I will note that at our current logistical situation, going full send puts us at a -3 logistical deficit. Splitting it into a attack by echelon could reduce that somewhat since two smaller operations would have lower requirements from there being less units in general and few enough logistics units that we don't need dedicated ones supplying each other, but as it stands I don't think we'd be able to do so without risking overworking some regiments to exhaustion.
votes called, update will begin after I get done with work
Scheduled vote count started by 7734 on Jan 13, 2024 at 12:28 AM, finished with 16 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Plan Sunk Cost
-[X] [Folkvangr] Collect and Analyze Data
--[X] Brigade Chain of Command
-[X] [Folkvangr] Attempt to recruit another regiment into the Brigade.
--[X] Logistics
--[X] Logistics x2
--[X] Combat Engineering Detachment
-[X] [Folkvangr] Begin planning a combat operation
--[X] Continue planning Deadlands assault
-[X] 15e Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
-[X] 9e Begin planning an operation
--[X] Help plan Deadlands assault
-[X] 62e Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
-[X] 64e Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
-[X] 115e Fortify an area
--[X] Rail spur
-[X] 163e Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
-[X] 241e Begin planning an operation
--[X] Help plan Deadlands assault x2
-[X] 142e Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[X] Extend rail spur from Callahans Passage to Marban Hollow
-[X] 26e Perform Operational Reconnaissance
-[X] 72e Operate Intelligence Center(s)
-[X] 41e Build infrastructure improvements
--[X] Extend rail spur from Callahans Passage to Marban Hollow x2
[X] (ECHELON ATTACK) Write-in units in attack echelons.
-[X] (ECHELON ATTACK) First Echelon units 15e Regiment, 26e Regiment, 64e Regiment,
-[X] (ECHELON ATTACK) Second Echelon units 115e Regiment, 163e Regiment, 62e Regiment
[X] Plan Boundless Optimism
-[X] (PATH) Path North: Through Fort Juliet, Kiko, Golf, and India
-[X] (ECHELON ATTACK) No, we're not doing this fancy shit. One blob, full speed, no brakes.
Looking Cauthon dead in the eyes, you frowned. It was an expression of pain, no two ways about it.
"I can't launch the operation, Cauthon," you said, sighing. "I'm sorry. We're fucked for rail right now, and I don't have the logistics back-end to support any serious operations."
Your compatriot frowned, before going over to one of the walls of the room covered in maps. Tracing it carefully, he blinked in realization. "Oh."
"Oh?" you asked.
"I was thinking over your operations history," he said. "For all you're an Army guy like me, you push naval logistics hard as hell. And I'm asking you to attack an inland hex."
"Yep," you said, standing up and trying to move over to the map while hiding your frustration. "I checked- we'd need to clear the river, and then take Baths to capture the waterway to do a naval logistics operation. That's completely out of the question."
"So you have to build an absolutely new rail spur, and with how the Oleander Light Guard has finally started painting other people with competency, that means fighting for it."
"I tried that," you snapped. "It didn't work. At this rate, I'm going to eat the fucking rapid decay penalties, ram a chain of bunker bases down with an interlinking trench network from Viper Pit to Sanctum, and dare the fucking border reavers to come get me."
"Good luck," Cauthon said, sighing. "I'll stand everyone down from the jump-off prep. Just- listen. I'm running a lot of things at too high a tempo to easily stand down again. Two weeks, and I have to launch with or without you or things will turn into a storm cannon duel on my fronts."
"That's bad," you said calmly.
"Orr, I have five potential Storm Cannon sites. The Collies have twelve. I will get blasted out of Linn of Mercy and the Faranac Coast, much less my positions in Oarbreaker Isles. Worse, the Navy would get rolled out of Godscrofts in a minute, and I don't think you could hold the line in Weathered Expanse. We need, need, need some kind of win before then."
"Can't we put Storm Cannons on trains?" you asked, tapping your fingers against the table. "Because we can build tracks a hell of a lot easier than we can bunkers right now."
