The Brit shielded his eyes with one hand as he leant around the corner, his right hand still on the pistol grip of his Thompson, and his arm clamping it to his side so if he needed to fire quickly, he’d be able to get some rounds down. He swore as he took everything in quickly. Mortars, men, machine guns. Not good, not good at all.

He came back around the corner, thinking fast. The sunlight glinting off of a pair of binoculars confirmed in his mind that the enemy had seen him, and if he had seen them, then almost certainly he would be bringing some pain. Mitchell stuck and arm out along the building, and made a quick signal for a fall back. Hopefully the enemy thought that they were still behind the building when it happened.

Mitchell moved backwards as fast as he could while facing the trench. He needed to make sure that the buildings remained between him and the enemy so they didn’t catch on. As he passed Ealing’s men, he passed on the signal, hoping they would catch on. He kept on moving, sliding around buildings along with all of his other men. Every single person had weapons up to bear in case they needed to shoot, and was listening intently for that tell-tale “whuf” of a mortar being fired. Just the tiniest hint of that, and they’d go sprinting away from the killing zone. After an agonising minute, he was behind the village and he crouched down. He felt the ground to check it wasn’t too hot before lying prone, weapon ready to fire. To his right, the Bren was settled down, and everybody lay down, absolute silence. Mitchell turned his neck, and the click it produced seemed deafening in the surroundings. He licked his dry lips and reached inside his uniform, pulling out a large rag and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. He placed the tinted lenses in front of his eyes and wrapped the rag around his face, a Shamagh he had picked up off of a local to keep the dust etc away from his mouth and nose. He saw other fixing sunglasses, which would protect them from the sun and the dirt from the buildings if they exploded.

Sniper Kay was the only guy to remain behind, fixing his sights on the head of the guy in the rear trench with a rather nasty looking Assault Rifle. He seemed to be the commander, so hopefully if he went down, so would all of them. It was the theory at least.. He took a breath in to steady himself and made sure the cross-hairs of the sight were firmly between the eyes of the target. A textbook kill. He took a final glance before squeezing the trigger. In a flash, the bolt was worked, and he took aim again. This time it was at the head of the guy at the Machine gun. He lined up the sights quickly before shooting.

Not waiting a second longer, he pushed himself up, turned and sprinted through the sands, zipping between the buildings back to where he knew the others would be. If they were retreating, there was obviously a reason.

OOC: So, basically, everybody quietly retreats backwards through the village, signalling Ealing to move. I didn’t move him on the map, so it’s up to you, JT whether or not they move. They probably would, though. And then I fired two shots, first at Strum, then the MGer.

img21.imageshack.us/img21/2228/fireepg.jpg
img23.imageshack.us/img23/6397/map3cau.jpg

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- First successful action was the placement of mines.

- Second successful action, Mitchell pulled back.

- Third successful action, his men followed suit.

- Fourth successful action, mines detonated as engineered.

- Fifth successful action, combat has begun.

- During the pull back, one of the Allied Privates tripped a land mine, his buddy was just ahead of him, his buddy was wounded...he was obliterated.

- The wounded man, screaming bloody freakin murder drew a fellow Private's attention who went to aid his fallen comrade, great move...in theory.

- The movement back to help triggered a second mine, killing the nice guy and the wounded man.

- The two structures have been badly damaged as they are made from dried mud, the most damaged one could collapse at any moment, the other will have to get beat up a bit more before it gives way.

- The sniper still fired as intended...kinda...the sandbags gave him no shot on the commander to the rear, in fact he never saw him, he only fired once, that being at the MG gunner.

- The pair mines having rattled the Allies had him trembling a bit, none the less his shot was able to pass through the hole in the small fortification.

- Not an instant kill, but he hit the gunner in the throat, his buddy jumped to his aid immediately, forfeiting any MG retaliation.

- The Axis mortars, although having been instructed to fire when the battle began, with only one shot fired they snapped to action...only to wonder what really happened as only a single shot was fired having known the explosions were mines.

- They are, at the moment, looking for guidance.

- The Allies are shaken and have taken a big blow losing three men in what was supposed to be a quiet maneuver.

- Dealing a blow themselves though, the Axis Gunner, if not tended too by a medical professional, will indeed bleed out VERY soon, and the chance of survival if tended too is slim to none to put it nicely.





