QB SS Mixed V US Mixed small Bocage Village Part 1

[Proff]

Hi All,
Part 1 of what is turning into a really good hard battle for a small Village/Hamlet deep in Bocage country. It is done from the Germans view point in a narrative and explaination mix. Enjoy (or not as the case may be)

Mission - US Attack
Weather - Light Rain
Time - 11:35 AM
Terrain - Bocage small 10 building, Village/Hamlet,Orhards and scattered trees
Intel - US has some basic intel on German location

Forces -

German - 3rd Abt 4thss PzGr regt Der Fuhrer (-)

Abt Hq - CO + 251/3 XO on foot
1 x Gepanzerte PzGr Kompanie (only 1 Zug has half tracks)
1 x Pak 40 Platoon ( 2 guns)
1 x Pz IV J Platoon (4 Panzers)
1 x Panther (has just joined you from repair workshop)
2 x marder III (both are due to arrive in 15 minutes or so)
1 x HMG Platoon

American - 3rd Armoured Division 'Spearhead'

Armoured Infantry Battalion Hq
1 x Armoured Infantry Company
1 x Armoured Infantry Company (- it's Half tracks, it is assumed they rode on the Shermans)
1 x Sherman Company (3 Tanks in the company are armed with 76mm and also there are 4 Rhino's)
1 x Stuart Platoon (1 Rhino)

neither side has any Artillery as both are mobile and the German 251/2' are out of ammo.



Situation -

Op Cobra has started and the American forces have managed to make a break through and are pouring into the gap where The Pz Lehr Panzer Division used to be. All night long the remnants of your Abtielung have been digging in around the small hamlet of Le bijuide. You have been given orders to hold until 03:00 Hrs tomorrow morning.

Set up -

1st Zug was dug in on the right flank along with 1 of the HMG's and a 251/9

Panzer 532 was sat alittle firther back in and around the Bocage hedgerows, and had found himself a nice little ambush point.
2nd Zug was forward left along with 2 more HMg and a HalfTrack from the HMG Platoon, to their rear roughly 100 meters was 1 of the Pak 40 dug in behind a low hedge.
2 Zug HMG' & HT

3rd Zug was moving up to the middle of the Hauptkampf line lead by Panther 231 commanded by Untersturmführer rausch.

opening moves

slightly after 11:38 am 1st Zug reported hearing sounds to their front roughly 100 meteres away, along with the sounds of armour moving along their front left to right
US infantry moving up on line

Panzer 532 moved forward slightly and immediately spotted a small grouping of Amis movinging into a small orchard in front of 1st Zug's location.

Forward recce (recon) elements

Pz 532 prepares to engage when American armour bursts into sight through a cap in the bocage. 'CONTACT FRONT' screamed Scharführer Potsch to his gunner as he frantically ordered his driver to reverse whilst radioing Platoon Hq of his situation "531 this is 532 Contact Amis Armour, need help over!'.
just as he finishes speaking the first round leaves the barrel of his Panzers Cannon

He screams at his driver to go faster as he spots more armour heading towards him

The Platoon commander of the Pz IV Platoon looks across and sees his Pz 532 reversing at high speed away from a mass of Amis Armour & infantry and in less than a second Pz 532 succumbs to 5 direct hits on its frontal armour.
Pz 532 dies as Pz 531 looks on

Here ends Part 1, hope your enjoying it so far.

all the best

Proff

 

[Cue-Ball]

Looking good so far. Should be an enjoyable AAR.

 

[Proff]

The Battle continues

The Americans at this stage are pushing me hard on my right flank, I have lost 1 x Pz IV J and half a section from 1st Zug, I have killed 1 Sherman and roughly 13/14 US infantry, I have moved up my Pz IV J Platoon commander and he has also decided to move another Pz IV into that area as he knows there is at least 5 armoured fighting vehicles in or past that gap in front of C/S 532' still hulk.

C/S 534 moves up past the command Pz IV and passes a 2 story house on it's left, I really did not think that it was going to be a problem as I had 2nd Zug forward left and they are covering those arcs!

Obviously not, I am now starting to flap. 3rd Zug and the Panther are still at least 1 Km away, and in this country that could take a while, 1st Zug is under increasing pressure from its' front, and now it's rear left due to the appearance of a load of G.I' on their rear left flank, and I have lost 2 Pz IV J'! at least I have not lost any Anti Tank guns yet, & still have 3 Pz IV in action at the moment, but I fell the command Pz IV is about to get seriously over stretched by the mass of armour that is about to come tearing round that hedgerow.

I decide to throw in 2nd Zug's reserve section and hope they will close the gap that has opened up in my middle, not sure how this will work out, but if I can get them to cover my 12 through to 2 O'clock I'll be a happy little stormtrooper

'All units this is 0, we must hold this line for another 15 hours, no retreat, hold!' Kompanie Fuhrer Kurtzling was now worried, 1 Zug in heavy contact, 2 Pz Dead and his 3rd Zug still in transit to his location, this was going to take timing, the one thing he felt he did not have much of.

 

[Johnsy]

Great DAR mate, a wonderful read and I'm wanting more.

 

[Proff]

Thanks for the comments, am at work now so will not be able to play until wednesday I think, but as soon as I get the chance I will finish off the action, I have roughly 35 minutes left, so I think it is going to get down to the wire, as so far the Americans have only lost 2 shermans and roughly 2 sections of infantry.:spy:

 

[Proff]

defo wednesday for update

 

[Proff]

On the front left of the line, 2nd Zug has been observing the growing battle between parts of the Pz IV Zug & 1st Zug. Untersharfuhrer Rietzmann has shifted 3rd section to cover the gap now in the middle and that will hopefully block any attempts buy the Amis to push anymore men down that way.
Back in the middle Pz 531 spots a group of enemy Infantry and some Shermans breaking for cover between the hulks of Pz' 532 & 534 and pushes forward to stop this.
Untersturmführer kriets looked at his two burning Panzers through the smoke, Scharführer Potsch, was one of the 'old gang' and had served with the division since 38' , he held the IK 1 & 2 and also had received the RitterKruez from der Fuhrer himself after he had destroyed 16 T-34 at Kursk. suddenly he spotted more Amis Armour & infantry pushing through the gap in the Bocage 'Driver full speed get me to that wall NOW' Kriets was now in auto pilot mode, he only hoped his crew knew what was at stake. less than a minute later and after what seemed an eternity of main gun & mg fire Kriets and his crew looked at the results of their work, a filed strewn with dead & dying Amis and 2 more burning Shermans.

Back on 2nd Zug' front American voices and Armour can be heard, the Zug steals it'self for combat

2nd Zug's commander orders the men to ready the Panzerfuasts and prepare for close combat with infantry & Armour.

At this stage thinks had gone from bad to pretty good, 1st Zug was still in the game on the right, albeit slightly battered, I had lost 2 out of my 4 Pz IV' but the Zug commnader had just taught the Americans a hard lesson by killing 2 Shermans and a platoon of infantry that it was unwise to write off his men just yet, 2nd Zug was now getting ready to take their turn in the firing line and Pz 533 was sat behind them along with a Pak 40 to make things a bit easier. 3rd Zug along with the Panther were less than2 minutes away, and the marder III' were still sat back in the rear with the Kompanie commander as a reserve. On the minus side of life, i had now killed roughly a Platoon(+) of infantry & 1 stuart and 4 Shermans, there was still alot out there facing my weakened kompanie, the next few minutes would be interesting.