The 91st Recon successfully located the lost Sherman but before contact could be made, the tank blundered into a German fortified position. The daring rescue team is now made up of Lt. Hughes, the ever present Sgt. Cox and his BAR man Cpl. Wood, Cpl Collins the Ranger, Pvt Phillips the grenadier, and the medic Pvt. Mitchell. The other members of the squad waited behind in reserve.
November 3rd 1943
As a Sergeant it is not usually my duty to write after action reports but after today's engagement I find myself thrust in command. I have taken it upon myself to write in the late Lieutenant Walter Hughes's journal the record of his death.
We entered the outskirts of the village of Ponte della Morte and quickly located the tank which we intended to contact. As we approached, a German antitank gun shot from ambush. The shell hit the engine of the tank and smoke poured from its hatches.
Lt Hughes and our medic, Pvt Mitchell, rushed to the crippled Sherman and pulled a wounded tanker from the wreck. I led the rest of the squad into cover, taking over an abandoned trench system to our right. Cpl Wood noticed an enemy Squad negotiating the rubble of a ruined building and kept them at bay, emptying his BAR.
As the medic helped the wounded tanker to his feet, the brave Lieutenant dove into the burning hulk again, pulling another tanker from the steel coffin. A third attempt was a failure. He jumped out yelling that the fire was close to the ammunition. He grabbed the nearly dead tanker and began to drag him away from the explosion we knew was coming. We all kept our heads down, finding any cover that we could.
Cpl Collins held the advancing Germans off but none of us had seen the German sniper who must have been in a building near by. Lt Hughes was noticed as he drug the dying tanker. A rifle shot was heard and he slumped forward, lifeless. Medic Mitchell turned to look but the German gun fired again, obliterating the tank and filling the air with shrapnel.
We retreated back in to the mountains. The men are still in shock from the days events. As I am in command now, they look to me for our next plan. The decision to press the objective and locate as many allied troops as possible, or to retreat to known Allied lines is is still to be made.
Sergeant William Cox
C Troop
91st Reconnaissance Squadron
Obviously a disappointing outcome, but that's the reality of a random solo campaign. As the men of C troop are still a ways from Allied lines, even a retreat could bring up some action. The squad is at hex 5-5. Today's battle,marked by the tank was in hex 4-4.
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