Bridge on the River Merderet

[∬: Erik Schneider]

Location: Small Town on the French Merderet River
Introductory Posts: Hostile
Time of Day: 1100 hrs
Current Weather Conditions: Overcast, moderate breeze

Posting Order: Schneider, Strange, Luther, Pearson

img257.imageshack.us/img257/7447/merderetmap00.png

www.youtube.com/watch?v=besp9YFgQl4

Put in command of a small platoon of men, Schneider was given a small French town as an objective. He was expected to take the key town on the Merderet river and hold until relieved. This would give the Germans the ability to manuever tanks across the river in a much larger plan to push the combined American and British forces out of France just as quickly as they came. With only one halftrack, Schneider had volunteered to lead the dreadfully slow march next to the the armored vehicle with the remainder of the men. The normally fast armored transport vehicle had slowed itself to the average pace of an Aryan. Normally, it would have to halt to the pace of a human, but the Aryan race the the elite Waffen SS troops were above such mangy vermin. With his Stg44 wrapped around his right shoulder, the young Oberstumfuhrer lead the march from the left column of men.

The town was only a quick trek away from the German lines and with such a short distance, one would expect it to still be firm in German hands. The Wehrmacht men stationed in the town had regretfully retreated when an Airborne platoon assaulted, but it was now believed to be held by neither German, American, or British hands. A humorous marching song, Erika, was started up to mock fun at the similarity between their Obersturmfuhrer's name and some lover's girl. A popular marching song in the Waffen SS, Schneider himself enjoyed singing along to the tune. Up until he found out the simple connection between his name and hers, the letter A. He still allowed the men to sing it as a morale boost, but generally stayed out of the song. On rare occasions, he obliged and sung along. Cocking his head backwards to glance at the soldier who started the song, he opened his mouth and began to sing along.

"Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein
Und das heißt: Erika.
Heiß von hunderttausend kleinen Bienelein
Wird umschwärmt Erika.
Denn ihr Herz ist voller Süßigkeit,
Zarter Duft entströmt dem Blütenkleid
Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein
Und das heißt: Erika. "

"In der Heimat wohnt ein kleines Mägdelein
Und das heißt: Erika.
Dieses Mädel ist mein treues Schätzelein
Und mein Glück, Erika.
Wenn das Heidekraut rot-lila blüht,
Singe ich zum Gruß ihr dieses Lied.
Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein
Und das heißt: Erika. "

"In mein'm Kämmerlein blüht auch ein Blümelein
Und das heißt: Erika.
Schon beim Morgengrau'n sowie beim Dämmerschein
Schaut's mich an, Erika.
Und dann ist es mir, als spräch' es laut:
Denkst du auch an deine kleine Braut?
In der Heimat weint um dich ein Mägdelein
Und das heißt: Erika."

Later...

Intently, the SS Oberstumfuhrer studied the map of the area laid out before him. For the moment, he took refuge in the second floor of the building watching over the bridge. The men had donned it "The Bridge House" for quick reference. With a pencil gripped tightly in his right hand, he was finishing the tedious task of marking the positions of his men down on the map and jotting notes. To his left, Groger was up against the wall nearest to a window, not risking peeking out. In the next room over, Reichmann had taken up position behind a turned over table and was cautiously watching the windows of the building across the street. The platoon had briefly taken up defensive positions in the town. Down towards the South, some men had spotted enemy movement across the bridges and informed the Obersturmfuhrer. Either the men positioned there hadn't been spotted or the enemy didn't want to shoot in risk of exposing their positions either.

Folding the map up and jamming it into the breast pocket on his tunic, he scooted the table in and maneuvered his way to the staircase while staying away from the bridge. With the possibility of Americans or British across the bridge, but not yet showing themselves, the men had become cautious of getting shot from some hidden position. Be it a sniper or just a damned fine rifleman. For the most part, they were ready to fight if need be. With Reichmann serving as their new "marksman", he was the eyes of the bridge. Carrying his Stg44 by his side, he made his way down the stairs to find Jager leaning up against the first few steps. He had dispatched the man as a runner earlier to communicate to their HQ that they were taken up positions in only half of the town and that they believed there to be an enemy platoon at the most across the river. The next room in, Holtzmann was sitting on a chair by the door. Setting himself down on some boxes out of view from the windows, tightened his grip on the black metal of the Stg44. They would soon find out who would be the first to go on the offensive. Content with the fact that his men would emerge victorious from the battle, Schneider waited to get a proper analysis on the enemy before making any kind of commands.

Translations:

- "On the heath there grows a little flower
And it's name is Erika
A hundred thousand little bees
Swarm around Erika
Because her heart is full of sweetness,
Her flowery dress gives off a tender scent
On the heath there grows a little flower
And it's name is Erika"

- "Back home lives a young girl
And her name is Erika
This girl is my true little darling
And my happiness, Erika
When the flower on the heath blooms lilac red,
I sing her this song in greeting.
On the heath there grows a little flower
And it's name is Erika"

- "Another little flower blooms in my small room
And it's name is Erika
In the first rays of the morning and in the twilight
It looks at me, Erika
And it seems to me it speaks aloud:
Are you still thinking of your little bride?
Back home a young girl weeps for you
And her name is Erika"

[Jonathan Strange]

OOC: This is a long complicated one. Most of this action takes place before my units and I actually enter the battlefield. Just in case it isn't clear: The last four paragraphs are all happening at the same time. I've also based the status of Luther's men off of how Schneider's are behaving.
The Approach
Occupation
Maps have been corrected.

During basic training, Strange had been told that the most dangerous thing in the world was a newly commissioned Lieutenant with a map. He wondered what would be said of a passed-over Lieutenant with an aerial photograph. Strange chuckled to himself, the sound drowned out by the rumble of the half-track.

In the photograph, taken about a week before, lay a small picturesque French town with a river dividing the town in two neat halves. A large stone bridge crossed the river directly between the two halves with a newer, smaller, wooden one to the north. Further to the south were two temporary bridges built by the Germans back in 1940. Strange studied the bridges for a moment. He'd been told that they'd been holding up just fine and they looked pretty sturdy. The course of the river shifted a little just before the bridges turning the eastern side into a kind of salient with the bridges providing an entrance to flank anyone holding down the main bridge.

Also marked on the photograph was a small house just a little north-west of the German bridges. In the house was Corporal Owen Pearson and his scouting party. They'd been sent ahead the a few days before watching for any attempted counter-attacks from across the river. No information had been sent back and it was assumed that no attack was coming, hence Strange's advance to the town. His own orders were to advance and seize the town and prepare to repel an attack. If the Krauts beat him to it, if able, he was to liberate the town and wait for reinforcements.

A rather large bump in the road sent the half-track a few inches into the air, sending the compass Strange had laying on the photograph flying through the air smashing against the floor. Strange just sighed and took a look behind him surveying the troops. Strange himself was sitting in the next the driver in the cabin, everyone else was in the main compartment. Corporals Amore and Howard were sitting closest to him and sergeant Wilkerson was at rear by the door. Between them were the bulk of his force 10 young American men clutching their rifles. Young... that amused Strange. Some of these “young” men were older than himself. Sergeant Wilkerson had two years on the young Lieutenant at 27 to Strange's 25.

