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Re: The Debriefing Thread - UnNamedGER - 01-19-2016
(01-19-2016, 04:28 PM)Alwarren link Wrote:I reported this, and was still commanded to engage the Shilka that wasn't even aware of us, while the tank had started to home in on me with his machine gun.
This was the first time I remember in my history of playing at CiA were I intentionally and willfully ignored a direct order and engaged the tank (sadly, too late since I was suck between the rocks and missed my first shot).
I was set on the shilka (don't know if I remember correctly but I am 70% sure I reported that I was, but might have forgotten to) with a M136 I took from the HMMV (I always wonder why noone takes them when playing light roles as my rifleman, there was another one left in the HMMV) and took the shot when the tank startet hitting us to keep it from getting interested in the tracers of the Tank. Luckily shooting almost straight down is not too hard to get right
.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - SPhoenix - 01-19-2016
Came back and read Alwarren's message again. Didn't notice that you frequently raised that the tank was engaging you, in fact I don't remember hearing it on the radio. Either it didn't go through or my mind didn't register; I apologize for that.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Stagwine - 01-19-2016
Autumn Star
In general I liked the mission and it turned out to be one of the better coops missions we have played! Nice opener from Suchy!
Alpha and overall CO was Sphoenix and I was stupid grunt / driver of Bravo under Evans's command. Here's how I saw it:
I think the rationale for Alpha to assault target was that briefing mentioned 'Alpha will secure comms tower' and acting leader wanted to execute mission like 'commander' aka briefing writer/author had intended. I could be wrong with this and I cant check atm.
First toughie was action at a slope. Thing with any Chernarus-theme map (Chernas, Podagorsk) is that shooting from up down the hill in forest is huge pain. In one mission (Fuibas campaign) I commanded team to take high ground to put fire to village and it was a total bollocks move. Treetops foliage blocks so much, but opposite can see you.
I understood that leaders idea was that we (infantry) deal with AAA's, Apache kills armor and infantry again sweeps up the remains. Rock-paper-scissors. Unfortunately we started taking fire from vehicles very early after going down the slope to quarry and also took infantry fire (and one technical). I was at opposite edge and couldn't see the tank but I heard it firing. There was lots of noise, comms, and I don't know if the message about T-72 ever got to A-actual (SPhoenix). However the 'good' thing is the Shilka was scanning for infantry on the slope and it enabled McGregor/Etzu's Apache to take it out.
However if tank is firing at you and you can't get away, it is a 'self defense' scenario and I think returning to fire was definetely a right move. Infantryman with 'wasted' AT is much better than dead infantryman.
Overall later the mission unfolded very nice and there was plenty of stuff to do for everyone. Patrol/skirmishes for infantry, and some fun for air crew (who had long wait at mission start).
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Alwarren - 01-19-2016
(01-19-2016, 06:32 PM)SPhoenix link Wrote:I trust you to be able to manage threats effectively without micromanaging your operation. If a tank engages you and you are in clear danger, that is and always will be your priority.
That is exactly my point, micromanagement isn't necessary that is why I was surprised that I was ordered to engage the Shilka instead of the tank, although I repeated "The tank is engaging us" several times.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - SPhoenix - 01-19-2016
Poor communication on my end!
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Alwarren - 01-20-2016
(01-19-2016, 08:23 PM)SPhoenix link Wrote:Poor communication on my end!Not necessarily on your end. As I said this wasn't supposed to be pointing fingers, just pointing out what went wrong in the hope that it will work out better next time
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Variable - 01-20-2016
What does SPhoenix, who was the mission's commander, have anything to do with communication within Bravo? I suppose Alwarren that you reported on SR, Sphoenix couldn't have (and shouldn't have) heard that. Bravo team leader is in-charge and should make the call, and in any case, if you were directly threatened and responded to the threat, you made the right call.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Evans - 01-21-2016
I had bravo lead on this one.
