Matias was still very lost.  He understood an attack on Warsaw, and that was about all.  The other information was all completely out of context, and lost on him.

When there was a pause, he leaned over to Mariusz and whispered in Polish "What is happening?  What are we talking about?"  He hoped that Mariusz, who had been with the group for longer than he had, understood what was happening.

Making the most of the break in the action Craig has spent as much time in a chair as possible. He has primary been focused on his wounded leg but as the discussion becomes more in depth he decides to add his own two pence worth.

”To be honest I wouldn't like your chances in convincing the Barons troops to change sides. I would give you credit that some are there against their will, some are there for the protection and some are there cause they enjoy it. It's just getting close enough to actually talk and then convince them there is an alternative.”

”Captain Zawadzki are there any other communities that you are in contact with who may also be persuaded to help ? Also since we seem to be giving over the weapons from the Cavalry, you may want this.”

He digs around in one of this PLCE pouches and produces a bag with 298 rounds of 9mmN.

"I was keeping it for the villagers but what the hell maybe well find some more."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:18, Sat 29 Jan 2011.

Jan turned to the Poles who had recently joined them.  "How strict a rule does the Baron keep on the city?  Are there any communal areas like markets and does anyone have any permission to move around the city besides his Black Guard?"

He then switched from Polish to English and directed a quick comment to Craig with a grin.  "Damn, if I had known that you were carrying round a load of 9mm Parabellum rounds I would have taken five off your hands to fill up one of my pistol mags!"

In reply to Jan Cerny (msg #27):

Sliding the plastic bag across the table to Jan, Craig adds:

"Finders first then, if anyone else needs to top off magazines feel free."

Mariusz looked over at the new guys and smiled at Mataias, "Several of us were a security team for a tug boat trying to get to Warsaw. We reached teh town of Gora Kalwaria and discovered the people there trying to fight against the pirate element of the Baron's forces. We helped them to defeat the pirates and because our employer realised he couldn't find his family in Warsaw with the Baron around we joined forces with Gora Kalwaria to try to eliminate the Baron. Our reconnaissence of the city became a sort of running battle and we ended up at your outpost."

He grinned again, "Now we're talking about co-ordinating an attack with the militia of this town, the 10th, which is a bunch of three hundred ex-Soviets under the direction of the CIA and any forces we can summon from our base. That might be hard because we've been out of contact for a few days and they might think we're dead. Any help you can give us using the radios would be great."

"At present," he pointed at the meeting, "the militia are willing to launch a diversionary attack but not commit decisive forces, understandable and generous when you look at their position, and the 10th are a potent force but starving and not able to take out the Baron by main force."

"We've been suggesting infiltrating snipers and small hunter-killer groups into the city to disrupt the enemy before the main attack." Mariusz continued, "Your knowledge of the Baron's forces and tactics as well as recent knowledge of the city will be invaluable to the discussion. When we plan things, everyone has a say and the Kaptain picks what he thinks is the best course. Don't hesitate to speak up, I'd rather be called a fool here than dead because you had a better idea and didn't want to offend anyone by speaking up. I speak decent English and Russian so if you have anything to say say it and I'll translate."

In reply to Konrad Bayer (msg #19):

Dawid leaned over to Konrad and made sure the Russians couldn't overhear him.

"Do we want to mention the nerve gas shells for the mortar? Er, sorry, howitzer. They're not ours, but they could be useful."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:02, Sat 29 Jan 2011.

Try as he might, Dieter can't raise the Queen or anyone in Gora-Kalwaria. The radio's battery is running low on juice and the set might just not have the power and range to get a coherent signal to where he wants it to go.

Some sort of long field-expedient antenna might help. Also, if there was some way to amplify the radio's power output, the signal might have the energy to cut through to the tug.

Teh meeting breaks up temporarily for a quick dinner of lamb stew, bread with butter, and a thick, locally brewed beer. It's warm, tasty, and filling. General Koronev, in solidarity with his hungry troops, limits himself to one modest helping. In a show of support, Johnstone reluctantly follows suit.

All the players are there but this is a more informal atmosphere than the planning conference it's interrupting. Small groups of friends gather here and there to eat and chat in relative privacy.

After about 30 minutes, the planning meeting will resume.

Jan excused himself briefly from the meal, after eating his share as quickly as possible, and borrowed the backpack radio that Quyen had been carrying around.  He took it off to a quiet corner and tuned it to a particular frequency that he appeared to have memorised.

