Rules of Engagement

Letter from the front - No 1

Somewhere in France - 21st July 1944

Combat against the Americans - Mission - Keep myself Alive!

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The Americans were visible in the distance, their shiny helmets bouncing up and down behind the bushes beyond the road. If their helmets and bad field discipline hadn’t given it away then the tiny puffs of smoke from their cigars and the sound of Jack Daniels bottles clinking would have done.

The pen pushers of Intel had told us of the upcoming raid they had discovered, not by any subterfuge or intercepted radio traffic, rather from an informant whore who had recently bedded a talkative yank. (Is there any other sort?)

I, Lieutnant Krump had led my platoon aided by a couple of thugs from Divisional support to this insignificant crossroads leading to one of our gun pits.

Initially things had gone well. We knew the Yanks were after taking control of the road block where our ever vigilant sentry was having a smoke after waking from a short nap.

With their target in mind I deployed first squad to the left in the bushes. Second squad I deployed on the road to cover it while the support HMG and Mortar covered the fields on the right. – Perfect. Finally I found a nice place with my HQ squad tucked up behind a hedge facing everywhere and completely safe.

Just to be safe as an afterthought I beckoned Klaus, our medic to stand in front of me.

Peeking through the hedge in front of me I could make out the Americans ‘hidden’ positions. A small recon force was sneaking carefully through our abandoned gun pit singing ‘Lilly Marlene’. Across the road a VERY BIG Sherman tank faced us, the megaphone mounted on the hull playing the backing music for the recon troops! The rest of the Yanks surprise attack force was lined up along the road facing the hedges.

We got the jump on them! 1^st squad snuck forward into the woods unseen whilst the LMG team under Wolfgang ran to the hedge by the gun pit. Stupid boys! A quick burst of automatic fire laid down several hundred rounds on their positions! Two of the new boys died on the spot, a bloody shower replacing what had once been their heads! Sensibly Wolfgang ran back to where he had started.

Meanwhile, equally sensibly 2^nd squad ran into the road where a heavy rain of shells and HMG fire from the Sherman convinced them to run backwards as well. What a team!

Even the dumbasses from divisional support failed to hit a thing. They only had an HMG!

I watched slightly apprehensively through the hedge, one hand holding my helmet tight to my head my other restraining Klaus from running away. The Yanks approached.

We watched as their Recon squad consolidated their position and the tank fired once more. A shower of mud fell on us and laughing I slapped Klaus on the back. Right on cue a ranging shell from an artillery piece miles behind the lines landed ten feet from us. I landed roughly with a large lump of hedge stuck to my tunic and a mouthful of dirt.

‘Artillery!’ I yelled. ‘Retreat!’ Too late – the rest of the squad had already run off.

In the two minutes I took to get my brave colleagues back together again amidst a hail of shellfire the platoon re-started the war all on their own.

A large crump signalled the end of the Sherman to a Panzershrek shell and then 2^nd squad - desperate to get away from the shelling ran straight at the Americans, killed them all, took over their foxholes and stole their cigars.

On my right the Divisional boys fired their Mortar for the fourth time. The sound of smashing glass and cries of ‘Goddammit’ signified a hit. The cries were followed by the sound of running feet!

What a glorious day for the Third Reich – Lieutnant Krump commanding!

That was about it. The end of my first foray into combat and a quite successful one at that. We took control of the road block, woke up the sentry, destroyed a Sherman and gained a crate of Jack Daniels.

The additional orders I had been given which were to keep myself alive were not difficult to carry out.

I must sign off now, there is a rumour that some Brits have raided a Tea shop nearby and we’re off to see them off.

‘Klaus! Come here and walk in front!’

The Rules and figures including great starter packs are available either of the traders listed here.

Letter from the front - No 2

Somewhere in France - 27th July 1944

Combat against the British - Mission - Capture an enemy soldier.

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Well, we found the Tommie's. We found them and now I doubt the sanity of my platoon. If I hear one more comment of Vicars with Mortars or policemen in tanks I swear I will christen my luger on them! ... Let me start at the beginning..

We found the Tommie's protecting the Tea bar with one platoon backed up by a Churchill tank - no problem for my Arian heroes. The building was empty, situated on a road that led to a bombed church. Already I had decided that the buildings would be the key to the skirmish and with this in mind my command squad and I piled in to Sasha (Our halftrack).

I left the Mortar at the back this time, useless in heavy terrain and split the platoon in half, one to the left, the other to the right. Everyone was ready. A quick check to make sure Klaus was seated in front of me, a glare at Heinrich who was smoking a cigar, and then I gave the signal to move.

