Codename: PANZERS War Diaries - A Look Behind the Battle Lines (Part 3)

CDV Releases a Continuing Look into the Lives of Soldiers Whose Story Plays out in PC Title 

Codename: PANZERS is a pending PC release from CDV and Stormregion that thrust players into the heady battles of World War II. Sporting real-time combat with 3D graphics, players are thrown into the role of a commanding officer, creating a combat force from more than 100 finely detailed units in three armies. (For more details on the game, also see http://www.panzers.com/)

In support of the title, which is slated for release in early October, CDV has released diaries from the soldiers whose stories play out in the game. In Part 1, the story of a German officer was detailed.

Part 2 took a look at the time setting through the eyes of a Russian officer.

Part 3 tells the story of an American soldier:

Sergeant James Barnes of the British Army and Lieutenant Jeffrey Wilson have been friends since discovering a cache of German beer in the trunk of an overturned Kubelwagon eighteen months earlier in North Africa.  Barnes was a college boy; his education earned him an immediate commission in the army.  A snooker hustler from Bristol, Sergeant Barnes had to earn his rank the hard way, and had been in Africa longer than Monty himself. 

Throughout the Italian campaign, their paths crossed several times, and what began as boastful banter over a few drinks turned into a heated competition to see who could be the biggest hero.  Their accomplishments did not go unnoticed, and each was recruited into the airborne corps of the respective countries. 

Sergeant Barnes landed via glider with a platoon of commandos charged with securing two bridges crossing the Caen canal.  Lacking any armor or vehicles at all, the platoon had to rely on surprise to seize the bridges.  While his units were unprepared to meet any organized counter-attack, the timely arrival of several bazooka units from an adjacent landing zone halted the panzer-led patrol that attempted to retake the western bridge.

Not to be outdone, Lt. Wilson dropped with the 82^nd Airborne behind Utah Beach.  His unit was to seize a small village behind the beach and intercept any vehicles transporting supplies to the coastal defenses.  The coastal sea breeze scattered his squads, however, and he soon found himself in a firefight with a German machinegun team. 

A neat little landing.  No one hurt, we trust.

Once his platoon was rounded up, the first objective was to eliminate an artillery emplacement upon a hill overlooking the town.  The battery was lightly held, and the gun was captured intact.  The German units in town were mostly still asleep when Wilson arrived in force.  Three anti-tank guns were accosted from their rightful owners, and positioned to attack anything that came rolling down.

At 0600, the invasion began with a wave of infantry backed by tanks. 

“Let’s get those guns facing the beach, men!  Before our boys get here, we can expect a whole load of Germans looking for shelter in OUR little town that we worked so hard to secure!”

This is why you never leave an unguarded AT gun in the back yard. 
You never know when some enemy squad is going to point it at your house.

Wilson’s prophecy would soon come through.  The Lieutenant was wounded in the leg when the house he was using as a command post collapsed under fire from several panzers.  The AT guns gave the Germans a little pause, checking them just enough for the American armor to catch them from behind.  Once the threat to the village was diffused, two coastal batteries were neutralized and Utah Beach fell to the American assault.

As the airborne division was extracted for use at a later day, Wilson receive a note from his dear friend Barnes, bragging about a promotion to Master Sergeant.  Informed that the Airborne would not be dropped again until all of the beaches were secure, Wilson accepted a temporary reassignment to the Caen sector, where allied troops were struggling against a determined armor resistance.  Rumors suggested that Tigers were present; and Wilson was given a platoon of Shermans along with some support units to investigate.

Hit the beaches and run!  No point waiting to get shot!

No sooner did he arrive on the scene did the German counterattack begin.  A self-propelled artillery gun did not survive the sudden attack, although the ford and bridge over a nearby stream was quickly secured.  Once across the river, the first of the Tigers made its appearance.  Impervious to Sherman fire from the front, Wilson took his Firefly around to attack the rear of the great tank.  The Shermans were taking a great deal of damage and had to be withdrawn one at a time or the entire operation would have been dead before it started.  A direct hit by a British dive-bomber disabled the Tiger for good.  Among the survivors was a Colonel – one Oberst Hans von Gröbel.

The sweep of the town was slow and dangerous.  Taking time to be meticulous paid off.  Just prior to the operation, Wilson talked his way into a couple of artillery pieces – a lovely British 24 pounder and a 6-pound AT gun.  With a slow expansion of the perimeter, the artillery was able to assist with maximum effect. 

Death of a Tiger.  Note Lt. Wilson’s command tank just behind the brewing beast.

Just as it appeared that the last German was rounded up and the last Tiger caged, a sudden counter-attack hit the town.  Deadly Jagdpanzers accompanied German tanks and support vehicles that assaulted the town from multiple directions.  Long-range artillery was quite effective at whittling down the spearheads, although spotting vehicles needed to be cycled out rapidly under heavy fire.  The repair and ammo trucks needed to be moved uncomfortably close to the action to keep the pressure on the German advance, which at first sputtered, then collapsed.

For a 3:1 kill ratio, Wilson received a hearty pat on the back.  For turning in a German colonel with the reputation of Oberst von Gröbel, he received a promotion to Captain.  Time to send a note to Mr. Barnes and get down to some serious bragging before tacking the German resistance among the famed bocage of Normandy…

Will Wilson outwit Wittmann?  See for yourself in Codename Panzers!

del.icio.us | Digg This | Glink It

---