Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt

Chance Encounter

US BATTLE REPORT:  Chance Encounter
Reported by: Henri Arsenault

Battle-weathered Captain Corcoran lifted his arm with a finger pointing in the air,   and with a rapid arm sweep downward,   gave the signal to begin moving.  The four tank engines almost simultaneously began to growl and the tanks began to roar forward with the clatter of tracks,   while mounted soldiers hung on,   grateful for the free ride.  Other soldiers grimly held on to their weapons and followed their Sergeant's orders to move on foot.  The whole line,   about 200 meters wide and centered on the road headed East,   began to move slowly forward by parts.

Corcoran would normally never had ordered an advance with this particular disposition unless he was practically sure that no enemies were waiting in ambush: a patrol returning from the road intersection ahead had seen no sign of any Germans,   who had been retreating in disarray for the past two days.  His orders were to take and hold the crossroads for the main force that was following about an hour behind,   and he reckoned that it would be easier to hold the crossroads against a German counter-attack than to proceed too slowly and then to have to assault the Germans.  The houses along the road should make good cover,   if only he could get there first.  "If the Germans come,   he thought,   they are likely to try to use the church as a base of fire,   while other Germans try to set up house in the buildings along the road;  I have to get there first.  I wish I had a command car…"

The road went East along a kind of  hollow,   and the crossroad was located between two hills,   a large heavily wooded one on the far side of the road running N-S across the intersection,   and a smaller one to the right,   on this side of the same road.  A church stood across the same road on a slightly sloping hill,   to the right of the E-W road,   just before it disappeared to the left behind the large hill.  Whoever controlled the house along the N-S road controlled the road crossing,   and the Colonel had made it clear that he expected the road to be clear by the time he arrived.  "I intend to have my lunch on a white tablecloth right on that intersection",   Colonel George C. Scott had said,   and that means no damn Germans around,   d'ya hear?…"

The Captain had ordered three Sherman tanks to move straight down the road,   then after a few hundred feet,   two of them would peel off to the left and head for the cover of the stone wall further down,   while the third continued cautiously down the road.  At the stone wall,   Lt. Mckee's Charlie platoon could use the stone wall for cover and as a base for advancing into the houses along the road.  The two other Shermans would move parallel to the road about 100 m to the right,  along the edge of the smaller hill,   from where they could see anything moving on the gentle slope that held the church.  These two tanks held two machinegun squads that would set up on the edge of the woods with a commanding view of the whole area except for what would be hidden behind the large hill to the left. Although no opposition was expected,   Corcoran had no wish to risk his men being ambushed while out of position.  If it became necessary,   the stone wall as well as the farmhouses on the left,   and the lightly forested slope on the right could be used as a base for further operations.

The initial disposition of the US troops.  The arrows show roughly where each of the platoons has been ordered to go.  The graphics quality is inferior to that in the game because they were compressed in order to save space.

Lieutenant Jacobson's Delta platoon would move along the US left flank,   and using the cover of scattered wood clumps,   attempt to reach the two farm buildings on the left,   from where they could give a warm welcome to any Germans who might come over the hill through the woods -assuming they were not already there. Some Germans might use the heavy woods of the hill to reach the N-S road,   which is why Jacobson should get there first.

Bravo Platoon's Lt. Fontana would lead his men through the lightly forested hill on the right,   which would give them a commanding view of the area around the church and the crossroads.  If no opposition was met,   they would continue as far as the church.

Sitting on top of Sgt. Simpson's lead tank on the right,   Cpl. Perez yelled over the clatter to Simpson,   whose head was sticking out of the cupola,   "Hey Simp,   do you think  there are any krauts in them buildings?"

"Nah",   answered Simpson,  clenching an unlit cigar between his teeth and his eyes scanning the terrain,   "by now the sonsabitches are probably getting close to Berlin!"

Simpson thought he saw something moving near the church;  he squinted,   then he saw it: a German StuG!

"Enemy tank,   twelve o'cl…".  He didn't have time to finish his sentence.  A puff of smoke,   a split-second view of a shell headed for him,   an ear-shattering explosion,   and the acrid smell of smoke from inside the tank overwhelmed him.  The surviving crew scrambled out of the tank.

Sgt. Wynn,  just behind the destroyed Sherman,  spotted the StuG and yelled for his gunner to fire.  The tank rocked as the cannon went off,   followed by a satisfying explosion as the German tank brewed up.  To his horror,  Sgt. Wynn saw that there were another StuG close to the previous one aiming at him.  Before he had time to react,   a shell hit his tank and penetrated,   killing the gunner and the driver.  Wynn found himself on the ground with a bleeding leg,   feeling lucky to be alive.  The surviving crew members bailed out and headed for a nearby wooded area.

Captain Corcoran felt like kicking himself in the ass;  "Damnit,   he grumbled,    I outsmarted myself."  He had intended to ensure a concentration of force against the Germans,   and now he was two tanks down.  Fortunately the soldiers riding on the tanks seemed unhurt if somewhat shaken,   but Corcoran realized that his right flank was now without armor,   his main strength there residing in the two medium and heavy machineguns moving forward and Lt. Fontana's platoon,   who were cautiously advancing from tree clump to tree clump,   followed by the machine guns and a bazooka team.

