Chapter 7: First Contact.
5th July, 1943. 0550 hours.
The sun was rising gently over the Russian steppe, but the tranquillity and calmness that it had experienced for the last few months had been wiped away in the last two hours. The rumble of tanks, the shouting of orders from infantry troops and the deafening explosions of shells impacting the ground. But for now, the barrage had stopped. Maho opened the commander's hatch again, and had a look round. Their company was in a spearhead formation, her and Erwin's Tigers leading. She looked to her left. C Company was also in a panzerkiel formation, only about 200m away from them. She then looked to her right. To her surprise, A Company was there.
"Aren't you supposed to be attached to the 20th Panzer Division, Major?" Maho spoke through her mic.
"Negative, Leutnant Ketler. I was reassigned to support the 6th Infantry division at the last minute. "The 20th Panzers can manage on their own."
"I see. Glad to have you in with us, Major." Maho quickly replied, smiling faintly. She liked Manfred's rather laid-back and charismatic character. He was really similar to their previous Battalion CO, Oberstleutnant Raiter. But one part of her mind told her to get back on track. Immediately.
'Focus Maho. Focus. Don't get side-tracked so easily. Do you know what happens to people who aren't focused? They get killed. You don't want that, do you?'
Maho blinked, then took out her binoculars and scanned the horizon. She couldn't see any suspicious movement. "Shit." She muttered. "Has anyone got eyes on anything?" She asked into the mic.
"Negative, Leutnant." Erwin quickly replied. "The Soviets are sure good at their camouflage now." "Major, radio 6th Infantry. Tell them to be on the lookout for an ambush. I want them to be on high alert."
"Doing that now Hauptmann." Manfred responded quickly.
Maho gritted her teeth, scanning for any tell-tale signs of a Soviet ambush. "Everyone be prepared. They may start shooting back when you least expect it." She whispered. 'Shit. I can't see anything. The grass is perfect camouflage for them.' In her mind, she knew that something had to give sooner or later. She quickly looked behind her. Tailing them were the 6th Infantry, using the Tigers as cover. "No one can still see anything?" She asked again.
"Negative. We can't see anything. I mean, should we be seeing anything? We're only a few kilometres into their territory." One other commander responded.
"Roger that. Soviet defences vary a lot. Their camouflage is also a lot better than two years ago. So we could be walking right into one without knowing. Be on the lookout though." Erwin spoke. Maho could sense that she was unsettled. "Be ready for anything."
"Where are we supposed to attack?" Maho asked.
"We're to support the 6th Infantry's attack on Soviet positions near the Oka river towards Podoliani and the hills southeast of it. Intelligence says that they expect heavy resistance in the area, which is why we're attached to the infantry as support." Erwin spoke, fiddling with her map. About 5 minutes later, her voice crackled over the radio again. "We're nearing Podoliani now. Expect heavy resistance. This is to all units. If you see something move. Shoot it." Erwin muttered quietly.
Maho sighed and sat back down in her chair, closing the hatch. "That's if we can see anything." She muttered under her breath.
'Clang!'
All the occupants in the Tiger were thrown backwards by the impact of a shell that slammed into their frontal armour, only to ricochet to the side. Maho fell back into her chair, her ears ringing slightly. "Everyone alright?" She mumbled, slightly dazed.
"Aye, Leutnant." Her crew replied.
"Orders, Leutnant?" Erika promptly asked.
"Christian, see anything move, kill it with the machine gun. Ernst, slow down the tank slightly, we don't want to go too fast. Felix, load a High Explosive round. Erika, once I've spotted the target, I'll relay the distance and you fire on my command. I'll handle radio communications. Everybody clear?" Maho stated.
"Jawohl, Leutnant!" They responded.
Another loud 'Bang!' echoed around the tank as they were hit by another anti-tank gun. From her experience, Maho knew these weren't the small 45mm guns; they were the 76mm Zis-3: they could easily knock out a Tiger at distances of 100m with a shot to the side armour. Then, the sound of rifle and machine gun fire exploded all over; bullets hitting and ricocheting, the tracer rounds flying everywhere; sparks flying as they scraped against the metal of the tank. Several bullets whizzed overhead, causing Maho to duck down momentarily.
"All units, this is Leutnant Ketler, B Company. We've made contact. I repeat. We've made contact. Strength of enemy is unknown." She spoke into the radio. Soon, there were more and more other tank commanders reporting contact: They've arrived at the first defensive line.
