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He did a get a bit of R&R, although precious little... and a chance to brush up on elements of his Sinanju trainig.Korppi said:Heh again Skorzeny and Duhrn are going to fight against some horrible monsters... poor Otto no rest for him
Thank you Rudie, always nice to get a new regular. You're welcome!Rudie said:
Perhaps. Try is I might, I couldn't produce anything ver funny out of it.Simon_Jester said:
For TEATL I actually did some thinking about what sort of tank Germany COULD have pasted together early on instead of the Pzkpfw I from existing components. Gun; Rheinmetall 77mmL55 semi-automatic AA gun, rejected by the Reichsheer and exported to the USSR in 1931 (in Soviet use known as M1931, installed on Gangut class battleships). Engine; Jumo 210 aircraft engine, rated 600 HP, in production from 1934. Suspension would be crude, but they could always use the Christie system every one else was using. This should be quite adequate for a 35-ton tank (with better power-to-weight ratio than a Panther), and given that the heaviest Pz-IV version was only 25 tons, that would have meant very respectable armour, speed and firepower for a 1934-35 vintage tank.
Fah Lo Suee also has quite wandering ways, not that fairness ever entered into the equation in that sort of dispute.Dead William said:
I should perhaps have written "a taste of the 27 steps" or something of the sort for clarity. Just like Remo, Otto is prone to skip most of the steps of the routine, jumping to his personal favourite: step 27 after going through 3 or 4 of the first steps.See above about the 27 steps. As for the threat, how fun could it be to go up against a suicidal occult NKVD cult?VILenin said:
Gimme a C! Gimme a T! Gimme an H? Gimme an U...? What the hell does that add up to? Not something a human throat could prononuce anyway!Darks63 said:The creature name begins with a C i believe
Thank you very much for your vote, Leviathan07. That's a grand total of two votes for EOFM so far.Leviathan07 said:*gnaws fingernails*
Sweet Jeezus, what are they getting into now?
BTW I voted for this AAR in the categories "best narrative AAR, HoI2" and "Best AAR, HoI2" in the thread AARland Choice AwAARds 2008 Q2 and I urge all fellow readers to do the same!!!
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Khodynka Airport, Moscow
German-occupied USSR
Wednesday, August 6th 1940
Moscow was burning. As German troops pushed ever deeper into the great city, they left devastation in their wake as the Red Army fought tooth and nail for every building and street, and also below ground in sewers and metro tunnels. In this Rattenkrieg, the Wehrmacht tried to minimise its own casualties by liberal use of firepower; Soviet strong points were obliterated by Stuka attacks, destroying buildings with 500 kg bombs rather than conquering them. In other cases, StuG III or SiG I assault guns fired their 7,5 cm and 15 cm shells point-blank through windows to clear out defenders or breaching walls. These tactics caused the German invaders to leave little but rubble in their wake, and the Soviet defenders added to the destruction by rigging strategic buildings for demolition and blowing them up as soon as they were pushed out from them.
A flight of three Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers dove from out of the low clouds towards Leningradski Prospekt, right next to Frunze airfield in the northern suburbs. Soviet 20mm AA batteries emplaced around the airfield immediately opened up a terrific barrage and shot one of the bombers right out of the sky. It disintegrated in a colossal explosion. The other two zeroed in on the Aeroport Metro station and dropped a huge cylindrical canister each between the front lines and the Metro station. They then broke away and disappeared with roaring engines right above the rooftops, chased by glowing red tracers. The canisters deployed parachutes and floated sedately towards the ground until they suddenly sprayed a white mist into the air around them. Instants later a searing flash lit up the evening gloom as the two Fiesler Fi BsB-1 thermobaric bombs detonated, their expanding fireballs merging into one colossal blast and igniting the very air in a hundred metre radius. Within that range, nothing lived. A corridor, roughly 200 metres wide had been blasted through the Red Army lines from the forward German positions and the Metro Station.
The Wehrmacht lost no time in exploiting the breach. As shaken Soviet troops from around the edges of the blast zone stumbled forward to secure the Metro station, which was a prioritised defensive objective, they saw a group of some twenty men in Red Army uniforms running towards them from out of the fire and devastation left behind by the thermobaric strike. Even at a distance their wooden-stock PPD-40 sub-machineguns with disc-shaped magazines were unmistakeable, and as they drew closer, the soldiers could see that their collar patches and shoulder tabs were green. There was no mistaking them for anything but NKVD troops. And they were shouting at the top of their lungs.
