The plan was simple, and fluid. It couldn’t really be anything else. I was a FTL, but I wasn’t particularly confident. Tried not to let it show, the lads didn’t need that kind of stress.
Hill 33. When we got there I wasn’t impressed. Little more than a mound of dirt, with a couple of trees on top. I considered relocating but there really wasn’t anywhere else I could go without undermining my squad’s coverage of the area. So we dug in as best as we could.
UN soldiers didn’t stand a chance against the russians. They crested the hill enmasse emmerging from the treeline. Staring down at us on our mound of dirt across the river. We evened the odds by expending as much ammo as we could afford to. I guided my squad’s fire with tracers and we tipped the scales, making sure the russians wouldn’t pop their heads up anytime soon.
But the russians were faster than we anticipated and forded the river to the west of us. Before long we were heavily suppressed and had to quickly peel into defilade taking fire from the north, and the west. We were in danger of being encircled and now we weren’t combat effective the bulk of the russians began fording the river.
We executed a bounding retreat and were pushed all the way back east to a train yard. Our squad was still full strength thanks to cover from the other fireteam and our well timed retreat, but the defensive line had fallen. We were now fighting russians from the west and north and were still in danger of being enveloped. We dug in again as best as we could ready for anything that they might throw at us.
My AAR Chris thought he could find a good position in the top floor of a warehouse. I regret not overruling that decision as the russians were on top of us faster than we knew
Through a gap between the engine and a train car I personally shot down several russians cresting the hill to our north at close range as fast as they appeared. I calmed myself and steadied my aim firing at 3 second intervals and used a few rifle grenades for good measure, dettering any would-be attackers with rifle suppression. They were shortly followed by a BMP. Needless to say it wasn’t phased by my rifle. I lost contact with red team. I think the AT was killed instantly, caught on a ladder. Chris went down shortly after. Our AR managed to drag him outside. just as the russians were pushing from the west. He must have taken at least two down as they started engaging us at close quaters amongst the trains. My other AT managed to hit the BMP as it was cresting, forcing the crew to dismount. We cut them to ribbons with the AR before they could react.
It was time to leave. I popped lots of smoke and forced my squad down a narrow alley and out of immediate danger when friendly artillery started shelling the bulk of the russians to the west of our position. There was so much shrapnel being kicked up it created a killing field between us and our allied fireteam. We could see all the dust being kicked up from it everywhere. With the unconcious Chris slung over our shoulders we waited for a intermission in the firing and then legged it across the open and into the town before the russians could overwhelm us.
We relinked with squad lead and the medics, left chris in their capable hands as they treated him under a small archway whilst the rest of us headed up to reinforce and cover the other fireteam
Our next defensive position wasn’t particularly good, but like the hill we could cover everywhere we needed to. Picket fences, flimsy brick walls and a small building were all we had but the russians had nothing but open fields and alleyways. We covered the tiny alleys in the town from which the russians could leak through and the larger field to our east, scavenging whatever ammo we could. We fought the russians off and tried to regain some lost territory, doubling back. Chris was up but his life was shortlived. He climbed up a water tower, I assume to get a better look and was cut to pieces by enemy machine gun fire whilst gripping the ladder. His anguished irish face still haunts me to this day.
Inevitably we were pushed back again, but not before many russians caught off guard were killed, including two BMP in open field and in the town. The russians had innertia however and were circling around to our south west, so we retreated to the alamo, scavenging what we could from the position we’d held for over twenty minutes and headed deeper into the town. Members of my squad had either left or been killed since, and me and Hateborder my AR were all that remained. We linked up with another AR team and held the left flank of the Alamo, preventing the russians from gaining any headway near the large church.
Unfortunately for us we couldn’t shoot from the windows as the Podagorski’s seem to use bullet proof glass in their house design, so we had to go outside, making us much more exposed. The russians were also all around us, as usual, and I shot down one at extremely close range, rolling a grenade through the gate he came through, We had a lot of firepower but it was time to retreat and get ourselves closer to the other fireteam. The close encounter I had with the russian in the alley was the wake up call I needed.
We lost the AR from the team we linked up with when the russians attacked our next entrenched position. I had the AAR pick up his weapon and we continued to return accurate fire towards the buildings we’d until just recently occupied. We began to slowly contract to alamo and were being overwhelmed when the order for total retreat was called over the radio.
It was just me and Hateborder now, running for the hills, We headed the retreat, providing overwatch for other elements. It was tempting just to keep running as I was already tempting fate having survived so long. I used the last of my smoke grenades from my launcher and bounded back under fire from the russians until we managed to make it to defilade. Hateboarder ran right to the front, like the fittest of a pack of wounded dogs. Eager to get out of there no doubt.
We just ran until we were exhausted, all the way to a town half a kilometer away, where we boarded a chinook and went home. We were about as safe as we could really be. 