killmore Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 Oberfeldwebel Schnurrer, commander of Panther 402, of the 402d Panzer Brigade, attached to 116th Panzer Division for Wacht am Rhein, deftly mounted his shiny, freshly waxed Panther G. He found it amazing how easy it had been to cover the standard ambush scheme with this Sears Weatherbeater off white. One drive through the new Einheitstarnstrichsupermaschine and presto, even the tracks were white. The engine was running, giving Ofw Schnurrer that warm, fuzzy feeling that tankers get knowing they get to ride and not walk. Their Panther was a new G, and still had 133 km left to go before the final drives would fail. He had gotten a few kills in this one and he was proud of his crew. The only point of concern was his new driver, Mogica. He was untested. Schnurrer wasn’t too worried; word was going around that the new driving course had been turning out much better drivers than before. Special emphasis had been placed on crossing bridges and taking the shortest route to the desired destination. Adjusting his headset, Schnurrer prepared to give the order to advance, to roll forward into battle one more time. He didn’t have very high hopes for the success of the operation, but it was good to take the fight to the enemy once again. He was worried about Jabos, but he was counting on the weather to give him cover. How many day of „good“ weather would they have?... There was a crackle in his headset and the order had been given. Ofw Schnurrer gave his own order for his platoon to follow him. He then keyed the intercom and instructed Mogica to advance along the road. The engine roared and the Panther lurched forward. The tracks squealed in protest as they were pulled by the drive sprocket. In moments Schnurrer’s tanks were barreling down the road ready for anything that might come their way. Or so they thought. He noticed a sign ahead. Dasburg. The first checkpoint on his route through the Ardennes. Shouldn’t be much resistance, the Amis weren‘t ready. Houses on either side of the road could conceal any number of American infantry. But he wasn’t concerned; the reconnaissance detachments had reported Dasburg clear of the enemy up the river. On to the bridge. During the approach march, Schnurrer had not given Mogica any specific instructions for maneuvering the vehicle. Mogica was doing fine. If only he would do so well in battle, their chances were very good. Slowing down on the town streets, Mogica seemed to know what he needed to do. Then Klang! A shot ricocheted off the glacis in a shower of sparks. Mogica stopped. PAK! Gotta move before the second shot Schnurrer thought. He’d never find that damn gun until the infantry came up. Where the hell were they anyway? “Mogica, 10 meters to the building at 2 o’clock. Go!” Nothing happened. The steel monster stood where it had been. Then came Mogica’s supremely calm voice over the intercom “Keine klare Schußlinie.” No clear line of fire? Ofw Schnurrer was at a loss for words. Klang! The second shot hit home. God, we’ve got to move. “Mogica, get this crate moving. We need to get behind that cover!” And again that emotionless response “keine klare schußlinie.” Schnurrer was starting to panic, what was wrong with this guy? There was nothing in the road between them and safety. Klang! Another hit. Must be a 57mm. Otherwise they’d already have been dead. “Gefreiter Mogica! Drive, goddammit! We will die here unless you move to that frickin’ building! The whole wehrmacht is stacked up behind us!” Nothing but the same “keine klare Schußlinie.” What did they teach this kid in school? Klang! And a scream. Krauß, the radio operator had been killed by a hit on the kugelblende for the bow MG. Across the draw, SGT Murphy watched in disbelief as the Panther sat there not moving. That his gun wasn’t very effective didn’t surprise him. But these panzer drivers had a habit of exposing their sides and as long as no infantry showed up, Murphy’s crew could fight, well, until the ammo ran out. Why wasn’t this guy moving? “Mogica, we’ve got to get to Noville before nightfall! We must stay on schedule! Drive!” Ofw Schnurrer was giving up hope. The other tanks in his platoon were shielded by him, but they knew what was happening. They could hear the roar of the gun and grotesque wail of shot hitting armor. Suddenly Schnurrer was thrown against the back of the cupola. They were moving. What had gotten to Mogica? Then he heard it. A low mumbling in his headset. “Noville, drive. Noville. Drive.” Over and over. Mogica was in a trance or something. He was driving for Noville. But why? Why would he drive for Noville but not go for cover? What was wrong with that boy? Simply amazed that they were moving, Schnurrer failed to realize what driving to Noville meant. When the Panther swung around hard to the right to head for the bridge, Schnurrer knew it was over. That PAK was still out there, and probably others, and Mogica had just shown his vulnerable flank to the enemy. “Stop! Defend Left!” Weidinger, the gunner hesistated and then started turning the turret to the left because Mogica was not turning the hull. Were they all gonna die without firing a shot? Schnurrer knew by now that his driver was insane. He didn’t notice the crash of the round tearing into the house behind him. He was trying to solve the puzzle Mogica had presented. He wouldn’t turn to face the enemy. He wouldn’t move just a short distance. But he would drive for Noville. “Mogica, Noville, drive!” The engine roared as Mogica gave gas