“Hit the gun with another couple of grenades I only saw two go down, they must have a bigger crew ?”

Tom then resumes firing on the lower levels of the two storied house. All the while empty shell casings hit the tyre and bounce onto his head.*

*OCC: Tom will fire on the Anti-tank gun if he sees any movement.


<orange>Tom Jones
RPK-74 (35/45)
Firing at two storied house
Under truck between left rear tyres
This message was last edited by the player at 08:30, Fri 16 Oct 2009.

In reply to Griet Niewiadomska (msg #954):

Dawid looked up at the Mk. 19.

"Yeah, I think I can do that. I can also go ashore if you want, although I'd want some kind of machinegun."

"Is there a chance we can bring the Mk.19 into direct play?"

The fighting sputtered, sometimes petering out, then building to a momentary crescendo.

"Yes mam," Jan said. "I'll put together a landing party."

He went down the stairs to find Anneka, the SLR miltia, and David. "Meet starboard side by the stairs for a briefing. We're going ashore."

When everyone stood, Jan began.

"We are currently involved in a raid to weaken the river pirates. Our mission in going ashore is to 1) assist those already ashore in extricating themselves and their wounded 2) Destroy the pirate's small boats."

"From radio conversation it seems there are a dozen or so pirates in the hamlet engaged in gun battle with our forces, while a larger force has been moving down from the North. We will be fighting pirates  ground they know. However, they should be concerned and focused on the fight in the village, which should smooth our entry. If they have additional forces outside their camp, they have probably recalled so we should keep our eyes out for enemy reinforcements."

"We will operate in two fire teams. David, you and the Milita. Anneka, you are with me. David, take a machine gun, we will need the firepower. Anneka, give your hand held radio to David. We won't take the MK-19, it would slow us down too much."

"When we are ashore we will move by bounding overwatch towards the hamlet. In the event of separation or disaster, return to the river shore."

"We will ride the launch up the tributary and land south, south west of the hamlet. Once the we have linked up with our forces, and cleared the immediate area, we will get the wounded down to the tributary shore where the launch can come again and pick them up. While we are waiting for our own extraction, we will destroy some boats."

"Comments? Suggestions"

Jan
On the tug
Briefing
This message was last edited by unknown at 12:30, Thu 15 Oct 2009.

"I'll get the MK-19 manned, it'll be available for fire support." Griet said, "If you want, you can take the motor boat as transport, it should get you to withing a hundred meters or so of the combat."

"Dawid, or somebody skilled with the '19, needs to stay aboard and provide indirect support. It's too heavy to carry and too vulnerable should it come under direct attack."
Anneka wearily washed blood and gore from her hands and arms as the adrenaline and anger of the past hour faded away.

In reply to Griet Niewiadomska (msg #960):

"No bike? No bike. Shit."

Dawid thought for a second.

"With a couple men, I can carry the Mk. 19. It's the best weapon we have, and I'm probably one of the best men to use it."

Indicating the Queen, he said, "Annkea, Jan, Griet, keeping our best weapon out of the fight was a real mistake, let's not do it again. The Mk. 19 is best used for direct support. Let's get it in position where it can be used that way."

"Either way, I'm going ashore, RPD or Mk.19."

"Take whatever you think best," Griet said, "just do it quickly."

Mariusz looked around as he heard the radio transmitting and Bayer's call for help coming over the ether, Things were desperate behind them and they were losing what Brother Switek had called "Operational Tempo". The pirates still had them outnumbered and whilst the crew of the Krowola had the upper hand here,they were being defeated in detail elsewhere.

Decisive action was needed, shit or bust as Brother Bear would have said. He looked over at the AT gun and then back at the house that was pinning them here. He unclipped his german fragmentation grenade from its pouch and tossed it to the militiaman that had thrown so successfully in the moments before, "Have another go at the AT gun."

He unslung the M72 and opened it up. He raised the tube to his shoulder and aimed it at the house that was pinning them.

Mariusz
M72
Aiming at the enemy occupied house furthest to the south

Drew snaps back to the moment.  He surveys the houses he lit up.  He then checks his ammo supply, keeping mind of how many rounds he has left, as well as what spare ammo he has if any.  Looking over his shoulder and all around he looks for a place to displace to and get a better shot on the remaining building, or to cover the woods and AT gun should more men come to retrieve it.  Idealy both.

Drew crouching run or high crawl using the cover of the roof to move to a more advantagous position.

