Plan of Attack [Sam/Open]

[reverend]

Location: Small Command Post in France
Time: 0600
Weather: Clear sky, no wind.

A shadowed figure moves though the darkened room. A light dangling from a wire flicks on over a large wooden desk, casting dancing shadows over the walls of the large tent, against the walls where filing cabinets and smaller desks covered with loose reports and a wide assortment of odd bits and pieces. The large desk in the middle had a large map of the surrounding area stapled to its surface. Parts of the map had overhead photos of buildings and towns thumb tacked into place with arrows pointing to their position. There were also small figurines of soldiers and tanks and planes dotted all over the map, showing unit movements and positions.

James picked up one of the photographs. It was a ruined tank that had been riddle with holes from a mass amount of anti-tank fire. Studying the picture he thought that the Germans had gone a bit overboard when they attacked the Sherman, it was little more then just a shell now with multiple holes punched into it, it looked so fragile, almost as if just touching the photo of it would cause the tank to crumble in on itself. With a heavy sigh James put the picture back, there where a few reports coming in about a large concentration of anti-tank weaponry being moved around, and with the higher ranking officers being away from the camp it fell to 2nd Lieutenant James Goodwill to decide what to do.

But he had to have proof, the reports where too scattered and inconclusive. If he were to act on them he would need solid Intel that he could pass onto his superiors if and when they questioned his actions. He had sent out a few reconnaissance fighters, they where due to return soon. Hopefully they would bring with them the information he would need to launch an assault. He looked at the map on the table, two large red circles with arrows though them indicated the reported sightings and directions of the convoys that where meant to have been transporting the weaponry.

He picked up the first report and scanned though it.

…. After we ensured Private Dunson was safely in the medivac Privates Hollow, Greggor, Epping and myself continued with our reconnaissance of the highway. We came upon a convoy of 8 (eight) German trucks heading northwest along the road. As they passed we where able to see into the cargo area of the trucks and all seemed to be carrying weapons and ammunition. A list of weapons and ammunition we could identify is as follows.

Panzershreck’s x12
MG 34 Machine guns x7

Unfortunately there where many unidentifiable crates. We can only guess that they where full of ammunition….
Guess work. The second report was similar, both convoys where spotted heading in the same direction, and both where (According to the reports) filled with anti-tank weapons and heavy machineguns. Judging by the reports the convoys where heading to a small town called Amiens. James looked down at the map; the town in question had a large red circle around it and a question mark next to it. There was limited intelligence on the town, all they knew about it was it was under German control. But how many Germans and weather or not there where civilians there as well was still unknown. Not only that, but also these reports where two days old, the guns could be long gone by now if they had even went to the town in the first place. He paced back and forth as he waited for the recon pilots to return. He was stuck in the mud without them and their reports.

[Deleted]

The Taylorcraft L – 2 Grasshopper descended from the skies like a baby bird after its first flight. The wings where all but destroyed and the fuselage was heavily dented. From the shattered cockpit window Flight Officer Sam Coller brought the decrepit aircraft to the ground. The landing gear gave out shortly after touching down on the dirt airstrip and crumpled under the weight of the small reconnaissance plane. The aircraft slid to an abrupt stop, almost flipping tail over nose before settling under a cloud of dust. Ground crew rushed forward, swarming over the plane like ants on a piece of meat.

Sam looked though the shattered windscreen at the men and smiled. They had made it. He looked back at the photographer Gregory Phillips, whose seat had broken in the crash and was now lying in the back of the plane, both men burst into laughter. They where still laughing when the ground crew managed to pry open a door, both Sam and Greg climbed out of the ruined L-2 of their own accord.
“Those bloody Germans, they almost got us on that last run.” Greg said as a couple of medics came sprinting over. Sam nodded looking back at the plane. It was a miracle it had held together for as long as it did. The Reverend would probably put it down to an act of God or something. The medics examined both men, checking their responses and reflexes, when they discovered there where no injuries other then a few nasty bruises they packed up their gear and marched back off to continue with whatever they where doing before.