Felix grabbed a High explosive shell from the rack, and rammed it into the cannon breech, closing the mechanism. "Shell loaded!"
Maho opened the commander's hatch again, and peered round with her binoculars. She suddenly saw a massive puff of smoke erupted from their 2 o'clock. "Erika, Anti-tank gun at 2 o' clock! Distance, 200m."
"Target sighted!" Erika shouted back as she turned the turret to their 2 o' clock.
"Ready, fire!"
The Tiger shuddered as the powerful 88mm fired, the pressure wave from the blast still taking Maho by surprise. The round hit its mark and exploded, throwing earth and bits of the anti-tank gun everywhere.
"Target neutralised." Erika spoke calmly.
"Christian, use the machine gun to keep them pinned down." Maho instructed. She then spoke into her mic. "All Tiger units, lets light them up with the machine gun. Keep them pinned down. Engage any anti-tank target you see. I repeat. Engage any anti-tank target you see. Over." Soon, all the Tigers were letting loose with machine gun and cannon fire; their tracers flying towards the Soviets. The Soviets however, continued retaliating with their own machine gun and anti-tank gun fire, the bullets ricocheting everywhere or spitting up dust and earth.
An sudden loud 'Boom!' caused Maho to suddenly turn to her left. Her eyes widened in horror. The lead Tiger for A Company slowly shuddered to a stop, flames exploding from the engine. She saw the hatch open, and two crew members climbed out and run for cover, only to be cut down by machine gun fire from the defending Soviets. One fell off the tank, riddled with bullets whilst the other had his head partially blown off, blood and brain matter dripping down his body as he crumpled on the floor. Then the ammunition inside the tank exploded, the entire tank being engulfed in a searing orange fireball.
"Battalion CO is down! Repeat. Battalion CO is down! Major G-Gegenheimer just got killed." A panicky voice crackled over the radio.
"Fuck!" Maho shouted. "Hauptmann Brandt. You're now standing Battalion commander for the 505th." She muttered, trying hard to keep calm. "Since you're the next highest rank in the battalion. And possibly the most experienced." Once she said that she hung her head and sighed.
'That's our first casualty. How many more…?'
"A Company, engage the Anti-tank guns that hit the Major on your left flank! B and C Company will engage anything in front." Erwin instructed. She then changed frequencies to the ones used by the infantry. "6th Infantry Division. It's Hauptmann Brandt, battalion commander of the 505th. Send one regiment to support C Company, the Tigers on our left flank. The other two regiments will support B And C Company. You need to clear out the trenches for us."
"Aye, Hauptmann. You can count on us." A male voice replied.
"Target, mobile artillery spotted. 10 o'clock!" Maho shouted down to Erika. "Distance. 350m."
"Target sighted!" Erika replied.
"Fire!"
The cannon shot at the target, destroying it within a blink of the eye; the artillery piece reduced to nothing but shards of metal, and mangled bodies.
"Leutnant! The Soviets are running for it!" Erwin shouted. Maho looked round. About 200m away, she could see human figures climbing out of their trenches and starting to run towards their second line of defence; the village of Podoliani itself. At first it was a trickle, then entire squads. Soon, it was as if the entire first defensive line were retreating. "What should we do?" She asked. She would usually ask Maho for her opinion, because she knew that she could make mistakes occasionally.
Maho thought for a moment, then she knew what had to be done. "Kill them all. Fire at will." She spoke in the radio. A few seconds later, their coaxial machine guns started lighting up the area again, hundreds of bullets finding their mark, knocking over the men like skittles, never to rise again.
"They're falling back towards the defences at the village of Podoliani. We'll cut them off." Erwin ordered. "B Company, stay on course. We'll hit the village head on. C Company, perform a flanking manoeuver, to encircle the village. A Company, you are to head for the hills southwest of Podoliani, and take out the defences there. 6th Infantry. Follow our lead. One regiment to follow us to Podoliani, the other two are to attack the hills southwest of it and Butyrki with A Company. Whilst you're at it, pick off any survivors for us, got it?"
"You've got it, Hauptmann." A clear voice sounded over the radio. Erwin recognised that it was the commanding officer she spoke to yesterday morning.