He then started transmitting, repeating the same message in Polish he had used the previous time he had tried to contact the woman in Warsaw.  "Motyl.  To jest Żołądź."


OOC: "Motyl.  To jest Żołądź." hopefully means "Butterfly.  This is Acorn." in Polish.

Seconds passed. Then a minute. Then two. He'd repeated his transmission several times already and still no response. Perhaps "Butterfly" had shut down her set- this wasn't the prearranged contact window. But darker thoughts started to creep into Jan's mind. Had she been compromised? Were the Baron's men monitoring this frequency? Did they have the equipment and wherewithal to track transmissions? Had he killed managed to accidentally kill two DSGE agents? Was it all just...

"Acorn. Butterfly. Wait one."

Thank God.

After a brief delay, Jan's contact spoke again in rapid-fire French, thick and dirty. "Acorn, I am happy to hear from you. The Baron is in quite a rage. He rounded up 100 civilians this afternoon and had every tenth one shot, for 'helping the foreign raiders', he said. He's getting desperate. My contact in Legion says there's talk of disarming the NATO company. The Polish fighters want to kill the Ukranians for a shooting earlier today. Some of the irregulars have disappeared on the west bank. A couple more were shot trying to cross over. If there was ever a time to strike, it is now. The only thing going in the Baron's favor is that his second tank is now operational. It's posted outside his HQ. The other is still at the old stadium. There's rumors that he may try to launch a big attack a hostile force up north. What is your status? OVER."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:58, Sat 29 Jan 2011.

Matias looked relieved upon hearing Mariusz's explanation.  The extra information helped immensely, filling in a great many gaps.  With a new understanding of the situation, Matias began to search his memory for anything that could be of use to the team.

But first, he remembered his manners.  "Dziękuję* Mariusz, that helps a great deal.  I speak a little English too, so I've been able to follow along.  But without knowing the purpose, it was hard to understand."




* Thank you.
Good link for the Polish speakers: http://www.polish-translator.net/polish_phrases.html

When the group takes a break Piotr signals for the group of new recruits to gather around him before he starts rummaging in his backpack. Moments later he takes out a well used map and starts spreading it out. Waiting for the others to join him before he starts talking to them only occasionally taking a bite of food.

Any of the others want to join in on this little party don't be a stranger.

Those that join Piotr will notice the map he has unfolded is actually a military map of Warsaw with several pre-marked fire missions and other useful tactical locations marked out.

“I've been holding on to this map for a while now. Most of the markings should still be valid, but maybe you can all have a look at it and tell me if you think of any positions that have changed. If we can finish the map before the group comes together again it might be a great help with their planning, don't you think."
Piotr looks around the group before he continues.

“As far as I can see most of the major defense positions are still on this. Only thing of interest maybe is the hostage location right here” marking it out with a pencil “And of course the construction site right here” After that he waits for other suggestions and marks them out as they are suggested.

Finally as the map appears updated he once more looks around, serious concern on his face“If any of you have an idea of how we can contact some of our less fortunate comrades I'd be interested to know. If we can convince others to follow our example it's one more saved from the Baron's grasp and more importantly one less enemy to fight against.”

Matias went with Piotr; he was already used to following the older Pole's instructions, and he respected Piotr's ability to lead the group effectively.

Matias pointed at the northernmost set of barracks, near the Castle construction site Piotr mentioned.  "This was my barracks.  There are 3 companies of troops stationed there.  2 volunteer and 1 conscript.  I don't think we'd be able to turn the volunteers, but ah..... maybe half of the conscripts would be interested in deserting, given a reason and a chance to get home."

He stepped back and thought for a moment.  Just when it seemed like he was done, he spoke again: "I always thought that the defenses near the nuclear zone were light.  According to this map, we could take the 634 southwest to Zabki, then pull off to side streets and drive right up to the Castle, or the Artillery Battery.  We'd have to skirt the nuclear zone, but it's not that close."

Craig finishes his food before moving towards Piotr and the map.



"It's getting into the city that is the stumbling block. That little system of lights was incredibility effective. We could use it to our advantage though, ambush the reaction force then in the confusion a "small" party could break away and head further into the city."

"Jean forget sokol smok."
Thor was obviously struggling with language, searching for the right words to get his point across.
"Umm, bird. Falcon. Fly!"

It had been a while since they'd had a chance to relax. Dawid took the opportunity to do some things:

1) Set up a charger on the truck's alternator.

