As he ran up the stairs Jan quickly radioed a response to Konrad.  "Alpha One.  Charlie One getting back into position.  If you can spare anyone to take control of the prisoners in the street send them across."

Falcon One's report comes on the landing between the fourth and third floors.  Danny checks his stride, skids on a loose tile, recovers, and throws up a hand to halt Artur.  At Bayer's response, he sighs, turns around, and trots back up the stairs past the startled Pole.  Catching the crashbar with his kneepad, he bursts out of the stairwell into the fourth floor hallway and sprints for the opposite end of the building.  "Charlie One, Coyote," he reports as he halts in a barren west-facing room, "in position on Four, west end.  No visual."

Danny
Chasing his tail
Winona [30/30] + 6 magazines - ready
CZ 75 [15/15] + 2 magazines - holstered
AN-M8 (HC smoke) x2 - stowed
AN-M18 (red smoke) x1 - stowed

Jay listened carefully to Jan's instructions, before nodding and heading off. He dashed back to the stairs, bounding up the flights until he reached the floor where he had been firing from earlier. Finding a spot with adequate cover and a good view of the road to the West, he dropped low and pulled out the LAW rocket. He quickly prepped it and laid it on the ground next to him.

His intention was to keep quiet and stay still, allowing the others to divert the armour and allow him a clean shot with the LAW. He slowed his breathing, saying a quiet prayer to himself, and prepared for the ensuing carnage.

Mrityunjay Byanjankar
2 Section
Finding cover and preparing LAW for shot on tank
AK74 + BG15 - 30/30 + 1xHE
Frag grenade x6, AT grenade x1
RPG-7D - empty/dropped
Kukri knife
Makarov 8/8
4x 40mmS HE
M72 LAW
This message was last edited by the player at 07:31, Sat 31 Mar 2012.

Granary Roof

The sound of moving armor finds its way to the granary roof. At the moment, there are no other battle sounds to drown it out.



A few seconds pass before the man below responds.

"Alright. May the Black Madonna make your cock fall off and grow back on your forehead if you don't keep your word. We're coming up. Don't shoot."

Weary of a possible ruse, Dawid and Mariusz prepare to greet the surrendering enemy while Ireneusz continues to cover the four prisoners huddled on the north side of the roof.

Granary Ground Level

When the smoke draws no enemy fire, Konrad clears Tucker to begin his move towards the granary's main entrance. He moves quickly, calling out to any friendlies who may be guarding the barricade around the doorway to the lobby. He's followed by the rest of his team. They find a bloodstained Craig and one of the veteran Poles. Although wounded, both men are conscious and able to fight from a fixed position. (Konrad -1 smoke grenade)

Firebase

Jan reacts to the news of more approaching armor, shifting his team to meet the potential new threat from the west. X shouts at the surrendering men to lie prone. They look confused- clearly, they've spotted the armor coming up from the west, and it appears that they've also noted the disappearance of most of the men who'd been covering them. One or two of the prisoners make to comply, squatting on the pavement. The others hesitate until one of them runs back towards the disabled AFVs. Two others follow his lead, running off in different directions. The tank crew, who'd been in various stages of climbing down from the tank's turret when their infantry comrades decided to pull a runner, freeze in place. One man sinks back into the turret and the driver jumps off the chasis and disappears from sight. The remaining crewman remains frozen in place as events unfold violently around him.

Pavel and Piotr are caught just a bit off guard by the sudden scattering of the surrendering men. They both open up on full auto and the two men who held to their word suffer the consequences of their comrades' opportunistic duplicity. They crumple to the ground, shot full of holes. One of the runners takes a half-aimed shot to the buttocks and he falls just behind the butt-end of the T-72.

Everyone within 50m of the tank are knocked off their feet by a sudden explosion.

Jan and the rest of his team are oblivious to this development. They're full attention is devoted to the two armored vehicles rolling up the street from the west.

Firebase Roof

Looking through his rifle scope, Warren gets a pretty good look at the men riding the T-80 and the trailing BMP-1. Most of them have swarthy complexions and are clad in brown field uniforms. Although he doesn't recognize individuals, he knows these men as men of the 10th TD. As he watches, the tank slows and its riders leap off and scatter to both sides of the street. The tank is temporarily blotted out by the massive muzzle blast of its 125m main gun. A split second later, the Baron's disabled T-72 errupts in a tremendous explosion. A crewman who'd been standing next to the turret is literally blown to pieces. When the smoke of the explosion starts to clear, the ground around the tank is littered with bodies and thick black smoke is pouring out the the commander's open turret hatch.


