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Our final exam dates were revealed today, and much to our surprise they are a week later than we expected, in the first week of February instead of the last week of January. This means that I have a bit of unexpected additional time. As a result of that I have decided to take this weekend off, and I might be able to get an update done. Wish me luck.
 
You should study, little trekkie... :p;)
 
You should study, little trekkie... :p;)

I have, I have. It's only that my head is bursting with ideas, and I simply need a break. Besides, an additional week of study time can set off a day or two.
 
Chapter 205


6th March 1942

Italy


This time Ian was driving, given that Felix did not know the way. Once again the SOE station for the Mediterranean was moving it's Headquarters. Ian was less than pleased, because he hated moving the entire operation whenever someone was having the idea that the SOE needed to be closer to the front. That however had been worse before he had red the latest message from London, because it was no longer 'SOE Mediterranean Sea' but rather 'SOE Central Europe', a daunting Command for a Captain, but Ian didn't complain, because this was the work he was made for, and if he was being honest with himself, he was getting somewhat too old to dash around the war like he had back in '39 and '40. The sort-of promotion had had other advantages because he had been allowed to search for his own accommodations among the many locations that had been vacated by their owners or simply requisitioned by the Army. Ian had found the place they were heading for now a week ago, and had made sure that the credentials from Admiral Mountbatten had done their work before some rear area service took it for it's Officers. It was up in the mountains, almost directly on the central spine of Italy and halfway between Rome and Anzio. The weather was atrocious and the road was slippery, but the Land Rover that acted as Station hack ever since Ian had 'borrowed' it from the Army car pool at Taranto. Thanks to a few buckets of paint and some creative writing in the files of the SOE station it was now RN property, and as it crept up the icy roads towards their destination Ian refused to feel any guilt about the affair. 'Lost on Battlefield' was a common reason for missing equipment, just as 'Found on Battlefield' was one for things that were not in the official inventory. The road they were driving on was, as previously described, winding itself upwards in a valley that reminded Ian of Jamaica. Soon enough though they reached a small plateau the size of roughly six football fields. The area was filled, at least from the road it seemed like that. Trees that were now devoid of leafs surrounded a modest but still relatively expansive mansion. The mansion itself was three storeys high and half a mile from the road with which it was connected by a now iced over gravel road that ran straight towards the open area in front of the mansion. The property itself was surrounded by a low brick wall, the road closed off by an Iron Gate that was faced with marble pillars that were 'decorated' with the insignia of the Italian Fascist Party. The Mansion was made of some sort of White Stone that must have cost a fortune to import from somewhere. When Ian drove through the gate his papers were checked by a guard who froze away in an un-heated hut and who belonged to the Royal Military Police. When the Landy began to move again both the men saluted and Felix huddled deeper into his seat as he was still not too comfortable with cold.

Beyond the trees was an open space that stretched in front of the house and on a flagpole beyond which a few more cars were parked. Ian placed the Landy close to them and the two got out. Felix, always being the Sailor, still managed to fit all the belongings he needed into a sea sack and walked up and down a few steps between the Landy and the flagpole while Ian gathered his belongings.

When Ian had caught up with him he turned and asked:

“Where did you find this place, Ian?”

“Apparently this was the Summer residence of some local Party chief, and when the Army arrived he duely vacated the Premises before our lads could catch him. When I came around it seems that the Army Catering Corps wanted this as a billet for some of the higher Officers who help keep the staffers in Rome fed, but when push came to shove my contacts were better than theirs. I even managed to pinch some of their supplies.”

Felix grimaced and turned around to Ian once more.

“Bloody hell Ian, what were you thinking? We will never fill this place up, and what about personnel? You know I can't cook worth beans.”

Ian knew that Felix was a bit cranky when it was cold and decided not to care about how Felix had just talked to him just now. “That's not a problem my dear friend. For the moment it's pretty normal Navy shore establishment food, courtesy of the NID and the Fleet Station down at Taranto, albeit with locally produced supplies come spring.”