"Oh, sure, let me just call the rail yards and tell them to start building carriages that have a week of lead time on them," Cauthon said, highly sarcastic. "We can't just drown this problem in shells, Orr. I thought you of all people would know that."
"Believe it or not, I'm the fires doctrine advocate of us two," you shot back dryly. "Running a mass of people at it doesn't work- I saw that enough with the War Bureau."
Cauthon's eyes widened. "You were part of that mistake?"
"Yes- and it was working with them that made my rank."
"Jesus. That explains so much."
Your eye twitched. This was going nowhere. "I take it we can revise this meeting in two weeks, Cauthon?"
"Sure."
///
Once you got over the fit of distemper gained from dealing with Cauthon and his nature, things proceed apace. You needed to bulk up your logistical throughlines in all regards, at all levels. To that end, you gave Silica your bodyguard section- who had formally been made Brigade Staff, thank you Kazoo- and told her to start rustling up logistics. Preferably ones that could drink. Hell, you'd take ones that would drink illegally. No more children though!
Three days later, you got a telegram out of the blue from the 41e Sustainment, saying flat-out they'd like to join the Brigade, followed by a letter of reference from Argo. As it turns out, the 46e was a 'small' production facility that specialized in vehicle construction, with about eighty players working to build armored vehicles. On the face of it, a small shop. However, between them and the 81e production teams, they made something like four in five non-factory vehicles in all of the game. With a core team of engineers that knew how to maximize factory automation and a large, safe base tucked up in Basin Sionnach, B-mats and R-mats rolled in to make tanks, APCs, and trucks roll out in double-time. More importantly, once you'd taken the Ledger up to Basin Sionnach and gotten them rolled into the brigade, Theresa was up there nearly-constantly. The reason?
The 46e knew how to build player factories that would build ammo at MPF rates, pre-palletized.
Ammunition: the crisis that had been slaughtering your sustainment sections. With a single stroke of the pen, that danger had been slashed as the need to laboriously pack and handle crates was eliminated. Bunker base traffic would be slashed, reloaders would be able to handle things with a sensible ergonomic basis, and everything was changing it seemed. Asuna had damn near kissed you when the news had come in, it was so major, and Tymur made damn sure you knew how much he appreciated it.
Then, two days later, Silica proved she wasn't done yet. This unit was a transportation formation, the 101 Sustainment, and while they didn't have any major merits to their existence like the 46e, they had something almost better. They had experience. Working with the Navy out of Morgan's and Clanshead, they'd been the ones to do initial resupply runs during the Navy's invasion of Godscrofts, and unlike your logistics apparatus would refuse to spook under enemy fire and could tolerate the sounding of the guns. Apparently, with Hooker AWOL, his 'brigade' was falling apart at the seams, and you couldn't be happier to pick up the pieces as long as it didn't come with another frontline to manage.
Just when you finished integrating the 101e into working with the 41e since you were kind of running out of space, this wasn't a charity for disposessed regiments damn it, Silica finally came home. With another regiment at her heels, the 213 Transshipment that was rapidly turning into the 213e Sustainment. Why did she get them? Because they made baby-doll eyes at her en masse. That was it, that was literally and entirely it. All their boats were stolen, they ran out of G-Sups and B-Sups, and needed a new home where they wouldn't get harassed.
Unfortunately, you were just as weak as Silica was to baby eyes, and the 241e Research got to take this group under their wing for a little while.
While this was going on, you weren't idle though. You had an engineering regiment that knew how to make fortifications, you had troops that weren't doing much, and you had those motherfucking tanks attacking your motherfuckering rails. As such, you made good on your promise thereabouts: you did in fact dig a line of bunker bases straight through the Rapid Decay zone, and shoved your artillery in it. The 115e and 163e would hold the line, while the 15e would provide fire support.
The minute, the skinny minute, your rail builders started laying concrete pylons? Colonial attack. They came in like fucking clockwork, mixed companies up and down the line on both sides of the border. Fire direction teams were scorching massive sections of land, while frantic and running gun and artillery battles broke out across the entire new front line.
