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Trekaddict

Good update and nice insight into the mind of a young and very nervous soldier in his 1st combat.

Loved the typo. - “Get over her, damn you!” - The RM's should realise they liberate the local women after their won the battle.:D

Steve
 
Trekaddict

Good update and nice insight into the mind of a young and very nervous soldier in his 1st combat.

Loved the typo. - “Get over her, damn you!” - The RM's should realise they liberate the local women after their won the battle.:D

Steve

Thank you. THe Typo will be corrected.
 
Hmm, not sure on that M3. Changing to a bigger gun with three men means a bigger turret, a much bigger turret. To fit that your going to have to widen the hull to take the turret, 0.5m at least maybe more. Then to fit a bigger engine (and that turret and third man) you'll need to lengthen the hull as well, another 1m maybe 1.5m, net effect is all new hull. The new engine will need a new transmission/running gear to handle the extra power (Britain didn't have a 250hp tank engine so the 340hp Liberty-Nuffield is the nearest option, unless you want a 180hp AEC bus engine! :eek: ). Plus that extra power means you'll want new suspension to cope, certainly modifications at least or you will start shedding tracks at speed. Finally I'd imagine the British would want to swap the existing MGs for one's in a proper calibre for the same commonality. Ohh and add the radio the US forgot on the early models, fortunately the bigger hull needed for the turret and engine probably has some spare space.

At that point what's left? If the guns, turret, engine, mechanicals, suspension and hull have all been replaced or heavily modified you may have been better of with a blank piece of paper, certainly it wouldn't look much like an M3 any more. ;)

Sorry about that rant, there's still too much tank-porn going around my head after my last update. :)

Anyway that was an interesting update and I'm curious about Henderson, will he be a recurring character? A character who isn't an out and out hero would make something of a change and following him through his RM career will ensure we see much of the world, I doubt the Marines will end up being used as grunts on the line.
 
Well, the tank is based on the M3, the picture is merely the closest RL pic I could find. For example, the Cromwell has the 17pdr, and yet I am using normal ones, mea culpa for lacking the PS skills. :( (Seriously, if I had them I'd make proper pics) Any pics used where it is known that the Kit is different ITTL is a "Closest approximation".


Anyway, yes, we will see Henderson again, as the Marines are slated to go to Burma after being pulled out of Italy.
 
Even though I might invite scorn and ridicule down upon my head, here is the current and at least for the duration definite version of the Phonetic Alphabet as used by the Allied powers:

Able
Baker
Charlie
Dog
Easy
Fox
George
Hotel
Item
Jig
King
Love
Mike
Negat
Oboe
Prep
Queen
Roger
Sugar
Tare
Uncle
Victor
William
X-ray
Yoke
Zebra
 
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Chapter 223


The advance of the Cavalry and the Rifles down the coast of Italy sent the headquarters of Field Marshal Rommel into a frenzy. The signs that something was building had been there for days and weeks, but the Abwehr sections in Berlin and Salo had apparently misread the Allied intentions completely, because Rommel had expected the blow to fall in the east with the intention of cutting Italy from the Reich and the Balkans. Instead the landing and which had been expertly carried out and the rapid advance by that new Cavalry Division of theirs had rendered the plans made null and void. Luckily most of the reserves of his command were stationed in the central part of Italy, and however many Divisions the Allies poured into the bridgehead, in less than two days his Panzer reserves (Soviet and German) would strike in spite of the terrain, which was on reflection probably the reason why the British had thrown their men against almost sheer cliffs.

