[Sun] 14 Apr 2013 (The one with the Hind)

[Anvilfolk]

Oh man, Shilkas of Nur, AT NIGHT? Why, oh why, do I have to miss all these wonderful sessions?

[Kefirz]

Shilkas of Nur (at night)
Bravo 3 AAR

I wonder if there is any video evidence or eye witnesses to confirm this, but it seemed to me that attack run was not a WWII style forward strafe, but rather his first rockets hit way to our left and then he pitched his nose down so that his rockets actually moved backwards towards us.

I was in Alpha and I saw the whole thing, to me it seemed like a good old fashioned forward strafe. The first rockets didn't hit you and landed short of the target maybe? After that, they would gradually advance towards the target and beyond it, thus sweeping the whole Bravo squad and putting their names in the obituary.

[Terminal Boy]

Gutted that I had to miss this session due to a FUBAR'd graphics card...

[Ferrard Carson]

One last video up means that I can clear out my hard drive for this evening's festivities! (I seriously need to invest in a 2TB or two... but first I suppose I should get to the bottom of these strange, intermittent blue-screens. Might just be time for a general upgrade.)

~ Ferrard

[fer]

Highway

Charlie SL: Fer

Initially deployed as the platoon reserve, Charlie was concealed in some rocks on high ground at the point of our L-shaped ambush. After Bravo had halted the enemy convoy, and begun to take casualties, we were brought into the fight; whereupon our elevated positions proved a mixed blessing: we could see plenty of armoured targets, but judging the drop on our RPGs was challenging. My FTLs moved their men downslope on their own initiative and overall we made a good account of ourselves, finishing off plenty of enemy troops and disabling or destroying a few vehicles.

When it became clear that the platoon had accomplished its mission, Charlie moved into the area previously occupied by Bravo, straddling the T-junction where the ambush had been sprung. We remained in this position whilst Alpha fell back to us from further up the main road, whilst surviving members of Bravo made for the extraction point.

Bravo's losses stopped this from being a near-perfect run of the mission, but I hesitate to suggest that Charlie should not have been held in reserve. The whole ambush tends to hinge on the accuracy of the initial RPGs, and having the option to quickly reinforce one or other of the ambushing elements seems sensible (it could so easily have been Alpha getting torn-up on the raised ground to the west of the main road. Conversely, had all three squads hit the convoy simultaneously, perhaps the enemy would have been deprived of the opportunity to retaliate altogether. We'll have to try that sometime - but kudos to the CO for making what has historically been a challenging mission for us, look easy!

Crateresistance

A3 FTL: Fer
|- AR: Fowles
|- AAR: Cam
|- Chap who fell out of the truck

On the way to our set-up point one of my fireteam members fell out of the moving truck, but we were under pressure the reach our marker quickly so the squad did not go back for him. Given the amount of time we then spent waiting in the woods, that was a decision I regret; sorry comrade!

After what seemed like an age (but actually wasn't, since waiting is part and parcel of adversarial missions), the enemy entered the kill zone designated by comrade CO Ferrard Carson, in a lightly wooded area just south of cache #2. With comrade SL Tigershark's Bravo acting as a BOF behind us and upslope, comrade SL Headspace's Alpha surged forward and engaged the enemy at close quarters. Running across the field and darting between clumps of evergreens, my fireteam was on the right. Ahead of us, the ground fell away gently and became filled with trees and enemies. We traded blows with a fireteam-sized element, eventually besting them (I myself was wounded several times, but lightly enough that I could push on and execute a crawling enemy). Then we rallied on a wooded knoll with the rest of Alpha and scanned the area for enemies.

What followed next was a long and circular run. As predicted by comrade AJAX during the early stages of this road race, the surviving members of the enemy platoon had headed north towards cache #3, and upon blowing it had doubled back towards cache #2 , arcing round to the exact same jumping-off point we had used (in the wooded slopes to the west). Alpha would trail a few minutes behind, arriving just in time to catch the enemy engaging Bravo, which had been left to garrison cache #2. Our superior numbers proved irresistible.