Felix did not reply and just grunted instead. Felix knew that this was as much of an apology as he was going to get. As they walked inside Felix could see that Ian had used the time well, because the lowest floor was already occupied with the various low-security support staffs, the second storey with those who had medium security clearance while he himself and Ian made their way up the marble staircase to the third floor past the long rows of rooms he saw that those with the highest security clearance, so far only three people aside from the two of them had their offices on the top floor. When he looked out of the rear windows at the mountains in the distance he suddenly realized that Ian was talking to him.
“As you can see it is a bit big for the Station as it was then, but since we are being massively expanded we will have some additional friends very soon, Offices from MI6, NID and every other bloody service imaginable, all on the orders from the Powers that be.”

Now Felix could not help but laugh. “So they actually know now what you are doing, eh?”

When Ian only replied with a annoyed grunt Felix knew that he had been spot on.

“So anyway,” Ian said, “our own Office and Quarters are over there.”

He led Felix down the corridor where the walls were decorated with all sorts if hideous fascist art and dark wood panelling. The carpet on the floor was of a red colour that was more burgundy than anything else, overall not what Felix would have used for his own home, but for the moment it would do.

Ian and Felix would share an Office with Quarters on the same floor, conveniently located near a separate staircase that led straight down to the lowest level where the kitchen was located. All in all it was a decent billet and after a while Felix felt that he would feel just fine here.


The same day, near Ferrara, Italy


The 7th German Panzer Division was without doubt the best unit within the German Ground forces – if not the entire Armed Forces. It had spearheaded the German prongs of the attack into France, had spearheaded the attack into Yugoslavia and had played a critical role in the defence of Italy, failed as it had so far. The Division had taken disproportional losses in men and vehicles and had been pulled out of the line for rebuilding after the fall of Rome.

After spending most of the winter on the southern slope of the Alps the Division had been selected for re-equipment with the newest kit. Rumour had it that the Führer himself had graced them with this special status and had declared the 7th to be his favourite Panzer unit in the Heer.

For the first time since the beginning of the war the unit had it's full compliment of mechanized vehicles, Sd.Kfz. 251 for the Infantry and the Divisonal troops had been reinforced by a Company of Flakpanzer Is to improve it's defences against aircraft, because these days one could not count on the Luftwaffe to keep the skies clear. More importantly though a new type of Panzer was being introduced, listed as Sd.Kfz. 171 in the ordnance inventory, otherwise known as the Panzer V Panther with the troops. When one looked at it from the outside it was clearly influenced by the Soviet T-34, mainly it's wide tracks and the sloped armour that would make it a tougher nut to crack than the IV had been.[1]

When the first had been delivered to Italy for field tests in late January it had been clear that this design had been rushed into service far too early and with so many teething problems that the Officer in command of the Regiment that had tested them had claimed that it would make more sense to take his son into battle who was currently also teething. They had gone back to the factory and now an improved model had come back, improved and simplified, the latter with the help of a Soviet delegation that had been working in Germany as a return gift for a few T-34s a while back. Now that at last the factories that had produced attrition replacement Panzer IV and other assorted vehicles had been re-tooled more and more of them were finding their way to the front, but even so only one battalion had been fully equipped with them.

The Soviets too were working on improving the T-34, but for the moment the Panther ruled the Battlefield. The Battalion that had them was the 1st Battalion/Panzerregiment 25/7. Panzerdivision, commanded by Major Kramer who had been with the Division since before the war.

Said Battalion was currently fighting against yet another British attempt to gaud the Germans on the right flank of the Gothic Line into leaving their positions. They never actually assaulted the line, they shelled it, bombed, strafed and threw everything they had in distance weapons at it, but they never tried to breach it. Some thought this was because the war in the Pacific was soaking troops away from Italy, some said the British did not dare, and some, Kramer included, thought that it was simply because no one did large-scale armoured warfare in winter, not even the Soviets, in reserve twenty miles behind the line did that. No, this latest attack was nothing more than tempting and it was in no way different than ones that the Divisions on both sides had fought for weeks.

