Post by Franz Albrecht on Jan 26, 2013 5:24:38 GMT
Germany, March 1945
Thunder echoed throughout the German countryside. The rain fell while a thick fog surrounded the area. Field artillery rumbled in the distance, after hearing it for so long one could determine the difference between it and thunder. Franz had attempted to head south east toward Austria but had failed. The Americans had punched through and the fighting was ferocious all along the new front lines. The German defenders were well dug in and didn’t intend of giving up without a fight. Many men of the SS were moving west to avoid capture by the Russians. Some die hard units decided to fight to the end while others simply surrendered themselves with no resistance. Franz and his remaining companions, six in total were held up in a two story house just outside of the city. The men in his company consisted of other SS personnel who decided their chances were better on this side of the front. All of them carried weapons and were dressed in SS combat fatigues.
The house in which they were held up in was one of the few in the area with a roof. While they waited there had been discussion of surrender while others in the group said the fight must go on. Franz knew all was lost, it was only a matter of time before the war would come to a close. He wanted to go home, back to Austria where the grass was green and everyone existed in peace. Franz had enough of the war, he had witnessed terrible events, lost many friends and seen what man is really capable of. The young officer had never dreamed of such things before the war. It was the cruel reality of life however, it was just the way things were. All of a sudden his thoughts were interrupted by a shout, “Die britische!”. One of the SS men posted on watch spotted enemy in his binoculars.
The British were advancing, whether or not Franz and the others wanted a fight it was coming directly to them. The sound of weapons lock and loading echoed through the house. Franz looked out the window, in the distance he saw the shapes of men moving into position for an assault. After a few moments someone in the house decided it was time to shoot. The commonwealth troops reacted swiftly, a base skirmish line laid down a base of fire well others fell into flanking postions. Franz’s heart raced in his chest, to the point where he thought it would explode like a grenade. Bullets struck all over the building, mostly rife and sub machine gun rounds.
The SD untersturmfuherer picked a window on the lower level to return fire. He would pop up every few seconds to let a burst from his MP40 go. He heard his comrades upstairs shout, “Ich bekam ein!”. At this point Albrecht wasn’t sure if he managed to kill anyone but he shot at them on several occasions. As the firefight raged on the sound of a tracked vehicle was heard outside. As the sound slowly got closer the defenders began to get nervous. One of them franticly checked the perimeter from the windows in search of a tank, “Wo ist die Panzer?” he could hear them shouting.
Franz changed the magazine for his MP40, when he looked over the window ledge to shoot his heart suddenly skipped a beat, “Achtung! ger nach unten”. He shouted at the top of his lungs then the cannon fired, BOOM, fire shot from barrel along with a high explosive round from a 75mm Sherman firefly. The house which the Germans had been defending was hit, it exploded in a cloud of smoke and dust that reached roughly 20 feet in the air.
Everything grew quiet as the dust slowly settled. There was an now a very eerie silence as the Allied soldiers continued to advance further toward the town. They moved at a slow tactical pace, ready for anything else that might be thrown in their direction.
Translations:
“Die britische” - "The British"
“Ich bekam ein!” - "I got one!"
“Wo ist die Panzer?” - "Where is the tank?"
“Achtung! ger nach unten” "Attention! Get down"
Thunder echoed throughout the German countryside. The rain fell while a thick fog surrounded the area. Field artillery rumbled in the distance, after hearing it for so long one could determine the difference between it and thunder. Franz had attempted to head south east toward Austria but had failed. The Americans had punched through and the fighting was ferocious all along the new front lines. The German defenders were well dug in and didn’t intend of giving up without a fight. Many men of the SS were moving west to avoid capture by the Russians. Some die hard units decided to fight to the end while others simply surrendered themselves with no resistance. Franz and his remaining companions, six in total were held up in a two story house just outside of the city. The men in his company consisted of other SS personnel who decided their chances were better on this side of the front. All of them carried weapons and were dressed in SS combat fatigues.
The house in which they were held up in was one of the few in the area with a roof. While they waited there had been discussion of surrender while others in the group said the fight must go on. Franz knew all was lost, it was only a matter of time before the war would come to a close. He wanted to go home, back to Austria where the grass was green and everyone existed in peace. Franz had enough of the war, he had witnessed terrible events, lost many friends and seen what man is really capable of. The young officer had never dreamed of such things before the war. It was the cruel reality of life however, it was just the way things were. All of a sudden his thoughts were interrupted by a shout, “Die britische!”. One of the SS men posted on watch spotted enemy in his binoculars.
The British were advancing, whether or not Franz and the others wanted a fight it was coming directly to them. The sound of weapons lock and loading echoed through the house. Franz looked out the window, in the distance he saw the shapes of men moving into position for an assault. After a few moments someone in the house decided it was time to shoot. The commonwealth troops reacted swiftly, a base skirmish line laid down a base of fire well others fell into flanking postions. Franz’s heart raced in his chest, to the point where he thought it would explode like a grenade. Bullets struck all over the building, mostly rife and sub machine gun rounds.
The SD untersturmfuherer picked a window on the lower level to return fire. He would pop up every few seconds to let a burst from his MP40 go. He heard his comrades upstairs shout, “Ich bekam ein!”. At this point Albrecht wasn’t sure if he managed to kill anyone but he shot at them on several occasions. As the firefight raged on the sound of a tracked vehicle was heard outside. As the sound slowly got closer the defenders began to get nervous. One of them franticly checked the perimeter from the windows in search of a tank, “Wo ist die Panzer?” he could hear them shouting.
Franz changed the magazine for his MP40, when he looked over the window ledge to shoot his heart suddenly skipped a beat, “Achtung! ger nach unten”. He shouted at the top of his lungs then the cannon fired, BOOM, fire shot from barrel along with a high explosive round from a 75mm Sherman firefly. The house which the Germans had been defending was hit, it exploded in a cloud of smoke and dust that reached roughly 20 feet in the air.
Everything grew quiet as the dust slowly settled. There was an now a very eerie silence as the Allied soldiers continued to advance further toward the town. They moved at a slow tactical pace, ready for anything else that might be thrown in their direction.
Translations:
“Die britische” - "The British"
“Ich bekam ein!” - "I got one!"
“Wo ist die Panzer?” - "Where is the tank?"
“Achtung! ger nach unten” "Attention! Get down"
