Return to Glory: A Germania AAR

Feedback:

Hkslan: Well, in terms of the story, the idea was that it would cause enough of a disruption that the Brits would not be able to effectively mobilize before Poland was defeated. In terms of gameplay, I just did it to see if it would work.

KLorberau: Welcome aboard and thank you for the kind words! If you are thinking of writing and AAR, by all means do so. This forum is full of people who would be happy to encourage and help out a new writer, as I can attest to from
personal experience.

Commander-DK: Thank you very kindly. As you can see, I've already shamelessly updated my sig.


Next update before the end of the day

Kurt_Steiner said:

Congrats, mate!!!! A well deserved award!!!!

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Whoops, just missed you. Thank you very much.

Sept. 10, 1939
Brandenburg, Germany

Helmut Wolf shifted in his seat uncomfortably and continued to stare across the desk at his commanding officer who was reading a file that had come down from General Staff Headquarters. Von Hippel looked tired, as if he hadn't slept since the beginning of the war and Helmut felt a pang of concern for the older man. Helmut could well understand how hard the past days had been on him. When the war began, the Brandenburgers had been first in and had achieved surprising success at disrupting and confusing Polish forces and paving the way for General Hausser's amazing blitz to the gates of Warsaw itself. Since then, however, the Brandenburgers had been reduced to operating as a regular army unit and had passed from von Hippel's control at General Hausser's insistence. It must, Helmut decided, be hell for him not knowing what Hausser was doing with his boys.

All they did know about Hausser was that he was trying to encircle and besiege the Polish capital after he had been stopped cold with heavy losses by the Poles three days previous. In fact, the last few days had brought rather uninspiring news from the front. In addition to the defeat in Warsaw, Polish forces in the south had regrouped and halted the III. Armee outside of Cracow, once again denying the city to the Germans. In addition, German forces had once again tasted defeat in East Prussia. General von Kluge, now in command of all forces in East Prussia, was in full retreat towards Memel with the newly formed XI. Armee and the Baltische Flotte was headed to the Courland Lagoon at full speed in case an evacuation became necessary. The only piece of good news from Poland was that I. Panzerarmee had smashed through the defenses of Lodz and captured the city the day before. Thinking of the exploits of First Panzer turned Helmut's thoughts to his brother, and he made a mental note to try and visit Elsa and the kids if he found the time.

As Helmut wondered to himself why he hadn't visited them already, von Hippel spoke as he set aside the file and picked up a single sheet of paper, "Well Wolf, you've created quite a stir with the boys upstairs."

"Sir?"

"Taking it upon yourself to assassinate the British Head of Intelligence can either be described as admirable initiative, or damn foolishness. Now, despite how distasteful I find the idea of assassinating government officials, I say good job grasping an opportunity and there are those upstairs who agree with me. However, there are those who are concerned that your actions may have dire consequences depending on how the British choose to respond."

"The British? How can they know for sure who is responsible?", asked Helmut.

"Come on Wolf, two government ministers assassinated within a week of declaring war on Germany? The British may be many things, but they are not that stupid. Even if they don't know, they have to be sure enough to perhaps attempt a reprisal of some sort."

"So some suits are wetting themselves because MI-6 might come calling, what's that to me? They're the bastards who ordered me there, why shouldn't they pay the price if the British want revenge?"

"Wolf, that is a dangerous attitude to take.", warned von Hippel.

Helmut shrugged and replied, " I say again, I care not."

Von Hippel narrowed his eyes and regarded Helmut thoughtfully. To him he seemed different, off in some way. When he had first come to Brandenburg, he had been arrogant and resentful. He had acted as if coming to join von Hippel's command was a punishment (which it was) and he had refused to fit in with the "common soldiers". Over time, however, the young man had proven himself to be a fine soldier and a good friend who was loyal to his comrades and always ready to lighten the mood with a touch of good humor. Now though, he seemed morose and his general attitude and appearance were concerning. His usually crisp uniform was slightly wrinkled and it appeared as if he had not shaved this morning. Also of major concern was the paper that Helmut had placed on his desk. Von Hippel had skimmed it over while they had been talking and he now held it towards Helmut and asked, "Mind explaining this to me?"

Helmut gave a perhaps somewhat insolent shrug of his shoulders and replied, "I believe that I put everything in plain language."

Von Hippel fixed Helmut with a level stare, but decided to ignore Helmet's breach of etiquette as he said, "Wolf, this is a letter of resignation."

"So?"

"So? So, there's a war on Wolf! Attempting to resign your commission is treason. You can be shot!"

Helmut shrugged and remained silent, which finally did the job of enraging von Hippel. He rose from his seat and shouted, "Do you expect me to forward this to High Command? What in the hell is the matter with you Wolf? I never would have imagined that you would turn your back on the Fatherland like this, much less your comrades in the battalion. They are dying out there Wolf, is this how you honor their sacrifice? By abandoning them?"