Next Moves?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:14, Sat 31 Mar 2012.

Jeff immediately takes his finger off the trigger and a crooked grin spreads on his face.  Lowering his rifle, he keys the radio  "All callsigns, they're friendly."  The barons tank exploding should have made that obvious, but still.

Switching nets, he calls out in Russian.  "Tovayischi! Sokol govoritie cheirapahka.  Friendlies in the granary to your west."

Mariusz grinned at the picture that the enemy soldier had painted with his curse, he'd have to remember that one...

He looked over at Dawid and said, "Can we keep the man with potty mouth? He sounds like he'd fit in."

It was Ireneusz  that who spotted the smoke first, drifting over the entrance to the Granary, Craig feared the worst and had prepared. He was able to put the two FRAG grenades away before the familiar faces had reached their barricade.

He spoke to the members of the team somewhat louder then would be expected;

"SHIT, ITS GOOD TO SEE YOU GUYS. I CANT HEAR CRAP SINCE THEY STARTED RAINING GRENADES ON US, NO RADIO NOTHING. HAVE THEY TAKEN THE ROOF ?"

Upon entering the ground floor of the granary and seeing Craig, Bayer waves assuredly to him to him to let him know that the roof has been taken. "Sawiki... help those men please." he says, motioning towards to the British officer and his wounded companion, whose name he'd forgotten.

"Griet, cover the entrance... Sergeant Tucker, take over from Lieutenant Sutherland and set up a perimeter near the stairwell with your team." Then remembering what the American newcomer had mentioned to him earlier, he adds, "Everyone... grenades and pyrotechnics are prohibited in here. Small arms only."

Then following the loud blast outside and the radio report that the previously unidentified mechanized force was in fact friendly, Bayer knew exactly what had just blown up. He wanted that tank, and felt his men deserved the prize... but felt that even if the 10th TD knew it was no longer a threat, they probably would have still destroyed it to prevent his men seizing control of it.

Bayer then put his back up against the wall and toggled his radio transmit button, "All call signs, Sunray. Lower floor objective secure. Send sitrep... now... and standby for consolatory orders."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:44, Tue 03 Apr 2012.

"On it," Griet replied and crouched down by the door to cover the rest of the group.

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg #385):


"Good work, men! Hell yes! I say we keep them. Mariusz, your idea to rush the granary worked, my friend."

Stepping inside to get a look at the men, Dawid sighed with relief.

"I swear on the holy Black Madonna. Okay, you are free to come on up. Let us know if you have wounded."

He checked to make sure there was nothing strange going on, but was mainly relieved it seemed over, at least here. The other explosions and fighting seemed to indicate that matters hadn't yet been fully decided on the street level.

"Alpha One, am pleased to advise that all resistance has ceased. I, ah, say again, resistance has ceased. Am on roof with prisoners. Building not yet fully cleared. Please instruct."

Bayer responds, "Sunray. Roger. Work your way down and clear the building from the top down. My force will remain in place on the entrance level. Der prisoner and casualty collection point established at my location."

After Jan relayed Warren's message, Jay made the LAW safe again, and switched back to his AK. Seeing a brief pause in the action, he returned to the destroyed room and searched for the RPG launcher he had dropped earlier. It was a valuable bit of kit, and he didn't want to lose it.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:45, Wed 04 Apr 2012.

"Okay, Sunray. Okay, ah, understood."


Dawid called down the stairs, "change of plans, lay down your arms but don't come up, just stay there. Someone will be right down. Again, just lay down your arms and wait there."

He called Euzebiusz and Mariusz together. "I'd like to defend the roof, like you, but we have to get the prisoners down and clear the building first.

"Euzebiusz: take the prisoners down (have them carry their wounded). Disarm and add the prisoners below us. Leave their weapons. Prisoner and wounded collection point is at the main entrance."

"Mariusz: you and I will take all the weapons from here and collect the ones below as we clear the building beneath us. Any questions? Let's go."


OOC: that's the best plan I can come up with using 3 people. Any other suggestions?

This message was last edited by the player at 09:59, Wed 04 Apr 2012.

