Location-El Alamein
Time-10:30AM
The cannons cracked as German 88flaks fired off from hillsides at the advancing British forces. Field Marshal Montgomery watched from his jeep as his Shermans rolled forward to El Alamein, the vantage point would allow them to enter Libya and give a safe landing zone for the American forces both in Africa and in France.
"Them damn Jerries are holding better then I would have thought." Montgomery rubbed his chin as he calculated the whole situation at hand. The flaks were pounding the advance forces and Montgomery hand nothing to return fire but his tanks. The Spitfires and Tornadoes couldn't be brought in since German subs were in control of the Mediterranean and had sunk countless British ships. "Many a fine men went into the sea."
Major Louis Rutherford stood by the Sherman he and his crew operated. The tan hull matched the desert terrain they were stuck in. "Poor boys back in Egypt, I'm surprised they haven't fallen already"
Colonel Zack Pulaski walked up, a set of binoculars hanging from his red furred neck. "They are British my boy. They will hold till their last breath."
"Well I hope they don't have to." Louis took his cap off and wiped his brow "Bloody heat doesn't help"
"Neither do those flaks" Pulaski noted the cracks of the mighty cannons in the distance.
A sergeant ran up to them and saluted. They returned it "Orders from Major General Yorkston! You are to move Shermans up as reserve for the 28th Infantry Regiment and harass those flak crews as best you can. The 28th will commandeer the flaks."
Colonel Pulaski placed his helmet on "Tell Major General Yorkston I request we bring the tank destroys up and use them for long range shooting. See what we can nail."
The Sergeant clicked his heels, saluted, and ran off to deliver the message. Louis looked at Pulaski "Ski, you sure do like harassing York."
"Nah, just slapping em one on the back" The two laughed as they readied up.
Time: 3:48PM
Shermans rolled up and over a ridge. The flaks were behind them, smoldering heaps of junk now. The tanks fired shots off at the retreating Germans, bodies being hurled into the air by each deadly shot. Many threw theirs guns down and ran to the tanks, arms raised. Louis estimated that already they had taken 200 POW's. "Not a bad number" He muttered to himself as the tanks rolled on.
Louis stood out of the hatch of his Sherman as he observed the field ahead. The area further up was a village where planes were taking off from, German planes "Bloody hell! Dive bombers!" Louis dropped into his tank and locked the hatch. Soon cannons cracked as they took shots at the dive bombers coming in. Louis began to hear the familiar whistling of bombs dropping, only being masked by the sudden and loud engine drones of the dive bombers which would quickly fade off as they flew off. "Brace yourselves boys!"
The crew grabbed the safety handles in the tank and waited. Soon the ground shook from the bombing runs; their tank lurched under the attack. Suddenly the tank lifted upward and rolled about before landing on its tracks again. Louis heard the engines drone off. He popped out of his hatch to check for damage. The haul was charred slightly but rather okay. A near by Sherman had its front end in the ground and its cannon twisted. Louis counted five Shermans blown to pits and another three burning, luckily the crews had gotten out safely.
He then noticed that Panzer tanks were on their way from the base, a good fifteen coming. Ten Panthers and five Panzer Mark IV's. "Ready up! Pound them before they get down the hill!" The Shermans opened fire on the incoming Panzers, five were destroyed before the lead reached the bottom of the hill. Cannons roared as the tanks exchanged fire at each other. Louis heard the familiar loud crack of the tank destroyers' cannons as they fired off. One shell hit a Panzer Mark IV under the gun turret, ripping the turret off the haul, flames and smoke spewed out from the dead tank.
Louis then ordered a full charge of the Shermans. Three more Panzers were killed and that was enough. The crews of the rest jumped out and surrendered. Soon the Shermans were in the village and the few remaining Nazis surrendered. The battle of El Alamein had been won.
Time: 9:12PM
Louis sat at the table in his tent looking over reports, tallying up numbers on those killed, those wounded and those missing in action. He sighed as those killed was close in total to those wounded, four-hundred men wounded and 387 dead. This was not good but then again out of 2,348 men going it was better then the Nazi total which had 1,946 dead out of 3,450.
A cup of coffee was set on his desk. He looked up at Pulaski who smiled. "Take it easy there boy. You are going to be seeing numbers for days on end if you over do it."
Louis rubbed his eyes as he sipped at the coffee "I know Ski, but it has to be done. Yanks are arriving and we will be handing command over to them as we turn our focus toward Sicily."
Pulaski laughed "Good point. Yanks get to clean up the remains while we spearhead, go figure."
"Don't be jumpy there Ski. Yanks saved us in the Big One and they are doing it again now. We right well have lost the war if not for them coming in."
"They would have sat and waited for Hitler to march to their doors if not the Japos had attack them first."
Louis nodded.
"By and by, you got a nickname for yourself Ford."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"They are calling you Knuckles for your punches you threw at them Jerries."
Louis laughed at the nickname. "I'm sure Brigadier General Charlie thinks he is funny eh?"
