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A New Assignment

(Note: This is a continuation of my earlier posting, “And We Shall Stand.” It is just something to do while I wait to see what Matrix does with this game.)

I must have made an impression on somebody in Norway. After returning to Berlin and submitting my report, my superior asked me to close the door. Alarm bells immediately started ringing in my head – particularly given what I had done in Norway. I had decided that Hitler was a menace and needed to be stopped. So, while I participated in the attack to take Brumunddal in central Norway, I sought an opportunity to make contact with the Allied soldiers. When I did, I gave then a bundle of papers that described the units involved in the operation, their weapons, and their training. Of course, if I had been caught, or even if my loyalties came under suspicion, I would be lucky to be shot.

I tried not to look too relieved when Mr. Rothbart smiled and congratulated me. “Lieutenant Waldschmidt spoke quite well of you in his report to the army. He said that you provided a valuable service keeping him informed of the battlefield situation. You do realize, however, that this is not your job.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your job is to observe the German army. Your job is to report whether our training has any gaps, on the effectiveness of our weapons, and on the quality of our leaders. You are specifically not supposed to be looking at the enemy.”

“Yes. I know. But, when you realize that there is an enemy battalion on your flank, I think you have to let somebody know.”

“Of course,” Rothbart said. “But that is not why I asked you in here. I want to give you a permanent assignment as a field agent.”

I could do nothing but stare for a moment, while I struggled to make sure that I had heard him right. I was too nervous to risk giving the wrong reaction.

“You did good work. You brought back some very valuable information and you proved your ability to be a very good observer. So, we have another operation planned. I cannot give you any details. I do not have any details. All I can do is give you an address and a pass. You are to go to Cologne and, from there, find the 7th Panzer Division under General Rommell. He will assign you to a unit.

“Cologne?”

“It’s not so surprising,” said Rothbart. “We have been at war against France and England for eight months now. Cologne is in the right direction.”

“Of course,” I said. “When are they expecting me?”

“They did not give me a date,” Rothbart said. “However, they hinted that you should not waste any time. You should leave as soon as possible – tomorrow, if possible – and try to get to your assignment by Tuesday.”

“I’ll leave right away.”

“Not right away. We have some formalities to go through first.”

They made me a Lieutenant in the SS. I had never been very political; choosing to keep my opinions to myself and not socializing much with others. As a result, nobody knew my opinions. I found that it was dangerous to express certain opinions, so I did not express them. I listened to what others said, however. I was, after all, a trained observer. So when they asked me questions in preparation to giving me my commission, I knew the answers. I had few close friends, and my acquaintances were mostly people that I met at work – many of them were avid Nazis and assumed I was, too. So, I was sworn in, given a uniform, and handed my orders.

To Cologne

I managed to make the trip to Cologne at night. Normally, with blackout conditions, it would have been a difficult trip. However, the full moon was shining on the night of May 6th bright enough to illuminate the runways. Once in Cologne, I located the 7th Panzer Division. After the clerks there confirmed my orders, I was assigned to the 25/7th Panzer Regiment under Colonel Rothenburg.

Colonel Rothenburg also gave me something that I did not expect.

He introduced me to Hank Zimmer, my personal bodyguard. Zimmer was told to accompany me and to prevent my capture. He seemed to be a bookish young man, out of place in a military uniform, but quite eager to please his commander. He also assigned me a driver and orderly. Corporal Felix Taggart took a motorcycle with side car out of the motor pool. He would drive me around as I needed.

On the evening of May 9th, I ordered both of my companions into bed early. Nobody had given me any announcement of what was to come, but I could read the signs easily enough. The tanks were topped with fuel. There were ammunition and fuel trucks everywhere. The officers had given the soldiers an easy day, though nobody was allowed to leave their base.

At 2:00 in the morning I found out why. We were roused out of bed. I was told to report to Major Brandner’s headquarters. I ordered Zimmer to scrounge some food and Taggart to prepare his motorcycle and side car for travel.

Around us, others were moving as well. The moon, still nearly full, was high in the sky providing the soldiers with light, while they armed themselves and prepared for a battle.

The first thing I asked when I got to Colonel Rothenburg’s tent was, “Are we going to them, or are they coming here?”

“We are attacking,” Colonel Rothenburg said. “We will spearhead the attack. We’ll stop when we reach the Ourthe River. According to my orders, you are free to move around at will, and you are specifically ordered not to participate in the fighting. They made that quite clear; that you are to observe, and not to fight. If you are not going to fight, I recommend that you stay out of the way. My soldiers do not have any particularly compelling reason to keep you alive.”