Next Post: Walters

-JT

[Franz Walters]

(OOC: Sorry I've been gone so long.Strum has let me order his mortars, so they will fire in this post.)


Franz looked over to see the MGer shot, and bleeding on the ground.Franz grabbed him and pulled him away from the MG42.
Franz then sat down behind it and looked around, thinking about the situation.With his binoculars, he noticed that the Americans were in forward position, and the Brits in the back. Franz fired at the triangle of troops near the mud hut, trying to get as many as possible.He was only fireing in short bursts,two seconds. Franz looked down the sights. After fireing all shots, he replaced the belt.The whole time, he only shot two seconds, before giving the weapon a break, then fireing another two shots. He was also very careful not to heat the MG up to much. Franz then motioned the soldier outside the MG nest to pick up the injured gunner and take him to Strumfelder. "Wait! Tell the Mortars to fire at the British! NOW! Tell them to be precise about their location."After those orders were giving, He told the soldier to come back.
Franz watched as mortar explosions as they tear chunks out of the allies. He noticed one soldier running out screaming, also ignit on fire. He saw bodys fly into the air. He then remembered about the sniper. He huddled under the MG, being very cautious.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- Walters manned the MG.

- Walters fired the MG.

- The injured soldier was VERY SLOWLY hauled to the rear, dying seconds after arrival.

- The soldier that moved him told the Mortar teams to fire at the British troops, when asked "Where are they?" the messenger only shrugged and ran back to the front line.

- Walters shots caused a scare, but only the very first burst could have been effective as the targets can move, and move they did.





Next Post: Ealing

-JT

[Nicholas Ealing]

OOC: I have taken control of Nathan's men. I wasn't sure if I had permission; if not, I apologize.

If the attack failed (i.e, the Allies are easily overwhelmed by the Axis or the forces are extremely depleted), all Allies will have retreated to the Westernmost side of the village.

Nicholas watched with a grim fascination as the mines detonated. They had been well-buried, impossible to spot - and the British were paying the price. A handful were ripped to shreds, tossed to the ground like rag-dolls. It was easy to point the finger on the battlefield but Nicholas did blame Mitchell. He should have checked. He should have...done something...The Lieutenant ignored the fact that he would probably have fallen into the same trap; he was taking command of the situation.

The enemy began a wave of useless retalliatory fire and Nicholas took the opportunity to jog over to where the British stood, shaken from their humiliating retreat.

"Listen up," he said, addressing the British corporal. "We're going to do this, OK? We're going to take the bastards down, do you understand me? But we're going to need your help," he glanced over his shoulder at his restless squad. He would have to hurry. "Move your men forwards to the North-East. Open fire on the enemy. You may suffer heavy casualties but it has to be done. The enemy will be diverted...I shall lead my squad forward to the South-West and attack them myself. On two fronts, they will be unable to defend themselves. When the enemy sustain sufficient casualties, we move in to the trench. Understand?"

The corporal nodded grimly. "Good luck," said the Lieutenant, clapping him on the back. He nodded to the sniper. "You're coming with us," he said simply.

The two hurried back to where the American squad stood and took up positions, making sure that each man had a line of fire. They stayed where they were for now; they would move forwards as soon as the British began firing. Nicholas hoped that they would serve as a distraction, enough for the Americans to move in as close as possible without recieving...unwanted attention, so to speak.

He heard the first sounds of gunfire. Naturally, the British Bren Gunner would be the deadliest soldier on the battlefield, at least as far as the enemy were concerned. The Lieutenant counted to three before signalling for his men to follow him. They moved forwards, through the buildings seemingly on the verge of collapse, until they reached the opening. The British had been firing for a few seconds by this point; Nicholas hoped that they had been able to lost that long.

"Open fire!" roared the Lieutenant. As the words left his lips, he squeezed the trigger on his beloved Bren Gun. His trigger finger stayed squeezed. His men too joined in the firing, aiming particularly for the enemy MG gunners. Soon the air was thick with bullets, British, American and presumably German. The sniper kept back behind the main force, and sent a number of deadly accurate shots towards the MG gunner and his accomplices.