Strange brought his eyes back the road ahead of them. The town was just now coming into view to the north, the bell tower a clear landmark denoting the eastern half of the town. Strange's gaze fell to ground level and something caught his eye, something out of place, what looked like a structure in the middle of the road that wasn't in the photograph. Strange reached out and grabbed the driver's arm to get his attention over the noise of the engine

“Hold up, Teauge. Pull off here” Strange pointed to a small clearing between some trees off the side of the road. Teauge obediently pulled off the road settling the vehicle so that the .30 cal had a decent line of sight through some of the trees. Strange turned to the main cabin and called out, “Wilkerson! Meet me up front!” Then stepped out and moved forward to the tree line facing the town.

“Yes, sir?” said Wilkerson as he plopped down next to the Lieutenant.

“Do you see that thing in the road on the right side of the river?” There was a moment of silence as Wilkerson strained his eyes.

“They gray lump?”

“Yeah, that's the one”

“Looks like a tank or something, sir. Maybe smaller... half-track or scout car maybe.”

“Damn... I was hoping that I was just being paranoid. Fuckers beat us here.” Strange took produced the photograph again laying it out in front of the two. “Alright... here's that armour...” Strange pointed to the spot where it appeared to be and took a second to think. “What do you think the odds are that they've wired up the main bridge, Sergeant?”

“Pretty damn high, sir. Good chance they've wired up the little ones, too. And I know I'd at least have a machine-gun watching these ones” Wilkerson pointed to the twin German assault bridges.

“Hmm, I've got a smoke grenade back in the Agincourt. Should be enough to get us across.” Strange began to formulate the plan, tracing the routes in the photograph, “We need to get a man up to scout team to let them know we're here. That Italian... Velutus, he's a smart guy. We'll send him up in a minute... tell him to get their sniper to cover us and pick off any machine gunners that might hiding on the other side.”

“Sounds good to me, boss.”

“Right, now our actual assault. The half-track is going to drive right up to those assault bridges, from there -You've got a good arm, right?- You throw that smoke grenade to the other side, here.” Wilkerson nodded, “Hopefully that'll keep us outta any machine gunner's sights... at least long enough to cross the bridge. Savage on the .30 cal can cover us as well, have him put some pressure on that enemy half-track maybe they'll even pull back. I want you and Howard to take a few men and secure this forward building, here” Strange pointed to the building directly south-east of the half-track, “Clear it out, and hold on to it. I'm going to take Amore and the rest of the men to clear out this building just south of yours. When I've cleared it out I'll join you. This'll give us a good clear foothold on their side. Got it?”

Wilkerson looked over the photograph one more time planning out his own placements before responding with a “yes, sir.” With that, the two moved back to the half-track and explained the plan to the rest of the men. Private Velutus exited the half-track and started to make his way up the road into town while the rest stayed back giving him time to make contact with the scouting party.

***

Private Velutus was a bit out of breathe by the time he'd reached the building housing the scouting party. He'd taken a long route going around to enter the town directly from the west as to avoid being spotted by sentries across the river. He now stood at the middle-northern entrance to the four-story apartment building in which the scounting party was suppose to be.

Velutus carefully opened the door, rifle raised and ready, and peered in. No one was there, but he wasn't going to take chances. The private continued into the building, creeping along trying his hardest not to cause the wooden floors to creek too much. As he approached what seemed to be the door to the main hall way he stopped, pushed open the door and spoke in a strong but not too loud voice, “Thunder!” A moment of silence passed that seemed like an eternity, fearing the worst. But soon a soft “Flash!” waifed through the dusty air, and Velutus sighed in relief while he proceeded up the hallway careful of staying far enough away from the windows.

“I'm looking for the your commander, I've got orders from Lt. Strange of Baker Co.” whispered Velutus as he rounded the corner spotting two more Americans huddled in the corners of a small room next to a staircase.

“That'd be Corporal Pearson. He's up on the fourth floor. Keep your head down, the krauts have moved into the other side of town.” replied the more haggard-looking of the two. Velutus nodded and continued up the staircases stay low and away from the windows yet again, before finally reaching the top floor where Corporal Pearson and his spotter, Havisham, waited quietly watching the Germans below.

“Sir, Lt. Strange of Baker company is going to be making an attack across the southern bridges any time now. He wanted you to cover his advance. Also, he said that I'm now under your command for the time being.” sputtered the winded private.

“We know, looks like he's just reaching the bridges now,” The spotter spoke without turning to the private, his eyes scoping out through his binoculars the Lieutenant and his men down below through. The Corporal responded, informing Velutus of where he was to be positioned and then when about his deadly art.

***

The half-track grumbled up to the bridges without much opposition. They must be afraid of snipers, thought Strange. Snipers were the least of their problems now. Strange turned back to the main cabin and gave the order to fix bayonets, no one was under the illusion that they wouldn't be needed as each man unsheathed his blade and clicked it into place.

“Everyone out! Keep you eyes open, Savage, and keep your head down until the smoke deploys. I'm counting on you and don't want you picked off before I need you.” Strange gave Savage a solid slap on the shoulder as Strange wormed his way past into the main cabin following his men out of the back door. Once outside, everyone immediately huddled behind the metal beast with adrenaline now coursing through their veins with the threat of death just on the other side. “Sergeant, if you would please get us started” Strange and Wilkerson shared an absurd smile has the latter produced the smoke grenade. “God help us if you miss.”

Wilkerson took the grenade in hand and inched his way as far forward as he dared without exposing himself. He pressed himself against the half-track and took a deep breath to steady himself; he peeked out quickly judging the distance and the wind picking out a good spot on the other bank and ducked back. He drew another breath, pulled the pin, spun out from behind the half-track and lobbed the grenade with all his might, then withdrew back to safety and waited.

Strange thought he could almost feel the hiss of the grenade on the opposite bank. He waited. He gripped his Thompson tightly in anticipation waiting for just the right moment...

“LET'S GO!” screamed Lt. Strange as he rose up and charged out across the southern most bridge. Strange was relieved to see that the smoke had landed in a beautiful place with the wind blowing it toward the buildings they were assaulting, obscuring the road beyond where the German half-track lay in wait. Another beautiful fact was that the windows and shutters were all closed in this portion of the town. Perfect. The American boots thundered across both bridges each man knowing which direction he was headed.

Strange felt a little better as soon as his foot touched down on the soft grass at the other end of the bridge and moved quickly to the nearest wall hugging it for dear life while silently directing each of his men in place with hand signals. Corporal Amore, with private Colton in tow, was directed toward the small wooden garage around the side. Private Cooper was directed to the side window, and privates LaCroix and Bennifeld stayed with the Lieutenant taken positions on either side of the western window.

Just to the north, sergeant Wilkerson was doing to same. Through hand signals he directed corporal Howard, along with privates Charles and Cassens, down the alley in the hopes of cutting off any krauts fleeing the rear of the buildings. Privates Robins, Rhodes, and Shankle stayed with him near the southern window just out of sight of the half-track.

All hell broke loose.

