WW2: Eviction Notice

Lieutenants Summers and Turnbull along with Sgt. Bunkum were faced with a problem.  Having only a few men they had to hold up a German attack supported by some armour!

Lt. Summers took a few men and took up a position in a cottage on the road.  He carefully concealed the bazooka team behind the bocage in a field to the rear.

Lt. Turnbull took the .30 cal and few men and occupied the house on the right but pushed a small group forward to cover the field adjacent to the road.

Whilst Sgt. Bunkum and the remaining men formed the reserve.

The German assault group entered the field, split into two teams and began to advance down the side of the crops.  They move cautiously until the reached the edge of the planting and peered around it.

They suddenly came under a hail of automatic fire from a US sub-machine gun, the lead man was hit and the others ducked back.  Meanwhile their other team was making good progress down the far side of the field.

On the other side of the road the other squad and their MG42 team advanced, reaching a hedge overlooking Lt. Summers' position.  They were spotted when they tried to push the LMG through the hedge and two of the men went down.  They were luckier with their next attempt and raked the garden wall with the MG42, hitting the Lieutenant.

With the wall being hammered with machine gun fire the other paratroopers weren't waiting around to be out flanked.  They dragged Summers behind the house and, picking him up rushed across a lane to the safety of a bocage rimmed field.  Predictable as ever the Germans flanked the US position and after throwing a couple of grenades in rushed it - only to find that the birds had flown.

On the other flank the Germans were pushing their way through the standing crops and then threw grenades towards the US position.  The US paratroopers were stunned but the Germans then rushed them and only one escaped back to Lt. Turnbull's position.

Germans couldn't advance against against the extra men and firepower.  And, on the other side of the field the other German team had been spotted from the house and came under heavy fire and were forced to withdraw after taking a couple of casualties.

At this point the German armour arrived.  The panzer clanked its way down the road right into sight of the US bazooka team.  Unfortunately the guy with the bazooka was a little jumpy and their first shot went wide (but wide enough for the tank crew not to have notice it).  They reloaded and had another go - a palpable hit but on the front armour - not enough to penetrate.  The tank's turret began to traverse their way so they threw themselves down behind the bocage bank just in time as the shot was short.

With both armour and infantry advancing on their position the team took the incapacitated Lt. Summers and withdrew to join up with Sgt. Bunkum.  The Germans took their position.

With further German reinforcements arriving the paratroopers withdrew but in the confusion two of the men were captured.