Alexandra
Posts: 546
Joined: 12/7/2000 From: USA Status: offline
|
Here's the next bit:
Situation and mission: After months of training we have been selected to participate in Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. We will be going in on the American beach designated Utah. Our initial mission will be to move off the beach via four causeways, link up with dropped elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, who we worked with on Sicily, and aid them in securing St. Mere Eglise.
Kill Leader: Sgt Gniadek, 1st Armor Platoon (13)
The field: The field is quite varied. There's Utah itself, with the mouth of the River Douve to the south. To the west of the beach is a large marsh, with four raised causeways allowing access inland. Beyond the marsh the land is mostly clear, but interspersed with patches of woods and towns, the largest of which is St. Mere Eglise.
Attachments: 1 platoon of M10 Wolverines, 1 Airborne Company, 2 AT guns, 2 jeeps with .50 MGs
The plan: 1st Company with 1st Tank platoon attached will move out on Causeway 4, pass through the town of Foucarville, and link up with elements of the airborne beyond. They will then move together towards the north side of St. Mere Eglise. 2nd Company, with the AA guns, the M10s, and Btn HQ will move out on Causeway 3, pass through a small road junction with buildings to the north of the town of La Grand Chemin, and link up with the majority of the airborne. The forces will then move directly on St Mere Eglise. 3rd Company, with 2nd Armor platoon attached will begin at the town of Poupeville which is at the end of Causeway 1. It will move west, though Ste Marie du Mont, then across an open field to Fauville, and north to St Mere Eglise. Mortar platoon will exit via Causeway 2.
Date: June 6, 1944 Weather: Hazy Visibility: 800 yards
Turn One: 1st Co: 1st and 2nd platoons advance through Foucarville. HQ begins to set up in the town as 3rd platoon enters it. Tanks are still on the causeway. 2nd Co: All elememts advance. 3rd Co: They advance and come under sniper fire. Mortars: They advance to firing positions, but encounter an enemy AT team and one track is immobilized. *** German forces begin to advance on American postions. The Americans knock out a German scout car.
Turn Two: 1st Co: 1st Platoon links up with the Americans as Co HQ comes on line. 3rd disembarks in Fourcarville as the tanks pass through the town. 2nd: 4th Platoon dismounts and prepares to move to link with the Americans. A M10 is immobized by a mine. 3rd: No contact. Mortars: They knock out the enemy AT team. *** The Germans race forward but American fire is deadly as they destroy 4 scout cars and guns down a squad as it leaps from it's halftrack.
Turn Three: 1st Co: 2nd Platoon and the tanks link with the Americans. 3rd Platoon moves into a reserve role near Fourcarville. 2nd Co: The Americans in this sector knock out a scout car and a halftrack, and hurt a squad badly. 4th Platoon and Co Hq advance as 5th and 6th disembark. Trucks begin to withdraw. 3rd Co continues to advance on St Marie du Mont. *** The German attack continues, focused on the main part of the Americans in the center of the field. The Americans knock out a 'track and kill a squad. German armor is seen moving out of St Mere Eglise. Arty hits 9th Platoon.
Turn Four: 1st Co: The fickle gods of war don't smile in this sector, as our tanks score 2 hits - to no effect - on German light tanks, and an American squad puts four of it's bazooza rockets into the side of a Mark IV and all bounce. 2nd Co: Luck here is better, as the Ami's knock out another 'track and finish a squad. However, 4th Platoon's AT team blunders into a minefield and is killed. 5th and 6th Platoons also move forward, with the M10s and an AA gun. Part of 6th Platoon, plus the other AA gun and Btn HQ secure the small road junction to the north of La Grande Chemin. 3rd Co reaches the outskirts of St Marie du Mont. *** German Mk IVs push the Americans in the 1st Co sector, while they lose a light tank on the St Mere Eglise road. A German squad pours out of the basement of one of the buildings at the secured intersection and finds itself in hand to hand combat with Sgt Jagodinzki's squad.
Turn Five: 1st Co: The Americans put two more bazooks shots into the flank of a Mk IV - and both bounce! That's six, in a row, that have done nothing! 1st Platoon's AT Team is gunned down trying to get in range to use it's PIAT. Sgt Gniadek damages the lead Mk IV and Sgt Kintzi kills another light tank. 2nd Co: Our M10s knock out two more light tanks and the Americans, the M10s, and 4th, 5th, and elements of 6th Platoon move out towards St Mere Eglise. However, the lone German spec ops squad - getting no less than 7 reaction fire shots, in 4 directions, overwhelms Sgt Jagodinski's squad, and mangles an AA gun, a MG team, and Btn HQ. 3rd Co enters St Marie du Mont and kills an enemy sniper. *** The Germans' advance in the north. We damage a Mk IV and lose both Sgt Gniadek and Sgt Kintzi. Both of them were killed by tanks that had multiple flanking 'zooks shots bounce. Mortar fire forces the Spec Ops squad back.
Turn Six: 1st Co: The Americans gun down the crew of the damaged Mk IV, but two more 'zooka shots - again both flank ones - bounce! That's 8 bounces all from the flank. However, Lt Tomczak - the last of his platoon - knocks out of the Mk IVs. Just two left. 2nd Co: 6th platoon reverses direction and smokes the Spec Ops squad. 2nd Co: We swing an M10 to the north, and kill the 3rd Mk IV. Just one left. We also shift a Bofors north to help out with that last one. The rest of the force advances, knocking out a 'track as it moves. 3rd Co: St Marie du Mort is secured, and we spot an enemy panzer - we assume more are following - and set up an ambush. *** German armor arrives all over the place. In the north JdgPz's and Stug's arrive. Tomczak kills a Stug and his own Valentine is damaged. We also lose two 'tracks. In the center, the Americans lose a jeep, as we see enemy infantry. In the south, an enemy Mk IV dies to 2nd Tank platoon.