‘Niemtsi! Nemtsi are coming! Prepare to fight! Za Stalina!’
As to confirm their words, bullets started to impact around them, ricocheting against crumbling walls and broken masonry. One or two went down trashing.
‘Comrades! Come here! Hurry!’ the Red Army troops shouted, and laid down heavy covering fire with rifles and machine-guns. The NKVD men redoubled their speed and reached the entrance of the Metro station entrance among the cheering of the fifty or so Red Army soldiers that had occupied it. Their captain rose to greet the commander of the Chekists with a broad smile on his lips.
The NKVD officer returned the smile, lifted his Tokarev pistol and shot him through the left eye. Immediately the other NKVD troops opened up with their sub-machineguns, slaughtering all the shocked Russians in a matter of seconds, without one of them having time to return even a shot.
In the sudden relative silence, the crunching steps of many men approached from the blasted wasteland left behind by the thermobaric weapons. A company of Wehrmacht Combat Engineers, or Pioneers, accompanied by the two or three NKVD troops that had apparently fallen during the dash to the Russian lines, advanced to the Metro station entrance and formed a hedgehog defence around it. Two SS-officers came with the engineers and went straight to the “NKVD” captain.
‘Well done, Hauptmann Freiherr von Völkersam’ Otto Skorzeny greeted the officer, relishing in the ponderous titles as he knew it was bound to irritate Duhrn. Like many other SS-men of fine Prussian family, Duhrn was particularly intolerant of the upper class title-bandying. ‘Well thought out and brilliantly executed. Ivan never knew what hit them.’
The twenty Brandenburgers, all fluent Russian-speakers from the Baltic States, wore captured Red Army uniforms to which NKVD unit patches had been added. Their weapons were not the rare PPD-40s issued to NKVD units but the virtually identical Bergmann MP-28 that the Russian weapon was modelled on. All Brandenburgers also carried a number of captured Russian grenades and Tokarev pistols. The company of engineers requisitioned from the famed 44th Infantry Division “Hoch- und Deutschmeister”, in which Skorzeny had some friends from his student days in Vienna, were heavily armed with MP-40s, MG-34 machine guns, hand grenades, demolition charges and six Flammenwerfer 35 flame throwers.
‘Thank you, Stürmbannführer Skorzeny’, the Abwehr officer replied. ‘But it was nothing, really. It would have been impossible without the Brennstoff bombs. The Russians are fighting to the death in this sector, and small wonder. That airfield is the only way they can still get in any supplies at all.’
‘Well, then we better move on before the inevitable counter-attack!’ Duhrn interjected, peering about from under the rim of his Stalhelm.
Von Völkersam’s bushy eyebrows wrinkled in displeasure. ‘I must say I do not like this one bit. This operation isn’t properly planned or rehearsed. We have no idea of what kind of opposition we could encounter down there, nor exactly what route we will follow to the target. Neither have you told us exactly what that target is. This, Meine Herren, is nothing but an IMPROVISATION!’ He made that sound like the ultimate derogative.
Duhrn scowled right back and wiped uselessly on a speck of plaster dust on the leg of his trouser. ‘Hauptmann, why don’t you just shut the…’
Skorzeny hastily interrupted him. ‘Yes, well, since no plan is supposed to survive first contact with the enemy, right now we should be about just as good as if we’d planned since last year. Let’s go!’
He waved the troupe forward and led the engineers and Brandenburgers down the broad stairs to the Aeroport Metro Station. As they descended the stairs, they were challenged by Red Army soldiers who immediately stood down and allowed themselves to be arrested by the Brandenburgers at the head of the column. They were knocked unconscious mostly to avoid alerting others with gunfire. At the station itself, there were only hordes of frightened civilians, which were sent packing up the stairs by screaming and kicking German troops. Son the engineer soldiers were pouring around the place, searching for hidden doors and secret passages.
‘Why here?’ Von Völkersam asked. ‘We have captured dozens of Metro stations already, and there were others less heavily defended still in Soviet hands. Why did it have to be this one?’ He looked around in wonder at the station which was furbished in a style more akin to a renaissance palace than a public transportation system.
