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I've finally brought my campaign into a semblance of cohesion. It's set in 2010, but tensions started way back in 1993 with the Yeltsin assault on parliament. In my timeline he is assassinated soon afterwards, and the new Russian government is 'Cold War Hostile' to the USA afterwards. The actual war starts in 2004.
Anyway, rather than rework my info, here's the player briefing;
Anyway, rather than rework my info, here's the player briefing;
November 15th, 2010. Monday, 1040 (local)
Southern Poland, 3d Infantry Division (US), 3d Military Police Battalion HQ.
Vision to 250m. Light Factor 9. (Half Moon)
Heavy, low cloud. Light wind from west.
Cold, 5oc, light rain.
Lieutenant Joe Stanislaus climbed wearily up the debris-strewn stairs into
the dim room lined with sandbags and stopped in the doorway. It's not often
you see two captains, a lieutenant colonel and a major standing on chairs
and hammering nails into batterns holding a tarpaulin up. Major Langstrom,
3d MP's S-2, looked over and gave a weary grin before taking some old,
re-straightened nails out of his mouth and said "grab a seat Joe, we're
almost done." Turning to the man next to him, he said "How's your end sir"
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce answered gruffly "If I fall off this damn stool
Karl, I'm taking you with me." A few moments later the ceiling had been
waterproofed again and the officers had clambered down and started putting
maps on an old telephone wire reel that served as a table.
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce rubbed his unshaven jaw, the white stubble making
his face look greyer, and resettled the M16A2 he was carrying. All the brass
were armed, as the days of a large HQ security detachment were long gone. In
fact, if the men weren't so old they could be mistaken for line grunts. Not
one was wearing rank badges.
Joe was first of the officers to turn up, having just been released from
hospital he'd had been given the job of compiling reports on munitions
levels. It wa an easy job because there were so few. However, two other
officers had just returned to duty, both unlikely to serve in the field
again due to their injuries, and Joe had spent the week bringing them up to
speed before he want back to the line. In the dim room in the old fire
station there was no sound except the shuffling of papers, the hissing of
the primus lamps and the tromp as seven other lieutenants and two captains
filed into the room. The total combat officer strength of 3d Bat.
Major Langstrom looked at everyone, interest showing clearly on their
faces. It was widely known that Langstrom had recently been flown back to
Germany in a light plane for some sort of briefing, and they wanted to hear
what the big brass at corps had to say. The major looked at them, his face
unreadable.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm here to give you an update on the present
state of hostilities."
"Effective immediately, combat operations will cease."
A mutter of shock went around the small group of officers, and someone
said "peace!"
The major shook his head and said "I'm afraid not, far from it in fact."
"As you are probably aware, the aim of last summer's operations was to
strain WarPact capabilities and make it impossible for them to stockpile
sufficient materiel and reinforcements. It was hoped a series of hard pushes
would break their ability to fight. In many respects, this has happened.
Unfortunately, it has also occured in our own logistics, command and
organisational areas. Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, we've pulled 'a Verdun'
on ourselves and bled ourselves white."
"Firstly, let me address the over all strategic level. Intel reports
indicate that the Russian army has roughly fragmented into three main
groups. These are aligned with the main pre-war political movements; the
nationalists, the communists and the ultra-nationalists. Most units have
been involved with shaking themselves out into where their loyalties are,
and we've detected some serious reorganisation going on the last three
months. The factions each have a presence in Poland, but are trying to draw
back units as increased fighting breaks out in the Motherland."
"The Polish army seems to have begun to take less interest in
prosecuting warfare and are concentrating on securing the countryside. I
have no need to tell anyone in this room that 'bandyta' are the major threat
to operations in most corps areas. While the Polish army seems to be on the
whole operating under the order of the Polish government, some units are no
longer accepting orders and are an unknown quantity. While main force Polish
units may not be undertaking widespread operations against NATO troops, the
overall aim still seems to be the expulsion of all foreign troops from
Poland, and we think they're ready to fight to see it happen."
"Allied WarPact units are generally attaching themselves to either
Polish or Russian units, or attempting to withdraw to their countries of
origin."
Langstrom pauses and drinks from his canteen, then looks back at his
papers.
"Okay, now for an overview of how we're doing. First off, I'm going to
deal with our allies."
"The British are still commited to joint operations, and appear to be
here for the long haul. It appears that the UK, while hit bad from the
strikes, is operating well under civillian government and has little need of
their troops back home compared to the need to maintain operations in
mainland Europe."
"This is not so true of French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and BeNeLux
troops, all of which nations are suffering widespread dislocation and an
influx of DPs within their territories. It is assumed that in the spring
most, if not all, of these national troops will be required to return to
their countries of origin to operate in disaster relief, population control
and security operations. The Germans are staying considerably within their
borders, with most of their panzer formations massed along the border and in
Silesia. They have large amounts of troops over the Oder-Neisse line, and it
is not known if they consider the pre-war borders to still be valid.
However, they are commited to oprating under NATO command."
"Finally, it's time to look at the US situation."
