And suddenly it was May...2026 is rolling along...faster in some ways and slower in others. My life is a bit of blur of nothingness at the moment...sitting in front of my computer from 7 to 5 each day...trying to will a email into my inbox. My job at Vital Energy (now Crescent Energy out of Houston) will be over soon...my Legal team...that I worked so closely with for 4 years are currently being severed as is Kim, our wonderful HR Director. And I am moving floors for the second time. Vital Energy occupied floors 8, 9, and 10 of the 12 story Santa Fe Square tower. I have gone from a 10th floor office to the 9th floor and now moving to the 8th floor as the 9th and 10th are now sublet to other companies. And looking at the new office plan shows mostly empty offices. Supply Chain and Geology are the final groups still working for what was once a vibrant E&P Shale Oil Producer in the Midland and Delaware Basins. My final day will be July 1st. So...I have many more weeks of mind numbing nothingness as I have to set in my home office and be present...even with no work to do. It's a profoundly unhappy situation. At 61, I am facing the reality of ageism in the work place. I have applied to a raft of Energy Sector jobs and Military Aerospace with nothing but rejections...jobs that I imminently qualified for don't even do a screen interview. Nothing...but the insincere email telling you great...but not for us...meaning of course we saw no value...no worth in you as a potential contributor to our organization. I don't know what the future will bring...but certainly some important dice rolls ahead..
This month's scenario covers one of many actions where STUG Commander Hugo Primozic took on heavy odds against the Soviet Union and would prevail.
Born in 1914 to a Slovenian father and German mother, Primozic joined the Reichswehr and fought in the French campaign as a field artillery gunner. In 1942 he joined the 667th Sturmgeschutz battalion which was sent to the Eastern Front. On September 15, 1942, his three-gun troop, fighting in isolation, routed a determined Russian breakthrough attempt at Rzhev, destroying a total of 24 enemy Soviet tanks. Allowing the Russian tanks to advance, the StuG crews aimed at the most dangerous opponents first, killing them with one round at a short distance. By January 1943 Primozic had 60 personal kills to his credit and after an equally gallant action on the 28th he was awarded the Oakleaves, being simultaneously commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant.
" Wachtmeister Primozic destroyed tanks day after day during an enemy offensive. One the fourth day, he had to cover the flank of his division, but during that day he fired his last shell... He had to retreat to escape from encirclement by breaking through... There was another StuG, immobilized, and while the Russians were closing in, Primozic came out of his vehicle to connect both vehicles, and drove both back to their own lines..." Primozic was able to connect both vehicles of his platoon with a steel wire rope, and had to fight off the surrounding Russian infantry with a machine gun. For this action he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class.
In September 1942 a large Russian army (including the Stalin Tank Brigade) tried to attack the town and area of Rzhev. As Primozic told: " On September the 15th we had only two StuGs ready, when the Russians wanted to break through. There was heavy artillery fire, and we had to hide in trenches until the storm was over. When the artillery barrage ended, the first enemy tanks already passed our positions, while we still had to climb aboard our guns." Moving from position to position, the StuG platoon was fighting both tanks and infantry. Primozic destroyed 24 tanks on that particular day, first those who had broken through, often with one shot, and altogether 45 Soviet tanks. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 19, 1942 promoted to Staff Sergeant.
On January 25, 1943 Oberwachtmeister (Staff Sergeant) Hugo Primozic, was the first NCO to be awarded the Oak Leaves after his destroying 60th panzer.
His last Wehrmacht rank was Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant).
He died on March 18, 1996 in Fulda.
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Hugo_Primozic
As always, these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.
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All Grumble Jones scenarios are available from the ASL Archive website.
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