‘Obviously, the Soviets have blocked or are heavily defending the tunnels from those stations that we have captured’, Skorzeny answered, ‘so a lightning infiltration to one station they still controlled was the only way to be able to move on. As for why it had to be this particular one… Sturmbannführer Duhrn has an interesting theory!’
The SS warlock nodded. ‘That is correct. You’re Abwehr, Hauptmann. Have you ever heard of Moscow Metro 2?’
The commando’s roguish features wrinkled in concentration. ‘Actually, I think I have. It’s supposed to be a second, secret deeper set of metro lines for the exclusive use of Stalin and the Politburo, right?’
‘Yes, your agents reported the rumours that circulate in Moscow but could never find confirmation nor find the location of a station. However, Frunze is the only air field within Moscow itself. I would be very surprised if there isn’t a Metro 2 terminal below this station.’
‘Sounds reasonable, but even if we do find it, where would we go? To the Kremlin? As far as I know, most of the Taman Guards Division still defends it. We’d be wiped out in short order.’
‘Not to the Kremlin itself, Hauptmann. You see, we’re looking for a certain subterranean system under the Kremlin, a complex of medieval crypts. And we happen to know that it was discovered in 1928 when the works on the Metro began. Coincidence? I think not. It stands to reason then that these ultra-secret crypts are accessible through the Metro 2 network. If we follow a tunnel to under the Kremlin, we should be able to find them.’
The Brandenburger shook his head. ‘This whole operation is based on guesswork and supposition. I can’t believe that you got authorisation to involve my team or those poor engineer grunts!’
Duhrn rolled his eyes in impatience. ‘Little Landser, in those crypts the annihilation of Moscow – ALL of Moscow – and everyone in it is being prepared as we speak. Yes, we’re improvising, yes we’re guessing. Deal with it! With the lives of a million German soldiers at stake, we cannot afford to wait around until you people are done wanking!’
‘Eloquently spoken, Günther!’ Skorzeny nodded with approval. ‘Stick around me and you’ll end up speaking properly after all! Now, Hauptmann Eberhardt!’ he shouted to the Pioneer Captain. 'Have your men check the ventilation shafts. If there’s a deeper line below, it would make sense to use the same ventilation ducts, or they could be spotted and give away the existence of the Metro 2 station!’
Soon thereafter shouts erupted from one end of the echoing, hall-like station.
‘We’ve found it! Quick, come and see, a staircase hidden in a ventilation shaft!’
German-occupied USSR
Wednesday, August 6th 1940
Moscow was burning. As German troops pushed ever deeper into the great city, they left devastation in their wake as the Red Army fought tooth and nail for every building and street, and also below ground in sewers and metro tunnels. In this Rattenkrieg, the Wehrmacht tried to minimise its own casualties by liberal use of firepower; Soviet strong points were obliterated by Stuka attacks, destroying buildings with 500 kg bombs rather than conquering them. In other cases, StuG III or SiG I assault guns fired their 7,5 cm and 15 cm shells point-blank through windows to clear out defenders or breaching walls. These tactics caused the German invaders to leave little but rubble in their wake, and the Soviet defenders added to the destruction by rigging strategic buildings for demolition and blowing them up as soon as they were pushed out from them.
A flight of three Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers dove from out of the low clouds towards Leningradski Prospekt, right next to Frunze airfield in the northern suburbs. Soviet 20mm AA batteries emplaced around the airfield immediately opened up a terrific barrage and shot one of the bombers right out of the sky. It disintegrated in a colossal explosion. The other two zeroed in on the Aeroport Metro station and dropped a huge cylindrical canister each between the front lines and the Metro station. They then broke away and disappeared with roaring engines right above the rooftops, chased by glowing red tracers. The canisters deployed parachutes and floated sedately towards the ground until they suddenly sprayed a white mist into the air around them. Instants later a searing flash lit up the evening gloom as the two Fiesler Fi BsB-1 thermobaric bombs detonated, their expanding fireballs merging into one colossal blast and igniting the very air in a hundred metre radius. Within that range, nothing lived. A corridor, roughly 200 metres wide had been blasted through the Red Army lines from the forward German positions and the Metro Station.