2) Charge any batteries that needed charging.

3) Check everyone's feet and assess any wounds for himself.

4) Make sure everyone had something to eat.

Mariusz walked over to the new members of the unit and said, "Are there any other questions you have about what we've done? It looks like we'll be going back into combat soon so you might not have the chance again."

In reply to Mariusz Tokarski (msg #41):

Dawid nodded in agreement. "Yes, you all know me of course, at least from the short time we were together and that damned BTR charged us!"

"Mariusz, you're doing a fine job of getting our new friends settled in. By the way, have you introduced them to the Kaptain yet?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:50, Sun 30 Jan 2011.

Monika is moving about during the lull seeing if anyone needs her brand of help.

Much like his earlier attempt with the BTR, Dawid is unable to rig up a battery recharger using the old Ural truck's nearly worn out battery or ancient alternator. He avoids getting a nasty shock or acid burns during the build process, but, try as he might, the completed device does not appear to be passing a charge on to any of the radio or NVG batteries to which he attaches it.

The Serock militia commander gratefully accepts the bag of 9mm N rounds.

"Ah, thank you. Oh, these are parabellem rounds. Very good. Thanks again.

Handing the bad to adjuntant, he addresses Craig's querry.

"Unfortunately, I doubt any of the small communities in this region will want to get involved in a fight over the ruins of Warsaw. Most of the communities within a dozen kilometers of the city have been co-opted or forcibly evacuated by the Baron. Those further out are either empty, too small to bother about, or too distant to conquer. I'm sorry to say that there are not many like us that are too strong to overcome. We are in contact with some mostly independent settlements further north and northwest, downriver along the Vistula, but they have warlord issues of their own to deal with. I believe the national government controls things farther on, up around Torun. I don't know about communities south of Warsaw. With the Baron effectively in control of the river in this area- at least until recently, if I understand correctly- we haven't had any contact with anyone up-river from here. You know more about that than I do."

You remember the warry residents of Minsk Mazowiecki. They seemed to be independent and rather warry of outsiders.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:38, Sun 30 Jan 2011.

As he listens to the Captain a look of concern crosses Craigs face.

”It would seem that with so much to gain from the removal of the Baron that more of the communities would be more proactive.”

”We have only been operating for a short time and this is the first time that the10th has been factored into the assault so maybe if the villages where informed they maybe more forthcoming ?”

As the battery in his radio started to lose power, Dieter eventually gave up in his attempt to contact the Queen. He packed up the radio and went back to the others. Located his commander, he said "Herr Bayer, I have tried to make contact with the Queen, but cannot get through. My battery is low, so I gave up."

To Dawid he continued, "Herr Dawid, if you are trying to charge batteries my radio could do with some more power; it is weak."

Once done he headed to the mess area and helped himself to a helping of the stew. It wasn't great, but it was warm and filled his belly. The beer was, by German standards, disgusting, but he forced himself to drink some, as much as to be polite as to quench any thirst he had.

Once he had completed his meal he approached one of the NCOs of their new host. In his best Polish he said, "Excuse me my friend, is there somewhere where we can freshen up? We have been travelling and fighting for many days, and could do with a wash."

If he receives a blank look he will try again in his basic Russian.

Assuming he received a positive response, he followed up with, "And also, we lost some equipment in our travels, and could use some rucksacks. Do you have any spare?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:28, Mon 31 Jan 2011.

With a look bordering disgust at having to use such a word, Thor finally struck gold.
"Helikopter! Glaðsheimr have helikopter!"
"Good, no?"
Maybe the General would take notice now...
"Sjåføren hurt. You have?"
He mimed holding a stick between his legs, leaning right and left as he moved the imaginary control.

Bayer nods as Dieter makes his report, and replies quietly, "It's long ways back. We'll probably have to rig up a directional antenna if we can find a signaller in the 10th."

He then removes the batteries from his NVGs and radio to be passed on to Dawid to be charged.

Bayer then says aloud, "I like the idea of trying to turn some of the urban miltias to our side. However, I feel there we simply don't have the needed time to spare. It would also be incredibly dangerous with absolutely every attempt to make contact potentially ending up as another running breakout. There are too many unpredictable factors and risks - including giving up operational security."

"For those reasons, I think we should focus on direct action only - the infiltration and elimination of vital targets in the city core, coupled with larger scale efforts driving down from the north. And utilizing only the assets that we already have... or those we can rely on, such as Jan's support in Warsaw."