You expected that.
Riverboats, in the dead of night, tried to destroy your vital stockpiles, disrupt road logistics, and break the will to fight of your artillery regiments that were keeping the rail route locked down.
You expected that too.
Commando units, moving up and down the line, sniped officers and planted landmines to destroy your construction equipment. You didn't have a response to this until the 64e finished their hunt for the Commandos- and it was slow going, a company out in the wind in Deadlands trying to find their radio beacons to make a recovery mission. Still, your fire direction centers were getting better at finding the fuckers tents, and the 15e was mad enough to make battery fires on even suspected commando sites.
None of this was new. You weren't surprised, you weren't shocked, and your people didn't care. Towed artillery killed four flatbeds and thirty workers, your troops got shovels out. A tank breakthrough blew out a concrete mixer, someone went to get a new one. Truckloads of comps got stolen by raiders in jeeps, and tanks went out to get them back.
It cost you blood, sweat, tears, and one point two million B-mats by the end of the fortnight. Twelve tanks, forty six pieces of construction equivalent, eleven hundred rockets, and nearly nine thousand shirts. Sixteen bunker bases, built and destroyed. It was all worth it, though.
You got your rail spur.
///
In between spitting in the eye of Thea Maro and Silica plying you with logistics throughput, you had to get your commandos back. Fortunately, Kirito was smart. Since they'd been ambushed and thrashed before, he'd come up with a number of safety measures to help make sure corpse recovery did its damndest to get everyone back home in one piece. One of, if not the most important, was the Radio Beacon Strategy.
A listening post, mounted on a tripod, was capable of serving as a RDF loop system; radio detection finding. Basically, a little signal intercept station. What the Commandos would then do was, if in trouble, they'd grab a radio and immediately set it to broadcast on a set station, generally a low-frequency one with a memorable number. 000 900 was a popular one, as well as 000 850 for lower priority screams.
Right now, your plan to find them was simple. One company of the 64e was going to conduct a limited recon in force mission down the south road, striking targets of opportunity and generally sounding out the enemy via punching them in the face. While that was ongoing, the 15e would- via mortar sections that didn't have much else to do- would be taking the central route and performing exploratory terror raids.
This was all smoke and mirrors for the important bit: 115e and 62e platoons sweeping between them with listening posts, scanning for radio transmissions on the Commando's home frequencies, trying to get the Commandos found. If they could get bodies back to bunker bases, or even better actionable intel, then you'd be in a very strong position.
The miniature operation started without a hitch. Fort Oscar, while not concreted yet, was using an outer ring of actively manned trenches fenced with light bunker patterns. Against infantry attacks, it was quite good. Against an armor push? It got smashed aside in minutes. While they couldn't tear the place to bits, the 64e managed to cause severe damage, degrading their defenses to bits and blowing up what seemed to be a rapid reaction force vehicle park of jeeps and armored cars.
In the north, meanwhile, the 15e had more trouble due to the lighter weight of their guns. In exchange, though, they managed to do much more damage to vehicular elements: two platoons of tanks were caught asleep before the bombardment started, and by mixing the odd shrapnel shell into the bombardment, none of their crews got there in time to keep the armor from becoming smoking wrecks. Taking out those Falchions and Bardiches would be critical for later, although not as critical as the 115e's discovery.
The 115e Dragoons- they'd upgraded from Uhlans apparently- were not one of your storied units. They were new, a little rough around the edges, and younger than you'd like by far. What they were, though, was thorough. They kept maps, they took logs and readings, and they were the ones who found a radio beacon.
The radio beacon, blaring on station 000 300, that had a grenade under it with the pin pulled.
It took three Dragoons out of the fight, but it served to alert whatever Commandos were watching that help was on the way, and causing a real radio beacon on the correct frequency to go off. When they finally reached it, a narrow cave in the hills, the scent was enough to make several Dragoons puke.
Only two of the Commandos were still alive- Kirito, and Yuuno, an archivist and translator he'd picked up at some point. Both were covered in shrapnel and bayonet wounds, and in the back of the cave were nine of the twenty Commandos.
