We have started a Chain of
Command campaign using a map covering the Belgium town of Spa. This is a fictitious setup to include all
players and their respective platoons. This
is the outcome of turn one. The basic setup is the failed Ardennes offensive.
Allied victories 2
Axis victories 1
Unit
|
Position
|
CO's Opinion
|
Men’s Opinion
|
|
Neil
|
Soviet Rifle Platoon
|
1
|
+2
|
+1
|
Elliot
|
Armoured Rifle Platoon
|
2
|
-1
|
-1
|
Simon
|
British Infantry Platoon
|
1
|
+2
|
+2
|
Frazer
|
Heer Grenadiers
|
1
|
-2
|
-1
|
Matt
|
SS Panzergrenadiers
|
2
|
+1
|
+2
|
Chris
|
Heer Panzergrenadiers
|
1
|
-1
|
-1
|
The German offensive through the Spa region
caught the Allies by surprise. Despite this unexpected attack both the
Soviet and British units refitting in the region quickly organised themselves
into a cohesive defence stalling the lead elements of the German Kampfgruppe
with only the less experienced American units, facing veteran SS troops, being
pushed back to their secondary line to organise a defence. The
Kampfgruppe leader was adamant that the advance should continue and that the
others would break through imminently.
Obersturmfuhrer Hassel looked across at the
derelict farm building, deciding the area was clear of enemy he gave the signal
for the platoon to advance. As his men reached the edge of the wood line
he spotted a British patrol crossing road and called for first and second
squads to open fire; third squad continued to advance unseen along a sunken
road toward the derelict building
They had been fighting for nearly two hours and had
come close to taking the building and dominating the battlefield but the
British were dogmatic in defence. The order to withdraw came.
Losses had been higher than expected and Squad leader Torsten had been badly
wound as he and his men attempted to assault the building; with half of the
squad either dead or on their way to the field hospital. It was Kagan
Obermayer’s good leadership that had allowed them to withdraw in good order and
the battered platoon pulled back to their lines.
The debriefing by battalion command left Walfred no
doubt that the CO, and his men, expected better from him. He promoted
Karl Fischer to temporary leader of second squad while Torsten recovered.
He would look at reorganising the platoon once he knew his next mission.
Corporal Williamson led his men in a dash across
the road and at once he and his men came under fire. “Chalky copped it!” he
heard behind him. Leading men wasn’t sitting easily with Corporal Fraser
Williamson and he needed to get some success behind him to win the confidence
of his men. Movement to his right, more Germans “INTO THE FARM!” he
bellowed. If he could get his section into the dilapidated building they
would have some good cover and be able to return fire.
Sgt Dracott patted the shoulder of Private Coombs
“put some smoke down on the road and cover Two Sections advance, there’s a good
lad”. Eager to comply Billy Coombs laid the 2” mortar and dropped the
first round on target and called for another bomb from his oppo Private Terry
‘Tel’ Read. “Nicely done Private Coombs, let’s have another like that”
Sgt Dracott said.
Lieutenant Odhran Rynn marched about the battle as
though he was on the parade ground at Sandhurst ignoring the rounds whipping
through the air. He barked orders and offered encouragement where
needed. His only real problem was Corporal Bexon and One Section.
They should have been by hedgerow at the road edge by now and putting fire into
the woods opposite but he the section had gone to ground in the meadow and were
taking fire from at least 2 German machine guns.
Corporal Billy Toon got his men moving as
Lieutenant Rynn ordered; he directed the fire of the rifle team whilst the Bren
shifted into a better position. A German squad had been trying to
outflank him but had run into fire from Fraser’s section in the house. He
could see enemy lying dead in the road.
“They’re pulling back, hold your fire” Lieutenant
Rynn shouted towards the house. Sgt Draycott and the platoon medic were
running towards the meadow where One section was.
Obersturmfuhrer Albrecht Kaufmann‘s performance was
exemplary in this, his first mission in the Operation Spa campaign. With
reinforcements scarce, only the Company adjutant was available to bolster
Kaufmann’s forces but from the intelligence received it was 'now or never' and
I personally gave the 'go' for the mission into no man’s land. Having made
contact with the enemy early on, it was clear that the American's were caught
largely by surprise with an attack across the fields to the south of the area.