***

Pressed against the wall of the southern building, Strange heard a muffled shuffling from inside just inches from himself. It was so close that Strange felt as if his heart had stopped. He made a split second decision; He raised his Thompson and blasted away into the window moving from left to right and aiming low to catch anyone crouching or clipping a fleeing enemy's legs. The window shattered and fell the pieces. With a quick shout, first LaCroix and then Bennifeld jumped through the window ready to fire on any escaping enemy or bayonet anyone foolish enough to stick around. Strange slapped in a fresh magazine and followed suit ready to gun down anyone in his way.

***

Hearing the gun shots just behind him, corporal Amore took the initiative and pushed Colton to the left of the door telling him to get ready before kicking in the door and backing out of the Colton way. The private, with his rifle already raised, fired two shots into the doorway before he'd even seen anything then charged in, bayonet ready. Corporal Amore follow a second later catching a surprised radioman trying to get away under the weight of his equipment, Amore raised his rifle and fired off four quick shots hoping to at least damage the device he carried.

***

With the chaos to the south, sergeant Wilkerson decided now was as good a time as any to begin his work and went about it with a demented glee, raising his own Thompson and pumping an entire magazine into the window. He, too, moved left to right to get a good spread, but unlike the Lieutenant he didn't care about compensating for crouched enemies and just sprayed into room on an even level. When his magazine ran dry he ordered the men to either side to move in and secure the room. The three immediately began to rip up tables and whatever other solid objects they could find and began throwing them against the windows and doors to provide extra defenses and prevent the Germans from coming through just like they had. As prepartions for a German counter attack came under way, Wilkerson gave the order to stay back from the windows in order to avoid the wrath of the Half-track.

***

Without waiting for orders, corporal Howard made a move to clear a previously unknown room in the back of the northern building. He placed Cassens to watch the end of the alley, while Howard and Charles, rather than kicking in the door, simply emptied their rifles into the door, ripping it apart. Howard kicked down the remains while Charles reloaded. By the time the door came down Charles' rifle was loaded and ready to go and the private charged in bayonet ready with Howard close on his heels and the two joined Wilkerson in the main room and began fortifying the building with Charles covering the back door just in case.

OOC²: If you don't buy the windows being closed then everything happens the same only without the pause, everyone just goes crashing in with Owen and Savage blasting away.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Oh this is going to be a fierce fight indeed

The following actions have been made:

- Not so quietly the Allied Half-Track approached from the rear, alerting Axis forces to their presence, whether the windows and shutters were closed or not has been made irrelevant.

- The Axis Half-Track was parked, looking dead on as Strange and his men approached. After a bit of scurrying around the Axis gunner on said Half-Track sent a few bursts of fire toward the Allies, no one had a shot on the gunner or the vehicle.

- The gunner was unable to do any damage and soon would be mostly out of the fight...mostly.

- The smoke successfully was deployed, creating a screen for Strange and his men, also creating a screen that eliminated sniper cover for most of the southern building being assaulted, the screen also killing the effectiveness of any .30cal retaliation from the Allied Half-Track to the Axis one and the other way around.

- Strange and all of his men waited for the smoke as intended, giving them ample concealment from the German gunner...not from the German...present.

- The Northern of the two bridges used in the assault was rigged with a mine, and it worked perfectly having been installed by an ENG (for the record I wrote a mod post after Erik's post saying that a PVT had blown his own face off...but then noticed that you had an ENG) The Allies first move has been crippled by this among other things.

- One PVT was killed immediately by the blast, a second lost one and a half legs, flying up and over the cab of the Half-Track, knocking the gunner onto his back, that PVT will bleed out momentarily, nothing can be done.

- The Corporal sustained a bit of shrapnel damage to the right side of his torso, nothing too major, but it will be painful and most actions will be sluggish.

- The mine, being literally about two feet from the front right tire of the Half-Track, has caused considerable damage to said tire, it's flat, mangled and will take a lot of time to repair, course you could try to drive it as is, but going forward with this damage will put the Allied vehicle into the river...permanently, you could back it up safely though...in a circle...basically the Half-Track is stuck going to the right.

- The Northern bridge in the south has been knocked well out of alignment, is leaning considerably toward the left (from the Eastern standpoint) and cannot sustain any weight beyond that of a small dog without completely collapsing.

- What was left of the men intended to go across that bridge doubled back and linked up with the other guys setting off across bridge number two...well trying to that is.

- Luther, and his men, not only heard the Half-Track coming, but most definitely heard the explosion, looking out the window Luther noticed that the Allies provided him concealment from most of the buildings across the river, he propped his MG in the window, and noticed that the bridge all the Allies were crowding lead in a straight line to him, they couldn't turn, it was a shooting gallery.

- Opening up on them with the MG was overly fatal to many, Killing three PVTs in about a second and a half, the next second and a half another PVT and then a CPL followed suit.

- The previously mentioned Axis Half-Track realizing that the battle has begun opened up in the general direction of where they saw the Allies approaching, causing no damage, but preventing the Allied Gunner to keep his head down, he fired back as best he could, he too causing no damage.

- The Allies were more than stopped in there advance and have pulled back to their paralyzed Half-Track.

- While they were pulling back the driver of said Half-Track checked the damage, he knew they weren't going anywhere and took up arms and joined the men behind their overly expensive bullet shield.

- Strange and his remaining men (5 PVTs 1 CPL [wounded], and 1 SGT) have been pinned down, at least until the smoke clears from the Axis in the southern building, when the smoke clears they will also be pinned by the Axis Half-Track.

- If you would like to have had your sniper and the northern men to have fired blindly to try and help, I doubt it would change much but I would redo the mod accordingly, such a move would reveal them to Axis retaliation which I would also throw in, but it's your call.

Next Post: Luther

img268.imageshack.us/img268/7523/theriver1.png

-JT

[William Luther]

Was this for real? Not only had those American fools fallen for the mine; they had come charging across the bridge right in front his Luther’s Machine Gun. Luther smiled manically as he gunned down the Americans, watching them crumple over each other on the bridge.

Now, they were cowering behind their disabled Half-track, as Luther muttered quickly to himself, formulating a plan. He had no idea how many men were in the rest of the town, smoke had blocked it out, but he had a feeling there would be some.

He turned to Barbarossa next to him. ”Get to the halftrack, we need to make sure those guys stay pinned. Have him move to bridge, and get fire on the Americans. I have here covered. Faust?”
The radioman responded quickly, ”Yes, Sturmscharfuhrer?”
”Are we talking with base?”
”Affirmative. Why?”
”Make sure a line stays open. Kappel, keep an eye on the halftrack, and see if anybody tries to move around it.”

With another confirmation, he knelt down on the wooden floor, making sure the Machine Gun was comfortable in his shoulder. He gave Barbarossa a nod, and the Private ran out the back door, and started darting over to the halftrack. He came behind it and full sprint and clambered in to the back, crawling between the twin rows of seats until he was at the Driver’s ear. ”We need to move forward, near to the river, and get suppression on the enemy halftrack, then move to the bridge. Luther will have the other end of the vehicle pinned, we’ll force them to surrender.”