Aside from Kirito, Yuuno, and the recovered corpses, the remaining nine dog tags were hidden in notionally enemy territory, down by the river. Unfortunately, as both the Commandos were in very poor condition, their directions were subpar at best- units would need to comb the beach to find the tags. Once medical attention was provided and corpse transport was secured, the 115e and 62e pivoted hard to the south axis, while calling on the 15e to support.
While the 64e's company continued toying with and wrecking havoc in Fort Oscar, all three other companies immediately started scouring the beach, and engaging several riverine patrol units. It was about the time they summoned an entire gunboat squadron that they managed to retrieve the stash of tags, getting out while only loosing unarmored trucks on the beach.
Despite- or perhaps because- of the loose operational planning, shell expenditure on the trip was quite high, but other than that and the trucks, nothing of value was lost. Unfortunately, your Commandos didn't have any actionable intel from the trip: enemy defenses and patrols were tight as a kettle drum, and things had gone to shit fast and hard. When you went in, it would be boots and bullets first, subtlety never.
Well. Negative intel was still intel.
///
As the General of the Folkvangr Brigade, you tried to take some time out of your week when you could to study things. Today, you were going to study the command structures of the brigade.
Okay. That was a lie. You were going to read over all the reports generated by the "go rescue the dumbass commandos" mission and then piece together who had been in charge of that entire operation, because seriously. What the fuck. You never knew it was happening, despite the fact that for the entire thing you pretended to know exactly what was happening when people asked you about it. The power of going "cross-hex transmission difficulties" and "radio silence on insertion" as a balm to concerned officers was great and terrible.
So. From the ground up, here you go.
The initial mission, as described by you, was to be a limited recon operation to gauge the defensive lines of what you now knew to be the Oscar/Juliet Line.
Col. Kirito had taken the mission, gone over to the 72e and 9e, and requested signals support and material assets. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. This was all done aboveboard, through easily tracked forms, mostly because you'd drilled the 72e into using the right paperwork if they were going to do anything more complicated than use the bathroom. The 9e meanwhile were sticklers to make sure they didn't over-deliver or under-deliver supplies.
From there, Kirito had then gone to Col. Asuna, and set up what he referred to in reports as his 'extraction plan' in case shit went south. If he didn't make call-ins, then he'd expect a company-strength detachment of the 15e to come in and make a ruckus so he could extract. Asuna had then filed operational paperwork to that effect, and the brigade paper trail ended there.
So. Time to dig deeper. Driving out to the 15e's main bunker base near Bubble Basin, you walked in and got to rooting around their archives while Asuna was out on a supply run. Since she hadn't changed paperwork systems since she was Major and you were Colonel, it was pathetically easy to keep going. Her mobile fires battalion- still not quite entirely used to the self-propelled 120s yet- had kept their Devitt-Caines and had filed a stay against those getting shipped off to the 64e.
Which, well, that was a note for later. The 64e shouldn't naturally be able to requisition equipment from the 15e? Hell, they were an armor regiment, not an artillery regiment… except back in the day, if Tymur asked you for things, you'd give them to him with barely a second thought, and he was very eloquent around Asuna, and… ohhh… ok.
So the 64e might have the soft power to requisition outdated supplies instead of them getting cycled back up into the 9e's stockpiles. Okay. No biggy.
So Asuna had decided, of her own merit, that two batteries of lone mortar tanks would suck as a rescue force. So she went to her battalion captain, Landry. Who's name was familiar, you'd probably inducted them as an officer yourself back in the day. Landry immediately went over and filed for a leave of absence to 'talk to the other regiments and secure perishable assets' which was some high-test bullshit if you've ever seen any in your life.
Now you were off to the 62e to figure out how they were involved in this. As one of the regiments you didn't spend too much time around, they weren't overawed by your presence, but it didn't take too much work to get into their field library and track the report down. Landry had come to Kazoo's base, signed in with the duty officer, and gone to one of his friends, Lt. Glomptky.
