December 4, 1944, in the forests in South-East Poland.
Some mood music

The Russians were getting closer, Anna - and the rest of the Leśni ludzie, literally "forest people" - could tell. The Germans were getting more and more nervous. But where in the past this has resulted in mass executions and visits from the Einsatzgruppen, now they were retreating, blowing up bridges and burning supplies where possible.

Like the Russians had done three years ago, the Germans tried to leave nothing but scorched earth for the enemy soldiers. Damn the starving civilians in the middle.

Their leader, a former post office clerk, Mendel had gathered them around, and climbed up on top of a tree stump, waiting for everyone to settle down and listen.

"My fraynd, the Russians are in fast pursuit of the Germans. Their next attack will be coming soon. When Spring is here, they might already be in Crakow!"


There was a murmured response, some shaking their heads at so much optimism. Mendel waited for the noise to subside. "We still don't have established communications with STAVKA, but we got some friends in the Red Army and among other partisan groups. And from what we hear, the Russians will come through this region. But the Nazis won't just roll over."

Well, that wasn't surprising. The Wehrmacht and even more so the SS had conducted a fighting retreat, stubbornly fighting as long as they could. They made the Soviets bleed for every city, just like the Soviets had done to them during Barbarossa.

"David, tell the others what you told me"

David stood up, a boy of 15 years. Just a teenager in another world, but here, in this place, in this time, already a veteran.
"The Germans have set up a camp at Castle Kamieniec, with heavy artillery and all."

Mendel nodded. "That will keep the Russians back and we need them to march as quickly as possible. I say we attack and make sure the Red Army can proceed unhindered. That will put us in their good graces."

That was... suprising. Mendel didn't advocate for open combat. But Anna knew that supplies were running out. They were, indeed, desperate.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 19:57, Fri 17 Sept 2021.

Anna takes one last drag from her cigarette before stomping it out on the ground. The news had sparked a fire in Anna’s bloodshot eyes. If the Germans are holing up this close then the Russians aren’t far behind. And with the Americans in the west it’s starting to feel like it’s no longer “if” the Third Reich will fall, it’s “when.”

Yet she is conflicted. Mendel is one who tamps down her belligerence, but even she would not suggest a target like this one. They hit the Nazis where they’re weak, and here they’re strong. She trusts Mendel, but for him to bear a risk like this one . . . Still, if this is what Mendel wants then she’s behind him all the way.

“So the time has come to be more than a thorn in the Nazis’ side?” she rhetorically exclaims as she takes a few steps forward. “Then let us be a knife in their throat!” Her arms stretch wide while she sweeps her gaze across the rest of the group. This is a foolhardy proposition and she wants to help rally them around their leader

“Does the LWP know this as well?” she asks with a nod in David’s direction while removing a tin containing pre-rolled cigarettes from a jacket pocket.

They would need to coordinate with as many allies as possible for an assault like this one, and the Ludowe Wojsko Polskie—the Polish People’s Army—is the most powerful option she can think of. After all, it had absorbed many local Soviet partisans and there is no point even mentioning anyone but communists at this point. The Polish underground is still a formidable force to her knowledge, which gets less accurate by the day, but they might as well be the Wehrmacht to Russian eyes nowadays.

There are some cheers, from maybe half the members of the group. The youngest ones, Anna notices. The older ones, especially those with children, seem more reluctant.

Mendel nodded. "The LWP knows, but they focus on clearing the minefields and help the approach to Crakow."
He nodded slightly at Anna, thanking her for her support, then looked at the others.
"Mordechai and Adam have played in the ruins of Kamieniec most of their lives. They know every stone, every tree. Every secret path."

Most turned to look at the two brothers. Adam looked at his older brother, who nodded and grimly said: "S'iz rikhtig. But back then, we ran into bats and foxes, not SS.

"What is your plan, Mendel?" Old Shimon asked, scratching his bald head. Shimon often asked the questions on everyone's mind, focusing them on what's important.

"Tomorrow, we climb up to the ruin. Adam and Mordechai lead the way. The moon will provide us enough light. Then we throw grenades into the ruin's yard and kill them all!"

No matter how long the war drags on, the Jews plant the seeds and the communists reap the harvest. For some reason it felt like things may be different when it came to a veritable Nazi stronghold. Still, a little bitterness is nothing in the face of killing Nazis and the Soviets are the biggest game in town.

Lighting a fresh cigarette hides a wince as Mendel explains his plan. Narishkeyt! she silently shouts, feeling more than a little ashamed. It’s looking more and more like a suicide mission. There is no better way to go, but she can’t afford to die until the Germans are paid their due in full. Luckily, David has given her something to work with.

“Why stop at a few Stielhandgranaten?” The Karabiner 98k is slung off her back and she plants its butt on the ground. “The Germans brought me this rifle.” Some eyes roll at the common boast. “And, didn’t we hear David? They’ve brought us their cannons!” She pauses for a second to let the preposterous image of artillery turned the wrong way around sink in. This bombast is unusual for her, but she wants to modify the objective without seeming to undercut their leader. They all know she’s rigged her fair share of bombs, so hopefully that helps.

“Those need shells, and the Nazis need a place to store them. I say we blow that magazine they’re sitting on!” Her experience with explosives doesn’t extent to artillery, but high-explosive shells are supposed to be pretty common and odds are they aren’t too difficult to detonate.

“No matter how many survive, Ivan will surely like the sight of Mörser with no ammunition. That, and a castle with a new coat of natsisblut.” Her speech ends in a murderous wink and she cedes the discussion with a gesture toward Mendel, her frame slightly hunching as she leans on her Kar98k.

