Firestorm: Stripes

To NATO High Command,

-Field Report for the recommencement of hostilities in the Ruhr-

From; Hauptmann Heinrich von-Jäger.
Commander of 5th Kompanie, 1st Panzer Divison. “Steel-Clad Wolves”

The Federal Republic of Germany.

The following is a report for the heavy fight that took place on the 12th of April as we were retreating from the Volksarmee. This time when they caught us we were prepared for them.

"Never once have I considered myself a predator, a ravenous beast that partakes in the thrill of the hunt. Nay when I think of wolves, yes, pack hunters that are fiercely loyal to one another and territorial of their homes. They do not shed blood meaninglessly. That being said we are wolves in name only... you would think..." -Heinrich von-Jager.

11:00-11:15 (Turn 1a/Red Banner)
They swarmed us, as soon as the horde spotted us they geared up and set upon us like bull rhinos. I had taken up position on a hill overlooking the small rural village they were pouring out of. I had my Gepards positioned to the West, further down the line I had some grenadiers holding in a small thicket waiting for the opportunity to dash forward. While my Leopards were even farther than that and were patrolling the Northwest. My Gepards were hit in the first contact with them, two wild shots flew from the other side of the town and hit the Flakpanzers unawares.

11:15-11:45 (Turn 1b/West Germany)
After receiving the all clear from the unharmed Gepards I sought out some targets myself. Though the T-72s were indeed a temptation, I knew if we allowed the BMPs to run amok they could cause real hell later so I ordered the older Biermann brother (Erich) to prioritize the Recon vehicles before anything else. After managing to kill one of them I had Gert back off of the hill we were on lest we attract more attention to ourselves. Meanwhile, in the West, my Leopards had spotted the T-72s making their way thru the village and decided to make their day a bit more interesting. The Marder truppen were getting a bit antsy in their thicket but again I told them to remain where they were. The Gepards, on the other hand, decided it would be safer to move into the deeper parts of the forest.

11:45-12:15 (Turn 2a/Red Banner)
The T-72s must have paid not only us but also the Western patrol of Leopards, no attention at all. Instead, they raced towards the backpedaling Gepards seeing them as their only targets. Though it seemed as if a few of them snapped out of their battle frenzy and turned to engage the western Leopards.

12:15-12:45 (Turn 2b/West Germany)
Seeing the chance I spurred Gert to drive us to a better vantage over the T-72s. Right as we poked out of the corner of a building we were using for cover the last of the T-72s had darted out of sight. Although they were out of our sight the others in the West had a clear view of them and I was soon radioed confirmation of four T-72s killed and a possible fifth severely damage. Though I didn't need to hear it the explosions and pyres of smoke told me enough!

12:45-13:00 (Turn 3a/Red Banner)
As I was getting into position by the house I heard a whomp and a fuush as a Spigot missile impacted the front of my tank. The shock itself almost threw me from my vehicle. I didn't stay outside of the hatch for too long, I could hear the missile (or what was left of it) sizzling on the front of the mantlet. While I was inside the tank, my Gepard zug frantically radioed me and were calling for help. As it turns out, the T-72s had driven into their emplacements, right on top of them almost literally! The Faust men were lucky as they had taken to hiding in their foxholes. This I will bet kept them from dying that day as the Shilkas that were hiding in the horde of T-72s opened up on the Gepards. The good thing about the situation is, the Gepard drivers were smart enough to weave in between the larger trees and kept their tanks mostly safe from the T-72s main guns. The Shilkas, on the other hand, were apparently having a difficult time with hitting them too, as they were having to fire through the T-72s and be careful about it.

13:00-13:30 (Turn 3b/West Germany)
After checking that the Spigot didn't actually penetrate I checked on the status of all the others. I learned the second platoon of Leopards I had were still a ways off with my other support and my planes were still at the base refueling. I heard nearby the unmistakable clatter of dual AA cannons on the Gepards. I wondered what on earth can they be firing at? Well my question was answered when one of the senior members of the Flak troop called on me and said he had taken command of the vehicles. He went on to explain that he had gotten fed up with the timidness of the last platoon CO and told the Flakpanzers to direct fire on the T-72s flanks. This surprised me! I would never have expected him to tell me that they managed to catch one of them on fire (detonating the ammo) and forced the crew out of two additional tanks. Meanwhile, I was back up and out of the hatch of the tank, the look on the BMP commanders face when we slunk back around the building and shot his vehicle out from under him.

13:30-14:00 (Turn 4a/Red Banner)
Ceasing their hostilities the T-72s and Shilkas make a mad dash for the gap in our lines. My Leopards that had moved over to pursue them was caught up and started trading shots with them. One of the Leopards took a catastrophic hit and was destroyed. The Shilkas started to seek more lucrative targets other than the Leopards. This left them to fall upon the M113 observational post. I later saw the poor vehicle, it had been punched with so many holes it was like looking into a cheese grater.

(As before, Kamelot's Wings of Despair is owned by Kamelot and I do not intend to use it to gain money in any way.)
This was about the final tone of the battle... but for whom?