The driver gave a quick confirmation, throwing the halftrack in to gear as Barbarossa crawled backwards on to one of the seats, holding on tight as the vehicle began moving forwards. The driver turned the corner, and the gunner saw his target, and crouched low over the MG42, letting out quick bursts. The driver came to a halt, before putting the vehicle in to reverse. Barbarossa pushed the rear door open so he could see out the back as the vehicle came to a rest behind the buildings next to the bridge, pushing forward slightly so that the gunner could get fire on to the halftrack through the tree. He sent some rounds to tear off the lower branches and began to suppress the targets

To the south, Luther was putting down sporadic bursts of fire, having some just miss the vehicle; some hit it to scare the enemy. The echoing of fire must be terrible for them, and he smiled as he heard more tell-tale MG42 from the north as the halftrack joined in, closing down the safe gap for the enemy.

Movement
Final

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- Barbarossa got a bit ahead of himself and stumbled a bit from all the excitememnt, but made it to the Half-Track as ordered.

- The Half-Track lurched forward also as ordered.

- The Allied sniper (Owen) hearing the screams of his comrades along with the gunfire and explosion has been itching to get into the fight to help his men, but he isn't a front line soldier, so the most he could do was wait for his chance, which came, maybe too late, but it arrived none the less.

- The Half-Track pulling out and stopping to back up was more than enough time for a skilled marksman with a scoped rifle and the overly heightened want to help, to take a shot that counted.

- The Gunner in the Half-Track was struck in his left shoulder, passing all the way through his body and clanging into the side wall of the vehicle, slicing the man's aorta beyond repair, he has collapsed in place firing off a burst of rounds into random directions in the air on his way down, he will bleed out momentarily.

- The Axis PVT in the back of the vehicle with him was petrified, freezing for a moment before getting as low as possible in the back of the vehicle.

- The Allies have hugged their crippled Half-Track as closely as possible, rounds skimming off it and passing closely over head have kept them more or less pinned, the PVT in the back of the vehicle was able to see the German gunner go down through the back window of the cab, still being low enough to avoid fire from Luther's MG.

- Seeing this as the only chance to try and save some of the men beside the vehicle he jumped up onto the .30 cal MG and swung it onto the cab of the German Half-Track, laying on the trigger and pressing himself into the weapon as best he could, he would either get shot or melt the barrel, he was going to do something before the massacre continued.

- Round after round impacted into the front of the German Half-Track, many missed but the sheer volume of fire guaranteed damage would be done. The radiator has been obliterated, the windshield has been shattered all across the front, the front passenger taking three rounds in the upper torso, mostly just in and out, couple broken ribs, a shattered collar bone and some blood loss, he is overly blessed the wounds are not fatal, but he will be useless for the remainder of combat, gone unchecked he will slip into shock soon and that could indeed kill him.

- The driver panicked, throwing the vehicle into reverse and punching the gas he has slammed into the building behind him, doing little damage to the Half-Track or the building, but the men inside the building are aware that something is terribly wrong. The driver climbed from the cab, immensely shaken and fell straight to the ground, his legs not working like the should, looking down he noticed some cuts from the glass but nothing more, the adrenaline rush has just shaken him up horribly.

- Chambering another round, Owen has watched this incident unfold from a distance, as his eye reached his scope once more he watched the driver exit the vehicle and fall to the ground, taking his time this shot left no room for error, from the top of his head to the base of his spine before exiting the man's lower back, he didn't feel a thing when he died.

- The remaining PVT in the back was thrown around in the maneuver, he pulled himself out of the rear of the Half-Track and scurried into the closest door he could find.

- Unable to stop the beginning of the attack, Luther eventually drew a bead on the Allied gunner and returned the favor, the gunner took a pair of rounds before falling to safety within the back of the Half-Track, one hit his right forearm, nothing wore than a large scratch, the second entered his shoulder and ricocheted off his shoulder blade, extremely painful, but he isn't dead, minor attention would be great for morale as the Allies in the south have almost none at the moment.

- Two of the Allied PVTs in the south took a short run for it thinking the side of the Half-Track would be their grave, before anyone could fire on them the SGT leaned out for a moment and fired several rounds in the direction of the building Luther and his men are in, no one saw the move so they are free from danger for the moment..

- The German Half-Track now has smoke billowing from the hood as the vehicle is still running and in reverse and the radiator can do nothing to cool down the engine, not a lot of stress but if this keeps up for too long it will overheat to the point of severe damage.

- The smoke grenade is still pumping it's cloud, but not for too much longer.

Next Post: Owen

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-JT

[⊕ Owen Pearson]

OOC: Sorry that this took so long. I got caught up with other things. Also, sorry about there being six separate maps--It was hard to draw all the lines in the space I had; still doesn't look too good...

The Maps
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Clean

IC:
Owen, having just watched many strange events unfurl in front of his eyes, now saw that it was his own time to act. He hoped that it would not turn out like failed movements of his comrades. After having killed two of the men who had been inside an enemy halftrack, the plan came together quickly in his mind based on where the enemy units had already made themselves known, and the directions that they had been going. Sending the rest of the soldiers white light—such a strange term for hope—he told the spotter next to him what they were going to be doing.

Moments later, the spotter had turned and he quickly moved to the door that stood on the north wall leading to the stairwell. Making sure to avoid being seen through the windows that lit up the small spaces, he went down cautiously but quickly to the ground floor of the building to retrieve one of the two privates on that floor, telling the private on the third floor the plan on his way down. After explaining the plan to the both of them, he brought the one closest to the door with him as he went up to the second floor positioning him next to the window two floors below Owen. After making sure that the man wasn’t going to look out to early, Liir went out to the stairwell and waited close to the window.

Two floors up, Owen peered the scope of his gun towards the building on the opposite side of the river. He surveyed the windows of the building quickly, before settling the crosshairs of the scope on a man on the northern end of the building. All, that he could see from the angle he was at was from the enemy soldier’s waist to his feet, he prepared for the shot quickly. Owen pushed the air out of his own lungs and held the breath there to prevent the shaking of the gun he was holding. He lined up the gun so that the crosshairs fell on the window frame where the man’s body would continue, in hopes of hitting something vital. Pulling the trigger, a bullet came out of the end of Owen’s gun, headed towards the German in the window. Quickly moving his gun down only a few small increments, he took another shot towards the man, this time aiming to hit the man, through the window opening, near the pelvis or upper thigh, so that the man would surely have been hit. He waited for the reaction for a moment, to see how the bullets hit the enemy, ready to take extra shots if needed. He surveyed back over the windows more southern on the building on the same floor, watching for soldiers who looked out.

Owen’s shots were the cue for the other four men to start their parts of the attack. The soldiers on both the second floor and the third floor are to react first. The soldier on the southern side of the second floor looks out of the window next to him and fires at the northern-most window on the first floor as he had been told to do by Liir, who had checked for positions while instructing, moments before. The soldier on the third floor shot at both the northern and southern windows as needed. Both would look more to the south on the building moments afterwards to check the first and second floor windows more to the south. The soldier on the first floor, who would hear the shots mere milliseconds after the others, would be watching across the bridge for any movement of men while the others concentrated on the northern windows and was ready to add to the attack if needed.