"According to briefings I have attended in Potsdam, the situation in the
CONUS has rapidly changed in the last three months. To put it bluntly,
government has broken down entirely. The only military units in the CONUS
are presently National Guard, and there are widespread reports of
inter-state combat in some areas. Neither major political party is accepting
the overall results of the last election, and cooperation on a political
front is nonexistant. A schism has given us two presidents, one in Huston
and one in San Fransisco."
It was deadly silent in the room.
"Both provisional governments have declared the other in violation of
constitutional law, and called on SACEUR to withdraw from Europe and other
theatres to secure the country and suppress the other government. As
officers and enlisted troops who have taken an oath to protect the Union and
the Constitution, SACEUR has demanded a joint census overseen by the
remaining JCOS and new election or it will not act. No answer has been given
by either government."
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce stood and somberly said "Thank you Karl. Now,
let's talk about what we're going to do."
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can understand we're between a rock and a
hard place. We cannot be party to subverting the Constitution. I have
received orders from SACEUR to begin security operations in cooperation with
the Polish military and the Nationalist-Loyalist Russian army. We are
officially neutral to the Communist or Red Army, and will undertake combat
operations against Ultra-Nationalist Russian and Rogue Polish forces, as
well as any other NATO or non-NATO unit that refuses orders. We are still
under NATO command, and will of course cooperate with our NATO partners.
SACEUR is moving our logistics, adminstration and support bases away from
the Atlantic coast and closer to the Oder-Neisse line, to avoid having our
supplies sequestered by CONUS adminstrations."
"However, our main concern are the 'War Lords'. While we've been
fighting the war, elements from national militaries, private military
contractors and civilian militias have been setting small centres of power
here and there, undermining our fighting efforts and profiting from the
blood and misery we've been enduring to get the job done. I know it's gotta
hurt to be cooperating with the Reds on this, but we're stuck here until the
REMFs back in the CONUS get their shit sorted out. We'll reduce each of
these enclaves, regain our stolen assets and bring some sort of justice to
this radioactive no-man's-land. As a gesture of good faith, the Polish 6th
Air Assault at Krakow has sent us a supply of JP8 and diesel to help us in
our operations, via the Russian 23d Motor Rifles."
No one said anything. The idea that the Polish and Russians were sending
NATO units fuel beggared belief.
"Yes, I shit you not, they've sent us fuel. As such, we've instituted
minimal flight operations again. Firstly, we're gathering up our lost lambs
that are scattered here and there and a POW swap is under way as we speak.
Joe, your old unit is lost somewhere just north of Krakow. I'll be sending
you over there to operate with the Polish 6th Air Assault, 23d Motor Rifles
and whatever NATO units can be found in the area."
Joe sat there, barely hearing as the rest of the officers were given
their new taskings. Behind him, he heard someone hiss "I'll be fucked if I'm
going to help the Reds!"
Southern Poland, 3d Infantry Division (US), 3d Military Police Battalion HQ.
Vision to 250m. Light Factor 9. (Half Moon)
Heavy, low cloud. Light wind from west.
Cold, 5oc, light rain.
Lieutenant Joe Stanislaus climbed wearily up the debris-strewn stairs into
the dim room lined with sandbags and stopped in the doorway. It's not often
you see two captains, a lieutenant colonel and a major standing on chairs
and hammering nails into batterns holding a tarpaulin up. Major Langstrom,
3d MP's S-2, looked over and gave a weary grin before taking some old,
re-straightened nails out of his mouth and said "grab a seat Joe, we're
almost done." Turning to the man next to him, he said "How's your end sir"
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce answered gruffly "If I fall off this damn stool
Karl, I'm taking you with me." A few moments later the ceiling had been
waterproofed again and the officers had clambered down and started putting
maps on an old telephone wire reel that served as a table.
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce rubbed his unshaven jaw, the white stubble making
his face look greyer, and resettled the M16A2 he was carrying. All the brass
were armed, as the days of a large HQ security detachment were long gone. In
fact, if the men weren't so old they could be mistaken for line grunts. Not
one was wearing rank badges.
Joe was first of the officers to turn up, having just been released from
hospital he'd had been given the job of compiling reports on munitions
levels. It wa an easy job because there were so few. However, two other
officers had just returned to duty, both unlikely to serve in the field
again due to their injuries, and Joe had spent the week bringing them up to
speed before he want back to the line. In the dim room in the old fire
station there was no sound except the shuffling of papers, the hissing of
the primus lamps and the tromp as seven other lieutenants and two captains
filed into the room. The total combat officer strength of 3d Bat.
Major Langstrom looked at everyone, interest showing clearly on their
faces. It was widely known that Langstrom had recently been flown back to
Germany in a light plane for some sort of briefing, and they wanted to hear
what the big brass at corps had to say. The major looked at them, his face
unreadable.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm here to give you an update on the present
state of hostilities."
"Effective immediately, combat operations will cease."
A mutter of shock went around the small group of officers, and someone
said "peace!"
The major shook his head and said "I'm afraid not, far from it in fact."
"As you are probably aware, the aim of last summer's operations was to
strain WarPact capabilities and make it impossible for them to stockpile
sufficient materiel and reinforcements. It was hoped a series of hard pushes
would break their ability to fight. In many respects, this has happened.