Maho frowned as she looked into her binoculars at the village in the distance. "There's… two anti-tank guns being moved into positon. Erika. Targets. Two anti-tank guns. 12 o'clock. Distance, 700m."
"Target sighted." Erika replied, as she traversed the turret to 12 o'clock. "Ready to fire."
"Hit the суки." Maho muttered, and the cannon shot again, smoke rising into the air around her. Through her binoculars, she could see a clear explosion, but couldn't make out whether the targets were destroyed. "Status, Erika."
"One anti-tank gun destroyed. Second anti-tank gun severely damaged. No visible survivors." Erika spoke.
"Good shot." Maho replied, just as Erwin's voice was heard through the radio again.
"Okay. I've instructed the infantry regiment to advance. We'll be there support. If there is a target that needs taking out. We'll do it for them. C Company has begun their flanking maneuverer. B Company, we are to advance slowly, trailing behind the infantry as they advance. If you see any potential targets, shoot it."
"Aye, Hauptmann." Maho replied. "Ernst. Slow us down to around 5km/h."
"Doing that now, Leutnant." He responded promptly, as the Tiger slowed down to almost a crawling speed.
Maho scanned the village, looking for potential targets. The infantry were well ahead by now, and she could hear gunshots, and automatic weapons firing. Suddenly, a shell whistled over and exploded about 300m ahead of them. The explosion caused one man to fly into the air, and he hit the ground with a thud. Soon, there were desperate cries of "Medic!" filling the air.
"Where did that shot come from!" Erwin shouted into the radio. "Anyone got eyes on the artillery?"
"Negative, Hauptmann!" Several commanders spoke.
"Shit. We need to neutralise it quickly!" Erwin shouted again. In her mind, she knew that as soon as the artillery were firing at infantry, the soldiers would be sitting ducks. And the attack could fail.
Maho desperately scanned the village. A gleam of light caught her eye. She turned to the source. Inside a barn, there was a towed artillery piece. "Erika! Target the artillery gun. 10 o'clock inside the barn. Distance, 675m. One round. High Explosive."
"Shell's loaded!" Felix shouted, as he rammed the fresh round into the cannon breech and closing the locking mechanism, whilst Erika traversed the turret to 10 o'clock.
"Target sighted!" She shouted back to Maho.
"Wait on my command…" Maho muttered. "Fire."
A small ball of fire and smoke exploded from the cannon's muzzle brake, as the round shot out of the barrel, hurtling towards the target at supersonic speeds.
"Target destroyed." Erika promptly responded, as an explosion engulfed the entire barn.
"Good shot. Now, let's move forward and give the lads some covering fire." Erwin instructed. "Let's go!"
"You heard Erwin, let's go." Maho spoke, as Ernst accelerated the tank to around half speed. A few minutes later, a frantic voice broke through on the radio.
"Requesting firing cover on the house with the caved in roof. There is a sniper and machine gunner pinning our squad down. Repeat, requesting fire on the house with the caved in roof. They've taken down about half our squad!"
"Roger that. Engaging now." Erwin swiftly responded. "Leutnant. I trust you to take it out."
"Trust Erika. Not me." Maho muttered back, scanning for the target. "Erika, target sighted. One sniper and one machine gunner on the caved in roof. Target is at 11 o'clock. Distance, 420m. One male and one…" Her eyes widened. "Female child…" She whispered.
"Target sighted!" Erika shouted back. "Shall I engage?"
Maho sighed, torn what to do. The female child looked no younger than 15.
'I can't kill a child… even if they are killing our soldiers. But she is only doing what she has to do: defend her homeland. But it's a child. I can't harm her.' She thought to herself. 'But it's war. I have to do it. Otherwise more of the men will die. I'm going to regret it, but. I have to do it. For the greater good…'
"Leutnant. Shall I engage?" Erika asked again.
Maho took a deep breath, and cast one last quick glance at the girl. She'd just fired, and was reloading her weapon as fast as she could. "Fire." She whispered. The entire tank shook as the cannon fired, and soon there was another explosion, reducing the entire house to rubble.
"Target destroyed." Whispered Erika. At last moment, she saw the female child as well, and was visibly shaken. "I'm sorry…" she mouthed.
"Good shooting! You saved us back there." The male voice quickly replied a few moments later. "And good news. The other Tiger company taken out the remaining defences, and the remaining Soviet scum are surrendering. We're contacting HQ now to tell them Podoliani is in German hands."