The 12th then began to lay down some withering fire from two key positions, one
with a clear line of sight down the main road through the hamlet and the other
from a ruined house selected early on as a firebase. Caught largely in the
open, the American HMG's were quickly dealt with and whilst the other squads
proved resilient the loss of such a key unit was enough to make the Americans
withdraw whilst the radio operator was still placing desperate calls for
support from the rear to no avail. Our only loss was the brave Scharfurhrer
Gunther from the first squad although Kaufmann’s battlefield re-organisation
decisions as well as the overall outcome of the battle have increased my
opinion of him with such a popular man in Klaus Ackermann being promoted from
the ranks to lead 2nd squad increasing the overall morale of the men
Lt. Richard ‘Dick’ Porter was cursing, his squads
had got separated as they moved through the woods, the ground was boggy and
tactical movement difficult.
The ambush had been sudden and violent 5 men from
Sgt Bernard Matthews’s squad were hit and down in the first few seconds.
The remaining men were struggling to get any return fire and the other squads
were disorganised and fragmented.
There had been complaints about taking the two .50
cals machine guns on patrol but now the reassuringly hard percussion of the
heavy calibre guns was the only thing keeping the Germans from over running
their position.
As Lt. Porter withdrew from the battlefield he was
dismayed to see how many men were missing or calling for the Corpsman! It was
too late for Sgt Bernard Matthews he had bought the farm!
The CO was understated in his debriefing but it was
clear he had not been fully in command of his men and failed to make use of the
battalion support. Lt. Porter needed to decide on a replacement squad
leader.
Leytenant Vasily Stanislov started his patrol in
good spirits; he had found a cache of Belgian beer at the last abandoned farm
house and was looking forward to sharing it with his squad leaders at the end
of the patrol. His reverie was shattered as the unmistakable sound of a
German MG ripped through the valley floor. His forward most squad was
pinned down in the small copse to the right but Mladshiy Serzhant Yulian
Pasternak had been showing signs of battle fatigue lately and might just have
lost the conviction to get involved. He gripped the Makarov tightly; he
would have to speak to Yulian later if they both lived through the morning.
Vasily called for Serzhant Kirill Utkin and ordered
him back down the track towards their lines. They had just passed a group
of tankers who were getting ready to move out the next day.
Yuri ordered High Explosive to be loaded and
cranked the turret traverse of the KV-1 to the right; the acrid smoke of the
previous rounds swirling in the turret and out the open hatches but still
making the crew cough and their eyes stream, the order to fire never came,
through the periscope it was clear the enemy had pulled back.
The CO was impressed with his performance and
Vasily was rewarded with a bottle of vodka, Polish but better than nothing,
this he would not be sharing with his men.
The Soviet bullets were all around Gerhard’s head,
but the relative safety of the trees gave him the false confidence he needed to
continuously pop his head up and unleash another round or two back across the
grassland into the advancing enemy, who also like him and his fellow Germans
had the cover of the coniferous woodland.
The ground began to shake, and Gerhard’s heart
sunk. As the ominous sound of Soviet armour rumbled from the distance and
slowly came into view.
“Take that beast out” screamed the squad’s Junior
Leader and his attached Panzerschrek team raced through the scattered men and
took aim as the oncoming behemoth’s turret began to turn towards their
position.
BOOM!!, as the tanks shell landed amongst the
Germans, rocket after rocket zipped off in the direction of the Soviet tank,
but all of them either fell short or flew past its hulking hull, causing
nothing but light burn marks to the paint work.
BOOM! another shell hit its target, German bodies
and pieces of tree flying everywhere.
“What now?” screamed Gerhard, “What are we doing,
what should we do?”
No answer; Gerhard looked around, hunting,
searching for his team leader, waiting for an order.
“What now?
Then an unwanted face appeared in his vision, the
bloody, burnt face of his Junior Leader, his body ripped to shreds, presumably
from the final explosion that caused so much damage, had taken his life.
“Fall back, fall back” screamed Gerhard, the sudden
realisation that no one else was going to give the order forcing him to take
charge.
The remnants of his squad metres behind him,
Gerhard and his squad disappeared into the safety of the trees, hoping that his
fellow Germans were having much more luck against the Soviets.
Gerhard Schrieken Age: 21 promoted to
Obergefreiter
A former track star in his native Germany, he only
joined the army because all three of his fellow 4x100m running team had decided
to do so. Not overly confidant he tended to end up in places he didn’t want to
be, purely because of peer pressure. Little did he know that after such a short
time at the front line he would be given command of a squad of riflemen, due to
the untimely death of his Junior Leader, the former 4th leg man of his relay
team. For once it wasn’t him handing the baton to his friend but his former
friend handing the baton to him.
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