Alt History Campaign, 44-46 (sw) SS KG Griffon

[PanzerBob]

Good day,

I couldn't agree more Pat, but, in this ALT World, this is what happened, and the Sturmtiger Icon lent itself well to the concept without any changes to the art. Also I always thought the Sturmtiger was a wasted concept as well, but, I mused on concept of using all that space under armour for something else.

As you may have noticed my HUBZ are a part of my KG PzAufkl Gp. OOPS I forgot the include them. DOH!! Anyway, I'm trialing them in the Recce Gp and hoping they will help keep more of my Recon Truppen alive. We shall see.

The Imperial Empire, Valo, is Japan, and all the lands it managed to hang on to after China surrendered, this would include mainland SE Asia, The Free World managed to keep most of the Island Nations under the US policy of containment.

Eternal War (gaming) PanzerBob

[PanzerBob]

KG Griffon War Diary 14 Aug 45

The action to take the Fort & the Oasis went without a hitch. Problems mounted when we advanced to take to the bridge over the western wadi and the old fort overlooking the area. It appears that the Aussies had planned to occupy the Fort & the Oasis as well.

My forward Recce Elements ran head long into the enemy just before the bridge causing heavy loses to the ground forces. A Tornado came in hit them hard, stopping the enemy column cold. It consisted of Armoured Cars and Halftracks loaded down with infantry. They now had deployed to hold the bridge.

I ordered my KG PzAufkl Gp to advance and hold the road into the Fort while I brought several Pz Gren Zugs up with 7 of my Panthers to retake the Wadi Bridge. My Flanks Recce Elms reported seeing troop movements north & south of the area. This was confirmed by the accompanying Tornadoes and Spotter HUBZ that took fire, we lost one Spotter, but the Tornadoes hosed them down good before withdrawing to relative safety.

It now appeared I had several flanking attacks to deal with as well. I ordered a Pz Gren Kp with Panther support against each. The northern objective was the ruins and southern one was to move no further than the wadi. I was fully expecting Enemy Panzers to emerge from the gloomy dusk. I ordered my 15cm Bttys to strike behind the bridge position, as I wanted the bridge intact. The Divisional 122’s were assigned on the flanks. I ordered my Tornadoes in low to find the enemies Panzers.

Once my flank forces were rolling I turned to the Wadi Bridge problem. With a Tornado suppressing the Bridge defenders I had the armoured elements move up to take care of the halftracks and armoured cars. With the enemies support wrecked, I had my Pz Grens move up and disembark. With several Rommels & Panthers in support they started to move towards the bridge.

On the flanks, a troop of scout vehicles on each flank ran into my advancing forces and were dealt with quickly. Recce into the enemies rear area produced no panzers at all. However, a mass of infantry was advancing towards my forces. On the northern flank, I had the Pz Grens occupy the Ruins with an outpost on the high ground to the north of the Ruins. To the south I ordered just the Panthers and Rommels forward to the Wadi.

The Aussies attacked the Ruins; they used 3inch mortars to keep our heads down while trying to close on our positions. It was here that I lost several Panthers to PIAT’s. Along the Wadi between heavy ground fire and the arty, once shifted, the enemy was kept at bay and advanced no further than the Wadi.

Back at the Wadi Bridge, we had taken it intact, but at some cost in men. The enemy put up a tough fight there, counterattacking several times despite Panthers and Rommels assisting in holding the Bridge. The enemy finally broke when the units holding the far side of the Bridge called down arty on their position. This action caused the Aussies to withdraw from this action and fall back into the desert night.

As a result of this engagement I’ve requested more heavy HE support.

Division was less than impressed with our performance, never the less I was happy with it.

Obersturmbannführer PanzerBob

[PatG]

PanzerBob said:
Good day,

I couldn't agree more Pat, but, in this ALT World, this is what happened, and the Sturmtiger Icon lent itself well to the concept without any changes to the art. <snip>

What - The R&D group didn't bother asking the field troops what they wanted? That never happens....

Good luck and good hunting.

[PanzerBob]

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Eternal War(gaming)! Bob

[PanzerBob]

Excerpts From “In the Führer’s Service” RFM PanzerBob 1954

…………Syria turned into of series of minor skirmishes for our KG. Allied Forces seemed unprepared to engage a modern mechanized force. At least in Syria they were primarily a force of occupation. The biggest thorn in our side was actions by SAS raiders as we moved south……………

…………..with Syria falling back into Arab and German hands in Sept 45, we pressed across the border into Palestine. KG Griffon was on the right flank bordering with the sea. As we pushed towards Haifa the KG overran a recently abandoned RAF Airfield. Much to our surprise the British decided to take a crack at retaking the airfield. The attack was repelled at great cost to the enemy in armour. Two columns of British Comets, one along the coast, one up the main road, a company plus of infantry advancing though the high ground to the east came at us. Concentrated artillery and accurate Panther fire, stopped the attack churning the Comet columns into scrap metal. My Tornadoes also found and wiped out their command staff. Typhoons took out the Panther Kps HQ zug and several Rommels etc. Comets did take a Panther, a Schwarzpanther and assorted halftracks and Spahwagens. British arty cost me more than few Pz Grens. Division thought my loses high, but we won the day………………..

