Regardless of the question should search now or later Ferro needs a couple minutes to deal with a stab wound. So for that reason alone I think we (not Ferro though) may as well search.

By pushing through, I meant moving toward the monastery. That's supposed to be the stronghold/fallback position of the group we're dealing with.

However, three votes for searching, none for pushing on so it's not a debate. We search the farmhouse and consolidate on that position.

I think that linking up the two groups ASAP sounds like a good idea to me. That said the vehicle group aren't going anywhere fast as we have casualties to deal with as well as enemy so there is probably time for searching.

---

Fuse,

From his position in the Krok's left air guard hatch am I correct that Jan can cover the ground to the south of Kessler?

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Jan Czerny (msg # 14):

Mostly. The turret is in part of the way though.

In reply to Fusilier (msg # 15):

Thanks.

Is the Krok moving this turn?

In reply to Fusilier (msg # 17):

Probably up to Mark and Andy to make the final decision (they're the ones with PC's aboard) but personally I think it should roll forward (i.e. south east) until they get to a position where they can engage the red box on the map that's known to have four to six enemy in it with sustained machine gun fire (not sure what the max we can fire in one turn is but we brought a thousand rounds of 7.62mm for the PK with us so if we can put fifty rounds into that box that sounds good to me)

EDIT. I think that tallies with Andy's last IC post.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Tue 25 Feb 2020.

I'll get on that now.

Before I post anything, what do you all want to do?

The way I see it we have two options.

1. We can try and finish off the group that's attacked us. In that case my initial thought is that Kessler and Krysia provide covering fire while Babicevs at al close on the trenches and try and clear them, possibly with grenades (I'm aware that Fuse has mentioned that part of the trench has overhead protection to try and safeguard against grenades but that same protection also means that if we can manage to toss a few frags into any openings that might concentrate the explosions)

However, I'm quite open to alternative suggestions (at the risk of stating the obvious my character's knowledge of how to deal with situations like this far exceeds mine)

2. We can try and break contact, withdraw back to our vehicles in leaps and bounds, and try and link up with Kolstrup's group (which means that any survivors in the trenches have a chance to get away).

I'm open to either option, although I'm thinking that

A. If we can break contact and link up with Kolstrup one large group is stronger than two smaller ones

B. We were warned that WA leadership would throw their cannon fodder at us to try and slow us down while they (the leadership) fled the scene so trying to finish this bunch off might be playing into that

C. I'm concerned that if we try and finish them off Grant and Aleksandr (and potentially Rodriguez) might end up isolated and vulnerable

D. We may take further casualties clearing the trenches

Taking all of that into account I'm inclined to think the tactically astute option is to try and break contact but if the majority want to try and finish them off - or do something totally different - I'll happily go with the flow.

I would say to ignore this group. It seems like a diversion or just meant to wear us down. The objective was the core leadership not killing everyone.

I'm going to propose an Option C, based on something that you mentioned. I'd kind of assumed that the recon group unwittingly took out the WA leadership cadre but this may be nothing more than wishful thinking.

If we didn't, then our intel says that they are going to make a break for it, most likely heading for the monastery. For that reason, I think we should...

Move the vehicle group to the crossroads and hold it until the recon team has determined who they killed at the farmhouse. We need to keep the WA leadership from escaping to their redoubt.

If the search of the farmhouse determines that we did kill the leadership group (fingers crossed), then we can abandon the crossroads and link up somewhere. We don't need to kill every WA foot soldier to destroy the group.

If it isn't the leadership cadre that we killed at the farmhouse, then we hold the crossroads and either postpone the linkup or try to move the recon team to crossroads.

-

In reply to Per Kolstrup (msg # 22):

One question on that, I'm not sure where you mean when you mention the crossroads. Can you put a marker on the map to confirm?

Done. IIRC, the monastery is to the east. If we seal off the coastal road, we make a quick getaway much more difficult. I'd rather fight off another human wave attack than have to storm a fortified compound.

-

In reply to Per Kolstrup (msg # 24):

I'm fine with that and I think it ties in with what Jinny said. It's too late for me to post anything IC tonight though so I'll follow up tomorrow provided there are no objections (given not everyone has had a chance to chip in yet)

I think that the vehicle group needs to break contact ASAP and focus on the WA leadership so Rae's suggestion makes sense.

One complication, that Dave mentioned, is that Reggie needs to tend to Aleksandr's wounds. That is both going to require light and take time so that may delay things significantly. The vehicle group may therefore take some time to break contact.

I think it would probably be best to kick everybody out of the Krok except crew and use that for any medical use. There you can use light, be in cover, and not be in the rain/mud.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Wed 26 Feb 2020.

I think we can get Alex into the BTR in under three minutes. IMHO, Voight and Jan should stay nearby though, to provide close-in security to the vehicle.

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In reply to Ferro (msg # 27):

I agree completely. Reggie is concerned that Aleksandar won't last that long however so he's trying to do some immediate triage first before trying to turn the Krok into a mobile aid post.

Well it's your call, but I meant immediate triage done in the vehicle since it's next to you.

Um, no it isn't. According to the map it's about 20 to 25 meters away.

Shouldn't be too hard to move the BTR to Grant's position.

-

In reply to Varis Babicevs (msg # 32):

Sure. That makes sense to me. At present I think that the BTR is gradually moving southwards, continuing to engage.

We're in a bind for sure. We have known enemies both east and west of us. South is unknown. North is what we believe might be a likely escape route for our objective.

While I'm certainly in favor of moving north to get our backs against a wall and cut off potential WA leadership escape, I think Jose at least has some more immediate concerns. Grant is currently treating Alex, and Jose only has the launcher at the moment, having dropped his AK. That means the 3 of us have our asses hanging in the wind, with at least one known hostile not far behind us, and we're basically just out in the open without cover.

A couple of thoughts -

1. I think it might be helpful to have the Krok back up a bit to put itself between us and the heckler, and potentially get Alex and Reggie inside to safety (probably worth the risk to move him at the moment, as stopping bleeding immediately won't do much good if we get shot next turn). If it re-orients north along the road but has the turret face west, the Krok could potentially cover the escape route, or at least have eyes on it, while keeping the trenches to our west covered at least somewhat (I'm unsure of the barrel depression capabilities on a BTR-80, so maybe not? But at least Jan would be there).

2. Jose needs a rifle or other weapon of some kind. That means either he goes back to the trench to secure a weapon that may no longer work, being full of mud, and also leaving Reggie/Alex exposed, or he asks Reggie for his rifle and some ammo. Not sure how you'd feel about leaving Reggie weapon-less though, Andy. Let me know if you have any thoughts on that?

In reply to Jose Rodriguez (msg # 34):

Reggie has a pistol as well as his AK and as he fires his AK-74 like he's in a Hollywood movie (i.e. spray & pray) so it's probably more use in Jose's hands. You'll need ammo from Reggie as well though as Jose originally had an AK-47 didn't he? He has some mags so I suggest that you post picking up Reggie's rifle (it's discarded beside him as he starts working on his patient) and we'll sort out the ammo IC.

Ta,

Andy
This message was last edited by the player at 09:49, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

I'd suggest those who want to do something with the BTR post IC addressing McCarthy (as vehicle commander). I'm fine with what Kessler's already said to McCarthy being ignored (Kessler's post reflects his IC knowledge only. He doesn't know the extent of Aleksandr's injuries and I'm presuming that he doesn't know that Babicevs is attacking the trench)