1830

Clear and cool.

The afternoon wore on, it was getting time for supper. Workers came in from the fields. Word filtered through the soldiers of TF URIEL that some of the commandos from over on the Island that had been operating up north (and escorted Bezhov and his SA-8 down from Lillooet) would be in town that night or the next day.

At dinner, Kelsey remarked, "Taras, you have the list of electronics. Do you need anything else from me?"

"As well, I'm going to talk to my contact later tonight. Taras? Seth? Anyone else have any ideas what you want me to ask him?"

"I mean, we have the raw numbers. Want me to ask about some of the things you wanted to find out?"

"Be specific as you can, I never done anything like this before."

Very good job, Kelsey. The list is quite impressive. We will need to set up the listening post as soon as possible. I guess you will be busy organizing the hardware but I will make sure we get the right logistical support. Also, Khandola should be able to provide an escort for the truck as well as a security detail for the building, that abandoned Meteo station. I guess we will have to put a rotation due to the sensibility of that place.

Taras reached again for the well worn out leather satchel. Shuffling between the paperwork he rescued some sheets that actually belonged to a previous mission:

It is important not to miss any possible Intel. Here are the basic questions that we need to address regarding the Bridget Rolls;

Please write it down:

The Sgt. pushed a fresh block of notes with a cheap advertising pen of a long gone insurance company.



a) Where are the Head Quarters located? Have they any prisoners with them?
b) What are the shortcomings being experienced by the trolls in their violent campaign?
c) What is the trolls operational and political planning?
d) What are the trolls numbers, organisation, deployments, training, weapons and communications means?
e) How are the relations with the Hells Angels and other communities?
f) What is the magnitude of involvement of the trolls against other communities including plans against UBC?
g) What is the trolls morale like? How are the conditions in their bases?
h) What are the troll's intelligence network details and priorities for operations against other citizens?

It was a rather long and comprehensive list. Some bits of information were already known but there was a need to provide a clear intelligence picture that will provide the settings for a succesful operation once their strenghts and weakness were exposed.

Tomorrow at first light we should start building the listening post. As soon as we get word on the intel we can double check it with our own means: Humand and electronic. Does anyone have a cigarette?

Kel copied it all down. When she was done, she dug out a pack of Player's Extra-Lights and offered the pack around."Sounds good, Taras. Here, have a smoke."



She lit her own, then anyone else's. "Seth, anything you wanna add?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:13, Mon 29 Nov 2010.

Seth had tucked into the food with gusto.  He still couldn't get over the freely available food here at UBC and he ate everything he was offered.  He passed on the cigarettes however, it was a habit he had luckily never picked up, but he helped himself to a beer if one was available.

As the subject turned to intel they need from the Bridge Trolls Seth listen while Taras outlined the information he was interested in.



"I think that Taras has summarised the main points," replied Seth, still feeling rather awkward called an officer by his first name, "but there are several points that could do with some specifics outlining.  Firstly we need to know considerably more about the Bridge Trolls themselves, their organisation, their command structure beyond Basil Wright, their identifying insignia if any, whether they have any boats, where their HQ is and what other buildings they routinely use.

Secondly we need to know about their patrol routes and frequency.  Do they have fixed routes or do they have a relatively random schedule?  They seem to be well organised so I doubt that it is completely random.

Next what fixed defensive points can we identify and mark?  Burkeville seems to be well defended and fortified and the same is true of the remaining bridges onto the island but what else are they attempting to defend securely?  The island is massive as Taras has previously raised and it's going to be impossible to patrol that area thoroughly with only ninety men in total available.

Lastly what parts of the island have they mined?  If I was them I would have invested in some minefields to secure their rear areas.  At present I can see at least half a dozen routes onto the island for a recee or commando team but they're not stupid so they may have closed some of these off themselves and mines would be an obvious way to do that.

That's it for starters but I'll keep thinking of anything else that we could do with knowing then I'll let you know Kelsey."

The ukrainian took the cigarette offered by Kelsey:

Thank you!Taras proceeded to light it up with a common "Zippo" with Canadian motives:



This kind of lighters became quite popular during the war among the Soviet Army personnel due to the reliability, easiness of refill and charismatic value.

