Next, led by the brilliant Commander Jim Parker the Sherman’s rallied on the experimental Sturer Emil. Once the Sherman’s were free of the minefield Parker ordered them to spread out. His Sherman’s held fire as the advanced on the German tank destroyers. A Sturer Emil gun roared a defiant shell into the advancing Americans. It penetrated and the Sherman burst into flames.
Jim’s Sherman again fired on the move but his first two shells were off target. The Sturer Emil returned fire and knocked the track off the Sherman directly to Pete’s right. The tank was still operational though, and managed to fire off a shot into an anti-tank gun that was trying to finish it off. Three SS soldiers popped out of a hidden tunnel not far from the tank they fired their Panzerfausts all at the same time then discarded the used tubes. The Sherman’s machine gun cut down two of the men before they could dive for cover but the Panzerfaust warheads penetrated the side of the Sherman smashing through the torso of the tank’s loader; the tank quickly went up in flames.
Jim Parkers Sherman fired its third round on the move, this one flew true and smashed through the front of the St Emil, its guns fell silent. The Sherman’s continued to close the gap on the remaining St Emil’s, advancing over the third and fourth trenches of the SS Mountain division. They ignored the heavy machine gun fire and focused on the remaining tank destroyers and anti-tank guns.
First Sergeant William James Jackson cooked a grenade for a few seconds before throwing it into the trench, the rest of his squad did the same. They heard a loud cry from one of the SS men and saw the men bend down to pick it up, he stood to throw it back but the grenade exploded; the man and his colleges were turned into a bloody mess.
All hell broke loose; the Americans arrived at the edge of the trench and fired a hail of bullets into the area. The SS returned fire with their StG assault rifles and the air was filled with lead.
Master Sergeant Millers Squad attacked the trench from the right-hand side; they had thrown smoke grenades to cover their assault. The sound of German light machine guns flitted through the air with a menacing buzz. Four of Miller’s men were taken out as they sprinted towards the trench. Miller reached the edge of the trench and without thinking he dived into it, firing his Thompson as he fell.
Miller took out the two machine gunners before he rolled and fired on the German’s behind him, three men took a full clip from the submachine gun. Miller felt the firing mechanism click, the magazine was empty. He switched to his pistol.
The rest of his squad followed him into the trench and fired their M1 rifles at the SS, The Germans returned fire and men were cut down where the stood. Miller hit a man through his head with a few rounds from the pistol; He dove to the floor and reloaded his Thompson.
Americans and Germans were so close to each other now that some of the fought hand to hand. First Sergeant William Jackson pulled out his knife and jumped an SS man; he drove the blade deep through the black uniform into his chest. The German let out a cry of pure pain and tried to gouge Jackson’s eyes. Jackson twisted the blade then punched the man in the face repeatedly.
SS Mann Schutze Tomas Otto witnessed his friend being stabbed to death but rather then aim his weapon at the American scum he decided to rush him with the bayonet attached to the end of his rifle; whether this was just because of the heat of the battle or because he was high on Pervitan only he could tell you. It was a mistake though as Private first class John Curtis hit the younger Tomas twice through the chest with two shots from his M1 Carbine.
Men were fighting desperately all across the line of trenches close to the base of the mountain. The Sherman’s were in alongside this chaos as they systematically took out the remaining armor but they continued to take rounds from all angles from the deadly Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers.
Berndt Krause, who had long left the battle overhead, reached the edge of the manmade river, the final hurdle before reaching the laboratory. The small wooden crate had gone. Krause would have to swim if he wanted to reach Sporrenberg. He dumped his rifle and hat, and then dived head first into the icy cold water; he swam as hard and quickly as he could.
Jim Parker’s Sherman had racked up an impressive amount of kills but as the time approached mid afternoon he was running low on important supplies, none more important than his beloved Bourbon. The .50 Browning machine gun was completely empty and they were down to the last five hundred rounds in two .30 calibers. They continued to fire suppressing bursts around the top of the trenches.
The last anti-aircraft Kugelblitz looked a sorry sight with its lifeless guns pointing towards the scorched earth. Two machine gun nests flanked it at the base of the mountain; they simultaneously opened fire on Parker’s Sherman. The rounds pinged off the hull of his tank; Parker did not even bother to close his Commanders hatch.
The Sherman’s 76 mm lined up on the first machine gun nest. The tank stopped to steady its aim and then fired. The shell tore into the machine gun position and killed the dug in soldiers.
That gave them the precious seconds they needed. The Kugelblitz engine roared to life and the vehicle charged forward. It trained its two autocannons onto the target, the 30mm anti-aircraft guns bellowed as it sent shells towards the unprotected side of Parker’s Sherman.
The American commander was caught off guard for the first time in battle. The high-velocity-armor-piercing shells tore into the tank. Loader James ‘Brook’ Brooks and Assistant driver Rick ‘Free’ Freeman were killed instantly by the shells impacting. The ammunition store was hit and went up in a ball of flames. Driver Ross ‘DC’ Washington and gunner Paul ‘Mex’ Perez were caught in the furious fireball and were soon turned into a putrid smelling charcoal.
Jim Parker was blown clean out of the turret of his beautiful machine; he hit the ground hard and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop in the mud. The forty-two-year-old struggled to clear his blurred vision and the ringing in his ears; he smacked the side of his head and tried to shake it off. When his vision cleared he sat up slightly, pain raced up his spine and he winced. Jim Parker looked over to see the smoking hull of his decapitated tank; he whispered a small prayer for his fallen friends.
An SS soldier’s dark uniform appeared over the top of the trench he raised his StG 44 assault rifle and pulled the trigger. Three shots flew through the air and impacted into the SS man’s neck he tumbled back into the trench.
Three more men came over the top of the trench; Jim fired his pistol again and hit the first man four times in the chest; he fell where he stood. The other two soldiers fired their StG 44’s; Jim Parker was hit in the chest with a three-round burst, he knew he was hit as he felt the pressure and the air leave him but he felt no pain.
Jim managed to fire two more shots with one hitting the German soldier in the leg but he kept coming, it was like he did not even feel the round. Jim dropped the pistol and led back. Rounds sprang out and smashed into the two SS soldiers, they went down under a hail of bullets. Jim heard shouting in the distance but he could not make it out.
Master Sergeant Robert Miller rushed over to the fallen tank commander. He got to him and immediately started checking him over.
“You’re going to be ok Parker! Just stay with me, you hear me?”
Jim smiled, blood bubbled at the side of his mouth.
“You were always full of shit youngin.” He laughed then closed his eyes.