Mission: HEROES OF CHENARUS
Those who served:
Plancake (Richard)
Berklesnort (Greg)
Manchrntyne (Christian)
Caverick (Cav)
Ivan (Ivan)
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SPLAT's AAV roared into the lightening dawn:
Travelling through Krasnostav, we stopped behind a large shed to the south and called in some artillery on the enemy checkpoint further along the road.
After it hit, we advanced and encountered strong opposition. The commies had kept their heads down. Berklesnort and I flanked to the west and had some success, but were winged and driven to ground. This enabled our comrades to press the attack, then Berklesnort and I charged the roadblock. There was some mopping up with a Speznatz soldier (who took out two of us and had me pinned down behind a tree) then we'd taken the checkpoint.
I appropriated an RPG7 launcher from one of the bodies. Keeping the momentum, we called in an artillery strike on the AA hill and climbed it. Berklesnort and I moved to the south, the best attack position, as the others came under fire to the northwest. Spying the imposing figure of a Tunguska, I sent the RPG into it. It was inactive, but still standing.
This drew some unwanted attention. I spotted one of the Reds cresting the hill searching for us, and drew a bead on him just as he fired. A bullet clipped my fatigues as I dropped him. Another soldier reached the top of the hill, saw us and ducked down behind a sheep! Berklesnort neatly shot the sheep, and I got the man. The rest of SPLAT was hitting the hill base hard, so I moved up and was promptly shot.
By the time Berklesnort had brought me around, we'd taken the base. Plancake and I drove back to the airfield- he got some satchels and I placed a couple of stingers into the repair truck. We drove back and Plancake blew up the Tunguskas- objective complete!
I waited at the south end of the hill with a stinger, but the Hinds were nowhere to be seen. Did they only start a patrol when we approached the city?
It was time to move toward Berezino, so we saddled up in the AAV and HMMV and moved out. Intel told us that some tanks sat unmanned near a base. If we could stop their crews getting across a road, we could get them for ourselves. All we had to do was race right past a vastly superior force. What could go wrong?
Before we even got there, things went wrong. A wayward rock tipped the AAV on its side.
We tried nudging it with the hummer, but it was too heavy. I gave up on the several-tonne machine and started heading back to Krasnostav to get a civilian vehicle, but Plancake didn't quit so easily. He moved the tracks back and forth, edging the AAV over to another rock, and tipped it back upright! As we would see later on, his perseverance probably saved the mission.
I got back on the guns of the AAV and we continued down the road. The freak rocks leaped out and struck again, one flipping us higher than the trees!
Fortunately Plancake had his APC pilot's wings and we landed right side up. We skirted the edge of a minefield and assembled to the north of Berezino, an entire city of the enemy. I radioed in for an artillery strike, and while the shells were in the air SPLAT slammed the pedal down and charged!
We entered the city, turned onto the long straight road leading to the base, and the shells landed. Fire fountained as we sped down the road, and when the smoke cleared I saw figures running for the tanks! I gave a burst from the MG, then switched to the grenade mortar and blanketed the road ahead. Plancake screeched us to a halt in front of the tanks (and the troops) and we sprang out. In seconds I'd jumped into a tank, floored it onto the road and sped back the way we'd come... but nobody followed. We'd taken another two tanks, but Ivan had been cut down and the others stayed behind, holding off the wave of troops until they could rescue him.
Bad turned to worse. The shadow of a Hind gunship swept over me! Those mean mothers had a ferocious appetite for tanks. Hoping the others had all the attention of the troops, I leaped from the tank, hoisted the stinger to my shoulder and let fly. As it turned to line up an attack the rocket hit it, and it came down over the town of Khlem to the northeast.
My jubilation was short lived. As I turned to get back into the tank I caught a bullet, and fell to the road.
Meanwhile the others had pushed back the communist counterattack and were reviving Ivan. Richard drove his tank up the road and revived me. I got up and jumped into his tank by mistake, and was instantly hit by an RPG! I switched to the gunner's seat as they shot Richard, and turned to face a new wave of troops as another rocket streaked in. I couldn't see the AT soldier through the smoke, so I hammered lead at where the flash had come from. I dimly heard over the radio that there was a second Hind inbound. The smoke cleared to show enemy soldiers everywhere!