As i recall the mission, we were heavily engaged from multiple directions and there was a lot of radio chatter going on.
I didn't notice that the tank was engaging us aswell untill i heard Alwarren over the radio, this was probably his third attempt to make me aware of the situation.
I was a bit overwhelmed before the choppers swooped in and saved us.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Varanon - 01-22-2016
Lost Squad
With a leader as seasoned as he is ruggedly handsome, this mission was a no-brainer and of course, as usual (stop laughing) no one died on my watch. Good job, me... (I know we didn't meet any enemies *stomps foot*)
The Wood Route
This mission was pure stop and go. That's the problem with this kind of mission. I've checked the setup, and it was basically one enemy soldier every ten meters. This mission needs some work to be playable.
Ammo Run
I was in Alpha with Alwarren and Unnamed under the leadership of Variable, and the first phase went very well, we got to the church near the coast, got to an overlook, and managed to annihilate the outpost without losses on our side. When we first approached, I saw a truck parked there, but once we were engaged (by a patrol that sneaked up on us), we heard engine sounds, and later didn't find the truck anymore. It was Zamak, a covered transport variant, not a troop transport, so I guess it was carrying some cargo. Too bad we didn't get this one, might have proven valuable.
In any case, after we seized the boats, bravo radioed in with the information that their car was wrecked, and a similar report came from charley who lost their truck to a patrolling helicopter.
So from there on our, Alwarren and me took one of the speedboats and drove all around the southern coast of the peninsula to bravo's position, and ferried them all the way back, running half a mile to the camp with full backpacks to drop off what we collected (it was a sizable chunk of the necessary STANAGS, but more than half was still missing).
After faffing around a bit, it was decided that the mission would take too long to complete without the cars, and was aborted.
The important part is really to preserve the cars. One team wrecked theirs, so basically, it was someone not paying attention to the terrain. It's hard to do so, especially if a rock suddenly pops up in front of you. Go slowly.
Charley loosing the truck was basically the death of the mission. Not blaming anyone, but the truck must survive. If there is a helicopter, it needs to be taken out. I guess the sharpshooter team could have gone ahead and scouted out the terrain. They would surely have spotted the helicopter, and that would have prevented the truck from becoming a target for it in the first place.
Sar-E Sang Interception
We drove around a corner, there wasn an APC, Variable destroyed it, mission failed... That's it basically.
Jackals
Ah, we finally beat this one. Splitting the teams was probably the best idea, although it meant that Alpha took a lot of fire without Bravo being able to assist. When we reached the target, I shot an RPG at the plane, which stopped it, and Etzu sneaked in and planted charges. Den did the same on the A-10s. Unfortunately, we lost bravo one actual to a Hummve's machine gun patrolling around, so we left the area with one man short, fighting our way back to Alpha and exfiltrating SUCCESSFULLY and totally without bugs in a helicopter...
Overall, good games last night. A few things I would like to get off my chest, though:
- Make sure you are set up when joining. Test you TS setup before you come in, make sure the plugins are installed, make sure your addons are installed. There's always the possibilities for problems, and I don't blame anyone, just make sure you do test before. Join the server before the beginning of the COOP night, load a mission, and see if it works. You can vote yourself admin if nobody else is around, so you have basically full control over the server.
- If you have contacts, REPORT THEM. A report is NOT "I killed him". If you are in immediate danger, of course go ahead and shoot, but if not, make a report. We are not playing to rake up kills. This is a coop game, and communication is a key part of coop play.
- Report use of heavy weapons if you use them without prior command, like, if you throw grenades, shout "frag out". If you don't, people will possibly walk into the line of fire, and step into your grenade. Don't tell me that won't happen, it did happen, and it will happen before.
