July 27^th

“We Keep the Faith”

Continued from Cobra Campaign OST2-2

Just as Sarge had the men ready, he heard that dreadful sound. “Incoming he roared”…mortars crumped, screams of pain echoed thru the orchard. Nearby, gore and viscera dripped from green apple trees. Sgt Wishik grimaced, looking around at wounded men, the lucky ones writhed in pain. “Medic on the double” someone said. “Boys of Company B, get these wounded moved back, the rest of you put some fire down. Tewksbury, where the hell are you?..Damn it son, light up the MG, they cant call in mortars if you are shooting them” “Yes Sarge, I’m on it. The 30 mike mike began the chatter soon after.

“Come on boys pour it on.” While they were still pretty raw, the men had a load of pride, they shook off the mortars and got to business.

The chatter of the 30cal and US rifleman peppered the German squad. Then the Sherman fired, rattling the krauts. “Pour it on boys” Garands crack, crack, cracked, the Germans fell silent.

Meanwhile Sgt Carlson was shooting his Tommy from the cupola of his tank. “Hit that building with all you got, HE up and let her rip!” he said. As the tank rocked backwards on the recoil, Carlson paused shooting and sighed nothing was better than an unfair fight! He thought.

Inside the building the German squad had seen the tank pulling up, the first round did little damage but the next brought down the ceiling, knocked out walls and injured a few troopers. Shrapnel wounds by varying degrees peppered every solider. The wire in front of the building was cleared by the tank, and the men still standing looked on in a daze as a squad of Yanks headed their way at a dead run.

As the debris, body parts and blast cleared, Carlson glanced to his right, and nearly choked on his cigar.

“REVERSE, REVERSE !!! ”
The Sherman chewed up ground and backed away from the building into nearby trees, just as a Panzer peeked its snout around the bend in the road. “Traverse 35, sabot up! Ready up gunner.” Said Carlson, just a little more calmly, now that he was not going to be taken on the flank.

Lt Mayer heard the round hit the checkpoint house. He inched his Panzer forward as quietly as his massive tonnage would permit. As he rounded the curve the sneaky Sherman was already backing into cover. Time to move to new ground he thought.

The squad rushing towards the building that Carlson’s tank had just fired at looked back at him in disgust, they did not see the tank! Carlson started to shout a warning, as the warbling echo of an mg 34 stitched the pavement, and roadside all around the troopers! Too late.

Too late indeed, at a dead run the men of Bravo hit the building. The element of surprise was with the team! No one was injured racing across the open ground, they stacked up on the doors and lobbed grenades, charging in guns blazing. A fierce firefight ensued.

The objective was secured! Troopers tended to their wounded comrades, and secured the building. The cost had been high. Nearly half the squad rendered combat ineffective.