The Price of Failure [Eteric/Open]

[Nikolai Feliksovich Alkeav]

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Untitled
Defending the Factory

October 31st, 1942
10:20
Stalingrad, Soviet Union
28th Motor-Rifle Temporary Headquarters

Alkeav's makeshift communication hub had become the new de facto headquarters of the 28th Motor-Rifle over the last few hours following the bombing of it's actual headquarters by German dive bombers.

Alkeav had left the humid and uncomfortable cellar for comparative comfort of an office made from one of the bedrooms located on the second floor of the same building. The beds had been stacked and pushed to the side of the room while a table had been dragged to the middle of the floor. Upon the table sat several overlapping maps of Stalingrad with bits of junk marking the locations of friendly and enemy units. Alkeav stood peering down at them. He was not happy.

Things were not looking good for the Soviets. A major road had just been forced open by the Germans who were now poised to strike at the heart of Soviet resistance on the west back of the Volga. If they couldn't be halted, Stalingrad may well be lost. Alkeav had placed a number of men to defend the opening to that pathway but they'd been beaten back before he could send reinforcements.

Before the officer stood one of the survivors of the engagement. He'd brought her up here to brief him on why she and her troops had been unable to hold the line. Alkeav did not acknowledge her entrance into the room and had let her stand there in silence for several minutes before addressing her. He didn't bother to look up as he spoke, "Well, Mladshii Serzhant? What do you have to report? Why were you unable to follow your orders? Do you realize that you have put every man, woman, and child on this side of the river in danger?" The officer cut himself off and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow despite the near freezing temperature in the room.

[Laya Eteric]

Laya was frightened, almost terrified. She might have been dressed down a few time during training, but that was common among new troops. But this was no training. This was real. The real result of a lost battle, and it was a position that any soldier dreaded to be in, especially their first time, like it was with Laya. The kind of position where you start to wonder if it had been better to have been annihilated. She felt absolutely sick to her stomach, even if she hadn't eaten a bad tin of meat on the way back from the factory. She certainly had a bit of a queasy look on her face, though she wasn't she if it was the meat or the stress.

Anyhow, Laya tried to make herself look presentable. She kept standing strait, and saluted properly, but after that, she kept her head a bit low. Alkeav didn't even acknowledge her for a few minutes--which seemed like hours. Finally, he spoke. "Well, Mladshii Serzhant? What do you have to report? Why were you unable to follow your orders? Do you realize that you have put every man, woman, and child on this side of the river in danger?" Alkeav barked in an intimidating tone, before wiping his forehead. He expected an immediate answer.

Laya took a deep breath, which slightly worsened her belly ache, but nonetheless spoke as best she could. "Sir Leitenant, while there is no doubt that I am partly to blame for the loss of the position, it was also a combination of mistakes made by me and Mladshii Serzhant Aristarkh Boryenko, sir..." She gulped slightly. Saying that it wasn't completely her fault could make things worse, or better--depending on how carefully she chose her words. Laya spoke on: "My biggest mistake was letting Aristarkh take most of the soldiers into the buildings adjacent to the factory itself...because if I hadn't have done that, he wouldn't have made his mistake...."

Laya paused to catch her breath, then continued. "Well, eventually, the Germans pushed toward the buildings with Aristarkh and his troops. We couldn't shoot at them for most of that time, as we were pinned by a sniper and an MG-42," she sighed. "Anyway, Aristarkh tried taking his troops out of the buildings, and both forces rushed into an alley between them...with horrible results." She looked down solemnly, wishing it was just that--a story. But it was all true. "...And I only saw two or three German casualties...I thought that since there were only 5 of us left, and many more Germans, that our only choices were retreat, or annihilation."

Laya stood strait once again, awaiting whatever response her officer was going to give...