Mendel nodded, enthusiastically.

"Yes! Yes! Throwing grenades will just be the start. It will catch them by surprise and then we can mop up the rest."

There are still some doubtful looks, but the plan seems to be set.

Anna gives a small nod despite her misgivings. She really isn’t a fan of the grenade plan. And the whole thing is overambitious to start with, but “mop up the rest”? Hit-and-run is all she knows: so blow up some Nazis, set off the magazine, and be gone before the survivors get their bearings. But it’s not her call, so her job is to give them the best chance to pull this off and live to kill again.

And to do that she goes to speak with Mendel at the first opportunity.

It doesn't take much longer for the little meeting to be over and the crowd disperses, going after their various tasks in the tent. Mendel speaks with a few men, among them young David, before these too wander of to fulfill their tasks - leaving you alone with Mendel.

The nub of her current cigarette is discarded as she approaches their leader. Offering a slight dip of the head in greeting, she cuts straight to the chase. She’s in a hurry.

“I want to take Adam and head out now, scout out Kamieniec before you arrive.” This would leave her without much rest, but good intelligence is worth any price. Besides, it’s not like she ever sleeps well to begin with.

Afterward she leans in and mutters, “And, please, tell the ones who stay to go west if we don’t come back. The Germans are distracted, slip past and find the Americans.” This mission is different. They have noncombatants and if they fail most of the group could easy wind up dead. The request feels presumptuous, maybe even insulting, but the the Red Army is on their doorstep and thought of the women in Russian hands . . .
This message was last edited by the player at 14:00, Mon 20 Sept 2021.

Mendel takes off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Anna..." he starts, then stops. He looks so much older than she first met him, aged two decades in three years. He obviously hasn't slept a lot, either.

"We won't be able to outrun Russian tanks and trucks. There is no way to make it to the US lines. The last word we had was that they're still fighting in France. They're not even in Germany yet. The Russians will be there long before them. That's why we have to show them we aren't just peasants. Our only hope is to show them that we can take the fight to the Nazis."
He shrugged.
"And there may be food and other supplies there, too. Raizel's baby needs milk, so Raizel needs to eat. And there won't be anything left in a matter of days."

He sits down on a tree stump and grabs his knees. "We're at the end, Anna. We have almost made it through, now we need to hold on, just for a few more days, one last desperate attack and a victory that will make the Russians take notice and then be taken in by them. That is all we can hope for."

He doesn't say it, but... if the attack fails and a sizeable portion of your little troop gets killed, the remaining supplies will last longer for the survivors, too.

She covers her eyes for a moment and nods for several seconds. “Yes, of course, you’re right. It is easy to forget . . .” that humans are never the only danger. The Einsatzgruppen has that effect. And, in truth, she hadn’t the faintest clue where the Americans are. Or whether they’re even any better than the Russians. But they have to be, right?

“Forgive my wavering.” Her gaze isn’t lowered anymore. It’s not a question of what they have to lose so why fret about it? “The end is nigh,” can be a pretty good pep talk.

“So, ehh, would you like me to make for Kamieniec?”

Mendel nods. "Take Adam and Mordechai. Do you want to take anybody else?"

“No, they’re all I need,” She shakes her head. “Them, and the rest of our dynamite.

“I promised the Russians natsisblut, and if you want to give them every last drop then the three of us will prepare the abattoir.” It is liberating to think that the goal is extermination at any cost. She may vent her wrath with abandon and play Einsatzkommando for a night. Even if her people end up collateral damage.

The three of you make your way toward the ruins of Kamieniec. The brothers tell you a few stories about the castle, but eventually start arguing about several details - who built the castle, when, and what major battles had been fought there or not.

The three of you travel by horse wagon and you make good progress. In the distance, you can hear artillery, but it's so far off that it's hard to tell if there's a battle raging or just some preliminary probing attacks.

The last leg of the journey you complete by foot and the brothers soon take you off the main road into the forest. The three of you rest in a ditch until night falls, the full moon barely giving enough light for you to see. But the brothers seem to know truly every stone and every root, leading you up the incline. It's a two-hour walk, the progress slow to prevent noises, but then, finally, Adam points upwards and you realize that there's a stone structure over your head.

Adam points up toward what must have been the privy and grins. "Drekz house", Mordechai explains.

The peal of cannons is music to her ears. That is the sound of the Eastern Front back on Polish soil. That means, for the first time, she’s actually going to fight in the war if you think about it.

“Good place to find Nazis.” Lame joke, but someone had to make it. She squats next to the pair, picks up a stick, and points it toward each of them in turn. “All right, my brave zelnerlekh, you two are going to win this for us.” As patronizing as that may sound, she’s being quite sincere.

She brushes away some leaves to expose a patch of dirt then uses the stick to scrape a line parallel to the ‘drekz house.’

“Can you draw what you remember?” she asks, holding out the makeshift writing utensil. It may be dark, but they can always move their faces as close to the ground as needed.

With some quick scratches and whispered discussions, the two brothers drag a sketch into the mud:

https://images.kanka.io/user/-...gBF2ECJVBEglyBzW.png

"We're here." He points at the X. "Everything here is open, there are some small remains of the wall, but it's open ground, more or less. These," he points at the squares, "are some houses, possibly sleeping quarters and over there is the tower. Not sure if the tower could support the weigth, but it would be a good place to put some artillery, I guess."