Operation Cobra: Normandy Breakout!Historical Fiction
Courtesy: Brad Pitt and the crew of FuryOOC Thread --
In Character Thread "I'm taking a company of armor into the Bocage country. Who's with me!?" Captain Carpenter gathered the cherries around. "Our tank company consists of 17 M4A3 Shermans and five M18 Hellcats. For those of you heading to our Assault Gun Platoon will enjoy the benefits of the brand new Hellcats. Each vehicle has a maximum speed of over 55MPH on paved surfaces. It is the fastest tank in theater. It's main gun is the same as that on the Sherman, but its speed is its true benefit."
"The company is organized into three tank platoons of five vehicles per platoon and the one assault gun platoon. My vehicle and the Executive Officer's tank make up a two-vehicle section for command and control purposes."
"I don't expect it will be easy," Captain Theodore Carpenter spoke to the group of new recruits. "The Russians have had a terrible time with the newer German tanks; the Panthers and the Tigers. They are large, have very heavy thick armor and pack a huge wallop. The Russians ahve been able to stop the German Panzers with their T-34 tanks. Even then, they have had their hands full. The M4A3 Shermans you are working with are a new and improved tank over the M5 Light Stuart Tank. The Stuart was beat every time by the Mark III and Mark IV tanks in North Africa. We will have to see how it goes with the Panthers and Tigers."
"From what I hear, the newer, larger tanks have hydraulic and fuel problems and spend more time in Maintenance than they do in action. That is a plus for us, since we should outnumber them in engagements. In order to use this advantage to our favor, we need to establish a base of fire behind covered and concealed locations in order to make it difficult for the Germans to both see our tanks and shoot at them. If cover and concealment is not available, it is safer to put some distance between yourselves and a Tiger or Panther than trying to charge into them. If you establish a base of fire with a platoon, we can maneuver the remaining members of the company on a flank and attempt to attack the newer German tanks from the side or more desirable, from the rear. Attacking German tanks from the rear is the preferred method."
"You can expect our company to be attached to the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion for combined operations. This will provide the benefits of dismounted infantry with the lightning speed and firepower of armor. So expect to get acquainted with our grunt brothers in the Infantry. Our Direct Support Artillery support will come from the 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion which uses 105mm Howitzers. We can also expect support from our own mortar platoon which uses 81mm mortars mounted on halftracks."
You are the tank commander of an American M4A3 Sherman tank in A Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armor Division. The Division is currently assigned to the US VIII Corps under LTG Middleton within General Patton's 3rd Army. Our Battalion commander is LTC Creighton Abrams and the division commander is MG Wood. We arrived in Normandy at Utah beach on 13 July 1944 and have been relieving the US 4th Infantry Division in the Cotentin Peninsula. Something big is about to happen. For this, I am certain. So prepare your platoon or tank crew for action. Make sure you are ready for the tough fight ahead. The Germans aren't going to lay down so easily.
Although I intend to follow an historical timeline of where the unit moves to and engages the enemy, I have no clue what happened to the specific tank crews within A/37 TB. That is where you come in. You will portray either a Lieutenant, Sergeant or Staff Sergeant within the company, in command of a tank, a tanks section or a tank platoon. You way what the vehicles and men of your subordinate unit do. Exercise your creativity as you see fit. I have no intention of telling you what to do. If you wish to ask me a question, send me a PM, I will answer as best I can.
I have a simple dice system you may use if you choose to help resolve tank vs tank combat.
_________________
I am playing no game. I am writing a story that maybe a few of you will enjoy.I am in Eastern Standard Time zone (GMT -5)
My CharactersMy Writing StylesGalileo CorporationModern Wargaming RulesBakushima; Fantasy Feudal JapanBest Days for RPing
Fri - Sun
- Attitude | +
- "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. "
~ Charles Swindoll
