"It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it."
Robert E. Lee
VI
THE CHARGE OF THE PANZERGRENADIERS
The first sign of the decoy strike was a barrage of Nebelwerfer artillery rockets. They were fired close to their maximum range, from one of the farms that dominated the landscape beyond the forest where the 77th Panzergrenadiers were hidden during the night. The trails of white smoke would immediately give away the launchers, forcing the fire teams to change positions every time they fired. Still the rockets themselves, while highly imprecise, were impressively destructive.
They came from the sky making a loud shriek, and fell over the hilltops, exploding in huge fireballs. Some foxholes were hit, either by the detonations themselves, or by the mudslides that followed, but in general, the Americans suffered only marginal losses from the barrage. What it managed to do, though, was to further confuse and disorganize the defenders, already confounded by Rabbit Team's action.
When the armored column forced its way through the southern edge of the lines, a relatively soft spot, the American infantry shattered and the few men located there pulled back under machine gun fire. The German armored company followed suit, moving around the hill right in front of them, and then swarming into the open space beyond it.
By this point the Americans had recovered somewhat and were starting to move some units, mostly tanks and other armored vehicles, to face the Germans. The rain also subsided somewhat, but heavy curtains of rain still swiped the region.
Sitting inside a packed Hanomag half-track, Eren Jäger felt vulnerable. The cabin walls should be able to withstand small arms fire, but newer weapons, especially tank guns, could cut through as though it was made of cardboard. So he felt a slight hint of relief when the Hanomag came to a halt and Lieutenant Lauda ordered everyone to get out.
Eren jumped out of the back of the half-track and run a few meters to the right, descending over a knee as he found his place on the perimeter. Behind him a couple of his comrades deployed a mortar and another team mounted a MG42 in one of the foxholes the enemy had abandoned. The machinegun mounted in the transport vehicle was already firing, the tracers zipping next to the retreating American troops.
The young corporal could see them, trying to find refuge in another line of foxholes, a little up ahead. But that was war, and it was Eren's country on the line this time. He wouldn't stop until every single one of the invaders had been expelled. Breaking the siege to Leipzig would simply be the start.
He aimed his 98k rifle, feeling the wooden butt against his shoulder, the metallic sight scooping the backs of the retreating green coats. He fired, and one man opened his arms, dropping his rifle and falling over, like a ragdoll. Eren exhaled heavily. It wasn't the first time he killed, far from it, but he always felt a very real shiver every time he did it.
There was no time to lose, though, so he repressed those emotions and looked around. The two old Sdkfz. 222 armored cars the 77th had managed to keep in working order were rolling up ahead, firing at the Americans with their 20mm guns, the Panzer 38(t) accompanying them in the harassment of the enemy infantry, as the planners came to the conclusion that the small tank couldn't do much more than that against the current enemy strength.
Mortar rounds were also exploding across the American lines, and some of the invaders were already pulling back once again. Lieutenant Lauda raised an arm and yelled to them men, urging them to move forward and press on. The Panzergrenadiers did so, supported by their few armor assets, some of them falling under the enemy bullets. Eren got up, understanding perfectly what those orders were about. They couldn't allow for the enemy to gain a large gap between them and the Germans. That would only invite their artillery, so it was best for the Panzergranadiers to get as close as possible to the enemy.
"Tanks!" Someone cried, and Eren looked northward to confirm.
It was raining again, so it was hard to see at first, but then the curtain faded slightly and uncovered the bulky American armor, too close for comfort. Eren's glance unconsciously moved to Panzer IV standing slightly behind and to the left of the general German advance. Now they would see if those girls really were the real deal, or if what happened the other night was nothing more than a fluke, as so many thought.
Maria... In spite of his better judgment, Eren's thoughts at the moment went to the commander of the venerable medium tank, and her unusual crew. Truth be told, the Colonel was betting everything they had on those girls, and if they failed, then all of them would feel the consequences.
"Enemies coming by, two o'clock." Maria's voice was oddly cold. To Ysabelle it was as though Maria stopped being there for a moment, replaced by some fearsome warrior spirit. It was unnerving, but still managed to keep her on her toes. "M10s."
"They have a weak glacis." Ysabelle declared, remembering her team mates of the explanations she'd gave them last night about the current American armor, or at least what she knew about it, as by now her knowledge was probably half a year late or so. Even so, she still knew the KwK 40 was more than enough to punch through even the frontal armor of the incoming tank destroyers.
The fresh armor piercing round made a metallic clatter as Ysabelle slammed it in the main gun's breech.
"I see them." Hanna confirmed.
The enemy was coming directly towards them, curving along the edge of the nearest slope. Fortunately for the girls, Maria had predicted that approach, so the turret was already facing the general direction of the enemy tanks. Hanna still tilted it slightly.
"Take the one to the left." Maria kept peering though the commander's viewports, holding the intercom's microphone in front of her mouth. "Open fire when ready."
In less than a second a huge blast echoed inside the tank as the round flew to meet the enemy vehicle. Stuck inside the Panzer IV and without a viewport of her own, Ysabelle could only have faith in her comrades' abilities, while holding back her own fear of imminent death. In an effort to stay occupied, she grabbed another AP round and prepared to reload the gun.