- Stick with the team. unless ordered to, stay within, say, a 50 m radius. Make sure you see at least one team member, and make sure the one team member can see you. If you need to move, make sure to communicate this. Yesterday, I nearly shot someone because I wasn't aware of the fact that he was there. Sure, could have used mk4 hud, but that would be a misuse of the functionality. It's for identifying friendlies, not determining whether a unit is friend or foe.
- And finally, the most important one: Have your head in the game. If you need to do something else, skip the round. But be present, mentally and physically, during the game. It can't be that you need to radio someone 10 times until you get an answer. If you can't answer right away, say "Hold on" or similar.
Case in point, Charley squad on Ammo Run. Variable called Charley several times, without answer. Charley later explained that their messages were probably not coming through. If you suspect that is the case, do ask the other for confirmation. If you don't get confirmation, chances are you are not coming through. Check the popup in the lower right corner, and make sure that you see the correct channel you are transmitting on. Ask team members if they heard you on alternate channel. If they didn't, you were not transmitting on LR. Learn how to use the radio settings. If you transmit on alternate, you should see the LR frequency. Check if you are using that frequency on the LR. Check if you use the right channel.
If a specific team can't be raised, try to raise another team. Maybe the team you are trying to raise is out of range for your radio, so if a second team copies you, they can relay messages.
Honestly, use your head.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Alwarren - 01-22-2016
I'll add something to that list.
- If you run into a problem, say so. Point in question, Alias not finding the binocs that Variable left for him in the ammo crate. If you don't see it, say so, and the person in question might try to retrieve it himself and maybe put it into your backpack. But hearing somewhere in the mission that you have no binocs because you couldn't find them half an hour earlier, that is a pretty stupid situation which was entirely avoidable.
Report any issues until they are either resolved or considered unsolvable at the moment.
- Listen to the comms, and follow goddam orders. Yesterday I ordered someone to get me up because I had only 20 seconds left, but the person was so focused on killing something that he probably didn't even hear me. Prior to that, I ordered someone to disembark and switch vehicles a total of FOUR times without even so much as a reaction, to a point were I said "fuck it" and proceeded anyway.
Listen to the comms.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - treendy - 01-22-2016
Quote:Make sure you are set up when joining. Test you TS setup before you come in
I kind of messed up at the start, got back late from work, had wires everywhere and was trying to help get MODs and teamspeak setup for our new member... will be better prepared next time and any time after ;D
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Stagwine - 01-22-2016
Wood Run
I liked the basic setup. I haven't played convoy mission for centuries and being gunner in sgt
However as mentioned above, this mission could have had little better pacing. Like couple of bigger ambushes and firefights...then some calm before storm, repeat. I like the map but spotting hostiles was real tough, even if there is small zoom in gunner iron sight 'optics'. I had couple of good firefights and pumping can of 40mms to ambush was rewarding. We lost too many trucks in end and there was no reasonable chance to complete the mission. Overall I had fun, thanks to McG for team leading and Alias (driver) for co-operation.
Ammo Run
I really liked the mission setup. In general I like guerrilla stuff, no nvg's, low tech. Also gathering ammo instead of spending it is still a fun novel idea. I rarely pick sniper slots but this time I was in sharpshooter buddy team with McG in command, trailing Dovemans fireteam. On the way our truck had intimate date with a rock and from that point on we turned to foot mobiles. Dovemans team (bravo) went to secure outpost on hill and McG took us to further south to provide overwatch.
(Assume TL's had underbarrel launchers. If not, disregard this paragraph). I spammed in mission start in sideChat for team leaders to pick flares. I wasn't leading, it wasnt likely my place to do so but I know they are usually ignored. Mostly because we have only recently started playing missions where they are really useful. There were plenty in crates. Yeah, they are vanilla which is crap, but our add-on makes them better. Illumination flares have lot of use in night mission. They just don't look cool, but for example McG and I had standard optics which were unusable in dark. We were able to engage targets on hill because contrast in skylining, but we had no chance to engage hostiles on hillsides. Couple of illumination flares, and it would have helped a lot. TLs/grenadiers. Night mission, no nvgs, grab flare or two. Help yourself, team, and poor players with crap vid cards (obviously with common sense/TL's permission). Thank you. So endeth days sermon.