Who the fuck decided their name in a game was gonna be stuffed cabbage? Have some dignity people.
Either way, Glomptky had agreed to work with Landry, so Glomptky had filed a CONPLAN with his captain, who kicked it up to Kazoo, who rubberstamped it. As far as CONPLANs went, it was pretty simple: if Glomptky was off duty- and he usually was since he was a short platoon for gear- then if the CONPLAN activated (Landry requested infantry support) then Glomptky would go since he was pre-briefed, and then Landry would be his commanding officer under the Kampfgruppe rule; also known as 'if you responsible enough to ask for help then you're responsible enough to be in charge of the help'
You liked that system, although the random German name left much to be desired. Either way, the 62e was accounted for that way. Following the paperwork trail to the 64e left much the same tale: Landry wrote a CONPLAN for a junior officer, filed it through the main desk, and Zairman stamped it off and the 64e rode to war when it activated.
It was the 115e where you hit trouble. Their regimental structure wasn't as well-developed as the 62e and 64e, and Landry hadn't actually originally filed a CONPLAN there. Instead, Glomptky had been training according to the 115e's lieutenant's AAR. The 115e, not really understanding they were riding to war, had followed Glomptke like lost ducks, and he had responded by continuing to give orders on the matter as if he was in command of the lieutenant and the Dragoons were an attached section to his platoon.
For all that it worked, you weren't happy about that bit at all. This was an issue you'd have to get to solving sooner rather than later; that and Landry's failure to maintain an HQ for the scratch battalion they'd wired together for this. That failure, however, was not nearly as damning as the fact you'd had to go to the 115e's main field outpost to get that AAR, then go on a seven-step roundabout fetch quest because they didn't have a damn copy of the report at the main library despite the fact you literally had magic xerox machines!
What had you learned today? Well, a few things.
One: Normally, officers of the same ranks in different units treated each other equally, mostly due to camaraderie and familiarity.
One-a: Unless they were the Fucking New Guy who just followed people around like a dog
One-b: Unless it was under a Kampfgruppe Rule situation or a CONPLAN activation.
Two: The 15e, as your old home regiment, was a senior service of sorts to the rest of the brigade.
Two-a: Mostly this manifested through superior paperwork and superior officer training making it so that they looked in charge, ergo people acted like they were in charge
Two-b: Officers of the 15e would frequently request other assets to complete missions, and then responsibly return them.
Two-c: However good they were in direct use, however, they didn't really have company or battalion training to go with their social authority.
Three: Failing to have good AARs and libraries should be a shooting offense.
Three-a: the logistics branch agreed with you
Four: Proper CONPLAN filing and task group activation actually made your brigade incredibly responsive to situations without any direct interaction from you or any regimental leadership. In sub-24hr situations, or in situations without a logistics presence, local officers and troops were flexible and responsive enough to commit to sophisticated operations without formal practice.
Five: There was a sharp divide in mindset between combat arms groups and logistics groups: while combat arms would accept a CONPLAN and an IOU note, the logistics groups demanding standards of paperwork meant that even on operations where officers should be able to use their assistance, they didn't.
It was that last one that worried you the most. You'd need to work on it later- but for now, you'd spent the better part of two days bouncing about trying to figure out how the incident had gone down, so time for bed.
///
At the end of the fortnight, you were back at Argo's, back to the map table and dealing with Cauthon.
"Ready to go?" he asked, frowning. "I'm launching in three days, at eight am. With or without you."
You nodded, solemn. "I know."
////
VOTES
[] "I'm ready" (Operation starts)
[] "I can't help on this one. Sorry." (plan turn as normal)
1st Brigade, Folkvangr, Staff Company (Noncombat)
-[] [Folkvangr] Support another regiment (Grants 1x bonus action)
--[] [Folkvangr] Write-in regiment & Topic
-[] [Folkvangr] Organize rolling rest and refit periods for the Brigade
-[] [Folkvangr] Engage in diplomacy with another Brigade
--[] Write-in Brigade & Topic
-[] [Folkvangr] Collect and Analyze Data
--[] Write-in Topic
-[] Work on developing Brigade Doctrine (5/25)
-[] [Folkvangr] Attempt to recruit another regiment into the Brigade.
