AFTER ACTION REPORT
OSTFRONT BATTLE,
ROSEMOUNT, MN 1999
LAH War Diary 27.XI.43
Somewhere in Russia
Trouble on the Eastern Front! Bolshevik hoards have broken through a weak point in
the lines of a depleted Heer unit. Once again the Fuhrer's Fire Brigade is called upon to
save the day.
A November morning in the vast expanse of Russia dawns clear and cold as the stalwart
soldaten of the LAH rustle with the first light. Exhausted from all night transport
on rough northern roads, the men move slowly in the shadowy gloom, with weary bones and
tired eyes, knowing that soon
they would be facing the Russian hoards. The wind is right, and in the distance, the
men can hear the strains of Bolshevik music coming from the woods. From experience,
they know this is the political officer's doing, trying to rouse the courage of the
largely uneducated peasant mobs that make up this fighting force. "They will
need more than music today, when they meet the fire and fury of the LAH", muses one
veteran grenadier, as he prepares his field gear for battle.
First to arrive the previous day was the reconnaissance element of SS Rottenführer Lewis
and SS Sturmann Varga. They have spent the night on the cold Russian Steppe after
determining the enemy's positions. Amply supplied from their command post, they
provide morning coffee and cigarettes for the now alert soldaten. The ominous rumble
of engines in the distance indicates impending Soviet movement, so quickly the unit is
formed. Our ranks are thin; the great distance, cold weather, marauding jabos and
partisans have taken their toll on the unit. No matter! In the LAH, one man
does the work of twenty in other units!
We quickly link with the beleaguered Heer unit Grossdeutchland and other ad-hoc elements,
including Totenkopf, 12th SS and one 5th SS Wiking grenadier complete with mustache.
Our leaders confer, and quickly we are in battle formation moving down a road
coated with thick, gluey Russian mud and partially frozen puddles. Our objectives
are positions infested with the elite Russian infantry of the 8th Guards of the 62nd
Regiment. These are battle-hardened veterans who have distinguished
themselves against our forces at Stalingrad the previous year. We aim to annihilate
them and exact revenge for our fallen comrades.
They have established themselves in a series of large, concrete structures in what once
was an armaments factory, but is now rubble after the fighting of the previous summer.
There is dense brush and cover making it difficult for the attacking LAH. The
Soviets have set up a defense in depth, and are well-concealed. Using disciplined
fire and cover advancement, the experienced soldaten steadily move forward, inflicting
causalities as they go. Unfortunately, some of the Russian bullets also find their
mark. Happily for these unlucky fellows, they are quickly and ably assisted by the
LAH Sani, SS Panzerobergrenadier Laughlin. He is fully kited out with all equipment
needed to perform his duties, and many a grenadier is patched up and put quickly back into
action. Were it not for the selfless efforts of this brave Sani, the LAH would not
have been the effective fighting force it was this day.
SS Rottenführer Lewis, leading the LAH element on the right flank, assigns SS
Panzerobergrenadier McLean to try to penetrate as deeply as possible behind the Russian
lines. Pzogr. McLean performs a wide flanking movement and finds the Soviet command
post. Alone, he takes one prisoner, dispatches the remaining Bolshevik defenders,
treats himself to a swing of Russian vodka and then captures the blood-red battle flag of
the 8th Guards. With this prize, he returns to the lines
of the LAH after accounting for two more Ivans.
After the humiliating loss of their colors, the Soviets lose momentum, and there is a lull
in the fighting. The men of the LAH use this time to regroup, rearm and gather
themselves for the inevitable Russian
counterattack Not waiting to give the Russians time to reform, the gallant men
of the LAH storm into the teeth of the new Russian positions, this time through a dense
wood. Shouts and curses ring
through the air as close quarter fighting rages.
LAH sniper Pzgr. Johnson discovers a weak spot in the Soviet lines, and
Panzerobergrenadiers Geris and McLean, led by Rottenführer Lewis, take advantage of this
break. Once behind the defenses, they capture the Russian command vehicle and take
two prisoners. As more soldaten fill in to the rear, the retreating Bolsheviks are
crushed in an anvil of LAH steel from both their front and rear.
After this exhausting engagement, the men thought they had earned a well-deserved rest.
But, this being Russia, that was not to be. Intelligence revealed the Ivan
hordes were gathering in large numbers, threatening a nearby German position.
Quickly the "Fire Brigade" was again on the move. Defensive
positions are prepared. Snipers, scouts and recon were put out, and a defense-in-depth was
readied.
The ominous sounds of massing Russians made the veteran's nerves tight with anticipation,
while the less experienced jugends trembled, facing their first Ourah Charge.. Low
voices whispered through the crouched ranks: "Here they come!" With
blood-curdling screams, up jump masses of padded-jacket Ivans. Our scouts and
snipers fire first, and are quickly overrun. Hoards of screaming Bolsheviks, firing
PPSH's from the hip, charge forward, their Officers and NCO's driving them onward.
Volley after volley of Krupp 8mm and 9mm tear through their ranks, but seemingly to
no effect. Almost as quickly as they fall, they seem to be replaced by others.
The distance to the LAH lines lessens, a tremor of panic shakes through the troops.
"Will we be overrun!?" Relying on all
their training and leadership, the ranks dig in, resolved to stopping this madness.
Slowly, the firing takes effect, the Russians waiver, attempt to rally, then
finally collapse short of their goal, slaughtered
at the feet of the triumphant LAH! Cheering, exhausted and victorious, the gallant
LAH grenadiers pose for photos with the captured battle flag of the now-annihilated 8th
Guards, 62nd Regiment of the Soviet Union.
A unfortunate buck had wandered onto the battlefield, and was now found lying dead amid
the ruins. A fortuitous event! The animal was field dressed and taken to the
LAH encampment where it became the meat in the evening meal of captured Russian borsch.
The grenadiers ate heartily and regaled each other with stories of triumph and
glory from the days' action.
The radio in Rottenführer Lewis's tent crackles: the next assignment for the LAH was
coming in..More trouble on the Ostfront. The message was garbled, something about
"Cedars." "What's a tree got to do with anything?" thought a
Schütze. After a quick trip to the Kompanie barber and an inventory of borrowed and
loaned gear, the men of the LAH would soon again face more of the Russian hoards..
MEHT
Pzogr. McLean
1 Kompanie, 3rd Zug