“Yes, Colonel,” I said with a salute.

The Advance

We had no trouble breaking through the enemy lines. They obviously did not expect an attack through the Ardennes Forest, and we were quickly making our way west. Belgium soldiers and citizens had the presence of mind to throw a few obstacles in our way. We encountered huge fallen oil-soaked trees set on fire and hastily cut trenches across the road for the engineers to bridge or fill in, overturned vehicles to push aside and burning or blown bridges, but we encountered little in the way of resistance.

Colonel Rothenburg had stopped his command vehicle at a farm house east of Chabrehez while engineers took care of the most recent set of obstacles ahead of us. One of his radio operators had just handed him a report from one of the scouts up ahead. According to the report, the Belgium army was going to try to make its first attempt at organized resistance at Chabrehez.

Rothenberg got out his map. The obvious thing for him to do would be to charge directly to Chabrehez. The colonel looked at me and said, “I do not like doing the obvious. It is what the enemy is most prepared for. What do you think would happen if we went north, around Chabrehez, and hit it from behind?”

“I don’t know,” he said honestly.

“Let’s find out,” said Rothenberg. He summoned the attention of the radio operator. “Tell Major Brandner and Major Wolter that we will rendezvous at Petites Tailles. When they get there, continue west until they meet resistance. Tell Wolter not to neglect his flanks, they will be vulnerable.”

Having heard the orders, I told Colonel Rothenburg. “I suppose I should go to Petites-Tailles.”

“Just make sure that you are not the first ones there,” warned Colonel Rothenburg.

“I will do my best, Colonel.” I saluted and left.

Outside, Taggart and Zimmer were waiting with the motorcycle and side car. Zimmer sat quietly propped up in the shade of a tree, reading Hitler’s book Mein Kampf. Rommell had handed out copies when he took over the 7th Panzer Division, and one of them had made their way into Zimmer’s hands.

“All filled up and ready to go,” Taggart said.

Zimmer quickly put his book away, stood, and saluted.

I walked up to the bike and got our own map out. I found the road that we were on and traced a route west, through a small village called Pisserotte. After the village we turned north to Petites-Tailles.

Zimmer looked suddenly nervous. His concern did not bother me. I climbed into the side car and put on my goggles. Taggart climbed on and started the motorcycle, and Zimmer got on behind him and held on.

Pisserotte

Getting to Pisserotte was more difficult than I had expected. The road went through a section of woods where the Belgium army had gone through a lot of work to slow traffic. We weaved through fallen trees and other obstacles, stopping once to do our best to lift our vehicle over the barriers. Engineers were blowing the larger obstacles out of the way, while bull dozers and men with bare hands and shovels did the rest of the work.

The forward elements of the army had moved on ahead. Once we got out of the woods, we had a clear stretch of open road to Pisserotte itself. We had ten Pzkpfw 35(t) tanks sitting in the town itself, most of them facing west behind walls and vehicles ready for a possible enemy attack. In addition to the tanks, a platoon of infantry kept the citizens off the street and properly subdued. The road out of town was littered with the remains dropped by those who had fled. However, the speed of our advance did not give many of the inhabitants time to even understand what was going on.

Yet, the tank platoons had no interest in sitting still. No sooner had we arrived in the town that the tanks were on the move. There was a slope overlooking the town to the west and the company commander had no intention of allowing an enemy a chance to show up on that high ground. He moved two of his tank platoons forward to climb the hill. I had to see what was up on top of the hill as well, so I ordered Taggart to advance with one of the two platoons.

What we found when we got to the top was open land with some forests a few tens of meters ahead of us, with no sign of the enemy.

We had come to a crossroads. Bastogne sat south of us about twenty five kilometers. Les Tailles was only a couple of kilometers to the west. Our destination of Petites Tailles was a couple of a few kilometers to the north. However, before we could march our units down the road we had to make sure that the enemy did not suddenly come at us from the west or south.

The unit assigned to that task was 1st/7 Motorcycle Company. They came buzzing up the road and set up defenses so that they cut both roads. Two platoons set up to block the road coming up from Bastogne, while two others set up to block the road from Les Tailles. These units were not large enough to stop any large scale attack. Yet, it was hoped that they would last long enough for the rest of the army to deploy and come to their assistance. In the mean time, that army would be taking the road north towards Petites Tailles, with the tanks of 1 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion leading the way north.

On the road north to Petites-Tailles I started to get anxious. We were going around Le Tailles for a reason – because scouts had reported that the enemy was there, and “there” was only a kilometer or two west of us. I started to imagine the sudden and searing pain of a bullet ripping through my body, and explosion ripping through my limbs. Another possibility is that, in an instant, there would be nothing – no sensation at all, even of regret, as I experienced instant death. That would not be a bad option.