Pulaski laughed "I'm sure he does think that. Ol' Charlie likes to take pokes at us all."
"Even pokes at Monty."
"Charlie has bullocks that he does."
Field Marshal Montgomery wiped his hands as he looked over the map he had laid out before General George Patton arrived. "Hot headed Yankee I hear that Patton is" Montgomery was speaking out loud rather then at anyone. He rubbed his muzzle.
"Need a shave there Monty?" Charlie, the orange furred fox asked as he chewed on some bread. He looked at Montgomery. What a man! He was handsome, tall, had fine brown fur amongst foxes, smart, and had a demeanor that called for respect and he got it.
"Right after you Lee." Montgomery replied.
Charlie laughed out loud as he finished his bread. "Wonder what the boys are doing back home."
"Fixing up London I would think"
Charlie recalled the massive German assault on England that lasted for forty days straight. Many died but even more lived. The Royal Air Force had won the skies over England and drove the Luftwaffe back to mainland Europe. "Good point ol' chap. We be getting a crack at those Italians soon. Kind of sad though."
"How so?!" The two looked at the tent entrance and saw the burly form of Patton. His revolvers on both hips, his dog face stern, his uniform clean.
"Well. . ." Charlie was at a lost of words.
"Those damn fascist bastards decide to ally with the Krauts then that is their problem!"
Charlie saluted. "Yes sir!"
Patton looked at the map. "So what is the set up Monty?"
Montgomery looked at the map and the markers on it. "Well the Jerries have been driven back to this pass here." He pointed. "Bloody fools have dug in and are set to take us on with a frontal assault. Looks tough to crack Pat."
Patton nodded "Tough, but not impossible. We will crack them whether they like it or not! What about those damn French? They back off of us?"
Montgomery smiled "Good news there Pat. The French have backed off and are getting themselves set to revolt gainst the Jerries."
Patton nodded, but he wondered what would be the result of Operation Overload which was still in the planning phases.
Louis sat in the passenger seat of a half track. He had been awarded a metal for his courage in the battle of El Alamein. He smiled as he watched the dark road ahead, the headlights lighting up a small bit off road further on. Louis yawned as he scratched his chin. They where moving toward a harbor and from there. . . . .Sicily, the island just off of the Italian coast and. . . . . . the war torn European fronts.
Part 2
The Luftwaffe goes for a final crack at England and the Royal Air Force has a lack of planes and pilots. The skies are about to become war torn in: The Battle of Britain, Flying Graves
The cannons cracked as German 88flaks fired off from hillsides at the advancing British forces. Field Marshal Montgomery watched from his jeep as his Shermans rolled forward to El Alamein, the vantage point would allow them to enter Libya and give a safe landing zone for the American forces both in Africa and in France.
"Them damn Jerries are holding better then I would have thought." Montgomery rubbed his chin as he calculated the whole situation at hand. The flaks were pounding the advance forces and Montgomery hand nothing to return fire but his tanks. The Spitfires and Tornadoes couldn't be brought in since German subs were in control of the Mediterranean and had sunk countless British ships. "Many a fine men went into the sea."
Major Louis Rutherford stood by the Sherman he and his crew operated. The tan hull matched the desert terrain they were stuck in. "Poor boys back in Egypt, I'm surprised they haven't fallen already"
Colonel Zack Pulaski walked up, a set of binoculars hanging from his red furred neck. "They are British my boy. They will hold till their last breath."
"Well I hope they don't have to." Louis took his cap off and wiped his brow "Bloody heat doesn't help"
"Neither do those flaks" Pulaski noted the cracks of the mighty cannons in the distance.
A sergeant ran up to them and saluted. They returned it "Orders from Major General Yorkston! You are to move Shermans up as reserve for the 28th Infantry Regiment and harass those flak crews as best you can. The 28th will commandeer the flaks."
Colonel Pulaski placed his helmet on "Tell Major General Yorkston I request we bring the tank destroys up and use them for long range shooting. See what we can nail."
The Sergeant clicked his heels, saluted, and ran off to deliver the message. Louis looked at Pulaski "Ski, you sure do like harassing York."
"Nah, just slapping em one on the back" The two laughed as they readied up.
Time: 3:48PM
Shermans rolled up and over a ridge. The flaks were behind them, smoldering heaps of junk now. The tanks fired shots off at the retreating Germans, bodies being hurled into the air by each deadly shot. Many threw theirs guns down and ran to the tanks, arms raised. Louis estimated that already they had taken 200 POW's. "Not a bad number" He muttered to himself as the tanks rolled on.
Louis stood out of the hatch of his Sherman as he observed the field ahead. The area further up was a village where planes were taking off from, German planes "Bloody hell! Dive bombers!" Louis dropped into his tank and locked the hatch. Soon cannons cracked as they took shots at the dive bombers coming in. Louis began to hear the familiar whistling of bombs dropping, only being masked by the sudden and loud engine drones of the dive bombers which would quickly fade off as they flew off. "Brace yourselves boys!"
