Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
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at best one of her turrets ends up at the Imperial war Museum
Story 2600
Woolwich, England, September 20, 1944
The new tanks were winners. They were big, with big guns and better armor and a very reliable engine and transmission. A few small quirks had been identified by the veteran crews that had run a company's worth of prototypes and pre-production models for the past month, but the number and intensity of needed modifications was fairly low compared to what the engineers and managers expected. The one debate that was still raging was a demand for a boiling vessel inside of the tank. Artillery and snipers were a deadly danger to crews who needed a brew up.
The new tanks were winners. They were big, with big guns and better armor and a very reliable engine and transmission. A few small quirks had been identified by the veteran crews that had run a company's worth of prototypes and pre-production models for the past month, but the number and intensity of needed modifications was fairly low compared to what the engineers and managers expected. The one debate that was still raging was a demand for a boiling vessel inside of the tank. Artillery and snipers were a deadly danger to crews who needed a brew up.
Story 2601
Central France, September 21, 1944
The German machine gun sputtered. Half a dozen bullets dug into the dirt a dozen yards in front of the private. He was making himself small and as invisible as possible as his mortality suddenly became real in his first contact with the enemy. He had almost died once when the truck he had been riding in two winters ago had skidded along US 22 near Altoona, but that was a regular death of fate and accidents that his family had seen before. He had helped to recover bodies from wrecks along the mountain roads more than once as a teenager. But now, someone was intentionally trying to kill him despite the fact that he had yet tried to kill the other guy.
A few yards away the BAR team was firing back in the general direction of the German position. Another couple of riflemen were sending thirty caliber rounds at the Jerries as well. The replacement private was still digging himself into the dirt, trying to create a foxhole with his fingertips as another burst of machine gun fire cut down the grass at knee height just a few feet to his right. He kept on digging with his fingers.
Suddenly he heard someone yell. The LT, the fourth one that the platoon had in the past four months, stood up and started to bang away at the Jerries.
"Follow me boys." He started a charge. A few men followed him, while the rest of the platoon watched in horror as he was cut down within half a dozen steps.
The German machine gun sputtered. Half a dozen bullets dug into the dirt a dozen yards in front of the private. He was making himself small and as invisible as possible as his mortality suddenly became real in his first contact with the enemy. He had almost died once when the truck he had been riding in two winters ago had skidded along US 22 near Altoona, but that was a regular death of fate and accidents that his family had seen before. He had helped to recover bodies from wrecks along the mountain roads more than once as a teenager. But now, someone was intentionally trying to kill him despite the fact that he had yet tried to kill the other guy.
A few yards away the BAR team was firing back in the general direction of the German position. Another couple of riflemen were sending thirty caliber rounds at the Jerries as well. The replacement private was still digging himself into the dirt, trying to create a foxhole with his fingertips as another burst of machine gun fire cut down the grass at knee height just a few feet to his right. He kept on digging with his fingers.
Suddenly he heard someone yell. The LT, the fourth one that the platoon had in the past four months, stood up and started to bang away at the Jerries.
"Follow me boys." He started a charge. A few men followed him, while the rest of the platoon watched in horror as he was cut down within half a dozen steps.
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Story 2602
Rabaul, September 22, 1944
A dozen Kittyhawks from RAAF 80 Squadron turned back to base. There was no opposition today. There seldom was opposition over the great natural harbor besides the occasional flak burst. The single remaining Lancer photo bird had made its passes and turned for home five minutes ago. The pictures would be analyzed to see if there was anything worth noting or bombing. There seldom was, but the brass wanted to keep an eye on the Japanese garrison at least often enough to make their frequently empty stomachs churn in worry.
A dozen Kittyhawks from RAAF 80 Squadron turned back to base. There was no opposition today. There seldom was opposition over the great natural harbor besides the occasional flak burst. The single remaining Lancer photo bird had made its passes and turned for home five minutes ago. The pictures would be analyzed to see if there was anything worth noting or bombing. There seldom was, but the brass wanted to keep an eye on the Japanese garrison at least often enough to make their frequently empty stomachs churn in worry.
Nice contrast between veteran NCO and rookie LT.
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This was nagging at me so I went and checked- first time round it was still A LT, but a veteran nonetheless.