Fortunately, May afternoon had turned into a cold mist. When I had Taggart stop the motorcycle, I could not see the town. I had no doubt that they could not see us, though they could have heard us if they listened well. Plus, there were some definite reports of enemy infantry in the fields to our left – though they were fleeting. Other than that, we had not actually seen signs of the enemy yet.

1 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion moved ahead cautiously. The first platoon of tanks left the road and faced west, where the enemy was known to be, allowing the rest of the company to pass safely behind. The next platoon turned off as well, all with the intention of protecting the company from a flanking attack. Nothing happened, and the group continued on peacefully.

Behind us, a convoy of motorcycles, trucks and halftracks were lined up. We certainly did not want the enemy attacking a group of vulnerable riders, so 1 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion took the pains to make sure not only that the road was clear but that the areas where the enemy could fire down on the road were also clear.

I had Taggart keep us on the road, following tracks where the tanks would have set off any mines that might have been placed. When the tanks maneuvered, we stopped, I would get out my binoculars, and watch. Typically, one platoon would go heading out across the prairie while another platoon sat nearby pointing their guns at any likely enemy hideout, ready to fire at the first sign of trouble.

None came.

Eventually, we reached Petites-Tailles. There, we met up with 2 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion and its commander Major Brandner.

Petites-Tailles was not nearly a large enough town to hold a formation of over forty tanks – counting a detached recon platoon that traveled with us. I could only imagine what the citizens must have felt, sneaking a peek out their windows, and seeing this much firepower. This was not all of it. A couple of battalions of motorcycle infantry were coming up behind, with engineers, artillery, and supplies. The people of the town would be seeing a military parade the likes of which they had probably never imagined.

I found Major Brandner standing on the roof of a building on the northwest side of the town. He was looking through his binoculars at an array of tanks moving across a kilometer of open grassland, approaching the trees. While he was looking ahead, I turned around and looked behind us. Two roads entered Petites-Tailles. Each was filled with trucks and motorcycles waiting for the tank companies to report that the road ahead was clear.

We did not get that report.

The top of the shed on the northwest side of Petites-Tailles was, perhaps, the best vantage point for observing the advance to the northwest. However, the distant trees were lost in the fog. I saw the flash from the gun. I saw the flash of an explosion cut through the fog. A few more flashes followed before the rumblings of the first shells reached us. A messenger climbed the roof of the shed and approached Major Brandner. “Lead elements report infantry dug in along the tree line,” he reported.

Major Brandner tried to get a look at the battle through his binoculars, then cursed the fog. “We’ll need infantry to clear them out. Who’s in front?”

The area ahead of us consisted of a road across an open field that entered the trees about a kilometer away. Major Brandner ordered the 3rd/7th Motorcycle Company to move up the valley to our right until they reached the trees, then move north to clear the woods of the enemy. He ordered the 3rd/6th Motorized Company to dismount and move up the rise to the left, then turn north and sweep the enemy from that direction.

As I saw it, the tanks along the tree line would block any sign of our troops moving into position, giving the soldiers adequate cover.

“And get us some artillery,” Major Brandner shouted as an after thought. He mumbled to me as the messenger left, “Now that they know we are here, I do not want them to get reinforcements.”

I could not see nearly as much from the roof of the shed as I would have liked, so I left the major and climbed down to my waiting side car. Once there, I was forced to wait a while longer while truck after truck unloaded infantry. The infantry company assembled into platoons while the platoon leaders got their orders from the company commander. The same scene was being repeated just east of us, where a motorcycle battalion was dismounting and preparing to move forward. I decided that I would let the infantry get started before we moved forward.

The tanks of I/25 Panzer Battalion were not waiting for the infantry to move up. They drove up to the very edge of the enemy entrenchments and raked it with machine guns and shells. Most of the tanks only had 20mm and 35mm guns, so they were not extremely powerful, but they let loose enough shells to get lucky. The enemy began to yield under the pressure. As they did, I/25 Panzer Battalion moved up the road into the trees.

There, they discovered the enemy roadblocks.

Roadblock

As soon as the lead tanks of 1 Company I/25 Battalion reported the roadblocks I knew that Colonel Rothenburg’s decision would get written up in the history books as a “bad idea.” He had hoped that the enemy would not be guarding the roads around Chabrehez, only the roads through the city. By moving around the city he had hoped to force the enemy into a retreat more quickly without risking a head-on battle. However, the trip around Chabrehez was taking too long. Any minute now I expected Rommel to start screaming about the delay.

