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Section Leaders:
Riesberg German – Riesberg Password for Movies: greynym Save this link for German turn 5 movie file
ORDERS FOR FIFTH MINUTE Some good news comes along; reinforcements have arrived. Leutnant Schafer, leading a platoon of Volksgrenadiers, was held up by an American air attack. Unfortunately, he does not bring what I most need: useful anti tank weapons. The Panzerschreck team that was traveling with him was caught in the open by attack aircraft and killed. I plan to move Schafer’s men forward to the two large barn-like buildings behind where Heinrich’s mortar is set up. From there I can deploy them into the town, or else hold them for an opening that might present itself. As I had decided, Bahr is to begin regrouping his platoon in the woods to the left of what was to have been their ambush area. They should be hidden from all enemy observers, but even so I make sure to give them orders to hide at the end of their movement. I don’t want one of his men taking a shot and revealing their presence. Kraus is, of course, to shoot again at the enemy tank he targeted last minute. I debate using Heinrich’s mortar to fire smoke to screen the gun crew from the US infantry that are in the trees that ring the town’s cleared area, but decide to have him fire high explosive instead. Klappert is to continue moving backward into the small house, from which he should be able to target the advancing enemy infantry without exposing himself to their tanks. ACTION IN FIFTH MINUTE My chances of stopping the Americans are dealt a strong blow in this minute. Kraus’ gun targets the American tank that it missed a few seconds ago, but before he fires he decides that an American mortar team to his front is a greater threat. He begins aiming at the target, but intense fire from the enemy forces kills one of his crew and prevents the rest from firing a shot. Then he selects an entirely new target—another enemy mortar team, farther to the left. However, before he can fire at all, an enemy shell explodes directly on the gun, wrecking it and sending Kraus and his men running for cover. I fear that this single event will doom my defense. In hindsight I should have directed Heinrich to fire his smoke into the US infantry; the resulting screen may have kept Kraus’ gun out of sight of the US weapons that destroyed his gun; perhaps Kraus would have had another chance to kill that tank.
The house sheltering Ruehe’s men is finally destroyed by the fire of the enemy tanks. All but one rifleman are killed. Amazingly, this lone survivor does not panic; as soon as I can I will order him to crawl out of the rubble and move into one of the houses between Klappert and Hermanns. Klappert himself reaches the house behind the wreckage surrounding Ruehe’s final soldier; from there he directs MG42 fire onto the enemy infantry.
Bahr’s men begin to move to their right, and are almost at their first stop in the redeployment. Beerbauer’s
gun catches sight of the American infantry advancing on the immediate
left of the road and begins firing. After his first shots one of the
enemy squads turns around and moves away from town. If Beerbauer can
keep this up, the squads that are watching that section of the road
should be able to stop the infantry fast.
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