The Wehrmacht lost no time in exploiting the breach. As shaken Soviet troops from around the edges of the blast zone stumbled forward to secure the Metro station, which was a prioritised defensive objective, they saw a group of some twenty men in Red Army uniforms running towards them from out of the fire and devastation left behind by the thermobaric strike. Even at a distance their wooden-stock PPD-40 sub-machineguns with disc-shaped magazines were unmistakeable, and as they drew closer, the soldiers could see that their collar patches and shoulder tabs were green. There was no mistaking them for anything but NKVD troops. And they were shouting at the top of their lungs.
‘Niemtsi! Nemtsi are coming! Prepare to fight! Za Stalina!’
As to confirm their words, bullets started to impact around them, ricocheting against crumbling walls and broken masonry. One or two went down trashing.
‘Comrades! Come here! Hurry!’ the Red Army troops shouted, and laid down heavy covering fire with rifles and machine-guns. The NKVD men redoubled their speed and reached the entrance of the Metro station entrance among the cheering of the fifty or so Red Army soldiers that had occupied it. Their captain rose to greet the commander of the Chekists with a broad smile on his lips.
The NKVD officer returned the smile, lifted his Tokarev pistol and shot him through the left eye. Immediately the other NKVD troops opened up with their sub-machineguns, slaughtering all the shocked Russians in a matter of seconds, without one of them having time to return even a shot.
In the sudden relative silence, the crunching steps of many men approached from the blasted wasteland left behind by the thermobaric weapons. A company of Wehrmacht Combat Engineers, or Pioneers, accompanied by the two or three NKVD troops that had apparently fallen during the dash to the Russian lines, advanced to the Metro station entrance and formed a hedgehog defence around it. Two SS-officers came with the engineers and went straight to the “NKVD” captain.
‘Well done, Hauptmann Freiherr von Völkersam’ Otto Skorzeny greeted the officer, relishing in the ponderous titles as he knew it was bound to irritate Duhrn. Like many other SS-men of fine Prussian family, Duhrn was particularly intolerant of the upper class title-bandying. ‘Well thought out and brilliantly executed. Ivan never knew what hit them.’
The twenty Brandenburgers, all fluent Russian-speakers from the Baltic States, wore captured Red Army uniforms to which NKVD unit patches had been added. Their weapons were not the rare PPD-40s issued to NKVD units but the virtually identical Bergmann MP-28 that the Russian weapon was modelled on. All Brandenburgers also carried a number of captured Russian grenades and Tokarev pistols. The company of engineers requisitioned from the famed 44th Infantry Division “Hoch- und Deutschmeister”, in which Skorzeny had some friends from his student days in Vienna, were heavily armed with MP-40s, MG-34 machine guns, hand grenades, demolition charges and six Flammenwerfer 35 flame throwers.
‘Thank you, Stürmbannführer Skorzeny’, the Abwehr officer replied. ‘But it was nothing, really. It would have been impossible without the Brennstoff bombs. The Russians are fighting to the death in this sector, and small wonder. That airfield is the only way they can still get in any supplies at all.’
‘Well, then we better move on before the inevitable counter-attack!’ Duhrn interjected, peering about from under the rim of his Stalhelm.
Von Völkersam’s bushy eyebrows wrinkled in displeasure. ‘I must say I do not like this one bit. This operation isn’t properly planned or rehearsed. We have no idea of what kind of opposition we could encounter down there, nor exactly what route we will follow to the target. Neither have you told us exactly what that target is. This, Meine Herren, is nothing but an IMPROVISATION!’ He made that sound like the ultimate derogative.
Duhrn scowled right back and wiped uselessly on a speck of plaster dust on the leg of his trouser. ‘Hauptmann, why don’t you just shut the…’
Skorzeny hastily interrupted him. ‘Yes, well, since no plan is supposed to survive first contact with the enemy, right now we should be about just as good as if we’d planned since last year. Let’s go!’
He waved the troupe forward and led the engineers and Brandenburgers down the broad stairs to the Aeroport Metro Station. As they descended the stairs, they were challenged by Red Army soldiers who immediately stood down and allowed themselves to be arrested by the Brandenburgers at the head of the column. They were knocked unconscious mostly to avoid alerting others with gunfire. At the station itself, there were only hordes of frightened civilians, which were sent packing up the stairs by screaming and kicking German troops. Son the engineer soldiers were pouring around the place, searching for hidden doors and secret passages.
‘Why here?’ Von Völkersam asked. ‘We have captured dozens of Metro stations already, and there were others less heavily defended still in Soviet hands. Why did it have to be this one?’ He looked around in wonder at the station which was furbished in a style more akin to a renaissance palace than a public transportation system.