Outside of the vehicle, the fight raged on. Hanna's shot struck home, slamming into the relatively weak frontal armor of the incoming M10. While the tank destroyers were similar to the ubiquitous Sherman, and were indeed developed from the same chassis, they were meant to stay outside normal combat ranges and use their superior agility to bring their powerful 76,2mm M7 guns to bear. That pair, though, was being rushed into the fight and unable to use their main trump card.
The glacis of the first M10 was bent inward, and the whole vehicle came to screeching halt as grey smoke started to pour out of it. The surviving crew lost no time in abandoning the tank destroyer. Its companion, on the other hand, was moving to the Panzer IV's right. It either didn't see the German tank, or, most probably, had been issued some other target as the first M10 went for what should have been an easy kill. Instead, the second TD attacked one of the armed Hanomags rolling alongside the Baderberg Tank Squadron.
The M7 gun fired with a blinding flash, and the high-velocity AP round went through the soft side armor, coming out from the other side, bringing half of the cabin wall and most of the crew with it, a mess of splintered metal and broken bodies falling all over the muddy hillside. The driver, in absolute panic and half-deaf due to the hit, kept driving, the ruined half-track grumbling for a few more meters before rolling into a trench, the engine dying with a loud mechanical bellow.
Inside the now unmoving Panzer IV, Maria kept issuing orders with an uneasy calm. Ysabelle couldn't know, and her honest admiration for the girl from Dresden didn't allowed her to think of such minutiae at the moment, but Maria had her mouth as dry as sandpaper and her heart was beating in such way that she could swear it was about to jump out of her chest. She was terrified, but still tried to keep a sober façade for the sake of her crew.
"Second TD at three o'clock."
"I see it." Hanna replied, not noticing she was speaking with the same emotionless tone of her friend.
"Fire."
POW!
This time the round stuck at an angle, penetrating the armor slightly above the first bogie in the right side. It went all the way through, before lodging in the turret ring's mechanism. That vehicle also filled with smoke, and the crew lost no time abandoning it.
A third American armored vehicle came rolling behind the neutralized TDs. This time it was an actual tank, a M4A1 Sherman. Unfortunately for Anglerfish Team, it was well out of their angle of fire. Maria ordered Hanna to compensate and Meike to resume march, so they could at least make themselves an harder target.
Fortunately for them, the German troops were, once again, the quickest to open fire. First it was Hippo Team, who stood slightly behind the main advance, using a small elevation in the terrain to minimize their exposure to the enemy guns. This time, though, Killian didn't have the lucky break from the last battle. His shot echoed over the battle and slammed against the slope of the hill behind the Sherman, to Erwin's frustration.
The second armed Hanomag was luckier. After the sad fate of its companion, it had stopped and turned to face the incoming armor. It was perfectly aligned for a frontal shot against the Sherman. The 75mm Pak 40 gun sticking over the driver's cabin had a very respectable penetrating power, and the first generation M4 medium tanks had a barely adequate frontal armor, and the slope wasn't enough to stop the AP round. The metal shattered with a loud ruckus, the tank turning to the left, for some reason. It kept rolling until it hit the side of the hill, too inclined for it to climb, coming to a halt as it dug its front into the mud.
While the shooting happened, Anglerfish Team had turned around, passing behind the proud armed Hanomag, and now moving to the knocked out American vehicles. It was hard to see now that the rain was started to intensify again, but there were some more tanks and armored cars gathering near the slopes of the nearby hills.
"They're going to encircle us." Maria gasped. It was evident. Even with the rain, the Americans had surely realized already how many armored assets the Panzergrenadiers actually had.
"Führerin Nitzschmann…" Even though she knew what the odds actually were, Ysabelle still believed in her commander, in her talent. So it was with shock that she saw Maria looking down to her from her command post with a hint of fear in her eyes.
"We can't keep up with this." She muttered.
Ysabelle felt her stomach sunk. Was Maria giving up, now that they had managed to score a few more kills? Hanna still had her eyes fixed on her scope, Meike was focused on her driving, and Simone was in the radio-operator's post, feeling too distant from the fighting chamber to say anything. It only remained her to maintain the commander's will to fight. She had to-
"We need to keep the Americans focused on us," Hanna said, her eyes never leaving the aiming sight, "or the whole plan will crumble."
Maria glanced away and covered her mouth with her hand.
"But if we stay here this will be over in ten minutes flat."
It was obvious, Ysabelle now realized, it was so obvious it hurt. The Panzergrenadiers and the Baderberg girls never had a chance. They were doing that suicide charge simply because some madman in Berlin wanted the throw troops at the Americans in the vain hope that it would tire them down somehow. And now they were doomed to stay there and fight. And die.
"Maria…" Ysabelle yelped, barely registering that she had just used the commander's first name. Maria, on the other hand, was now completely embroiled in her thoughts, too distant to even realize it.
"What to do?" She mumbled, while the gears turned in her head. Unbeknownst to even the always faithful Ysabelle, she wasn't out of plans just yet.