Again, the British struck first. Using their Tank Divisions, mostly still in place after their previous attack, they made a spoiling attack with three of them generally north out of the bulge they had hammered into the Gustav Line and forced Rommel to send his Panzers there, and the plains of north-east Italy were due to see a massive tank battle in the next few days. However that was not all, because now, late on the 26th, the Allies were attacking the left flank (their perspective) of the Gustav Line with the entirety of their Mountain Troops, making best possible use of the Algerian, Nepalese, Canadian and even a Battalion of Yugoslav winter and mountaineering experience, as six Allied Divisions smashed right into the forward defensive positions. This news reached Rommel when he was just dictating orders to be taken to his Panzer Commanders, and he would later say that this was the first time where he had been truly worried, because this particular flank was less well fortified and manned than the rest, and the Allied forces simply had more experience than the German troops stationed there since General Dietel and his Mountaineers were preparing for for Operation Weserübung which would eventually be cancelled due to other needs for these specialist troops. The Gurkhas and the Algerians lived up to their reputations as nothing could stop that Infantry as they began to dig the Germans and sprinkled in Soviet troops out of their positions. With rumours about a 'big armoured force' in their back and the feared Gurkha Rifles in their front, the western half of the Gustav Line quickly began to erode away, even though the only enemy tanks in their rear were those of the British Cavalry and bound to the few roads in the area. It was soon apparent that the Allies were making good progress, as by mid-day they had covered almost six miles, having forced the surrender of the two Regiments that formed the extreme western flank near the coast. The Division they belonged to tried to organize a retreat north, but found it's way blocked by a combination of air and 'partisan' attacks. (In reality these were ambushes laid by Allied Commando troops)

Up north meanwhile the Marines and the Gurkhas spent most of the day digging in on the roads and mountain tops around their landing zone and fighting off several probing attacks by the Axis 1st Combined Airborne Corps, a formation consisting of the German 7. Fliegerdivision and their own 7th and 76th Airborne Divisions.

Polish and British Infantry meanwhile also cautiously advanced south on the tracks of 1st Cavalry Division which had unexpectedly managed to outrun the King's African Rifles and the Poles that had been supposed to guard their connections to the landing zone. They too did not meet much in the way of resistance on this second day of Operation Chronometer even though they were advancing into the rear areas of the main Axis defensive line, and more than once they could see the remainder of the handiwork of the Cavalry when they came across smashed Axis strongpoints. Another factor for the Allied successes on this day was the situation in the air. Under direct orders from Berlin, Luftwaffe and Red Air Force assets were mostly trying to smash the Allied Naval Forces off the landing zone, throwing their bombers against the fighter umbrella that covered the area, which gave the Allies the ability to use their own land based air assets more freely, hitting Axis supply bases and giving the Southern Attack air support wherever possible, trading this for a bomb and a torpedo hit on HMS Nelson, putting her out of action for several weeks and a near miss on HMS Glorious.

By the time Field Marshal Rommel nipped out of the map room for a quick bite to eat at 15:00 hours, the two bulges, north and south, were less than 20 miles apart and closing rapidly, all the while the Gustav Line began to disintegrate in the west under the hammerblows of the Allied forces. One Staff officer likened the attacks like the left-right combinations of a boxer, always leaving the enemy unable to respond until the next blow had already fallen. During the afternoon troops of the 48th Higlanders of Canada reached the southern bank of the Entella River about halfway between the forward Allied lines and Monte Castello, a peak that dominated the coastal region, while at the same time British Light Mobile Artillery belonging to 1st Cavalry began to shell Axis positions manned by a scratch force of rear area German and Soviet troops outside Rapollo and the Peshawar Lancers began a reconnaissance attack on the area.

The British had by-passed most of the smaller towns along the coastal road in this bulge of the boot and had instead worked their way through San Martino di Noceto and San Maria del Campo, cutting off what small forces there were in the isolated coastal towns, deeming them insignificant and irrelevant to the greater picture. The position around Rapollo was alerted and contained several Pak 38 Anti-tank guns as well as mortars and MG 42s, and so General Hawthorne decided not to try and storm it with less than the full Division at hand. This was critized later on as overly cautious, but it must be pointed out that at this time even the two Recce Regiments combined (of 1st and 3rd Brigade) had less than a Regiments worth of their sub units in place, never mind that they lacked Infantry support. The two-hour delay to bring the rest of the Division and also the two forward Regiments of the 1st KAR Division up was well spent, because even against an 'ad hoc, confusing and horribly executed' (according to Lt.Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart) attack the scratch force had little do throw, and after an hour's worth of sharp but in the end pre-decided combat, the remaining citizens were treated to culture shock when the forward Regiment of the KAR, 1st Battalion, 1st (Nyasaland) Regiment marched into town, black troops led by black NCOs and white Officers and showing every bit the same pride as the Highland Regiments of the main army would have.[1]

