Firestorm: Stripes

To NATO High Command,

-Field Report for Hamburg (17-3-2018)-

From; Hauptmann Heinrich von-Jäger.
Commander of 5th Kompanie, 1st Panzer Divison.
The Federal Republic of Germany.

As before this will be a general overview of the skirmish at Hamburg on the 17th of March. Following the encounter at Leipzig some week prior to today, the decision was made to pursue the 9th Volks back as they tried to reorganize behind their own lines. We made our way to attack in the early morning hours under the cover of darkness. Some of my vehicles had to hang back as it had rained the night before and the ground in the thick of the forests were horrendously muddy. I will not lie, I was a tad bit more than uneasy with just myself and my Marders pushing up.

5:00-5:30 (Turn 1a/West Germany)
As we moved toward the estimated point of contact the Marders became bogged down in a thicket just to the east of the contested zone. The flight of Phantoms I had requested arrived ahead of schedule. It was still too dark for them to accurately acquire targets so I instead had them loiter in friendly airspace. At this point in time, my Gepards had arrived further north than we had (less than ideal), they were in open ground overlooking a field full of hills. I pulled my tank into a thicket to the south of them, at least from there I had a visual to the Flak vehicles.

5:30-6:00 (Turn 1b/Warsaw Pact)
Everything remained quiet, but nonetheless, I knew the Pack was out there. So against my better instinct, I sent the F-4s to find whatever they could.

6:00-6:15 (Turn 2a/West Germany)
Just that they did! On the hill just to the east of myself and the Gepards, a mass of bomblets and explosions rocked the quiet of the morning. This would signal the start of the battle. Things looked grim indeed, the rest of my troops reported that they were still having difficulty getting to us in the muck.

6:15-6:30 (Turn 2b/WarPac)
They came like a wave, pouring over the hill like a stampede, firing wildly as they did so. Fortunately, it was still too dark for them to get accurate shots. On the other hand, it was perfect for me as I could see exactly what I was aiming at.

6:30-7:00 (Turn 3a/West Germany)
It was like a sound of music through the air, my PAHs came soaring overhead and almost immediately gave me a better review of the situation unfolding. The F-4s had destroyed one of the encroaching tanks on the other side of the hill. There were seven others I had to deal with. Speaking of the Phantoms, however, though not as scary as the American A-10s, the underslung gun pods were plenty enough to deal with the Hinds that had been hanging back out of sight. They strafed across and nailed one of the birds in the engine housing, enough to set it down. While I was trying to get a better situational overview of the area, Erich and his brother Wulf were quickly picking away shots at the T-72s attempting to crest the hill. At that point they had one destroyed and another bailed. Nearing the end of the hour the sun started to peek above the horizon. The PAHs were able to give me a long range eye across to our bogged down Marders. They too had an entire seven tank strong company bearing down on them from the west. Instead of advancing further I gave them orders to dig in and hold defensively.

7:00-7:30 (Turn 3b/WarPac)
Two things were clear, the first was that out of all the northern T-72s, all of them were aimed at the Gepards and not myself. The second was this, though we gained ground and momentum, I was quickly being forced on the defensive. A lucky hit struck one of the Gepards and the crew were forced out. In the confusion, I lost comms with them and their Fliegerfaust men.

7:30-7:45 (Turn 4a/West Germany)
As the battle dragged on I was stuck in my little forest trading shots back and forth with a small horde of tanks massed on the hill. My Marder truppen contacted me and told me that the Luchs patrol had arrived and was pushing towards the rear of the enemy column. I still couldn't hail the Flak battery, there had to be something wrong. As if the bad news couldn't get any worse, my CAS flight requested an RTB order so they could refuel. Though in light of one good thing, I was able to spot a lone T-72 hanging back away from the rest. I ordered Erich to nail him if he could (Which thankfully he could).

7:45-8:00 (Turn 4b/WarPac)
I finally re-established radios with the Faust men, things on their end were bleak. Their vehicles had run off without them, leaving them by themselves. A group of Shilkas had snuck into the middle of the T-72 company and had opened up on what was left of the Fliegerfaust men. In the meantime, the Hinds had spotted the Luchs making a run for the objective point. Needless to say, the Hinds made short work of them, destroying one and damaging the drive train on the other (we were able to recover the vehicle later). Unfortunately, we were never able to contact the Flak detachment after that.