I sprayed lead all over the place, hammering down soldiers left and right and trying to see if any had long tubes on their shoulders. It was an immense attack, I inflicted over thirty casualties. At last it looked like the tide had turned, and my gun fell silent.
I got out and began to revive Richard, but was shot by yet more troops. Greg came up and tried to revive me, but was taken out too! Then the Hind hit and destroyed one of our tanks!
Then the Hind was shot out of the sky by a well aimed cannon shot by Ivan- objective complete! He drove his tank up and got out. I held my breath. Would he succumb to the domino chain of death that had taken out the rest of us? Christian was over at the docks hiding in a building and had no vehicle- if Ivan was shot Christian was the only one left, and vulnerable.
However, having three tanks around the bodies created a shield, and Ivan brought us all back. We got back into our two remaining tanks, slapped it in B for boogie and got the hell out of dodge:
We thought we'd withdraw to the AA hill, where we'd left the repair truck. On the way we stumbled across a UAZ and a hapless soldier. We showed them our new firepower. You can see the vehicle being launched above the trees:
We crossed the road, then suddenly I was hit by an RPG! Another blasted my tank before I could figure out where it was coming from. A squad ambushed us from some trees. Richard and Christian ripped into them, taking out most of the squad. One soldier sat apart from the others- the AT specialist. He hit us again! How much more could the tank take? My gunners were busy with the others, so there was only one thing to do. As he reloaded his rocket launcher I stomped the accelerator and roared toward him. It was a race I narrowly won- as he hefted the weapon to deliver the coupe de grace to us, I rammed into him.
Ever more in need of the repair truck, SPLAT resumed its climb up the slope. As we reached the village of Khelm I saw movement; another squad! The two tanks worked together this time, taking them down effectively:
We continued up the hill, but my battered tank couldn't manage the slope. We stopped it deep in the forest and Richard ran up to get the truck. We relaxed as the repairs were done, finally stopping and realising we'd stolen the tanks from the lion's den and lived!
Suddenly BOOM- a lone AT soldier had crept through the forest and hit us! Richard gunned the engine of the truck and sped it away to safety. I drove my tank further into the forest, then climbed out to chase him down on foot. Greg and Ivan, in the other tank, got there first and mowed him down.
We repaired the tanks, and moved into position to return to the lions den and assault it. After some long range fire from the hills overlooking the city, we moved in and a cat-and-mouse mop up operation began. The Reds still had a strong contingent reinforced by some APCs, and put up a good fight. Before long, however, their base was ours!
However, we had a new problem. Greg had dropped out and reconnected, and now he was miles away at the airfield. The only transport was a Venom helo, but Greg didn't know how to fly it! He bravely climbed in, and I took the role of the every-step-of-the-way gravelly mustachioed traffic controller. Richard and Christian drove off in the tank to engage the outer burbs of Berezino, while I talked Greg through flying the bird. He not only made it to us, but pulled off landing in a city!
He then switched to his more experienced role as crew chief, settling in behind his minigun, and I took off in the helo. Christian, Richard and Ivan were giving the Reds what for (achieving the third objective), and it sounded like all our fighting had only got Boris mad. I swept over the township and blanketed a tank with hydra rockets, then saw a huge fireball rise from the buildings. Richard and Christian's tank had been destroyed!
Christian then bid us farewell and signed off.
Ivan was too far away and had his own problems. The town was still firmly in red hands and they'd just taken out a tank, but Richard's life was ebbing away. I came in low over the town and settled down at the south end.
Bullets immediately began starring the armour and windows. I jumped out into the fire expecting to get cut down immediately, but I made the comparative safety of the buildings and ran to find Richard. I felt bad leaving Greg sitting in a pilotless chopper amid all that fire, but took some comfort in the fact that he was the squad's most experienced door gunner. I got Richard on his feet and we sprinted back to the bird as more men appeared on the streets. Our helo was a durable old duck, still managing to claw us into the air.
Ivan, meanwhile, was out of the armour and into big trouble. I flew in fence height and alighted in a field, and we were immediately fired upon by some soldiers (one of whom had a huge booming sniper or anti-material rifle). There was a tense moment as Greg and Richard suppressed the enemy while Ivan climbed in:
We then staggered into the air and soared back to the airfield:
We reported to the CO, who commended us for being frickin' awesome.
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