Operation Reset - Part 7

Gdow - July 21st 2000

Some of the troopers gather to investigate the hatch in the floor, trying to gain entry. The remaining troopers police the village. By mid morning the temperature begins to soar. One of the troopers catches sight of something, possibly a bear, making its way down in to the village. On closer inspection it appears to be a very heavily armored man carrying a ballistic shield. As he draws closer it becomes apparent there are also several armed men flanking him as he walks down the hill.

They move quickly and engage them with sniper and RPG fire. The man in the armored suit blocks an RPG with his shield. Throwing the remains of the twisted shield to one side he readies a light machine gun and returns fire. There is a heavy exchange of automatic fire. The Armored man is finally knocked down with a 40mm grenade to the chest, his men are overpowered and wiped out.

When they check on the bodies they discover the man in the armored suit  is still alive. Questioning him they discover he is KGB and has been tracking them since Lodz. He was attempting to recover the MCCS for the soviets, the other men were local mercenaries hired in Krakow for this job. He gives them no trouble and they set him free when they arrive back at Krakow.

The troopers return to the Na Zdrowie to collect their payment from Koko. Koko sends some men out to Gdow to check they have done what The Boss has asked. Payment negotiated they organize collection from of The Boss' storage sights.

To be continued....

Operation Reset - Part 6

Krakow July 20th 2000

Undecided about which direction in which to head the troopers decide they need to secure some fuel no matter which way they go. They make their way back to the centre of Krakow and to the market square. They seek out the British soldiers munitions stall and ask him where they can get access to fuel in sufficient quantities to make a long journey. He doesnt have any himself, but if they go to the Na Zdrowie, a bar on the other side of the market square they should be able to find a man called Koko. Koko is the right hand man of a powerful merchant who controls the majority of the fuel trade in Krakow.

At the Na Zdrowie the troopers make contact with Koko, as they are short of items to trade he says he will see his boss and get back to them. After a short wait in the bar Koko returns to them with an offer. Seeing as they are obviously new in town and obviously know how to handle themselves, he will give them all the fuel they need in exchange for sorting out some trouble hes been having. The boss would like them to travel to the village of Gdow, the last known location of a group of marauders he suspects of ambushing his convoys.

It took the rest of the day to walk out to Gdow, as night fell the troopers infiltrated the woods on the hill over looking the village. They spent all night and all of the next day observing the marauders as they went about their business. They made note of how many were in their group, any patterns to their movements, were they sleapt, what they ate. They all so noted that whenever they left the small circle of buildings that they occupied they would dress in heavy hooded rubber clothing. On further inspection of the area they discovered the area had been hit by a missile attack carrying chemical weapons.

In the early hours of the next morning the troopers moved in to position, and launched their attack. The attack opened with a salvo of 40mm grenades landing on and among the occupied housing. The troopers then moved in and took the village house by house. There was little to no resistance from the marauders, injured and shaken from the initial bombardment they were in no condition to mount a defence. the few women and children present were allowed to free down the nearby river to safety.

The attack over, the troopers secure the village and begin to gather anything they can trade, weapons, equipment, foodstuffs, loading it all into a pair of capturead UAZ trucks. While loading their spoils on to the trucks they discover a hatch beneath some battered straw matting. The hatch looks battered as though someone has tried to batter, shoot, cut, burn their way in.

to be continued....

Operation Reset - Part 5

Krakow July 20th 2000

With bodies on the floor, blood up the walls, and the Krakow ORMO preparing to enter their building the troop needed to move fast. After attempting to stabilize Dr Czerwinski they leave via the hole in the roof that their assailants used to assault them. Sneaking along the rooftops they find a hole in one of the neighbouring rooftops and slip inside. They make their way back down to street level they vanish into the night.

Despite their best efforts Dr Czerwinski died in the night.

After a few hours rest the troop moves back to the old town, blending in with the crowds and traffic for the market. They push through the throng to find the British soldier they had talked to the previous day. He says that he has been asking around for them and his business partner knows the location of the intelligence officer they are trying to contact, but wants to meet them in person. He gives them the Address and directions to a warehouse they use to store their stock.

Heading West out of the old town they find the district immediatley outside the gate is in surprisingly good repair. Walking through the Western districts they attempt to throw off any possible attempts to follow them. Passing out of the apparently prosperous part of town the buildings begin to rapidly show the signs of severe neglect. They pass a city block which has been cleared of rubble and has been planted with grain. There are around a dozen people working the land as guards stand watching them.

As they approach the street they are looking for the troop hears the sounds of gunfire. Turning the corner they see a dozen marauders in the street moving up to the warehouse they need to visit. There is also another marauder covering the street with a rifle. The troop make short work of the marauders despite being primarily armed with pistols.