Sam looked back to Greg, “Go and get those photos developed, the Lieutenant will want to see them A.S.A.P.” Greg nodded and trotted off towards his tent. He had a fully set up of equipment for developing his photos and it wouldn’t take long. Sam thanked the men who had opened the door for him and marched towards the Command Tent, pushing though the flap and into the darkened room. He saw the Lieutenant Reverend standing over the map table and saluted, “Sir, Flight Officer Sam Coller reporting.”

[reverend]

(OOC: Sorry for the short post, im on break from work.)

James looked up as the tent flap opened and Sam walked in. At the sight of the Flight Officer his lips curled up into a smile, finally, he would have his reports. He came around to the front of the table and stood before the pilot, returning his salute.
“What have you got for me Coller? I can’t help but notice you don’t have any photographs.” James said as he looked at the pilots’ empty hands. He turned and walked back to the table, leaning on it and looking down at the map. He needed those photos, he needed hopefully the report Sam was about to give would tell him more of what he was facing.

James had no problem with combat, he could think clearly under fire confident that the Lord would protect him and help to advance him on his crusade to cast out the Axis sinners and bring light to their shattered souls. But he also knew that the Lord helped those who helped themselves, that all the prayers in the world couldn’t make things better unless those who offered the prayers used their own strength to see them though. Sometimes a small miracle would happen, an unbelievable and impossible stroke of good luck that showed James that he was still on the right path.


Grant us, O Lord, in all our duties thy help, in all our perplexities thy counsel, in all our dangers thy protection, and in all our sorrows thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.


He looked back at Sam, the pilot was young and strong, and he had the look of a hawk, born to fly.

[Deleted]

Sam took a step forward after lowering his hand from the salute. Sam was not a very large man, he had no great physical strength and his arms looked quiet thin despite being toned from his training. But he had quick reflexes and a fast mind, and his bright olive coloured eyes could pick up the smallest detail in the landscapes he flew over, witch made him the perfect pilot for reconnaissance missions and bombing runs.

“Sir, my photographer is developing the photos as we speak. I came straight here after we landed so I could give you my report, you wanted it as soon as possible.” Sam said, he took another step forward and looked over the map table, deciding it would be better to dive right into his report rather then wait for the Lieutenant to tell him to proceed. Sam had heard of 2nd Lieutenant Goodwill, or The Reverend, as he liked to be called. The man was not big on military ceremony, and he liked soldiers who got to the point quickly. So Sam had been told.

“We took off from this airstrip at 0600 hours on a heading due north to the town of Amiens. We passed over the roads where the convoys had been reported but saw no activity. We reached Amiens at 1100 hours and began running passes on the town.” As Sam spoke he traced their movements on the map with his finger. At that moment the flap of the tent opened and Greg stepped in, saluting the Lieutenant and passing a folder to Sam before leaving again just as quickly, Greg was a good photographer but he didn’t like listening to people talk about killing others. Once the flap had stopped swaying Sam continued.

“We where able to take quiet a few photographs of the towns layout and where able to identify the hospital and school, both of witch are being heavily used by the Germans.” Sam took the photos out of folder and found the ones he needed. He placed them on the table. The first one showed the hospital, the ground and buildings around it had been heavily shelled but the hospital itself had little to no damage and the roads to it had been cleared of debris. The second showed the school, its grounds where filled with tents, no doubt the tents would house the enlisted soldiers while the officers would get rooms in the school itself. Sam took out a third picture.
“We believe this is where they are storing the weapons, there was a long line of trucks parked around the building.” The photo showed a warehouse surrounded by trucks and swarms of people moving around them, carrying large crates and weapons.

“We also where able to get a shot of their anti-air weaponry.” The next photo showed a large tank like vehicle with four flack cannons almost aimed directly at the camera and blazing.
“Neither myself nor Greg know what it is, we’ve never seen anything like it before and it nearly swatted us from the sky.”
Sam said, he looked up as he finished speaking. He had given the short version with all the important details that the Lieutenant would need. He put the folder with the rest of the photos on the table, they showed the town from a variety of angles and close ups on buildings of interest. He stood quietly as he waited to hear the Reverend’s thoughts.

[reverend]

James listened to Sam as he gave his report. He was glad the pilot had got straight into the point, it had been far too long since the sightings of the trucks that had contained the weapons, and it was good to have new information. Hopefully he would be able to use what he learned to plan out an attack on the warehouse.

