NationStates Jolt Archive

This Rp starts at the beginning of the race for Bastogne, in early 1940 the Blitzkreig had rushed through the Ardennes and it had been one of the main German objectives. Bastogne was the hub for 7 major roads and critical to both Allied and Axis forces, this RP will try and take readers back in history with correct facts that readers may cheak on at any time. There will be made up charactors along the way aswell to bring some excitement to all of this, no one of course that would make a historic differerance.

Bastogne will be one of many battles towards the Sigfreid Line, 1 vision in the mind of all....VICTORY...and..SURVIVAL. I will be Role Playing as a Panzerkampfwagen V Leiutennet of the 1st ss Panzer Regiment named Joachim Von Strauss a 26 year old veteran of the Eastern Front who was pulled out to fight alongside the "boys" the German military was recruting at this point in time. Von Strauss was the right kind of soldier the German military needed at this time, young but very well decorated and skilled.

Oberstrumbannfuhrer Peiper who had commanded all operations around Malmedy, also his command on the Eastern front earned his unit the name of "The Blowtorch Battalion", Von Strauss is a survivor of these great men. Oberstrumbannfuhrer Piper was defeated in his Spearhead leading him to stay in La Gleize and Stoumont while the Allied forces closed in around him, he fled on foot with a handful of his men back to German lines.

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DECEMBER 16TH-1944 Somwhere Near Bastogne

A lone Panther Ausf G sat parked so close it was touching the side of a farmhouse, the moon was shining bright making it hard to stay concealed, inside the crew sat trying to stay warm

"the word is the Allies think they will be home for Christmas..who is going to surrender.."

A German officer said quietly to the other men in the tank..

"we will have them all the way back to Huy with their backs against the wall by christmas haha!"

The Gunner replyed with a grin, the morale in Panther 713 was high at all times..a Veteran crew unlike the other tanks who were getting Kreigsmarine or Luftwaffe replacements...useless to a land unit.

The Leiutennet opened the hatch and stood up stretched while lighting a cigerette

"we will send alot of them home by Christmas..they will try somthing..eventully..afew battered infantry divisions..Humph..they will be releived in great force soon..Patton will come..and we will be ready, no americans will set foot on our sacred soil.."

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MID MORNING DECEMBER 18TH:Near Bastogne

Panther 713 rolled down a muddy logging road moving with orders to probe an enemy roadblock that was fairly well defended acording to the latest intel. Leiutennet Von Strauss scanned both sides of the forest for movement keeping an attentive eye for anything that did not look like it was supposed to be there. Panther 713 came around a bend to see 2 Royal Tigers and 3 Panzerkamfwagen IV's moving towards their objective.

"713 to 212 what is our status?" Said Von Strauss

The royal tiger tank 212 replyed

"212 to 713 moving to intercept task force rose,American tanks present,Infantry strenth well,Engineers expected"

Von Strauss nodded slowly still watching both sides

"increase speed, we are gonna hit them hard! lets go!"

The Panther roared off after the other tanks down the road to the objective. There was 16 German tanks involved in this assult, it was to commence on 3 sides of the enemy, the only way out would be to fight.

Panther 713 spotted the roadblock and the close hatch order was given all around

"Shermans! ahead!...armored infantry aswell!" the driver shouted

Von strauss listened for the command from the command vehicle

"All tanks, all tanks FIRE AT WILL!"

With that command all hell broke loose, the Panthers and Tiger tanks opended fire on the enemy with all they had. Sherman defenders fired round after round back but the shells deflected off the Tigers like tennis balls.

"there, there! Max..go right over the wire and those logs! i want to be one of the first over! lets go!" Von Strauss ordered

The Panther G charged down the road bow machinegun chattering at the enemy then slammed into the defences driving right over them, American infantry scrambled to escape

"they are green...inexperianced...they run like cats from a dog! haha" The gunner (Danke) yelled over the fire.

"212 to all Tanker commanders, the Infantry is making a break for the rear..cut them off!"

Von strauss opended his hatch and came out a little bit.

"go right..RIGHT! Sherman!!" Von Strauss yelled then closed his hatch

The Panther rocked back and forth as the sound of a ricochet rang out.

"Return fire!!"

The Sherman tank exploded in orange and red flames, the upper part of the turret was blown right off by 713. Von Strauss opended up his hatch again watching the American GI's retreat through his bonoculars.

"don't stop we will run them into the grou..." he paused as 3 Shermans came over an embankment

"reverse! GET US MOVING! NOW!!"

Shells started exploding all around the enemy tanks, the German tankers had taken the victory, Von Strauss ordered a halt and for his tank to start firing aswell because one sherman was still mobile and fired hitting one of the Panzerkamfwagen IV's knocking it out, the commander scrambled out his back on fire, with that the Sherman went in reverse back over the embankment out of sight.

Danke stared out of his visual slot to see the commander of the hit tank rolling around in panic.

"leiutennet! thats Franz Schriber!"