While puffing away, the man from Odessa will listen to the suggestions of the rest of the team.

"Actually Kelsey I've thought of another question for you to ask your contact," added Seth.  "Are they expecting to be attacked and are they increasing security and defensive measures?  I reckon that they will be reacting to our actions even though those actions weren't against them and they may well realise that they are on our list of priorities."

Seth then turned to Alain.  "Mr Belanger.  You said previously that diplomatic efforts would be made first towards the Bridge Trolls.  Are those underway and how receptive are they to our advances?  Do they just want to be left alone or are they open to discussions?  If we have significantly better medical care than they do then that might be a lever to use to get them to cooperate.  With that many dependents someone is bound to be ill or pregnant and could do with modern medical help.

Actually that raises another question about the layout of the facilities on the island.  What medical facilities were located there prior to the war?  That is bound to be an important location to them, though it's one that we should avoid attacking!"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Tue 30 Nov 2010.

They way I see it...Well, look, this guys are not in a "war footing" mode. They have military experience that gives them an edge in their job that happens to be a wrong choice from our Government: That of being bandits.

Numbers will matter a lot. Conventional wisdom for an attack is a 3:1 ratio and even bigger in our Soviet manuals, therefore the importance of support units like artillery, etc. Going under strength is very risky because is their turf and they will easily regroup and deliver a mortal blow to a potentially stranded force.

If we go straight for the main terminal we get the brain and we don't need to fight the arms and legs. It is easy to see that a good deal of control and communications is taking place in the Control Tower. We saw them there, watching and even dispatching a force that evicted the junk hunters.

I'm all for negotiations. I don't like to risk my life, of course. But...the way I see it...They are holding their ground and their structure seems to be solid due to their training. In this solid arrangement also lies their weakness. A quick delivered blow in offensive maneuver to the head and they are toasted. There is also a time limit regarding the amount of Intel that we can get. Still, I don't hear yet of an alternative operation to mine.

"As I have said several times," replied Seth, unsure whether Taras was having trouble understanding him or simply ignoring his suggestions, "I believe that a commando raid is another option that should be further considered.  I'm not saying that it is the best option, only that it is an alternative option that should be considered before we decide on a frontal assault.

Before any operation is decided on however a good deal more Intel needs to be gathered and at that point a decision between options can be taken.  We shouldn't decide on the frontal assault because that is the only option that has been planned in detail so far!  Additionally you talked about the necessity of a recee prior to a frontal assault, well the same is true of a commando raid so lets do the recee and gather Intel and then make a decision.

Therefore I suggest that we postpone a decision on which particular operation is most appropriate until we've gathered more Intel.  For example you've stated that one of the objectives of your frontal assault is to capture the main terminal because there is information that that is a focus of the Bridge Tolls operations.  You've also emphasised just how big a building the main terminal is and so I think that it would be prudent to let Kelsey extract what Intel she can from her friend before we decide on the next course of action.  That way you might well know more about which particular parts of the main terminal are key and which bits can be left for mopping up!

Lastly Kelsey's Intel gathering could turn up something unexpected and useful.  For example it could turn out that Basil Wright's wife is heavily pregnant and that the baby is breech making him interested in talking to us about our medical facilities.  By all means start preparing for the frontal assault but let's hold off on a final decision to launch it until as much Intel as possible has been gathered and we can decide whether it is the best option.  It may well be the right course of action but in my professional opinion it's far too early to say that for certain."

Andy returned from checking on the OPs and then sat and listened to the disscussion for a while. He looked over at Taras and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Your plan is doctrinally sound," he agreed, "but still only theoretical. If it is to work then we need to scout the routes out carefully. An amphibious assault across an uncharted body of water is very risky so we'll need to scope out teh LZ and the channel we'll be using. To do that we'll need to see if there are fishermen that use the area so we can use them for INTEL or pose as them to do our own surveys. If we can't do that we'll need to use swimming teams at night so as not to show our hand."