However, changing orders in mid battle was certain to generate confusion which could potentially cost lives, so Rothenburg continued with his plan. He had ordered Major Brandner to press on.

Brandner had the tanks from 1 Company and 2 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion moving up the road in the center of the forested area ahead of him. They first encountered an enemy infantry unit and pushed them back. The enemy infantry took positions defending the roadblock. Brandner also had 3rd/6th Motorized Infantry Battalion moving into the woods up the slope to the left, and 3rd/7th Motorcycle Infantry Battalion moving up the valley into the woods on the right. Fortunately, 3rd/7th had engineers with them in support. He ordered the company to turn west and help clear the road not only of enemy infantry, but also to help clear the road.

Meanwhile, the rest of the German army waited at Petites-Tailles for news that the road ahead was clear.

Colonel Rothenburg ordered Major Brandner to move quickly, and Brandner passed the urgency on to the soldiers under his command. Our tanks harassed the enemy infantry pushing them further back, where the enemy met the 3rd/7th Motorcycle Company. While the engineers got to work on the roadblocks, the rest of 3rd/7th rounded up the remnants of the enemy infantry. These were our first prisoners and our first wounded. We did suffered no casualties.

Meanwhile, 3rd/6th Motorized Company swept through the woods to the west.

Within minutes, the road was clear and the advance ready to continue.

Yet, just beyond, the lead tanks of 1 Company I/25 Panzer Battalion encountered yet another obstacle – enemy soldiers on a hillside where they had an open line of fire down onto the road. They, too, would have to be eliminated before we could move our convoys further. The lead elements of 3rd/6th Motorized Company found the same enemy entrenched on the side of the hill at about the same time.

This would mean yet more delay.

I left Major Brandner to suffer the frustration of Colonel Rothenburg and General Rommel on his own. I climbed down off of the shed and climbed into my side car, ordering Taggart to move up to the front.

Brandner’s Battle

I have often felt that the difference between a military genius and those poor unfortunate souls who become the source of ridicule is plain luck. If Colonel Rothenburg had been lucky, the road around Chabrehez would have been lightly defended. He would have circled around the enemy, stormed the town from the rear, and captured the town and its defenders almost without a shot. Instead, he was getting bogged down in one small delay after another.

Major Brandner gave 3rd Company/6th Motorized Infantry the job of clearing the enemy soldiers from the hillside overlooking the road. He ordered the tanks of 1 Company I/25 Panzer Regiment to move around behind the enemy position to prevent retreat or reinforcements, and he ordered 1st/78 Battery to spend a few rounds softening up the enemy before the attack.

He had given his other tank company -- 2 Company I/25 Panzer Regiment – over to Major Wolter so that he could scout ahead and locate the next obstacle. Wolter had accomplished this, discovering that the enemy had dug in only a kilometer to the west. A line of trees and hills, not to mention the fog, blocked direct line of site. When Colonel Rothenburg found out about this, he told Wolter to organize an attack on the crossroads Wolter called forth a pair of infantry companies that had no far avoided any fighting; 1st/7 and 2nd/7 Motorcycle Companies.

However, they could not get up the road until Brandner had cleared the enemy off of that hill.

At his signal, the 105mm Howitzers of 1st/78 and 2nd/78 Batteries started firing on the hill. The tanks of 1 Company I/25 Panzer Regiment joined in. Brandner allowed them to continue firing long enough to make it clear to every enemy soldier that they had no way out of their situation but to surrender. Within a few minutes, enemy soldiers by themselves and in small groups began running down the west side of the hill and surrendering to the tanks. At this sign, Major Brandner sent 3rd Company/6th Motorized Infantry up the hill. The enemy – those that survived the bombardment or had not yet surrendered – threw up their hands. The way was clear for the units that Wolten had called to move into their assigned positions.

Major Wolten’s Battle: Lineup

I had caught up with 2 Company I/25 Panzer Regiment on its scouting mission and was sitting on top of a Panzer IVD with Captain Peltzer while he radioed in a report. While Major Brandner was finishing off the enemy resistance behind us, Colonel Rothenburg put Major Wolter, commander of the 7th/7 Motorcycle Battalion, in charge of this next battle. When Major Brandner protested the order to give both of his tank companies over to Wolter, Colonel Rothenburg responded by insisting, “One battle, one leader.” Wolter had been preparing for this battle while Brandner was busy fighting his own battle.