We bounced and rattled to the church where Klaus led the way in to the ruins - still no Tommy fire? Squad 1 joined us and I watched to the right as squad 2 took up hiding positions in the Tea shop. Still no shooting? Was Tommy asleep?

No, Tommy was wide awake but this is where the mission becomes strange. We started to receive small arms fire and glancing over the white helmet in front I could make out old men in British uniforms! Even their weapons looked antique. I watched in amazement as a medic aged over 100 patched one of his comrades. At least I watched briefly and then shot at him. (Maybe I could capture the old man and he could show Klaus what he was supposed to do)

From the right I started getting reports that the Churchill had thrown a track on a wall - more good news. An embarrassed Wolfgang then informed me that they had not fired on the crew because it consisted of a Policeman, a flower seller and a lady with a push bike! My beautifully crafted bayonet just missed his head!

The distraction nearly cost me my life I was just missed by a mortar shell and barely dragged Klaus on top of me in time. Unfortunately he survived too. The old swine's were really pouring fire at us now and I took a chance to look over the hedge. There in front of me was the Mortar, manned by a Vicar and a Verger. I rubbed my eyes, that damned Jack Daniels!

This was Madness! The old swine's were actually hitting my men. I had now spotted what looked like their commander. He wore a white helmet and kept shouting 'Put that light out'.

'Klaus! Let's go!' I yelled and clapped him on the back making him stumble from cover. The brave boys ran with me and in seconds we were on the Tommie's position, throwing potato mashers and spraying small arms fire. I sensibly didn't fire, saving my bullets (Just in case).

The old men stuck to their positions and we were forced to bayonet a few. even I got my hands dirty, slapping an old fool with my Luger butt as he lunged at me with his WWI rifle yelling 'They don't like it up 'em Captain!' Silly old sod!

Reports were reaching me that the Tommie's were running off now. We had only been fighting for 5 minutes and that was fine with me.

I stood up and stretched, watching the backs of the Brits as they limped off VERY slowly towards the coast. Near to me Klaus killed another of my men he was trying to save - 'Gott im himmel he must be the worst medic in the world!'

On the bright side, I, Lieutnant Krump was successful again! Knights Cross here I come!

'Right, time for a cup of Tea!' I holstered my pistol and was about to walk off when I spotted an arm band dropped by one of the defenders. It bore the legend 'Home Guard'.