‘Obviously, the Soviets have blocked or are heavily defending the tunnels from those stations that we have captured’, Skorzeny answered, ‘so a lightning infiltration to one station they still controlled was the only way to be able to move on. As for why it had to be this particular one… Sturmbannführer Duhrn has an interesting theory!’
The SS warlock nodded. ‘That is correct. You’re Abwehr, Hauptmann. Have you ever heard of Moscow Metro 2?’
The commando’s roguish features wrinkled in concentration. ‘Actually, I think I have. It’s supposed to be a second, secret deeper set of metro lines for the exclusive use of Stalin and the Politburo, right?’
‘Yes, your agents reported the rumours that circulate in Moscow but could never find confirmation nor find the location of a station. However, Frunze is the only air field within Moscow itself. I would be very surprised if there isn’t a Metro 2 terminal below this station.’
‘Sounds reasonable, but even if we do find it, where would we go? To the Kremlin? As far as I know, most of the Taman Guards Division still defends it. We’d be wiped out in short order.’
‘Not to the Kremlin itself, Hauptmann. You see, we’re looking for a certain subterranean system under the Kremlin, a complex of medieval crypts. And we happen to know that it was discovered in 1928 when the works on the Metro began. Coincidence? I think not. It stands to reason then that these ultra-secret crypts are accessible through the Metro 2 network. If we follow a tunnel to under the Kremlin, we should be able to find them.’
The Brandenburger shook his head. ‘This whole operation is based on guesswork and supposition. I can’t believe that you got authorisation to involve my team or those poor engineer grunts!’
Duhrn rolled his eyes in impatience. ‘Little Landser, in those crypts the annihilation of Moscow – ALL of Moscow – and everyone in it is being prepared as we speak. Yes, we’re improvising, yes we’re guessing. Deal with it! With the lives of a million German soldiers at stake, we cannot afford to wait around until you people are done wanking!’
‘Eloquently spoken, Günther!’ Skorzeny nodded with approval. ‘Stick around me and you’ll end up speaking properly after all! Now, Hauptmann Eberhardt!’ he shouted to the Pioneer Captain. 'Have your men check the ventilation shafts. If there’s a deeper line below, it would make sense to use the same ventilation ducts, or they could be spotted and give away the existence of the Metro 2 station!’
Soon thereafter shouts erupted from one end of the echoing, hall-like station.
‘We’ve found it! Quick, come and see, a staircase hidden in a ventilation shaft!’
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Brilliant scene! I truly can't wait to see the commandos take on whatever lurks in the secret Moscow tunnels.
I hope for the worst
I hope for the worst
Crawling through underground tunnels again. Skorzeny nust realy love Gunther right now...
Great update!
DW
Great update!
DW
Well, for the moment at least they're big underground tunnels.Dead William said:
Not that that's going to last.
__________________________
It occurs to me that fuel-air bombs are one of a certain kind of idea. Specifically, the kind of idea you can't believe someone didn't try earlier.
God help the Germans if the Russians figure out what hit them on that account. FAE-tipped Katyusha salvos, anyone?
It seems like they're heading right into another battle/slaughter that Durhn so loves to involve everybody in. Can't wait to see how this plan goes awry...
Brrr, subway tunnels... Add flickering lights, disturbing shadows, and as background noise the quiet hiss of a cold, damp draft from deep below.
This can only lead to nightmarish encounters!!o
Add flickering lights, disturbing shadows, and as background noise the quiet hiss of a cold, damp draft from deep below. This can only lead to nightmarish encounters!!
o
First of all, answer to your previous comments are finally up (se post before last update). Sorry for the delay.
Rudie:There will be a little bit more of wait I'm afraid. Hopefully it'll be worth it.
Dr. Gonzo:The worst. Those are tall expectations. I'll do my best... my worst I mean!
Dead William:He's getting pretty damn tired of his antics. Then again, this time he really couldn't refuse since the fate of the Reich was at stake.
Dinglehoff:Possibly there could be traps in the dungeons. Traps in the Metro 2 network seems unlikely.
Simon_Jester:Now there's a cheery thought...
Lyon_Man:Can't we at lest consider the possibility that it will work? For once?
Leviathan07:Would you be interested in working as my ghost writer? That was a fine piece of atmospheric description!
