Return to Glory: A Germania AAR

[Hardraade]

Hey, 500 posts. Who would have thought it? A special thanks to my readers and to those who have posted responses.

Commander-DK: It's good to know that everyone is still out there. Hope you enjoy the tea.

Hannibal Barca2: No, I'm afraid it doesn't. Although, I have been thinking about your suggestion as well as Will's friend for some time now. I usually don't like to give things away, but I'll throw out a bone. Will's friend(now complete with a proper name!) will be seen again within the next few posts.


The adventure continues tomorrow!

[Kurt_Steiner]

I'm wondering where is Helmuth heading... for that reason I'm silent. Beware Otto. A battle it's in sight.

[Draco Rexus]

Nice set of updates, nicely protraying a soldier's need to believe in good luck when logic dictates the improbability of survival. I also thoroughly enjoyed Helmut's battle scene and his feelings throughout the battle.

I fear that Otto (whom I am glad to be reading of again! thanks!) will be in the midst of a very ugly fight, just as he fears. And Helmut? While I don't think the French and Beligans would be preventing a wounded man from suicide, the could have, but I am of a mind that Helmut is on his way back to Germany for treatment of his wounds. At least that's what I'm hoping for, eh?

As usual, great work my friend!

[rcduggan]

excellent update and congrats on 500 replies in teh AAR!

[KLorberau]

As always a good update. Seems to me that Otto will get a chance of his own to win the Iron Cross (heck, make it a Knight's Cross for goodness sake). Hopefully Helmut has all of his limbs when he recovers.......if he recovers (banish the thought).

Let the Battle of Namur begin!!

KLorberau

[Hardraade]

OK, I know I said I would post yesterday, but I was having some internet issues. The post will be up today barring any further problems.
Feedback:

Kurt Steiner: Helmut's situation will be made clear in due time.

Draco Rexus: Thanks. Otto is certainly in for some heavy combat. As to Helmut, I'm holding on to that info for now.

rcduggan: Thanks.

KLorberau: Otto will indeed have ample opportunity. The battle begins in the next post.

[Hardraade]

November 29, 1939
Namur, Belgium
0800 hours

A thick cloud of smoke hung over the city of Namur as Otto Wolf gave the order for his panzer company to advance. For the past two hours he had watched as the city was pounded by both artillery and flight after flight of bombers. Headquarters had been confident that the fearsome barrage coupled with the aerial bombardment would be enough to seriously damage the enemy's ability to defend the city, but Otto was not as confident as they and was prepared for the worst. As Otto's panzers rolled forward a shadow passed overhead as hundreds of Stuka dive bombers moved in to continue pounding the enemy defenses.


Stukas in flight above Namur

Otto's formation had advanced only a very short distance when artillery shells began to land amongst his panzers. Knowing full well how difficult it was to hit a moving target, he regarded the artillery fire as a nuisance and nothing more. Of course, nuisance or no, it was sure to claim at least a few of his panzers and do considerable damage to the infantry following in his wake, but Otto could only push forward and hope that the number would be low.

As Otto and his men closed with the outer ring of the French and Belgian defenses the true danger to his panzers revealed itself as the enemy opened fire with their anti-tank guns. So much for neutralizing their defenses., thought Otto as he ordered his company to begin firing on the enemy line. As he and his men exchanged fire with the enemy guns, Otto fixed the location of the heaviest concentration of the enemy guns and had Schneider pass the information along. He was dismayed to see that the enemy artillery crews were good at their jobs and that several of his panzers were burning. Otto quickly ordered his company to increase it's speed and continue it's efforts to silence the anti-tank guns. Looking through his filed glasses, he could see shell after shell slam into the guns emplacements turning the the artillery pieces in hunks of misshapen metal.

By now, his formation had advanced close enough to the enemy line for small arms fire to begin striking his panzer. As rounds bounced off of the armored hull, Otto fought down the urge to button up the turret hatch and continued to stand upright as bullets flew around him. Though one or two anti-tank guns were still in action, Otto ordered the majority of his men to concentrate on the enemy trench line to soften them up for an infantry assault. As the panzers devastated the line, the infantry moved forward with the exception of the few platoons that would hold back and defend his flanks against a possible counterattack. Even as the infantry raced ahead, the panzers continued to roll forward and added their machine guns to the damage that their cannons were doing. Under this heavy assault, the enemy line broke and Otto could see their infantry flee back toward the inner defense line while their wounded were left behind to surrender and place themselves at the mercy of the advancing German troops.

As the advance continued over and past the first line, Otto twisted himself backward and counted that nearly a dozen of his panzers had been disabled or had suffered some other form of damage that had taken them out of the fighting. The number was more than Otto had expected to lose so early and a slight amount of concern began to creep into him. While the infantry began to gather themselves for the next push, Otto sent word back via Schneider that the first line had been breached and that he would be continuing the advance. He also had Schneider inform them that resistance was heavier than expected and asked for both reinforcements and aerial support.