The three tanks in the center reached the stone wall without meeting any opposition,  where they dismounted their infantry and moved cautiously forward through a wheat field. The tank on the road reached the N-S road and dismounted its infantry,   who quickly entered the building.

Meanwhile on the left flank,   Delta platoon reached the first farmhouse,   where Lt. Jacobson ordered Sgt. Parker's first platoon into the building with him.  The two other platoons were ordered to move forward NE cautiously towards the building near the road.

Suddenly a few scattered German units were seen in the vicinity of the destroyed StuG,   moving toward the church along the slope.  One of the US machineguns set up and began to rake them with fire,   while a mortar platoon left behind near the startup position shot a few mortar shells with good effect.

Lt. Fontana saw a third StuG headed from the road towards the church at full clip.  None of the US tanks could see that slope,   and the German tanks were much too far for bazookas,   so Fontana ordered everyone to take positions facing the crossroads on the edge of the woods.  One squad advanced towards the buildings while the others covered them and fired at any German infantry that became visible.

More Germans began to appear,   and a firefight began to develop on the right flank.  Sgt. Glenn spotted some Germans running between tree clumps on the extreme right flank,   and pointed them out to Fontana,   who radioed the information to Corcoran.

"Damn,   thought Corcoran,   if the Germans send a significant force to my right flank,   I'm up the creek;  a couple of German infantry platoons and a tank or two could roll up my right flank like a wet blanket",   he worried.  And he had to deal with the two German tanks near the church.

Suddenly swarms of German infantry emerged from the woods on the large hill,   about half headed for the church and the rest directly for the houses along the N-S road.  Most of the US platoons had not had time to take their positions,   so the more advanced units had to take the brunt of the German attack.  Two US squads who had reached the house on the intersection fired round after round at the advancing Germans,   then one,   two,   three of their men were hit by a hail of German bullets.  Then the two US machineguns on the right were in position,   and began to rake the advancing Germans with deadly fire.  The German attack buckled and the soldiers scattered for cover,   some back to the woods,   others towards trees near the church.  The Germans raked the nearest buildings with machinegun,   rifle and tank fire,   causing further casualties to the hapless soldiers inside the flimsy wooden buildings.

Now it became clear to Corcoran what the German plan was.  The Germans had launched a two-pronged attack,   their left wing towards the church,   which would give them a commanding view of the crossroads,   and the right wing from the trees on the big hill towards the N-S road,   from where they could command the open spaces all around the crossroads.

Fortunately the three remaining American tanks all had a good view of the clear space near the roads and houses,   so although most of the US forces were still advancing under cover,   the fire from the US tanks decimated the Germans,   who were forced to regroup in the woods on the big hill. Corcoran had warned the tank commanders not to get too close to the German infantry,   because they would certainly be accompanied by Panzerschreks.  He hated to lose a tank to a bazooka.

Sgt. Xavier's tank nearest the crossroad was using a house for cover,   but it could snipe at Germans on both sides while it waited for a German tank to crest the hill near the church.  None did.  Sgt. Xavier decided to try to sucker a German tank into moving forward; he backed up his tank,   then gingerly moved it from behind the house in the direction of the unseen StuG,   confident that the supporting infantry would suppress any nearby antitank infantry in the vicinity.  As soon as he spotted the StuG,   he reversed his tank and went back behind the house and waited. Sure enough,   the impatient German advanced his StuG,   and as soon as it appeared over the crest,   Xavier gave the order to fire.  The German tank exploded as the shell hit the ammo,   and Xavier smiled.  One more to go,   he thought. He stayed behind the house and waited some more,   sniping at German infantry on both flanks.

The other German tank was back near the big hill,   hammering away at the Americans in the nearby buildings. The platoons in the building on the intersection had lost half of their men and were pinned by incessant German fire,   but their fighting had gained time for the other Americans to take up positions. A bazooka team with them lay hidden on the floor waiting for a lull in the fighting before trying to get the remaining German tank.  "Don't set fire to the building shooting off that friggin' bazooka!",   warned a nervous corporal cowering in a corner as another cannon shell smashed through the wall.  "Cripes,   what are ya waitin' for?",   the same corporal yelled,   his mind suddenly registering that the bazooka was less dangerous for him than the German tank.  "Why don't YOU stand up before the open window?",   yelled back the Sergeant cradling his bazooka on the floor.

Then there was a pause in the fighting as most Germans had disappeared into cover. But a large group suddenly appeared at the edge of the woods at the foot of the large hill. "Good Gawd",   exclaimed Corcoran,   there are a million o' them!" All the nearby US units began to fire,   supported by the three US tanks. Suddenly a tank round set the woods on fire,   right where at least four or five German platoons were regrouping.  As the fire spread,   the Germans scattered,   some yelling in panic as their clothes burned.  One panicked platoon ran out of the woods right into a killing zone where it was caught in a crossfire from US tanks and infantry. All of them were dead before their riddled bodies even had time to hit the ground.  This lucky fire broke up the second German assault,   and they had to regroup for another try. Taking advantage of the confusion,   the bazooka team peered out of the top floor window,   aimed at the German tank,   and with a whoosh and a BLAM!,   a rocket   knocked out the last German tank.