Kramer was standing up in his seat and looked at the winter landscape stretched out before him. Before the war this had been a small dent in the landscape and filled with trees. Now it was instead littered with shell craters, burnt out vehicles and dead bodies. In the distance Kramer could see a British Cromwell hiding behind the charred remains of one of his comrades. Kramer gave a terse order and the turret of 'Antonia' moved a fraction to the right. The gun was the same as the one on the Panzer IV, but improved optics had considerably increased accuracy, never mind that the crew was highly experienced. Kramer buttoned up again and as soon as he was sitting down again, the gun barked and the shell smashed into the charred remnants of the Cromwell and exploded. Before Kramer could say anything Menlicher slightly corrected the turret. The still living Cromwell backed out from behind the cover in reverse, so the second shot also missed. Kramer had to admit that whoever drove that Panzer was experienced.

However like every other he had to stop to fire, and when he did so, Menlicher shot first. The shell slammed into the frontal armour and easily pierced it at this range, setting yet another English Tank aflame.

“Back! Back!” Kramer yelled. He was sure that someone had seen him, and staying in any given location for too long was a bad idea, even when like right now neither side could accurately spot for Artillery or anything else due to the lighting conditions and the overcast, but the only old soldier was a prudent and cautious soldier. The heavy Maybach engine roared in the back and Antonia sprung into live and moved backwards towards the edge of the trees where the rest of the Battalion was waiting.

Panter.png

Three hours later he walked into the Officer's mess back at camp and loudly cursed about the weather as he always did when it snowed. On the inside the Officers of the Regiment were singing, drinking and enjoying their time, but Kramer had no mind for that. He made a beeline for the bar where he ordered 'Panzer Special Mixture' or '75er Lubricant' as some jokers called it: Two parts steaming Coffee (real if some was to be had), one part of beer and two parts of distilled Spirits. Kramer was the only one in his unit to drink this horrible mixture and he pretended not to know that his men were talking about it behind his back. Such equipped he decided to take a seat in the area of seats near the fireplace in the rear of the long, low hall that was informally reserved for Major and above. To his surprise he saw his mentor from the Panzer School, now-Generalmajor Otto Schneider-Mannheim whom Kramer had not seen for almost a year.

They greeted and sat back down. Schneider-Mannheim looked his old pupil. He could see the Campaign Badges from Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and the new one from the Defence of southern Italy, along with his decorations, lead by the Iron Cross Second Class that he had been given ages ago in the early days of the British Invasion of Italy. The '75 Engagements' Panzer assault badge rounded out the picture of an experienced and dedicated Soldier of the Fatherland.

Even so Schneider-Mannheim was not sure if it was the right thing to approach Kramer this way. He knew that the Major was not political but he had sworn the oath like every other German soldier and might find himself more bound to it than to anything else. At the very least Kramer could be trusted not to talk to the wrong people about their conversation but care had to be taken anyway.

First things first.

“You know Willi, when they told me that you had made Lieutenant I couldn't believe it. I had you made for the perfect career NCO.”

Kramer took a swig from his drink and was puzzled.

“Why is that Sir?”

The General smiled and took his cap, placing it on his right thigh as he often did. “No respect for Officers, knowing all the tricks even before you graduated and you were...are a very skilled Panzer Commander. From what I have heard you ran rings around the French and the Yugos.”

Kramer even blushed.

“I did my best for the Fathe..”

“Rubbish. You didn't get that EK II for being faithful to the Fatherland, you got it because you are a damn good solider. Not many rise from the ranks like you did and even fewer do as good as you have. We will need men like you in the future.”

Normally Kramer would not have thought much about that last remark but something in the General's voice made Kramer look up and for a second there was something in how the General looked at them. He felt that the older man had a burden to carry and a quick gesture of reassurance did a lot in these cases. After less than three seconds it was gone and the subject was changed.

“I hear you have tested the new versions of the Panther? Field Marshal Guderian is most interested.”

So the rumours were true after all. Kramer had heard more than once that Schneider-Mannheim was now working for OB West in Berlin in the Person of Field Marshal Guderian. Most interesting.

“It's a far cry from what the bloody things where when we first got them, the pre-series models were just awful. Most is fixed by now but I still think that the suspension is a liability.”

“How does it compare to the English tanks?”

“The armour is clearly superior to the Panzer IV and the Cromwells, but their 17 pounder gun is deadly, and it is possible for them to go through the front armour if they meet the correct circumstances. The race is still on, Sir.”