Unfortunately, it has also occured in our own logistics, command and
organisational areas. Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, we've pulled 'a Verdun'
on ourselves and bled ourselves white."
"Firstly, let me address the over all strategic level. Intel reports
indicate that the Russian army has roughly fragmented into three main
groups. These are aligned with the main pre-war political movements; the
nationalists, the communists and the ultra-nationalists. Most units have
been involved with shaking themselves out into where their loyalties are,
and we've detected some serious reorganisation going on the last three
months. The factions each have a presence in Poland, but are trying to draw
back units as increased fighting breaks out in the Motherland."
"The Polish army seems to have begun to take less interest in
prosecuting warfare and are concentrating on securing the countryside. I
have no need to tell anyone in this room that 'bandyta' are the major threat
to operations in most corps areas. While the Polish army seems to be on the
whole operating under the order of the Polish government, some units are no
longer accepting orders and are an unknown quantity. While main force Polish
units may not be undertaking widespread operations against NATO troops, the
overall aim still seems to be the expulsion of all foreign troops from
Poland, and we think they're ready to fight to see it happen."
"Allied WarPact units are generally attaching themselves to either
Polish or Russian units, or attempting to withdraw to their countries of
origin."
Langstrom pauses and drinks from his canteen, then looks back at his
papers.
"Okay, now for an overview of how we're doing. First off, I'm going to
deal with our allies."
"The British are still commited to joint operations, and appear to be
here for the long haul. It appears that the UK, while hit bad from the
strikes, is operating well under civillian government and has little need of
their troops back home compared to the need to maintain operations in
mainland Europe."
"This is not so true of French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and BeNeLux
troops, all of which nations are suffering widespread dislocation and an
influx of DPs within their territories. It is assumed that in the spring
most, if not all, of these national troops will be required to return to
their countries of origin to operate in disaster relief, population control
and security operations. The Germans are staying considerably within their
borders, with most of their panzer formations massed along the border and in
Silesia. They have large amounts of troops over the Oder-Neisse line, and it
is not known if they consider the pre-war borders to still be valid.
However, they are commited to oprating under NATO command."
"Finally, it's time to look at the US situation."
"According to briefings I have attended in Potsdam, the situation in the
CONUS has rapidly changed in the last three months. To put it bluntly,
government has broken down entirely. The only military units in the CONUS
are presently National Guard, and there are widespread reports of
inter-state combat in some areas. Neither major political party is accepting
the overall results of the last election, and cooperation on a political
front is nonexistant. A schism has given us two presidents, one in Huston
and one in San Fransisco."
It was deadly silent in the room.
"Both provisional governments have declared the other in violation of
constitutional law, and called on SACEUR to withdraw from Europe and other
theatres to secure the country and suppress the other government. As
officers and enlisted troops who have taken an oath to protect the Union and
the Constitution, SACEUR has demanded a joint census overseen by the
remaining JCOS and new election or it will not act. No answer has been given
by either government."
Lieutenant Colonel Pearce stood and somberly said "Thank you Karl. Now,
let's talk about what we're going to do."
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can understand we're between a rock and a
hard place. We cannot be party to subverting the Constitution. I have
received orders from SACEUR to begin security operations in cooperation with
the Polish military and the Nationalist-Loyalist Russian army. We are
officially neutral to the Communist or Red Army, and will undertake combat
operations against Ultra-Nationalist Russian and Rogue Polish forces, as
well as any other NATO or non-NATO unit that refuses orders. We are still
under NATO command, and will of course cooperate with our NATO partners.
SACEUR is moving our logistics, adminstration and support bases away from
the Atlantic coast and closer to the Oder-Neisse line, to avoid having our
supplies sequestered by CONUS adminstrations."
"However, our main concern are the 'War Lords'. While we've been
fighting the war, elements from national militaries, private military
contractors and civilian militias have been setting small centres of power
here and there, undermining our fighting efforts and profiting from the
blood and misery we've been enduring to get the job done. I know it's gotta
hurt to be cooperating with the Reds on this, but we're stuck here until the
REMFs back in the CONUS get their shit sorted out. We'll reduce each of
these enclaves, regain our stolen assets and bring some sort of justice to
this radioactive no-man's-land. As a gesture of good faith, the Polish 6th
Air Assault at Krakow has sent us a supply of JP8 and diesel to help us in
our operations, via the Russian 23d Motor Rifles."
No one said anything. The idea that the Polish and Russians were sending
NATO units fuel beggared belief.
"Yes, I shit you not, they've sent us fuel. As such, we've instituted
minimal flight operations again. Firstly, we're gathering up our lost lambs
that are scattered here and there and a POW swap is under way as we speak.
Joe, your old unit is lost somewhere just north of Krakow. I'll be sending
you over there to operate with the Polish 6th Air Assault, 23d Motor Rifles
and whatever NATO units can be found in the area."
Joe sat there, barely hearing as the rest of the officers were given
their new taskings. Behind him, he heard someone hiss "I'll be fucked if I'm
going to help the Reds!"
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