Drew, looking and moving, M240
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:38, Fri 16 Oct 2009.

"The MK-19 would greatly increase our firepower, David, but it would turn us into pack mules." Jan said. "One person hefting the gun, one for the tripod, and one for the ammo. "

"I'll take along an RPG-18. You can take an RPG too."

Tucker knows that he only one more long shot at hitting the taxi and decides to take it regardless of the distance & difficulty to hit it.

Tucker
Starboard Dushka
Firing another burst at the fleeing pirate water taxi

"If you are taking the boat, Dawid could set up the MK-19 on the shore and would be thirty to fifty meters from the action rather than half a klick or so away here," Griet said, "but if you do leave it here then Radislaw or I can handle it in indirect mode."

Anneka rubbed at her temples.
"Just leave the damn thing aboard. It's too heavy to carry quickly and at worst, Tucker is a pretty good shot with grenade launchers."
"Both the Hauptman and I can call fire fairly well if needed and we won't have to drag it, our own gear, and any casualties with us."

That was one of her biggest concerns. From what they'd heard on the radio, the bodies were piling up. They couldn't expect to be able to do anything more than support those friendly still breathing as they pulled back to the river and got the hell out of there.

What was of even more concern was the rumour the artillery shells had been detonated. All her experience with such horrors told her to RUN and run fast. As a rule of thumb, she'd learnt that just one of those shells was likely to kill anything in it's path, a path that with the current weather conditions, was likely to extend a very long way before breaking down to a "safe" concentration.

"We are just going to pull them out aren't we?"
"Better take more ammo for them just in case. Frags and 40mm as well as filled mags."

Anneka
RPK-74 (40/40) + 6x30
Handing Jan's radio over to Dawid as requested previously
Supporting leaving the Mark 19 on the tug for indirect support
Wishing desperately she had more than just her gas mask for protection

Swearing loudly at the wet burning sensation down his inside leg, Stoner nevertheless had the GL reloaded and ready for action in a mere moment. The injury, while it stung greatly and would add yet another scar to his collection, wasn't going to be a problem any time soon.

"Mari! Put that damn thing down!"
The boy was going to get them all killed.

"I'll get them."

Shuffling himself around behind the truck, Stoner squeezed off yet another grenade, this time at the southern building. With a little luck topped off with a lot of skill, they'd very soon be following it up with bayonet and rifle butt.

Stoner
AK-74 (30/30) +5 mags
BG-15 (1/1 HE) + 3 HE
PM Makarov (8/8) +2 mags
Yelling at Mari NOT to fire while reloading GL
Firing through window of south building in preparation of an assault

Hamlet

The battle for what could be the last pirate-held house in the hamlet continues. Enemy fire continues to tear into the Zil, smashing its windows, flattening its tires, and punching holes through its steel body. Fortunately, the old Soviet military truck is sturdily built and most of the incoming fire is stopped or slowed too much to do much damage to those taking cover behind it. Ricochets are still a danger though, and one of the AKM-armed miltiamen goes down with a yell, grabbing at his wounded ankle.

At the back of the truck, Mariusz tosses the German frag to his militia buddy and cracks open the M72 LAW. While Mari finishes prepping the LAW, the militiamen executes another near-perfect throw, landing the fragmentation grenade alongside the gun. It explodes in a cloud of dust and deadly shrapnel, riddling anyone left alive behind the Rapira's gunshield. Meanwhile, Drew has crawled to the east side of the roof, and now has line of sight to the gun. What he sees through the thinning cloud of dust and smoke is reassuring. Five men, only a couple of whom are still moving (and those two are clearly in some accute physical distress), lie around the gun. No one is currently manning the weapon. Anyone who attempts to reach the gun will come under Drew's machinegun fire, which has proven deadly so far.

As soon as the grenade bursts, Mariusz steps out from behind the back of the Zil with the LAW on his shoulder and levels it at the house, as he's about to depress the trigger, he's knocked backwards by a bullet hitting him square in the chest. The rocket launcher tumbles off of his shoulder and he finds himself on his back in the dust. The pain is intense and he slmost begins to panic. Try as he might, he can't draw a breath. His militia buddy lunges out from the relative cover of the truck and drags Mariusz behind the back tires by his LBE harness. Finally, after a few long seconds, Mariusz is able to inhale, albeit not very deeply. The militiaman tears open Mari's kevlar vest and reaches underneath to feel for a wound. He withdraws his hand and looks at it for a moment before he continues to remove the vest. The look on his face is not reassuring. Getting a better look at the wound he smiles at his young commander. Almost laughing he reports,

"It's just a small wound. The vest stopped most of the bullet. You'll be fine. Just breath nice and slow. You got the wind knocked out of you, is all."