-[] [Folkvangr] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Continue planning Deadlands assault
--[] Write in operational details.
15e Regiment, High King's Valkyries, Flying Artillery (Orange/3)
-[] [15e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [15e] Engage in offensive operations…
--[] …in Marban
--[] …in Foxcatcher
--[] …in Deadlands
--[] …elsewhere (write-in)
-[] [15e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [15e] Fortify an area
--[] Write in an existent fort or location to take and hold.
-[] [15e] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [15e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
9e Regiment, Balfour Bitches, Sustainment (Green/4)
-[] [9e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [9e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [9e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [9e] Procure supplies for regimental adjustment
--[] Write-in regiment and supplies to procure
-[] [9e] Procure additional vehicles for regiments and staff
-[] [9e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
62e Regiment, The Weathered Line, Grenadiers (Orange/4)
-[] [62e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [62e] Engage in offensive operations…
--[] …in Marban
--[] …in Foxcatcher
--[] …in Deadlands
--[] …elsewhere (write-in)
-[] [62e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [62e] Fortify an area
--[] Write in an existent fort or location to take and hold.
-[] [62e] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [62e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
64e Regiment, Golden Mail, Armored Cavalry (Orange/4)
-[] [64e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [64e] Engage in offensive operations…
--[] …in Marban
--[] …in Foxcatcher
--[] …in Deadlands
--[] …elsewhere (write-in)
-[] [64e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [64e] Fortify an area
--[] Write in an existent fort or location to take and hold.
-[] [64e] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [64e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
115e Regiment, Uhlans (Yellow/3)
-[] [115e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [115e] Engage in offensive operations…
--[] …in Marban
--[] …in Foxcatcher
--[] …in Deadlands
--[] …elsewhere (write-in)
-[] [115e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [115e] Fortify an area
--[] Write in an existent fort or location to take and hold.
-[] [115e] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [11e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
163e Regiment, Motor Rifles (Orange/3)
-[] [163e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [163e] Engage in offensive operations…
--[] …in Marban
--[] …in Foxcatcher
--[] …in Deadlands
--[] …elsewhere (write-in)
-[] [163e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [163e] Fortify an area
--[] Write in an existent fort or location to take and hold.
-[] [163e] Begin planning a combat operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [163e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
241e Regiment, Research (Green/4)
-[] [241e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [241e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [241e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [241e] Procure supplies for regimental adjustment
--[] Write-in regiment and supplies to procure
-[] [241e] Develop specific prototype equipment for the Brigade
-[] [241e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
142e Regiment, East Trains, Locomotive (Green/5)
-[] [142e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [142e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [142e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [142e] Procure supplies for regimental adjustment
--[] Write-in regiment and supplies to procure
-[] [142e] Perform supplies transshipment to focus on one front
--[] Write-in receiving unit/stockpile town
-[] [142e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
26e Regiment, Commando (Red/2)
-[] [26e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [26e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [26e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [26e] Search for Relic Bases and Caches
-[] [26e] Perform Operational Reconnaissance
72e Regiment, Golden Eyes, Signals (Green/1)
-[] [72e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [72e] Conduct training operations
-[] [72e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [72e] Establish a communication link to another Regiment or Brigade
--[] Write-in target
-[] [72e] Operate Intelligence Center(s)
-[] [72e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
41e Regiment, Engineering (Green/3)
-[] [41e] Adjust Manning, Doctrine, or other Regimental Operation
--[] Write-in Adjustments
-[] [41e] Conduct resupply and training operations
-[] [41e] Begin planning an operation
--[] Write in operational details.
-[] [41e] Build infrastructure improvements
--[] Where? (Write-in)
-[] [41e] Build additional fortifications
--[] Where? (Write-in)
-[] [41e] Donate help to Brigade Staff (Grants one Staff Action)
QRF
181e Uhlans: 10, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 16 passes.