Losing that truck proved to have long term consequences. We took the outpost with good co-operative fight but we had no real means to haul ammo back to base. We learned eventually that Charlie/Alpha had lost the truck as well. Alwarren came to pick Bravo with boat, but there was practically 45 mins of absolutely nothing to do for me and McG. No I'm not complaining, company was good and we told war stories like vets but still.
Soon it became evident that it would have taken us at least 1+ more hours to complete mission (optimistic estimate), half of people were in lobby and there would have been lots of walking. We ended mission which was a very smart move. I had excessive bitching spree about and during the mission, sorry. I really liked it, even if it wasn't evident at a time, and want to try again.
Technically:
Love it as it is. Adding extra vehicle or two to enemy compounds/bigger buildings wouldn't ruin mission balance ,but it would give us few more cards to our deck in case of driving mishaps/ambushes/etc.Â
Jackals
Blergh.
ALphas breach through the wall and get-some approach cost us half a team and some hairy firefights. Again for some reason I couldn't pick McGs long range and couldn't transmit alternate. In mess I had turned to wrong channel and no wonder no one heard me. In end switching to bravos channel was only way for coherent comms. Messy and bloody for Alpha and part of the chaos was my fault.
I was under impression we had to clear buildings and spent valuable time running around buildings like hedgehog. Then I realized buildings arent enterable :
Next time I really think whether playing missions half asleep is smart. Etzus Bravo came to our aid, we cleared compound and had absolutely smooth textbook extraction with a co-operative professional helicopter which did not fly over the airfield trolling MGs. Otherwise great, simple brutal short mission. Exactly the type we need more. Thanks Etzu.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - doveman - 01-22-2016
Lost Squad
I joined this one just in time to get in the chopper and watch the fireworks (OK flares) out the window as we were carried to safety. At least I didn't have time to do anything stupid here ;D. What happened with the other chopper that exploded as it came in to land though? It seemed to just explode in mid-air for no reason.
Wood Run
I decided it was time I tried leading a mission but was rather unfortunate in getting one where I had no GPS and a convoy mission. I dream of the day the slot screen is integrated into the briefing screen so that I can see what I'm letting myself in for! I don't mind convoy missions but compared to missions where you have the squads spread out on the map with different objectives it's much harder to involve everyone, so I did what I could by letting each team have a turn on point.
I don't think we could have tried to steam through, as apart from the roadblocks there were a fair few RPGs, not to mention mines, that would have probably taken out vehicles if we'd ignored them. It was unfortunate that we lost too many vehicles to continue but I think a lot of people were getting rather fed up with the mission by then anyway. It would have been better if I'd split Alpha between two vehicles, as I did with Bravo and Charlie to provide an extra one but then we'd probably have only spent another 30 minutes doing stop and go before losing another vehicle and having to abort. I can't remember exactly how many vehicles there were available, so if there were nine it might have been possible to split each team of 5 into 3 vehicles and keep three vehicles with only a driver at the rear of the convoy as backups.
I was generally happy with everyone and it probably wouldn't have changed how it turned out but there was a notable lack of comms from team leaders at some points. If your team spots a serious threat then of course your first priority is to neutralise it but then let the other teams and the leader know what you're doing, so that he can send the other teams to assist if it's a priority target or task them to something else if not. Near the start of the mission I spotted one team up on the hill to my left when I hadn't told them to disembark and nor had they asked if they could go up there, so they were lucky they didn't all get shot. If I'm leading and you think there's something useful you could be doing that I might have overlooked then by all means suggest it but don't just go running off without asking.
