Marion Kentucky -- Ostfront -- after action report

The soldat of the LAH leave warm bunks in the early morning to catch their transports to the troubled spot needing their attention.  The rumor they hear, that Russian partisans have begun full scale operations in the Southern woods. The journey to the South is without incident until an encountered BA-6 armored car, apparently abandoned, caught in the mud from the early spring rains that turns roads into obstacles. The soldat check the status of the armored car and determine that it has been put out of action already.  This is the jumping off point, the armored cars tells that more than just partisan inhabit these woods. The men led by Untersturmführer Jeff Cornell, begin the trek into the medium dense woods, keeping a weary eye out for ambush.  After a short while, moving in a Northerly direction, the sharp crack of gun fire could be heard!
Coming upon the remaining elements of Heer and mixed SS units, returning from a failed assault on Soviet positions, Untersturmführer Cornell evaluates the situation and plans a new attack using the recently arrived men of the LAH. The soldat of the LAH are given orders to hit the Soviet left and take out the heavy weapons that cut up the previous assault. The Soviets are dug in and are fortified by heavy mortar, with machine gun emplacements spaced out and located in log dugouts. With a hand gesture the attack is on!  The brave LAH soldat, unwavering in their resolve, move around and up the rain soaked muddy slope, littered with debris from mortar hits and the German dead, gain position in a shallow gully being blocked at the top with barbed wire that surrounds the Soviet stronghold. The command to conceal the approach with smoke grenades are given, two soldat give their lives in getting the smoke grenades in the desired locations so the rest may move with relative concealment, by a machine gun waiting for a target.
With great effort the men win past the wire and enter the Soviet trench line, moving up the cutbacks and under the ineffective field of fire of the heavy mortar, they take out one log bunker machine gun after another.
Heartened by the gains, the remaining Heer joined the fray, it looked like hand to hand combat would ensue, but the remaining Soviets surrendered instead of being wipe out to a man, three survived, on just a mere boy.  Examination of the Soviet dead showed that regular army as well as partisans defended, but to no avail. Another Soviet positions was found and met similar ends, no prisoners this time!
  A short time between encounters gave the soldat a chance to break out some rations newly arrived from supply, before intelligence told of a Soviet counter attack being scouted with partisans. Deployment of one capable sniper in a tree with surrounding support staved off the entire counter attack! This day ended with another breastworks being discovered, the mortar crew emplacement raining fire upon German positions, causing devastation, Untersturmführer Cornell taking five men, outflanked the mortar and it's support, dealing death to them, capturing the prized mortar, he turned it's rain of death on the Soviets readying an attack of their own.
This threat being taken care of, he led his men back to his lines and the promise of a new sunrise.
Many an Iron Cross was surely one today!

Tom Bauman
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