185e Dragoons: 8, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 14, passes.
Supply
170e Sustainment: 10, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 16, passes.
171e Sustainment: 3, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 9, passes.
172e Sustainment: 1, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 7, passes.
173e Sustainment: 8, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 14, passes.
174e Sustainment: 7, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 13, passes.
175e Sustainment: 2, +6 for Operational Effects, sum 8, passes.
Combat Arms
154e Siege Artillery: 7, +6 for Operational Effects, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 8, passes. Heavy Artillery Support activates.
27e Infantry: 6, +6 for Operational Effects, +2 Heavy Artillery Support, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 9, passes.
108e Naval Infantry: 5, +6 for Operational Effects, +2 Heavy Artillery Support, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 8, passes.
155e Light Artillery: 8, +6 for Operational Effects, +2 Heavy Artillery Support -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 11, passes. Light Artillery Support activates.
219e Mechanized: 8, +6 for Operational Effects, +1 Artillery Support, +1 Critical Rollover, +1 Advanced Mechanization, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 12, passes.
220e Mechanized: 4, +6 for Operational Effects, +1 Artillery Support, +2 Critical Rollover, +1 Advanced Mechanization, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 9, passes.
221e Grenadiers: 9, +6 for Operational Effects, +1 Grenadiers, -1 Tank Shock, -1 Mountain Assault, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns (Nullified: Ex Ratio Ultimum). Sum 10, passes.
Conclusions
154e Siege Artillery: Clears the Rapid Decay zone in the initial thrust, and sets up shop on the road between Fort Alpha and Bravo, before beginning artillery bombardments. Using massed 150mm gun fire, the forts at Alpha, Bravo, and Delta are rapidly dismantled, before the Iron End Relic Base is destroyed. The unit then relocates to Iron End to engage in fires on Charlie and Foxtrot by battery.
155e Light Artillery: Serving as follow-on fires, the 155e Light Artillery shadow the 219e and 220e Mechanized regiments through engagements at Fort Charlie and Echo. Work is made to invest and shut down Fort Oscar (West), but enemy reaction forces had already crossed the bridge and prevented a serious counterbattery effort.
219e Mechanized: Assaulting and clearing Fort Charlie, the 219e detached from the 220e after successfully engaging at Fort Echo and began work to restore the bridge to Linn of Mercy to allow for additional logistics throughput into the Deadlands region.
220e Mechanized: Assaulting and clearing Fort Echo, the 220e performed the bulk of isolating Fort Oscar (West), but unfortunately lack of organic fires did not allow them to respond well to the enemy QRF clearing the bridge. Presently, the unit is holding against a Colonial mechanized regiment supported by cross-river artillery fire.
27e Infantry: Part of the initial cross-boarder wave, the 27e Infantry were responsable for direct assault and capture of Fort Alpha, before pivoting to engage the Iron End Relic Base and secure it as field headquarters for the Brigade.
108e Naval Infantry: Part of the initial cross-boarder wave, the 108e Naval Infantry engaged and captured Fort Bravo with artillery support, before moving in to secure Callahan's Gate as a logistics throughpoint for the northern offense and the planned link-up with the Folkvangr.
221e Grenadiers: Moving as part of the second assault group with the 219e and 220e Mechanized, the 221e Grenadiers cleared the area south of the Iron End Relic Base, before engaging and capturing Fort Foxtrot without artillery support. Presently, they are within visual distance of The Crossing, and are currently being engaged by Colonial janissary units holed up in The Crossing.
Summary
Working quickly and efficiently, the Band of the Red Hand Brigade has managed to secure the north quarter of the Deadlands hex, stopping short of the main goal: The Crossing, and the Abandoned Ward. With the exception of the 220e Mechanized, whom is currently being engaged by Colonial rapid response forces; and the 221e, currently preparing for a breach into urban environments, his unit is largely intact and at worst disorganized after a long-distance massive assault. Once units reconvene and the tactical situation is assessed, brigade assets such as heavy artillery can be redeployed to critical sectors, allowing him to finish pushing into and assaulting the Abandoned Ward for the current operational objective.