Liir knew to wait a few moments longer before looking out the window, as he didn’t need to look for targets, but hazards. He was to check the areas in front of him for any visible problems that could prevent their movements, or future movements. Starting by checking near the building, he moved his view back across the bridge and also checked by the building next to them for any problems they would need to know about before continuing their actions.

After the attack by his men was underway, Owen, having completed his part in it, turned and ran to the stairwell. He ran down the stairs to the second floor of the building to start what he considered to be “Phase Two” of their plans. He pulled Liir away from his post for a minute and asked if there was anything impairing their future movements. After being given the assurance of a clear passage, Owen went down another set of stairs to the soldier on the first floor of the building.

After retrieving the soldier, Owen had the man come with him out of the stairwell into the southeast room of the first floor. The two took the first door on their left then went out of the building through a side door. They were going to go out to the building that was closer to the river than the one they had just left. Owen had the Private dash to the building first—after seeing the disaster by the other part of the American forces, he was taking whatever precautions he could to deter major problems due to mines and having the first man run alone would create a human mine detector. Once seeing the private run across to the other side of the gap, it was Owen’s turn to take the dash.

Making it across, the opening between the buildings, Owen walked in to see the private having already taken the position in the southeast window of the room surveying the area in front of him cautiously for problems, ready to shoot at any enemies. Owen went over to the other east-facing window on the first floor and checked for enemies on the other side of the river, starting by looking towards the northern building and slowly making his way back to the building closest to the bridge.

Liir, upon seeing that both Owen and the private had made to the other building, left the window he was at and headed up one story, to tell the soldier on the third floor to continue the plan. Liir then went down to the first floor and went out to the other building following in the same direction that the other two had just taken to get there. Upon reaching the other building, he went and took up a position on the other side of the same window as Owen and scanned from the right to the left on the other side of the river.

Waiting a few seconds after Liir had left the third floor, the soldier there went down to retrieve the soldier on the second floor. The two followed in the same direction as the other three soldiers had to get out of the building, one ran across the gap, and the other followed soon after. They had provided the cover for the others, and now those soldiers gave them cover back. One soldier took the position that Owen and Liir held, while the other soldier followed Liir and Owen upstairs and took a position in the northeast window on that floor. Liir and Owen positioned themselves on either side of the southeast window and started to check the other side of the river for enemies. Now they had to hope that Strange’s team would survive, along with themselves.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

For the record, you don't need lines for every single soldier on the map, if a group is moving or shooting in the same direction, a single line will suffice. Also, if you intend to tell your men a plan...tell them the plan, saying you told them without actually doing so in your post is pretty much the same as not telling them at all. Also waiting so long to post doesn't help your chances of a lenient mod for actions you didn't make (telling them the plan)

The following actions have been made:

- Owen's first shot toward the semi unsuspecting German soldier across the river was slightly angle off course traveling through the window frame, but there wasn't a lot of room for it to move very far.

- The round veered to the right, catching the man in his lower abdomen, cracking one of his lower ribs and impacting the wall behind him, the wound is very painful, but not lethal at all.

- The second shot...well you didn't bolt a second round into the chamber, by the time you would have remembered to do so the German's had run to the wounded man's aid not to mentioned had opened fire on the building you are in (Owen) the fire was light as they didn't exactly know where the round came from, none the less they are on high alert and the majority of their attention is now focused on your building.

(Take it as a blessing that you and your men never crossed the road since you never told them the plan, after bringing so much attention to yourselves, the multiple crossings in your plan would have most likely ended up wounded men and possibly dead ones at that.)

- The German retaliatory fire on the building has cause no injuries other than some irritating debris to be forced about randomly.

- The Allies remain in the building they were in before Owen's post.

- Morale is a bit low on both sides, the Allies taking the bigger hit to their morale than the Axis



-JT

[∬: Erik Schneider]

OOC: Oh hey look, I didn't take a month to post. A bit lengthy but I believe JT sig sums it up perfectly. If it works doing, its worth over doing. Note: The forking red line from the halfies MG fire is a lazy attempt to show that he also shoots at that area as well.

Movement: img147.imageshack.us/img147/8389/merderet02.png
Clean: img6.imageshack.us/img6/6268/merderet03.png


The cocky Obersturmfuhrer was dying for a cigarette, but had run out of the precious tobacco long ago. Resting behind the cover of a few random crates scattered in the rear of the room, he conversed with Holtzmann who was leaning back in a chair. Both men were well away from the windows, predicting no risky movement across the main bridge. There was no need to expose themselves unnecessarily with two men in a forward position as well as a rifleman solely dedicated to watching over the center of the bridge. The atmosphere was relaxed, Schneider calmly speaking with the young private, while Jager's pants pierced through the doorway a little. The man had been the main communication between the northern, central, and southern squads ensuring each were on the same page.

In the floor above, he could dimly recognize Groger fiddling with his bayonet while he laid up against the wall, briefly exchanging words with the new "marksman" Reichmann. The private had been entrusted with the most important task, due to his natural skill with a rifle. The soldier had taken up position in the center of his room, behind an overturned table. The window before him only had been opened slightly to allow a clean shot and view on the bridge down below. He was concealed from the building straight across, making him an impossible shot for even a sniper across the way. Focused and intent on nailing any shot he could get, the man was glad he was in such a protected position. Even if shit hit the fan, the surprise of six other men coming to his aid would be more than enough to overwhelm any American soldiers.

Schneider's conversation was broken a second later at the obvious sound of a mine exploding in the distance. An MG34 responded and there was some silent cheers as it seemed to state that the battle was in favor of the Germans. Only moments later, the halftrack hidden behind their building lurched forward out from its position for unknown reasons. Obvious sounds of a sniper rang out across the river followed by the distinct firing of a .30 CAL, stray bullets impacting against the wall. Something bad was going on now, as the building rocked from the impact of the halftrack. Keeping well below the windows and moving to the rear of the windows, Schneider made his way halfway up the stairs and called out. "Reichmann, wenn es bereits unmöglich für Sie war, Schuß über vom Fluss zu erhalten, bilden ihn unmöglicher. Groger, Verschiebung herum zum südlichen das meiste Fenster. Halten Sie Ihr Auge auf der .30 cal und lassen Sie ihn nicht wieder schießen. Gott weiß, dass ich sie benötige." He gave orders from what he could assess. Something across the bridge must be picking men off, but was no immediate threat to his men. The .30 CAL was causing damage to their halftrack and a rifleman would be needed if Schneider was to properly figure out what was happening.

Boots slapping against wood signaled Groger was on the move now, making his way around behind Reichmann and his table being sure to keep low below the window in a similar fashion to Schneider. Grabbing Jager by the shoulder as he stepped down the stairs, the private hopped to his feet and obeyed the order. Luther had already suppressed the .30 CAL gunner by the time the two arrived at the window. Groger was already crouched up top, steadying his rifle on the ledge while he aimed directly above the machine gun on the M3 Halftrack. Right where the head would raise to, ready to pop off a headshot in a second it was needed. The Obersturmfuhrer peeked out to find the M3 had been crippled near the river to the south, while the axis halftrack was smoking and backed into the bridge building. "Waffentauschen, Soldat. Sprühen Sie und beten Sie, wann Sie den Träger sehen sich zu bewegen." The Lieutenant joked as he traded weapons with Jager.