Field Marshal Rommel meanwhile was only certain of one thing, the Western Flank of the Gustav Line was breaking apart. The units flanking the Allied breakthrough in the south were either forced to fall back towards central Italy and the in the face of Allied Armour dubious safety of the plains, or surrendered outright after being cut off. By nightfall he was forced to give the order to a general retreat, and all that stood between the two Allied spearheads were disorganized stragglers and more than a dozen miles of empty countryside. Allied commanders on both sides of the gap were well aware of that and Field Marshal Alexander thus ordered the 48th to force a river crossing during the evening while there was still enough light instead of waiting for the morning. During their hasty retreat the Germans had still managed to blow up all of the bridges, but the river was narrow enough to swim it with the light still available and for the last hour they had not seen one living being aside from stray cats and dogs on the other side. Getting across without turning the Regiment into soaking wet Light Infantry was however a problem that needed to be solved first. Assault Boats were not to be had, and the bridges were seemingly destroyed. The Colonel of the Regiment sent out scouting parties along the river in search of an easier crossing, but it was almost midnight before the Canadians came across a small crossing along a small bridge barely wide enough for a single man that had not been destroyed. After streaming across the rickety structure as fast as they dared, the Canadians still found themselves as Light Infantry with nothing heavier than a mortar, but they still advanced northwards along the coastal road. In the darkness what little Axis troops were still in the area slipped away, and no contact with the enemy was made.

In those days Allied[2] land warfare doctrine frowned upon night actions, but in the early hours of the 27th military necessity overrode that and the Regiment, reinforced by a Company of the Royal 22e Régiment (Ville de Quebec), marched northwards. Corporal Griffin was hated night marches anyway, but the prospect of being shot at wasn't something that reduced these feelings. At least it was already light enough to actually see where he was going and that meant that he could see what he was shooting at as long as it wasn't too far away. The Regiment had seen some combat during the initial breakthrough but most of that work had been done by the French and British Mountain troops. Even so Griffin now sported a bandage around his left arm where a bullet had grazed his skin, and had to make do with a new gunner after the old one had been killed behind his Bren. He gripped his rifle tighter and glanced over his shoulder to where his section was marching and then up ahead where could see a larger mountain than usual looming in the distance. He was far from the only one in the Regiment who wasn't too happy about having to march 'no more than six miles' in dark, emphasis on the second part because he was enough of a soldier to be able to march much more than that. What he didn't like was neither the Colonel nor anyone else knew just how far they would have to march, and that they had to do so with most of their heavier equipment stuck on the other side of the river. They had no idea who they were going to meet and when, or even if, considering that news from up north had never gone beyond 'initial landings successful' and for all they knew they could run into fifty Divisions of German and Soviet Mountain Troops and flying tanks. As usual his Company was had point, so he was among the first to see the small village. When they got closer, he could clearly hear diesel engines, and a lot of them too. The men went down after the Colonel gave hand signals to the effect, and almost at the same instant Griffin could see a barrel poking out from behind a corner of a barn. After quickly deciding that one needed to find out what was going on, so again Corporal Griffin and his section were volunteered to check out the village. So slowly they crouched through the undergrowth between them and the village, and as they got closer they could clearly hear that some sort of mechanized force was holed up there and upon reaching the edge of the barn where he had seen the gun, Griffin rose, turned around to give orders.....

“What the dickens are you doing down there?” someone asked.

With the tone of voice and the self assurance it clearly had to be an Officer. Griffin snapped to attention and looked at the tired and not impeccably shaven face of a British Officer, a Lieutenant-Colonel judging by the rank insignia.


“Reconnaissance in the village, Sir. Corporal Griffin, 48th Highlanders of Canada.” Griffin said and saluted.

The Officer saluted in return and replied:

“Lethbrige-Stewart, Peshawar Lancers.”



And with this simple exchange Operation Chronometer had been turned from an extraordinary gamble into a tactical success. To make it a strategic one, the armoured thrust northwards needed to defeat the imminent counter-attack by the Axis tanks and afterwards be in a shape to do more advancing. Modena had fallen on the first day after the Soviet/German Infantry Force had dissolved under the onslaught of three British Tank Divisions (1st, 2nd and 7th Armoured) and allied Air Power, and the coveted prize had been taken without much fuzz.


pg-14-rommel-afp_188693t1.jpg

Field Marshal Rommel shortly after hearing the news

The Axis reaction to this was simple, the seven Axis Tank Divisions remaining in Italy were almost immediately ordered to counterattack. This order had come directly from Berlin, and Rommel knew he had little time to prepare this attack. Either he waited at least another day or two to get his remaining units into place and risk the Allies sending more units into the area themselves since such a buildup couldn't be kept secret in the face of ever more aggressive Allied Air Forces and declining Axis air strength, and he wasn't sure to begin with that Berlin would even leave him that much time. So instead of bringing up the rest, he threw the German 7. and 1. SS Panzer along with the 10th Volunteer Tank Division of the Red Army, the first unit of 3rd Shock Army to make it to Italy.

