Winter Rage....Orzel vs Hellcat

[Orzel Bialy]

Devastating reports are coming in from our units.
To the north Ivan's armor caught a task force of HT's that were attempting to outflank their positions. In the firefight that proceeded it seems they have all been destroyed...none of them answer any calls to report in.
In the center the Russians have managed to finish off two more HT's, a PzIV, a Stug and even a Tiger! We can hear the gunfire and the explosions from our position...the area known simply as "der Hügel." (the hill) has cost us much this day.
To the south around the area known to the troops as "die Verzweigung." (the junction or bypass) things have seemingly stalemated somewhat. Everywhere Ivan's armor is popping up and inflicting wounds...we curse them and their sinister T-34's and monster KV-1's.
Herr Oberst is beside himself a bit...the news of the lost Tiger hit him hard, though he tries not to show it. Hauptman Bernburg was a good friend of his. Nearby troops report that Bernburg's beloved Tiger " Anna " was hit on the flank by a 76mm round from a T-34 that emerged from "der Hugel". He must not have seen the Russian tank...but that is what happens at times in the heat of battle. You get blinded by rage and emotion and you make a mistake. The problem is mistakes here will get you killed. Anyway,
Herr Oberst murmurred "Mein armer Freund " and then went back to the maps.
After a few moments he gave me the most astounding orders. We discussed them for a minute and I told him that I didn't feel the orders were in the best interest of the detachement. His reply was short and sharp: "die Entscheidung ist abschließend. Erlassen Sie die Beschlüsse. "
I look him in the eyes and nod. " Ja Sir" I reply and reach for the radio gear.

[hellcat]

after the daring victory of my previous turn and substantial butcher's bill all has ground down again. Any progress in the Northern sector near Orzel's bridges has been slowed by the reinforcing of the Stug with a pzivg, leaving me only to mop up the halftrack platoon only

A Tiger and more tanks have appeared along the banks of the frozen river making any tank duelling that bit more risky now and the first kv1 across my bridge has bailed. The brave t-34 also bailed and I don't think the crew are gonna make it. Another Tiger is rolling up behind the smoking remnants of it's fellow. The battle of 'the hill' has finished it's first phase with the Germans in possession of it - but at some cost.

Further South the battle of the junction is likely to hot up but is also currently stalemated.

So far we are holding our own and have definitely given the Germans a bloody nose...

[Orzel Bialy]

Oberst Thielemann's head snapps up from the mapboard when the radio transmission begins to come through.
It is Hauptman Keller and he notifies us that he has gone to the rescue of the northern force that has become snarled in "Das Obstgartenfeld" (the orchard).
"erklären Sie Hauptman Keller, gesetzt zu bleiben." herr Oberst says and I immediately transmit the order.
" Nein mein Oberst. Ich muß unsere Kameraden retten." comes the reply from Keller...in the background you can hear the noise as his PzIVg roars along at high speed...with sporadic rattles of machine gun fire from time to time.
I look at herr Oberst to see how he is taking Keller's refusal to halt his rescue attempt. He looks at me for a moment and then says "Gott schützen diesen tapferen Dummkopf". (God protect this courageous fool)
For the next several minutes we hear the sounds of battle as Keller reports his progress. A Russian infantry squad is spotted and cut down by MG fire. After a couple more tenst minutes Hauptman Keller reports that an accompanying Stug has found horse-drawn Maxims...they too are destroyed.
I look at herr Oberst face to see if the good news has changed his mood...but he only listens and stares straight ahead. After a couple more minutes herr Hauptman reports that he has been successful in driving back Ivan. Oberst Thielemann nods and a small smile appears for a moment and then disappears.
The good news is tempered, however, by Keller's report that there are no survivors to be seen of the HT section...only wreckage and corpses.
"Ivan hat uns stark geschlagen." Thielemann says softly. "wir müssen uns erinnern, achtzugeben."
With that we set about how best to implement herr Oberst's latest plans.