Ammo Run
This was a nice mission, it just went rather pear-shaped in execution! I didn't actually see Stags sideChat about taking flares so unfortunately didn't have any when they would have helped the sharpshooter team (Delta). I'd suggest in future if you know we'll need flares and the leader hasn't told people to take them that you talk to him and then he can make sure people grab them.
In any event, after dispatching the artillery spotter who started bombarding us when we got near the base, Delta did a great job of taking out a lot of the threats in and around the base, which allowed me to lead Bravo up the hill and kill the remaining stragglers, several of which were glitching and probably impossible to kill from a distance even if they could be seen. Once the base was clear I called Delta in to sit on the tower where I hoped they'd be able to assist by taking out any nearby enemies but it seems there weren't any, so they didn't have much to do from that point.
Unfortunately our driver had crashed our vehicle on the way in, so we had no way of transporting the ammo back to base. I can understand going dark to avoid being spotted but if you're going to do that you need to drive slowly or else you're bound to hit something, so please be more careful in future. Variable came to our rescue by sending a boat to take us as close to base as possible but we still had a bit of a walk which was made worse by the fact we were all loaded down with ammo and once we realised how much of a chore it would be getting the required amount of ammo back we all decided it was time to abort. I definitely want to try this again though and now we know there's an enemy chopper we can plan to take that out before it threatens our vehicles. There were several AA missiles at the base Bravo took (only 3 of the 5 required AT missiles though) and I think there were launchers there as well. It might be better if there were one or two spare vehicles, as Stag suggests, just in case but it seems it should be possible with just three if we're careful and sensible.
Jackals
This went better than last time I played it but oh my god, how many times did I need to be revived and I was the medic! I couldn't even tell where I was being shot at from half the time and it seemed we were surrounded or I was being shot at by enemies through the walls, so I ended up hiding in an alcove until someone needed me. That bug with Psycho's Revive is very annoying when you've been revived and need to move quickly to avoid being shot again straight away but can only walk slowly because you've got 50+ first aid kits!
Even so, it was a fun and fairly short mission, which was just what we needed after the previous two. Can we pay a bit more for a better pilot next time though, preferably one who flies us to the extraction point and not back towards the enemy?
Re: The Debriefing Thread - UnNamedGER - 01-22-2016
Lost Squad
Straight forward run this time, after little time Variable made contact with the lost squad and helped Alwarren and me to get to their location. Luckily Varanon wrote in side chat that they were on SR chanel 1(our chanel) as I had ordered Alwarren and Variable to switch to chanel two (their chanel), might have been a rather long run otherwise xD.
Variable marked the position of the lost squad and we were able to get to their precise position. the lost squad fired a flare when I was closing in and since the landing zone was safe for the moment and Variable was already on station to cover and Alwarren also almost on station for CAS I went in immedeatly.
I only found the "Timed Flare" option on the chopper in this mission and used it hoping it would prevent taking fire from AA rockets.
On the ground I was able to watch Variables and Alwarrens fireworks while the lost squad was bording.
When everyone was in I departed and after clearing the area called Alwarren and Variable to do the same.
our landing when smooth and we waited for Orel 2 and 3 to arrive. Alwarren unfortunately hit a Radiotower with his tailrotor, started to spin and his chopper crashed into the same tower. but after taking some pictures of the wreck we were able to revive him. Sorry that I thought you were an AI xD you just started crawling towards me when I ordered you to do so and I didn't hear you before.
Wood Run
After the radios were sorted out with the help of a magically appearing radio crate and the vehicles where assigned, we were ready to go. Even though we already had a M136 gunner I had my light rifleman take one extra M136 from the HMMV, can't hurt to have one ready in each vehicle.
Alfa lead, we followed and Charlie brought up the rear. After about one uneventful KM Alfa stopped and started engaging enemys, not knowing the situation I had the drivers follow me up a hill on the right side of the road to go and support/ investigate and also cover the vehicles from possible further attacks, a call on the LR from Charlie squad told me that next time I might want to announce that kind of move.