and headed for Noville. Approaching the bridge Mogica began turning to the left. Schnurrer, waiting for the right moment, screamed “Stop!” and the Panther stopped. Now they had their best armor towards the enemy. But where was that AT gun? Schnurrer peered out of his periscopes and could see tracer fire from the other tanks in his platoon pouring into the treeline ahead. The gun was suppressed if not knocked out. The infantry had caught up and were directing the fire of the other tanks. Schnurrer was alone by the bridge. Trained that action was better than inaction, Schnurrer decided to cross the bridge and mix it up with the enemy troops. After all he had a new Panther G with the nahverteidungsdingsbums in the turret roof. That thing fired four rapid-fire, heat-seeking, anti-personnel Bombs. With those, Schnurrer could chew up a squad of infantry in seconds. It was awesome. He started dreaming of being awarded the Infanteristvernichtungsabzeichen, for the destruction of infantrymen in close combat using only a tank. Major Hofbauer already had five of those. He decided that he wanted one, too. “Mogica, drive ahead, over the bridge, to Noville.” Schnurrer was confident that the magic phrase “ to Noville” was the key to getting Mogica to act. But the bridge was a new facet of the problem. Schnurrer discovered his error as his forehead smashed into the cupola ring in front of him. Mogica has slammed the vehicle into reverse and driven straight back! “Mogica, I am going to kill you!” he screamed as the blood began to flow into his eyes..... .....the blood flowed. If flowed like a river over the keyboard, and onto the desk of the poor Closecombat player who was beating his head on the monitor because he couldn’t get his tanks to go where he wanted...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolColJ Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 AWWWWWW! They cut the story short - dang I forgot how much fun a good WW2 novel is! ------------------ CCJ aka BLITZ_Force My Hompage ----> http://www.geocities.com/coolcolj Double your immersion with my Tweaked Textures and Saving Private Ryan sound set mods for CM!! Check out my new Textures V2.0 photo Gallery and my music while your there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killmore Posted February 25, 2000 Author Share Posted February 25, 2000 Let me give credit to the author: Posted By: Fahrschule (216.34.244.70) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Captain Foobar Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 That is hilarious!!!! I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knaust Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 hehe....maybe in CC4 bridges are not so large! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossfire Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 Very good! Can someone explain to me that reference to the enginees lasting only for another 133 km? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 It's a reference to the unreliability of the engines on the Panther . The Panther's engines were renowned for catching fire spontaneously . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 I love it. Real fun, and I can relate to this. I love the way you write. ------------------ Veni, vidi, vici Julius Caesar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardb Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 Boy did that bring memories from Close Combat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostro Posted February 25, 2000 Share Posted February 25, 2000 Ahh??? That wasn't a correct way to procede? In CC3 is usual that the tanks rotate offering their rear to enemy guns!! It could be worse!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. Sosaboski Posted February 26, 2000 Share Posted February 26, 2000 The Brits are just as worse in CC2. Almost lost the Driel farmland because of them-2 Cromwells killed by a halftrack armed with 7.5 cm gun . Luckily, my PIAT team knocked it out, but guaranteed the British staff officers did not have a good meeting with me that night (Like when it really happened, only this time the Poles got to make inuslting remarks!) ------------------ Sosabowski, 1st Pol. Abn. Yes, I know my name is spelled wrong as a member! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Posted February 27, 2000 Share Posted February 27, 2000 The story is even more fun when you know who Mogica is in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted February 28, 2000 Share Posted February 28, 2000 Even funnier if you have met him in person Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killmore Posted February 28, 2000 Author Share Posted February 28, 2000 Who is that Mogica guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted February 28, 2000 Share Posted February 28, 2000 He was the 360 Pacific producer for the old V4V games Atomic started off making. I'm trying to remember where he went to after that. Atari or EA? Not important Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Posted February 29, 2000 Share Posted February 29, 2000 He did some Star Trek game called Rebellion or something like that. It was published by Paramount. I have met him many times. Last I heard he sells car stereos now. I like roasting him and Zabalaoui in Close Combat. [This message has been edited by Pirate (edited 02-29-2000).] [This message has been edited by Pirate (edited 02-29-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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