Finally, the Sitzkrieg was about to end! Shortly after lunch (foie de gras, fresh Breton oysters, tripes ą la mode... yummy!) on Wednesday, an urgent teletype was delivered to the 53e Division Infanterie at Dinant: French SigInt had revealed a dastardly assault in the offing against Dinant and the unit was put on immediate alert. Alas, most of the proud division was hors combat due to inebriation and indigestion - Perfide ennemi! Les saboteurs sont ici dejį! - and all that could be mustered at a moment's notice was a single Char bis attached as close support to the infantry.

DAWN. A German scouting force assembles at Spontin and moves out at first light. Do they look mean or what!

MARCH. One gruelling march later, the force encounters scattered grouse close to the objective and decides to provision then and there. Bloody Germans, those birds are NEUTRAL!

ONE MORE RIDGE TO GO. Time to get serious, time to spread out.

APPROACH. Swiftly advancing to a vantage point overlooking la champs de gloire, my Char took up a good defensive position and hunkered down. Presently a couple of German tanks made their appearance on the opposite bank! A coup de main force going straight for the crossing - and noone but a lone Char to stop them!

I felt my stomach tighten as I watched them advance cockily, fully in the open. It was to be all of me or all of them! No surrender!

THE WAITING GAME. As they were still some way off, I held my fire. The Char only carries 55 rounds of main gun ammo, and I would be certain to need every one of them - long range gunnery against a perpendicularly moving tank would be likely to consume 3 shells per hit on average.

A pair of infantrymen were seen sprinting from cover to cover... quite hard to spot even in the magnified gun sight. A mortar or two would have come in handy!

AIR ATTACK! While the scouting force was deploying, the banshee wail of a Stuka was heard! Traversing left, I hit him squarely in the fuselage with the coaxial mitrailleuse and was overjoyed to see him wobble unsteadily away over the gorge and then pile up in the woods - my bullets must have incapacitated the pilot!

Shortly thereafter a second Stuka appeared and made two or three passes, coming in low and slow each time. Plenty of time to riddle him! He too flew erratically away and impacted with a bright red ball of fire on the east bank of the Meuse!

PANZERS ADVANCE! While this was 'appening, one of the panzers trundled up to the bluff while the other remained in cover, supposedly directing the deployment. I could see the occasional trail from his main gun, and a few rounds hit home... they glanced off the thick armor of the Char. I never bothered with answering his fire, but kept a close observation on progress in the forefield.

Here you can see the infantry move from cover in the woods to the next clump of trees. I estimated the range to the nearest tank as between 700 and 800 yards... still a bit too far for economic and effective fire.

RANGE 700, FEU! FEU! Now the panzer was in decent range and stopped to fire. I landed a few hits on his turret and driver position, but it seemed like his frontal facing would rule out a catastrophic hit.

Presently, he turned about and motored on across my front. I landed a few more hits as he came to a second stop near the trees. You can see the other tank still hiding in the woods to the left.

Shortly thereafter, the closest tank drove down the slope but stayed in cover of a few trees, presenting me with a nice shot at his topside armor. We exchanged rapid fire and my armor piercing rounds soon found their mark! The enemy tank shuddered and spouted a huge gout of flame. Kill!

RANGE 400, RAPID FIRE! Meanwhile, the troopers sprinted down towards the crossing in a loose skirmish line! I sent them a few coax rounds, but couldn't see any impacts at that range... I ceased fire. Now the other tank advanced at full tilt, closing up with his infantry to provide covering fire!

Now or never! Salvoes of coax slowed down the scouts somewhat, and one trooper caught a 47mm shot intended for the Pz 38 full in the face! Alas! The remaining 38 raced across and vanished from view... I had to leave my position! Retreating quickly toward the base I set up station and awaited the final onslaught - a short sharp firefight later and the Boche was reduced to scrap iron.

IT'S ALL OVER... OR IS IT? Now, all that remained of the enemy scouting force was a single trooper... now to find him! CONTACT! Ah! A soldier, ducking and dodging near the burning aircraft hangers and tank derelict, moving fast toward the command bunker! Merde, where did he go?

There! Coming brazenly around the corner of the nearest hanger, obviously set for a do or die run to the bunker, an enemy trooper! I charged and hosed him down with the fixed bow mitrailleuse... he toppled and fell... DEAD! But... but... oh NO, I had murdered one of my own!

I could hear the belly laughs of the German trooper... he must be near, in visual distance! Ohlala... now I MUST get him!

I scrutinized the area - with the gun sight this time - and finally spotted a miniscule German head peering over the hill to the east. Heheheheh! Full ahead! The Boche must have realized he was spotted and made a break for it... coming over the crest, I stopped and scanned. There! Hiding in the woods! Rake him with fire! Muahahahahhaha! Die! Die! Die!

ENDGAME! The last threat to Dinant had been neutralized!