The Iron Riders' Road East: Part 5 - Protect the road!

Snow began falling. It came fast and it came heavy. One of the supply routes was being threatened, so 1st Platoon was sent over to help create a defensive line to try and stop the Krauts cutting the road. They had been probing up and down the road and scouts had reported a company to platoon sized force with some armoured support on the way to cut the road in this area. 

Matty O'Doul with 1st squad and the M4 would sit atop the hill on the left flank. Their job was to provide covering fire across the road onto the other hilltop. Lt. Rourke would occupy the farm and hold Hennings and 2nd squad in reserve, while Malloy's 3rd squad and the 30 cal team would quickly cross the road and try to set up a defensive line in the roods on top of the hill. They would try and do this before any Germans arrived. 

Here we see O'Doul and 1st squad along with the M4 overlooking the valley.

Here are Malloy and 3rd squad getting ready to rush across the road. 

There were two possible concentrations of Germans! Malloy's squad was almost on the crest of the hill.

Malloy separated his BAR team from his rifle team. They each positioned themselves up on the edges of the two copses to set up a crossfire. There was a rumble and a squealing of metal on metal. Over the crest appeared a Panzerjager IV along with a smattering of infantry loping along, hugging cover. An MG34 tore the atmosphere with a spray of bullets, forcing Malloy and his rifle team to duck for cover. 

With timing that could only be described as disastrous a supply column appeared over the horizon and slowly rumbled along the road. 

A sharp crack split the air. Kraut high velocity rounds! There was a Pak 40 in the woods!

One of the Deuce and a Halfs erupted in flame! The road was incredibly exposed and at risk of getting cut!

Malloy and the rifle team exchanged fire with the German squad, killing one of them. The Panzerjager IV crept closer to the road. 

The convoy trundled forwards. 

More sharp cracks as rounds were shot off by the Pak 40 and SPG!

Explosions threw up dirt from the road. Shrapnel tore through the canvas coverings, but the trucks kept moving.

Lt. Rourke ordered Hennings and his squad forward across the road. The 30 cal team also pushed forwards.

 

O'Doul and the M4 also advanced down the hill in an attempt to flank the top of the hill on the other side of the road. 

Malloy and his team continued to exchange fire with the Krauts on the hill. More fire came down the hill and another truck was blown apart. 

German reinforcements arrived! The rest of the platoon hurried into position on the hill top and began engaging in the battle.

O'Doul and his rifles had to duck for cover as they were engaged by one of the newly arrived German squads. 

The M4 and BAR team engaged those Krauts and sent them scurrying for cover and inflicting a casualty.

Hennings' squad, the 30 cal and Malloy's squad engaged the Krauts on the hill again, doing more damage. The fighting on the hill was getting quite intense!

One of Malloy's men went down under fire from the MG34 and some HE from the Pak 40. While rallying his team a shard of shrapnel zinged across the air, hitting Malloy, sending him sprawling, bleeding. 

The Germans on the hill poured rifle fire down the hill. The 50mm mortar team also let off a few rounds.

Now stuck in the valley O'Doul and his team became pinned down by the rifle and mortar fire! Their plan had turned them into more of a liability than a help!

O'Doul, gaining in confidence and tactical awareness rallied his squad and returned fire. Supported by the Sherman, they set the top of the hill ablaze...

...causing the German rifle team, who had been giving O'Doul all of the problems took casualties. The remainder broke and ran. 

More furious exchanges of fire atop the hill! A bazooka round ricocheted off the side of the Panzerjager. Bullets peppered the ground around the MG34 team. The German rifle team who had been engaging Malloy came under heavy pressure. 

The Panzerjager took another shot at the convoy, missing. Hennings was slowly advancing up the hill. His BAR team was covering from the road. Lt. Rourke got on the horn with a warning and request for any available support. He was told it was on the way, just sit tight and keep the road open.

The Pak 40 and MG34 team redirected fire onto the 30 cal team. 

In the woods two German rifle teams charged, with difficulty, at Malloy's BAR team. The Americans poured defensive fire onto the attackers, forcing one rifle team to stop in their tracks. 

The other group of Krauts made it through the fire. It was deadly, vicious and close. Casualties on both sides. The Americans just had the edge, keeping their resolve. The German squad, what was left of it fell back. 

The Sherman fired on the mortar team, pinning it. A German rifle team crept towards the woods edge to engage the convoy.

Hennings and his team arrived in the woods. The Germans, having regrouped, returned fire onto the mauled BAR team, causing them to keep their heads down. 

Caught in the open, the 30 cal team took heavy fire. The rounds came thick and fast. Neither crewman survived. 

The SPG fired over at Hennings' BAR team on the road, suppressing them. Things were falling apart for the Americans. The road was going to be cut!

Another rumble. More squealing of metal on metal. This time from the road. This time the rumble was US armour. Enough armour and supporting infantry to prevent a gap in the line appearing. 

With the road secured, and the division suffering heavily, it was decided they would be sent back to a quiet sector of the line. They would be switched out with a unit protecting the Elsenborn Ridge. They would have access to hot meals and billets with, if not beds, a roof, walls and some warmth. 

Malloy was dead, along with half of his squad. These men would likely not be replaced for a while. Keeping the supply route open felt very much like a Pyrrhic victory.