CMBN - Flowers of the Forest AAR

[Stonecutter]

First Contact (H+10 to H+20)



Kroner and 1st platoon remain carefully hidden behind the hedges and avoid the suppressive fire of Churchill tanks, waiting to draw more British infantry into their kill zone.



Well concealed behind the hedges, Fink carefully takes aim at an incautious Churchill crew commander, ignoring the 75mm HE rounds and MG fire directed at the opening in the hedges just a short distance away. The exhaust from the enemy tanks gives him a perfect wind gauge as he adjusts for a range of 340m. Slowly exhaling, he gently applies pressure to the trigger until he feels the recoil. The 7.92mm AP round strikes home and the British tanker slumps over, fatally shot through the chest.



With the British scouts giving the all clear, more of their comrades rise and begin to advance along the hedgerows and main road. Waiting until the enemy are almost upon him and his men, Kroner screams the order to open fire and his platoon springs the ambush. They blast away at extreme short range with a hail of MG42 and MP40 fire with lethal efficiency. Further away, the success of Fink in killing the British crew commander has forced the remaining crew to pop smoke and withdraw. The British appear to be taking a very cautious approach along the left flank as their armour has not yet moved beyond the first set of hedgerows. As the additional elements of his platoon reinforce DP1A, Kroner already begins to think about how difficult it will be to conduct a fighting withdrawal through the open field behind him.



While 1st platoon is repulsing the first British probes, the fall back position is prepared as Cristoph’s 3rd platoon assists two panzer platoons in establishing DP2. When the railway station proves to be blocking the LOS into the designated kill zones, the panzers demolish it quickly with HE rounds from their 75mm guns.