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CM:BN Screenshot Thread #2


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Lt. Leonard is breathing hard, not from exertion but from adrenaline.  He has just run at full dash across the street to get with the rest of his platoon.  They are all taking cover behind buildings that shield them from a damn 20mm canon.  The image of Carlson being shredded by 20mm canon fire is fresh in his mind.

 

They are now behind the Germans in the small town just south of their position.  Several run from the storefronts and are immediately cut down.  He hears the cheers of his men as the enemy are torn by their concentrated fire.  They lie bleeding in the street.

 

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Leonard’s attention is drawn from the street for a moment, so he doesn’t see the enemy soldier who breaks from another store.  Laroux lets out a shout.  “There goes another one.  Like rabbits in the bayou.”  His thick Cajun accent is coursing with enthusiasm.  The men open fire without hesitation.

 

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Leonard swings his binoculars in the direction of the gunfire and sees the German, running for his life.  The Lt. can make out the Luftwaffe markings on the man’s uniform.  Poor bastard, is his first thought.  Some ground crewman pressed into the infantry…

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Gunfire lances all around the man, but Leonard can see that his expression never changes.  It is a single determined grimace on the man’s face, not fear, only a sad resignation that he will either succeed or fail – it is the face of a man who has run out of choices and knows it.

Leonard draws his carbine up to his shoulder, fires several rounds, and then stops, unable to continue firing at the lone enemy, running for all he is worth.  The men around him are firing away with gusto, but so far no hits.  The hopelessness of the man’s dash is palpable.

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The German makes it to the barbed wire fence.  Leonard watches in fascination as the man grips the barbs and starts to vault over the fence.  Blood splashes from his hand as it is torn open by the barbed wire.  Leonard starts to will the man to succeed.  He thinks he is alone with this thought, but suddenly he hears cheers from some of the men.  What is this? he thinks.  They are cheering for this guy?

The macabre situation is turning into a horrible carnival now, with some men cheering for the rabbit and others slowing down their fire, determined to be the ones who put the enemy soldier down.  Leonard yells out loud “What the hell is this, a frigging Yankees game?” but his words are drowned out by the cheers and gunfire.  Leonard is appalled at the spectacle his men are making of this rabbit hunt and at the same time, riveted by the intense drama being played out in real time before his eyes.

 

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There is something incredibly personal about the taking of the life of an enemy soldier when you have his chest lined up in your sights.  Leonard is not yet calloused enough to see this as a hunting game or sporting event.  Some of his men have succumbed to the temptation though.

And now it happens…two red blooms explode in the German soldier’s chest as he starts to crest the barbed wire fence.  Leonard is now grimly watching through his binoculars.  He sees the man clutch his chest, falling backwards in slow motion as blood wells through his fingers.  The man doesn’t cry out and his expression never changes.  His face has the same look of hopeless determination when he began his dash for death.

 

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Then he is out of sight.  There is no movement around the fence where he fell.

The Lieutenant hears the cheers die down quickly as the rifle fire abates.  Laroux, always the braggart, starts to crow something about being the one who got the rabbit.  Leonard roars “Shut the hell up Laroux.  Show some damn respect.  That wasn’t a frigging rabbit, it was a soldier!”

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Leonard hears one man voice the question they all have had at one time or another.  “Why didn’t he just surrender?  Drop his rifle and throw his hands up?  Why?”

 

Leonard answers in a cold voice.  “Because all his buddies were dead and he had nothing left to lose.”

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There is silence among his men for a moment.  “It’s not a frigging game, boys,” says the Lieutenant.  “This is real life and death.  We aren’t animals.  Show some respect and then move on.  We’ve got a job to do and there is nothing about the job of killing that we should enjoy.”  Then he adds, “Look alive and keep your edge.  We ain’t out of it yet.”

 

The war goes on…

 

Heinrich505

 

 

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Fantastic imagery and writing, Heinrich! I really liked it. The moment described really reminded me of a passage from William Craig's Enemy at the Gates (the book, not the mediocre film). 

