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A war story - Part III: The battle resumes
by Modus Virtuoso

Staring through field glasses, the task ahead of us did not seem to daunting. My officer's training told me that I should be "cautious but aggressive". Mixing those two was very similar to oil and water, in my honest opinion.

Leutnant (Second Lieutenant) der Vett stood nearby, his command vehicle idling passively next to mine in the cool silence of the mid-morning - the clouds still shut-out the sun. If this next attack did not fare well, we had agreed that Close-Air-Support would be the most favorable solution.

der Vett's gaze, too, was fixed on the hamlet further up the road. Most of the men were nervous, with due cause, but they firmly held to the "hold your fire" orders that were given-out during our approach.

Luckily we had not encountered any sort of sniper or other pest. Something of that nature would have completely destroyed moral at this point. The French had not had the time to mine any of the roads or venues of attack, apparently. How stupid they were!

- - -

The ten-man scout squad returned to our HQ an hour later. They had seen nothing, and they commented that the ditch was in fact relatively dry despite the rain and showers. It would be passable for some of our lighter vehicles, but we didn't plan on risking any more of our Panzers only to have them removed from action because of terrain.

After considering out situation for a few minutes more, we decided that softening the buildings up would be our best action.

- = -

The troops had since dug in and prepared themselves for what would be a few hours wait while our heavier calibre weapons began to concentrate their firepower against the bricks of the nearest buildings.

Whilst this preperation was continueing, orders were given to 30 Panzer Grenadiers two follow the stream with caution and establish a firing position south of Mont-Pierre with enough cover to keep themselves out of trouble. The orders were explicit - "Do not assualt the enemy."
They were to provide covering fire, and that was all.

By now our few capable weapons had found suitable positions and were waiting the command to fire - One of our two precious Infantry Guns was to begin the small cannonade (as well as sight in the exact distance to target) and had loaded with the typical HE round.

Smiling childishly, the Oberkanonier (Chief Gunner) turned towards us and nodded "we're ready". Taking one last glance through my field glasses at the two story building in the distance, I slowly nodded back.

Still grinning, he turned back to his gun, and with the blink of an eye and the shudder of an explosion, the first shot of the day resounded.

After being slightly startled by the shock (I wasn't the day before... why was that?) I glanced up again for the impact.

It seems our judge on distance was a little off! The HE round cratered right at the base of the hedge, exploding fantasticly and taking a good chunk of the green hedge with it. Adjusting accordingly, it seemed only seconds before they had completely reloaded - that was because I was completely in wonder of the firey smoke that billowed up from the crater. My ADC nudged me, pointing towards the gunners again.

"Sir," he said, "Sir...the gunners, sir!"
He must have noticed that I wasn't exactly coherent. If I had been looking at his face, I would have noticed that it had turned sour, as if he was gazing at some sort of molded dinner.
"Sir, are you alright?"

Something caught my eye... Something behind the entrancing smoke.

Movement

It was as if hundreds of Infantry Gun's had erupted in the back of my mind... I sprang back to life:

"Oberkanonier!" I bellowed.

The reply was short: "Ja!"

"Commense firing. Level that building and the surrounding hedge. ADC, send a message to the troops waiting along the stream that they should watch for enemy movement along the walls and hedges."

He saluted smartly - "Ja wohl!" He then turned to convey the orders...

"ADC! I'm not finished! Furthermore, ready the armor, and tell Leutnant der Vett that I need to speak with him promptly! Now go..."

- = -

I checked often as to the amount of ammo left with the Infantry Guns - I didn't know how much was going to be needed, especially regarding the two Chars, if they were still there.

As to the effect of the guns themselves on the buildings, I was very pleased. After determining the correct range, shell after shell had reduced the hedge to an abbreviated height - just the way I wanted it.

As to the building behind, the South-Eastern portion was damaged comprehensively, with shells completely destroying the entire corner, ripping the building open like a pillow - the contents spilling out haphazardly. With the success of this quick bombardment, I felt placated as to the "tactical" use of the Town-House having been written off as next-to-rubble.

Without much consideration, I ordered the gunners to correct their aim to center on the "Lion's Den" building.

The aim re-adjustment did not take long. Not waiting for any signal to attack, the infantry guns altered their aim and fired. Had I known the reaction, I might have acted otherwise.

The shell landed about 8 meters away from the buildings wall. As I watched the bombardment through my field glasses, I again noticed the billowing smoke. How wispful it was, snaking up towards the sky. Only then did I notice that there was more than one "wisp" of smoke...and this second wisp was not flowing from any crater or burning structure.

It was coming from a vent in the roof of the "Lion's Den."

I looked again. Were my eyes deceiving me?

No. They weren't.

It was only 15 seconds before the next Infantry gun belched forth another shell...

And in that small amount of time, one of the beasts reared it's ugly head.

Crashing through the wall, tumbling bricks and supports as it came, one of the Char Bis B1s came out...

The explosion of the HE round landing near by did nothing to stop the lumbering manuevering of this giant. Turning on her treads, I watched as she began to take aim.

By now, the majority of my command had seen what was transpiring, but coherent thought and visible action were seperated by an infinite void.

The first shot from the beast went high, streaking over the heads of the Gunners and landing with a terrific explosion some 40 meters behind.

Immediately the men were in action. Running, tripping, sliding...heading for any cover...

The turret of the Char lashed out as well, firing a few rounds towards our position. I saw no immediate targets... They were firing for effect, or so I thought.

It was effective, non-the-less.

One of our Panzer IIs bravely fired off a few shells at the beast, who had now stopped it's forward momentum to provide itself with better shots, but the caliber of the Panzer IIs main gun was again sub-par. Bouncing off helplessly and giving the Char's occupants nothing more than a slight buzzing in their ears.

I chanced a glance at the OberKanonier... he was now frantically trying to assist his gunners with reloading their gun, his childish smile replaced with a menacing snarl...

Out of the corner of my eye to the North-West, I saw a brief flash, but somehow I remained focused on the Infantry gun and it's crew. It would be the last time I saw the OberKanonier... the 75mm shell impacted the front of the Infantry Gun, killing the crew and the Chief Gunner instantly. The explosion knocked me off my feet...

- and as I was dazed, falling away, I thought I caught a glimpse of a lone flower...shining in the sun... -

...and into one of my Grenadier's fox-holes. I regained consciousness moments later. The grenadier was sitting, shaking and rocking back and forth... clutching his head... mouth pursed in a look of ultimate fright.

So this was the hell my father had never talked about...