3rd Shock Army was a formation that would later in the war bring great distress to the Allied cause, but for the moment it was the main reinforcement for the Axis troops in Italy, with the German ones to be expected after the conclusion of Weserübung. The Tank Divisions of the counterattack were put under the command of the most senior Officer on the scene, Colonel General Konev and the Battlegroup then thrown against the British. Rommel was cautiously optimisitc, because according to his intelligence estimates the British were strung out over the length of the road between the furthest extent of the bulge and a point north of Modena, 10% of his German Panzer formations were equipped with the Panther and the Soviets had brought a huge number of T-34s.

Sure enough the British were aware of the tree enemy Divisions, but Field Marshal Alexander had incorrectly estimated that the enemy intention was to strike at the bulge, to cut the deepest allied penetration off at the base, in those days he would not have expected that the Germans would attack his tank Divisions directly. For both Alexander and Rommel the judgements and misjudgements of these days were to go down as their greatest military blunders. Alexander's for assuming that the bulge was the target for an attack and Rommel's because he had decided to engage the three most experienced and elite Allied Armoured Divisions in an open field battle instead of trying to encircle them. However it must be known that Rommel was hamstrung by orders from Berlin and the tactical situation as he had to see it, while Alexander was the type of Officer who tried to outmanoeuvre his enemy wherever possible, and anyway both the Germans and the Soviets had used the type before.

centaur_iv1.jpg

Tanks of 1 RTR, 1st Armoured Division (BR) awaiting battle, note the very rare Centaur Class assault gun in front​

Eventually both sides realized that a major battle was unavoidable, and at around mid-day both sides began to manoeuvre around in order to gain better positions. Both sides were had some idea where the others were, but that was not enough to formulate even the shadow of a battle plan, and because of this the first shots were not exchanged between the main Tank Regiments but rather between the reconnaissance units. The British Divisions had long since been robbed of their dedicated reconnaissance Regiments, some were used to form the Cavalry Divisions in Europe and Asia, while others were used to form the core of new Armoured Units, so they had to rely on what the Air Forces told them and what their own recce sweeps by the Regimental Recce troops could tell them.

Combat broke out in earnest when the troop from the 2nd Royal Hussars clashed with a flank guards group of the 10th Tank Division. News raced up the line as as the British disengaged and fell back towards the main body, the Soviet screen hot on their heels. Upon hearing the news Colonel Niemczyk acted on his own initiative and rotated his Regiment to face into the direction the Soviets were expected from since the troop had reported to be under in accurate fire and pursuit. The 10th was well-trained but inexperienced, and so the Soviet troops were far too busy hunting the fleeing British Cromwells to even think about that there would have to be more of them around. This allowed the Colonel to lure them into a trap and let them come far closer than was normal. They engaged them at less than half a mile and so the Soviet Flank Guard was butchered, and when they pulled back, they left nine burning T-34 and more assorted support vehicles behind, for nothing more than some scratched paint. The 2nd Hussars did not pursue, but advanced to a minor auxiliary road that ran parallel to their old position, shifting their position forward by roughly a mile, where they halted to wait for the rest of the Division's Tank Units to catch up.

Farther north meanwhile 1 Royal Tank Regiment were already advancing on the German position as reported by a Spitfire PR.Mk..II. The commander of I (BR) Tank Corps, Lieutenant-General Horrocks, ordered 1st Armoured to move against the German position, because the formation facing them was slightly farther back than the others and was expected not to be able to attack itself due to photographs showing long lines of vehicles moving. Even though they really were moving, they were attacking themselves, and so a meeting engagement was imminent between 1st Armoured and 7. Panzer. Here too it began as a small exchange of shots between a relatively small force, only that here both stayed and contested the field while more and more units were called in, while in the centre, inbetween the until then unconnected battles 2nd Armoured engaged 1st SS Panzer more to pin them into place and prevent them from reinforcing the others than anything else. So on a piece of land stretching roughly North-North-West from Modena six Tank Divisions were hacking away at each other in an attempt to gain or keep control of the best road north.

