So....My Tank Corps in Prussia...

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Thanks M.H.!! Good to see the pair of you back!!

Bestens,
David

[David W]

I'm left wondering if my alter-ego has deserted, been grounded, taken prisoner, or even killed, without me even noticing.

[Me-109 Jagdfleiger]

Good as always!
Jahn

[Commissar D, the Evil]

AH yes Wirblewind--the Luftwaffe can't stay grounded forever..........

Bestens,
David

[David W]

AH yes Wirblewind--the Luftwaffe can't stay grounded forever..........

Damn the weather!

Or........................

If we have no planes left, I'll give fire support from a SdKfz 8 mounting a Flakvierling.
If it would help!

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Oh, I haven't forgotten about the HS-129, David.

Have a good night.

Bestens,
David

[David W]

& you..................

[Jager1945]

David,

Just when I think it cannot get any more suspenseful....
You send me ducking for cover!

Way to go, you are a master story teller!

Best Regards,

[Tom Houlihan]

I raise my glass in salute not only to the heroic defenders of Bad Frostberg, but a master weaver of tales!!!

[Luftman129]

Gotta echo with what jager said, D. Just when I thought that it was pretty suspenseful, then you have me sticking to my position whereas Von Bellow is hollering for a move.

Thanks,
Chris

[Commissar D, the Evil]

RIDGE-FIGHT

Leutnant Jaeger was by no means a cruel man, nor could anyone accuse him of cowardice. He had played out more than his share of losing games on the Ostfront and always managed to step away from the table alive, which was what he intended to do this day. So, he began pulling his men out at 01030, exactly as he had told Hansen. They could already see the first groups of bedraggled "Gruppe A" refugees entering the woods, a running contingent of huffing and puffing “chain-dogs” in the lead.

Having taken the ridge, Von Bellow’s troops were barely able to begin to consolidate their positions on its reverse slope when a vicious Russian infantry attack boiled out of the woods and threw them back up the hill. Von Bellow managed to rally his troops at the top of the ridge, largely because the machine-gun teams had clear fields of fire and were most reluctant to lug the heavy guns back down the other side of the hill only to have to carry them up again for a new assault. After all, like everyone else, they had been fighting continuously for six hours by then. Both the troops and their leaders were tired and nearing the point of exhaustion.
Von Below himself flopped down into a hole with his radio operators and one of his platoon leaders, a very young Oberleutnant named Lasch. Lasch said to him, wearily but sincerely, “Sir, I come from a military family and never put much store in the phrase “Russian hordes”, but now I’m beginning to believe in it.”
Von Bellow managed a chuckle and lay on his back for a moment, “So now you’re beginning to believe in it…..”
Wave after wave of Russians raced for the slopes below, only to chopped at by the MG-34s and German infantry at the top of the ridge.
Then Phylo’s two Panthers appeared on the right tank, firing directly into the Red masses with both cannon and machine-guns. During the initial assault, the armor had swung off east and reached the North road. Keeping their guns trained on either side of it, they crept past the ridge. Phylo’s two Panthers, being relatively light and much more maneuverable than the Tiger, drove off the road then and arrived squarely on the flank of the Russian attack as it was in progress.
Not only did they help break the attack up, but their firepower actually sent the hard-bitten Russian infantry reeling back in confusion. Von Bellow and his men had their breather, but at the expense of just about all of the Panthers’ remaining high explosive ammunition.
Normally a Panther carried 82 rounds of main gun ammunition and about 4,500 rounds of machine gun ammo. But in anticipation of the battle, each of Phylo’s cats managed to stuff much more than that aboard, dividing their stores of main gun ammunition almost equally between armor piercing and high explosive types. But there was nothing to replace anything they expended. Like the infantry, the panzertruppen were beginning to feel the exhaustion of the continuous fight. Phylo expressed just about every German’s feelings best when, after stopping the Russian attack, he opened his turret, looked around briefly and closed it again.
“More bloody forest”, he said disgustedly. "More bloody forest and more bloody Reds.” But the German artillery was still striking hard at the enemy.

Von Ribbentrop and his men had exceeded all expectations, by keeping Erika firing for so long and with such devastating accuracy. Their luck ran out, without warning, when the breech of one of the 88s burst. This killed the crew outright and propelled von Ribbentrop, who had just set foot in the car into a metal bulkhead, breaking his nose and busting his upper lip. Worse still, the explosion set off the gun’s ready ammunition, which blew the car nearly in half and sent it off the track.
Seeing the disaster, the remaining gun crews slackened, then halted their fire. All of them knew that the “toys” they were playing with dated back to 1915 and even the best trained gunner won’t serve a piece that he can’t rely on to not explode in his face.

As he lie there, Von Ribbentrop became vaguely aware of a fleeting shadow passing over him. His instincts were to get to his feet and get the men firing again. And he was about to do so, even with the blood still poured down his face, when he saw some of his men jump off the train while others began to man the quad flaK guns.

For some reason, the flight of Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmoviks first approached the armored train at a right angle, instead of simply following the track; they might not even have seen it because of the forest had it not been for the horrendous explosion. But, having spotted it, the Shturmoviks quickly circled and ran in at treetop level to destroy it.
Von Ribbentrop ran forward, from one car to the next. At last finding his girlfriend Erika, who hadn’t moved from her corner since the fight began, he persuaded her to put on a steel helmet and a white camouflaged parka left in the car by some soldier. Then he ran toward the nearest flaK crew, who blazed away at the Shturmoviks as they went into their shallow dives. He had just reached the first flaK mounting when a Shturmovik's burst of 20mm shells ripped into it.

[Jager1945]

Commissar David,

Wow! Excellent after lunch entertainment. From where do you get your inspiration?

Salutations and Best Regards,

Jaeger

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Hi Jaeger, well, a lot of ideas have bubbled through my otherwise empty skull. The real problem is finding the time and the determination to sort them out and put them into writing......

I tell you one thing though, this story would never be written without the faithful support of Forum Heroes like yourself!!!!

It is so much easier to write when you know you have an appreciative audience!

Bestens,
David

[Jager1945]

Hi David,

Thanks for this magnificent tale. I can only speak for myself, but I think we are very appreciative. You really capture the imagination.

Someday I hope to be able to spin a tale as engrossing as you obviously can.
What you do with the word is beyond reproach.
As I said in a previous post; I read a good portion of this story in a couple of days.
I was a Hassel reader in my younger days. I just finished, A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous, and Company Commander - by Charles B. MacDonald, good reads both of them, but they weren't as good as this story.

Thanks Again and Best Regards,

-Robert

P.S I am told I am the story teller in the family. I am also a writer dabling in Technical Literature in my other life.
P.S.S My name is Robert (Jaeger) and my brothers name is David. Dad is also Robert, US Army, RA, Korea and Europe.
So I guess we are brothers from a different mother.

[Luftman129]

Wow, that's quite a blast my alter-ego suffered. Geez, I sure hope those men are good enough to shoot down those Russian tank-killing planes!

Thanks,
Chris