The shots came thick and fast but eventually came to an end. Nicholas had counted maybe five or six actual soldiers in the trench; the rest were cadets. One squad of men would be unable to defend from a two-pronged attack from an enemy over twice their size, particularly following a hopefully succesful diversion.

Nicholas signalled for the British to move in and, once again, gestured for his squad to follow him. He handed his pistol to Corporal Campbell; half of the men retained their rifles, the others fixed bayonets.

The men moved forward at a steady pace, sending shots flying over the trench to keep the cadets and any surviving soldiers down. Killing cadets and the like did not bide well for Nicholas but capturing them was another prospect entirely. The men with fixed bayonets made up the front line while the others fired heavily from behind, pinning them down and showing them that they meant business. The British moved from the North, having adopted the same tactic. There was no way out for the Germans.

The men entered the trench cautiously. Any survivors were stabbed to death by the bayonetters; Nicholas felt no guilt at killing the wounded but there was no place for conscience on the battlefield. A German NCO (Walters) was held at gunpoint by three men while the rest moved forwards into the main area of the trench. They trained their weapons on the cadets, medic and mortar crew.

If any of them made any moves, they would be shot. And they would be killed. Nicholas doubted any of them would be stupid enough to try anything; two and a half squads of angry Allied soldiers pointing weapons at your face served as a fairly useful deterrent...

First Move

The British move forward and open fire.

Second Move

The Americans join in the onslaught seconds later. Countless shots are fired; the Germans are almost certainly overwhelmed by manpower alone.

Clean Map

The British and Americans move in to the trench. They take the enemy captive. (Purple doesn't show up on brown so the privates are coloured black in this map)

[Nathan Whyte]

Through the wonders of Imageshack:

img369.imageshack.us/img369/3770/sandmapfirstmove.jpg
img369.imageshack.us/img369/9780/sandmapattack.jpg

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- The Brits advances shortly before the American's did as planned.

- Showing up first and alone they came under heavy fire, but were confident in the fact that the American's showing up on their flank would create a beautiful maneuver.

- One PVT caught a round form a German PVT in the upper thigh, dropping him to the ground, wounded but not out.

- Strum, seeing the advance ordered his cadets to fire due west and bring it in close, almost as close as they possibly could.

- The American's advance was delayed due to yet another mine, this one claimed the lives of two PVTs at the front of the movement.

- This kept the Brits out in the line of fire longer than expected, the CPL was cut down by MG fire and yet another PVT wounded, upper torso, put him on his back.

- Ealing hearing the mortars thump to life as he arrived with the Americans and seeing the Brits to his left starting to falter ordered the men back to whence they came, knowing that there couldn't be any mines in the footsteps they had already created.

- The Americans never really got to many rounds off, the rounds the Brits fired were only able to keep them from suffering heavier losses from enemy fire.

- The Americans did lose a PVT once arriving, the Brits having slackened their fire, chalk another one up to MG fire.

- The mortars came in to finish off the two wounded men, but were unable to catch the tail of the Brits falling back.

- The current Axis MG Gunner, Walters, took a pair of rounds in the exchange, his location having been the focal point of the Allied attack. One passed straight through his left arm, not a big deal at all, the second hit in almost the same spot, smashing through his shoulder blade and missing his spine by an inch.

- Walters has scurried to the rear for aid from his superior ordering another PVT to man the MG.

img27.imageshack.us/img27/4096/herebesand2.png


Next Post: Strum

-JT

[∬: Erhard Strumfelder]

In the distance, the Allied soldiers scampered back to their positions, their attack a complete failure against the glorious German defenders. The mortars had finished firing just a moment ago, Strumfelder pleased with the men who had manned it. The Wehrmacht man clambered up the service trench towards Strumfelder, who saw that his left arm had turned into a bloody mass of steak. Sighing, he dropped his binoculars and grabbed his medical bag. “Einfluss noch.” he ordered, and took hold of the sleeve and the shoulder of the mans tunic. With a hard tug, they came a way at the seam and Strumfelder carefully removed the sleeve, revealing the bloody arm. He removed two morphine syrettes, broke their seals and roughly jabbed them into the wound to give extreme pain relief. He then used a field dressing and wrapped them around the bloody area. That was one problem solved. He noticed the camera man had filmed him all the time. Strumfelder didn’t mind anymore. His job was to finish these Allied dogs.