Helmut's face remained expressionless, but he clenched his fists together as he maintained his silence. Seeing that Helmut was not going to respond, von Hippel sighed in disgust and sat down heavily behind his desk. He stared at Helmut for several minutes before finally breaking the silence, "I'm sorry Wolf, but I can't accept your resignation."

"Why not?", asked Helmut in anger.

"Because, you are on attachment to the battalion from the SD remember? Your commission comes from them, not the Army. I'm afraid that you'll have to take your resignation to Heydrich. Or, I suppose that I could send it over to his office for you. Shall I?"

Though Helmut offered no reply, it was obvious that the idea of Heydrich receiving his resignation did not please him at all. Von Hippel allowed him to sweat for a moment before saying, "I may not be able to accept this, but I can grant you a furlough. Take two weeks and get yourself straightened out. I'm going to tear this up, and I expect you to have forgotten this foolishness by the time you return. You are dismissed Wolf, get out of my office."

As Helmut saluted and turned to leave the office, von Hippel frowned and said, "Helmut, do please take care of yourself."

Opening the door, Helmut closed it behind him without reply.

trekaddict said:

Nice update. I guess Helmut might actaully use that time to tie up the loose ends from the previous update?

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Thanks. As to the loose ends, perhaps.

Kurt Steiner: Glad you're enjoying the story.

Commander-DK: Hmmm... no comment.

rcduggan said:

excellent writing....

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Thank you very kindly.

Next update later today.

German Troops on the Outskirts of a Village Near Torun

Sept. 18, 1939
Several Miles Outside Torun, Poland

Otto Wolf walked down along the line and nodded back at the cheerful greetings that were tossed his way by his men. He smiled at their enthusiasm and good spirits, glad to see that morale remained high after over two weeks of constant fighting. Otto took these good spirits as a matter of course. After all, First Panzer was the only formation that had not yet been defeated during the war. The black mark that Spain had left on their record was being erased by victory after victory against the Poles and the men were walking a little taller each day. Otto walked past the line of panzers and stopped at one of the forward machine gun positions that ran along his sector of the defensive line and checked in with the grenadiers manning it. Otto made it a point to show his appreciation for and give his attention to these ground troops that operated alongside his panzers. Otto returned their salutes and said, "Is everything in order here men?"

"Yes sir, you'll have nothing to worry about from those Poles with us on the job.", replied their sergeant.

"I don't doubt it at all sergeant. Listen, you guys take care of yourselves alright?"

"Don't worry about us sir. We're not the ones that will be riding around in huge machines that the enemy can see a mile away.", responded the sergeant with a laugh.

Otto slapped the man on the back and laughed with him and the other grenadiers before climbing out of their position and heading toward the area where his crew was waiting for him. As Otto approached his crew, he found them putting the finishing touches on Marlene's camouflage job and defensive position. Looking it over, Otto nodded to himself and walked over to stand beside Hoff.

"Might have guessed that you'd show up once we were finished.", said Hoff with a smile when he noticed Otto's presence.

Otto held his hands up in front of him and replied, "Do I need to remind you that these are new gloves?"

Hoff snickered and asked, "How was the trip to HQ?"

Otto shrugged, "Not bad. Lots of news."

The other three members of Otto's crew had by this time joined them and Lorenz asked, "Good news or bad, sir?"

"Both."

Otto laughed as his men jeered at him for the less than illuminating response and then said, "Alright, alright. The bad news is that the Poles are threatening to push XI. Armee out of Memel and the attack by I. Armee into Elbing has been repulsed. Just to show that they haven't forgotten about us, the Poles are sending a rather large force to push us away from Torun and it's coming right this way."

Schneider let out a low whistle as Hertz asked, "And the good news?"

"The good news lies in what aerial recon says that they're throwing at us.", replied Otto with a smile.

Hoff's eyes lit up as he eagerly asked, "Armor?"

Otto nodded, "That's right. Gentlemen, for the first time we will be up against enemy armor."

"I almost pity the bastards.", said Hertz with a fierce looking grin. "Almost."

"That's not the only piece of good news, Cracow has fallen."

Otto's men let out a cheer at the news and Hoff asked, "Who finally did the job?"

"IV. Armee, if you can believe it.", replied Otto with a grin.

"The Austrians? You've got to be kidding me.", exclaimed Schneider.

Lorenz took on a defensive look and said, "What's that supposed to mean? My mother's Austrian."

Schneider put an arm around Lorenz and said, "I always knew there was something off about you, and now I have my answer."