8:00-8:30(Turn 5a/West Germany)
What happened next was almost like what you would see out of an American comic book or hear from their stories of cowboys. My Leopard II platoon had finally arrived to the fray, racing in at blistering speed, their stabilizers ensured that they hit their mark even at full tilt. After they rushed into the battle they took out and destroyed at least four T-72s on their way and push them back even by a bit.
The PAHs had taken to hovering above my position and started to rain shots into the selfsame platoon of tanks, managing to bail two. They were forced to back off and drop below the tree lines to avoid the curtains of Shilka fire. It was around this same time my Panzergrenadiers held fast with their Marders under an onslaught of T-72s and Hinds in the south.

8:30-8:45(Turn 5b/WarPac)
The battle was starting to turn around at this point, the Phantoms were back, rearmed, and itching for targets. Although it would seem they got a bit too big for their breeches so to speak. As they were coming in for an attack run two of them took catastrophic damage and were forced to bail. This, however, they repaid in kind, they managed to drop bomblets on their Soviet prey, shattering the southern T-72 company almost completely apart. After that, the PAHs swooped in to finish the rest of the southern company off instead forcing the two of them to bail. In tandem, my Leopards smashed apart the Shilkas leaving only half of them remaining.

8:45-9:00(Turn 6a/West Germany)
Seeing their opportunity in it both the Shilkas and the Hinds swoop in like predatory birds and manage to take a Helicopter and two of the Leopards respectively. Deciding for the better both the remaining pilot and tank commander try to fight on despite losses.

9:00-9:30(Turn 6b/WarPac)
To add to the apex of the battle, the pair of F-4s I had, decide to do one last bombing run on the enemy. As they start their run one of the planes took multiple hits and is forced down. The last pilot opted to stay and continue to provide support, instead, I ordered him to RTB and save his craft. On the southern front not only did I receive warnings from my Marder truppen but they also reported contact with a BMP scout platoon. They warned that there were multiple Spandrels on the prowl.

9:30-9:45(Turn 7a/West Germany)
On the southern front, the Soviet offensive broke off as the last T-72 runs (-Well on the next turn it did anyways-). The Marder truppen continue to hold their ground. They continued on to tell me that a lucky rocket had hit one of the BMPs and forced it to bail, while the Marders took another two out with autocannon fire.

9:45-10:15(Turn 7b/WarPac)
In a bid for desperation, the Hinds strafe the last Leopard (besides mine) and take it out. The last Shilka attempted to make a break for our flanks so it could escape and cause havoc down the line.

10:15-10:30(Turn 8a/West Germany)
Both the enemy's and mine own forces are almost done, we're both swinging at each other with tired fists. My force struck the final blows as my Marders more or less finished the BMPs off and a Milan missile pair managed to make a shot on the Shilka that was running. I could do nothing but let out a sigh of relief as a company of T-55s appeared on the hill across from me and immediately turned around to retreat,

10:30-10:45(Turn 8b/WarPac)
--This is where the last BMPs and tanks fail their Morale to stick around so their force ran--

Afterword.
Keeping up with the initial advance I pursued the 9th Volksarmee, I let my bloodlust get the better of me and led my men into a bloodbath. The enemy I faced was indeed cunning but as it would have it Lady Luck was on my side

Sinc, Forward Commander Heinrich von-Jäger

P.S. As Before an estimated casualty report is to follow

9th Volksarmee
-13x T-72 Destroyed/ 2x Retreated due to damage
-2x BMPs Destroyed/ 2x Retreated*
-4x ZSU-23-4 Shilkas Destroyed
-1x MI-24 Hind Gunship Destroyed

1st Panzer Division/ 5th Kompanie
-3x Leopard IIs/ Destroyed
-2x Gepard Flakpanzer Captured
1x Luchs Spahwagen Destroyed/ 1x Recovered post battle
2x Fliegerfaust detachment teams KIA
3x F-4F Phantoms Destroyed
1x PAH Anti Tank Helicopter

Again I will be borrowing a Sabaton video for a minute, and always check your volume before listening!
(Also; I do not own this music video and am using it for non-profit, The IP belongs to Sabaton and Nuclear Blast Records)