Von Strauss ordered a halt and jumped out of the hatch ran down the side of the tank to put out his friend who was also of the 1st SS Panzer Division, he stopped screaming and lay on the wet muddy ground panting and holding Von Strauss's elbows

"tha..thank..you Jochhim..uhh..my crew?"

Von Strauss looked at the burning tank, no one was comming out of there alive...

"We lost afew good men today Franz..shh..calm yourself"

Von Strauss stay knelt on the ground next to his fallen commrade waiting to medical attention to look at the burns which the Leiutennet himself did not even want to see for himself, friends were becomming more important every day to these men. When the Medics came and got franz Von Strauss walked through the road block looking all around at what the Americans were comming up with these days,

"take 10 minutes! find the location on the other tanks Max!"

"those could have been my men in that tank earlier..."

He thought looking at his men who were kidding around with an American helmet saying random english words, the thought made him shutter..

OOC: uhh, im in your unit.

Hans was very expierienced. He had been in Stalingrad, Kursk, and now, freshly transfered, he was in the western front.

"These americans, are not like Russians," he said to his buddy, Jurgen. They know how to work as a unit, supressive fire, flanking, all of it, they know it. Jurgen smiled. "Hans, they will not breach the Siegfried line." Hans looked down, and began to clean his MP40. Jurgen, looked around, and saw an armored column of panzers proceed from behind them. "The hell...." Jurgen said. Hans looked up with curiosity. "They are counter attacking!!! Hans spirit skyrocketed. Lt. Col, Axel Mitreich proceeded to thier trench. "Up! We are going to move in behind the armor!" "How may are attacking with us?" Hans asked. "Our company will assault two american battalions." Hans went pure white.

Once The crew was back in the tank Max had gotten the location of the Panzers that had left about 15 minutes ago reporting it to Von Strauss

"Leiutennet! we have Infantry support from the 1st SS and Panzer group Lehr, they are....moving to the East from the south away from Patton , expected strenth around Bastogne is 2 different Battalions..to the east of Bastogne..American Paratroopers? and the CCR/9th Armored division.."

Von Strauss nodded taking it all in, while looking at a map

"Danke.. take us East...meet up with XLVII Panzer corps there..we are going for Bastogne aswell...Infantry will need all the support they can get aswell, there is rif raf soldiers around here..mixed disorganized units of Americans everywhere..lets MOVE!"

The Panther V rumbled across the feild as Von Strauss stood out of his hatch scanning the tree lines, a good start to the day..it would be a long one with all the enemy troop movements, Around Bastogne the woods were often made into roads so small American jeeps and such could bypass all the German tanks in the area but Von Strauss intended to use every one he found.

OOC:Bump for your veiwing :)

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DECEMBER 19TH:APPROACHING THE LONGVILLY ROADBLOCK

Panther 713 rolled towards the Longvilly road in search of a retreating American convoy that had been East of Bastogne fighting all day. The orders which came directly from Feildmarshall Von Manteuffel were to bypass Bastogne and leave it for the Infantry..after Panzers intercept the retreating Americans they are to move on West.

The Panther V passed 2 knocked out Stug III's, the sky was filling with thick black oily smoke and stunk of fuel.They were approaching approximetly 2km away from the assult point, Danke then drove right up in the middle of the Longvilly road and gunned the tank fowards.

"more and more of my countrymen every day.." Von Strauss thought watching a chared corspe hanging out of a hatch

Von Strauss looked through his bonoculars and seen a 75mm Anti Tank gun and a MG-42 behind some sandbags off to the left side around a bend. As the tank progressed down the road a SS squad came out of the tree line waving at the tank to stop.

"Danke, slow us down some of our boys want a ride!"

The Panther V pulled off to the side of the road and stopped, the engine gunned.

"Leiutennet! thank you" said an Infantry Captian climbing aboard followed by his men

"Yes Sir! not a problem!" replyed Von Strauss then tapped in the hatch for the tank to take off again

As they got closer to the 75mm an explosion went off and smoke erupted from the barrel, Von Strauss raised his bonoculars to see smoke rising.

"what is it Leiutennet? hand me those" exclaimed the Captian

Von Strauss handed them to the Captian who looked hard.

"take us acouple meters from the gun and let us off!" ordered the Captian

"yes sir, if that is possible!" replyed Von Strauss receving his bonoculars

The 75mm fired again and a American Halftrack came around the bend and crashed into a ditch.

"Captian! we got armor comming you and your men have to get off, it's too risky!"

The Panther stopped, the Captian rushed into the tree line to try and cover the bend with his troops who looked like they were all veterans. Around that bend in the road was American Task Force Cherry and the reminants of the CCR/9th along intermixed light armor/jeeps comming from Bastogne. Von Strauss ordered they cut into the feild and come out near the 75mm to provide help and a distraction from the infantry comming up on the side from here it was noticed there were 3 Panzer column's approaching. The American vehicles were getting knocked out left and right, the crews and infantry soldiers dove in ditch's, the Longvilly road was turning into a disaster area.