The crew grabbed the safety handles in the tank and waited. Soon the ground shook from the bombing runs; their tank lurched under the attack. Suddenly the tank lifted upward and rolled about before landing on its tracks again. Louis heard the engines drone off. He popped out of his hatch to check for damage. The haul was charred slightly but rather okay. A near by Sherman had its front end in the ground and its cannon twisted. Louis counted five Shermans blown to pits and another three burning, luckily the crews had gotten out safely.
He then noticed that Panzer tanks were on their way from the base, a good fifteen coming. Ten Panthers and five Panzer Mark IV's. "Ready up! Pound them before they get down the hill!" The Shermans opened fire on the incoming Panzers, five were destroyed before the lead reached the bottom of the hill. Cannons roared as the tanks exchanged fire at each other. Louis heard the familiar loud crack of the tank destroyers' cannons as they fired off. One shell hit a Panzer Mark IV under the gun turret, ripping the turret off the haul, flames and smoke spewed out from the dead tank.
Louis then ordered a full charge of the Shermans. Three more Panzers were killed and that was enough. The crews of the rest jumped out and surrendered. Soon the Shermans were in the village and the few remaining Nazis surrendered. The battle of El Alamein had been won.
Time: 9:12PM
Louis sat at the table in his tent looking over reports, tallying up numbers on those killed, those wounded and those missing in action. He sighed as those killed was close in total to those wounded, four-hundred men wounded and 387 dead. This was not good but then again out of 2,348 men going it was better then the Nazi total which had 1,946 dead out of 3,450.
A cup of coffee was set on his desk. He looked up at Pulaski who smiled. "Take it easy there boy. You are going to be seeing numbers for days on end if you over do it."
Louis rubbed his eyes as he sipped at the coffee "I know Ski, but it has to be done. Yanks are arriving and we will be handing command over to them as we turn our focus toward Sicily."
Pulaski laughed "Good point. Yanks get to clean up the remains while we spearhead, go figure."
"Don't be jumpy there Ski. Yanks saved us in the Big One and they are doing it again now. We right well have lost the war if not for them coming in."
"They would have sat and waited for Hitler to march to their doors if not the Japos had attack them first."
Louis nodded.
"By and by, you got a nickname for yourself Ford."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"They are calling you Knuckles for your punches you threw at them Jerries."
Louis laughed at the nickname. "I'm sure Brigadier General Charlie thinks he is funny eh?"
Pulaski laughed "I'm sure he does think that. Ol' Charlie likes to take pokes at us all."
"Even pokes at Monty."
"Charlie has bullocks that he does."
Field Marshal Montgomery wiped his hands as he looked over the map he had laid out before General George Patton arrived. "Hot headed Yankee I hear that Patton is" Montgomery was speaking out loud rather then at anyone. He rubbed his muzzle.
"Need a shave there Monty?" Charlie, the orange furred fox asked as he chewed on some bread. He looked at Montgomery. What a man! He was handsome, tall, had fine brown fur amongst foxes, smart, and had a demeanor that called for respect and he got it.
"Right after you Lee." Montgomery replied.
Charlie laughed out loud as he finished his bread. "Wonder what the boys are doing back home."
"Fixing up London I would think"
Charlie recalled the massive German assault on England that lasted for forty days straight. Many died but even more lived. The Royal Air Force had won the skies over England and drove the Luftwaffe back to mainland Europe. "Good point ol' chap. We be getting a crack at those Italians soon. Kind of sad though."
"How so?!" The two looked at the tent entrance and saw the burly form of Patton. His revolvers on both hips, his dog face stern, his uniform clean.
"Well. . ." Charlie was at a lost of words.
"Those damn fascist bastards decide to ally with the Krauts then that is their problem!"
Charlie saluted. "Yes sir!"
Patton looked at the map. "So what is the set up Monty?"
Montgomery looked at the map and the markers on it. "Well the Jerries have been driven back to this pass here." He pointed. "Bloody fools have dug in and are set to take us on with a frontal assault. Looks tough to crack Pat."
Patton nodded "Tough, but not impossible. We will crack them whether they like it or not! What about those damn French? They back off of us?"
Montgomery smiled "Good news there Pat. The French have backed off and are getting themselves set to revolt gainst the Jerries."
Patton nodded, but he wondered what would be the result of Operation Overload which was still in the planning phases.
Louis sat in the passenger seat of a half track. He had been awarded a metal for his courage in the battle of El Alamein. He smiled as he watched the dark road ahead, the headlights lighting up a small bit off road further on. Louis yawned as he scratched his chin. They where moving toward a harbor and from there. . . . .Sicily, the island just off of the Italian coast and. . . . . . the war torn European fronts.
Part 2
The Luftwaffe goes for a final crack at England and the Royal Air Force has a lack of planes and pilots. The skies are about to become war torn in: The Battle of Britain, Flying Graves