He looked over the photos that Greg had brought in; the layout of the town would be very useful. Most of the buildings where useless, having been bombed to rubble, and only the streets useful to the Germans had been cleared. The hospital was under heavy guard, unusually heavy. He studied the photo of the hospital closely; it even had machinegun nests set up behind sandbags on the roof. Capturing the hospital intact could also mean capturing medical supplies.

The school was also of great interest to him. The mass amounts of tents in the school grounds suggested the enemy had a whole company stationed in the town. A sunrise bombing run would decimate their troops and with the planes hidden in the sun they would be hard to spot on the approach. After the first wave of bombers had gone over send infantry in to capture the hospital and try for the warehouse plus eliminate any anti-air units witch would allow a second wave of smaller bombers to come in and surgically level the weapons warehouse should the ground troops be unable to capture it.

James picked up the photo of the anti-air unit. He had been briefed on these anti-air tanks, they where causing trouble everywhere. Due to the simple fact that the guns where mounted on a Panzer chassis the weapon was very tough to take out. The ground forces would have a tough job taking it out, unless he could get a few tanks to support the infantry or some anti-tank weapons.

“The anti-air weapon you encountered is called a Wirbelwind, they’ve been spotted if a few other places but thankfully we haven’t run into too many of them. The simple fact there’s one here and with the heavy guard on the hospital leads me to believe that a high-ranking officer is in the town. We need to storm it quickly.” He turned to Sam and quickly told him his plan. “I would like you to fly the lead bomber, you didn’t get spotted over the town until you where on top of it. I’ll need you to lead the first wave of bombers along the same path as your reconnaissance flight.”

[Deleted]

Sam stood motionless for a moment. He didn’t want to fly back into the town, after his recon plan had been spotted the Germans where bound to increase their security. But a morning attack could be good; with the sun in the eyes of the enemy they could get a few bombers over the town and surprise them with a morning show of fireworks. Levelling the school and putting massive craters in the school grounds would wipe out a large portion of the enemy troops, making it easier for the Allied ground troops to advance though the town.

It was a sound plan, and weather or not he wanted to lead the first wave of bombers he had been ordered too. At least Greg would be next to him; Sam seemed to be able to fly better with the photographer as his co-pilot. He looked at the map, imagining his trajectories and flight paths and what the best formation would be to lead the bombers though undetected. He snapped out of his slight daze and saluted the Lieutenant Reverend.
“Yes sir, I will go and prepare. When will the assault take place?” He would like at least a day or two to relax a bit, even though he and Greg had a laugh about their rough landing, they had almost died, he needed some time for that.

He waited for the Reverend’s response before leaving the tent; Greg was waiting outside for him. The photographer was watching the ground crew strapping chains around their ruined Grasshopper and attaching them to a jeep. Looking at the wreak Sam realized just how close he and Greg had come to dieing, a cold shiver ran down both their spines as they made eye contact. They knew what each other was thinking, and both where glad it was only the plane being scraped off the airstrip and not them.

The started walking back to their tents, Greg spoke first.
“So what’s happening?”
“We’re going to lead a bombing run on the town.”
“Your serious? There’s not much left of it to bomb.”
“I know, but the Lieutenant figures we can get a small group of bombers over the town without being seen as long as we follow the flight path we took in that.” Sam pointed to the crumpled heap of the L-2.
“Bombers are bigger and louder then a little Grasshopper.”
“I know, lets just get some rest.” They split up and headed off to their own tents, Sam crawled into his bunk and fell asleep quickly.

[reverend]

James smiled at the young pilot, “You will be notified of the date of the operation.” He said as he returned the salute and watched the Flight Officer leave. He turned back to the photos and the map, looking over them both and drawing a few arrows around the town, he would decide on the best deployment for ground troops later, right now he had too see if he could get some tanks to support them.

Picking up a phone he wound the crank and waited for the operator. “This is Second Lieutenant James Goodwill. Put me though to 122nd armoured.”

[OOC: A lame ending to a short thread I know, but I would just like it ended.]

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following CP has been issued:

Coller - 4

-JT