August 5th, 1944 - Somewhere near Mortain France.
This is it! The Battle for Europe has begun. The Allies have gained a foot hold in Europe. They hoped to push further inland, but it’s up to us Soldaten of the Fatherland to stop them. Our mighty counter attack will surely stop them in their tracks!
Our units were ordered to fall back after our unsuccessful defense of the French Coast. The Allies have brought many, many soldiers and supplies and are making slow but steady progress. We have lost control of the air and it seems the Luftwaffe has abandon us. We have gathered a large force in order to stop the Allied advance. Hopefully God is with us!
Our units fell back to the safety of the woods and here we are able to hide and lick our wounds. We set up Camp next to a nice lake, which has made the support and cooks very happy. With plenty of fresh water and an abundance of food, at least we are all well fed. Our armor is secured in the woods. Along with our platoon of Stugs, we have some recon halftracks and even picked up an armored car with a 20mm cannon. Perfect for laying a screen and protecting our flanks.
The Morning of August 7th dawned and we were commanded to advance and look for the enemy. We were in good spirits as our metal beasts barked to life and we slowly advanced. The morning was crisp, but would warm quickly. We passed many SS men on foot as our armored car screened our flanks looking for contact.
It wasn’t long before gunfire was heard and we under attack. We swung into position, met the Allied dogs head on, and forced them to retreat up the hill. I maneuvered our Stug into an excellent position to watch the main road and wait.
While waiting for orders. Our Stug Commander Unter Scharfuhrer Derr was called to meet with other Commanders. We then came under fire from a British Armored car and our remaining crew swung into action and made short work of the British interloper.
When our Commander returned, we made a move back from the right flank to use the main road as we got word that the Allies were massing at a road junction. We met up with our armor and went up to meet the Allied threat. Heavy fighting ensued and it looked like we gained the upper hand. The battle was over and we had pushed them back this day!
The event at Hazleton was a blast even though camping deep in the woods presented some problems getting personal and equipment deep into the woods. With only one narrow road the 41 Ford troop truck got a work out, and driving the Stug into the woods at twilight almost gave Arnie a heart attack. Once everything was set up, it was a pretty enjoyable time. With many new faces and some old ones, we saw Doug and Dave at an event for the first time in many years. Hats off to Kitty and Lucas for bringing everything to feed everyone and made our camp the envy of every other unit for our overabundance of food. I didn’t see a lot of the battle because I was driving the Stug all day but by the sound of gunfire I assume everyone got plenty of trigger time. Thanks to everyone that came out and help make this a great event.