[Orzel Bialy]

Ok...just in case my little "story line" hasn't been giving the big picture ( I have unfairly left that...it seems...to Hellcat ) here is a brief run down.
To the north..by a pair of bridges ( one Road / one Railroad ) on "Hellcats side" of the river a nasty melee has been brewing. He intercepted a platoon of HT's I can sent to try an sneak around that flank...and bloodied them pretty well. I had to commit some armor to redress the balance there and right now it's hard to tell just what will happen in "Das Obstgartenfeld" (the orchard)
To the center of the map is located "der Hugel" (the Hill) which sits on the west side of the river opposite the bridge leading out of the small Russian 'Isba" or hamlet which sits on the east side of the river. It is here that the deadliest battles have raged. Early on it seems we both rushed forward to claim it..and bumped heads rather hard. It has cost me several HT's and about a half dozen AFV's. Hellcat seem to be in the process of feeding a few more units...just enough to keep the bleeding going if I know him. Anyway, I think the arrival of a section of Tigers has brought that to a halt for the time being...or at least made him a bit more cautious. So far the wide river gorge has not been the killing ground I imagined it would be. To this point I have only seen one armor encounter there between a pair of PzIVg's and a T-34..which survived no fewer that six flank shots in two turns!!!
To the south there is a second area known now (thanks to Hellcat) as "die Verzweigung" or "the junction". There is no bridge here, just a wooded river bank that has a clearing where a road leads from the south to the "isba"...and is flanked on the east side by a second hill or plateau. Hellcat as blunted my advance here as well and what should have been a minor probing action got bigger than I (at least) expected. I have detected the strongest presence of Russian infantry around this area and some more armor to boot, forcing me to re-inforce my positionn there as well. Right now we have each other making wary steps to try and find a weakspot in each others armor. Not a pretty picture and definitely not the type of ground you want to use armor in. Ambush city around there!
Then the last place to talk about is a little area on the southern most bend of the river gorge. There seems to be a couple packets of each of our forces dodging about down there. Some small fire-fights...but right now it seems both of us are mostly protecting our southern flanks. I have been keeping a watchful eye there....just in case.

[Orzel Bialy]

Oberst Thielemann looks over the maps and marks down each reported area of Ivans presence.
"Russische Infanterie sind hier und hier" he says as he points to points on the map. "Ihre panzers rücken an diesem Punkt vor." has adds as he points to another point on the map.
As he is about to speak again the radio crackles again...it is Hauptman Keller reporting in. Our forces have become involved in another brawl in the area of "das Obstgartenfeld"...it seems Ivan is determined to make our encounter there something of an issue!
As Hauptman Keller continues to speak another report is handed to me. It was brought in by a runner, a young lad who is now being looked after by our medics for his battle wounds. The message is from our force commander who is fighting along "die Verzweigung" against the mounting Russian pressure there. I pass the note over to herr Oberst. It seems Ivan is making a bit of a push here as well...a column of armor has been spotted moving forward. We will have to amend our plans accordingly. Herr Oberst looks over the map and nods...the plan is in place. Now it is up to our gallant men to play it out.

[hellcat]

in the frozen orchard to the North of the map, Orzel has paid me back. There are two burning t-34s and he must as crept across the frozen river or something as there are pzivs and stugs everywhere... we're now fighting a holding action up there... if only we could shoot straight!

The bridge near my village is becoming a bridgehead... the glorious russians have killed a Stug and a pziv... whether we can hold this precarious position remains uncertain however.

In the South at the battle for the junction there is one less pzivg to worry about but I have seen at least two more there.

In the far South a solitary victory hex is also being fought over, it's still red for now though!

[Orzel Bialy]

More reports flood in to the command tank.
In the north, Ivan's infantry are as thick as a swarm of locust in "das Obstgartenfeld". Hauptman Keller continues to try and hold them at bay.
To the centre there is evidence of a renewed Russian push on "der Hugel". Ivan has been sneaking infantry and HT's across the river! And now a column of dreaded KV-1's have been spotted in the village slowly making their way to the sector.
To the south in the area of the "die Verzweigung" more Russian armor and infantry! Another push seemingly in the making.
Herr Oberst mulls over all the data as he plots it on the map. The battle is such a see-saw affair it is hard to tell who has the upper hand.
"das Resultat dieser Schlacht sind im Zweifel." he says to me as he puts a hand to his chin. "Ich fürchte, daß Ivan unsere Linie unterbrochen hat."
I look at him, the words are hard to accept...does he think Ivan may be able to take "der Hugel" back? I shake my head and reply, "nein, wir halten die Linie."
Thielemann glances and me and smiles, "Ich hoffe so.".

[hellcat]

last night I told the Colonel that we had run out of vodka and he started drinking brake fluid! It comes as no surprise to me our armor is breaking down now

I lost a KV1 to a Tiger shot at my bridge (hear that Belisarius?) where we are trying to consolidate a bridgehead. Despite firing a lot of shots at the Stug and the Tiger there (including some from across the frozen river near the Junction) no shots hit homeski.

