Immelmann's Co(-) had crossed the northern stream and had possesion of Obj 45.  A PZ Plt from the 22nd was guarding the NE approach to Obj 65 as a Plt of Infantry approached it from the SW.  The ground here was marsh/swamp and the Pz's could not occupy the Obj.  The enemy combat forces in and around Obj 100 were reduced to the point where Cpt Hamm ordered the Recce forces guarding his left flank to sweep the remaininng support and Hq's off the battlefield as the 2 Lt Pz's Plt's and a Plt from 3rd Co. provided security and to ultimately occuppy Obj 100.  The Pz's of 1st and 2nd Co (-) were now NE of the small hills of Obj 40 engaging the Russian Infantry in the woodline.

Cpt Hamm's problem was with the 22nd Pz.  He had no word regarding the enemy on the south bank of the stream.  If they decided to move south,  the only comabt forces he had on that side of the stream were a MG and Mortar Plt to protect the Hq's

Cpt Hamm pressed the earphones hard to his head as he tried to make out the reports coming from the 22nd Pz.  From what he could make out,  one Pz Plt was forced to retreat after being attacked by a Co of enemy Infantry.  The other Plt's were holding,  blocking the trail that led south.  The good news was he now had a combat unit on the south side of the stream.

Then Immelman came on..."I have one Plt pinned between 45 and 65  by artillery fire.  Two Plt's are on 45 but I need to more one of them towards 65 if we want to take it."

Jocheim's artillery landed accurate fires on the enemy Infantry in the woodline causing heavy casualties and forcing others to retreat. 

The Recce forces were cleaning up the support units nicely but then another Lt Pz was hit at Obj 100.  The enemy consolidated on that objective but Hamm would hit it hard with Jocheim's artillery.  His other Pz's had cleared a path between the small hills and the woodline after the Russian's were beat back and were now less than a Km away from releiving Immelmann's troops at 45.

The 22nd Pz was holding to the north but was being pressed hard.  "Jocheim, I need heavy fires to the north.......and Hamm gave him the grids.

Hamm felt that they had the enemy on his heels.  Though the Russian's had placed 2 Infantry Plt's on Obj 65,  his Pz's were about to relieve Immelmann's Infantry at 45.

Reports coming over the radio were good.  Obj 100 was secured by a Pz Plt from 3rd Co with the Recce Co provoding

Infantry support.  Units from 1st and 2nd Co had relieved Immelmann's Plt's at Obj 45 releasing them to go north

towards Obj 65.  Thos enemy forces on that objective were forced to retreat under heavy fire from a Pz Plt of the 22nd. 

Cpt Hamm's forces push forward into the edge of the woodline  to provide flank cover for Immelmann's Infantry assault on Obj 65.  It was a manuever that he would pay for........

2 Russian 45mm AT guns opened fire at point blank range.  2 pz's exploded, Hamm saw the smoke rise above the trees, he heard the frantic radio calls,  and he pushed the attack forward.

Hamm's forces secured Obj 65 and one of Immelmann's Plt's destroyed the AT guns that had made this attack costly. 7 panzers between his forces and the 22nd Pz,  but worse,  their experienced crews were lost. 

After almost 3 weeks into the campaign and 3 fights,  Hamm's 17th SS Pz Bn was pulled off the line and brought back for some replacement vehicles and crews {2 Pz IIIh's}, much needed repairs, and rest for his unit.  His men had performed excellently but they had paid a price.  11 Pz's were lost. 

Hamm was told he was to report to Div Hq's to meet with the Div Commander.  Upon arriving,  he was greeted and praised on his units fine performance.  Cpt Hamm gave his impressions of the enemy that he had fought and the problems he was facing with the losses his unit had incurred.

The Division Cdr gave the Cpt assurances that replacements were arriving to the front but it would still be at least 2 weeks before they could be intergrated. He then got down to the business at hand.....

With the unexpected rapid eastward advance of the Pz's,  large pockets of Russian forces had been bypassed and these units were now causing serious problems for the supply columns in the gap between the leading Pz formations and the Infantry forces some 3 days behind them. 