Lorenz shoved him backward and was about to offer a biting retort when Otto interrupted him, "Alright you two, stow it. Let's mount up and make ready."

A half an hour later, Otto stood with the turret hatch open looking through his field glasses at the ground below the ridge that his panzer was positioned on. As he watched intently for signs of the enemy, he reflected on the fact that this was to be the most important battle that he and his men would be involved in since the beginning of the war. If they could halt the Polish counterattack, they could then finally drive the Poles from Torun and the encirclement of Warsaw would be complete. Despite himself, Otto admired the tenacity of the Poles and the skill with which they were defending their country. What was supposed to have been an easy conquest was turning out to be anything but, and Otto wondered how many more would fall before the Poles were defeated.

Just as Otto was about to lower his glasses and give his eyes a rest, he spotted movement from across the field as Polish armor began to advance on his position with infantry in close support. Otto frowned as he watched them approach and realized that, for the most part, the Polish armored vehicles were little more than mobile machine gun platforms and unsuited for combat against his panzers. A little disappointed, Otto relayed orders to his company to hold fire until his mark. That done, he instructed Hoff to pick a target and fire when ready.

As he waited for the battle to begin, Otto tried to dispel the uneasiness that sitting stationary like this was causing him. Fighting defensively seemed wrong to him, and he longed to be racing across that field toward the Poles instead of the other way around. He consoled himself with the knowledge once he broke the Polish advance he would be racing across that field and on to Torun and points beyond. As an almost predatory smile came onto his face, the panzer was rocked when Hoff fired the cannon and scored a perfect hit on a Polish vehicle. A split second later, the rest of Otto's company opened fire and the slaughter began. Those few Polish vehicles that had cannons mounted to their turrets were not even close to being in range when the German heavy panzers, designed to kill other armored vehicles, began to mercilessly pick them off. As for the Polish light armored vehicles, they had no chance. In an amazingly short time, dozens of Polish vehicles were burning. Still, on they came through the smoke and the hellish storm of steel that Otto's panzers and the anti-tank guns of the grenadiers were delivering. Their determination amazed Otto despite its foolishness, and he was almost truly sorry for having to continue to strike them down.

Soon enough, most of the Polish vehicles were burning wrecks and a thick cloud of black smoke covered the field. Still though, the Poles were undaunted and their infantry raced forward toward the Germans despite the destruction of their support. On they came right into the teeth of the machine guns of the grenadiers which cut a bloody swath through their ranks. "Absolute madness.", muttered Otto as he ordered his company to move from their positions and counterattack.

The sight of Otto's panzers coming down the ridge toward them finally broke the resolve of the Poles and they began to retreat towards their original positions. As the panzers drew closer the machine guns mounted atop them began to spit death among the Poles, turning their retreat into a rout.
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Within two days, effective Polish resistance in the province had ceased and Torun was secured. With the fall of the city, Warsaw was truly cut off from the rest of Poland and the fall of the city now truly seemed to be a matter of time. Despite the seeming ease with which the Polish counterattack had been repulsed, the battle had still been a terrible one. In places I. Panzerarmee had run into Polish armor of a French design and losses had been severe before the Poles were driven off. In addition, despite German assumptions to the contrary, Polish anti-tank weaponry was superb and many panzer crews had met their deaths over Polish sights during the drive to Torun.

As I. Panzerarmee licked it's wounds, General von Rundstedt was already drawing up the orders that would take them into the streets of Warsaw.

trekaddict: Thank you.

Commander-DK: I wouldn't want to say that they're giving me too hard a time, but they are being difficult. Due to the fact that they launched such a large offensive into East Prussia, my forces there were overwhelmed which led to the occupation of East Prussia by the Poles. Not a big deal, but not good either. The deal with Torun and Cracow was that reinforcements were continually being sent in by the Polish and it took forever to occupy those areas(this is also the same thing that happened in Warsaw earlier). Now though, the Poles are in retreat everywhere and Warsaw is surrounded. Something tells me the end is near.

Kurt Steiner: Indeed, but they will fall. Lebensraum for the Reich!

Sept. 22, 1939
Berlin, Germany

Elsa Wolf had just come inside from hanging the laundry when she heard a knock at her door. Pausing briefly to check her appearance in the hall mirror, she opened it to discover her brother-in-law on the doorstep. "Helmut, it's wonderful to see you.", she exclaimed as she invited him in. As he stepped inside and removed his coat, worry mixed with the delight that she was feeling at seeing him after all this time. He had several days of growth on his face and his clothes were rumpled. He looked very unkempt, especially for someone usually so fastidious about his appearance. She also noticed that the warm smile that she always associated with her husband's little brother was absent. Frowning a little, she asked, "How have you been?"

Helmut shrugged his shoulders lazily and responded in a flat voice, "Fine."

