Moonless
CO: Fer
|- M: Ajax
Moonless is one of the few Folk missions that sees much of the platoon equipped with scoped rifles; but, being Folk, there is a catch: the night-sight on an FN FAL causes its user to suffer from the same temporary blindness issues as standard NVGs. Moving and shooting can be a challenge.
The ambush area provides a perfect killing ground, with the enemy infantry column hemmed in between the steep sides of the valley and our men shooting down. The satchels multiply the damage, and then to these two factors I added one other. It's something that was taught to me by a comrade from the early days of Folk (who was, I believe, a current or former soldier): Bravo would fire first from the southern ridge, drawing the enemy's attention first, then a few seconds later Alpha and Charlie would pop up from the northern ridge and find the enemy facing way from them (Bravo was at liberty to withdraw at this point).
Premature detonation of the satchels, and what looked (from afar) to be over-eagerness from Alpha/Charlie meant the ambush ran slightly off-plan, but the bulk of the enemy column was wiped out in under a minute. Technicals came racing up the road to investigate and were dealt with clinically. It was almost perfect. Ordering Alpha/Charlie to move north-east and take up positions around the sniper team on the high mountain, I moved with Bravo on a parallel route, skirting along the southern ridge line as it turns north-east and eventually comes in towards the east of the target settlement.
The sniper team had been doing a great job of locating and marking the high value targets, patiently getting on with this task whilst the rest of the platoon had conducted the ambush. Kudos to comrades Black Mamba and Waffly for using the sniper/spotter roles to support everyone else. When Alpha/Charlie joined the snipers, we already had a great idea of where to hit the enemy.
Bravo's movement after the ambush had been slower, but with good reason: the tail of the enemy column had survived the ambush, requiring Bravo's fireteams to pause and finish the job. Up near the snipers, comrade Bodge was anxious about the degree to which Alpha/Charlie was exposed and asked for permission to advance. Ideally, I had wanted Bravo in position first to act as a base of fire, but in the event it was better to trust the ASL's judgement. The sniper team was put at liberty to fire on ZU crews and the assault began. Urging Bravo on to its next waypoint (from where it was to support Alpha's advance with fires), I moved along the ridge line until I had a good view of the settlement from the south-east.
The next phase of the mission passed smoothly. Alpha/Charlie reached the buildings safely and began to clear the area west of the T-junction. Bravo quickly transitioned from a support to an assault role and did the same on the east side. Before too long, we had eliminated all enemy troops and only a few static targets remained to be destroyed.
From the perspective of an infantry commander, nothing that flies and shoots unguided rockets is safe, regardless of its markings. So, before bringing in the Hind I asked everyone to find some hard cover from which to watch the fireworks. The big beast made a few runs at the final target, and we all enjoyed watching the rockets arc across the night sky.
Except for comrade Wolfenswan, who watched the rockets fly into his face.
Arrival SE
Charlie SL: Fer
|- M: Cap
Ordered to secure the hamlet south-east of the airstrip as soon as possible, I didn't waste any time, moving my fireteams into jumping-off positions a little way up the ridge to our south. C1 and C2 were to be the assaulting force, cresting and moving eastward into the hamlet. C3 and MMG1 would be our base of fire, covering the advance from a spot further up the slope.
In the event, C3/MMG1 didn't have too many targets, and C1 and C2 fought their way directly into the hamlet relatively easily. I tasked both with clearing through to the eastern side, C2 north of the road and C1 to the south. Our base of fire was to continue as security up the slope. However, the enemy had different plans.
Infantry began to assault us across open ground to the east. This might not have been a problem, except that two tanks appeared from the north-east and quickly moved right onto our positions, eventually moving to block our escape route back to the airstrip. We were sandwiched.
Quite independently, comrade CO Bodge had ordered me to disengage and pull Charlie back to the airstrip. C3 and MMG1 were able to comply, but - along with C1 and C2 - I found myself trapped in the hamlet. Between the tanks and advancing enemy infantry, over half of Charlie was getting crushed. HAT1 and our own AT chaps couldn't quite finish the second tank, and whilst we remained pinned the enemy troops were moments away from overrunning our position.
By the time the - frankly, beautiful - arc of chain gun fire from the Apache connected with the second tank, it was almost too late. Of the 10 that had entered the hamlet (including myself and medic Cap), 7 would perish. The FTL of C2, Black Mamba, was the sole surviving member of his fireteam. None of C1 made it back. Twice, comrade Cap and I were engaged by enemies at point blank range, and twice I would have been killed were it not for my medic.
When the tank was finished, we scrambled back to C3, MMG1 and HAT1. Including attachments, I still had a reasonably effective force, but there was no time to re-organise, because comrade CO Bodge had already re-tasked us. Moving north, first to the control tower (where HAT1 detached from us), we relieved Alpha at the airstrip's northern gate. Along the way, we'd picked up an SOV HMMWV, and for a moment it looked like we would be staying put for a while. MMG1 gained some elevation by climbing the control tower and provided us all with additional cover. For the first time in the mission, I felt like I could catch my breath - but I was mistaken.
Bravo was being ordered to take the hamlet north-west of the airstrip, and we were to support. With C3 and MMG1 on foot, I hopped into the SOV as driver; Black Mamba was already on the AGL and now our medic, Cap, was in temporary charge of the forward MG. Moving parallel to the northern fence line, we advanced westward, eventually taking up position on a spur that afforded us overwatch of Bravo's advance. For a period we were putting sporadic fire out in various directions - grenades at distant foot mobiles on the airstrip's western end, heavy calibre machine gun rounds at a technical to our far north, plenty of 5.56 at the village itself. Bravo took the objective without incident.
Afterwards, we moved south to the oil refinery, eliminating a foot patrol along the way (spotted by our ever-vigilant C3). That objective offered no resistance, so we swung north towards the final settlement, hoping to join the attack as Alpha came in from the east. Halfway there, we engaged another patrol, MMG1 doing some particularly effective work from atop and drilling platform. Delayed, we could only watch as Alpha hit the settlement and finished the party.
Forts
CO: Wolfenswan
|- M: Fer
Fer: "Is it okay to bring the vehicle up to your position?"
Wolfenswan: "Yes."
brrrm brrrrrm brrrrrrrrrrrrrrm
...
Initialising spectator script.
Cholo
Look, officer, I don't know nothing about no assault on precinct 13 (but hey, I heard that dude, whatshisname, Tigershark, I heard he assaulted yo' ass!). Wait, wait. Not the face! Alright, alright! Last thing I remember, I'm getting high in the back of some dude's car. Next thing I know, I'm standing here wasting my freakin' time with you bozos. Do I get my 'phone call now?
++
It was a really enjoyable session, particularly in regard to organisation and comms. Thanks to all the comrades who came along - I hope to see you again on Sunday.
No video, unless you guys absolutely love cross-country marathons.
~ Ferrard