Major Wolter called up 1st/7 and 2nd/7 Motorcycle Companies, leaving 3rd/7 with Major Brandner to deal with prisoners and protect the flanks. When lead scouts reported road blocks and other obstacles leading up to the intersection, Wolter summoned 2nd/58 Engineer Company to the front.

He had his soldiers running into position for his attack. Rommel was angry over the delays, and Wolter did not want to add to that anger. There was talk of him coming here and finishing the job himself. If Rommel should show up, Major Wolter wanted to be done and not bogged down in a continuing fight.

While his troops moved into position, Wolter had the artillery lob shells over the trees in the general area of the cross roads he intended to capture, just to keep the enemy’s heads down.

Major Wolter put 1st/7 Motorcycle on his left flank and 2nd/7 Motorcycle on his right. Neither of these units had been involved in any fighting yet. In the middle, along the road, Wolter put the two companies of 2/25 Panzer with 2nd/58 Engineers. They would have to remove the roadblocks and protect the tanks, which would also be going up the road.

I took a position in the center of Major Wolton’s line, among the tanks of 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment and 2nd/58 Engineers. Taggart parked our motorcycle among the tanks where we waited for the orders to move out. A line of trees blocked our view of the enemy, and blocked their view of us.

While we waited, friendly artillery flew overhead to land on the other side of the trees. When I was young, I thought that a weapon only had an effect if it killed somebody. A weapon that went off without doing damage did no good. One of the first things that I learned as an observer is that the best effects of a weapon were psychological. Infantry could be shocked by shells that hit nobody, yet made it far more likely that the enemy would surrender.

We did not wait long. Major Wolter was in a hurry to get this done. He ordered a barrage of smoke shells onto the road ahead of us, then we moved out.

Major Wolten’s Attack

Colonel Rothenburg’s delay, as the event would come to be called, was seen as such a serious military blunder that it had all but ended Rothenburg’s military career. Up to this time, Major Wolten could honestly claim that he had simply followed orders. He had been left out of the fight so far and bore no responsibility for the delay. However, that ended when he was given the task of clearing out the intersection that lay ahead of us.

Major Wolten struggled to make sure that his part in this battle was the model of military precision.

After getting all of his troops into position, he started the attack.

Step 1: Friendly artillery dumped smoke on the top of hill 650 on the far right flank. Then the 2nd/7 Motorcycle Infantry Company moved up and took up positions on the top of the hill. They had orders to fire on anything they could see worth firing upon, and to fire even if they did not see anything. This was to draw the enemy fire up and into the smoke. They drew fire from machine gun nests half way down the slope, and from enemy infantry at the bottom of the slope. From their vantage point they could see the intersection.

Step 2: 1 Company I/25 Panzer Regiment moved forward on the side of the slope. These units were also to draw enemy fire. The tanks had difficulty picking their way through the forested hillside and did not get much of an opportunity to shoot. However, they gave the enemy a target.

Step 3: 1st/7 Motorcycle Infantry Company on the far left flank moved ahead through the forest. Their job was to draw enemy fire and to isolate the defenders from the south. From positions at the edge of the tree line they could fire on the road that would be the most likely route for reinforcements.

Here, however, there was a slight glitch in the plan. The enemy themselves had moved into the forest to the south and were waiting for German soldiers to appear. This included tank destroyers that sent 45mm shells into the company. One shell hit a tree and sprayed three members of II Platoon with shrapnel. II Platoon’s commanding officer decided that he was going to take out those tanks and moved off to the left.

Step 4: Artillery dropped smoke onto the road just ahead of 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment and 2nd/58 Engineers. The engineers moved ahead first and started blowing up the obstacles that the enemy had placed across the road. Then the tanks moved forward to clear the debris out of the way and provide the engineers with covering fire.

We all knew that the enemy would be ready to respond to our advance with artillery. We also well knew that they would focus their artillery on the road where our engineers and tanks were bogged down clearing away the roadblocks. Against this, the loss of only seven engineers (2 dead, 5 wounded) to enemy artillery was something of a relief.

Major Wolten ordered his units to keep moving.

2nd/7 Motorcycle Company reported tanks and infantry to the west on a road that ended at the intersection that Wolten was trying to claim. Half of 2nd/7 charged down the hill, meeting up with 1st Company I/25 Panzer Regiment coming around the hill. Together, they took on the enemy machine gun nests half way down the hill and wiped them all out.

The instant that the engineers finished clearing the road, 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Battalion moved forward to take the intersection itself. They had help with covering fire being provided by elements of 2nd Company on the hillside, 2nd/58 Engineers who were moving up with them, and elements of 1st/7 Motorcycle Company firing in from their left. In just a few minutes Major Wolten had claimed the intersection and was pushing the enemy back.