Tom Jones, hunkered down underneath the truck beneath its rear axle, pokes his RPK-74 part-way through the gap between the dual rear tires and sights on the lower window on the east side of the house. His line of sight is rather narrow but he can clearly see the dark outline of a pair of riflemen behind the intermittent flashes of their weapons' muzzle blasts. He aims carefully and squeezes off two five-round bursts. Both targets disappear instantly. The darkened square of the window remains empty. Jones can't elevate his weapon enough to engage the upper windows but he can pull his LSW out and lay it to the right side of the tires to fire at the lower window on his right (west).

Stoner reloads his BG-15 and, seeing the small crowd at the back of the Zil, decides to stay put behind the engine block, the best cover the Zil has to offer. He lifts his grenade launcher to set it on the tall front hood (bonnet) of the truck, takes quick aim at the upper, right-hand (west) window, and fires. The grenade flies true through the open window and detonates against the ceiling of the room inside, exploding in a flash. The explosion must certainly have killed or badly wounded everyone who had been in that room, and the just like that, the fire coming from the house is cut in half. Stoner quickly ducks back down behind the engine block as bullets from the lower, right window continue to smash into the truck all around him.

The militia PKM gunner, behind the front wheel of the Zil, shoots up the southwestern buildings a bit more to discourage them from being reoccupied.

During all of this, Konrad arrives back at the hamlet, winded and a bit shaken from his recent brushes with death. Minh, her two militiamen, and the badly wounded Wicks arrive shortly thereafter. The north side of the hamlet is relatively quiet. Drew is clearly visible on the roof of the eastern house, facing south. Minh and the others take Wicks to the western house, used earlier as a casualty collection point. The assault force's only medic, however, is currently away on other business. The wounded are looked after by one of their own, a building assault team member shot through the hand earlier in the battle. He can't do much for them besides keep them company. He shares the front room with another wounded militiamen (shot in both legs) and three bodies (Ling and two dead militiamen). The back rooms are occupied by two unwounded militiamen standing guard. With Wicks delivered, Konrad (NPCed) heads south towards the sound of the fighting. As he moves from cover to cover, he broadcasts the following message on his radio**.

"All units, this is Sunray. The gas is deployed. The T-H group is back in the village. Sunray actual is moving towards the sound of the battle. All units give me an immediate SITREP. OVER."

OOC: Enemy fire is no longer coming from two of the four north-facing windows (the lower NE and the upper NW) or either of the one-story houses to the SW. The entire AT gun crew is finished and Drew will have opportunity fire if anyone attempts to re-man it.)


Wilsa Krolowa

Old Adam manouvers the tug close to the east bank to the north of the Swinder estuary. This takes the tug clear of the drifting smoke from the burning PT boat and will allow the ground force to withdraw without having to cross the tributary. As he does so, Tucker takes another shot at the fleeing water taxi. It's hard to tell with the brush and whatnot on the island behind which the pirate boat is attempting to escape, but he's pretty sure that he missed it again.

The Krolowa's small boat (w/ outboard motor), captured from the pirate emissary the day before, looks like it might not be able to handle four fully armed adults and the heavy Mk-19 and its ammo, so the AGL is left behind on the tug's quarterdeck. Loaded up with extra hand grenades, 40mm grenades, ammunition, and a couple of RPGs*, the relief force (Jan, Anneka, Dawid, and one SLR militia) climbs aboard the small boat and shoves off. On their way to the mouth of the Swinder, the heat from the burning PT boat is intense. On the shore near the Swinder lies the twisted body of a dead pirate. A wide, muddly hole in the ground a few meters away must be a crater from a 120mm HE hit. Under the trees on the north bank of the tributary, a few crumpled shapes of what must be fallen pirates can be made out in the dim morning light, a testament to the combined fire of Ondar and Tucker.

The small boat enters the relatively narrow Swinder on heads towards the hamlet, a few hundred meters inland. The woods to either side are quiet. The trees are bare and most of them are dead, lending an ominous qualitly to the surroundings. Ahead, just inside the first bend in the small river, the relief force is met with a truly bizzare sight. A viking longship, its sides festooned with brightly painted round shields, is moored on the north side of the Swinder. It takes up about half of the width of the river. It must have been some sort of themed tour boat or something. A head pops up from behind one of the shields and the man calls out,

"Where the fuck have you been? We've been getting our asses kicked!"

