Kabboom
very explody
I have nothing left.
How many years has it been since the war started? Ten? Twenty? Thirty?
Ah, to hell with it. I've got today's problems to worry about.
9th Company's been reassigned from the Brigmann Line to aid friendly forces battling around The Meat Grinder. We shipped off during August, and after a month of getting shot at on vehicles, my men have arrived in this godforsaken city. All the maps burned down last month when an incendiary barrage hit the HQs, so I had to draw my own. It looks like the pits of hell, staring back at me. We've lost whole divisions fighting for this one damn city, and with the way High Command is escalating things, we're gonna lose many more before anything could be made out of this damn mess.
Snipers, tanks, artillery,... the Reds have it all. The veterans have brought me up to speed on things, and it was even worse than I had imagined. Every inch of our approach to the city has been accurately zeroed in by enemy artillery, and snipers make themselves comfy in the highrise buildings at the edge, waiting for us. Every day is a constant slog of taking and retaking ground, building defenses, and holding until reinforcements arrive.
But first, we have to cross the suburbs.
The whole place is bombed out. Civilians don't live in the suburbs, simply because they cannot live if they set foot here. If you peek out of a window, you get sniped. If you fire your gun above-ground, be prepared for mortars and artillery to drop on you. The main routes of transports are either subterranean, through the sewers and multiple tunnels dug through the basements, or to speed through the place in APCs and hope the Reds have their aim off. I tried opting for a mass advance, with the entire Company moving at once, but the more experienced commanders advised against it: the last time they tried that, the Reds hit the tunnels with thermobaric weapons.
Taking their advice, I'm sending the men in piecemeal. The guys have showed me a suitable route, but it's been taken by Reds last week. 1st and 3rd Platoon will be spearheading the assault to retake and clear those routes, and I have word that the 105mm battery will be available for us to call in, with radio calls or smoke if need be. If they pull this off, we'll be able to secure our way into the Meat Grinder.
God help me.
"Wake the fuck up, ladies, let's go!" yelled the lead gunner of the front Humvee, as the engines whirred to life.
"Sit tight and shut up, pussy-cakes!" Spoke the driver, hushing the men inside. The silence persisted for the first few minutes of the ride, as the convoy went out of the FOB, headed for the front, but small chatter picked up shortly after. I brief the men.
"All right, here's the plan. We're gonna deploy about 500m from our target area. Move forward, clear anything. Straightforward. Check your corners, protect your buddies, and we'll hopefully pull through in one piece. Everybody clear?"
Not a particularly good or long briefing, but I think that's all they need to know. At least, that's all I know. Command is surprisingly uptight about this, but just looking at the hand-drawn map of the area, I can already tell this is going to be a hard fight.
How many years has it been since the war started? Ten? Twenty? Thirty?
Ah, to hell with it. I've got today's problems to worry about.
9th Company's been reassigned from the Brigmann Line to aid friendly forces battling around The Meat Grinder. We shipped off during August, and after a month of getting shot at on vehicles, my men have arrived in this godforsaken city. All the maps burned down last month when an incendiary barrage hit the HQs, so I had to draw my own. It looks like the pits of hell, staring back at me. We've lost whole divisions fighting for this one damn city, and with the way High Command is escalating things, we're gonna lose many more before anything could be made out of this damn mess.
Snipers, tanks, artillery,... the Reds have it all. The veterans have brought me up to speed on things, and it was even worse than I had imagined. Every inch of our approach to the city has been accurately zeroed in by enemy artillery, and snipers make themselves comfy in the highrise buildings at the edge, waiting for us. Every day is a constant slog of taking and retaking ground, building defenses, and holding until reinforcements arrive.
But first, we have to cross the suburbs.
Taking their advice, I'm sending the men in piecemeal. The guys have showed me a suitable route, but it's been taken by Reds last week. 1st and 3rd Platoon will be spearheading the assault to retake and clear those routes, and I have word that the 105mm battery will be available for us to call in, with radio calls or smoke if need be. If they pull this off, we'll be able to secure our way into the Meat Grinder.
God help me.
"Sit tight and shut up, pussy-cakes!" Spoke the driver, hushing the men inside. The silence persisted for the first few minutes of the ride, as the convoy went out of the FOB, headed for the front, but small chatter picked up shortly after. I brief the men.
"All right, here's the plan. We're gonna deploy about 500m from our target area. Move forward, clear anything. Straightforward. Check your corners, protect your buddies, and we'll hopefully pull through in one piece. Everybody clear?"
Not a particularly good or long briefing, but I think that's all they need to know. At least, that's all I know. Command is surprisingly uptight about this, but just looking at the hand-drawn map of the area, I can already tell this is going to be a hard fight.