Pushing Past the Intersection

In order to keep informed of what was going on, I left my motorcycle car and climbed up onto one of the Panzer IV tanks of 2nd Company I/25 Panser Regiment.

What I heard on the radio directed my attention to the left flank. 2 Platoon 1st/7 Motorcycle Infantry Company was trying to get in close to a platoon of tank destroyers on the left flank. However, the tank destroyers were firing HE rounds into the forest as quickly as they could. Eventually, the platoon retreated.

Meanwhile, Major Wolten was focusing his attention on the main focus of his attack -- clearing the enemy away from the crossroads. He ordered 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Battalion to continue to drive forward, while 1st Company I/25 Panzer Battalion moved west along the hillside against the enemy vehicles seen from the top of the hill. 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company was to provide infantry support for both tank companies.

At the bottom of the hill, the enemy infantry had built itself a substantial set of defenses in the woods behind the intersection. However, Major Wolten had been dropping 105mm shells on those positions since the battle began, and many of the defenders had been driven from the intersection itself and were not in good order. Wolten preceded the attack with supporting fire from the machine gun platoons of both motorcycle companies and from 2nd/58 Engineers. Then, tanks from 2nd Company and infantry from 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company moved forward.

It was too much firepower for the enemy. They retreated, and our soldiers moved forward without a loss.

This still left Major Wolten with a need to defend his right flank from the enemy AFVs seen to the west. He ordered 1st Company I/25 Panzer Battalion to advance on the right flank, and the remaining platoons of 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company back to the top of the hill so they could see what was going on.

Unfortunately, by this time, the enemy vehicles had disappeared into the wooded hills.

Wolten’s Hill

Major Wolten’s next target was the high ground just to the west of the intersection. From up there, his units would have an excellent vantage point to see what the enemy was up to. The enemy was known to have some infantry and AFVs in that direction somewhere, so there could still be a battle.

2nd/7 Motorcycle Company was given instructions to climb the hill. 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment would protect its left flank, while 1st Company I/25 Panzer Regiment moved ahead on the right flank.

I decided to move up the hill with the elements of 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company so that I could see what was beyond.

We had an immediate problem in that there were remnants of an enemy squad on our left flank. 1st/7 Motorcycle Company was supposed to provide covering fire. However, it was getting pounded by enemy artillery fire from the enemy T13 tank destroyers. It was the only part of our line that was not advancing, which gave the enemy the chance of marching its artillery right on top of them. Soon, the radio was filled with calls for medical assistance and requests to pull back out of the artillery.

Our artillery was doing at least as good a job on these infantry as their artillery had done to ours. Ultimately, the enemy retreated, and two platoons of tanks advanced on our left. Also, two platoons of tanks from 1st Company I/25 Panzer Regiment also advanced on our right.

1st Company reached the ridgeline first and looked down on a large area of marsh ringed with trees on the far end. There were a couple of crude paths through the marsh and a string of enemy T15 tanks sitting on the trails. They started firing at the tanks of 1st Company as soon our tanks came into view. However, they did no damage.

Our tanks, on the other hand, were not so kind. They brought the 20mm cannons of the Panzer IIs around and started raking the enemy vehicles. While they were exchanging fire, two platoons of Panzer Kampfwagon 35(t) tanks that we had gotten from Czechoslovakia advanced on our left to within a hundred meters of the enemy. Their 35mm guns cut quickly through the enemy vehicles. By the time I reached the ridgeline with the rest of 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company, all three enemy vehicles had been destroyed.

We did have an excellent vantage point from the top of the hill. However, it was a vantage point that showed a lot of enemy soldiers lines up to block our advance any further down the road. I estimated the enemy size as approximately that of a reinforced company. More importantly, they were on the other side of a marsh, where it would have been difficult for our vehicles to cross. A third important fact to consider is that 2nd/7 Motorcycle company had earlier reported seeing some tank destroyers on right left flank – and now we did not know where they had gone.

The tank destroyers on our left flank, combined with enemy artillery, were doing enough damage. 1st/7 Motorcycle Company was losing its unit cohesion. Major Wolten ordered two platoons of tanks from 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment to turn left and provide some assistance. At this point, we could not easily determine how well our tanks would stand up against their 45mm tank busters.

Major Wolten called in artillery to keep the enemy infantry in place while he stabilized his left flank.

Our situation had become one in which the center of our line and the center of the enemy line of defense sat across a swamp several hundred meters wide. We only had room to advance on our left and right flanks.

