Firestorm: Stripes

Foreword; due to unfortunate time crunches we had to end the game before it could run its full course at the point we stopped the game could go either way, so we diced off like gentlemen and I graciously accepted my loss.

To NATO High Command,

-Field Report for the Defense of the Ruhr (2-4-2018)-

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

This will be an overview of the defense we put up at the Ruhr and the subsequent retreat on the 2nd of April.

Being in command of my tank again did feel good, for as long as it lasted that is. We were tasked with stopping the Volksarmee from breaking through the lines and stopping their assault on the nearby town.

In the early afternoon, I decided to set my forces up in a small town just South of Bremen. Leaving my grenadiers in the town itself they went about and started to dig in. I myself had set up in a treeline with my Leopard and a pair of Gepards and their Faustmen. Meanwhile, my remaining Leopards had taken a holding position in the town itself.

14:00-14:30 (Turn 1a/WarPac)
I happened brutally fast, like a bolt of lightning my tank got struck not once but three times by a volley of shells from an entire company of T-72s that had came racing toward us. Luckily we evacuated the tank and I had no choice but to go over and commandeer one of the Gepards handsets.

14:30-15:00 (Turn 1b/West Germany)
I feared that I needed the Leopards sooner than I had anticipated. I called them forward and they were able to surprise the enemy, two of them reported as many kills with a possible third bailed. While the third one had fired into a pack of T-55s attacking the grenadiers. He managed to destroy one T-55 and a Milan team hiding in the building managed to knock out another with a lucky shot.

15:00-15:15 (Turn 2a/WarPac)
After the brutal first blood exchange the T-72s back off ever so slightly and gather themselves while the others move up and remount their vehicles.

15:15-15:45 (Turn 2b/West Germany)
I let a little bit of relief wash over me as my PAHs radioed me and told me they had refueled and diverted over to help my defense of the town. Being stuck in the clearing with my Gepards limited my tactical visibility. I could hear cannon fire from my Leopards and explosions in the distance. My Leopards managed to destroy two T-72 tanks and the Milans radioed another two Confirmed kills on the T-55s. Amusingly the Marder truppen's transports had moved around in the south and defended the troop from a quartet of BMPs.

15:45-16:15 (Turn 3a/WarPac)
My relief was short-lived, as I was relaying orders across to my men a boom followed by one of my Gepards being ripped apart by an explosion set my gut down-river so to speak. As we all gathered on the last Gepard I received a transmission from the Marder troops in the East. They witnessed the PAHs fall prey to prowling Hinds, and the smaller helicopters were torn apart by gatling cannon fire.

16:15-16:30 (Turn 3b/West Germany)
My FOB commander radioed me and said that a flight of planes just took off and were on their way, I fear they may not have made it in time. On the other hand, the Marders attempted to do something about the Hind gunships. Confirming after the fact they managed to shoot one of them down before the Hinds ducked behind some silos. The T-72s in the West had withdrawn out of the Leopards line of fire and skirted up the treeline towards myself in the retreating Gepard. Due to an absence of T-72s, the Leopards went after a separate target. The Shilkas, there were four of them attempting to follow the 72s to the forest line. They were caught in the open as the Leopards pelted them from afar, killing three and making the last one run. The third Leopard was helping the Marders still fend off the T-55s in the East, they succeeded in killing one.

16:30-17:00 (Turn 4a/WarPac)
Right as the Leopard on the East started to pull back and rejoin his platoon a pair of T-55s had swept around the building and managed to hit him in the side. The Marder grenadiers that were dug in reported that one of their carriers had been destroyed by one of the Soviets strange little missile contraptions, a Spandrel. While the two others had taken hits from the Hinds. The crews told me later that one was destroyed and the other had taken damage but it wasn't severe.

17:00-17:30 (Turn 4b/West Germany)
At about a quarter past, my flight of planes spoke to me and said they were about fifteen minutes out. As I had feared they would not turn up in time. The Grenadiers told me that the last transport needed a new track and they were busy repairing it. In the meantime, my Luchs cars had finally shown up to the battle and stopped by a nearby barn to receive orders. The two T-55s that had struck my Leopard down were rearing back behind one of the buildings when my grenadiers popped out of their foxholes and launch a flurry of Milans and Panzerfaust rockets at them. While the remaining two Leopards were guarding the last Gepard and myself, they managed to take out a T-72 and bail the other. I didn't expect the next transmission, one of my grenadier squads had assaulted the T-55s that had been hit with Milan/Panzerfausts. In doing so they shook the crews in the tanks so badly that they surrendered and let themselves be captured. It was after this that I received word of another T-55 company moving in to support the first, so I made my decision to pull out.

Afterword.
I can only imagine what those men felt when I gave the order to retreat. It was my better judgment to pull out my forces and conserve them as best I was able. If the Reds wanted this town so badly they can have it, there were no civilians and we made sure to use all the petrol and rations we could. Aside from that, this was quite the loss, I have to say it is a bitter taste. Thankfully the majority of our casualties were vehicle ones. Other than a couple of notches in our pride taken down, and a good old bloodied nose, hopefully*, we learned our lesson. I won't lie I thank the other commander, my men were getting quite arrogant in their victories. The final word is this, the scent of blood is in the air and the Wolves will be back.

Sinc Forward Commander Heinrich von-Jager

Casualty Report

Volksarmee
-7x T-55 Destroyed
-5x T-72 Destroyed
-3x ZSU-23-4 Shilkas 1x/Retreated due to damage
-1x Hind Gunship Destroyed

Bundeswehr
-2x Leopard II AFV
-1x Gepard SPAAG
-2x Marder IFV
-2x PAH Helicopters

It seems there's a few folks on here that appreciate good Sabaton music, as do I. I thought I'd borrow the Chausser de'Ardennes slogan for a few minutes as it fits. Please check your volume before listening too! I'll not be responsible for anyone's brain(s) melting from the awesomeness.
(Also; I do not own this music video and am using it for non-profit, The IP belongs to Sabaton and Nuclear Blast Records)