Post by fenris07 on Mar 13, 2020 12:42:05 GMT
This is my 3rd battle in a campaign supporting the D-Day landings but the first time I tried to write out a battle report. The first one was a patrol with 3rd squad landing and consolidating their landing location. The second was the initial push into Carentan and even though initial opposition was stiff the Germans fell back once they started to suffer some serious casualties. (Mostly due to failing their later Man Down and Recovery rolls and leaving the field with a little under half strength squads.)
3rd Squad Roster
Adams NCO SMGMartin JNCO SMG (My Star)
Flores LMG
Clark BAR
Kelley launcher
Bartlett Rifle
Ward Rifle
Kupra Rifle
LaForce Rifle
June 14th, 1944 101st Airborne 3rd Squad-Excerpt from Keith Martin-JNCO
The Battle for Carentan continues as our attack is rolling without signs of slowing down. After several light engagements the Germans seem to melt back into the city and its making me and the men paranoid. Word is the Army has broken out from the beaches and will be linking up with us soon. Our mission is to secure a bridge so we can cross the Taute River to Le Mont.
Moving through the last couple of buildings before the bridge we moved quickly and silently. Up ahead was a sleepy street with a wooded park on the north side and a short brick house on the south side then further on, the bridge. Adams led Flores, LaForce and Bartlett along the north side of the street through a building and set up to cover the wooded park ahead for my fire team. As we neared the bridge I sent Kupra and Clark to clear the building to the south and Kelley, Ward and I moved north across the street to secure the park next to the bridge. Clark entered quickly followed by Kupra and realized they had just run into a German squad setting up a defensive position. The Germans reacted first firing a hail of bullets towards them, one of them hit Clark. Luckily for him Kupra was quick and grabbed him by the collar as he ducked back out of the house and they fell to the street as bullets continued to zing around them. Adams fire team opened up on the house as a couple of Germans came out to finish the job. They got one and sent the rest scrambling back for cover. Kupra scrambled across the street with an injured Clark to rejoin us.
As we reassessed the situation we saw movement across the bridge in a number of buildings. More Germans! An intense fire fight ensued between us in the park and the buildings on the other side of bridge as it became obvious we were out gunned from the amount of firepower pouring out at us. Kelley used his launcher to blow up the corner of a building that seemed to be housing a LMG to buy us some breathing space as Adams brought his team over to join us in the park while keeping up fire on the building to the south. As we realized it was going to be difficult to move across the bridge with dug in Germans in front of us and possibly flanking us from the house across the street we got good news, 2nd squad had joined us and were coming up from our rear.
Kupra, tired of waiting and watching his friend trying not to die in his arms charged across the street back into the house they had been run out of with a grenade in his hand. He surprised the Germans who hadn’t been expecting a lone charger and blew 3 of them away with a well tossed grenade, two of which were the NCO and JNCO! The few remaining Germans bailed out the back door and down along the river not wanting to mess with that maniac Kupra! With our flank now secure I led Ward and Kelley across the bridge while Flores on the LMG and Adams with his SMG kept the Germans heads down. As soon as we crossed we ran south and flanked around the buildings that were firing, surprising a German NCO in a doorway with a bullet to the chest who thought he was safe behind his men in the house. Moments later a panicked LMG and his loader ran out of a nearby house and a few shots around them by Ward and Kelley cause them to throw their weapons down in panic. We got 2 prisoners! After weathering the withering storm of fire from Adam’s team across the bridge and hearing shots so close they must have realized we had flanked them and panicked.
2nd squad joins the fight and moves across the bridge with Flores, Adams and Kupra covering them. Clark isn't looking so good but luckily 2nd had a medic that’s able to patch him up and he’s able to continue the fight. Bartlett had moved across the bridge with 2nd Squad and feeling like a hero charged into the last house. Gun fire erupted and a bullet ridden Bartlett fell out of the doorway and into the street. Kelley and Ward cry out as I maintain my composure and my aim on the two prisoners we have sitting in the street. 2nd squad reaches the building and their NCO and two other guys swarm in. More gunfire erupts and though 3 went in, only 2 come diving out! Whoever is in there is putting up a hell of a fight! One of the other 2nd squad guys pulls a grenade and tosses it into the building with a whump. Out of the smoke rushes the German LMG gunner, his partner died in the blast. He has his finger on the trigger but before he can hose down the surprised men of 2nd squad Ward drills him from across the street putting an end to the fight.
2nd squad lost their NCO Michaels to that LMG charge and JNCO Cooper got promoted. Winters is the new JNCO for 2nd. Mission success but no change to Morale or Involvement. We received two new additions to 3rd squad to replace the loss of Bartlett, Jensen a veteran(Rep5) and Heckles(Rep3) a fresh recruit. Clark will be fine, 2nd’s medic did a great job on him and he’ll be ready to go for our next push. With 10 men now in our squad we’re almost back to full paper strength. Kupra was nominated and awarded a Major Medal for saving Clark and storming the building and taking out/routing a German squad.