Strumfelder reached down into the trench and picked up his map case and ruler. “Lassen Sie uns dieses Recht tun.” he muttered to himself. Stepping onto the fire step of the trench, he used his binoculars to observe the Allied positions. He couldn’t spot them, but knew the direction they had run, partly by the disturbed sand. They hadn’t retreated back into the desert, he clearly would have been able to spot them. So they must be taking cover on the west side of the village.

Strumfelder lined up his ruler and took a pinpoint measurement. He couldn’t afford any inaccuracies now. Fifty metres. Using a scarlet pen he drew on the lines and circled the targets. He then placed it at the feat of the mortar teams. “Mannschaft eine, Feuer auf dem enemy' s-linke Flanke. Konzentrieren Sie sich auf diese zwei Kreishütten und dieses quadratische. Abstand ist fünfzig Meter genau. Mannschaft zwei, konzentrieren sich Sie auf die feindliche Mitte. Konzentrieren Sie sich auf die Rückseite des südlichen rechteckigen Gebäudes. Abstand ist zweiundfünfzig Meter. Mannschaft drei, sind Sie das enemy' s-Recht. Sie sind auch fünfzig Meter entfernt.”

The mortar teams very quickly adjusted their weapons. “Feuer für neunzig Sekunden. Ihre dritten Umläufe sind, der hochexplosive Rest zu sein Rauch. Jene verbündeten Schweine sind gerade in diese Hitze gelaufen. Sie sind und aus Atem heraus müde, also lassen uns sie erdrosseln und blind machen. Für Nazideutschland!” Strumfelder covered his ears as the round were dropped down the tubes. This was going to be ninety seconds of bliss for the camera man. He filmed the mortar teams at work for roughly twenty seconds, and then the smoke and dust whipped up by the fire. He stood on the firing step to get a better look, and got a few shots of the Allied bodies lying in the dirt.

Strumfelder rushed up to the firing step as well, and addressed all the men around him, including in the front trench. “ Dieses ist Kameraden, unser Sieg! Unser Tag des Triumphes. Preisen Sie das Führer! Seig Heil! Seig Heil! Seig Heil!!!” The SS men began cheering and waving their weapons in the air. Strumfelder stepped back down weary of the sniper. But the men continued to cheer as the mortars finished this battle.

OOC: Mortars are firing at a rate of 24RPM. So that’s 108 rounds on the enemy including three smoke which were fired within the first ten seconds.

Translations
“Einfluss noch.”
~ Hold still

“Lassen Sie uns dieses Recht tun.”
~ Let us do this right.

“Mannschaft eine, Feuer auf dem enemy' s-linke Flanke. Konzentrieren Sie sich auf diese zwei Kreishütten und dieses quadratische. Abstand ist fünfzig Meter genau. Mannschaft zwei, konzentrieren sich Sie auf die feindliche Mitte. Konzentrieren Sie sich auf die Rückseite des südlichen rechteckigen Gebäudes. Abstand ist zweiundfünfzig Meter. Mannschaft drei, sind Sie das enemy' s-Recht. Sie sind auch fünfzig Meter entfernt.”
~ Team one, fire on the enemy's left flank. Concentrate on these two circular huts and this square one. Distance is fifty metres exactly. Team two, you will focus on the enemy centre. Focus on the rear of the southern rectangular building. Distance is fifty two metres. Team three, you are the enemy's right. They are also fifty metres away.

“Feuer für neunzig Sekunden. Ihre dritten Umläufe sind, der hochexplosive Rest zu sein Rauch. Jene verbündeten Schweine sind gerade in diese Hitze gelaufen. Sie sind und aus Atem heraus müde, also lassen uns sie erdrosseln und blind machen. Für Nazideutschland!”[/b
~ Fire for ninety seconds. Your third rounds are to be smoke, the rest high explosive. Those Allied pigs have just been running in this heat. They will be tired and out of breath, so let us choke and blind them. For Nazi Germany!

“ Dieses ist Kameraden, unser Sieg! Unser Tag des Triumphes. Preisen Sie das Führer! Seig Heil! Seig Heil! Seig Heil!!!”
~ This comrades, is our victory! Our day of triumph. Praise the Führer! Seig Heil! Seig Heil! Seig Heil!!!

