Guest Turret Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 AAR Operation Venom American Colonel Ben Smith reporting on progress of the 394th Regiment To: General C. Baxter Wilson: I have met with my companies this week and we are seeing some good results. Most of my men did an admirable job taking ground as you expected of us. We were told there would be no armor in our sector but we did see some of the German forces keeping a few tanks around for support. Captain Vie of Company A was faced with a StugIII and a Mark IV but still managed to take his men up a ridge and capture a communication center. He did lose his tank support early but managed to coordinate his mortars and an M8 to take out the armored threat. Captain Burbridge of Company B was supposed to push our northern flank forward, but was unable to gain ground. This worries me that the enemy may take advantage of this weakness there. I spoke to Burbridge and he assures me that it will not happen again. He mumbled about radio failure, but I think he is just a little green. This operation will toughen him up. Company C, led by Captain Kay , really did well taking the ground you ordered them to. This did allowing for the Armor of the 391st to move into position. The tankers cheered as they went by his men. It was a real moral boost, Sir. You should see them men sometime soon. Co. D’s Captain Seaman was tasked with taking the guarding elements of the German’s Anti Aircraft batteries and should be commended. His reports tell of judicious use of his Shermans which just routed the German troops from their postions without difficulty. Later that night a platoon of Rangers practically executed the AA crews under the moonlight. We expect the P-47 Thunderbolts to come crashing through the clouds anytime now. Have you heard of their timetable? Capt Nix was supposed to take a village that Partisans tell us shelters enemy intelligence officers. We had brought in all kinds of interrogation personnel, but they are still waiting with Nix while he recovers his losses. He said the Germans were dug in pretty deep in his approach route . We discussed this at length and we agreed it just was not the approach he should have taken. The men that are still alive have lost a bit of confidence in him. I sent over some good replacements so he may be in good order soon. You know Nix though sir. He is a good man really. Co. F’s Captain Elvis was on of the first to see signs of German armor. His men fearlessly charged a lone Tiger and took it out of action. Later that day they spotted a whole column of tanks at rest. Air Corps has been notified of their postion. He urgently requested their timely respsonse or he will have to pull back. He lost 91 men getting into the village and there is no way he would stay were the tanks to move out. Captain Pipiens, leading Company G , did achieve the surprise he hoped and all objectives were met . I’ve heard you were in his sector that morning. I’m glad you got to see the good work everyone is doing under him. He was one of the few that had Tank destroyers. Jacksons, I’m told. Also the M8 is proving to be a good support for our troops. We have not seen much armor though so I’m not going to get too excited. Company H. and Capt Ayers made really good gains and took out a Panther. His men insist it was a Tiger. He saw the burning hulk and believes it to be a Panther. I’m not to surprised about the men thinking it was a Tiger though. They have been calling all large German tanks Tigers since we hit the beach . Not sure why. It sure is scary to see one though when you do not have any TD’s with you. Captain Thompson, whom we met with last night, is very proud of his Company I. He noted the use of smoke as a key element in his attack of a dominant hill . Most all his men pulled their weight and slowly crushed the enemy as we had had talked about. He did find a good size German supply source in the village. I think the Germans will miss that fuel. Last, but not least, Captain Clinton, with whom I marched, was just exemplary in his use of combined arms. He is very clear in his use of tactics and his men really respect him. His actions did take Hill 621 as we hoped. We will get Lt Colonel Howard’s 105 battery up there tommorow. He tells me it will be a “duck shoot” after that. He is a colorful man as you recall. Respectfully yours, C. Baxter Wilson Colonel, U.S. Army Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Morgue Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 Posted on wrong thread somehow ??? [This message has been edited by Sgt.Morgue (edited 07-13-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorak Posted July 14, 2000 Share Posted July 14, 2000 nice AAR Turret, Bumping it so others don't miss it. Lorak ------------------ "someone you trust is one of us"..........the illuminati * http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/combatmissionclub Lorak's FTX for CM <--Proud member of the Combat Mission Webring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts