Mission #7 - A Coy/RCR Campaign, Sicily to Ortona, Italy, 1943

[ChappyNS]

TURN 10 (CDN)



Capt Dillon watched the German squad in the road (57AA5) gain their composure (that squad battle hardened to 467 on it's rally) and then let them have it, pinning them on the road. That was key for the concealed scouts, and they crept forward through the orchard, drawing the fire of the pinned defenders. Dillon glanced behind him and saw the damaged squad from the stone building run as fast as they could to catch up to 2 Pl. Then Dillon glanced right and saw the firebase move forward to the edge of the wood line where they set up their mortars. Hearing the noise of a large engine revving up, he next saw Sgt Worthington's Crusader move behind him, around the woods, and back down on the other side near the Germans on the extreme left flank. While the SPG was moving, the Germans off to the flank fired at the firebase, causing one of the mortar teams to drop their weapon and run back through the woods.

The scouts then lunged into the street, bayonets fixed. Outnumbered, they fought a suppressed group of Germans and were able to kill the entire squad to a man. Dillon was impressed with the company scouts, and he moved his own command forward into some trees. He thought he heard some enemy but it was nothing (dummies in 57W5 and X3)

On the far right, the smoke cleared and 3 Pl fired the full force of their diminished platoon into the building housing the enemy gun. The fire was just too close to Cpl Schnurrbart and he yelled in fear, collapsing to the floor. His men, however, were fine until a long burst from the nearby Crusader penetrated the wooden walls, killing half the squad and causing the others to desert the MG42.

#1 section commander in 1 Pl saw what the tank fire had done and he decided to act on his own. "1 section, let's move, move move!!" The section leapt to their feet and ran from the orchard towards the building where the MG42 crew was. They entered the building next to it and demanded, in German, that the enemy surrender because they were now surrounded. The German NCO and serviving crew members raised their arms and marched out of the building towards 1 section who removed them of their weapons, helmets and gear. The section commander would take some heat from 3 Pl, but he was concerned about what had happened today - 3 Pl may have enacted vengeance and killed the prisoners outright. And then they would have to live with that. So 1 section was pleased to take the fire from their bellies.

Meanwhile, Maj Liddell and Sgt Sterlin moved forward and joined 1 Pl in the foxholes


TURN 10 (GER)



The Germans on the left flank were horrified and angry that their friends had just been slain in hand to hand combat on the road. They trained their weapons onto the Canadian scouts and fired with rage, eliminating all of them. This drew mortar fire from the Canadian firebase as well as MG fire from Worthington's Crusader - all for naught.

Hauptmann Zoll moved north along the road to the stone house that had been fought over for several minutes. Technically, he was now behind enemy lines, but he was looking for any opportunity to regain his company in Busso.

Capt Dillon noticed that the German mortar crew had frozen in indecision, and so 2 Pl fired at them, keeping their heads down.

In the centre, Maj Liddell had 1 Pl fire long range at one of the suspected buildings in Busso, but nothing stirred from the spec fire (dummy in 57S3)

The noose was being slowly tightened around the defending Germans...

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 11 (CDN)

I participated in the CASLO VASL tourney all weekend so SASL was put on the back burner. Back again

Canadians roll RE#52 - Tanks! Only one though, a Sherman Va, which enters from the south



Sgt Worthington saw the German squads who were entrenched in the wood line. The main gun belched smoke as a 75mm round splashed into the wood line, causing both squads to begin to flee. But Worthington fired again, killing five Germans while the remainder managed to escape the Crusader by moving further into the woods.

Capt Dillon saw the German mortar crew freeze, so now was the time. He had 1 and 3 sections fire at the enemy, causing them to drop the mortar again and flee back to some woods in behind.

Lt Chapman saw that it was time to move. He ordered the firebase to pack up and move, advancing to the wooden shop near the intersection (dummy in X2).

Meanwhile, 1 section, 3 Pl ordered the prisoners forward deeper into Busso (dummy in O1). Their Pl Comd grabbed the remainder of 3 Pl and moved into the house where the MG42 had menaced them. Bowman ordered the German MG to be carried with them. With a still hot barrel, the soldiers were careful not to touch it there. The fast firing gun was lifted up and the men carried it down the road into town.

Sgt Jenkins moved the Crusader to the centre of town, covering several suspected enemy locations.

Maj Liddell was made aware that a Sherman was coming to aid A Coy. The battle was almost over but he welcomed the support. He watched the tank appear on the road into town, it's commander exposed with hatches open. Liddell then had 1 PL fire at a suspicious building (R2), exposing a small group of Germans there...


TURN 11 (GER)



The German mortar squad who had just abandoned its weapon for the second time, decided that enough was enough. The squad leader rallied his men, so much so that they were biting at the bit to get back in action (battle hardened to elite)

The half squad of Germans who had just been discovered in the centre of town watched the Sherman tank drive by, about 80 meters from them. They saw the commander of the tank sitting up high in the turret and they decided to fire at him. The rounds impacted so close to the commander that the tank came to a stop, the commander dropped down within the tank, and the hatch closed. The Germans immediately drew fire from the Canadians across from them, resulting in the Germans fleeing to a building next door...

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 12 (CDN)



Maj Liddell watched from the orchards as he noted damaged 3 Pl and 1 section, 1 Pl continue moving north through Busso (dummy in S1). The company commander decided it was now time to abandon the orchard position and get into the thick of it in town as well. At the run, he ordered 1 Pl to move into the houses. With some confusion and concern, he realized that all three AFVs were stopped and doing nothing to assist the advance of A Coy into Busso (incredibly, all three AFVs failed their command rolls).