 A US tank behind the plume of smoke has set the woods on fire with an HE round.  A number of German platoons are scattering to get away from the fire.  The one on the right is caught in a deadly crossfire,   and will be killed before they can hit the ground.

Now Sgt. Xavier,   still worried about the possibility of being destroyed by a panzerschrek if he moved forward from behind the house,   decided to back up his tank part of the way up the slope behind him,   so as to stay out of range of any panzerschreks;  the engine groaned,   and the tank slowly backed up.  When he was high enough to see above the house,   he had a great panorama of the scene all the way from the left flank to the right.  There wasn't much going on to the extreme right,   and it had turned out that only a German battalion commander was there.  However the Germans were launching a major assault towards the church,   and Xavier was glad to see that a fresh platoon of infantry reinforcements was coming up behind him,   since the medium machinegun crew had taken heavy casualties and the rest of the infantry on the right flank had mostly moved down into the houses.  Captain Corcoran had decided to use his reinforcements to bolster his right flank,   just in case.

On the left flank,   Lt. Jacobson saw the flagging German attack and decided that it was time to deal the enemy a decisive blow.  He called over Sgt. Parker: "Sergeant,   take your squad across the road into the woods,   then turn right and take the disorganized Germans on the flank.  That should send them packing and give us the last objective.  But move slowly,   you don't want to be ambushed in the woods! The rest of the platoon will cover you."

"Yessir",   replied Parker. He beckoned to his men,   and they ran across the road without taking any enemy fire.

Once into the forest,   Parker and his men slowly picked their way towards the sound of the firing Germans.  After a couple of minutes,   they had advanced only a few meters,   and the sounds did not appear to be any closer. "Da hell with dis",  whispered Parker,  "dey ain't expectin' us,  so let's move faster,  but don't make any noise! We'll give dem Krauts a lesson dey won't soon fergit!"

From a building across the road,  Jacobson could vaguely see Parker and his men moving in the woods towards the Germans.  He could also see a German squad on the edge of the woods moving towards Parker.

"Holy shit!",  he yelled,  they're running right into the Germans!   Watch out!, " he yelled at Parker as Jacobson's other squads fired at the Germans,  driving them deeper into the woods directly at Parker's flank.  But Parker could not hear above the din,  and the first inkling he had of any nearby German presence was a bullet going right through his body from the side.  Parker spun around,  his mouth forming words  without  sounds,  and his men froze as a wave of blood surged from his mouth and he collapsed. A dank cloak of fear overwhelmed the now leaderless men,  and they split into two groups,  some running back towards Jacobson and the others running towards the German lines.  The Germans mercilessly machine-gunned the Americans in the open as Jacobson watched helplessly,  then they turned around and systematically and rapidly hunted down the remaining soldiers of Parker's squad,  killing them one by one. In less than a minute,  the 12 men of Parker's squad were all dead.

"Damn,  damn,   damn!  groaned Jacobson wiping tears from his eyes,  "I told him to go slow! SLOW,  godammit!…" In the center,  Captain Corcoran was seen throwing his helmet on the ground with anger while shaking his head.  "That was premature",  he thought to himself.  But Jacobson was a good officer,  although he lacked experience.

Meanwhile on the other flank,  wave after wave of German infantry kept trying to take the undefended church,  but there was too much clear terrain to cross,  the Americans had three tanks raking the area with machineguns and cannon,  and each time the Germans were turned back with mounting casualties.

During a lull in the fighting after repulsing another assault,  a couple of US platoons raced to the church,  where they captured a nasty German machine-gunner,  the sole survivor of his squad.

On the US left flank,  the spread-out deployment turned out to be auspicious,  because each time that the Germans tried to leave the forest for the road,  they were caught in a vicious crossfire from tanks and infantry,  and driven back with heavy casualties.

Eventually,  it became clear that the German offensive was spent,  and Corcoran ordered an all-out attack across the road to take the remaining German flag,  correctly assuming that most of the demoralized remaining German units would panic and run for the hills.  The tankers gunned their tanks forward and the infantry rushed forward with a yell,  and most of the Germans bolted and ran for it.  But a few fought to the death,  causing some casualties to the Americans.

The game ended without the US taking the last flag on the wooded hill,  but they occupied the church,  controlled the road and the crossroad,  and the Germans had taken horrendous casualties,  while the Americans had won a total victory with only moderate casualties.  Four Germans had died for every American,  which was a pretty good tradeoff in the cold-blooded mathematics of war,  thought Captain Corcoran.

Corcoran lit a cigarette as he surveyed the desolate scene,  and he noticed that his hand was shaking.