This was some pretty superb work by comrade CO Ferrard Carson - easily the best play through of this mission that I've participated in. Well done!

Shilkas of Nur

MAT Gunner: Sek
|- Asst. Gunner: Fer

For the first few minutes after the platoon crested the ridge, MAT felt a little redundant; the infantry was doing a great job of chewing up the enemy, and the mighty MGS Stryker lurked nearby, ready to cannon-snipe the enemy Shilkas just as soon as they were located. An enemy helicopter then appeared to our east, flying low and fast enough to evade the HMG rounds from the Stryker.

We were the first to spot the eastern-most Shilka, talking in the Stryker as it manoeuvred into position to fire its canon. One shot and the enemy vehicle exploded, our own shots combining with Alpha's murderous small arms fire to shred the bailing crew and nearby MG emplacement. This was going to be too easy, I worried.

The western-most Shilka was next to be spotted. Comrade CO Wolfenswan had the Stryker shift over to the platoon's left, and asked MAT to do the same. Comrade Sek was experiencing comms issues, so I led him to the right location. We were late to the party, but that at least ensured we had a beacon to home in on: the night was lit up by flashes as the Stryker took a series of shots, walking its deadly fire in on the Shilka and then continuing to pound the distant hilltop whilst enemy infantry there attempted, in vain, to hold the position.

Now we turned towards Nur, and began our descent towards the town with Charlie on the left, Bravo in the centre, and Alpha (reunited with the Stryker) on the right. Comrade Sek and myself were between Charlie and Bravo, roughly following the CO. Two helicopters suddenly appeared, the nearest being a Hind. Accurate fire from arises the platoon killed or incapacitated the enemy pilot, his machine smashing into a hillside moments later - but not before he could complete one bombing run, unleashing a salvo of rockets against the centre of our own formation. The jubilation of watching the hind explode was quickly tempered by the realisation that most of Bravo was gone, and along with them the CO.

Comrade SL Draakon (Alpha) assumed command, rallying the remaining squads as best he could and exhorting us to attack Nur itself. Charlie was approaching the town from the south, Alpha from the east; with comrade Sek and platoon medic comrade Tigershark (who had failed in his duty to protect the CO, or at least martyr himself), we moved forward in the space between the squads. Out to the east, near Alpha, the MGS Stryker scanned the dark horizon.

We took casualties in our assault of Nur, comrade Draakon amongst them. Comrade SL Cam (Charlie) became the mission's third CO. Under Cam'a calm orders, the final Shilka was identified and canon-sniped, whilst our infantry cleared our Nur. Although enemies still massed on the higher ground north-west of the town, our mission had been completed.

Broney

Bravo 3 FTL: IceRaiser
|- AR: Daf
|- AAR: Fer
|- RPG: ???

OMG Daf! They killed Daf! ... wait ... Did somebody loot his RPK?!?!?

But back up a moment, comrade. This mission began with the wholesale abandonment of the Bronnegruppa as blocking force, and instead saw comrade CO Draakon re-employ the BMP-2s as a mobile BOF for Alpha and Bravo'a methodical sweep up the green zone. Bravo on the left (under comrade SL Headspace), Alpha on the right, pushing up through compounds and gardens, until perhaps on third of the green zone was free of pesky rebels. It was going pretty damn well, despite comrade CO Draakon's unorthodox plan and the death of my comrade, Daf.

Then the plan was switched again, as rolling BOF machines became battle taxis: the broneys rolled up to Bravo's position and we clambered aboard. If we could have seen out of the vehicles, we would have been terrified by the enemy RPGs whizzing overhead. As it was, Bravo disembarked at the Bronnegruppa's original blocking position in the area south-west of the rebel settlement. With Alpha still advancing through the green zone, Bravo would move - with the broneys - to high ground overlooking the enemy village and dominate it. That was the plan, anyway.

Up the slope we ran, headed for the tumbled-down positions of an earlier conflict, still miles and miles from the enemy for---