Back on the Krolowa, Tucker and Ondar continue to provide overwatch, carefully scanning the near eastern shore for threats.

Next Moves?

*In addition to their personal weapons, Jan has an RPG-18 and Dawid has the RPD and his Komar RPG. They also each have 2 hand grenades from the equipment locker, in addition to their own. The SLR miltiaman has four frags. Do you want him to carry another RPG or something else?

**I need to know who has which radio. A list of radios and their normal assignments can be found in the Equipment Locker notice.

Updated tac-map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms...63,0.019248&z=16
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:35, Sat 17 Oct 2009.

The last moments of his journey jolt Wicks back into conciseness. Seeing the Captain about to leave to resume command, Wicks grabs his arm pulling the German officer towards him"Don’t let it be for n,n,nothing.” He declares "Drive them into t,t,the river” as he lapses into a coughing fit that racks his whole body.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Sat 17 Oct 2009.

Tom flinches when he sees the young polish NCO go down.

"Get in cover all of you, engage from the workshop if you have to. All personnel engage two storied house.”

He then moves the RPK to the back wheel and fires on the lower window on his right. He hears the kid take a breath and cough maybe he’s ok. Tom fires another two five round bursts at the window while running through the actions that will enable him to hit the upper stories. If he is able to grab the M-72 and put it under the truck he will.


Tom Jones
RPK-74 (25/45)
Firing at two storied house.
Under truck rear left tyre.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Mon 19 Oct 2009.

Mariusz lay on his back and breathed as deeply as his bruised and battered chest would allow. He paused briefly to kiss the bunch of holy symbols around his neck and then heard the squawk of the radio. He picked up teh handset to answer the Kaptain's call.

"Kaptain, this is Mariusz," he began, "Stoner, Jones and a couple of militiamen are with me, we are about seventy meters south of the houses with our wounded in. We face three houses with enemy in, two may be neytralised but I'm not sure. The enemy AT gun is out of commision for the moment. Awaiting orders, Over."

"Sunray Actual, this is Queen," Griet replied to the Kaptain's call, "river appears secure, we have the Mk-19 onboard and available to give fire support if you need it. I have sent a rienforcement party up the tributary."

As soon as he takes up a position he will surgicaly fire two to three round bursts from his MG at any enemy who are moving.  And anyone who attempts to make a dash for the gun he will mow down as well as any return fire or concentrations of hostiles.

Drew:
Laying down fire with the M240
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:47, Sun 18 Oct 2009.

"We've been trying to get past their fornicating tug. Can't you hear it shooting up the whole filthy river?!" Jan, yelled back in Polish. "Where do you need our guns?"

Quietly he said to whoever was stearing the launch, "Bring us alongside."

If/when the pirate appears suspicious of them, Jan will shoot him. Otherwise, when they reach the viking craft, Jan will shoot him, jump abord, and begin to clear the ship starting with the up tribunary side.

Jan Cerny
Watching the pirate on the viking ship
AKS-74
On the launch

While the action slows slightly on the tug, Tucker reaches down for his pack and gets out his bottle of mild pain relievers and downs a couple to try and dull the pain in his shoulders and arms.  He will also load in a fresh belt on his starboard side Dushka while he waits for further targets and orders.

Tucker
Starboard Dushka
Taking a couple of pain relievers (aspirin I guess)and reloading a fresh belt for the Dushka

In response to Jan, Dawid laughed and replied,

"My friend, is being a pack mule somehow beneath your dignity? Slow, yes, but four times the firepower of rifles and hand grenades. In the artillery, we had to use actual pack horses, and when they were not available, we carried by hand where we needed to. The artillery is the Queen of Battle, and we are merely her servants. Observe."

Walking over to the Mk.19 he dropped his gear and squatted, grabbing it. He stood up, powerful leg and arm muscles bunching and flexing, while uttering a gutteral grunt.

"No different... than the hogs... back on the farm! Now, if someone wants... to bring some ammo... and maybe take the tripod... we can be away, yes?"

Looking at this, Adam smiled and shook his head. In Polish he said, "Dawid, your spirit is commendable, but the launch simply won't take the weight. It'll capsize or founder, and that chunk of iron will take you to straight to the bottom of the river. Leave it here, for the love of God, and quit wasting valuable time."

