Your strategic map paints a grim picture for Germany. I do not forsee things going well for Ernst and Company. Another great update. Keep up the good work.
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At this point I think we may only hope that some of them will live to see their family again ..
Anyway I'm here .. waiting for him to update.. in fact me cant wait.
Anyway I'm here .. waiting for him to update.. in fact me cant wait.
The Lost Platoon
Chapter 19: The Patrol
Chapter 19: The Patrol
Ernst gazed up at the night sky with awe. He found himself getting lost in the sheer number of stars, something he enjoyed immensely during these quiet moments. He was especially happy with the view of the night sky, thanks to the flare’s being shot up by both sides. The way they brightly lit up the night sky before falling slowly to the ground gave Ernst an almost tranquil feeling. He wondered if there was maybe a Soviet soldier past that tree line, who was relishing these moments as much as he was. Suddenly he noticed someone standing behind him.
”Lieutenant.” The new leader of third squad had finally arrived, just in time. He was standing at attention, as straight as an arrow, with his right arm outstretched in a Hitler salute. The Army, of course, was now forbidden from giving the ‘old salute’. Still, Ernst felt uneasy with seeing men in uniform performing an action with heavy political connotations. Even if it meant the ‘Leader’ felt slightly better. Sometimes I wish Stauffenberg had got the bastards, thought Ernst, before immediately shaking off his reflection with a slight tinge of guilt.
“Sergeant…?”
“Werner, Lieutenant. Sergeant Werner.” He remained stiffly at attention. He looked like a toy soldier. His face had no expression.
“Sergeant Werner, please be at ease, and jump into the foxhole.” The Sergeant complied, and crouched down, before carefully sliding down into the hole in a very regimented fashion. Even when moving he seemed stiff. Despite the momentary contact with dirt and mud, his uniform was immaculate. “If the Soviet’s spot you, you’ll kill all of us.”
”Yes, sir.” There is still no expression on his face. This man is difficult to read, thought Ernst; he’d be a great poker player.
“You have much combat experience Werner?”
“Yes, sir. I joined up in 1938. My division was destroyed at Stalingrad. I was one of the lucky few that escaped. I was wounded, and it took till the end of the year for me to recover.” Despite the images of horror conjured up by his words, his face remained as stern as ever. Maybe, he could no longer show any emotion. Ernst knew the feeling. “Since January I’d been on garrison duty in France. When we were evacuated I requested to be sent to a frontline unit, and after being enough of a nuisance, they finally relented, and sent me here.”
“Well. I’m glad to have you here. We’re a bit short on experienced NCOs at the moment.” Ernst turned to Corporal Hertz who had dozed off several hours ago. “Hertz, come on. Wake up, it’s time.” Hertz awoke in a startled fashion, and looked in bewilderment at Sergeant Werner, like he was a visitor from another planet. The Sergeant extended his hand, and eventually Hertz meekly shook it. “Sergeant. Your squad is going on a patrol. We have orders to capture a Soviet prisoner, for interrogation. Me and Hertz will tag along.” The Sergeant nodded slightly. “Ok, let’s go. The squad is waiting up ahead.”
Ernst and his comrades climbed out of the foxhole, and stumbled into the darkness. After a few steps they bumped into third squad, who were all bunched up in two foxholes. They looked a juicy target for the Soviet mortar team's. Before Ernst could reprimand them, a flare shot up into the sky, and the three men caught in the open suddenly had to scramble and scrape across the ground, and jump into the pile of dirty and sweaty soldiers. It's like jumping into a laundry basket, thought Ernst. When the flare faded, Ernst signalled for everyone to move out. The mass of bodies suddenly turned into something more resembling a rifle squad, as they moved in leaps and bounds, to and from cover.
“Lieutenant.” Lukas – who had reached the tree line - whispered and motioned from up ahead as the squad’s advance halted for a moment. Ernst raced forward, being sure to keep his body as close to the ground as possible. When he arrived, Lukas and Reimann were frantically pointing towards what appeared to be an entire Soviet infantry company sitting out in the open.