QRF
115e Dragoons: 2, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 9, passes.
Supply
142e Locomotive: 7, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 14, passes. 142e, 241e, 9e supplied.
241e Research: 2, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 9, passes. 41e, 46e supplied.
9e Sustainment: 2, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 9, passes. 101e, 213e Supplied.
41e Engineers: 5, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 12, passes.
46e Sustainment: 7, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 14, passes.
101e Sustainment: 6, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 13, passes.
213e Sustainment: 8, +7 for Operational Effects. Sum 15, passes.
Combat Arms
15e Flying Artillery (Mechanized): 3, +7 for Operational Effects, +1 Mechanized, +1 Grenadiers, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -2 Concrete Patterns. Sum 6, passes. Heavy Artillery Support activates.
64e Armored: 1, +7 for Operational Effects, +2 Heavy Artillery Support, +1 Mechanized, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking (Artillery negates), -1 Tank Shock(Armored negates), -2 Concrete Patterns. Sum 6, passes. Armor Support activates.
62e Grenadiers: 2, +7 for Operational Effects, +2 Heavy Artillery Support, +1 Armored Support, +1 Mechanized, +1 Grenadiers, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking (Artillery negates), -1 Tank Shock, -2 Concrete Patterns. Sum 8, passes.
163e Fusiliers (Mechanized): 4, +7 for Operational Effects, +1 Mechanized, +1 Armored Support, -3 No Man's Land, -1 Trench Breaking, -1 Tank Shock, -2 Concrete Patterns. Sum 6, passes.
Conclusions:
15e Flying Artillery (Mechanized): After clearing Rapid Decay hot on the heels of elements of the 64e Armored, units conduct mass anti-bunker fires on Fort Juliet, eventually breaking it. After the conclusion of organized fires against Juliet, units thereafter report by battery to the 62e to support fires on Fort Oscar (East) and shut down the bridge.
64e Armored: Directly assaulting the facilities at Fort Juliet, the 64e mad excellent progress until reaching the Callahan's Belt/ The Blade intersection and Fort Kilo. While destroying Fort Kilo, the unit was counter-attacked by rapid response forces, nearly loosing the intersection. Quick entrenchments and holding in the remains of Kilo has prevented the unit from backsliding, however.
62e Grenadiers: After crossing the border, this unit went to directly attack Fort Oscar (East) with support from reloaded batteries of the 15e Flying Artillery. Due to prolific garrisons and interlocking machine-gun nests, direct assault is impossible until the position is reduced- a duty carried out by the 15e. With great difficulty, Fort Oscar is nullified, and the bridge across the River Mercy is blown, with units on standby being targeted by high-caliber indirect fire Colonial artillery.
163e Fusiliers: Moving quickly, the 163e Fusiliers were deployed as follow-on forces to the 64e's assault on Kilo. With the 64e able to hold in the remains of Kilo, the Fusiliers immediately pivoted north, catching Fort Golf in between shelling by organic light guns of the 108e Naval Infantry and their own assault. By striking a less-defended direction, they managed to avoid the worst casualties in exchange for being embroiled in a large-scale brawl for the significant portions of the fortification they could not destroy.
Summary
Moving into Deadlands, the Folkvangr Brigade was ready and willing to undergo a storming fight to reach their target in Abandoned Ward. They got their wish. Heavy enemy resistance and well-developed entrenched positions defined the West front of the conflict zone, all of which were recently staffed with additional blocking troops and units of the Pandora Janissaries and the Violet Fields Dragoons. Despite difficulties, the main thrust of the offensive achieved its intended goals. The Mercy River could not have reinforcements pulled across it, logistics lines to the Callahan's Passage rail spur were secured, and once units reconstitute a direct assault will be possible on the Abandoned Ward. Until consolidation, however, the unit is strung out and should not be relied upon to continue offensive operations without substantial preparations.
