The Tiger Ace

Villers-Bocage- June 13, 1944

"20 Degrees...and Fire!" That was the only thing that was said before the Cromwell tank was destroyed. Maximillan Voss and his Tiger crew took the convoy by surprise and now the entire area was lit up with gunfire and smoke but nothing could stand in the way of the 205....The Tiger Ace

"Target destroyed sir!" yelled the gunner, Josef Shultz.

"Litzke load another round!"

"Ja! I'm on it!" said Alfred Litzke as he loaded another APCR round.

"Alright! Only 4 more 'tin cans' to go! Arno take us to other side of the street!"

"Jawohl!" replied the driver, Arno Shroif

It didn't take long for the British infantry to realize that shooting at the 60 ton monstrosity with their rifles was not going to work and so they retreated to regroup.

The Tiger began driving to the other side of town in search of the rest of the Cromwells, the sound of the engine was not as bad as their previous Tank, it was a brand new engine which had been modified to be more efficient, make less noise, and less prone to breakdowns, Voss had been assured that it was the best in German engineering but it still seemed to run like shit for Arno. The Tiger's chassis had 60 mm side hull plates and 100 mm frontal armour, the only weakness was the rear which still had 80 mm armour. As they spotted another tank, they decided to use the element of surprise to ensure an lethal shot. Driving the tank down the alleyway, Arno aligned the Tiger across the street down the corner.

"Cromwell in range...fire when ready!"

"Scope on target...and...come to papa!"

BOOM

The Cromwell lit up like the 4th of July and the surrounding infantry, unequipped to fight the Tiger, ran off.

"Nice shot Shutlz! Alright Tigergruppe only 3 more Cromwells remain! Let's go show Tommy the power of the 205 Tigergruppe!"

"These Cromwells are tough but still not as hard as the Russian T-34s" said Arno.

"Oh ya! I remember when you nearly pissed your pants when we got shot by one" Laughed Litzke.

"Fuck you"

"Sir! HQ reports that Tommy has taken the town square and has scattered AT guns everywhere...It seems as though the Cromwells were just decoys" Said the Radio operator, Dieter Berndt.

"Damn! The Brits know what they are doing, I'll give them that! Arno take drive us to the outskirts of town and we'll flank them from there"

"Sir! That area is filled with debris, a clear path may prove difficult to find"

"We'll take our chances with the debris, the AT guns are a bigger threat. We must take Villers-Bocage...at all costs"

With that Arno nodded and began driving to the edge of town. The Tiger was heavily armored but going in there head on was suicide. As the the tank approached the road a look of sorrow was on Voss' face...it was a massacre, piles of debris along the buildings, dead bodies of their fallen comrades, severed limbs and pools of blood was all around them. The British had rolled through the town leaving a trail of death behind them. Voss had failed to defend Villers-Bocage once when their tank was immobilized but they managed to make a stealthy escape, now it was time for their revenge. As they squeezed through the debris and rubbish, they could see the Panzer Lehr division making their assault on the town along with elements of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer battalion.

"Great...More old farts from the stomach battalion" laughed Litzke as a squad of riflemen ran past the Tiger. Voss rolled his eyes, he was about to slap him in the back of the head but he found his remark somewhat funny.

As the Tiger reached an alley way, the sounds of gunshots and explosions were dominant once again. Arno drove the tank through to reveal a wall of AT guns, sandbags, and machine guns.

"Litzke! load those high explosive rounds now!" ordered Voss.

"Berndt! Get on the MG 34!"

"Jawohl!"

"Loaded!" Litzke loaded a new round in seconds.

"FIRE!!!"

KABOOM

The shell exploded with insane ferocity, several bodies flew through the air and soon the town square was a complete bloodbath. The MG 34 sprayed a shower of bullets and was mowing down Tommy. The AT guns could barely get a clear shot because of the debris and smoke surrounding the area.

"GAH!!!! DAMN YOU JERRY!!!! AAAHHHRRRGHH!!!!

"RUN YOU LOT OR WE'RE DEAD!!!"

"Sir! The motor has stalled! We cannot move!" shouted Arno.

"Well what are you waiting for!? Fix this damn thing!"

"Ja! I'm on it! Damn new motor and it still runs like Scheisse!"

Machine gun fire had wiped out most of the Panzer Grenediers and the other tanks were scattered throughout the town. Shultz looked into the scope and spotted a AT gun aimed straight at the Tiger getting ready to fire.

"Fuck! Litzke load this damn thing befo-"

BOOM

The round had hit the Tiger square in the treads and now it was immobilized. A feeling of Déjà vu went through the entire crew. Shultz was dazed by the impact and Dieter was beginning to freak out.

"Hey Jerry! You in there!? Get a load of this!"

Voss could hear some sounds from outside then all he heard was...

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

"Argh! Fuck!..." Litzke removed some shells that fell on top of him during the explosion. He had several bruises but no serious injuries.

"Is everyone alright?" Voss only saw a bright flash of the explosion and closed his eyes. He had thought his time had come when he woke up luckily he was still alive...

"Ja! Urgh...I'm..good!" Arno had been knocked out hard but he was strong enough to take it.

"Jesus! I'm still alive!?" Berndt was having a spaz attack before the initial explosion but somehow managed to keep himself together...sort of.

"Argh! I guess I am okay sir..." Shultz was completely dazed by the explosion but like everyone else he was fine.

"Oh good we are all alright...wait! Why has the shooting stopped!?" Everyone looked at each other.

"Hang on, I'm going to take a look outside, Dieter, try to get command on the radio" Voss peaked over the hatch and scanned their surroundings. To his surprise they were no longer in Villers-Bocage but in a open field with a forest nearby. Voss took a deep breath and let a sigh, he could not smell burning, or rotting corpses or the smoke of the explosions, no just plain air...He could only hear the chirping of birds and a stream but no explosions or screams or the constant 'ratatatatata' of machine guns.

"Sir! We've got a problem!" yelled Arno.

"What is it?"

"That's just it! There is nothing wrong with us! The panzer is in perfect condition!"

"What!? How could that be? I know our treads were busted and the Tommies probably used explosives on us."

"That's right sir! We should be dead right now but the tank is just fine and so are we"

"Maybe we are dead..." said Berndt.

"No! Can't be! Since when does your tank go with you in death? Sir..." replied Litzke.

"I hear you Litzke...Berndt did you get anything on the radio?"

"No sir Hauptmann! Only static"

"Great! I guess we are stuck here" said Arno.

"We're not stuck here so long as the panzer still works, Arno start this thing up and we'll head out"

Arno tried to start the tank, for a moment the engines started but then died out again. So much for the 'best in German Engineering'

"Sir things are really starting to get on my nerves...COME ON YOU FAT BITCH START!!! GAH!!!"

Arno started slamming the steering wheel then slowly calmed down.

"Losing our shit isn't going to help us Arno...Sir I suggest we recon the area and see if we can find the town, in the mean time Arno should be able to get the tank online" Shultz had been quiet for some time, he didn't really talk much.

"I agree with you Josef, Okay Tigergruppe dismount!"

With that, the crew climbed out of the tiger and equipped their mp40s, Voss took out his shiny Walther p38. They began to recon the area like Shultz suggested and Arno went to work on the engine to see what was wrong. The crew was surprised just as Voss had been, the area was quiet and there was a sweet country smell in the air. The crew felt as if the war was over or better yet, had never happened.

"Stay alert men, the enemy could be anywhere"

"I haven't seen peace and quiet like this in a very long time sir, almost feels like being back home...on the farm with my family. Not a fuck to be given..."