Miniturn: Drizzle
Which of them look like experienced soldiers, and which look like cannon fodder? Who looks likeliest to get me through this in one piece?
Thomas takes a moment to try and evaluate his comrades, managing to notice a few details. The gunner seems both disappointed and new to the battlefield, the
radio operator smells green, and the commander looks and sounds a bit too young and fresh, though the rank displayed on his uniform is of a NCO candidate. At least three members of the group have insignia denoting experience: a wrinkled old man with glasses sitting precariously atop his nose; a woman wearing an early, higher-quality version of the M36 uniform which has seen some wear, and the driver in black panzer wraps and a blackened steel piece pendant.
Check out what sorts of shells the Puma has. AT or HE? Also check out the rest of the team.
Anselm pretends he hasn't heard the gunner's derisive comment as the newcomer hops into the armored car to check the types of shells available. He miraculously finds
fifteen Pzgr. 40/1 (APCR) shells mixed in with twenty Sprgr. 38 (HE), ten PzGr (AP-HE) and ten PzGr. 39 (APBC-HE). Probably mistakenly delivered, the "arrowhead" 40/1 shells are notorious and currently scarce tank-killers capable of making KwK 39 cannons punch way above their weight.
His partners are an elderly man with glasses and a K98k, a not-too-old man who's also bespectacled and is playing with his Sturmgewehr 44's strap, a female soldier in veteran attire with a 5cm mortar and medical supplies, a well-ranked driver with a burnt metal pendant, the
young radio operator/secondary driver, and a young, apparently nervous commandant.
"Do we have any idea of the enemy force's composition, whether they have tanks, AT gear, recon vehicles of their own, mines?"
The NCO puts his mug aside before intertwining his fingers.
"The enemy's main battle force is an armored punch with medium and heavy tanks coupled with artillery and infantry, but we are not tackling that. All we expect to encounter during reconnaissance are scouting elements or even a few advanced groups trying to prepare anti-tank emplacements. You might already have had some experience with some of their half-tracks and light tanks, and towed AT guns are a possibility. Mines aren't expected unless you're close to their main encampment or any position they have started to fortify.""A piece of advice would be much appreciated, sir,"
Anselm sighs deeply, his face tensing slightly as he tries to make a mental list of all advice he could give to a rookie.
"First of all, do not engage in combat. Choose running over fighting at all times unless you have orders to engage or you find yourself in a situation where you just have to take risks. Attacking the crew of AT gun crews as they're preparing to fire at our force is an example of such a risk. Second, maintain radio contact at all times. Third, whether you're escaping or attacking, keep your thicker front armor and gun mantlet turned towards the enemy or at least their biggest gun." The non-commissioned officer points at your vehicle.
"These cars can move in reverse very well, make use of that.""If you are told to fight, have the fight be in your terms. In case you have time to prepare the area of engagement, plant mines and mess with the ground in some places to make it look you have planted more mines than you actually have - they'll waste time trying to disarm inexistent mines until they get tired and fall for the real ones. Many of their tanks and vehicles can't move off road worth a shit, so set ambushes near those." He stops for a moment to take a breath and lift his mug only to remember there's no more tea inside.
"If you have the opportunity, assume hull-down position with some foliage behind your car, put that camouflage net to work and fire from there until your position is compromised. When attacking convoys, you should be positioned at an angle to the road and some placed mines; wait for the first vehicle to pop a mine then disable the last one to get the rest boxed in. When forced to fight anything with heavier armor anywhere with hills, wait until they're cresting one to fire at their bottom armor."
"Always try to move and flank enemy positions and unless you're camouflaged and stationed, keep moving while you aren't shooting. And pray you never have to use that MP40 to shoot anyone climbing up your vehicle. Good enough?"
I'll do these mini-turns when possible in order to avoid large turns or delays. As you may have noticed, I will use second person (you) when addressing the entire group, and third person whenever I'm writing a certain character's turn. I decided on that approach in order to avoid what would end up being an endless repetition of "you" all over the turns.
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Topic: Leaping Puma: Panzergrenadiere Trials {Turn 6: Slow awakening} (Read 16309 times)