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The LT in the first vignette was a former enlisted man who has been rapidly promoted as he has both talent, experience and luck so far. Also updated both posts as the US routes are at the wrong towns. I had 22 further south than 30 in my mental map.
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Story 2603
Metz, France September 23, 1944
The headquarters of the division offered a great line of sight into the assault against a single fortress. A dozen tanks were moving forward. Another two dozen were in overwatching. Suddenly, a cannon fired, and then another and another. Even as tank gunners were firing from their overwatch position, the attached mortar teams as well as the advancing tank gunners started to lay a hasty smoke screen. The general could not see the riflemen, machine gunners, bazooka teams and engineers lugging satchel charges and flame throwers forward. Even as the smoke screen settled on the east, a dozen fighter bombers began their descent from the holding orbit that they had stayed in for the past hour. Soon napalm and rockets blasted a stretch of ground. The Jugs wiggled their wings as they exited the battle field and headed back to an airfield in Kent where their supply lines were far more secure and readily served by railroads instead of one and a half ton trucks.
By nightfall, the outer works of a fortress had been taken. The general had been briefed on the comparatively light casualties and the plans for the next day to take the interior of the fortress. Even as he was being told that all was well, exhausted infantrymen pressed their backs against concrete and tried to suppress interlocking machine gun teams until someone could sneak close enough with a flame thrower or a twenty pound dynamite charge to open up another avenue of approach. He pulled the straps to his helmet tight and finished his coffee just before he hopped into a waiting jeep to go talk with the captains and majors leading the assault companies and battalions that had seized the day. Before midnight, he would see a few of the wounded men in the battalion aid stations before heading back to his tent for a fitful five hours of sleep, before waking to oversee another assault to finish clearing a portion of the city's defenses.
The headquarters of the division offered a great line of sight into the assault against a single fortress. A dozen tanks were moving forward. Another two dozen were in overwatching. Suddenly, a cannon fired, and then another and another. Even as tank gunners were firing from their overwatch position, the attached mortar teams as well as the advancing tank gunners started to lay a hasty smoke screen. The general could not see the riflemen, machine gunners, bazooka teams and engineers lugging satchel charges and flame throwers forward. Even as the smoke screen settled on the east, a dozen fighter bombers began their descent from the holding orbit that they had stayed in for the past hour. Soon napalm and rockets blasted a stretch of ground. The Jugs wiggled their wings as they exited the battle field and headed back to an airfield in Kent where their supply lines were far more secure and readily served by railroads instead of one and a half ton trucks.
By nightfall, the outer works of a fortress had been taken. The general had been briefed on the comparatively light casualties and the plans for the next day to take the interior of the fortress. Even as he was being told that all was well, exhausted infantrymen pressed their backs against concrete and tried to suppress interlocking machine gun teams until someone could sneak close enough with a flame thrower or a twenty pound dynamite charge to open up another avenue of approach. He pulled the straps to his helmet tight and finished his coffee just before he hopped into a waiting jeep to go talk with the captains and majors leading the assault companies and battalions that had seized the day. Before midnight, he would see a few of the wounded men in the battalion aid stations before heading back to his tent for a fitful five hours of sleep, before waking to oversee another assault to finish clearing a portion of the city's defenses.
Story 2604
South bank of the Yellow River, September 24, 1944
Half a dozen men grunted in unison. The shrapnel had shredded a wheel of the 37 millimeter anti-tank gun but the gunners were safe as they had cowered in the slit trenches that had been dug near but not next to the gun the night before. Four hundred yards to their right, a pair of light tankettes were burning. Machine gun ammunition was cooking off and the attack had started to slow down as the defending machine gunners and riflemen were able to fire without worrying about high explosive rounds being directly fired into their dug-outs and foxholes. The gun slowly moved forward as four men pushed on the right and one pushed on the left. Soon an eighth of the anti-tank firepower of 20,000 defenders was moving along a communication trench that had been planked for rapid movement. Twenty five minutes later, it was in position half a mile away to give cover to another position that was likely to attract tank attacks.