In the south the 2nd Royal Hussars were preparing for their own main attack. The Regiment had beaten back a battalion strength Soviet probe and now that the rest of the Division was in place, Major General Campbell acted in accordance with the orders from Corps and moved his Division forward. The tank units and the supporting Infantry were spread out over two miles, with the tanks arrayed in two main spearheads.

Battleaxe II was hanging back for security reasons. Colonel Jan Niemczyk was standing in the open hatch of the turret and observed approvingly how his Squadron commanders were advancing through the wooded countryside and the fields inbetween. The northern provinces of Italy were heavily farmed even in the 1940s, so the woods that had probably once covered the area were dotted with cities, towns, villages and fields. Not the best tank country but much better than down south. He couldn't see all of is Squadrons, D Squadron was half a mile downrange with a patch of wood between them and their Regimental Commander. So the first thing he saw, or rather heard was a bang and an explosion. Even before he could use the W-Sets of his tank, he heard the Commander of D Sqdrn, Captain Saywer in his headphones.

“Hotel Actual, this is Easy Actual, we have enemy tanks advancing on our position and are exchanging fire. Request Orders, over.”

Jan though quickly and went over the map in his mind. Where could these come from?

“Easy Actual, this is Hotel Actual, what is the enemy strength?”

“Hotel Actual, at least battalion strength, T-34s and Infantry on foot.”

“Able and King Squadrons will reinforce you. Hold fast Hotel!”

King Squadron was the name of the attached Infantry Battalions that were attached to the Regiment. Jan gave orders for one if it's companies to move through the woods towards where D Squadron was fighting, while he himself took the Squadron around north in an effort to flank the Soviet force. The rest of the Regiment was to slow the rate of advance and be on guard for further surprises. As Battleaxe II rolled around a bend Jan did a double take as he saw that it wasn't just a battalion but at least two full tank Regiments coming at them.

“Hotel Actual to all Hotel Units, converge on map reference Able Six sharpish. We have a major Soviet Force incoming.”

Trusting his subordinates to carry out their orders he used his viewing prisms to bet a look at the action. The semi-flanking attack by A Squadron had taken the Soviets by surprise and allowed D Squadron to fall back in good order, even though Jan could see at least two or three burning and some more damaged tanks that still moved. He threw A Squadron into the attack again and watched as the superior 17pdr guns began to pick off the Soviet Tanks at range, because one Regiment wasn't meant to take on two in a close range fight.

“Colonel, the Little Friends report at least another Regiment three miles away, and coming close fast!”

He cursed, both for the Regiment that the Air Force had just reported in and for the rest of the Division being late.

However he did not have to direct this battle for long, because less than five minutes later the rest of 4th Armoured Brigade, along with the advance units of 7th Armoured Brigade and Major General Campbell himself arrived. Both sides did not leave it at that and within hours two full Divisions were hacking away at each other. The 2nd Royal Hussars were in the battle from start to finish, and were taking disproportional losses due to it. By the time the entire Division was in place the Regiment had already lost almost 20% of it's establishment strength, forcing Jan to pull back D Squadron since they had lost more than a third of their tanks – but their sacrifice was not in vain, because in the open field battle that had developed around them 7th Armoured Division was running rings around it's opponent. The 2nd Hussars had accidentally run into the main attack of their Soviet Counterparts, had stopped it cold and then gone on to trash the forward enemy Regiment, thus gaining time to be reinforced. The Soviets fought valiantly but in the end were forced to withdraw towards their start line.

t-34-aflame-kursk1.jpg

One of many destroyed T-34​

The other parts of the Battle also went the way of the British, and also with considerable but far from crippling losses. Much to the surprise of the Germans the British were much more aggressive than usual, meeting thrusts with head-on attacks of their own, instead of letting the German attacks run into a defensive line that was flexible and would bend under pressure but in the end still static. In the end the British had acted with more co-ordination and managed to drive the Axis force back to the starting lines, establishing the British lines such that the road was just at the edge of Artillery range for the westernmost axis gun, allowing the unbloodied Polish, Canadian, Australian and Benelux Armoured Divisions to race north in the general direction of Milano and the Swiss border.

