What are we doing guys? What's happening?

Sorry, work's been crackers. Kids melting down with exam stress are seriously interfering with my gaming.

What happens next depends on what we want to do with this situation:

1) Try to follow it up ourselves
2) Hand over to the IB with a request that we follow up the leads that interest us
3) Get some resupply and cross training; in particular, people are always requesting NVGs and radios, maybe it's time to splash some cash and buy enough for everyone. Someone will need to play this out.
4) Cross training in down time hasn't been particularly well received, I'd like to do some organising to get people cross-trained in areas we're constantly weak at: technical and scouting seem major weaknesses
5) Sorting out our vehicles: what do we do with the Krankenwagen? What do we get if we're replacing it?
6) Trying to find Kessler's man in Malbork

For me, the lead that is most interesting is the Soviet interest in the boats. It could be that they are trying to prepare for a blockade to intensify any siege or they may be preparing an amphibious assault.

Sorry, work interrupts again.

Basically, if I post now we'll just be following my vision for the game and I'd rather hear what others would like before moving on.

And another thing...

Do we want to move base as Woermann suggested?

I prefer option 2 here. I think following anything up ourselves without running it by the IB first could potentially get tricky for the reasons Ferro outlined in an IC post.


Personally I’m happy to park this on the back burner for the moment. As much as Kessler wants to spring his bloke from captivity I’m not sure we’re in a position to be sneaking around Malbork at the moment. I’m inclined to think that the best way to secure the release of anyone being held in Malbork might be via some sort of negotiated prisoner exchange.


Sounds OK to me in terms of our next move. Medium to long term I’m interested in following up the discussions that took place between Kessler, McCarthy, Czerny, and Woermann about trying to broker some sort of deal to get independent Polish troops to garrison Gdansk to give it some stability, possibly with the involvement / backing of the Church.

EDIT. Re moving base, while I have no strong opinions either way, I don’t see any harm in at least looking for spots that may potentially be easier to defend.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:05, Fri 05 May 2017.

My thoughts are as follows:

 - I think that we hand over the prisoner and the intl to the IB and let them investigate further.  This also builds more credibility with them.

 - Some trading would be a good idea but I think that we need to go to the Merchant Union with a shopping list and see what of it they can fulfil.  Trying to do it piecemeal will take ages, particularly if we want to get another vehicle.  Do you want me to start to put together a shopping list?

 - With vehicles I think that we keep what we have and look to add to it rather than selling anything.

 - I also think that we should hire some mechanics to fix up our vehicles while we cross train in relevant skills.  From memory Kaminski had some mechanics working on his vehicles at one point but they're not there now so they must have been hired for the job.  Essentially I'm sure that Kaminski can find someone to do the job.  EDIT - Tenza and his crew might also be interested in some work as mechanics.

 - Lastly on vehicles, I think that we need to buy a Wheeled Vehicle tool kit BTW as we only have a Tracked one at present.

 - With our base I personally would rather stay put unless we find somewhere significantly better.  There was mention a while ago of some refugees being settled somewhere nearby so that could be a source of manpower if we need to improve our defences further.  It certainly makes sense however to look for a better place to set up, particularly if we're concerned that our current base isn't defensible long term.

 - Talking further to the nearby Polish troops (who seemed fairly neutral towards us) about them becoming an independent unit garrisoning part of Gdansk sounds like a good idea to me.  I don't imagine the IB liking it though and it might end up in a turf war between them.  We may therefore need to find somewhere for them to "go" that isn't the IB contralled area of Gdansk.  For example Chelm, Nowe Ogrody, Dolne Miasto or Ujescisko.  They are all outside of the IB controlled areas on the south western side of the city.  I believe that they were previously controlled by the Komunistyczni Robotnicy Partii but since the end of the siege the KRP militia has been a lot less effective so that area could be ripe for a substantial military unit to take over and become protectors.  I would, however, be concerned that if a Polish unit declares independence and moves into part of the city that it was a very cunning deception plan on the Communists part to get a load of armed troops into Gdansk!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:51, Fri 05 May 2017.

Just to add that if we're looking for somewhere new to set up a base, and defence is a primary concern, then it might be worth checking out Fort Grodzisko as there is a small community there and we might be able to negotiate taking over in exchange for providing security for the inhabitants.

The idea was already floated to the IB when Kessler, McCarthy, and Czerny met wth Woermann. Woermann didn't raise any objections at the time.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:50, Fri 05 May 2017.

In reply to Michael Kessler (msg # 950):

Woermann is part of the sensible side of the IB though.  Some of the officers (I'm thinking Maj. Lewis and Capt. Beale for a start) won't react the same way.  My impression of the IB is that there is a significant element amongst it that won't like having another sizeable military unit in the Gdansk area.  I may well be wrong (and you right) however and it probably depends on the status of Maj. General Hawthorne.  If he's recovered from his wounds and is now in charge of the IB again then it would be a big boost to negotiating this kind of deal.