Danny leans into the hall and yells, "Hey, Jan!  Do you want me on bullets or bandages now?"

Tucker moves over to where Sutherland is and gives him a tap on the shoulder to show that it's good to see him rather than try to speak to a temporarily deaf man.  He gives him and 'thumbs up' and points to Craig and his team and then to move over to Konrad.  Robert then directs his team to take up the same positions as Sutherland had and sets his perimeter.

Mariusz nodded his approval and picked up as many of the captured weapons as he could. He slung the rifles over his shoulders and then said, "This is going to be awkward if the prisoners decide to fight back. Why don't we leave the guns up here and then once the prisoners are secure downstairs I'll run back here and get them?"

In reply to Mariusz Tokarski (msg #397):

Dawid hefted the AK he'd borrowed from Craig.

"I am more worried about a holdout. The truth is we only have 3 people to do what really should take 5 people. So if I go down with Euzibiusz, that leaves you to clear the building by yourself, lugging all the weapons."

"I agree it's not the best way to go about this, let's just get it over with.

"Euzibiusz handles the prisoners, you and I clear the building, we'll get the ones here."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:34, Fri 06 Apr 2012.

Euzibiusz motioned for the prisoners on the roof to get moving while he also began collecting the weapons. He would get the medic to look at the British guy who took the brunt of the grenade attack they faced on the stairs.

Craig moved out of the way and let the others set up. He stayed concealed behind the concrete barrier if possible or if not he found some other cover.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:33, Sat 07 Apr 2012.

Alerted by Warren who continues to watch events unfold from the relative safety of the firebase building roof, the approaching combat detachment of the 10th TD stands down and holds their current position about a block west of the granary complex.

The disabled T-72 is a total write-off. At this point, without serious firefighting equipment, there's no way to stop it from burning itself out. The M113, "parked" nearby, is also in danger of brewing up should the fires aboard the T-72 manage to spread. (They are only a few meters apart). The flames shooting up out of the commander's hatch of the Baron's MBT are actually rather pretty, if you ignore the fact that the tank was a potential war prize before the 10th TD's overzealous tankers put a 125mm AP round into its hull.

Inside the granary, disaster strikes. Lugging a half-dozen captured weapons and attempting to supervise not only the men captured atop the granary, but the half-dozen able-bodied men inside who'd just surrendered, Ireneusz is overpowered and killed. During the brief melee, Ireneusz is able to get off a short burst of fire, striking one of his assailants in the groin. Those prisoners still able to fight seize the weapons Ireneusz had been lugging and scatter. Dawid and Mariusz, alerted by the gunfire, hold fast and radio Konrad to send a clearing force up from below. The two clearing forces, high and low, converge deliberately and, after cleaning out several small pockets of continued resistance, meet on the fourth floor. As a result of the betrayal, no quarter is asked for or given. It takes an hour to clear the granary. Fortunately, no other friendlies were killed or wounded in the operation. A dozen of the Baron's men pay for the short-lived revolt with their lives. Clearing the granary takes several hand grenades and scores of rifle rounds. (Ammo expenditures to follow).

With the granary finally secured, Konrad's Kommandos link up with the lead elements of the 10th TD. The T-80 and BMP-1 were captured on the outskirts of the city when the 10th crushed the holding force left behind in the Baron's desperate ploy to secure the food stockpiles in the granary building. The meeting is joyous, if somewhat awkward. Much of the force speaks only rudimentary Russian and Warren is the only Kommando fluent in the language. Present at the meeting are a few representatives of the Warsaw Rebels (the West-Bankers). Introductions are made and cigarettes are exchanged. One of the 10th TD tankers breaks out a bottle of vodka and passes it around. Those adventurous enough to take a swig liken the taste to that of industrial-strength solvent.

Although the Baron is most likely still alive, his hold over the ruins of Warsaw is broken. His "legion" is decimated (literally) and the survivors scatter. Some of them take a chance and throw themselves on the mercy of Warsaw's hard-used civilian population. For a few, this is a fatal mistake as months of anger spill out in vengeful violence. More of the Black Legion surrender to the advancing 10th TD. The majority of the survivors, however, slip away through rubble-choked streets, dispersing into the surrounding countryside. It's likely that there are still some pockets of the Baron's men hiding out in the ruins of the city.

