25 June.
    The cursed rain continues to haunt us here near Carentan. Although it is much more bearable than the frigid Eastern weather we have grown accustomed to over the months, it nonetheless has caused a logistical nightmare with armor units and supply. As the rain slowly subsided this evening, breaks in the clouds finally began to show as the allied pilots tried their luck against our numerous air defenses. The quite-stillness was shattered throughout the night by the allied re-supply planes skirting in and out of the heavy cloud cover and the resulting flak from our anti-aircraft positions. What few Allied units that have broken past the impenetrable Atlantic Wall must be in dire need of supplies to force pilots to risk a drop in
such conditions. They also must be surrounded or else they would get their supplies from the rearward lines instead of a risky nighttime drop.
    The planes blaze overhead mostly out of sight except for brief moments before they are swallowed up once again by the opaque white powder. Then without warning, the skies are alive with flame and explosion as flak and other anti-aircraft rounds streak skyward to seek their targets. Explosions are seen in the air as some planes begin to shutter
and shake as they bank to avoid the onslaught. Parachutes were seen opening out the back of one plane directly
overhead as the crews dropped their cargo and ran back to the safety of the English Coast. They obviously just wanted to escape the wrath of fire honing in on their craft and didn't care where the supplies fall. The parachutes opened in the sky above us, so close to our location it seemed as if we could reach up and grab them on their way earthward.
"American ground forces couldn't possibly be that close to our location." -Or so we thought. That night, Kompanie Fuhrer Fraker cunningly decided to send a few small scout squads out in a pre-dawn attempt to ambush some daring allies attempting to retrieve their much-needed supplies.

26 June
    The scout units quickly approached a small drop of supplies with the parachute still fluttering in the gentle breeze. We stationed ourselves out of sight as a unit marksman and a few others covered the target from the safety of the riverbank. It wasn't long before we heard the telltale sound of an American jeep approaching from the mud-covered road to the west. An MG-42 kept a close watch on them from the safety of some roadside cover. The crew had to muster all their willpower to withhold from unleashing hell on them as they approached. After all, we were after information, not mangled American corpses. The jeep with a small trailer pulled right up to the supplies. The men exited the vehicle and began loading the boxes without a care to their surroundings. Then just when the driver felt relaxed enough to take a drink from his canteen, a shot from the riverbank rang out. The scoped K98 found it's target dead center in the American driver's chest which quickly dispatched him. The other two men scurried for cover behind the jeep but the sniper's fire and the advancing German Soldats were too overwhelming. In a flash, the two found themselves unarmed and outnumbered by a superior German force. "Hande hoch!" Were the last words we heard before the Americans were spirited off to the rear for interrogation. We packed up our ambush point and set a small surprise package for other Allied units seeking
the supplies and steadily returned to our lines. On the march back we were passed by a contingent of Kubelwagons and an armored Panzerspäwagen 222. We were ordered to quickly set up a line of defensive fire to intercept the main spearhead of the allied advance only minutes behind our current location. Three defensive MG-42 positions were set up to cover the small river crossing. Surely, any infantry would be cut to shreds if they happened into our field of fire. Our only apparent weakness was the lack of anti-tank or panzer support. Within minutes, hoards of allied infantry from what appeared to be the American 101st Airborne came streaming out of the safety of the woods. As they reached the river and bridge, the concealed 42's unleashed a hail of fire on them. Many fell from our attack, but they continued to press forward using the available cover to shield themselves. Shouts to keep moving from their lines confirmed our assumptions that they would not be frightened off so easily. We would soon realize that their numbers were too strong to hold off for long but we had to hold on for the reinforcements to arrive. At last, the familiar silhouettes of stahlhelms approaching, our
reinforcements had arrived and were seen moving into position to assist in our fight. However, they were unable to assist us fully due to a simultaneous joint attack from the right flank by the British 6th Airborne Division. We reacted by setting up a strongpoint of concentrated fire from defensive locations which hopefully would hold the allies off long enough for Panzer support to reach our forward location. This would not last long though, due to the allied armor quickly coming to the aid of the pinned down 101st from the other end of the field. The advancing Sherman's and Stuarts quickly destroyed our lightly armored vehicles and sent our unit reeling from their attack. Finally, with few anti-tank weapons at our disposal, we were ordered to retreat to the main force and the safety of panzer support. We lost quite a few good Soldats this day. However, their bravery has allowed us to inflict heavy casualties on two separate allied divisions and also retrieve valuable information from the prisoners that were taken in the action. It is bravery such as theirs that will lead our
comrades to ultimate victory.

My Take on the Secret City Festival:
    As many of you know I am a new member of the LAH. Going into the Secret City Festival, I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be quite a show. Overall, the event was well-planned out by Rob and others, the scenario was believable and packed with action for the crowd. Of course we could always use more re-enactors and more
interesting vehicles and equipment on site, but overall this event was really fun. Personally, re-enactment events are quite rewarding for me, I enjoy talking with people about the aspects of the German Military and the Secret City Festival offered plenty of opportunity to at least share some of my interest and passion with others. It is always a thrill having spectators approach you after the battle and thank you for your demonstration and tell you that you did a great job. It is even more rewarding when those same people are veterans from the war we are representing. I would like to thank Rob and others in the unit who made this event possible and the organizers of the festival for allowing us the chance
to come out. But most of all I want to thank the often-nameless masses of LAH members who have offered help, support and a kind word to a new member and helped guide me in the proper direction.
    I for one will be attending the 2005 Secret City Festival and hopefully
seeing many of you there with me!

"Meine Ehre Heißt Treue"
SS-Panzergrenadier Scott Parus
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