US Army, 11/8/42 assault on airfield

[azraelck]

Col. Greer
Time: 1200 hours
Weather: Hazy
Visibility: 18

We were given orders to secure an airfield held by VF forces toady. It was a total disaster, ending long before it really began.

We begun by advancing straight south from our initial position on the road west of town. My troops, largely comprised of U.S. Army Rangers supported by a handful of Shermans, Priests, and assorted Artillery, aimed towards the west end of the airfield.

Disaster struck as soon as we reached the road north of our objective. Stukas began to bomb us, nearly wiping out every last Ranger squad I had. Despite this, I rallied the men and continued to advance, destroying a MG bunker and two unprotected ammo dumps; as well as securing our first flag. Then came the damn Stukas a second time, pounding our position with unerring accuracy. This finished us off, needless to say, and I gave the order to retreat in full.

Only my artillery teams did not recieve any casualties, though due to a lack of vehicles, we were forced to abandon our howitzers, AA guns, and 81mm mortars in the wild. Hopefully the French won't locate them before we can return.

The heroes of the day are the tank crew under Sgt. Hall. In their badly damaged Sherman, they returned to the field and ferried my command staff and two depleted squads of Rangers to safety, while under heavy fire. They all deserve medals for their actions.


Final Score US 384/ VF 5334

[IBTyrone]

Gotta watch out for that air support. Instant death if your infantry are clumped too close together. [X(]

[azraelck]

Yeah, I kinda learned that...[X(]

[Mike Wood]

Hello...

There actually was a raid, during Operation Torch, on a German airfield, in 1942, by a company of 15 American Stuart tanks. The company commander was given orders to go an stir up trouble. He attacked the airfield, in spite of the fact that the optical telescopes used for aiming had not been aligned since the landings and were badly aligned. The Stuarts raced around the airfield, shooting at men, AA guns and aircraft. Several of the tanks were blocking the runways, so the German planes could not take off, but the German pilots were taxiing fast enough to get the nose off the ground and staffing the tanks while still on the ground. A really strange duel. After a while the tank company commander ordered a withdrawal. Two tanks were damaged. Several planes were destroyed and several buildings were on fire. Source, "U.S. Army in World War Two: Mediterranean Campaign", by the U.S. Army.

Neat...

Michael Wood