As the rest of the 10th slowly makes its way towards the Baron's HQ complex (including the granary), the Kommandos have an opportunity to poke around the old Egyptian embassy building that Czarny had converted into a relatively luxurious private residence. The interior of the building is very well-maintained. On the third floor, in the Baron's lavishly-furnished office, a somber-faced woman and her very serious-looking child stare down from the wall. The Polish Kommandos and Jan instantly recognize the iconic image hanging before them. It's the Black Madonna.


Next Moves?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:12, Sat 07 Apr 2012.

Jan had smoked one of his remaining Gitanes and shared around a pack of his Polish cigarettes when it was obvious that they had won the battle and were able to stand down.  He had also made an effort to find himself a AK-74 with an underslung grenade launcher and any 40mmS grenades or 40mmN grenades that hadn't been fired.

When they searched the Baron's former HQ Jan practiced the ages old soldier's right of looting anything of value from the battlefield before the MPs turned up.  There weren't any MPs so he took what he could, paying particular attention to food, batteries, electronics and weapons and ammo.

In the Baron's office Jan stopped and stared at the painting.  He was no art expert but his briefing from the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure had been extensive, even if the information on the location of the Black Madonna the local contacts the DGSE has provided appeared to be highly inaccurate.  He studied the painting, trying to work out if it was the real Black Madonna of Częstochowa or just a copy and whether his French Foreign Legion team had died for nothing!

He lit up another Gitanes while he studied the painting, making sure that he didn't get the cigarette too close to it.

After everything is cleaned up with the prisoners and the building secured, Tucker will find the most comfortable chair, love seat, couch, etc., and grab himself a seat. He will take off his helmet and unloosen his MOLLE gear and vest and light himself up one of his cigars and tries to enjoy the few minutes of relaxation before the 10th get there and start turning the place upside down.  If there is more than one spot to sit, he calls Minh over sit down next/near him and jokingly off her a cigar as it's the only thing he has.  At the least, he can offer her a light.

Craig also found a more comfortable place to sit. He also tried to persuade someone to have a look at his head.

Once he was able Craig was after 7.62mmN, batteries for his radio, Otto's shotgun shells if they where recovered and maybe a few more grenades.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:11, Sat 07 Apr 2012.

Danny shrugs to himself and trots over to the granary, using his fractured Polish to collect any unoccupied friendly militia along the way.  Once he's sure the granary's ground floor is secure enough to use as a casualty collection point, he begins triaging the wounded and radioing casualty reports to Anneka.  He presses his collection of Poles into service as stretcher-bearers and oversees the evacuation of the worst-injured to the Queen for surgery, leaving Monika temporarily in charge of the CCP.  After that's accomplished, he deals with the walking wounded, sending Monika off with a couple of well-armed miltiamen to collect medical supplies from Butterfly or anyone else who might have them.

It's midafternoon by the time Danny washes the last of someone else's blood off his hands.  He looks around the battlefield at the piles of bodies, the charred hulk of the T-72, the 10th TD troops and Warsaw resistance fighters celebrating in the street.  "Well," he mutters to himself, "that was somethin' anticlimactic."  Then he shoulders his aid bag, slings Winona, and sets off in search of the command group.

Bayer says little after the fighting died down. He had no orders for his men and wanted to leave them alone for a while to enjoy themselves at their own pace. They certainly deserved it - and much more. When it was safe again to walk around outside and not get accidentally caught up by some vengeful civilians or any of the Baron's die hards, he'd see to the 10th about a reward for holding up his end of the deal.

In the Egyptian embassy, Bayer removed his helmet, ran his fingers threw his hair and then unzipped the front of his jacket and kevlar vest as he looked around. Eventually, he found what he was looking for - the ambassadors office. The large room appeared to have been left mostly untouched since the Baron took it over, with an oversize portrait of Hosni Mubarak still hung on the wall behind the ambassador's oak desk. A few items looked out of place, some of the Baron's recent war trophies and loot, but he ignored all of it and instead zeroed in on the Ambassadors large and comfortable looking chair.

Bayer will relax in the Baron's office, with both feet up on the desk next to his weapon and rifle. If anyone needed him, they'd find him eventually, and he still had his radio. Until then, Bayer was content being alone and imagining that he was ruler of Warsaw.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:13, Sun 08 Apr 2012.