Wounded 2 section, 2 Pl, was ordered by Dillon to probe forward into town. As the soldiers moved from house to house, they stumbled upon about twenty Germans who scrambled to defend themselves against this new threat (the last S?). They engaged 2 section, but their fire was not that accurate, allowing the section to withdraw away into another house. Dillon and the remainder of 2 Pl charged across the street and occupied a stone house located at the important intersection in town.

Lt Chapman had witnessed the effectiveness of Sgt Worthington's fire as the Germans had fled in fear deeper into the woods. Chapman wanted to catch them before they could reorganize and become a flank threat. He ordered the mortars to follow 2 Pl while he grabbed the MMG team and sprinted north towards the small copse of woods. Entering the woods, he came face to face with the scared group of Germans. Calmly he ordered the MMG to train their sights on the enemy...

TURN 12 (GER)



The newly discovered Germans fired at 1 Pl through a narrow gap between the houses. Leutnant Hollerback had not heard from Hauptmann Zoll, his company commander, for some time. Hollerback knew that his platoon was the last line of defence in Busso; he also knew that, suddenly, there were Canadians everywhere. He had heard the rumbling of the tanks and the fire from their guns. But his depth position denied him the intelligence he needed. His platoon was being slowly surrounded - this much was true. How long could they hold out?

"Fire!" yelled Chapman, and the MG team engaged the cowering Germans, mercilessly killing all dozen of them. As the echoing sound of the MG stopped, and the cries of the enemy were silenced, a lone round zipped by Lt Chapman's head and impacted into the arm of one of the MMG team's members (sniper!), causing him to scream out and drop to the ground. The MMG team was terrified and ineffective. Chapman couldn't believe his luck - the sniper had just missed him. It was time to get the hell out of here!

Liddell watched the newly arrived Sherman tank try and engage the broken Germans, but the coax MG jammed. This Sherman tank has been horribly unlucky so far....

 

[thedrake]

Love your CG AAR's...literally on the edge of my seat reading these. Well done!

 

[ChappyNS]

Love your CG AAR's...literally on the edge of my seat reading these. Well done!

Thank you!

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 13 (CDN)



Once more Capt Dillon exchanged fire with the German squad in the woods, but this time the Canadian fire crippled them, causing them to want to flee from this battle as soon as they could. Maj Liddell and 1 Pl also again engaged the larger group of remaining Germans in the building. As they were doing so, Liddell noticed Jenkins' Crusader move up close to the Germans, stop, and shred them with MG fire...

Leutnant Hollerback watched the Crusader move forward and stop, traversing its main gun in his direction. The bullets penetrated the building, wounding some soldiers, and causing one of the squads to flee. Hollerback also lost his nerve and joined them, leaving Cpl Muller behind with the squad in good order.

The Sherman tank also moved next to Jenkins' vehicle and fired...but missed.

2 sect, 2 Pl again saw their opportunity to move forward into the house adjacent to the last remaining enemy squad and elected to take it. 3 Pl moved down the road and occupied the row of houses directly behind the AFVs. It looked like the curtain on the last act was about to fall...


TURN 13 (GER)



Lt Chapman got his MMG team back in order, ready to engage any enemy nearby.

The last German squad fired at the Canadian mortars behind the stone wall to little effect. It was then that the firepower of two Canadian platoons combined with two AFVs converged onto Cpl Muller and his squad. The fire was so intense that the Germans withered away and ran back to join their friends who had so recently run away. Muller joined them, knowing that the end was near.

Hauptmann Zoll was slowly and stealthily creeping forward towards the town. He knew what remained of his company was outnumbered and outgunned, but they were his men, and he was determined to rejoin them...

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 14 (CDN)



Sgt Jenkins trained the MGs on the last group of Germans and let them have it with long bursts. Ten or more Germans fell dead and the German NCO (Muller) finally lost his nerve in fear.

The Canadians scented blood in the water, and all three platoons advanced on the broken pockets of Germans. Leutnant Hollerback and Cpl Muller both surrendered, along with the remaining platoon members.

TURN 14 (GER)



The last German NCO with the company mortar was gunned down. Other than prisoners, there were no known Germans in Busso.

Hauptmann Zoll witnessed the end of his company. Busso had fallen and it was time to go. Zoll slipped back into the woods and escaped back to friendly lines...

"Sunray, this is 19, objective secure." Maj Liddell was happy to pass on the news to higher. He waved to both Sgts Jenkins and Worthington, greatly appreciating the help they had provided to A Coy. Busso was taken, but it was the costliest battle for A Coy since they had landed at Pachino, Sicily. Boobytraps, and that deadly MG42, had caused the demise of some twenty Canadians. His men were being buried now, and as he looked to the graves, A Coy was paraded and waiting for him. Liddell hated this part of being a leader; he slowly walked with his head lowered towards his soldiers...

The fanatic section returns to normal and Sgt Sterlin is retained. The broken Bren is returned. The tanks are gone as are the captured German weaponry.

Capt Dillon is promoted (but still a Capt) and is now 9-1. Sgt Sterlin is now the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) and is now 9-1. Lt Chapman is promoted to Captain (9-1)

A Coy receives only one section of replacements and they are 1st line (457) and they now become the third section of 3 Pl. That leaves no company scouts, and 2 Pl has one section that is a HS.

The Allies would continue slowly moving up the boot, and for A Coy, RCR, there was sure to be another challenge in the near future...