The villages of Legnica and Dabrowy,  north of your lager, were two positions bypassed and are the base of operations for these attacks upon our supplies.  I am putting together a mixed force from the units that have been pulled off the front line to clear those villages and secure our lines of communications. I am putting you in overall command of these forces.

Cpt Hamm looked over the list of units he would have under his command.  Two motorized Infantry Company's,  a Company of motorized 105mm Artillery, and a Company of Pz's.  All were units he had just fought the previous battle with.  Even being pulled off the line meant little rest for all involved.

Cpt Hamm laid out his basic plan for his Commander and got his approval.

He would keep his Pz's concentrated on a narrow front,  advance across the ridgeline west of Legnica,  and secure Dabrowy.  He designated 3 Obj's along this axis.  Obj 70 at the base of the ridge and Obj's 145 and 45 signifying the west and east edges of the village.

The Infantry would be on the Pz's right flank, staying mounted until they reached the base of the ridge south of Legnica.  They would responsible for clearing that village and Hamm designated that as Obj 85. 

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with this "new" web design here at the Wargamer.......

Cpt Hamm was in his commnd vehicle sitting with Pz's from 1st Co.  A heavy mist hung over the ground that cut visability to about a kilometer and Hamm knew that was a 2 edged sword. 

3rd Pz Co was some 5km's to his SE having been in the repair yard the longest and had the farthest to travel.  They would catch the rear elements of Immelmann's Infantry in 20 or 30 minutes.

Durring his briefing with the Co. Cdr's, Lt Immelmann requested the Lt Pz's Plt of the 22nd Pz escort his trucks to the dismount point as the limited visability made his vehicles very vunerable to any enemy pressence along his route.  Cpt Hamm agreed and it proved to be a smart request from the young Lt. 

As the Pz II's came to a bend in the road they were fired upon by 2 AT guns.  They were able to pull back without loses Then the Lt Pz's of 2nd Co also came under fire from 2 more guns.  The enemy had a security line forward of the ridge.  The 2 Plt's from 1st Co he was traveling with saw the  muzzle flashes and immendiately returned fire destroying both guns.

Another explosion rocked Cpt Hamm in his vehicle as a tank to his left front exploded.  Another pair of enemy AT guns opened fire and this time they hit.  Hamm was considering pulling his forces back and rethinking his plan........

Frantic radio calls flooded his ears as he listened to the Hq's element of the 22nd Pz came under heavy machinegun fire.  Hamm tried to contact them but all he got was static......

Cpt Hamm decided to press the attack.  He had only seen light enemy forces and he needed to gain the ridgeline.  As his Pz's moved forward, they engaged the guns that had fired earlier an both were destroyed.  The massed fire of the formation was directed left as more enemy AT guns opend fire.  They were also destroyed.  Hamm had reached the base of the ridge.

Lt Immelmann's Infantry did not fare as well.  As the Pz escort probed forward,  they were again engaged by the AT guns from earlier and also by an Engineer Plt.  This time they left the smoldering wreck of a vehicle in the field as they retreated and regrouped again.  Immelmann ordered the lead Infantry an d MG Plt dismounted to clear the trail.  They were still 2 km's from the ridge.

"Enemy Infantry moving out of the woods to our right Sir!" yelled Eric to his Cdr.  Hamm wasn't concerned as his Pz's engaged some more guns trying to ge into position.  Meanwhile Immelmann's forces were brought under fire as they advanced towards the enemy.

The combined fire of the Infantry and MG Plt's plus some well placed mortar rounds forced the Russian's to retreat allowing  Immelmann to begin moving his forces forward, slowly.  Again,  the Pz escort drew small arms fire and Immelmann knew from monitoring the radio that their were enemy forces to his west. 

Cpt Hamm and his Pz's swept across the crest of the ridgeline clearing out small  groups of enemy forces.  He had 1st Co leave its PzII's as a flank guard as 2nd Pz Co swept to the left.

The Russian's were trying to reinforce their positions in front of Immelmann's forces and the narrow corridor he had established was threatened yet again.