"As for the plan itself, it is an elegant force majeur set piece attack," Andy continued, "an alternative would be to take the Black Ops approach, identify key players, bribe those we can and assassinate those we can't bribe. We could start operations that played on any fractures in the community and work on breaking it down bit by bit rather than smashing it in a winner takes all battle."

Andy paused for a moment and smiled, "I guess what we have here is a clash of cultures. You're from the Deep Battle school where all or nothing tended to be the way people played the game," he smiled disarmingly, "an obscene generalisation I know but I'm only a lowly non-com. Most of us however wre from the Commonwealth tradition where oblique battle and striking at the peripheries is the norm. It doesn't win as big but it minimises the chances of losing big too."

"In some ways, what you are proposing is a miniature version of what the Soviets did in invading Alaska and Canada. If we win in the first grand gesture, great, if one thing goes wrong we're screwed. By attacking at the edges and striking into angle we don't win in a big showy way but we don't lose either."

"I'd suggest that we prepare for your outlined assault, the INTEL gathering and RECON is essential either way but that we also look into wether we can expedite measure using stealth and assassination. After all, a few rounds of 7.62mmN can sow as much damage as you planned battery, if the bullets are placed in exactly teh right place."

In reply to Seth Joseph Delaney (msg #65):

Kelsey took more notes.

"Sounds good, Andy, Seth. I asked my contact about opening possible negotiations, maybe he'll have some additional information on what Wright wants? At least I can ask him what the odds are Wright will negotiate or be bought out."


She looked uncomfortable for a moment. "If I may speak freely, I'm not in favour of outright assassination. We didn't give Cryus a bullet even though we could, and the Trolls are a gang of criminals, not terrorists."

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #69):

Belanger looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed and shook his head as if admitting something that was painful to him.

"I think the Master Corporal is right. It's the government position that the principal aim of any operation using force against the Bridge Trolls is to apprehend Wright for trial, no extra-judicial killings in this case. These are deserters and criminals, not enemies of the state. We haven't made a move on negotiations but we can do that now through our contact, if we're subtle. Kelsey, we'll talk later. If this ends up biting us in the end, I'll take full responsibility."

"Andy, the Musqueam fishermen and scouts have been keeping a constant eye on the airport for weeks now, which is across the river from them. So far the proposed landing site shows no activity and seems clean except for a lot of logs, which will have to be cleared. Wwe can roll the LAV out tonight and scan the area with thermal imaging."

"Some things I need to point out for the idea of an amphibious operation, riverin or otherwise: the LAV Kodiak is not amphibious, although it can be adapted by retrofitting flotation chambers and water propulsion. Also, the two Piranhas that are being loaned to us from the North Shore are amphibious but aren't yet ready (they need to have engines, suspension driving gear and wheels remounted). Also, they are not the Cougar 76mm fire support vehicles but the Grizzly APC types."

Belanger held up his hands in a placating manner in case anyone was getting out of sorts.

"We have a saying in the army: a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. In this case, we won't get all our answers until tonight or probably tomorrow if the contact needs to get back to us, maybe wait for more information. We go on the 26th of April, so that leaves us five days to put this plan into action, assuming we don't wait on better information. "

"I believe we have enough information to come up with at least a back-of-the-envelope plan for a commando operation. It doesn't have to be perfect but it does have to be tonight. We can fill in the blanks when more information comes in, not everything needs to be nailed down."

"For reasons I can't divulge, we need to roll in no more than seven days. We need to get going ASAP on this."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:44, Wed 01 Dec 2010.

Sitting not far away, Rob had listened in on some of the conversation. He knew his services may be needed but his view on things was from a very different angle then most. He usually planned for solo or two man teams. Not the platoon sized force they were going to field. After thinking for a second he stood and walked over.

"Mind if I chime in here a bit gents?" Rob said as he sat down not really waiting for a response.