”Ok. You two stay here and provide cover. We’ll especially need it if we have to make a dramatic exit.” Ernst whispered as clearly as possible, his panting breath visible in the chilled air. Ernst called up Sergeant Werner and instructed him to take point, and continue the advance. The squad moved quickly and carefully, slipping past the enemy’s frontline, taking care to stop whenever there was noise or movement up ahead. After a few minutes of constant moving and stopping, peering into the darkness and listening for strange voices or footsteps, the squad reached a farmhouse. Ernst had the men crouch down beside a fence, while he took a closer look.
A Soviet officer entered the farmhouse as Ernst looked through his binoculars. There was only five Soviet’s guarding the outside. How many inside though, I have no idea, thought Ernst. Ernst half-crouched, half-crawled back to where the squad was taking cover. The men looked up at him in anticipation.
“There is an officer in that farmhouse.”
”A big catch that would be.” Beamed Hertz. He was holding a gold cross in the same hand as his weapon, which Ernst found somewhat unsettling.
“How many outside?” Asked Sergeant Werner, in his trademark monotone style.
”Five. But we need to take them by surprise, so nothing stupid, ok?” He looked every one of the squad members directly in the eyes. “Take out your bayonets. Let’s do this with stealth.”
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Huh, I wonder what is inside that Barn. Hope you get the guards well and the operation goes well.
GeneralHannibal said:
Hopefully an event that gives me: an unlimited supply of oil, 100 Interceptor wings, 50 armoured divisions, and around 15 tactical nukes.
But then....that might be asking for too much.
Ah, building up the suspense. Reminds me of that episode in Band of Brothers. Yeah, you know the one.
Technique said:
Stop watching Band of Brothers
Didn't Lt. Compton say something familiar (sp?) ??? 
Middelkerke said:Stop watching Band of Brothers
O ow someone is going to get his own grenade in his face
Of course, presuming Ernst is successful in this little grab all that is likely to earn him is a harder task. But some nasty work up ahead.
Thanks.Sir Humphrey said:
Shhhhhh. Dont want Spielberg to sue me.grayghost said:
Actually, I only noticed the resemblance after I posted it. I can identify two scenes in it which are similar to episodes from Band of Brothers. Unintentional. Seriously.
I haven't watched BoB in a looooong time. I think he did say something similar, in one of the Bastogne episodes.Middelkerke said:
No...........german general said:
Heh. It's the way the world works, I guess.stnylan said:
You wouldn't have needed an event like that if you'd driven the Allies into the sea at the beginning.Technique said:Hopefully an event that gives me: an unlimited supply of oil, 100 Interceptor wings, 50 armoured divisions, and around 15 tactical nukes.
But then....that might be asking for too much.
Very nice going.. Hertz is gona get it (the grenade) then they all have to run like hares cause of the .. ehm .. soviet company just outside the door.
As they enter theres a "clik here for nukes" sign on one cupboard, a "gimme lotsa jets" button on the reclining chair...etc. etc.
LOL
then they all have to run like hares cause of the .. ehm .. soviet company just outside the door.As they enter theres a "clik here for nukes" sign on one cupboard, a "gimme lotsa jets" button on the reclining chair...etc. etc.
LOL
The Lost Platoon
Chapter 20: The Fallback
Chapter 20: The Fallback
Ernst and the rest of third squad inched closer and closer to the farmhouse. Their bodies were pressed against the ground tightly, almost as if they were in an embrace with mother nature. There were two Soviet’s leaning against a fence just outside the farmhouse, facing away from the squad. Their voices could be faintly heard. To their right were another two soldiers standing outside a barn smoking. The light from their cigarettes was visible for miles. The fools, thought Ernst. The last soldier was standing outside the farmhouse door, looking bored.
Ernst motioned to Werner to follow him and take out the guards at the fence. He then instructed the rest of the squad to provide covering fire, and to wait for his signal. Ernst and Werner began sneaking up to the two Soviets in careful leaps and bounds, keeping one eye on the other soldiers at all times. Eventually, after much exertion, they reached the fence. The Soviet voices were now loud and clear. Ernst slowly picked himself up off the ground and began to position his arms around the Soviet soldier’s neck in front of him. Werner did the same. Within an instant they both grabbed the soldiers and pulled them backwards, holding a hand over their mouths.