Korppi:Thanks.
Rudie:There will be a little bit more of wait I'm afraid. Hopefully it'll be worth it.
Dr. Gonzo:The worst. Those are tall expectations. I'll do my best... my worst I mean!
Dead William:He's getting pretty damn tired of his antics. Then again, this time he really couldn't refuse since the fate of the Reich was at stake.
Dinglehoff:Possibly there could be traps in the dungeons. Traps in the Metro 2 network seems unlikely.
Simon_Jester:Now there's a cheery thought...
Lyon_Man:Can't we at lest consider the possibility that it will work? For once?
Leviathan07:Would you be interested in working as my ghost writer? That was a fine piece of atmospheric description!
Korppi:Thanks.
I will happily supply you with atmospheric cues, but unfortunately I am too undiscipined to ever make a good writer.The Yogi said:
BTW are you still sticking to the policy that you will only post an episode when you have the one after that done? Because that seemed like a wonderful method to keep motivation up. (My own attempts at story writing failed because I ran out of motivation halfway through the writing.) At the same time I am amazed at your speed of writing .
Leviathan07 said:I will happily supply you with atmospheric cues, but unfortunately I am too undiscipined to ever make a good writer.
BTW are you still sticking to the policy that you will only post an episode when you have the one after that done? Because that seemed like a wonderful method to keep motivation up. (My own attempts at story writing failed because I ran out of motivation halfway through the writing.) At the same time I am amazed at your speed of writing .
Yes, I gave up on the rule of waiting a week (couldn't do it) but I'm adamant about the next update ready rule.
Simon_Jester said:God help the Germans if the Russians figure out what hit them on that account. FAE-tipped Katyusha salvos, anyone?
Ever heard of TOS-1 Buratino?
Very smart, very smart! I think I might try to write something myself using that rule.The Yogi said:
Anyways this makes it especially hard for your readers, cause we KNOW now that you already have the next update ready
UPDATE!! UPDATE!! UPDATE!!
Simon_Jester said:It occurs to me that fuel-air bombs are one of a certain kind of idea. Specifically, the kind of idea you can't believe someone didn't try earlier.
God help the Germans if the Russians figure out what hit them on that account. FAE-tipped Katyusha salvos, anyone?
Actually, since the Soviets are Fu Manchus allies/stooges, they do not need to figure it out - if appropiate, Fu could provide them with FAE weapons. He invented them after all.
I will be abroad for the two next weeks. I will bring my laptop, but I'm not certain I'll be able to connect. So if you hear nothing from me for a while, you know why.
I can imagine it:The Yogi said:
Fu Manchu: "Behold the power of my fuel-air bombs!"
Red Army representative: "Wow. Impressive. Wish you'd explained these to us sooner. Say, you don't happen to have them in conveniently portable rocket launcher sizes, do you?"
Fu, icily: "There are major technical difficulties with that project. It is underway."
[Fu departs to hidden underground bunker]
[Fu makes very sure that no one is within a hundred meters of his locked room in the bunker]
[Fu bangs head against wall]
Fu: "Dumb, dumb, DUMB! Why didn't I think of that!?"
__________________________________
Seriously, the man has the intellect of any ten men of genius.
The eleventh man of genius is probably a Russian. Their engineers think weird sometimes.
Karelian said:
Simon_Jester said:
Fu is not actually such a brilliant engineer. His forte is more in the line of theoretic science, and although he has impressive acomplishments in the field of physics, he's particularly advanced in the biological field (genetics, toxicology, epidemology) and psychology. According to the novels he's also an accomplished surgeon who can pull off surgical feats seemingly impossible to western medicine.
But he's not beyond kidnapping people who can help him with the applications, which seems to indicate he's not such a wiz at building advanced machines (with some notable exceptions).
In regard to FAE bombs, this TOS-1 thingey is the first time I've ever heard of FAE weapons being delivered with anything than parachute bomb. I do believe making a thermobaric device small enough and fast-igniting enough to be delivered by rocket is not a trivial matter. When I read up on the use of the TOS-1 in Chechnya (Wikipedia), it seems the witness reports indicate they had problems with incomplete combustion, leading to a flash with little bang. As for purely incendiary rockets (the other warhead type of the TOS-1), the Germans had those already in 1941 (Manstein mentions them in conection with Barbarossa).