Dear all,

I've been looking at the map and there are a couple of interesting places that we (as a group of PCs) could go and investigate and, potentially, get into an adventure of some kind or other.  I'm thinking of the following:

 - There is a prison within sight of Kaminski's compound and (presuming that the Siennicki Bridge is still standing) we could go and have a look at it and see who's there.  It is presumably a tall building as we can see it from Kaminski's compound so it might be another obvious place for the enemy to set up an OP.

 - There is a petty warlord in Brzezno to the north west of Gdansk and we could investigate there with the objective of removing the warlord and bringing Brzezno more into the Gdansk community.

 - When Ortega went to pick up Krupp there was some kind of petty warlord operating in that area and that could be another opportunity to help out one of the outlying communities and make some friends.  I can't remember exactly where this was however.......

 - Ostrow Island is currently unoccupied and that could be an interesting place to check out.  It's probably been thoroughly salvaged but if you're interested in tracking shipping coming in and out of Gdansk then it's another obvious place to set up an OP.

 - Lastly, I've already mentioned checking out the Fort Grodzisko community as a possible location to set up a new base.

What do you think of these?  Any of them sound interesting enough to go and investigate further?

On a separate note, if we're looking for a source of income and the Siennicki Bridge is still standing and there is significant traffic over it then we could look to set up a toll booth and charge people for crossing the bridge.  That's quite mercenary however and I'm not sure that there's enough traffic over the bridge to make it worthwhile.

Fuse - one question for you - where are Fox etc based at the moment?  Where is the Marian community that they're helping to protect?

Ta,

Andy.

Deposing a local warlord(s) could circle into the discussion with Woermann about raising the profile of the militia leader affiliated to the Catholic Church (IC msg 579). However that presumes that we’re going to go down that particular road. If we’re not then other than a bit of low level local goodwill - or the opportunity to secure a new base - I’m struggling to see any long term strategic benefit from an IC perspective.

Setting up a toll booth sounds a little too close to banditry / theft to me. I also have difficulty getting my head round there being any need to generate a revenue stream given the amount of diesel we’re sitting on (although I can see the benefit of ‘converting’ some of the diesel into other tradeable commodities).

We may also want to consider the feasibility of staging some sort of attack against the Soviet forces outside Gdansk, possibly in the form of a commando style raid. Again, this can circle in to raising the profile of the Church militia leader or (imho) act as a completely stand alone scenario unconnected to said militia leader.


I’m still in favour of trying to follow up on the parts that are of specific interest to us (with IB buy in).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Fri 05 May 2017.

Ever seen Valkyrie? ;)

Shouldn't looking for the 8th be on the options? The longer we wait the weaker they become (I would expect).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:26, Fri 05 May 2017.

In reply to Michael Kessler (msg # 954):

Yep - Valkyrie is a fantastic film!  This situation is kind of reversed though as Hawthorne seemed to be a good guy.......

With the warlord at Brzezno there are more Polish troops further north along the coast so there might be some strategic impact in capturing Brzezno to secure that approach to the city.  If we ally with some Polish troops who are interested in declaring neutrality then it could also be a good place for them to base themselves.  For Jan there is also the idea of "doing the right thing" - if the community at Brzezno is being mistreated by a petty warlord then Jan would like to do something about that as it will improve the lives of the people living there.  That may not be a reason for the Mad Dogs to get involved but that's Jan's reasoning.

The toll booth was just an idea - I don't think that it works for a number of reasons and is probably unnecessary anyway in terms of our finances.

Attacking Soviet forces is also a good idea and a starting point would presumably be a recce mission.  Some possible points could be:

 - Baltiysk Airbase

 - Gydnia Naval Base

 - Returning to Hel

 - The Forward enemy position at Orunia

 - The Forward enemy position at Kowale


I think that that is something that was being considered for the spring and we're talking about smaller scale missions over the winter.  Or are we just going to bed down, keep training and stay mainly at base for a couple of months until the worst of the winter has passed?

You're right that it should be on the list though.

I was thinking if Hawthorne wasn’t in charge...


That then raises the possibility of going back to Germany (or staying in Gdansk) for those characters who have no connections to the 08th...

Forts (there are many) are more than likely already occupied.

Fox is near the French Military Cemetery Gdansk (just put that in Google maps and it'll show).

Not to sound callous, but as far as the 8th ID goes, that ship has sailed. However...

If they're still in or near Latvia, an evacuation of some (plausible) or most (ambitious) of the division could be possible by sea. This would:

a.) Save any comrades PCs might still have in the 8th ID.

b.) Potentially increase the size of the Gdansk defense force.

All we need is a big boat, or lots of small boats, some fuel, and the GM's willingness to take the campaign to sea and then on to Latvia.