[Nikolai Feliksovich Alkeav]

Alkeav listened intently to the soldier's report. He said nothing at its conclusion, merely returned his gaze to the maps in front of him removing one of the bits representing the force that was suppose to hold the factory. He held it in his hand for a moment examining it as if it could tell him how to bring back the men that had been lost. It said nothing and a frustrated Alkeav placed the piece back down on the table.

With a sigh he stood up right addressing the soldier before him directly,"The mistakes that were made there are unacceptable." Alkeav fought with himself internally for a moment before continuing. More than half of the force he'd sent had been wiped out and the man responsible had died with them. He had no one left to reasonably direct his anger and this only served to further exacerbate his frustration. In an attempt to restrain himself, Alkeav shoved himself from the map table and moved to a nearby window.

"The Germans now have almost uncontested access to our landing points along the Volga. The failures of you and your compatriots have made this possible. You know as well as I what Stalin has said of retreating. Tell me, Eteric, why I shouldn't have you sent to the shtrafbat?" Alkeav let the threat sink in but cut off the woman before she could complete an answer. "Consider yourself lucky today, Eteric, that I have too few able bodies to be able to enforce those orders."

Alkeav moved back to the table pushed aside some of the larger maps to make room for a map of a smaller area along the approach that the Germans were now moving down. "Unfortunately, you are the most familiar with those German vanguard troops," the officer took a grease pencil and circled an area on the map. "We only have a limited amount of space with which to stop them. We have precious few resources to put in their way. Two 53-K's down this street, a T-34 from this block, and 1st Platoon are all immediately available, but I need to know where to send them."

Alkeav was reluctant to ask for assistance but he didn't have the time or the space to be picky.

---

shtrafbat - Soviet penal battalion

[Laya Eteric]

Akeav was no less frustrated, that was a given. How could he not be? Anyway, after listening to Laya, he looked at some papers, then set them down with a sigh. Then he addressed her directly: "The mistakes that were made there are unacceptable." Laya lowered her head slightly; that was no doubt true. They were supposed to guard an important location, and they had failed badly. After a few moments, Alkeav walked away from the table and to the window. Perhaps so he wouldn't have to look at the ugly facts?

He spoke again: "The Germans now have almost uncontested access to our landing points along the Volga. The failures of you and your compatriots have made this possible. You know as well as I what Stalin has said of retreating. Tell me, Eteric, why I shouldn't have you sent to the shtrafbat?" The shtrafbat. Laya nearly shuddered at the utterance of the word. A unit for traitors and cowards; everyone dreaded it, as it could mean a sentence worse than execution: those troops were deliberately sent onto suicide missions. But before Laya could think of anything to say, Alkeav continued: "Consider yourself lucky today, Eteric, that I have too few able bodies to be able to enforce those orders."

Such a relief. Laya felt the ache in her gut let up just a little. But she didn't sigh with relief—she struggled not to. ”I jut hope I don't lose anything...”

As Alkeav returned to the table, he moved the large maps and placed down a smaller one showing the German troops' advance. "Unfortunately, you are the most familiar with those German vanguard troops," he said, circling an area of the map. "We only have a limited amount of space with which to stop them. We have precious few resources to put in their way. Two 53-K's down this street, a T-34 from this block, and 1st Platoon are all immediately available, but I need to know where to send them."

A tank! Finally, Laya would have heavy firepower to use, a whole platoon a soldiers, two 45mm anti-tank guns, and a dual-purpose 76.2mm gun. But then she remembered, the one German had a new antitank weapon. She took a breath, and stood up strait. “Sir Leitenant, I appreciate that we can now fight the Germans with heavy weaponry, but I must warn you, one of them has a new antitank weapon.” She paused, trying to remember the details of the weapon. ”It is rocket powered, and held at the shoulder, it may be an enlarged copy of the American's bazooka. He managed to destroy some walls with it, and I do not doubt that a single, well placed shot will knock out any tank we have, even a KV-1.”