Maho blinked in surprise. "Roger that. We've taken it." She sighed with relief. Erwin broke in suddenly through the radio.
"A Company has also reported the success of taking the hills and Butyrki. We've reported to HQ that this entire area is ours, and that the entire 15th infantry division has collapsed. No wonder. We were only going against an infantry division. HQ has radioed in that we are to hold our positions for the day. We've done well. HQ says that A Company will hold their positions near the hills and the infantry regiment will hold Butyrki. B and C Company, continue onto Podoliani. We'll rest there. Good work."
As they rolled into the village, it bore the obvious scars of the skirmish that had happened; shell craters, destroyed equipment, burning buildings and corpses littered the area. Maho stopped her Tiger alongside Erwin's, then climbed out. Her crew followed suit.
"All in a day's work, eh? Leutnant?" Erwin spoke from behind. "Minimal casualties…" Her face fell. "Apart from Major Gegenheimer…" She whispered.
Maho nodded, then walked towards the huddle of Soviet prisoners that were sitting down on the ground, guarded by several soldiers. She inspected each one. Most were male conscripts. But her eye fell on a pair of female soldiers, who looked startlingly similar. They didn't look even eighteen years old. Sixteen at the most. She blinked. They were sisters. One was shaking badly, the other trying to comfort her sibling. She sighed. "Make sure the two sisters are treated well." She muttered to a soldier, who reluctantly nodded. She then carried on looking. Two stood out, due to their shoulder straps. One was a Sergeant Major, and the other was a Warrant Officer. "What are to become of these prisoners?" She asked one of the soldiers.
"They'll be transported to the POW camp in Germany. That's all I know." He replied slowly.
Maho gritted her teeth then walked over to the Warrant Officer. "Not him." She pointed at the man. She grabbed him and dragged him upright. "I'll question him."
Erwin walked over. "What are you doing, Leutnant?" She asked.
"Avenging Major Gegenheimer." She muttered, silencing his desperate cries temporarily by punching him hard in the jaw. His lip started bleeding. Maho then dragged him behind a ruined house, and threw him onto the floor.
"Maho. Stand down!" Erwin shouted, walking over and pulling Maho back.
"Why should I, Erwin? Tell me. You want his death not to be avenged?!" Maho shouted, slowly losing control of her emotions. She stamped on the man's chest, forcing him back down onto the floor, before pulling out her Luger from its holster and aiming it at the man's head.
Erwin sighed, and shook her head. "Fine. Just do it. But I won't be held responsible if any trouble comes up." She muttered.
Maho nodded, then steadied her aim. "This is for Major Gegenheimer." She muttered darkly, before firing two shots into the man's body. The man writhed for a few seconds, before going still. She then turned round to Erwin. "Speaking about him, get Karla and Erika for me. I'm going to bury him and his crew. We need to pay our respects to him. Since no one will collect the body these days…"
Erwin nodded slowly. "On his note," She pointed to the corpse. "We could've gotten useful information out of him."
"Well. The Wehrmacht has one less prisoner to worry about now." Maho mumbled bitterly, stowing her Luger back into its holster and walking back towards her Tiger. "Ernst, Christian. Make sure we have full fuel for any operations that we may need to undertake. And resupply the coaxial machine gun ammo if you need to." She then looked at Erika. "Can you come with me? And you too Karla." She added when Karla came into her view. "Erwin and I are going to bury Major Gegenheimer." Seeing both nod, she smiled faintly.
"We need a shovel, if we are to bury him." Erwin quietly added, walking towards them with a large shovel held in both her arms. "We need to go. HQ may radio in with fresh orders at any time. We have to go quickly."
5th July, 1943. 0800 hours.
They ran as fast as they could towards the site where Manfred's Tiger stood. When they arrived, only then they could see the full extent of the carnage. The tank was fully burnt, and the engine was still in flames. They looked round the wreckage. On the left side of the hull, there was a small hole punched into the side armour.
"So that's where the shell entered, and since there's no exit hole, the shell must've totally fragmented inside." Karla whispered. "I'd hate to see what's inside."
Erwin nodded, and began digging a large hole next to the tank. Maho walked a few meters, then stumbled across two bodies. "I found them." She muttered. Two men were sprawled across the grass. One was riddled with bullets. The other had his face partially blown off. He had dark blonde hair, which was now spattered with blood. The smell and sight caused Maho to look away for a moment. Karla walked over, took one look and gagged slightly. "Can you help me lift them, Karla?" Maho asked quietly. Karla nodded slowly.