Really, though, how many Mad Dog's still have connections to the 8th? At this point, I see Varis connected to Gdansk than to his former parent unit (of which he was a part for a relatively short period of time). Per has no direct connection to the 8th ID, nor do most of the more recent additions to MMD's.

As for a new base, I'm not a big fan of moving. We've put a lot of work into the current compound. Relocating seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth. Would Kaminski approve?

No way on a toll collecting operation. We're a lot better than that, on many levels. Not interested.

Raids and spoiling attacks against the besieging forces are OK, but what's the end game? If the Soviets are considering tightening the siege by adding a nautical element, or some sort of amphibious operation against the city, perhaps we should try to find and neutralize their "fleet."

I've proposed seeking alliances with "free agent" factions in the region in the past. I don't know of any such groups right off hand, though (Nowy Hansa, cough-cough).

-

I'm not too enthused on the cross training option. We just did that fairly recently and I think we need to strike outwards again instead.

Re: Tolls... if we are looking to secure a small but steady income I thought the idea was to invest in ownership of a little fishing boat or guesthouse/pub? A legit business that we collect the profits from.

Striking out in the winter is going to be dangerous. Fuse has been hinting recently at how the cold has been degrading us. I'd prefer down time over winter where we get ourselves ready for the spring campaign where fighting and moving is less hazardous.

However, I other people want to campaign all through the winter that's fine with me.

That being the case, I'd suggest:

1) Finding a victory for the catholic militia commander: This will help solidify the backbone of the defence of Gdansk. We're limited to where we can strike because of the truce to the south. That makes the warlord to the north look like a potentially solid target. We can discuss others with the IB, for instance, if the Soviets are planning an amphibious assault then taking out their fleet sounds like a good idea. It might also help us get a boat to help in our search for the 8th if we want to find them. I'm not sure where the fleet may be, we can rule out the harbour that we raided, they didn't have enough gear and that means we could take out anything south of that by sinking something in the river near he mouth to block it. That leaves something in the lagoon or the big port to the north of us. Trying to get over all those bridges again to sort out the lagoon doesn't sound like much fun to me so again, that leaves the north.

2) The Polish forces opposing us. I agree, the Gdansk authorities are likely not to trust them quickly. I'd suggest that we maybe try bribing them to sit out any attack the Soviets are planning and maybe feed us intel. If they do that and we win, the Gdansk council will be more likely to consider an alliance as the Poles will have proved themselves.
3) Vehicles: I think the Krankenwagen has had its day and swapping it for either something lighter or the chance to try and get something like a BTR (inel on a Soviet base perhaps?) would be an idea, we need to get something that's more fuel efficient ad/or amphibious.
4) Gear, yes, let's get a shopping list: I'd suggest a mix of NVGs and night sights for the people that don't have them as well as personal radios for everyone, they're major force multipliers. We can put them on a list with anything else people want and Fuse can just tell us if and when we get them and for how much. I'd suggest abstracting this along with any cross-training and base defence we want to do. I know these elements don't hold people's attention but we're hurting for certain skill sets and if the base is hit and we haven't done any work on it we're screwed, I have no problem with abstracting it however and some of our problems might be helped by people strategically spending XP they already have, there's potential there.
5) Potential investment: I have to admit I like the idea, but it hasn't progressed far on the board here so I guess it's not popular. I'd suggest instead of looking for a business, we invest in the community forming around us. If we can make it a success based around Kamineski's complex it might be able to help out supporting us or even selling us what we need at cut prices. I'm not wedded to this idea though.

On the whole, I just want to do what people would find fun and we can only do that if we say what we'd all like to do.

Sorry for the long post.

There was an issue with a priest that was killed that Frank had a friendship with as he got him an introduction to the Mad Dogs.  He got him to this point where he is now and he was killed like an animal by bandits/marauders.

He would like to try and follow up on that if in the winter months, might be something there???

Minor correction to Mark's post. The "truce" is to the east, across the river. The south is still hot where the Soviets have moved in.

I also put that in quotes because it's not official... just Bajek's cavalry squadron and the Sobieszewo islanders having come to a private agreement.

That's good to know, gives us lots more options.

For a quick victory to build the prestige of a local leader I think taking out that beach warlord would be best. It's probably not a serious challenge and it's in the neighborhood.

Are we going to try to make his militia sort of subordinate to the Mad Dogs? Or Brzezno a sort of client state? Or are they retaining full autonomy?

In reply to John Jameson McCarthy (msg # 962):

I think we have been to the markets twice, maybe three times and have not found any radio's or NVG's and the last time I think one of the traders implied that if people have them they are holding on to them.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:14, Sat 06 May 2017.

I'd say maybe Valeska could help with that (even though technically NVGs aren't weapons) but she's laid up in hospital and the business has not run for a while. So I doubt she could for a while... but maybe later.

Also. Edited my post to include checking on the status of Valeska.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:13, Sat 06 May 2017.