At this moment Rommel realized that the game was up and that Italy was most likely lost for the time being. The Allies clearly had regained the initiative and would now spread out into the plains of northern Italy. The sanest thing to do now was to retreat towards the alps on either side, because there competently led forces could hold the Allies indefinitely, and now that the forward Allied Spearheads were less than a hundred kilometres from his command post it was probably time to look for an alternate location. This would have to be done quietly though lest the paperhanger in Berlin decided that it was unbecoming of a Field Marshal to retreat and order him to stay put. With Artillery rumbling in the distance and the odd air fight raging overhead Oberbefehlshaber Süd left the Headquarters from which he had conducted a brilliant if low intensity defensive campaign that had made his reputation on both sides of the front. Today he had to give up yet another set of Headquarters and briefly wondered what his fate would have been had the Italians held longer in Africa and if he had been sent there with his initial units as had been planned. Then lost conciousness because the car lost traction on the slippery road and oversteered into a tree. The Field Marshal survived, but for the moment the Axis forces were leaderless.

[Notes: Do you know the feeling when you are writing something, and keep adding stuff that you have just thought of and don't want to/can't putt off until a later date for whatever reason? This is what happened here.]

[1] It'll take until the late 40s/early 50s at least to make the British Army accept coloured Officers at more than junior level, and even so they must be trained first. IIRC the RAF has different standards there, but I might be mistaken. 1st Division consists of the original Battalions, enlarged to Regiment size by renumbering them and adding a second Battalion, this having the usual 6 Regiments per Division. The New Empire is far more tolerant by default, but that doesn't mean it's all cake and sunshine.

[2]Read: British.
 
Now the better German weapon is a phone to call London to give up the fight.
 
So the acknowledgement of a radioed order is Copy that, not Roger, am I right?
 
Kurt_Steiner If only...However the Red and Brown horeds are still very numerous, and even though they cannot kick the Allies out of Europe again anytime soon, they intend to win the war.

Ciryandor
In the AAO-verse at least to avoid confusion.

Griffin.Gen Well, the Soviets actually did have a flying Tank at one point, even though it probably won't exist in TTL. As for the 50 Mountain Division, this is merely the fantasy of the person saying it, and anyway, I have the Gurkhas!

KaiserMuffin :D
 
Okay. I said I was never going to do it, but here we go. I caved, reactivated my old dormant Facebook account and even made an AAO group.


Linky.
 
Fixed :rofl::rofl:
I approve! :D

Though personally I would have gone for the simpler "Tits", just because the idea of Rommell saying that really makes me laugh
 
I approve! :D

Though personally I would have gone for the simpler "Tits", just because the idea of Rommell saying that really makes me laugh

But that would truely be unbecoming of a German Officer, or probably also a British one for that matter. Talk like that is usually found in the Enlisted Ranks. :D

EDIT: On that note, he would have good reason, because he knows that he has lost Italy in the medium term, no matter how hard the Axis Forces fight, because between the Brits and the Swiss border are exactly zero organized German or Soviet Units.
 
Thanks to my own stupidity I could a nasty cold, and I am simply unable to concentrate on anything enough to get the update done. However, it's almost two-thirds finished anyway, and to make you happy, here is a teaser pic for the first third of it.

ireland_118_bg_0617021.jpg
 
I have been reading this AAR for some time now and i finally managed to get my account to work:)D). And i just have to say that this has too be one of the best AAR:s i have read. Keep up the great work Trek!
 
You want us to vote Labour? (note the atom bomb going off)
I noticed that, but you forgot to mention the fact that the stylised family figures appear to have come straight out of 1940s Stalinist propaganda.

As this this bloke puts it;

"Somehow, by trying to be forward-looking and optimistic, Labour has managed to come up with something which appears to carry echoes of both totalitarianism and nuclear holocaust."
 
If I were British I'd probably vote not at all, since none of the current parties really appeals to me (read: lies more convincing about issues I care about).

No, the picture is the setting so to speak. Also, the next update is coming along slowly, since yesterday too I was mostly sitting here trying to keep my head from exploding. We were out of Aspirin.....

EDIT: And welcome aboard! :D