In the North we have hastily redrawn our lines and there is another Stug up there that seems immune to my fire and I know there are more tanks up there.

At the junction things seem to be going a little better and we hope to claim it very soon...

[Orzel Bialy]

Herr Oberst and I actually climb out of the tank to stretch our legs and scan the landscape from the engine deck.
The wind is still icy cold, but there is now the smell of battle in the air. The scents of gunpowder, burning brush and timber mix with that of burning rubber, metal, paint...flesh.
" Tod ist auf Flügeln des Winds." (Death on the wings of the wind.) Thielemann says as he looks out at the landscape before us.
To the east the treeline and hills are hazed with the fog of battle. Pillars of thick blackish-brown smoke mark the areas of the heaviest fighting...they rise up at and angle with the winds, disappearing into the low overcast of winter clouds.
There is also the rattle of small arms fire....some distant, some close by....and then there is the occassional thunder-clap of an 88.
As we scan the horizon Karl pops out of the hatch and announces that Hauptman Keller is reporting that he has pushed the Russian infantry back further. "Das Obstgartenfeld" has become a garden of death....littered with nearly a 100 dead Soviet soldiers and their burning vehicles.
However, Major Kappel...commanding our forces in the center is worried that Ivan is preparing a counterattack. Herr Oberst is also concerned the most with what is occurring there. The river line will be critical when the spring thaw arrives...it would be best if Ivan had no bridgehead on the western bank.
We finish scanning the scene and re-enter the tank after a few more minutes. Once we are back in our places Thielemann gives me several pieces of paper and asks me to transmit the orders to the various units. I resume contacting the elements of our command and issue herr Oberst's orders.
The fight continues.

[hellcat]

i got a pzivg crew to bail but that was it... it's getting dangerous to move too far... , **** fascists!

[Orzel Bialy]

Herr Oberst is becoming fatigued by his exertions to keep the raging battle under control. The fluid battle-sectors are proving to be a very taxing job to manage.
Hauptman Keller reports a T-34 and a KV-1 approaching his positions around "das Obstgartenfeld". He reports that he will not wait for these monsters to hit him...he will attack them! Herr Oberst demands that the reckless Hauptman not over stretch his lines...for Ivan is not a broken foe.
Major Kappel reports that the Russians have control of "die Verzweigung" at this point. Our artillery greets the new owners and hopefully gives them the warmest of welcomes.
As the fight rages on it becomes clear that exhaustion will soon be setting in...for both sides have been bloodied. Who will break under the strain?

[hellcat]

with some effort we took out at Stug to the south of the Junction, however we have made no real progress. The line holds for now but there is a huge amount of armour in the North and still the Tigers to deal with at the Bridge / Hill... We laid some heavy stuff into one Tiger but it's still there, apparently unharmed. We hold our ground, The Fascist pigs hold theirs and there is killing ground inbetween... and still much killing yet to do...

[hellcat]

well we took out the main gun on one of the Tigers overlooking my bridge... panzers in the North continue to press us and have taken out another KV1... I suffered two main tank breakdowns this turn not what I need right now... we're flushing out some infantry at the junction but there are at least two panzer ivs still to be dealt with down that way... and yet another Stug...

If we sit tight and defend then all I count on is a draw. If we press forward we may yet break through somewhere... we've agreed there will be a 'Winter Rage' pt 2 but this one isn't decided just yet...

[Orzel Bialy]

Herr Oberst recieves the news coming into the command vehicle with a cup of tea. He seems more relaxed.
Hauptman Keller has reported in that he has finished off both tanks that were heading his way...but there are reports of more of Ivans stuff in the nearby woods and gullies. Herr Oberst is more than happy to make the Russians commit forces to the north and away from der Hugel.
Some more losses to mull over. We have been bloodied, there is no denying that, but Ivan has not come off lightly either. Herr Oberst has already said that a draw would be far better than a defeat....but who knows? Perhaps there will be a surprise breakthrough somewhere that can change the face of this battle.

[hellcat]

despite some bravery shown by some valiant infantry, we make no gains apart from a few infantry kills here and there. The fascist pigs are advancing in the North where the people's army have so far failed to hold them only slow them down...