From the hill we were able to engage another enemy further down the road which Alfa was not seeing yet.
Alfa let us know that they had pushed back the attack and we boarded again and the Convoi was on the road again.
Just a few hundred meters further Alfa vehicle was hit by an explosion and Variable started engaging enemys. Alfa was disembarked and in contact, we moved a bit closer and all but gunners also disembarked and fought back.
After the attack Alfa repaired their vehicle and we were back on the road, Charlie leading now.
few moments later one of charlies vehicles was hit and destroyed by an RPG. The attack was quickly repelled and charly had to cram into one vehicle.
We started moving again and only moments later my teams rear vehicle was hit by another RPG. Variable went to rub the shooter into the ground with his MK 19 and I disembarked to check the situation and helped one of my guys when it looked clear, I was just about to call for him when I saw Evans taking care of the other, good thinking there.
We crammed into our now only vehicle and went on.
30 seconds later, next attack and we were saved by a tree that turned an otherwise deadly RPG into a blown tire, we disembarked all but variable and I almost ran into his MK19 fire.
xD always think before moving xD
When Variable had no more target Evans and me went checking over the small hill but found nothing.
After our vehicle was repaired we were ordered to take the front.
15 seconds lader over the nex hill and we see a target on the road trying to get his rpg 26 ready, unforynately for him Variable was quicker.
we went over that hill and immedeatly hat a new target on the road with an RPG 7, the guy fired and we had the rocket coming for us. I just heard the report of the MK19 when the rocket hit disabling our vehicle and severely injuring all of us. at least we knew that sucker was blown to pieces thanks to Variables quick shooting.
We crawled to the cower of a small wall and waited for help.
after we were treated and had a small firefight over some distance, for the first time seeing more than two enemys in the same place it was decided we would end the mission due to the lack of vehicles.
That was the moment when I did something really stupid: since the SLAM mine we had spotted was so small I though it would also have a rather small blast radius, maybe like a grenade and I though I would just be save from that.
Hitting that thing with my assault rifle quickly proved me wrong by severely injuring Variable and me.
What I though was weird was that we saw Alfa (?) stopping at a dead body to take RPG's from him.
I din't really understand that since there were two (2) M136 in each HMMV which means for three teams we had 10 M136 when we started our route and never even had a situation where we needed one.
Sar-E Sang Interception
I hadjust figured out how to make one AI do wat I wanted him to do, get into the vehicle and not run behind the hescos behind the vehicle (i had ordered him in) when i noticed treendy and dropped and had another ai to order in. that AI got in as a driver, yeay ordered him out, got into that vehicle, treendy is back. I got out, ordered him in as driver jumped in back and of we were following the other vehicle planing to rig the coms tower for the case that disabling the coms station in the town would not be doable. we had jsut left the base when the mission ended.
I decided not to tacke the little bird as noone wanted to fly and flying it myself would keep me too buisy to effectively command or I might crash while thinking about what might be happening at some other place trying to come up with new orders.
Re: The Debriefing Thread - Stagwine - 01-25-2016
CSI
One of the tougher ones. I was MGer in Etzu's team. Started well, but I was surprised at number of hostiles on outskirts of town and we took heavy casualties (50%) of team at western side of objective.
McG took over like a pro, and we linked with survivors of Alpha. I took a M855 to my Agent 47 barcode when I was checking contact outside. I got one of them, but the second one was faster than me. Fun bread'n butter, great leading Etzu and McG (like always). We also learned differences between chapel, church and heathen.
Warport
We did better on a previous attempt though. I started in Evans's team, but got hit at LZ during revive. My next assignment was in Alwarrens team. I was buddy teamed with Den just like last time, but we got cut down by machine gunner at southern beach. Again, I managed to get one of them but not the second target. However shortly after that most of the teams were decimated, and there was no realistic chance to complete mission. I experienced some radio issues with this one, I wonder if it is related to start in vehicle underwater.