Pfluger waited patiently to spring a trap. He has stationed a 75mm antitank gun to his right, out in no-man's-land. When the very first tank crawled up from the gully, the sergeant fired a purple Very light into the sky and the 75 roared. The shell cut through the tank turret and passed on into the open air before it exploded. Two Russian soldiers tumbled out off the T-34 and raced madly up the hill. Pfluger was tracking one through his sights when he suddenly thought, "My God, if you've been that lucky, who am I to shoot you now." He lowered his rifle and let the man go.

-Craig, p.224

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Thank-you Bud.  I remember that passage well from Craig's book.  Always stuck with me.

While checking the replay for this battle, this small drama caught my attention and I had to immortalize it.  I found myself cheering for the guy and knowing he hadn't a chance in Hell.

Heinrich505

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11 hours ago, Heinrich505 said:

Thank-you Bud.  I remember that passage well from Craig's book.  Always stuck with me.

While checking the replay for this battle, this small drama caught my attention and I had to immortalize it.  I found myself cheering for the guy and knowing he hadn't a chance in Hell.

Heinrich505

You did a marvellous job! :)

 

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I call this one "Sunset".... 

And yep, it was end of turn. Now that I think about it, "Most Interesting or Suspenseful End-of-Turn Moments" would be a good sub-category in this screenshots forum. I've got some real doozies, but I'm guessing others have even better examples.

 

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Edited by sttp
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Been slogging through the first mission of Amiens Tonight. Loving it, very interesting, compartmentalized battlefield:

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Assaulting a Saw Mill under ample cover of smoke

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The 2IC in his Bren Carrier draws fire; and gets incredibly lucky.

 

Lots of opportunities to infiltrate in this first mission; managed to get a 2 full companies on the flank of the objective with only a few minor dust-ups along the way. The Bren Carriers helped a great deal with this

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Carrier platoon acting in conjunction with Armored cars clears out a few resistance nests

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The sawmill and the main objectives are going swimmingly, but along the main route of advance, all attempts to outflank a roadblock are met with HE fire from two rather stubborn Panzer IVs. Infantry go to ground and wait for armor to arrive while the rest of the Battalion follows the undefended route to carry on. The Cromwells finally arrive:

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I'm sure they began sweating when that turret began to ponderously traverse...

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That'd give any tanker the shakes. You can sleep the nerves off later, the road needs to be opened!

 

 

 

Edited by Rinaldi
Deleting
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On 5/20/2016 at 7:13 PM, MOS:96B2P said:

@Rinaldi interesting fight.  Thanks for taking the time to post.  It will be interesting to learn what those two companies you got through on the flank are able to do. 

Not as well as I would've hoped; I unfortunately ran into some heavy defensive fire and took losses. I was bleeding both men and time so decided to ceasefire with most, but not all of the objectives. Eeked out a Minor victory. 

On the off chance it has not been reported already, @JonS: The "Sawmill" objective awards no points for being occupied; despite it being labeled as 90 points. Fantastic scenario.

The second mission went much better; a major victory -- despite me having to dodge a nasty surprise later on. 

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We're shortly thereafter ambushed. Its dealt with swiftly; and its decided that staying on the main road will only invite further ambushes. A secondary road is discovered and used. 

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Unfortunately, we're ambushed yet again - this time with a loss. The Shermans in the vanguard roar past the scout to deal with the anti-tank defenses, and infantry dismount to probe into a small hamlet astride the MSR.

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Thereafter, resistance crumbles; and shooting everything up as we roar down the secondary road, the vanguard bypasses insignificant resistance and exists the map. A major victory for the British forces. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

20mm without a house to offer protection.

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capture_008_29032016_180634_zpsnajnz3ku.

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Look how the little red crosses grow.

 

and

Did someone say Stug!!!!!!!!!!!

Death or glory chaps get me on the flank of the Stug drives,

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One down, bloody hell there's another one

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Erm i think you'll find its my turn Sir,

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Oh bravo, good shooting Cpn Flashheart,

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  • 3 weeks later...

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