From the village the Colonel is cheering on the infantry who are crossing the river to engage with the fascist pigs on the other side. Kv1s shouting their support also...

At the junction, more fascist pig infantry are being cleared out and the armor is bearing down on a pziv (or two?)

In the far south some of my infantry are desperately trying to stop a crew from reboarding their abandoned pziv...

no breakdowns this turn (Thankfully!)

while we're definitely on the defensive in the North we're still trying to push through in all other sectors...

what's slower than a KV? a KV with a suspension hit!

[Orzel Bialy]

Herr Oberst rubs his face with his hands again...all the while the radio crackles with incoming reports.
Along "der Hugel" the Russians continue to feed in what appears to be an endless stream of infantry and the occassional KV-1. What is left of the weary Tiger section under Major Kleinamen fights to keep Ivan at bay...even from here we hear the now nearly constant thunder of his 88's.
Along the "die Verzweigung" Major Kappel reports that the floodgates are creeking (yes an Alan Clark "Barbarossa" reference) as he attempts to stem the push that the Soviets are mounting in that sector.
In "das Obstgartenfeld" Hauptman Keller is requesting to be released to push forward toward the Russian isba in an effort to throw the Soviets off balance. Herr Oberst refuses the request to make a dash...he believes that sooner or later Ivan will show up with armor. Best to advance slowly and keep a constant pressure..."Fortschritt in der Stärke" (advance in strength) is Thielemann's reply to Keller. The real question is will Keller obey to the letter of the order...or will he stretch it as he always seems to do?
The battle has been a long and bloody affair...I get the feeling that Herr Oberst is becoming satisfied with the notion of clearing Ivan off our side of the river and then holding....but he doesn't come out and say it.

[hellcat]

The colonel belches like a katusha! I say 'but Colonel! how can infantry take out tigers?'

he laughs long and hard 'if each man brings me back a piece then it will be gone... you! bring me the radio mast! you! bring me the coaxial gun...' and on he goes... Infantry are streaming across the river, their shouts of rage can still just be heard above the din of the kvs... We are firing over open sights with katushas at the Tigers now... that should be a surprise for them...

In the North we have held the fascist pigs for now... they dare not come any further...

We are breaking out of the junction at last, with the death of the last Stug on our side we are free to attack the pzivs on the other... one of them took out a kv1 but we managed to get another one moving again so no matter now. Once those pzivs are deal't with we will have broken though and can turn our attention elsewhere...

after holding our own we are fighting again, onward camrade! onward!

[Orzel Bialy]

We are mapping out Hauptman Keller lastest reports when word arrives from Major Kappel that Ivan is sending HT's and Tanks across the river to the south of "der Hugel" in the area of "the junction".
"Ich schätzte, daß Ivan dieses versuchen würde." Herr Oberst says as he scans the map quickly. He then sips his tea and adds:
"Informieren Sie Hauptman Briess, um Gegenangriff zu richten."
"ja, herr Oberst" I reply and begin to radio Hauptman Briess to inform him of his new orders.
As I do this Hauptman Keller sends in another report from "the orchard". He requests freedom of movement from Thielemann.
"Hauptman Keller möchte auf das Dorf vorrücken." I relay the message.
Oberst Thielemann looks at the map for a moment then looks over to me and replies, : "Erklären Sie Hauptman Keller...."

[hellcat]

at the bridgehead another kv is burning but a tiger have also bailed... german tanks are coming down the frozen river from the North under direct katusha and kv fire from the village...

In the North sector the Russians are still holding, taking out a german halftrack trying to flank us.

At the junction the battle with the pzivs (and now an 88!) across the river continues with no success...

The endgame has begun, sooner or later one of us will crack open a gap and rush through...

[Orzel Bialy]

had to take a break to just say "holy crap" how will this battle end? I've got armor over the river to the north....Hellcat is sneaking stuff across to the south. The center is just a mess of flames and smoke.
Again the cheap Russian armor (cheap as in points...not quality!:) ) may be the deciding factor. The terrain does allow me to use my superior guns at long range...so those Ivan monsters are able to get close enough to have a chance of taking out even my Tigers . The seemingly endless stream of men and armor that Hellcat seems to have at his disposal is becoming disheartening already! I understand a bit better just how the Germans must have felt...kill 5...five more show up...kill them and 5 more show up after them...and it goes on and on!:mad:
Ok...next post will be back in character of Oberst Thielemann's aide. Just had to comment on this one.