On our left flanks, a group of T13 tank destroyers had been inflicting some heavy casualties on 1st/7 Motorcycle Company, both with its own guns and, I could only assume, by bringing down artillery. 1st/7 had stalled in its attack, holding the left flank but being unable to move. This allowed the enemy to zero its artillery in on our positions.

However, Major Wolten sent elements of 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment over to help out. The Panzer IV tanks quickly eliminated one of the enemy tank destroyers and forced the rest to retreat back into the trees. This allowed 1st/7 Motorcycle Company to advance unhindered. Our left flank was finally able to push forward.

On our right flank, 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company had reported seeing some AFVs a few minutes earlier that had since disappeared. To help secure its flank, Major Wolten sent some elements of 1st Company I/25th Panzer Regiment further out on the road on our right flank to see if they could find the enemy. They were traveling down a forested road that had little visibility, but they were unable to spot the enemy.

Meanwhile, we in the center were at a stand still. I was with elements of 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company on a rocky outcropping where I could look out to the southwest at the enemy lined up against us. They were, in fact, lined up. From what I could see, I estimated that the enemy had at least a battalion hiding in the trees and improved positions on the other side of the swamp. This included two machine-gun platoons and a platoon of tank destroyers.

Major Wolten was going to target the whole enemy line with all of the artillery he could muster.

In the mean time, I fully expected that the enemy would be doing the same to us – particularly those of us trying to dig in as fast as we could into the rocky ground that was our observation post.

Apparently, Major Wolten thought the same thing. I was laying on my belly on a rock trying to get a good look at the enemy when I heard popping sounds around me. Engineers from 2nd/58 Engineers Company showed up and started spreading smoke around to hide us from the enemy. However, I still had an opportunity to see them. I continued to record what I knew of the enemy positions.

The main highway – the highway that we were supposed to be using to get into Chabrehez from the rear, was blocked by mines and roadblocks. Therefore, the rest of 2nd/58 Engineers Company was heading in that direction with elements of 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment to remove the mines and roadblocks. Once removed, we could continue our advance to Chebrehez.

I would like to note that, at this time, the time by which we were supposed to have completed this objective was long past. The events that I am reporting on here are events that went on well after we were supposed to have already had Chebrehez in our hands. A battle does not end simply because one of the two sides did not complete its objective on time.

I believe that Major Wolten was still working on the assumption that Rommel was going to replace Colonel Rothenberg. He was still interested in making as good a show for himself as possible before the decision of replacing Rothenberg was due to come up.

Very nice battle accounts! Makes for a great read and makes me yearn for the days when I played this series non-stop for several years! Thanks for the maps also!!! [:)]

RAF,

Thnks for the AAR. This was one of my favorite games a few years back. I'm hoping the Matrix version will re-awaken my appetite.

Rick

Our left flank was completely open. As soon as Major Wolten figured this out, he told the troops to advance quickly into the woods, in the hopes of out flanking the battalion that sat across the swamp from us. The assault involved the 1st/7 Motorcycle Company in charge of securing the woods, the 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment to take care of any enemy vehicles that showed up, and the 2nd/58 Engineers Company to clear the road.

Meanwhile, Major Wolten was calling artillery down on the infantry across the swamp from us to keep them pinned down.

From my vantage point on the rocks I watched as our troops entered the trees. Then I swept the enemy lines. My field of view crossed a gap in the trees that marked the dividing line between the advancing left flank and the center which had been stopped by the swamp. Through that gap I spotted a number of large shapes. I saw seven enemy AFVs making for that gap. They were in a head-on collision with the 2nd/58 Engineers.

The engineers did not have much room to maneuver. One platoon was clearing mines along the highway while the other two stood guard. In addition to the threat from the enemy AFVs, they were drawing fire from the infantry positions across the swamp. Major Wolten continued to focus his artillery on the infantry, and we fired to convince them to keep their heads down. The engineers themselves covered their own advance with a little bit of smoke.

The engineers had no trouble against the enemy AFVs. Soon, the Pioneers had turned three of the enemy vehicles into heaps of flaming scrap metal.

When 2nd Company I/25 Panzers reached entered the forest, they found a road and turned right. They emerged on the flank of the enemy AFVs, with the four Panzer IVDs in the lead. When the engineers in support, they destroyed the enemy guns. The enemy infantry, with their armor destroyed, retreated.

Nice AAR with great graphic. Thanks for sharing [;)]

Aftermath

Our military objective was the Oerthe River just a few kilometers west of Chebrehez. With the enemy AFVs destroyed and the infantry in retreat, the road to the Oerthe was clear.