Otto had just instructed his men to begin firing on the next enemy defense line in preparation for the advance when he heard Schneider come over the communicator, "Sir, headquarters reports that no reinforcements are available at this time and instructs us to push forward with what we have. They also say that they will try to send some aerial support our way."

Otto grimaced at the news. Things were apparently not going as planned if reinforcements had already been committed elsewhere and he somehow doubted that his air support would show up in a timely fashion. As these thoughts raced through his mind the commander of his infantry support informed him that they were prepared to continue forward, and Otto gave the order to advance against the enemy. As Marlene lumbered forward, Otto lifted his field glasses and swept his gaze up and down the enemy line in search of any artillery pieces or strong points that would need to be given priority. He caught sight of a gun crew readying it's weapon and relayed the position to his company. Otto was rocked as Hoff opened fire with the main gun and as he was examining the effect of the shot he heard Schneider's excited voice in his ear, "Sir, he have reports of enemy armor on the right flank!"

Otto immediately turned to his right and a ball of ice formed in his stomach as he observed a large concentration of French armor speeding toward him.
************************************************** ********


Next: The struggle for Namur continues.

[Kurt_Steiner]

Tanks vs tanks... let's see... Somua, Hotchkiss...

Is there a hot kiss waiting for Otto?

[trekaddict]

Otto is actually inviting a snipers bullet when hes sticking his head out of the hatch during combat....



nice update btw.

[Commander-DK]

Tank battle! Yeah!

:-) Jesper

[Draco Rexus]

Sah-weet! A tank battle!

While I was afraid that Otto was going to catch some shrapnel from standing up exposed in the turret, or possibly even drawing the attention of some lowly infantryman, I am more afraid that this encounter with the French armour just be more than what the Germans can handle at this point. Namely, I fear a German defeat along the lines of what happened in Spain.

That would not be good, not good at all!

[Hannibal Barca2]

The french does not follow the rules of WW2 Doesn't they now they're supposed to die

By the way, I got the impression that you didn't posted anything about Otto's time in imprisonement in Spain due to forum rules. But could you anyway sen me a PM with a link which where I can download the lost chapter? Even if it isn't finished?

[Hardraade]

Kurt Steiner: All information regarding Otto is classified at this time.

trekaddict: Many German tank commanders preferred to fight in this fashion as it allowed them a better view of the battlefield, but you are correct that this exposed them to greater danger.

Commander-DK:

Draco Rexus: It would indeed not be in the least bit good. A reversal of fortunes such as in Spain would be devestating, in fact. The clash between Otto's panzers and the French armor will be detailed this weekend.

Hannibal Barca2: Yeah, damn French. What do they think they're doing?
You are correct that Otto's stay in the POW camp was not posted due to forum rules. I had actually written out the entire thing when I realized that I wouldn't be able to use it. Unfortunately, as soon as I came to that realization, I deleted the chapter. Otto's experiences in the camp are therefore lost to posterity I'm afraid.

[Hardraade]

OK, some news. I said that I would post the next update this weekend, but this may not be the case. I'm being transferred to finish my OJT and take up my first post. As a result, I will actually be living away from home for the next few months until I can transfer back. Naturally, with this being the case, I will be spending most of my time with family and friends this weekend and the update may have to wait. If I find the time to put the finishing touches on it I will post it, but if I can't I hope everyone will understand. I will certainly do my best to get it posted tomorrow as after this I will probably be, for obvious reasons, posting very irregularly for awhile.

[Draco Rexus]

From a readAARs point of view that just plain bites... however, it is also completely understandable. Rest assured, we'll be waiting!

[KLorberau]

Drako is right.....we will all be going into withdrawls........COLD TURKEY!!! Damm, it's gonna be tough....hahahaha

Anyway, stay safe, keep your head down, listed to your FTO, and I hope you have a long and prosperous career....But.......just don't abandon your peeps out here who will be patiently waiting for the next update......and the one after that.........and the one after that.................................

By the way, on a more serious note, you are a hell of a writer, and should probably keep a journal of your exploits on the streets......I'll be looking for a good, gritty, police drama in your future........

Good luck.

KLorberau

[rcduggan]

can't wait for it.

[stnylan]

Caught up now. You have a very interesting sequence of events going on with Helmut.

[Hardraade]

Hello all, I've got a couple of linked RDOs(the last I'll see on a weekend for a long time) and I've returned home to, among other things, post the next update. But first, some feedback:

Draco Rexus: The wait ends this weekend.

KLorberau: Thank you for the kind words and rest assured that I will not be abandoning the readers.

rcduggan: It's on the way.

stnylan: Welcome back and thank you.


OK, the next update will post this weekend.

[Kurt_Steiner]

We'll be here to read it, I hope.