Turn Seven: 1st Co: The last Mk IV is damaged and it's crew bails out. The crew's of two of the dead tanks are killed by the Americans. 6th Platoon ambushes the second Stug and a squad that's with it and they destroy the squad. 2nd Co: The advance continues. Allied forces destroy an enemy MG team and a FO team. 3rd Co: Both Val's are damaged, but the Platoon leader - in his captured Mk IV - knocks out the second enemy tank. Our infantry kills the crew of the destroyed tanks. *** In the north more Stug's arrive and we lose more tracks. In the south, infantry arrives, on 'tracks, but we engage it and slow it down.
Turn Eight: 1st Co: Troops react to the JgPz's and Stug's. Lt Tomczak knocks out a Stug and his Valentine is killed in turn. 2nd Co continues to push towards St Mere Eglise. 3rd Co: 8th Platoon knocks out a track and it's squad. 7th moves up a hill, to the north of St. Marie du Mont and loses two men to mines. *** The Germans keep attacking to north and south. In the north, they knock out another track and we lose a Vickers team. In the south, though, they lose a track to tank fire and another one (Immobilized) to 8th Platoon's PIAT team. The team then knocks out a Panther before being knocked out itself.
Turn Nine: 1st Co: 2nd Platoon's PIAT team knocks out 2 JgPz's. We also kill an enemy MG team and mangle two squads. 2nd Co: An enemy Spec Ops squad is knocked out in the rear. The push towards St Mere Eglise continues, with the enemy losing a squad and a MG team. 3rd Co: Light exchanges of fire occur between Polish and German elements. *** In the north the Germans kill a track but have a Stug damaged by Bofors fire. In the south, we knock out 2 more Panthers.
Turn Ten: 1st Co: 1st and 2nd Platoons head for St Mere Eglise. The Americans kill the crew of the damaged Stug. 3rd Platoon finishes a German squad. 2nd Co: We shift a Bofors by truck and lose the truck to the last Stug. The push into St Mere Eglise continues with the Germans losing a MG team. American elements have made it to the outskirts of the city. 3rd Co: Some enemy Panther crew's are mopped up as is the crew of the immobilized track. There's at least one more track and one more Panther left there. *** The Germans attack around St Mere Eglise and St Marie du Mont. At Eglise the Americans lose a squad. The Germans also lose one. In addition, they lose a MG team. At du Mont, we take some casaulties but knock out a track and one of the damaged Valentines gets fixed. Futhermore, the only Mark IV that got past us a du Mont was seen and killed, as it moved through La Grand Chemin, by the mine immobilzied M10.
*** Note - At this point the battle notes will change from company sectors to locations: North, Eglise, and du Mont, as 1st and 2nd Comapny with supports will soon both be fighting in St Mere Eglise.
Turn Eleven: Eglise: We push the Germans back, slowly, killing more of them than we lose and knocking out two MG42 teams. *** The Germans push ahead, or try to, at Eglise. They attack at du Mont, but end up doing nothing more than losing a MG team and another Panther.
Turn Twelve: North: The last Stug gets caught by both Bofors and explodes. Eglise: The slow steady push continues with the Germans losing 2 squads and having more pushed back. du Mont: Enemy tank crewmen and a squad are destroyed. *** A German push at Eglise has some success as they destroy the HQ squad of 2nd Company as well as an American squad.
Turn Thirteen: North: The last German squad in the north is killed. St Mere Eglise is the only remaining front. In the town we keep advancing, though it's bloody. Three German and one American squads are destroyed. *** More fighting. We lose an M10 to a panzerfaust. At du Mont, a straggling German squad arrives and is killed.
Turn Fourteen: We keep pressuring the enemy and finish off three more squads. *** The next German counterattack causes losses but makes no tactical changes.
Turn Fifteen: Our fire is effective as we knock out 3 more enemy squads and start to secure the first major north-south road. However, 4th Platoon HQ squad is killed by enemy MG fire. *** The Germans even the score, as they counterattack, by destoying one US and one Polish squad.
Turn Sixteen: We kill 3 more squads but lose another M10 to a faust. *** We lose HQ 1st platoon to a German squad, even though we are firing at them with rifles and a MG while they move down the street and they return fire with SMGs and we're in houses.
Turn Seventeen: We lose most of another squad to the SMGs (after missing shots with 62 and 55 percent to hit, we lose 7 of 9 men to an 11 percent to hit from them). We lose HQ 2nd Platoon - again in a wooden building - at 300 meters to 2 guys with SMGs. Gotta love the effects of cover. We hold the first north-south road.
Turn Eighteen: We knock out a squad and a MG team and lose a MG team.
Turn Nineteen: We destroy 3 more squads and take 2/3 of the second north-south road.
The Germans fall back, giving us the town.
Results: Allied MV, 12608 to 3294.
Allied Losses: 290 men, 1 truck, 6 tracks, 5 AFV. German Losses: 479 men, 8 tracks, 28 AFV
Between scens: All infantry losses replaced. 1st Platoon (armor) rebuilt with 1 Val VIII and 2 Cromwell IVs.
Alex
_____________________________
"Tonight a dynasty is born." Ricky Proehl, then of the Saint Louis Rams. He was right! Go Pats! Winners of Super Bowls 36, 38 and 39.
|