"That's good to hear, would you like some coffee? It will only take a moment to make."

"Sure."

Helmut's distant responses only increased her worry as she invited him into the kitchen and began making the coffee. Helmut sat in complete silence the entire time she worked and it began to make her feel uncomfortable. To break the silence and get Helmut talking she asked, "How's Sophie?"

"I wouldn't know."

Puzzled by the response, she was about to ask him to explain but the coffee chose that moment to percolate. As she began to fill two mugs, Helmut asked, "Have you heard from Otto?"

Feeling a slight twinge in her heart she replied, "No, but I expect to very soon. You have to understand that he's very busy and you know how the postal system is at times like this."

"Maybe he's dead."

Elsa felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and ice flowed into her veins. As tears welled in her eyes the coffee mugs slipped from her hands to shatter on the floor. She rounded on Helmut and asked in a pained voice, "Helmut, how could you say such a thing?"

She watched through her tears as Helmut looked from her to spill on the floor and then leaned back in his chair, offering no response. Elsa shook her head and set to cleaning up the spill. Helmut maintained his silence as she finished cleaning and sat down across from him at the table with two new mugs of coffee. She watched Helmut take slow sips for some time before she asked, "Helmut, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that! You're not acting like yourself. The Helmut I know wouldn't have said such a horrible thing to me and you haven't even asked about the children."

Helmut looked up from his mug and asked, "Where are the children?"

"At school, they won't be home for another hour or so. Helmut, you're not yourself. Please tell me what's wrong. Did something happen between you and Sophie?"

"No."

"So then things are fine between you two? That's good to hear, when was the last time you found time to see her?", asked Elsa.

"I haven't seen her in six months, nor do I intend to.", replied Helmut with an odd tone to his voice.

"What? Helmut, why?"

"I decided that it would be best for her to not hear from me again. There are better men out there. She'll find one."

"Helmut, you can't be serious. You're a good man."

Helmut laughed, but the sound was without mirth and sent a chill up Elsa's spine. Helmut looked into her eyes and said, "The last thing that I am is a good man."

Concern for him flooded into Elsa at the pained expression on his face. Reaching a hand out for his, she asked, "Why do you say that?"

Helmut looked down to where her hand rested on his and pulled away before responding, "I've done things. Horrible things."

"Do you want to talk about them?"

"No."

Elsa pleaded, "Helmut, it might do you good. Please talk to me."

Elsa watched as a change came over Helmut's face and he began to speak. She listened as he recounted the sources of his guilt and tried to push away some of the horror she felt. She listened as the man that had stood beside her husband at their wedding, that had come numerous times to comfort her during that terrible period of not knowing during the Spanish War, and that was always so good to the children recounted his terrible deeds. He left nothing out. From his betrayal of the Strauss' to his recent exploits in England. By the time he finished, she had been forced to clench her hands together to keep them from shaking. As revulsion threatened to well up in her, she pushed it down and tried to remain focused on what he was saying.

"I thought I had left Spain behind me, made peace with it. But when I killed all those people everything came flooding back. I feel like it's all tearing me apart.", Helmut finished as he placed clenched fists against his head. Though it had felt good to finally confess to someone, the pain and shame was still there and now added to it was the realization that someone he loved and cared about probably now thought that he was a monster. Refusing to meet her eyes, he quickly stood up and moved to exit the house.

She ran after him and called out, "Helmut, wait." As he slowly turned to face her she continued, "Do you feel any better now?"

Still not meeting her eyes, he replied, "It did feel good to confess to someone, but now you know what sort of man I am. I'm-"

"You're a good man.", she interrupted.

"No, I'm-"

She interrupted him again, "You're a good man who's done some horrible things. The fact that you're so filled with remorse proves it. As long as you have genuine remorse, there is always hope for forgiveness."

"Forgiveness?", he asked. "I don't know..."

She smiled, "God will forgive you Helmut. Now you just need to work on forgiving yourself."

Finally meeting her eyes, Helmut saw none of the reproach he expected to see in them. Finding that he could not speak, he nodded and walked out the door. As he made the long walk home screams and images of blood and death warred with Elsa's kind words inside his head. Without realizing it, Helmut found that he had come to stop outside of a small Lutheran Church, not much different than the one that his parents had taken him to when he was a boy. Gazing from the door to the cross mounted above it, Helmut shook his head and turned to continue walking. As he turned away he almost bumped into a small man that was hurrying from the other direction. As Helmut muttered an apology, he realized that the little man was a priest. The priest waved away Helmut's apology with a smile and asked as he opened the door, "Where you coming inside?"

Helmut stared at the little man for a moment before replying, "Yes I was, thank you."

rcduggan said:

awesome update.

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Thank you very much, hope you enjoy this last one as well.