Letter from the front - No 1 Somewhere in France - 21st July 1944 Combat against the Americans - Mission - Keep myself Alive! --------------------------------------------------------- The Americans were visible in the distance, their shiny helmets bouncing up and down behind the bushes beyond the road. If their helmets and bad field discipline hadn’t given it away then the tiny puffs of smoke from their cigars and the sound of Jack Daniels bottles clinking would have done. The pen pushers of Intel had told us of the upcoming raid they had discovered, not by any subterfuge or intercepted radio traffic, rather from an informant whore who had recently bedded a talkative yank. (Is there any other sort?) I, Lieutnant Krump had led my platoon aided by a couple of thugs from Divisional support to this insignificant crossroads leading to one of our gun pits. Initially things had gone well. We knew the Yanks were after taking control of the road block where our ever vigilant sentry was having a smoke after waking from a short nap. With their target in mind I deployed first squad to the left in the bushes. Second squad I deployed on the road to cover it while the support HMG and Mortar covered the fields on the right. – Perfect. Finally I found a nice place with my HQ squad tucked up behind a hedge facing everywhere and completely safe. Just to be safe as an afterthought I beckoned Klaus, our medic to stand in front of me. Peeking through the hedge in front of me I could make out the Americans ‘hidden’ positions. A small recon force was sneaking carefully through our abandoned gun pit singing ‘Lilly Marlene’. Across the road a VERY BIG Sherman tank faced us, the megaphone mounted on the hull playing the backing music for the recon troops! The rest of the Yanks surprise attack force was lined up along the road facing the hedges. We got the jump on them! 1^st squad snuck forward into the woods unseen whilst the LMG team under Wolfgang ran to the hedge by the gun pit. Stupid boys! A quick burst of automatic fire laid down several hundred rounds on their positions! Two of the new boys died on the spot, a bloody shower replacing what had once been their heads! Sensibly Wolfgang ran back to where he had started. Meanwhile, equally sensibly 2^nd squad ran into the road where a heavy rain of shells and HMG fire from the Sherman convinced them to run backwards as well. What a team! Even the dumbasses from divisional support failed to hit a thing. They only had an HMG! I watched slightly apprehensively through the hedge, one hand holding my helmet tight to my head my other restraining Klaus from running away. The Yanks approached. We watched as their Recon squad consolidated their position and the tank fired once more. A shower of mud fell on us and laughing I slapped Klaus on the back. Right on cue a ranging shell from an artillery piece miles behind the lines landed ten feet from us. I landed roughly with a large lump of hedge stuck to my tunic and a mouthful of dirt. ‘Artillery!’ I yelled. ‘Retreat!’ Too late – the rest of the squad had already run off. In the two minutes I took to get my brave colleagues back together again amidst a hail of shellfire the platoon re-started the war all on their own. A large crump signalled the end of the Sherman to a Panzershrek shell and then 2^nd squad - desperate to get away from the shelling ran straight at the Americans, killed them all, took over their foxholes and stole their cigars. On my right the Divisional boys fired their Mortar for the fourth time. The sound of smashing glass and cries of ‘Goddammit’ signified a hit. The cries were followed by the sound of running feet! What a glorious day for the Third Reich – Lieutnant Krump commanding! That was about it. The end of my first foray into combat and a quite successful one at that. We took control of the road block, woke up the sentry, destroyed a Sherman and gained a crate of Jack Daniels. The additional orders I had been given which were to keep myself alive were not difficult to carry out. I must sign off now, there is a rumour that some Brits have raided a Tea shop nearby and we’re off to see them off. ‘Klaus! Come here and walk in front!’	The Rules and figures including great starter packs are available either of the traders listed here. Letter from the front - No 2 Somewhere in France - 27th July 1944 Combat against the British - Mission - Capture an enemy soldier. -------------------------------------------------- Well, we found the Tommie's. We found them and now I doubt the sanity of my platoon. If I hear one more comment of Vicars with Mortars or policemen in tanks I swear I will christen my luger on them! ... Let me start at the beginning.. We found the Tommie's protecting the Tea bar with one platoon backed up by a Churchill tank - no problem for my Arian heroes. The building was empty, situated on a road that led to a bombed church. Already I had decided that the buildings would be the key to the skirmish and with this in mind my command squad and I piled in to Sasha (Our halftrack). I left the Mortar at the back this time, useless in heavy terrain and split the platoon in half, one to the left, the other to the right. Everyone was ready. A quick check to make sure Klaus was seated in front of me, a glare at Heinrich who was smoking a cigar, and then I gave the signal to move. We bounced and rattled to the church where Klaus led the way in to the ruins - still no Tommy fire? Squad 1 joined us and I watched to the right as squad 2 took up hiding positions in the Tea shop. Still no shooting? Was Tommy asleep? No, Tommy was wide awake but this is where the mission becomes strange. We started to receive small arms fire and glancing over the white helmet in front I could make out old men in British uniforms! Even their weapons looked antique. I watched in amazement as a medic aged over 100 patched one of his comrades. At least I watched briefly and then shot at him. (Maybe I could capture the old man and he could show Klaus what he was supposed to do) From the right I started getting reports that the Churchill had thrown a track on a wall - more good news. An embarrassed Wolfgang then informed me that they had not fired on the crew because it consisted of a Policeman, a flower seller and a lady with a push bike! My beautifully crafted bayonet just missed his head! The distraction nearly cost me my life I was just missed by a mortar shell and barely dragged Klaus on top of me in time. Unfortunately he survived too. The old swine's were really pouring fire at us now and I took a chance to look over the hedge. There in front of me was the Mortar, manned by a Vicar and a Verger. I rubbed my eyes, that damned Jack Daniels! This was Madness! The old swine's were actually hitting my men. I had now spotted what looked like their commander. He wore a white helmet and kept shouting 'Put that light out'. 'Klaus! Let's go!' I yelled and clapped him on the back making him stumble from cover. The brave boys ran with me and in seconds we were on the Tommie's position, throwing potato mashers and spraying small arms fire. I sensibly didn't fire, saving my bullets (Just in case). The old men stuck to their positions and we were forced to bayonet a few. even I got my hands dirty, slapping an old fool with my Luger butt as he lunged at me with his WWI rifle yelling 'They don't like it up 'em Captain!' Silly old sod! Reports were reaching me that the Tommie's were running off now. We had only been fighting for 5 minutes and that was fine with me. I stood up and stretched, watching the backs of the Brits as they limped off VERY slowly towards the coast. Near to me Klaus killed another of my men he was trying to save - 'Gott im himmel he must be the worst medic in the world!' On the bright side, I, Lieutnant Krump was successful again! Knights Cross here I come! 'Right, time for a cup of Tea!' I holstered my pistol and was about to walk off when I spotted an arm band dropped by one of the defenders. It bore the legend 'Home Guard'.