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- Strum, being the experienced medical professional that he is was able to patch the wound in his comrade’s shoulder with ease.

- Strum, again experienced with mortars, slipped up on this one. Asking his mortar teams to fire at the minimum range they possibly could they followed orders.

- The mortars sailed through the air in vast numbers, landing almost exactly where the previous rounds did, about half the distance to their intended target (Strum, your cadets have already fired at the enemy at a closer range than you showed on your map, with the distance you specified they would come up way short as the minimum range is 50 meters and you can’t fire twice as far and call that the minimum)

- The Allies jumped to there feet hearing the thumping of enemy mortar fire and the whistling of inbound shells.

- They scampered off to the tree line in time as the German’s readjusted to fire properly.

- The three smaller buildings in the cluster toward the Eastern side were completely obliterated, the two longer structures were badly damaged on the eastern side. The Allies are a bit winded but not badly and are taking up positions in the trees to the south. ALL OF THEM.

Next Post: Mitchell

-JT

[♠ Aaron Mitchell]

OOC: Strum, get your knickers out of a twist!

The mortar fire made everybody spring to life, starting a mad dash south towards the river. It took all of thirty seconds and all of the men were panting as they arrived. ”Thirty seconds, guys! Drinks then we need to start moving again,” was the call Mitchell made, slinging his Thompson and taking a deep drink, wiping his mouth afterwards with the back of his hand. He looked around, trying to formulate a plan. There were three options: firstly, retreat. Not bloody likely! Secondly was waiting, but that wouldn’t help. The enemy would probably cover the area in mortars which would not work. So they’d need to do option three – assault!

”We need to split up. Together there mortars can take us down, apart we can take them out. Sniper! Move over there, I want you to take out the fire commander or the mortar crews. If you can’t get a shot in try and clear the trench, but keep an eye open. If somebody looks, drop him, if there’s a runner, drop him, if they use a periscope or any shit take it out. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re the least of there worries.” Private Kay just nodded and began moving along the grassy bank of the river. ”Lance-Corporal, I want you to be halfway between Kay and the Yanks. Put suppression on to the trench, try and keep those mortars pinned. Americans, I want the same from you guys but focus more on the trench. Make them think you’re going to make an assault, in fact, if you see an opportunity, make an assault!. Everybody else, on me. We’re taking that trench in a proper, pukka British way!” He thought for a second, before unclipping a smoke grenade and passing it to the L-C. ”Use this to make them think twice. Just don’t screw your shots up, or Kay’s.”

The lads gave a smile as they turned and followed Mitchell who began jogging along behind Mitchell who began briefing instantly. ”We’ll move in two lines. I want two meters at least between any two people – we don’t know how many mines they might still have buried so be wary. We’ll use their smoke to hide in before we move. Once we get in that trench, kill everybody and start moving on the mortar pit. If we start going down, hit the ground put fire on but watch out for mortars. If they start going off, pray and run.” Simple enough plan, but that meant there was less to screw up. Simple.

***

The American contingency began moving towards the town and went in to positions of prone as they ninety seconds of mortar fire drew to an end. They all took aim at various targets and fingered en bloc magazines. Some would go for the trench; others would aim for the gap in the MG nest whilst some would aim over the mortar pit. Once all the British had started to move, the Americans began firing, mixing accuracy with volume for maximum effect.

***

The Lance-Corporal charged in to the hall, and made a snap decision. The Americans were attempting to draw fire, and he had an angle in to the mortar pit. He held the weapon solidly and fired from standing up in to the pit, spraying side to side to maximise damage. He dropped to one knee and placed the bipod on the window frame. He pulled Mitchell’s smoke grenade up, removed the pin and in an over arm toss threw it in front of the trench. He turned to the next target and let out another burst. He’d be doing that a lot, all the time taking cheeky glances at the mortars. He started picking out targets, letting out short, sharp, accurate bursts of fire towards them. He was always ready to run; there was no shame in saving your ass.