Hamm watched as his Pz's crossed the high ground and started to descend the to wards Dabrowy.  Some AT fire came from the woods to his right but was quickly surpressed.

"Cdr,  this is Immelmann .  Your 3rd Co has contacted my column.  They are leaving their Light Plt with me."  Hamm agreed as he knew Immelmann's forces were being slowed down.  The arrival of his 3rd Co was good news as it could perform 2 missions....Secure Immelmann's left flank and begin to clear the enemy infantry he had bypassed.  The Russian's were defending the approaches to Legnica but that wasn't his main objective......

Reports coming in to Hamm's radioman indicated that the Russian's were consolidating their defenses protecting Legnica.

Cpt Hamm watched as his Pz's rushed forward towards Obj's 145 and 45.  They caught the Russian's trying to setup their defenses and destroyed them while still mounted in their transports. Eric reported that both Obj's had been secured. 
Hamm heard the cannon fire of his 3rd Pz Co as they engaged the Russian Infantry the he had bypassed and the enemy retreated in its path.

To the east,  the combined Infantry and Pz's continued to push the enemy away from the road Immelmann's forces were using to advance on Legnica but the enemy still blocked the road to the north.

As Cpt Hamm's Pz's took up positions outside of Dabrowy,  a force of Russian AT guns took up positions to the NW of the town about 1km distance from Obj 145. Meanwhile Lt Immelmann's Infantry and Pz force was slowly clearing the road to Legnica as their constant pressure was causing the enemy to retreat north.

The Pz's at and around Obj 145 opened fire on the enemy AT line and proceded to destroy all but one gun.  Even still,  Cpt Hamm was taking no chances and pulled the forward most Plt back.  He couldn't afford to lose any more tanks. Across the top of the ridge, Hamm deployed his Pz's in a defensive screen to protect the right flank of Obj 145.  3rd Pz Co continued to advance and pound the Russian Infantry into retreat towards the outskirts of Legnica. 

Just when Lt Immelmann thought he would be able to continue his advance,  the lead Pz escort ran into another pair of AT guns and was forced to retreat. The good news was the Russian Infantry that was blocking the road was brought under the combined fire from multiple directions and was destroyed.

There were now 3 separate battles being fought across Hamm's sector.  To the west, his Pz's were clearing out the remaining Russian forces .  In the center, Immelmann and Hamm's 3rd Pz Co (which Hamm decided to attach to the Lt) were fighting an increasingly stubborn battle to control the southern approaches to Legnica. To the east,  another attempt to break out of the woods south of Obj 50 is again met with resistance.

The fighting was becoming one-sided and the firing was much less than before as Russian units were being destroyed or retreat at every turn.   Just when he thought this phase of the battle was over,  Immelmann's voice blasted through the headphones..."Hamm!  I have a Co+ of enemy Infantry coming down the trail and along the base of the ridge south of 50!"

And just as that transmission ended another report of Infantry approaching his right-most Plt NNE of Obj 70...

With the left flank void of enemy pressence,  Cpt Hamm took off with a Pz Plt and as he passed Obj 45,  he  grabbed another Pz Plt,  and reinforced the right flank screen. As soon as he came up on the high ground, they engaged Russian Infantry trying to cross the open ground.....

The initial response to the Russian advance around Obj 50 was met with a hail of fire from Infantry, MG, and Pz Cannon, leaving destroyed units and survivors retreating north......

Another radio call from Immelmann...."The Russian's are still trying to push SW from 50......

With the threat in the center stabilized,  Hamm ordered 1st Pz Co to send their Lt Plt to Obj 45.  Hamm did not want any gap in his lines here,  the fight was forming to the east.  Over in that sector,  Immelmann reported that his Infantry and Pz's had begun the ascent of the ridge and had entered the first hamlet along the trail north.  His other forces were holding the Russian's at arms length with well-aimed direct fire and Mortars.

Immelmann's voice came through the radio..."I have a Battalion size dismounted attack coming out of Obj 50 to the SW..."