[Notes: The Mansion is a bit of a stretch, but a) I felt it would fit with the mood I am going for and b) with Ian's personality. Besides, they will spend a long time there, so why not make it comfortable? ]


[1] I believe that the case for the early introduction of the Panther is sound. After all, the T-34 has been clearly seen and extensively tested by the Germans, and they even bought the plans from the Soviets. TTL's Panther does have fewer teething troubles than when they were first introduced ITTL but is still far from perfect. The downside of this is that the gun they had historically isn't available yet, but it will most likely be introduced into production at a later date.
 
I wonder why the Germans are been so bloody silly by not just purchasing T-34s directly from the Red factories. Faster and cheaper, I bet.
 
Phew up to chapter 60.

Now that I am re reading it again, the whole thing makes much more sense. This is awesomely written trek, well impressive.
And if you are wondering why I keep saying where Im up to, its as a bookmark for myself more than anything. I usually forget where I was in the 200 odd chapters so far.

140 to go, looking forward to them!
 
Kurt_Steiner It's as much a matter of internal German politics as it is of anything else. Nazi Germany, allied to the Soviet Union or not, would never adopt a foreign-designed tank as it's official main armoured Vehicle, never mind that the Panther is essentially taking the T-34 and it's principles and developing them further. It is faster, larger, heavier than the T-34 and designed by Germans who are probably simply mentally or physically unable to build things to the same crude standards the Soviets use with their own tanks. :p

Raaritsgozilla Thank you, thank you. Keep reading, dear Sir.
 
Rubbish, that Panther. The 17pd is still superior!
Now, how about them Comets anytime soon? ;)

Well of course the 17pdr is superior, after all the gun remained competetive until after Korea.

As for the Comets, all in due time.
 
That is excellent news, a combination of Soviet and German engineering can only end in utter disaster. I'm expecting an over-complex, unreliable, ever-changing, hand made monstrosity that, due to poor quality control and abysmal tolerancing, varies massively depending on which day it was made.

Frankly if entire battalions don't self combust out of shame at their shear awfulness I will be somewhat disappointed. :D
 
That is excellent news, a combination of Soviet and German engineering can only end in utter disaster. I'm expecting an over-complex, unreliable, ever-changing, hand made monstrosity that, due to poor quality control and abysmal tolerancing, varies massively depending on which day it was made.

Frankly if entire battalions don't self combust out of shame at their shear awfulness I will be somewhat disappointed. :D


For that reason the Germans will never buy Soviet tanks, they prefer that the tanks are merely overly complicated, unreliable and hideously expensive. :D
 
For that reason the Germans will never buy Soviet tanks, they prefer that the tanks are merely overly complicated, unreliable and hideously expensive. :D
But awesome anyway
 
That is excellent news, a combination of Soviet and German engineering can only end in utter disaster. I'm expecting an over-complex, unreliable, ever-changing, hand made monstrosity that, due to poor quality control and abysmal tolerancing, varies massively depending on which day it was made.

Frankly if entire battalions don't self combust out of shame at their shear awfulness I will be somewhat disappointed. :D

I dread the day when the Germans realize that over-engineering only causes more problems than it solves, and the Soviets find out that proper quality control creates better reliability... and OH SHI~
 
I dread the day when the Germans realize that over-engineering only causes more problems than it solves, and the Soviets find out that proper quality control creates better reliability... and OH SHI~

I plan to have the Comet and the Centurion in service by then, along with wire ATGMs and jet-propelled CAS aircraft.
 
Hey Trek have you seen this site for WWII plane pics?
 
I plan to have the Comet and the Centurion in service by then, along with wire ATGMs and jet-propelled CAS aircraft.

Quality > Quantity ala 1980s NATO vs Warsaw Pact? ;) I want to see A-10 type aircraft doing bombardment...
 
Quality > Quantity ala 1980s NATO vs Warsaw Pact? ;) I want to see A-10 type aircraft doing bombardment...

Yes, that's what I am going for.

My idea on that is a Beaufighter or a Mossie with a large-ish Automatic AT gun in the nose, kinda like the Henschel Hs 129.