The familiar feeling of the Kar was pleasant, but Schneider had no time to enjoy it. He climbed out the open window by quickly setting one foot over the outside and following with the other. He practically dove down below the halftrack's cover and then got back on his knees to run to the nearest door. The wounded driver on the left side of the vehicle had the door open and was contemplating making his way to help. Help came to him as he scooted over slowly while Schneider climbed inside as fast as he could, pulling the door closed behind him. "Scoot vorbei, Soldat. Sie werden mein Nautiker sein heute, also kann ich Sie zurück zu Hilfe erhalten. " The driver made sure to be careful was he moved, not wanting to aggravate his wounds or take another .30 CAL bullet to his chest again. Schneider moved low below the view slots of the halftrack, aware of how the men had been wounded. As he glanced to the right, he saw the driver pulling the dead man back inside the vehicle using the door like a shield against any bullets. The panicked man had collapsed to his knees and had been shot back near the door as he had died. As the man was dragged inside, the door was pulled shut and locked afterward to serve as a proper shield.

Enclosed in the compartment of the halftrack, with the corpse pushed back into the rear Schneider strangely glanced at the driver. He realized that his plan would call for squishing the corpse, obviously something not quite good for morale. Nodding at him, he orientated himself to the controls of the vehicle much like any automobile the Obersturmfuhrer had ever driven. The wounded driver helped given what instructions he could, before raising in his seat to see through his view slot. Schneider on the other hand, had enclosed the driver's slot with metal to avoid getting shot while maneuvering. Pulling forward slightly, his new navigator shouted out for him to stop as he neared the edge of the thick tree. From what he heard, it sounded like Jager was making good use of the Stg44 as he sprayed the gunner's position of the M3 Halftrack. Realizing his Obersturmfuhrer had something planned for recovery, Luther joined in with quick bursts every few seconds as to not expend too much ammunition and have to reload at a vital moment. If needed, he could reload when he had help fro the MG42.

The covering fire was great enough for the two men inside the halftrack to be careful with their maneuvers. Inside, the driver aided Schneider with backing up and turning the halftrack slightly to stop in the cover of the tower. The sound of the cobblestone road beneath helped with identifying if the halftrack was on the road and backing up straight or not. The passenger side door was slightly opened as they backed up behind the cover of the two story tower and they successfully parked the armored vehicle. Barbossa was calling out from behind as he climbed up back into the halftrack and took up position on the MG, shifting the corpse onto the chairs to give leg space. Cutting up a few of the lower branches with the MG, allowed a better shot. The identifiable burst of the MG42 was present, alerting Jager and Luther they need not to fire, but should help in the future. For revenge, Barbossa lit up the front of the halftrack briefly in hopes of disabling their radiator as well, before shifting his fire over to the right and sending a decent burst of fire at the soldiers gathered behind the M3. He eased up on the trigger slowly and swiveled the MG to aim back at the gunner position.

Meanwhile, Schneider turned off the engine in order to allow the engine to cool, the only thing that could be done for the wounded halftrack for the time being. Swinging the driver side door open, he saw Holtzmann beckoning for him in the window over. Sliding out from the halftrack, the tower provided perfect cover in that exact spot as it aligned with the other building to prevent any shot. He raised the rifle up to face the Americans and their halftrack, the biggest threat as of now. The wounded driver of the vehicle made his way out slowly, letting Schneider aid him to the window where he was helped in by Holtzmann and Jager. Schneider followed in shortly afterward and exchanged weapons once more. Setting the wounded soldier down by the wall, Schneider knelt over him and undid his shirt to get to the wound. Wrapping gauze over the man's bare chest was best for now, applying barely any pressure fearful of inflicting further wounds to the ribs.

Translations:

- "Reichmann, if it were already impossible for you to get shot from across the river make it more impossible. Groger, shift around to the southern most window. Keep your eye on the .30 CAL and do not let him shoot again. God knows I will need it."

- "Weapon swap, soldier. Spray and pray when you see the vehicle move."

- "Scoot over, soldier. You are going to be my navigator today, so I can get you back to help."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

I've mentioned this before, I will not do so for a thread filled with well experienced members. Erik weather you had Nathan's permission to add what he was doing or not is irrelevant. I'm assuming the two of you coordinated such things, if not, Nathan you can be mad at Erik, he just decided what your character is doing for your next post...covering fire in small burst upon the Allied Half-Track.

The following actions have been made:

- Schneider successfully swapped weapons for the bolt action rifle...but did not swap ammo, they each have one set of ammo for the weapon they are bearing.

- The Allies to the south have pretty much been pushed to the breaking point, now they just want to get this horrible experience over with, filling with fear and rage they continue to be pinned for the moment as the Axis Officer slipped into the Half-Track.

- The two Allied men that somewhat ran for it were pretty much unnnoticed...until the furthest one to the West saw Schneider climb out of the window, he tried to make a shot but missed it being horribly rushed and him shaking from all the effects of combat, none the less Jager saw the action and shifted what little fire he had left onto them, pinning them and keeping his commander and the Half-Track from further damage from the pair.

- As the Half-Track sprang back to life and started on it's short move Jager ran out of ammo (only having the single magazine) He pulled away from the window, the closest Private taking up the position to continue firing, the covering fire on the Allies has slackened.

- Luther, having no shot just kept the Allies from doing much of anything, but he has one weapon, and there are two sides to a Half-Track, the Allies eventually were able to suppress him to the point that they could pull the wounded man from the back of the vehicle, one of the Allied Privates took a round through his forearm in the process, breaking one of the two bones (I'm not Strum, I dunno what they are called...tibia maybe?)

- Trying to get the Half-Track into a position where the opening door lined up with the building has resulted in bad positioning for such a task, with hardly any way to tell what was going on and trusting his navigation to a very wounded man, the door could barely be opened at all, instead of risking moving all the way around the vehicle, Schneider pulled forward quickly and then back once more, forfeiting any direction from his temporarily assigned navigator, there is now plenty of room to exit the vehicle.

- During this amount of time Allies were able to get a new gunner up and pumping lead.

- First things first the new Allied gunner fired on Luther, he was the biggest threat, second he fired on the man that replaced Jager, he being the only other person to fire on them, the remainder of the Southern Allies have joined in the barrage, keeping Nathan at bay for the moment while the gunner took aim on the Half-Track...but it wasn't returning fire.

- Schneider noticed that things weren't going as ordered when the rounds were now coming toward them instead of away, a moment's look toward the Allies confirmed his suspicions after he stepped out, taking aim he fired on the Gunner the same moment the gunner fired toward him, the smoke from the radiator making such actions slightly difficult, but the automatic weapon prevailed over the bolt action rifle, Schneider took a round in his left lower leg, only skimming the bone, but using said leg will be difficult, the bone isn't broken, but bruised horribly.

- The round impacted just in front of the MG in the Allied Half-Track, the gunner stumbled back and the Allies thought he was down too, the slack in their fire has resulted in Luther resuming his fire upon them, the Gunner is out of harm's way and the Allies are taking cover again...thinking they are down yet another man.