I had lot of fun in both teams. Thanks to teammates of both teams and Alwarren/Evans for great leading.Â
Winter's road
I was the curator (aka Zeus, HQ)Â for this one, Ltn Variable was leading Marine combat engineer team Alpha and Lt McGregor was in command of combat engineer team Bravo. Both teams were reinforced with Hospital Corpsmen, and M113 crews from I/22nd Infantry.
Ltn Variable laid a solid plan. Sending one team to deliver MHQ to software update and taking care of Foxholes made sense. Mission started well until...
...I received a call to my command radio. Medical Trauma unit CO (Navy) was furious and fuming. "<Word cannot be printed here> did your -censored- just -censored- do?! Can't you for once get your -censored- engineers do something right?! My heater in my barracks isnt still repaired, my coffee is cold and two of your rascals, speaking with Swedish accent, one lieutenant and someone else, grabbed my medtruck, almost overran my sergeant, and casually drove it off like it was their personal sports car. Do you expect me to patch this mans chest with glue and staples?!".
"Uh yes sir. Right away sir. I shall investigate at once sir"
Subsequent inquiry to incident revealed that two men (who have not yet been reliably identified) had casually grabbed Mobile Medical Trauma Unit from the hands of medical team providing life saving first aid. Fortunately the truck was returned in one piece. I explained that my men are engineers, not geniuses. I can't expect them to read tasks or to tell a difference between Mobile Command Truck and Medical Trauma Unit. Medical officer calmed down and no one was court martialed.
(I was checking the Alphas efforts with minefield at a time, and when I returned the camera to combat logistics, I saw someone cruising away on wrong truck like a boss. The trucks looks identical and I should likely remove the med unit to avoid confusion, but I had lots of fun ;D on your expense)
Meanwhile Alpha had completed dangerous task of clearing a minefield without incidents and the right truck found its way to HQ. Artillery was happy with the detonations, and Lance Corporal Alwarren's bulldozer team valiantly cleared the wreckage despite defying laws of physics. Medevac to timber mill and supply convoy delivering hot food to starving defenders got through, thanks to my engineers. Infantry squad marching on the road to bulldozer's jaws were saved by divine intervention.
CO of 1st Battalion (22nd Infantry) was impressed by my men as repairs at point Uniform were completed swiftly and professionally. At least there were no alluring med trucks to lure my unwary Marines.
At this time, Alpha company of 1st Battalion (6th Marines) had engaged VDV forces at outskirts of capital. Firefight was observed at a distance and Marine lieutenant on ground requested tank support. Unfortunately minefield was still blocking the road! Team leaders smartly ordered to concentrate on mines on road first, and Marine M1A1 was able to get through. Again my engineers had made the difference, without firing a shot.
My superior officer, call sign 'Hawkeye', dispatched my engineers to clear unmarked minefield further north near vital X-roads. I was particularly impressed that Variable, leader of Alpha, had paid attention to command radio earlier, and had taken mental note of enemy recon team in the area, even if it didn't directly affect them at the time. Alpha team requested permission to do pre-emptive flanking at their last known location, just in case, as Bravo was moving to clear the unmarked minefield. Good thinking. I gave my lieutenant free hands, but reminded that their job is to clear road, not to hunt Spetznaz. Later inquiry revealed that enemy recon team had indeed been at the area, but had already moved further west, evading detection. Bravo team would find this out first hand very shortly.
Bravo team's M113, carrying a full team, was about to find trouble.
Was it one of the friendly mines they were supposed to clear? Or enemy planted? We do not know. All we know is their APC hit a mine, and same time, fire was opened from roadside bushes. Enemy ambush!
Alpha heard the firefight and raced to rescue their fellow Marines. Eventually ambushing recon team was defeated, but this cost us 5 of my men.