The Road became clutterd with Allied vehicles trying to escape. Von Strauss and the crew of 713 were already on their 3 knocked out vehicle, 2 jeeps and 1 armored car. The bow machine gun chatterd at what ever became visible to it, 3 infantry started comming from cover behind vehicles towards the Panther V.

"Infantry!Grenade!!" Von Strauss yelled then slammed the hatch

Danke watched them come in his drivers sights

"leiutennet! they are getting on us!!"

Von Strauss didn't panic just pulled out his Lugar and popped out of the hatch, he saw an american right on the top and fired twice watching as the body tumbled off, then to the rear another american held a rifle out which Von Strauss hit away from his face as the soldier was about to pull the trigger causing a misfire to the side then a rifle shot rang out sending the soldier flying off the deck. The last one was cut down by machine gun fire from an Infantry squad.

Leiutennet Von Strauss braced himself taking a deep breath, many times that had happend in Stalingrad,Minsk and Kursk..the Russians would try anything to criple a Panzer casing the crew to fight for their lives but often got killed when rushed, that was the 4th time it happend to 713 in thw whole war.

"we are ok! whew ...move.." Von Strauss's nerves were rattled

The Tank moved onwards down the road,others still attacking the enemy assisted by German Infantry that arrived on a halftrack. There was a long column of light tanks,firing at 9 German tanks moving across a feild who fired back one after the other. Von Strauss halted and started shooting at them, an ambulance flew up the road then was struck by a shell, then another right after.

"our commrades shoot at ambulances!" Yelled Max in dismay

"this is ...a differnt kind of war now!" replyed Von Strauss watching an american run around on fire then drop to the ground

713 knocked out 2 light Allied tanks when some of the column had broken off to attack Panzers, there was 8 Panzers burning all around which made Von Strauss want to fight on harder along with the crew, he could not be the same Commander without this crew. There was a small house up ahead with American soldiers shooting bazooka rounds at a halftrack, there was also a 50.cal in there as well.

"713 to group, running that building right over!" Von Strauss said

The Panther V roared towards the building with the bow gun going off, the Americans were struck with fear when they seen it a 10 meters away and started to panic. Von Strauss closed his hatch and the Panther went right through the wall, soldiers yelled running outside to get cut down by an MG

"326 to 713 thats the way! haha Sieg Heil!" just then a bazooka round hit the side of the Panzer

"my god! the tracks!" Von Strauss un buttoned to see everything was normal, afew 20mm dents and a 35mm richochet on the side of the turret where it skimmed, too much armor on the Panther V.

After the battle the road was clutterd with Ambulances,Light tanks,Tank destroyers and armored cars. The ditches were lined with helpless tank crews and infantry surrendering, but in this little battle 2 German divisional Generals along with elements of 2 Panzer divisions were forced to turned away from their objectives..better things they had to do. This was the period of American confusion that the Germans should have taken advantage of.

OOC: Are we just making this up or going by history?

Hans was ducked down, near the hatch of the tank. Dozens of his comrades around him, panting, vomiting, praying, and anything else to take there minds off the helpless odds. The small town of palee' (we are making this up, i'm assuming) Americans flags hung high, along with whistling soldiers.

The german panzers sat in the woods, there engines cut. Hans smiled, and aimed his MP40. "Eins, Said the colnel quietly. Zwei......... Drei!!!!!!!" The german panzers unleashed a ferocious salvo at the enemy.

Hans lead a platoon forward. Some were cut down but the 30. cal's, but most made it to houses, and took cover. "Komm hier!!!!" Yelled hans to a fidgety private, behind a stack of wood.

Seconds later, the american rifle fire, cut him down. Hans let it soak in, the reality for a moment. That boy, had been his friend, back to thier childhood in Holland. They played in the countryside together, till they were occupied, by the Nazi's. They both were conscripted.

Hans yelled, "You bastards!!!" And fired his weapon wildly. He struck 4 americans, brining them down. He was forced to take cover, due to 30. cal fire. MG42's fired back, slaughtering the bewildered americans.

After about 25 minutes, gunshots ceased. Out of the armored company's 230 men, 70 were dead, with 126 wounded. 34 were left, able to fight. Luckily, all of the 7 panzers were alright. The americans were slaughtered. Over 200 dead, and around 340 wounded, who were to be shot, and thrown into ditches.

"Sir, you cannot simply shoot these men! They need medical help!!" His officer grabbed him by the collar, and drew him close. "Listen to me goddamit! Take one fucking look at our men!! They have no food, water, and are down to thier last bullets!! We cannot show weakness! We cannot fail to defend Bastogne!!!" 340 wounded americans were lined up, and shot, then kicked into ditches. No news of reinforcments came.

"What of the 1st SS lehr divison, any news of them? Hans asked the officer. "They were delayed, and did not attack the objective." Hans looked down. Near a house, a body lay. It's face bloody and twisted, it's left arm, torn off. Hans looked closer. It was Jurgen.