This does not mean that the fighting was over. Some enemy units came down from Odeigne on our right flank. They did not attack us. Instead, they went into the woods in an attempt to get behind us. Major Wolten had the 2nd/7 Motorcycle Company and 1st Company I/25 Panzer Regiment extend our right flank and block their advance. We destroyed another platoon of enemy tanks and drove the infantry back. Then Wolten sent both units to Odeigne to make sure that we were not surprised by an enemy attack from that direction.

In the mean time, Wolten also decided to capture Chebrehez. He did not need to; the village was off the main road. However, they had artillery in the town somewhere and they would be a threat to our convoys until they were cleaned up.

Three companies were sent against the town. 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Division went down the center. The enemy had dug in across the road, so this was not going to be particularly easy. 2nd/58 Engineering Company accompanied them and filled out the right flank. 1st/7 Motorcycle Company went through the woods on the left.

We were effectively approaching the town from behind, but the enemy was better dug in than expected. 1st/7 Motorcycle Company made it through the woods, then had a few hundred meters of open ground to cross to reach the town. However, they did not even make it out of the woods. Just as they got to the edge of the trees, the enemy defenders opened up.

Enemy fire discipline was amazing. Soon, Major Wolten started getting reports of heavy casualties. Our soldiers were doing little more than hiding behind the best available tree. Then, the enemy brought down artillery, which did not care what side of a tree a soldiers was hiding behind. Two of the platoon leaders decided that they could not take it any more and ordered a retreat. A third ordered a charge. However, finding itself alone, it was soon in retreat as well.

Major Wolten ordered 2nd/58 Engineers Company and 2nd Company I/25 Panzer Regiment to push ahead all that much harder. If he took the town, he did not need to worry about the disintegration of 1st/7 Motorcycle Company. The tank company and engineers simply rolled into the enemy’s improved positions on the edge of town without stopping. The enemy retreated.

By then, we had learned that the enemy artillery was in a clearing on the right, behind a major chateau that we had every reason to assume was being used as an enemy headquarters. There were no infantry left to defend these positions. The tanks and the engineers overran the artillery batteries easily and captured the chateau without much of a fight.

In the end, the attack on Chebrehez proved to be just as costly as the attack on the intersection. 1st/7 Motorcycle Company was down to half strength. Colonel Rothenberg would end up putting it on reserve until he could get some reinforcements.

By the end of the day, we had suffered 84 casualties. However, we had lost no vehicles (except for some trucks caught in an artillery barrage). These were heavy casualties – heavier than expected. Plus, we had suffered the effects of being behind schedule.

As a result of our action we trapped a few enemy units behind our lines for our rear units to clean up. The fighting went on throughout the night in small units – a squad or two of enemy soldiers against a company of Germans sent to clear out a village or chasing a rumor.

I was asked to make a report on the situation with an assessment of Colonel Rothenberg’s command capability. I thought that Rothenberg was too cautious, and just the type of person the Germans needed in the front lines if Hitler was going to be stopped. Therefore, I excused Rothenberg’s mistake. I wrote in my report that he took a guess, as soldiers need to do, that the enemy would be defending the town from a direct attack. Rothenberg’s assumption that he could get around the town was wrong, but it was not unreasonable.

I did, however, have some unkind things to say about Major Wolten. He had captured the intersection and broke through the enemy defenses almost without a loss, except for a few casualties on his left flank. I decided to place responsibility for the decimation of 1st/7 Motorcycle Company on his shoulders in the hope that I could cause his superiors to look suspiciously at his accomplishments.

However, it would do me no good to make it appear as if I were a total incompetent. I gave Major Wolten credit for his capture of the intersection.

After the fight, I struggled to find some way to get information about the German army that I had written up into the hands of the enemy. However, I could not think of a plan that had much of a chance of working. The major problem was that anybody I gave the paperwork to would have to travel west. In doing so, they would have to cross a bridge. No German soldier would be allowing Dutch citizens to travel across the bridges until the area had been secured.

I asked to see the civilians and to talk to them one by one. I was looking for a special type of person. I found it in a woman about 30 years of age, wearing a wedding ring, whose husband did not seem to be around. I asked her if her husband was in the military. She lied to me and said that he was not. She was not trained to lie. She did, however, appreciate the fact that we were invaders who were conquering her country. I gave her my notes, gave her a few quick seconds to look at them, and said, “If you care about the future of Europe, you will get these to the British.”

I hoped that she could find a way to do something that I could not see how to get done.

In the mean time, Colonel Rothenberg's office relayed new orders. Apparently, the 1st Panzer Division would be entering Neufchateau, and I was supposed to watch.