14:00-14:30 (Turn 4b/West Germany)
In an effort to defend our rear, I sped back towards where the Observer was. When I arrived on the scene, it was a three-pronged battle between myself, my other Leopards, and a Gepard (I found out later the other had gotten stuck in the woods). Though they put up a valiant effort the remnants of the T-72s and Shilkas couldn't stand up to three Leopards and a Gepard. Speaking of the Gepard, He and I whittled the Shilkas down to nothing killing two of them and bailing another. Looking over the other two Leopards managed to kill a T-72 and forced the other two to surrender.

14:30-15:00 (Turn 5a/Red Banner)
My heart must have skipped several beats when a quartet of Hinds thumped their way overhead. Thankfully my Faust men who were idle up til this point spang into action. They managed to shoot one of the Hinds down but not before they launched missiles into the platoon of Leopards. They reported to me that there were no serious hits and stayed put for a few moments. To my shock, however, the Shilkas we thought were bailed came back to life and ripped into the Gepard completely destroying it.

15:00-15:15 (Turn 5b/West Germany)
The initial shock of the Hinds wore off and one of the Leopards' commanders came to his senses. I maneuvered over to join him, poping both of the remaining Shilkas as I went. I managed to keep the Leopard platoons spirit up and convince them to stick around. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, instantly though the relief swept over me as I realized my second Leopard platoon finally arrived a couple hundred meters away. I assured them I could handle the situation here and directed them to go and head off any counter-attacking tanks that may come from the Southeast. I also broke the silence with my infantry and told them to move up on the West side and do the same. In their haste they unfortunately managed to get their tracks stuck in the mud.

15:15-15:30 (Turn 6a/Red Banner)
Seeing the lull in our fire the Hinds thought that we had lost interest in them. They crazily landed practically right in front of us. In the southeast, I received word from my Leopards that they were set upon their flank by about four T-64 tanks.

15:30-16:00 (Turn 6b/West Germany)
Nearing the half past mark I received a transmission from the rest of my reserves stating that they were there and they had gotten separated from the Leopards I had sent South. Meanwhile, I decided to humor the Hinds as the last of their infantry dismounted and started using their destroyed tanks for cover. Coming to my senses I gave the order to the other Leopards with me to fire upon the Hinds. I knew if they got back in the air it would spell trouble for me, unfortunately for the pilots in the helicopters, my men hit their mark. The Leopards to the south had radioed me and reported that they were pushing back the remaining T-64s. They said their shots were effective in killing two and bailing the rest.

16:00-16:15 (Turn 7a/Red Banner)
I kept myself updated with the activities of the Leopards in the South. They said it was like two animals fighting, the Battalion commander had remounted in his tank and gotten the other tank operational, afterward, both my Leopards and the T-64s backed off and put distance between each other.

16:15-16:45 (Turn 7b/West Germany)
I heard them before I had seen them, the flight of F-4s came soaring overhead and tried to drop bomblets on the cluster of tanks that were sitting out of sight behind the hill. Unfortunately, I didn't think to have my troops check any of the surrounding forestry for other AA. Those pilots paid for my mistake dearly. There were two hidden Geckos in the woods that fired off and managed to take half the flight down. The remaining two were shaken out of their flyby and released the bomblets to early. The munitions hit the ground harmlessly in front of the vehicles. Coming back to attention on what was in front of me, I ordered the other two Leopards with me straight forward into a direct assault with the landed troops ahead of me. It wasn't safe so I retreated into my hatch and listened as multiple RPGs hit the tank to no effect. There was a dull thump on the front of the tank and I heard gunfire from the tank to my right. I found later on that the third that was with us had taken hits to their tracks and threw one. I digress, our assault was enough to drive the attackers off and they fell back from our position. Nearing the end of the hour the Southeasternmost platoon of tanks had reported that they had killed two more T-64s

16:45-17:00 (Turn 8a/b (Both))
The battle itself was coming to a close, the last three T-64s had taken to trading shots with the Leopards. In a last-ditch effort, the commander charged his tanks across the clearing and tried to get better shots on the opposing Leopards. The Leopards in question only managed to pick them off. Killing one of them the commander knew the fight was over, he took the only two tanks left and retreated while I ordered my men to stand down.

"In the quotes before I stated (paraphrased of course) that I fight for a reason, and that sometimes that reason is merely to fight in and of itself. I realize now that the best fight to be had is one on another's behalf. So... for those behind us in their homes, and those in front of us that are oppressed. We promise we will fight for you... for better or for worse." -Heinrich von-Jager

Casualty Report
West Germany,
1x Leopard II destroyed
1x Gepard SPAAG destroyed
1x M113 OP destroyed
2x F-4 Phantoms destroyed

Red Banner
7x T-72 tanks destrroyed/3x run
5x T-64 tanks destroyed/2x run
3x Shilkas destroyed/1x ran
4x Mi-24 Hinds destroyed
2x Bmp-2 destroyed
Multiple stands of infantry