"Awwww... shit. You're no fun." Dawid set the weapon down on the deck, explosively blowing the air out of his lungs.

As they got ready to go to shore, Dawid checked his vest and ammo harness, making sure he had spare ammunition and grenades. Theyn he took his nearly-empty pack (now that the ammunition for his PKM was gone) and placed the last 100mm HE round for the AT gun inside and secured it. "For luck," he muttered. He slung the Komar around his neck, Stechkin was in the holster and picked up the ancient-looking RPD by it's worn carry-handle. He was strong, and the weight barely slowed him down. He also checked his gas mask and his first aid kit for the Atropine auto-injector, in case the gas really had been released.

When Anneka asked rhetorically about retreating, he laughed, again.

"Pulling out? Doctor... what kind of operation ends when the surgery is only half-complete! We shall push on to victory, or death. I like the idea of using the Mk. 19 as indirect fire support instead of directly engaging the enemy as God intended; I notice that machinegun and rifle bullets also travel in a ballistic arc, perhaps we should use them in an indirect mode, too?"

"No matter, you have one fragmentation round left for the 82mm Vasilek, and two phosphor for smoke. Luboslav should be able to fire the Vasilek, if all else fails."

Pulling out his papally-blessed rosary, he kissed the worn wooden beads and gave them to her, along with a packet of un-mailed letters and some documents in a plastic pouch.

"Anneka, promise me you won't leave until our bodies are cold? If I don't make it back, find my sister, Urzula, in Warszawa and tell her I'm sorry, she'll know what that means. Give her my things as well. Farewell, Anneka, my friend. You too, Adam and Tucker, and Griet! May God protect you!"

After boarding the skiff and settling himself in, he said prayers to God, Jesus, and his mother (the Black Madonna of Częstochowa) for forgiveness and deliverance. He kissed the beads when he was done, putting them back in his pocket.

When they cruised in, he saw that Jan was trying to get them in close, instead of trying to engage at a stand-off distance. Miming looking for cigarettes, he leaned forward and serreptitiously pulled a grenade out of his lifchiki, whispering a warning to Jan, "grenade." He didn't pull the pin, because if he dropped it now that would be disastrous.

"Finding" his pack, he held it up and asked in Polish, "cigarette?"


Dawid
RPD + 80 rounds, Stechkin + 2 spare magazines
4 RGD-5 Grenades, 2 Smoke, 2 Flares
Waiting in the boat, planning on throwing a grenade
This message was last edited by the player at 21:00, Tue 20 Oct 2009.

Leaving the tug
Anneka scowled at Dawid's suggestion she would leave anyone still breathing behind. what she felt was worse thought was his mistaken impression that the fight was winable - the whole intention behind the raid was to set the gas rounds and withdraw, letting the chemicals do the job for them.

As usual though the plan had fallen apart, with some apparently wanting to take on the entire pirate army with rifle and bayonet while outnumbered five to one or worse. It was little wonder casualties were mounting rapidly.

And now they had the gas to deal with, gas which if her guess was correct, was slowly drifting their way on the wind.

No matter how good their intentions were, how much they wanted to ensure total victory and the withdrawal of all their troops, it was suicidal to even think staying very long was an option, even if they were not outnumbered so terribly.

She shook her head sadly at Dawid as he loaded up the HE round, aware of the existance of another large gun onshore, but certain he wouldn't get within a hundred metres of it. In her mind, he'd have been better off loading up on medical supplies and grenades - both would probably be needed before they reached safety.

"Give it to Griet," she said, holding up her palm and refusing to take the rosary.
"I'm coming along remember."

At the longship
"What is going on here?" she called in near flawless Polish, her US Army uniform confusing the picture somewhat.
Her tone grew harsher, more like the officer she was, "And why aren't you reinforcing them!?"

Anneka
RPK-74 (40/40) + 6x30
Demanding answers in Polish
Preparing for the inevitable "double cross"

Instinctively flinching as rounds bounced of metal just a few short inches away, Stoner rapidly reloaded the launcher for one more shot. Hopefully this one, through the lower right window, would virtually stop any effective resistance.
"Who's got grenades?" he asked in his barely passable Polish, a wide grin plastered across his face.
"Get ready, you're coming with me!"

Stoner
AK-74 (30/30) +5 mags
BG-15 (1/1 HE) + 2 HE
PM Makarov (8/8) +2 mags
Reloading BG-15
Informing those with grenades they're about to assault the southern building
Firing BG-15 through bottom right window followed closely by a charge!