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Section Leaders:
Riesberg German – Riesberg Password for Movies: greynym Save this link for German turn 8 movie file
ORDERS FOR EIGHTH MINUTE To help keep the tanks screened off, I’m ordering Machen to fire more smoke shells to the town’s front left area. I MUST keep those tanks from bringing their full firepower to bear on what is left of my men. Meister’s men, in their current positions, can not see into the areas where the US infantry is; on the right side of the road is a long, very low mound (which might be there to keep rainwater from the town from flooding across the road). Whatever its original purpose, this mound prevents any of Meister’s men from being able to see a target inside the town. This is both bad and good. I would like to be able to continue firing on the US infantry that made the rush as I know they are hurt badly already, but there are no clear lanes of fire, and it would be suicide to move closer. So I will take this opportunity to get his platoon out of where they are. Once they have regrouped in the heavily wooded patch, I will move them to the church for new positions. The greatest difficulty will be with Meister’s first, furthest forward, squad, which is being fired on by two tanks. I order them to run out of their house to the opposite side from the tanks then, using a slight fold in the terrain, get back into the patch of heavy woods where Meister is. The heavy SMG squad, as well as the other line SMG squad, are out of LOS to the enemy, so their withdrawal should not be overly difficult. Thieser, from his position, cannot see/be seen by the tanks, but he does have LOS into the street between the first and second rows of houses on the town’s front left. He should be able to hurt the US infantry as the move farther into town. Beerbauer’s gun crew is unable to see any targets, but he CAN see the ground immediately next to the house closest to the American tanks. In this house is a mostly-unhurt US squad, so I order Beerbauer to hit this patch of ground with HE. Even if the enemy troops do not move at all, the nearness of the explosions will hurt them. If they DO move further into town, they will be immediately in Beerbauer’s target area. Schafer’s men are to get to the edge of the wooded patch they are in, and wait for the US to get closer. If he does fire, he will need to do as much damage as possible so I can pull them back into the trees before fire from the US armor destroys them. If Hermanns’ Panzerschreck team can make it into the woods, and the US armor comes down off of the higher ground that runs around the town’s front area, he might be able to get a shot. It is imperative that Schafer not reveal his position too early, so his men have orders to hide at the end of their movement. Bahr is to continue edging closer to the road. Soon he will be at the point when he will simply have to rush across the open ground between his positions and the trees lining the road; when that time comes I will use Machen’s mortar to fire yet more smoke to hide them. ACTION IN EIGHTH MINUTE The US infantry don’t move much farther forward; they are either badly hurt or simply regrouping to make another push through the town. Still, the heroic Klappert and his loader are both killed by small arms fire very early this minute. Knowing he died alone and surrounded is not a pleasant thought; that this situation is partly my creation is a terrible burden to bear. Schafer’s men are deployed in the patch of heavy woods behind the town. However, one squad attracts the attention of an American tank, which spoils my plan of using him as a surprise strike. Lamp’s second squad appears to be regaining its control; hopefully I will be able to give them orders to join up with Schafer. The 3 men left will be useless in combat, and they won’t even take orders from Schafer, but I must save something. Bahr’s men are almost at the stage where they must either simply cross the open ground between themselves and the road, or else withdraw to fight another day. It will be a tough decision to make, and may well rest on how much smoke I can get in their area to cover their movement. The fact that the American tanks are moving back toward his position injects a new element. Will moving further only allow the American tanks to catch Bahr in the open? If I have Bahr hold tight in the hopes that Dietrich will have a shot, and the American tanks stay on the far side of the road, Bahr will wind up making no contribution to this battle. Meister’s men are re-deploying as planned; also as expected, it is his first squad that is having difficulties. Out of Meister’s command range, it takes those men just long enough to begin moving that they are under the guns of the advancing American tanks. Hopefully Meister can move just far enough closer to get them moving again, and the platoon can fall back to the church. Ploebsch’s assistant suffers a wound, and Ploebsch is forced to carry both the launching tube and the reloads at the same time. I don’t think he will be able to get out of the house before the US tanks are on him; I intend to have Meister order him to fire at the first tank he can see. Ploebsch will certainly die in the same manner as did Klappert, but I have to interfere with the operation of the US tanks, or else they will run down Meister’s men in mid-step. Beerbauer manages to land five HE shells within a few meters of the house on the forward-left edge of town; I don’t observe any US casualties from it, but it had to have done something. Soon, though, Beerbauer will have more to shoot at. The US tanks are edging closer to town, and one of them is rolling along parallel to the houses. It might come into view of Beerbauer’s crew shortly. Hopefully his men will shoot more accurately than did Kraus’ How did Regiment ever think I would be able even to delay this crushing American wave?
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