- Schneider slowly worked his way back to Jager to swap weapons...Jager not exactly being happy about the fact he was left without ammo.

- Schneider dressed the wound for the wounded driver as best as could be expected in the situation, enough to last until proper treatment, but the lack of pressure could see him slipping into shock into the very near future.

- Strange has almost completely lost the faith his men have in him, not to mention remain in a terrible position.



Next Post: Strange
-JT

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

...I've been gone for over a week, seriously, let's get this moving.

-JT

[Jonathan Strange]

OOC: This is a shitty post.

Wounded Withdrawl
Strange's Withdrawl
Clean

There was yelp and clatter from Teauge who had just climbed into the half-track and taken up the machinegun.

"Teauge's hit!" called out one of the privates

"No! I'm-I'm fine..." came a shout from the would-be gunner, "Think I tagged that bastard... may have pissed myself, too..."

Strange could feel the eyes of everyone present and still breathing upon him. Everyone of them asking the question "Now what?" Enemy fire was coming in from all over the opposite side of town, the scout party was letting off some shots but seemed to staying out of the fight for the most part, linking up with them was now a priority. Strange made his decision as Wilkerson loosed a fee rounds toward the

the lieutenant looked about his men, "What do you say we get the fuck out of here?" Their faces perked up a bit. "We'll regroup over by that house over there," he pointed to the house sitting to north of the river bank. "From there we can keep their on their side of the river until reinforcements get here, yeah? Teauge, grab that spare smoke grenade and the first aid kit from the back and get out here!" A 'yes sir' made it's way out followed by the clinking of the driver crawling back through the spent shells and loose equipment. In the meantime Strange made his way up to the front of the half-track taking Wilkerson's position at the nose of the vehicle.

Sizing up the enemy with a peek around the edge of the half-track, Strange picked the spot for the aforementioned smoke grenade and let loose a few rounds toward the half-track and large two-story building that the enemy half-track had just manoeuvred around before turning to the men again. Strange whistled getting the attention of the men in the trees, Rhodes and Robins, and signalled for them to put some fire on the enemy when he started. "Wilkerson, you take the the rest of them men and the wounded to that house. Rhodes, Robins, and I will cover you"

"Got 'em, Lieutenant." burst out Teauge as he appeared in the cabin of the half-track and gave the requested items to Strange

"Great. Now help Savage out of there and get ready to fall back with him." another 'yes, sir'. Strange handed off the medkit to Wilkerson and prepared to the throw the smoke grenade peeking back at his chosen area and chucking it over the half-track and across the river as Teauge and Savage emerged from within. Strange made sure everyone was ready. Teauge was helping Savage, private Colton was supporting corporal Howard, and Wilkerson supporting private Cassens. Satisfied with his men and the second smoke grenades progression (billowing into the enemy MG's face), Strange climbing into the cabin of the half-track and took up the machinegun himself and began rattling off round toward the enemy in the windows and behind the half-track mg. At the same time private Rhodes and Robins opened up with their Garands on the windows.

The group of wounded made their way back as quickly as possible. As the sergeant passed behind them, Rhodes and Robins sprang up and ran with them to the house.

Once inside, the seriously wounded were set down against the centre wall. "What do you say we return the favour and give the lieutenant some cover, boys?" Those well enough to still fight took up positions in the windows and began unloading on the enemy. Strange on the machinegun took the hint, picked up his Thompson and raced across to the house himself.

Strange made his way inside to Wilkerson. "Thanks, Sergeant. Keep an eye out for the enemy. Don't let them get across those bridges. I'm going to check the wounded. I'm counting on you guys."

Back with the wounded, Strange opened up the first aid kit dressing Cassens' broken arm and making a sling for him out of his own tunic. For Savage, he bandaged the wound to his arm and attempted to do the same for his shoulder wound. "You've done a good job, guys. Just relax here. We'll take care of you. Howard, come over here and keep these guys company."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The parenthesis about where the smoke is is god modding...come on guys, you are all experienced members, I shouldn't have to be telling you things of this nature.


The Following actions have been made:

- Although Allied morale is shot to hell and back, getting out of the situation in the south was the only thing your men would have agreed to do LT. Strange, you've avoided a failed post altogether...but you have still done almost nothing to try and raise there morale passed the point of tolerating you.

- The smoke grenade landed slightly off, it wasn't a terribly long throw, but with all the excitement and adrenaline, it's difficult to execute perfect actions, it did clear the river, but went a bit farther and to the right, the building kept most of the smoke in the general area where it was intended, but Luther hasn't been completely blinded by it.

- The first smoke grenade that was deployed has begun to die off, only pumping out small amounts of the cloud and the main cloud beginning to dissipate.

- The men gave as much covering fire as they possibly could as they wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else, anywhere else.

- The majority of the wounded were moved without too much retaliation, small bursts from Luther and the Germans a little farther north kept them pushing through the pain to make it to safety, however the pairing of Teague and Savage took a single round, Savage to be specific, lower right leg, in and out, they hit the ground and slowly made there way to the rally point. Luther having been the one to have put the most blind rounds out toward the Allies scored the minor hit. Another Allied wounded man as Savage was uninjured.

- The covering fire for Strange's move was less than the others, but it has also came from a totally different location than the Axis forces expected, they shifted fire to accommodate as best they could, again, being partially blind and partially under covering fire, Strange was able to make his move without problems.

- The wounds have been dressed hastily and if said men partake in too much movement they will need to be redressed possibly. Since another wound was incurred before your post was made, that minor wound has been dressed as well, after all you can't foresee the future.

img2.imageshack.us/img2/3435/theriver3.png

Nest Post: Luther

-JT

[William Luther]

OOC: Because this battle began after the new Arty rules, JT said I can use the old, ie, free ones. Also, because of Erik’s restriction on me, part of my post will be happening before Strange’s. You’ll see. If JT doesn’t like it, then it all happens after. Top red circle is the first aim point of arty, line shows the path towards the final point.

img36.imageshack.us/img36/3435/theriver3.png

The MG34 gave an ironic feeling of well-being for Luther, as the large barrel exploded with muzzle fire above the small bipod. The Sturmscharfuhrer kept the weapon in his shoulder as knelt on the floor of the building and aimed along the barrel, putting fire on to the enemy halftrack. From the north, the German Halftrack’s MG42 put down more fire, the Americans were stuck between a tight pincer, with only one way out to have any practical use short of retreating. That should probably be cut off.

”Faust!” He called out the name of the radio operator, who grabbed his rifle and came charging down the stairs from his perch on the First Floor. He knelt beside Luther, lifting his rifle out of the window and aiming to the half track. Luther began talking as he continued firing. ” Kommen Sie das Radio voran. Rufen Sie Feuerunterstützung herbei, bekommen Sie es auf der Hauptrolle der Stadt auf dieser Seite des Flusses, kehren Sie es unten Südosten zur feindlichen Halbspur. Versuchen Sie und leiten Sie es durch das Gebäude zwischen ihnen. Nehmen Sie mein Fernglas, das muss genau sein.” The logic was, by moving the artillery towards the enemy, they would run. Morale must have been so shattered by this stage that the sight of it approaching would terrify them in to retreat.