(I was busy at Alphas location with camera at this time. When I switched to Bravo, I noticed to my horror you guys were casually strolling on a road and about to hit a mine. It was furthest mine of the minefield. I knew it was at least 50 minutes more to mission so it would have been lots of lobby time. I had very little time to react. Obviously warning you in radio would have been plain wrong. I hastily added flare, red smoke as 'enemy signals' but I think you missed the 'warning signs'. Lighting bolt was accident. It is right below another function in Zeus interface, so it wasn't supposed to happenÂ
It would have likely opened your eyes, but 'damage' was already done. ) Situation calmed, but there was no time to mourn. Alpha reported of casualties, and I asked whether they feel they can continue mission. Answer was without hesitation. They would go on.
Meanwhile situation at eastern sector had started to collapse, but its effects would be felt later. First sign of trouble was that a friendly convoy which was supposed to travel through the X-roads never happened. Instead two VDV teams did. They were dealt professionally and Alpha and remnants of Bravo were now eyes and ears open (even if some players were likely half asleep).
Part II. Eastern frontÂ
Next job was to investigate last known whereabouts of a Marine tank platoon missing on eastern road. Last known position was just south of lighthouse. This wasn't a job for engineers, but there was no one else. The tank platoon was soon discovered. Tanks destroyed, bodies of both friend and hostile. Nothing could save those tanks, but my men managed to repair, and eventually salvage a highly valuable fuel truck. They also dealt another enemy ambush, partially with luck as enemy AT specialist missed the fuel truck with RPG.
This was escalating to something worse. My engineers are trained specialists, not infantry grunts. However, there was no one else available to do the job. That's why they are called combat engineers. They continued east on the road to find missing Marines. Grim sight awaited at abandoned industrial complex. No survivors.
Industrial site was soon to be hit. VDV squad, not expecting resistance, met a suprise. They were cut down by accurate fire, but sergeant managed to report the situation and coordinates to enemy HQ. Firefight soon erupted further south. Marine rifle platoon, reconnoitering enemy positions further south, was hurrying back to industrial site as they met ambush.
Alpha reported of sounds of M4s and tracers of both hostile and friendly weapons at a distance. Alpha requested permission to intervene and assist, which was denied. It was now apparent we had lost entire tank platoon, rifle platoon, and sector which was supposed to be clear, was crawling with hostiles. My engineers are tough hombres, but they are engineers. Not infantrymen.
Enemy had now fix of my men at the industrial site. Indirect fire was called, and it was observed from the site. I had a bad feeling about this, and I gave them preliminary command to prepare to bug out. Shortly after this my superior officer received intel from a drone. Entire T-72 platoon was about to hit industrial site, and my men. Order to disengage and pull back was given.
But it would get worse. Enemy infantry had been inserted to forest between my men, and friendly lines. At least two platoons. My engineers now had unknown number of hostiles AND friendlies ahead of them as sector spiraled to chaos.
Alpha leader did not hesitate. One of best orders is preliminary order. Teams at industrial site had been prepared and as soon order had been given, they moved out at same instant. Two minutes later they would have had a date with T-72's.
Alpha and remnants of Bravo would have to fight their way out. They put pedal to the metal, and now we know they avoided two full VDV squads enroute to industrial site, but ran into skirmishes on the eastern road with enemy fireteams. At least on one occasion their APC was narrowly missed by RPG-7.
Toughest spot was when they had several wounded at a same time, and VDV lieutenant was observing them from distance, and called in mortar fire. First rounds to adjust fire landed close, but my men didn't stay behind to watch in awe. Wounded were patched, and they made it to friendly lines.
It wasn't a typical job, but they handled the tough day like pros.
So ends my after action report, sir. My engineer team is well rested, and ready for further tasking.
(This mission turned to be much longer I anticipated. It was particularly long wait for those who got hit in APC wreck. Of this my regrets. Hope you had fun. I had, despite extensive extra babysitting I had to do for AI. )