"Certainly, Leutnant." She whispered.
Maho slowly lifted what remained of Manfred's head and upper torso, whilst Karla lifted his legs. He was surprisingly light; they easily lifted him and gently put him down next to the rather large grave Erwin had dug. The then did the same to the other crew member. By now, Erika had managed to retrieve the three men stuck inside the tank, with some help with Erwin. All five crew members were now lying on the grass.
Erwin slowly bent down and took Manfred's dog tag, ripping the half off and then stowing it in her pocket; doing the same for the rest of the crew members. She then nodded to Karla and Erika. They both picked up Manfred's body and gently lowered him into the grave. They then continued with the rest of the bodies. Soon, all 5 crew members were lying in the grave peacefully.
Maho nodded, and they all stood together in a line, and stood to attention.
"Major Gegenheimer, and his four crewmembers died fighting honourably fighting for the Reich. May their souls find peace and tranquillity in the afterlife." Erwin spoke softly. "Sieg heil!" All of them instantly stood at attention again and performed the Nazi salute, before Maho stepped forwards and started filling the hole with the earth Erwin had dug up. Soon, all that remained was a small mound of earth, which marked the spot of the grave. Karla had found a small flower, and knelt down, placing the flower on the mound.
"Let's get back." Maho spoke, and they all nodded.
When they got back, they were instantly greeted by the company commander which they'd had an argument with yesterday. Maho sighed and walked towards her Tiger, hoping that will prevent her making any awkward conversations with him. The man looked at Erwin with a smile and shook her hand.
"On behalf of my platoon, I thank you for taking out that sniper and machine gun nest, Hauptmann. You really saved our backsides there. Even though quite a lot of my men were injured." He spoke.
Erwin smiled. "Glad to be of help, Feldwebel. Your platoon did well as well." She looked at Maho. "If you will excuse me, I'm in desperate need for some coffee." She smirked.
"Of course Hauptmann." The man smiled, and saluted, before walking off to join his comrades.
Erwin sighed with relief. "At least we've even now…" She muttered to herself before walking towards Maho's tank. There, Maho, Karla, Erika and the rest of the tank crew were having some breakfast; some rough bread and more canned chicken. Maho was holding her mandatory cup of coffee that Erika had freshly made for her, and Karla was slowly eating some of the canned chicken with a fork.
"Join us, Hauptmann." She spoke rather cheerfully, as another male tank crew member walked over and handed Erwin some bread and a cup of coffee.
"You're breakfast, Hauptmann. The usual." He whispered, before walking away back to his group of male tank crewmen, who were all smoking cigarettes next to a ruined building.
Erwin took the bread and ate a piece, before washing it down with her coffee. "Well. Seems like we've achieved all of our objectives for now. We just need to keep a watch for any counterattacks that may happen throughout the day." She stated.
Maho took a sip of her coffee, then looked at Erwin. "What's going to happen tomorrow?"
Erwin shrugged, finishing off the last piece of bread. "I don't know. Apparently we'll be attached to the 2nd Panzer Division. Or something like that. We may still be attached to the 6th infantry for all I kno-"
She was interrupted by a rather young soldier running over. Clearly, he was rather worried. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Hauptmann. But we've just received a very important message from HQ." Seeing Erwin and Maho nod, he continued. "HQ has just told us that observation aircraft flying overhead has spotted two Soviet tank brigades heading towards Podoliani. They're planning to take it back with an armoured assault. Strength of the tank brigades is around 120 tanks, plus anti-tank units and motorised rifle division. And they'll have their reconnaissance units too. Last known position is 30km from here. They'll be here within one hour. Two hours at the most. They plan a full scale counterattack."
Erwin, Maho and the rest of them listened in stunned silence. "Two… " Maho began.
"Tank brigades…?" Karla whispered in shock.
"Advancing for a counterattack, now?" Erwin added quietly.
Seeing the man nod, Maho hung her head.
"Shit…"
Notes:
UPDATE: CHAPTER 8 WAS WRITTEN IN RECORD TIME. IT IS NOW LIVE.
Forward machine gun = Coaxial machine gun. Just if some people got a little confused for me using both terms.
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