Small Scale Military Headquarters

Today it misted, leaving stuff a lil wet, but okay. I also witnessed a squirrel make off with some of my moss and bury it 3 feet from my creek bed... Dastardly squirrels! I think I might go out there tonight and work by lantern light... I have to work tomorrow also, so I have no choice really.

hey yall!!! Sweet---looks like things are comeing along pretty good!!! ---RED---

RED,

Is it too late to throw my hat in for a 1/18 dio-story? Finally thought about what I want to do.

No Sir its not!!! I will put your name down!!!! ---RED---

Cool. Even better would be if the snow level drops down tonight so I can use some of the real stuff. Getting snow two years in a row would be cool.

Hey yall!!!About 3 weeks left till the deadline!!! How are things comeing along???---RED---

Two things standing in the way man, college and work...

Hey yall!!! 2 weeks left!!!!Hope yalls dios are comeing alone pretty good!!!!!!---RED---

We got cold weather, but not snow...
Guess I gotta make it myself.

Hey yall!! Alright alittle more than a week left---anybody done???? Or is it going to come down to the wire for some of yall??? Just cant wait to see what yall came up with!!!!---RED---

Just a few more supplies and I'll be ready to take pics. When is that deadline again? Feb. 3?

Yes sir!!!FEB.3rd,'08---8:00pm est---Good deal---cant wait to see it!!!---RED---

Hey yall!!! Just 1 week left till the deadline!!!! Havent heard alot from anyone ---- are yall who entered still in this thing or have some of yall dropped out??? Let me know how yall are doing!!! ---RED---

RED-- sent you a PM a few days ago.

I actually got the storyline and presentation set up, I just need to get the pictures taken. So, I'm still in it.

SWEET!!! Just want to know whos going to post 1st???? 5 days left!!!---RED---

Allrgiht, heres my entry:

(Note-- 2 of the pics look photoshopped/misaligned. I dont know why this happens, usually happens 1 out of 3 times Ill try to post a pic,)


A determined young Lieutenant watches nervously as the first shells hit his area. Behind him, a battle-hardened BAR Gunner prepares himself for action with stolen German Stielhandgranates:





The Soldiers quickly take cover in their foxholes:






The Germans pour from there Hanomag halftrack and get into position while the US Troops are pinned down:






Then, the Germans begin firing. An MG34 Gunner unloads fire into the forest while an MP44 Rifleman fires beside him:






Those who can gather themselves together return fire:






The situation seems hopeless... until a Sherman Tank comes in straight from behind the US Troops, smashing down trees in its path:







The crew is determined and ready for action. The tank's turret traverses and aims straight towards the parked German Halftrack about a hundred yards away:






The Germans see this and quickly flee from their positions to avoid the threatened Halftrack explosion. Out in the open, they are sitting ducks and are picked off by US Riflemen and BAR Gunners:




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Allied Victory!

Hey yall!!! 3 1/2 days left!!!! I guess yall are going to post yalls dio on the last day???---RED---

RED wrote:Hey yall!!! 3 1/2 days left!!!! I guess yall are going to post yalls dio on the last day???---RED---

Of course we are... it's like turning in a term paper - who does it on the first day when you can do at the very last minute...
-I like to take procrastination to an art form...but I'll start tomorrow...

Amazingly, I'm not working this weekend. I may actually get my pics done!

Edit- Red I will have to drop from the contest because I will not have the time to finish what little I started by tomorrow. I really wanted to do this I had a perfect dio, story idea but just wont have the time . Hope it does not cause any problems . Thanks.

The Ghost Front
The German assault began on 16 December 1944, at 05:30,
with a massive artillery barrage. Snow had fallen recently
making for poor road conditions. The advance was not as
swift as they would have hoped and they met with stiff
resistance from the spread out Americans who were given
the order to "hold at all costs".

Out on early patrol members of the 99th met with the German spearhead attack, 6th SS Panzer Dv.



Having only small arms and spitwads with little ammunition we hit 'em with all we had.



Hitting the hanomag seemed to only stir up a hornets nest!



Out numbered, and low on ammo, we send as many krauts to hell as we can, and high tail it.



They kept on a comin'



With no air or tank support we ducked for cover when the Panther showed up.



Expending our ammo we held out in our fox hole to the last grenade.



We surrender unwillingly and expect 'hell to pay'. But our end would not come so soon.

Decided to use this contest to experiment with some things I wanted to try out. Some things worked, some things didn't.

Anyways, this story is one of those "True stories heard from a guy who knew a guy.....". My buddy's father-in-law was in the 99th, and this is one of the stories he would tell about being at the Battle of the Bulge. Thought it would make a good theme for the contest.


Shot at 2008-02-02


Shot at 2008-02-02


Shot at 2008-02-02


Shot at 2008-02-02

SWEET!!!! Great work on the dios men!!!! For the rest of yall you have till 8:00 EST tonight to post your dios!!! And remember the SUPERBOWL comes on tonight to so yall might want to post them soon than later if you want to go out and watch it!!!---RED---

“My name is Elmer Taylor* and I was a 24 year old Corporal in the 14th Armored Division during Jan 1945. My main job was driver, halftrack. Coming from a farm in Kentucky, I could drive most anything. Those city fellers in my unit just dropped their jaws when the Sargent showed them the controls for driving these halftracks in training. Shoot, it was just like driving my pappy’s ol’ tractor back home.”

“Well, on 7th January 1945 me and my best pal and gunner Pvt. James “Jimmy” Simmons were transporting some members of the 79th Inf. Div. between the towns of Hatten and Rittershoffen when our halftrack broke down.”


“Jimmy and I worked on the halftrack”


“The boys from the 79th dug into a natural gully and dug it out good to fit all of us in.”


“Jimmy moved one of our .30 cal MGs to the big fox hole they had dug and set it up to help protect our perimeter.”


“Out of the blue, we were under attack by the Germans.”


“Before I knew it, Jimmy was shot.”


“One of 79th guys was a medic, but Jimmy looked real bad”


“Seeing my best friend like that just lit a fire under me and I took out after that stinking German SOB…”


Having driven several wedges into the Seventh Army, the Germans launched another attack on 7 January 1945. The German XXXIX Panzer Corps, with the 21st Panzer and the 25th Panzergrenadier Divisions, attacked the greatly weakened VI Corps center between the Vosges and Lauterbourg. In the two Alsatian towns of Hatten and Rittershoffen, the 14th Armored Division “Liberators” assisted by a mixture of other combat, combat support, and service troops, halted the Germans during their last offensive drive of the war.

*Dedicated to my friend Elmer Taylor who served with the "Liberators" as a halftrack driver and crack shot with a BAR among other weapons. He made his last stand in 2006 and is missed greatly.