She sighed, but continued. “However, I noticed it had several serious drawbacks.” She gave a very slight grin at this. ”It is a very bulky and cumbersome weapon. I looks like a pipe about 2 meters long and 10 centimeters wide. It also emits a huge amount of flame, making his position obvious. What's more, in order to be recoilless, it is open at both ends, meaning he cannot fire it while in an enclosed space—otherwise, he'd be burned by the back-blast.”

She thought a moment, studying the map. ”I believe these rocket used a shaped charge warhead, which can be stopped by spaced armour of even very thin thickness. And camouflage the '34 even more than it is, send it down a street that is not heavily guarded, and send it through a wall to attack the main forces. Don't send all the troops down the main street, you should have them go through the buildings. Hide the antitank gun inside building perpendicular to the street. Tell all troops to shoot any soldier on site who appears to be carrying the rocket launcher. In addition, there was a sniper, an MG-42 team, and a trained dog that killed one of our troops...it knows how to go for the throat. Otherwise, all standard infantry weapons.”

Laya paused to catch her breath. ”What do you think, Sir?”

[Nikolai Feliksovich Alkeav]

Alkeav was impressed by the detail with which the Serzhant was able to deconstruct the situation and assemble a plan of action. There might still be some hope for her. Might.

"Acceptable," was the officer's curt response, maintaining his stoic exterior. He took a few more moments to study the map before continuing. "Take 2nd Platoon and rendezvous with the armour. I will transfer the T-34 to be under your direct command. The other units will be radioed with orders to converge on the intersection you suggested. "

The Serzhant's face lit up at the mention of having command of the tank. Perhaps a little too much. But that wasn't an immediate concern. Alkeav rolled up the map and handed it over to the platoon leader.

"You will be needing this more than I. Do not disappoint the Soviet Union again. Failure is not an option this time, understood?" An inappropriately threatening look accompanied those final words. Alkeav turned away once again, "Good luck." Best to temper fear with a bit of good will.

[Laya Eteric]

Laya waiting for Alkeav's response. She was still nervous. If she hoped to be saved from this incident, she would have to prove herself useful. That much was obvious to anyone. She wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead; it wasn't from the temperature. She looked at Alkeav again, waiting for his response.

"Acceptable," was what he said, before pausing to study the map. Laya felt a rush of relief, but did not dare show it. It might make him change his mind. So she gave a slight nod, and said "Yes sir." Then, her superior continued. "Take 2nd Platoon and rendezvous with the armour. I will transfer the T-34 to be under your direct command. The other units will be radioed with orders to converge on the intersection you suggested."

A tank! Finally, a tank! And not a BT light tank, or a T-26 or T-60 light tank, but a T-34! The tank that had shocked the Germans a year before...some of their newer PzKpfw IV's had a longer 75mm gun, but still had poorer armour. And the other German tanks had nothing bigger than a 50mm or short 75mm gun, and had better mobility than anything other than a BT tank...it would do perfectly.

Laya realized that she had been lost in those thoughts, for the look Alkeav had on his face for just a moment showed that she had been just a little too excited by the command she had just received. Then, he rolled up the map and gave it to Laya. She took it quickly, but not too quickly. Then, he spoke: "You will be needing this more than I. Do not disappoint the Soviet Union again. Failure is not an option this time, understood?" Feeling her stomach twist into a knot again, she said, "Yes sir. I promise will not fail this time." Or I might, no, certainly will have an NKVD man on me, she added mentally. As she saluted and turned to leave, Alkeav spoke one last time: "Good luck." With a slight smile, she replied, "Thank you, sir," and exited the room.

She nearly collapsed when the door behind her closed. That was an experience Laya would never forget--and hoped she would never have to go through again. She walked downstairs, and onto the rubble-strewn street, the map under her arm. She then headed to her troops, ready to meet them and herself with her new crew...

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following CP has been issued:

Alkeav - 4CP

Eteric - 4CP

-JT