The riflemen appreciated the big guns since they had arrived weeks ago. They had Mausers and Boys rifles and had them for years. They had started to be supplied with bazookas and PIATs and enjoyed that a company could actually make a Japanese tank platoon be cautious instead of merely overrunning them. But the eight anti-tank guns that were obsolete anywhere else in the world allowed for tanks to be killed, at times, before they were in machine gun range. The gunners waited. The riflemen waited. They knew another attack was likely as the Japanese had been pushing hard to clear the salient near Loyang before another fifty thousand men could reinforce the defenders.
Half a dozen men grunted in unison. The shrapnel had shredded a wheel of the 37 millimeter anti-tank gun but the gunners were safe as they had cowered in the slit trenches that had been dug near but not next to the gun the night before. Four hundred yards to their right, a pair of light tankettes were burning. Machine gun ammunition was cooking off and the attack had started to slow down as the defending machine gunners and riflemen were able to fire without worrying about high explosive rounds being directly fired into their dug-outs and foxholes. The gun slowly moved forward as four men pushed on the right and one pushed on the left. Soon an eighth of the anti-tank firepower of 20,000 defenders was moving along a communication trench that had been planked for rapid movement. Twenty five minutes later, it was in position half a mile away to give cover to another position that was likely to attract tank attacks.
The riflemen appreciated the big guns since they had arrived weeks ago. They had Mausers and Boys rifles and had them for years. They had started to be supplied with bazookas and PIATs and enjoyed that a company could actually make a Japanese tank platoon be cautious instead of merely overrunning them. But the eight anti-tank guns that were obsolete anywhere else in the world allowed for tanks to be killed, at times, before they were in machine gun range. The gunners waited. The riflemen waited. They knew another attack was likely as the Japanese had been pushing hard to clear the salient near Loyang before another fifty thousand men could reinforce the defenders.
Story 2605
Port-de-Bouc, France September 25, 1944
"FIRE IN THE HOLE FIRE IN THE HOLE FIRE IN THE HOLE"
The engineer finished shouting. He flattened himself onto the ground and quickly shook his head a quarter turn to each side to make sure his helmet was still on tight. He closed the circuit and a heart beat later, a block of Comp B detonated and removed from any future danger the German mine that had been discovered that morning on the outermost approaches to the salt lake harbor when the tide had forced it ashore.
The engineers had mainly been repairing the rail links and canal piers for the past month as the explosive clearance operations were mostly a July and August task. However the occasional chance to make something go BOOM was a reward for a job well done.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE FIRE IN THE HOLE FIRE IN THE HOLE"
The engineer finished shouting. He flattened himself onto the ground and quickly shook his head a quarter turn to each side to make sure his helmet was still on tight. He closed the circuit and a heart beat later, a block of Comp B detonated and removed from any future danger the German mine that had been discovered that morning on the outermost approaches to the salt lake harbor when the tide had forced it ashore.
The engineers had mainly been repairing the rail links and canal piers for the past month as the explosive clearance operations were mostly a July and August task. However the occasional chance to make something go BOOM was a reward for a job well done.
A question: With British forces in Balkans, was there any attempt by Croatia to switch sides? In OTL it was such a plot ( Lorković-Vokić plot ), but without Allied landing in Adriatic nothing happened.
Driftless
Donor
I had to look up the location for my own benefit. It's a few kilometers WNW of Marseilles, near the mouth of the Rhone River
They are still digging up leftovers from not just WW1 but the Franco-Prussian war to.
The ammunition and powder charges from the forward magazines was consumed in the 7 December 1941 blast. IIRC, all the surviving 14" ammunition and powder charges were removed when the aft turrets were removed during wartime salvage operations
Yes, Port-de-Bouc is the entry point to the navigable canal toward Arles, parallel to the Rhône River, so it's a step to open the Rhône-Saône axis to river traffic and diminish the logistical pressure from trucks and railroads.
You have (had) a canal from Marseille trough the étang de Berre. OTL, there was a canal tunel between Marseille and the étang de Berre, but the Germans used it to hide S-Boats and dynamited it when the city fell in 1944. If it's open here, the Allies got a huge boost as they can transfer directly cargo from ocean ships to (small) river barges in Marseille. I think that landing crafts can be used to ship cargo all the way up to Dijon.
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