Trench Charge (part 1)
by Take No Prizners
We had dug ourselves in nice and deep. When the attack came, our trench would offer shelter to the living. When the battle was over and we had filled it in again with the bodies of our enemy, the trench would offer sanctuary to the dead.
Our snipers were ready in the trees and on a nearby hill. The machine gunner with the requisite bright yellow helmet was joking with us, taking bets on how many Bundeswehr he could kill in a single swoop of his weapon. The German special forces were to come at us Army Rangers from their position in the east. Their objective in this chapter of the Wargames was simple: kill the guy in the yellow helmet. We had the job of keeping our targeted gunner alive and killing as many Bundesboys as we could. We had the trench and the snipers, they had sheer numbers and whatever soldiers' luck might come their way. The Germans knew that without defensive cover and in the wide open terrain that lay between their position and our trench, a lot of them would bite the dirt that day, but all it would take was one German to get close enough to finish off our gunner with the yellow hardhat. The rules of engagement are clear: if the offensive force gets the machine gunner, the game is over--they win. We were determined not to let that happen.
This was our first death maneuver in the trench. We knew the German elite forces who would charge us had already gone through a similar exercise against a force of Australian SAS men the day before, so they were battle tough. The Germans had been on the defensive against the Aussies and had done a magnificent job protecting their yellow helmet. Word was they had completely wiped out the crack SAS force that charged them. We had heard that the German sergeants even tattooed themselves after the battle: "100% SIEGREICH." Under the circumstances this was an important advantage that the German troops enjoyed: Wargames rules specify that the number of troops an army can deploy be equal to the number of men that force killed in its previous engagement. Since they wiped out all the Aussies, they were coming at us with at least 300 men, minus whatever losses they had sustained in the previous combat. Besides their numbers, the Bundeswehr enjoyed the confidence that comes from previous experience and a clear-cut victory. Now though, it was time for the Germans to be on the offense and get the hell shot out of them by US Army wargamers. We Rangers were just the team to take them down a notch, too.
Our dicks were hard with confidence and with bloodlust. We didn't talk much about the Wargames schedule for the following day, though it was on all our minds. Those of us who survived the German onslaught were scheduled for a trench offensive the following day against a battle-tested contingency of tough Canadian blue berets. At this very moment the Canadians were digging their trench in another field and painting their machine gunner's helmet yellow. But we would cross that bridge when we came to it.
"Any man who lets an enemy soldier get past him into the trench, has me and my best friend to answer to," said our lieutenant, the ranking officer on the American side. On the other side of the field, whipping up his troops' morale, a German lieutenant was likely giving his men a similar hard-assed warning. The American lieutenant held up his Colt sidearm, the "best friend" he had alluded to. His message was clear. His own ass would be dead meat if the Germans broke through the line, got into the trench, and killed the yellow helmeted Ranger gunner. There was no doubt in the minds of any of us that the lieutenant would personally snuff any man who let him down during the battle.
by Take No Prizners
We had dug ourselves in nice and deep. When the attack came, our trench would offer shelter to the living. When the battle was over and we had filled it in again with the bodies of our enemy, the trench would offer sanctuary to the dead.
Our snipers were ready in the trees and on a nearby hill. The machine gunner with the requisite bright yellow helmet was joking with us, taking bets on how many Bundeswehr he could kill in a single swoop of his weapon. The German special forces were to come at us Army Rangers from their position in the east. Their objective in this chapter of the Wargames was simple: kill the guy in the yellow helmet. We had the job of keeping our targeted gunner alive and killing as many Bundesboys as we could. We had the trench and the snipers, they had sheer numbers and whatever soldiers' luck might come their way. The Germans knew that without defensive cover and in the wide open terrain that lay between their position and our trench, a lot of them would bite the dirt that day, but all it would take was one German to get close enough to finish off our gunner with the yellow hardhat. The rules of engagement are clear: if the offensive force gets the machine gunner, the game is over--they win. We were determined not to let that happen.
This was our first death maneuver in the trench. We knew the German elite forces who would charge us had already gone through a similar exercise against a force of Australian SAS men the day before, so they were battle tough. The Germans had been on the defensive against the Aussies and had done a magnificent job protecting their yellow helmet. Word was they had completely wiped out the crack SAS force that charged them. We had heard that the German sergeants even tattooed themselves after the battle: "100% SIEGREICH." Under the circumstances this was an important advantage that the German troops enjoyed: Wargames rules specify that the number of troops an army can deploy be equal to the number of men that force killed in its previous engagement. Since they wiped out all the Aussies, they were coming at us with at least 300 men, minus whatever losses they had sustained in the previous combat. Besides their numbers, the Bundeswehr enjoyed the confidence that comes from previous experience and a clear-cut victory. Now though, it was time for the Germans to be on the offense and get the hell shot out of them by US Army wargamers. We Rangers were just the team to take them down a notch, too.
Our dicks were hard with confidence and with bloodlust. We didn't talk much about the Wargames schedule for the following day, though it was on all our minds. Those of us who survived the German onslaught were scheduled for a trench offensive the following day against a battle-tested contingency of tough Canadian blue berets. At this very moment the Canadians were digging their trench in another field and painting their machine gunner's helmet yellow. But we would cross that bridge when we came to it.
"Any man who lets an enemy soldier get past him into the trench, has me and my best friend to answer to," said our lieutenant, the ranking officer on the American side. On the other side of the field, whipping up his troops' morale, a German lieutenant was likely giving his men a similar hard-assed warning. The American lieutenant held up his Colt sidearm, the "best friend" he had alluded to. His message was clear. His own ass would be dead meat if the Germans broke through the line, got into the trench, and killed the yellow helmeted Ranger gunner. There was no doubt in the minds of any of us that the lieutenant would personally snuff any man who let him down during the battle.