"There is a few things I may not have heard but I feel need to be addressed.
   First what kind of weaponry can they field, especially anything that is a threat to our armored vehicles.
   Second have they done anything more to defend the bridges then simple roadblocks. Like mines, are they rigged to blow them if the need arises etc.
   Lastly have they ever really done anything to defend their western flank. The bay is wide open and there is a huge expanse to cover which might give them a feeling of security but if they have little or nothing to counter our armored vehicles it's a weakpoint we can exploit."

Rob looked over at Kelsey and nodded. "If you can get your contact to comment or find out about those things along with everything that was stated then we should have enough working knowledge to make a firm plan of action."

"As far as the frontal assault goes, I have no issue with it but a diversion or flanking attack just before the main thrust would likely clear the way a bit.

"They seemed to be spread pretty thin defending such a large area. If we could further divide their forces just before the main assault went in then it would cut down on our casualties and hopefully theirs aswell. By splitting our forces we force them to split theirs which means they can not concentrate fire or forced to a single area."
"If we can engulf them quickly then we will have a much easier time taking the terminal which for me is a whole separate operation. That is when we will have the leverage to dictate terms and try our best to keep this from becoming a bloodbath on their part." Rob stops for a second to look around the at the folks gathered

  "So a two pronged assault. One by sea and the other by bridge or river crossing. Engulf their outer defenses and try our best to deny them a retreat to the terminal buildings. Then we stand down and let their situation sink in. While we restage for a siege. We don't want a siege but they don't know that. Demand they turn over their man and stand down or everyone suffers. Let's see how strong their ties to their leader really are. During all this we keep our vehicle at range to keep them safe and to use our superior armor and their range to our advantage. Also during the assault and siege we station sharpshooter to suppress or take out key positions like the M113s and to discourage the perimeter from falling back to the buildings to quickly. These sharpshooters are also our best counter to any AT weaponry they may deploy."

"Mr. Belanger gave us five days. 7 max. I say we do a night or two recon and get our final intel and then start setting up and organizing for the assault. Right now I don't see us as having much leverage for serious diplomatic talks to get them to surrender. But once their perimeter is breached, their island is now a no-mans land of MG fire from armored vehicles and their only real means of support, their tolls, is gone their tune might change rather quickly."

Rob let that settle in on folks while he waited for comments or questions.

"The Gunny's got a good point about a recon on our own.  We should have our own eyes out there looking in and around.  The people going in should have an idea of what's around, depending on which way we go in, instead of relying on someone else's intelligence we might be on the fence about trusting instead of seeing it for ourselves, if that makes any sense?"

In reply to Keith Michael Tremblay (msg #72):

"It does make sense, Sergeant.

"Basically, a reconnaissance conducted in advance of the landing, perhaps a day or so, in order to verify the intelligence is correct.

"As well, I think a commando-style operation in support of any assault is warranted to disrupt the Trolls' response in terms of reinforcements and communications."

"Taras, can you work one or both those elements in? This would be in the nature of Spetsnaz operations, rear area disruption."

Regrettably I don't have any Spetsnaz experience. My duties in the Soviet Army were conducting Engineer Support to a Motor Rifle Regiment advance as a part of the 62nd MRD. I do have some experience in Engineer Recon, though.

I suggest starting with possible landing sites. The first one that I see is this little Marina...And then recon the McDonald Road. I'd like to hear from the contact that the place has no mines before we go in, of course!

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #74):

"Mines at the landing site. We'll add that on the grocery list for intelligence. That's an excellent point."

"Of course, you wouldn't have experience with Spetsnaz, but you can understand the concept. I take it for granted any river landing site will be personally recced by our personnel ahead of time, and they can then proceed to disrupt the Trolls command, control and communications during the operation."

He made sure everyone was familiar with the map for planning purposes: http://tinyurl.com/2fkhhnl
This message was last edited by the player at 10:15, Thu 02 Dec 2010.

The native member of the team, who lived with the Musqueam on their reserve and acted as their liaison answered something Gunny Conklin and Taras asked.

"The Musqueam say that the entire western area of Sea Island (where YVR is located) has minefield warning signs. That includes the mud flats, the foot of the dyke, the top and rear side. Rumour has it there are AT mines, AP mines, claymores with tripwires. Also, there is concertina and razor wire, bunkers, for all I know sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. The Musqueam never go there.