………..Jerusalem declared an Open City and the British now mostly pushed into Egypt made October 1945 a time to consolidate our gains and prepare for the next phase of operations. The KG settled into a defensive position west of El Arish over watching the two main roads into the city. Egypt and the Suez Canal were next on our list and with the Med being our sea now as Spain had command of Gibraltar; the writing was on the wall……………….

…………………rumours of major set back of an American “Superweapon” started to surface at this point, another 6 months would pass before an American newspaper broke the story on the failure of an Atomic Bomb project…………….

……………..Churchill stepped down as British PM stating health reasons………US policy of containment gains popularity, with the American public and other “Free World” nations…………………..Royal Family vows to stay in Britain, despite urgings to leave……….Reich economy stable despite War footing. RM Speer……….Greater Russia has record harvest……………Reports of unrest continue in India……….Amerika Missiles now actually falling on East Coast cities………………..FDR not to seek another term, Generals may run………………

[PanzerBob]

Good day,

For reasons I can't fathom this campaign has digressed into series of massed infantry charges, which makes for boring prose unless you are into body counts. So I’m terminating this AAR.

I’m amending the OOB’s for the US, Canada, and the UK to hopefully make some opponents with Alt History surprises of their own.

I’m open to ideals, hint hint.

Generally I’m changing things to reflect an attitude shift during the North African Campaign by the Allies, which now sees a need for better punch and protection in their Armoured Forces.

A peak into my somewhat warped mind.

US forces start progressively mounting better AT Guns on some Shermans, before Sicily, A push for heavy tanks, better optics, effect air support is given a green light………..

The Dieppe Tragedy causes a split from some Allies ideals in armoured warfare by Canadian planners. Ceasing on the success of the T-34 Canada, buys plans for and borrows several Russian tank designers, and begins production of a Canuk T-34, to be known as the RAM series of tanks, of course with western arms and devices aboard.

The UK makes similar strategic changes hurrying along the production of homegrown solutions to the same problems.

Hordes of Shermans will still figure in the make-ups of these armies, but they will not be alone.

Thanks for your interest and stayed tuned.

Eternal War (gaming) PanzerBob

[PatG]

- Most Secret -
Ministerial Bulletin - Current Developments

Based upon the current versions of the RAM tank now entering production, the Montreal Locomotive works unveiled an improved medium tank. Similar to the Russian T-34 85, the RAM-Windigo mounts a 17pdr ATG in an enlarged turret.

The possibility of using the new 20 pdr in a RAM chassis in a similar manner to the Russian SU-85 has been investigated but at this time production capacity is more than sufficient to produce turreted vehicles for our armoured divisions. Further consideration is being given to deploying such a vehicle in the infantry support and tank hunter role.

With the failure of the Manhattan project, new uses are being investigated for the military utilization of uranium. Given its high density, investigations are underway to determine if it can be used as an APCR or APDS penetrator.

The American 105mm high velocity recoilless rifle has been experimentally deployed on a number of platforms. Intended as a quadruple mount on the LVT series of vehicles for bunker busting in the Pacific Campaign, the 105mm has been tested on the Weasel high mobility vehicle by 3 SSF. Additionally, it has been tested in an electrically fed ventral mount on the Blackfly - a Mosquito variant. While anti-armour performance is excellent, the propellant blast is still a problem.

In other aerial developments Radio guided B-17 "Razon" missiles have been experimentally equipped with advance H7S air to ground radar and EOIC (Electronic Optical Identifier and Computor). Guided most of the way by a radio equipped mother plane, the EOIC takes over on the final target run and can place the RAZON within 1000 yards of a major land feature such as a river Y. This astounding level of accuracy comes with a cost. The EOIC takes up the bulk of the missile precluding a useful warhead and is susceptible to both AA fire and the normal vibrations of aircraft flight. It is hope that new smaller and robust components can be developed.

- Most Secret -

[serg3d]

PanzerBob said:
Good day,

For reasons I can't fathom this campaign has digressed into series of massed infantry charges, which makes for boring prose unless you are into body counts. So I’m terminating this AAR.
Eternal War (gaming) PanzerBob

Did you play with AI tank heavy ?

[PanzerBob]

[/quote]

Did you play with AI tank heavy ?

[/quote]

Yes I did, I even checked to see if the OOB had Armoured Formations dated past the war's end date.

mmmmm PanzerBob

[Brummbar]

I really do enjoy reading your stuff PanzerBob.