The radio operator reached around Luther’s neck, grabbed them and scurried back towards the stairs, moving up to his radio in the corner. A corner of the building was missing, and the large wire extension of the radio antennae had been stretched out over it and left dangling to increase the signal strength. A large map was on the table, an artillery 1:20 000 map, one centimetre on the map become two hundred meters in reality. He grabbed a small pencil, and slapped it between his fingers before making a few quick marks. The first target was the largest building in the town. It was an obvious point for soldiers to be hoarding in, and if that took severe damage, it would leave the enemy without a major defensive point. He drew a quick arrow, before circling approximately where the halftrack was, using all the buildings around it work it out as accurately as possible. He checked the readings on the map, before scribbling in the margin the co-ordinates for the fire so he didn’t forget them. After double checking, he picked up the radio hand set and pressed the transmit button for Reich Eins, the Field Artillery set up a few hundred meters behind the lines. He did a double check in his mind of the callsign – Bruno Drei.

” Reich ein, das ist Bruno Drei. Die Frage um Artillerie zündet Unterstützung an. Karte 7-Dora-8. 88 Feuer. Zuerst herum in 532263. Sobald, Reihe zu finden, wird korrigieren. Dann kehren Sie Südosten, durch das 534261 Vollenden an 537260. Bestätigen Sie bitte. Eine Runde alle 10 Meter.” He enunciated each word clearly, pushing out each syllable and waited for confirmation on the other end, ready to repeat that speech as many times as necessary for it to get through.

Once he had confirmation, he would grab the radio, unclip the addition the the antenna, and move over to the window so he could guide the artillery on to it’s first target. It shouldn’t need it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If they thought they were too far over, it could end up in German deaths, something nobody wanted. Once the fire began, he would move back to his station, pleased to have played his part.

From downstairs, Luther swore as smoke landed in front of his window, and took the chance to reload. The enemy was probably heading towards town, regrouping, licking their wounds and preparing for an assault. It’s what he would do. Once the weapon was ready, he switched windows and prepared to fire along towards the buildings. It would be a glorious day for the Third Reich.

Translations

Kommen Sie das Radio voran. Rufen Sie Feuerunterstützung herbei, bekommen Sie es auf der Hauptrolle der Stadt auf dieser Seite des Flusses, kehren Sie es unten Südosten zur feindlichen Halbspur. Versuchen Sie und leiten Sie es durch das Gebäude zwischen ihnen. Nehmen Sie mein Fernglas, das muss genau sein. - Get on the radio. Call in fire support, get it on the main part of town on that side of the river, sweep it down South-East towards the enemy halftrack. Try and direct it through the building between them. Take my binoculars, this needs to be precise.

Reich ein, das ist Bruno Drei. Die Frage um Artillerie zündet Unterstützung an. Karte 7-Dora-8. 88 Feuer. Zuerst herum in 532263. Sobald, Reihe zu finden, wird korrigieren. Dann kehren Sie Südosten, durch das 534261 Vollenden an 537260. Bestätigen Sie bitte. Eine Runde alle 10 Meter. - Reich one, this is Bruno Three. Requesting artillery fire support. Map 7-Dora-8. 88 fire. First round in 532 263. Once to find range, will correct. Then, sweep south-east, through 534 261 finishing at 537 260. One round every 10 meters. Confirm, please.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following actions have been made:

- The first order for Indirect Fire support, was unable to go through very well, once repeated (as mentioned) the receiving man was able to make out the order, although the 88 crewmen didn't really figure the whole "10 meter" thing very well so they just positioned the first system on the first point and the remainder of them further on down the line, 10 meter increments with IFS just doesn't happen.

- The first round came screaming in, given these aren't Artillery pieces, they are field guns, the arch is far less, also meaning that missing by a little is a larger distance on the battlefield, it clipped the 8 story building on it's way in and landed short. Far shorter than the rest of the rounds, and quite possibly more accurate.

- The round only veered off course a couple of feet from the impact...and landed itself on the bridge, the big stone one in the middle of the map, mostly on the Allied side, the main bridge has been slightly crippled as it hit almost directly on top of the pillar support.

- The second round, the most accurate of them all hit the same bridge, closer to the side of it, moving troops accross the bridge would be possible, anything larger could more then likely prove to be a bad call.

- The third round impacted the front face of the building the Northern Allies are in, crashing through the front wall on the third floor, all the interior walls and slamming it's way out the back wall, landing far behind the Allies. It didn't cripple the building, mainly just putting a nice beach ball sized hole through it, The men right above the hit have been shaken to the core, but are more or less unharmed.

- The exterior Allied PVT to the south noticed the rounds, but didn't have the time to warn the others like he wanted, no need, as soon as they heard the explosions they hit the floor.

- The fourth and sixth rounds had little effect, slmming into the earth.

- The fifth round clipped a building as well, causing it to fall in closer than intended, but this time it clipped the Allied building, but only barely, breaking apart a small section of the roof, nothing to be worried about, and it oddly enough didn't really affect the Allies on the interior of the building as the small bit of cosmetic damage went unnoticed in the attack.

- In the time it has taken this to happen the first smoke grenade deployed has completely died out.


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Next Post: Owen

-JT



****EDIT****

It was brought to my attention that I got the Allied PVTs Teage and Savage mixed up, the Allies don't have an added wounded man from my last post, my apologies, Savage just has an added wound to go along with the wound through his forearm and in his shoulder.

[⊕ Owen Pearson]

OOC: Yes, this is really short, and it requires no map because no one moves more than a few feet.

The building continued to vibrate very slightly from the force, although the movement had completely died down. Owen and Liir had fallen to the floor in the surprise and were just starting to get a hold of their breath again before they got back up.

Moments earlier, an artillery strike was commencing on their position. Liir noticed moments before the first round come down saying, “Zut-“ and being cut off as the round clipped the bell tower, causing the vibrations of the bells to fill the air all at once with no particular pattern. The round hit the stone bridge causing a pillar to break and many splashes of rock to combine with the symphony of bells. The second round came down on the same bridge splattering stone onto the road and into the depths of the water beneath.

The bells had softened to a slight ringing, providing a pregnant silence just before a climax in the attack. Owen had looked over towards Liir who gave a quick look of disbelief as his binoculars were staring out the window. They were thrown off balance and were on the floor in moments. They stayed down till after the sounds of impact had ended.

“Check to see that the others are safe,” was the first thing said from Owen to Liir. Getting up quickly, but only to a kneeling position, Liir went over to the southern window of the building and looked out towards the other forces. Owen, still shaking slightly, got up as well, baking up slightly to be a bit more towards the northern end of the room, and out of view of the window.

Liir looked out to see the other forces alive, and all taking precautions due to the attack. “They are all alive,” said Liir, sounding quite unhopeful, likely assuming that it might not be very permanent. Liir moved away from the window and over towards Owen. “Why do we do this?” he said. He waited for an answer for a few moments, before heading back towards the southern window. Owen kept quiet as he moved back to where and how he had been before by the east-facing window. Looking out, he continued to survey the area in front of him, while waiting for Liir to provide news on the movement of the others.