The Soviet Ernst had grabbed was struggling, his arms and legs waving around wildly, desperately trying to free himself from Ernst’s grip. Ernst quickly held his knife to the man’s throat and plunged it in deeply, before pulling it across the neck, until the last signs of life were gone from the soldier. Werner had already killed and dropped the body of his victim, by the time Ernst let go. They hadn’t yet been spotted, and so now they began to creep over to the barn. They had barely crawled around five yards when the two Soviets at the barn began walking towards where their dead comrades now lay. They had also taken out their flashlights and were frantically waving them from side to side.
Werner quickly jumped up onto one knee and fired off some rounds from his MP40 that sent one of the soldiers flying backwards. The other soldier struggled and fumbled with his rifle as he attempted to un-sling it from his shoulder. Werner again rang out a few shots, and suddenly the other Soviet slumped to the side, clutching his chest. The soldier at the door ran out and took cover behind the fence that Ernst and Werner had just come from. Right now, they were in the middle of a field with no real cover. Ernst quickly fired off a whole clip from his MP40, as he and Werner attempted to pin the Soviet down. The rest of the squad were now up and running, moving onto his flank. Within a few seconds Ernst saw Hertz come up behind the Soviet and drive his bayonet into his stomach.
Ernst and Werner sprinted forward to the farmhouse, while the rest of the squad were crouched down outside it. As they reached it, Werner spotted something in the distance.
”Lieutenant!” Werner shouted. Ernst turned around. “There’s Soviet infantry coming over that hill to the north.”
“Shit. Take a rifle team and hold them off as long as you can, I’ll meet you back at the Platoon’s position.” Ernst’s words came between pants of breath, as he struggled to regain his energy. “The rest of you, follow me inside.” Ernst kicked open the farmhouse door, as Werner led the other team away. Inside, the front room was empty. As Ernst and the men moved down a hallway, suddenly another room door opened and the Soviet officer stumbled out, half-naked, desperately trying to get himself dressed.
“Hands up!” Ernst barked out in his best Russian, which wasn’t very good at all. The Soviet reluctantly raised his hands and went outside the farmhouse flanked by two privates, as a naked woman suddenly came running out from the room he was in, and sprinted out the backdoor. Things couldn’t possible get any more bizarre than this, thought Ernst. He quickly walked outside where the rest of the rifle team was located and watching over the captured Soviet officer. “Right. Let’s go! Move!” His words were like an instant shot of adrenaline for the men, and they sprinted like Olympic athletes, without looking back. Within a minute or two they could see Lukas and Reimann in the distance. As Ernst took another step forward, a Soviet flare shot up, which exposed all of the men, to the Soviet company to their right.
A shout of “Fire!” suddenly came from the tree line, and Lukas’ MG42 began laying down covering fire on the Soviet company. Caught in the open, they could barely muster a few shots at Ernst and his men as they raced for the tree line. As they approached the MG-team, Ernst put his hand on Lukas’ shoulder.
“Fall back!”
“Where is Werner?” Asked Lukas, as he quickly un-deployed his machine gun and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
”Don’t worry about him. He knows what he’s doing.” Ernst wasn’t really sure if he himself actually believed that. But the men couldn’t stay out here any longer, or they would be ripped apart by massed enemy assaults. Lukas meekly nodded, lost in thought and joined Ernst and the rest of the men as they began running to their foxholes. “Germans! Don’t shoot!” Ernst and the rest of the men shouted out into the darkness as they approached the forward observation posts.
”Lieutenant!” Hertz had turned around with his eye’s gaping wide at something behind the men. Ernst turned around and saw Sergeant Werner; he was coming out of the tree line, and was seemingly alone. Ernst began to move back towards him, but then Werner suddenly halted and fell to the ground.
Is it his time? Could well be - they were certainly taking a fair few risks then. And this sort of snatch and grab is never the safest thing.
He could, of course, just be going to ground for the sake of cover. But the way this has been set-up - it doesn't feel so simple an act.
He could, of course, just be going to ground for the sake of cover. But the way this has been set-up - it doesn't feel so simple an act.
Werner is just seriously wounded, not dead. Ernst will get him back to the CP and Battalion aid station and he'll be fine. Right? Yeah, he'll be fine.