***

Kay threw himself in to the sand, bringing his rifle up to his cheek and peering down the scope. He could the MFC, and had a bead on the bugger. He wasted no time in lining the shot and squeezing the trigger, working the bolt before moving on to another target. He had to put on quick and accurate fire and give the guys as much time as possible. He knew the stress you got if you were surrounded and being fired on – he just hoped not too much fire came upon him.

***

As the British contingent reached the growing smoke of the mortars, bayonets were checked in the fixed position, and Mitchell raised a hand to indicate silence. They quickly moved ahead, the cacophony of fire south of them providing a rather dramatic soundtrack. The Lieutenant pushed his sunglasses up his nose slightly and just stood there, nursing his Thompson. A large rip of fire came from the Bren, and he decided to take it as time to go.

He signalled an advance, and everybody began moving quickly, being careful to retain their footing. They formed the two loose lines as they came out of the smoke, and they turned in to a silent sprint. Mitchell and Sgt Toye raised their sub-machine guns slightly, ready to fire down at the enemy trench if they were spotted. Hopefully they wouldn’t be, as there was certainly enough happening to the south. As they began moving, one smart American gave a loud cheer, followed by others trying to trick the enemy in to thinking the advance would come from down there.

Mitchell just upped his pace, and the pounding of feet behind him quickened as well as they made the trench. He skidded to a halt near the top of it, and squeezed the trigger, letting out a burst with his “trench-broom”, and the Sergeant joined him quickly, letting fire with his Sten. The Privates jumped in, crouching with the landing, and beginning an advance through the trench. Mitchell jumped in, and shouted to the Sergeant. ”Jump across, make sure those mortars are down!”

Without hesitation, Sergeant Toye leapt on to the other side of the trench and took a few strides to the pit and opened up in to the mortar pit, making sure there was no life before jumping in to it, and aiming down the passageway to the front trench. He heard firing as Mitchell and co did their sweep, and he shouted out to all ”move! Get in here!” They just had to make sure it was clear.

OOC: I took the liberty of positioning my men at the river, JT and when I assumed I could see Strum with my sniper, it was based on his earlier activity of constantly looking over the trench to direct his mortars.

Oh, and would you mind removing my NPC icons if it isn’t too much trouble, JT?

img41.imageshack.us/img41/1298/herebesandmp.png
img20.imageshack.us/img20/4096/herebesand2.png
img132.imageshack.us/img132/9109/herebesand3.png

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

First rule of fighting in a mined location, don't be there, second rule, never make a new path

The following actions have been made:

- First off this is going to be short and sweet, there was a lot in your post, but this will be short.

- Hmmm...yeah...it fits...EPIC Fail!

- I'll just go down the list.

- To say your troops are in poor shape morale wise would be an understatement.

- Bren gunner, blown to pieces, bounced off the ceiling, any inch of life he had left was stolen by the falling debris and the intense pressure from an indoor explosion, he's dead...all over the place.

- The sniper, not only did he burn his arms a bit laying down in the desert but he also decided screw it, there were few men left, the LMG was just toasted and even though he was thankful you let him drink earlier (like he wasn't gonna already) he was tired, demoralized and ticked that you insist on killing your men for nothing more than sheer pride, he did however, just to vent, take a shot at the edge of the tree line, you should piss this guy off more, scored a head-shot, one German down.

- Then there came Mitchell and his oh so small band of mis-fortunates, although they tried to progress a bit, the lack of covering fire, smoke, and distraction kept them at bay, Mitchell was smart enough to know that this was a failed attempt at glory and didn't commence to go on a suicide charge.

- Ealing and his men, having been shook up from the mine the gunner tripped over, and seeing the sniper pull back, took a few shots but realized that without fire from the south or smoke that this move wasn't going to happen, then the mortars kicked off yet again, Ealing pulled his men back, they were a bit winded, not badly, but thirsty and depressed.

- No further kills from mortars as they never saw Mitchell, but fired toward Ealing, this time they were smart enough to move their fire, Ealing was smart enough to keep moving back.

img42.imageshack.us/img42/9109/herebesand3.png


- Just noticed I didn't mark the dead German soldier, or if I did I forgot to change the color, it's the southern most one, just to the left of the PVT manning the MG.

Next post: Ealing

-JT

P.S. In case you haven't noticed, it's not gonna be my job to tell you when to pull back unless a member death is close at hand, they are your men, you lead them.