"There no minefield warning signs or wire on all the other beache. Just on the western side of the island."



This message was last edited by the player at 10:54, Thu 02 Dec 2010.

"Yes, those signs have been there since the war. They're not new, thankfully, but if there are mines they are almost certain to be dangerous."

"As well, the fishermen from here at UBC report the western approach also has concertina wire and razor wire all along the western side of the island, plus bunkers. None of it's in good repair, seems like leftovers and the Bridge Trolls have been letting it rot."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:46, Thu 02 Dec 2010.

I know that the airport was attacked by the VVS* in the early stage of the war. From what I heared from the locals they did some damage there. I believe they would be targeting the runways. Our forces were coming down from the North and reached all the way to a city-town called Hope. Still, that's 150 clicks from Vancouver: Too far for our divisional artillery support to hit it. Since the Red Sun was coming closer I guess the Canadian Forces would have implemented a defensive plan for the airport. Eventually it could be put on service again. I am a Combat Engineer and I know that craters can be easily overcome. Our aviation didn't have much of special weapons, mostly iron bombs. In any case it would be nice to have access to those CF defensive plans and see what we can do.




*VVS =  Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily, Literally, "Military Air Forces".




Belly of the beast before delivery. Tu-22M attack on YVR.

"Rob, I like the sound of your tweak of Taras' plan," commented Seth, "but there are a couple of other places besides the western beach that we could look to land a diversionary force on."

Seth pulled over the map and indicated a couple of other locations.  (OOC - please see my post in the OOC thread)

"Mac, thinking about the minefield on the western beach can you ask the Musqueam when they last heard a mine go off?  I imagine that there are lots of birds and other wildlife around Sea Island and if there are tripwire mines then something is bound to have set one off at some point."

In reply to Seth Joseph Delaney (msg #79):

Looking thoughtful, Mac replied, "no one mentioned something to me. It's not like they've landed there personally so who knows what's really there? I'll ask tomorrow."

"Okay, fine. We can't delay a decision. Please accept my apologies."

Belanger looked at the map and nodded at the assembled personnel.

"At this time we're going to go with a riverine crossing, as that's the only plan we have. This may change if, say, a creditable alternative is proposed. I'm not going to rule out a commando mission instead of a riverine crossing but I can only go with what's been presented."

"We'll tentatively plan on a reconnaissance mission in three days from now to get some eyes-on information if needed, then a full-scale operation (whichever way we decide) in six days, seven on the outside. Any riverine operation will also include concurrent special operations to take out the Trolls' command, control and communications, at that time."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:25, Sat 04 Dec 2010.

"If we're going to do the recee in three days time," Seth interjected, "then can I suggest that we do some other non intrusive Intel gathering over the next couple of days.  It would be worth setting up a couple of obs points to study activity at the seaplane terminal and the Coast Guard hovercraft station to get some idea of whether there really are no manned defences at either of them.  Possibly one on Swishwash Island and the other in the City of Richmond Recycling Depot.  Just to sit there and study those two landing points to be certain that they're unoccupied."

Access to the terminal or final objective using the Western board of the Island means to conduct a breach in a typical defensive arragement including mobility obstacles (wire, mines) and possible manned stations with classic interlocking fire sectors (bunkers) that may or may not be manned. In any case is possible but I feel that we don't have time, personnel and means to do it in a effective manner. But before we get there there is the problem of how to get there. No serious landing craft is available to sail down the Fraser River turn around the large Iona Park peninsula and then sail around the breakers. Same goes for any Southern approach. The current bridge is occupied by the trolls and any detour would take several kilometers and will still represent the need for a river crossing in this case far away from a Command and Control centre and support elements and a wider span (Southern Arm of the river). Comms would be more spotty and the dispatch of reinforcements or a rescue team would require would be difficult.

As a secondary landing site I would go for the Sewage Plant. Still close enough and the presence of a transited avenue (Fergusson Road) guarantees automatically speed of entry and lack of mines.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:28, Wed 08 Dec 2010.