Having cleared the street and collected up the marauders weapons, the troopers move down to the warehouse. They meet the British soldiers business partner, SGT Jones. he tells them that the last he heard, the man they are looking for is in Warsaw investigating a warlord. The troopers, faced with such a journey sit down to discuss whether they should try to get to Warsaw, or to head South towards the Mediterranean and perhaps a boat home....

to be continued...

Operation Reset - Part 4

4 miles south of Krakow July 19th 2000

Strike Zulu  Troop F13C

Marching into Krakow from the south, the troop passes through neglected industrial and residential buildings. The same buildings that during the last war had been the citys ghetto. Buildings stand in various states of decay whether from neglect, fire, or damage from looting. They spend some time searching out a building to leave the MCCS and the doctors notes in, hiding them among the long decayed storage in the cellar. People can be seen throughout the abandoned buildings, picking through the wreckage trying to find something they can trade for food. Pestered by stray dogs and feral children along their route in to the city, they eventually come to a large concrete bridge across the Vistula river.

On the bridge they come to a road block manned by Polish troops. After some discussion they leave their weapons, apart for some concealable small arms with the Polish troops and are given a day pass. The pass will allow them to pass through any further checkpoints up to the town hall, where they can obtain another pass. They cross over the bridge and continue up the main road. The buildings on this side of the river, although neglected, are in a much better state of repair. Some of the buildings have been repaired and are occupied.

By late afternoon, after passing through another checkpoint, the troop finds itself in Krakows busy market square. The market is a mish mash of tents, stalls, plywood booths, and improvised shelters. There are people selling all manner of things, hand knitted socks, salvaged copper wiring, weapons, ammunition, live stock. There are tradesmen offering all manner of repairs and modifications to seemingly anything. There are food stalls selling hot food and warm beers. Pushing their way through the jostling crowds the troopers enter the old market hall which now serves as the town hall. It is late afternoon, an the town hall is cold and quiet. 3 bored guards stand around the hall, smoking and chatting. The equally bored clerk behind the desk takes the troopers names, occupations, qualifications, and reasons for visiting Krakow. They are all then issued a more permanent pass and a ticket for a meal. The meal tickets also double up as a currency. They make inquiries about viewing the register but are told to come back in the morning as the town hall is closing for the evening.

As the troop heads back out into the market, it is turning towards dusk and the market is beginning to wind down for the evening. They all get food and do a little shopping. It comes to their attention that they are being followed by a man. Approaching the man from different angles they confront him, finding out that he is following them to bargain for Doctor Czerwinski. The man doing the bargaining has a heavy russian accent. He motions for them to look up at the clock tower, wear the troopers see a man with a sniper rifle covering the market. the man gives them an adress on a slip of paper then leaves.

The troop search for other British soldiers, they find one running quite a large munitions stall. They ask him if he knows of any other British troops in the city, officers in particular. he says he will ask around for them and let them know in the morning. Several flatbed trucks arrive in the market and the stall holders start packing up their wares on to the trucks. People strart to leave the market square, most of them leaving the old town for the night.

Having nowhere to stay the troopers keep their eyes open for somewhere suitable. As they are leaving the old town they come across a neglected appartment block facing the gates. Deciding its as good a place as any other they move in and search the building from top to bottom. Finding the building empty they retire to the upper floor, leaving guards on the first floor and trapping the stairwell with tripwires and  grenades.

at 02.00 they are awoken to the sounds of the grenades in the stairwell detonating and the screams of an injured man. The troopers on the top floor hear the sound of people dropping through gaps in the roof into the room next to theres. A fierce exchange of fire leaves the infiltrators dead, and Doctor Czerwinski critically wounded. As the sound of gunfire dies down and the troopers regroup on the top floor they hear the shouts of the soldiers guarding the gate across from their appartment building....

to be continued...

Campaign Map

I cant take credit for this map, i just scribbled over the top of it like a child. If it is yours please let me know and i will credit you, or take it down if you prefer.

Operation Reset - Part 3

5 miles south of Sieradz July 18th 2000

Plunged into darkness, the lead driver of the convoy spots what could be lights behind them and pulls the convoy off the road into the cover of nearby woods. Strike Zulu sets camp and secures a perimeter, the night vision goggles are jury rigged to run from the batteries of the SAS teams Saxon APC. Watches are set and they get some rest while they can.

During the night the camp is attacked by a large bear which is quickly taken down with the combined firepower of 2 machine guns.  As the teams prepare to leave evidence is found of another intruder, who came and went during the night without being seen.

Continuing along the back roads and less well known routes, the convoy continues south. Around noon they spot the taller buildings of Wielun through the trees. Scouts continue on foot through the woodland with snipers for support. As they pass through the woods they find evidence that a large number of refugees camped there not so long ago. When they reach the outskirts of the town they find a mass grave, apparently full of Polish and Soviet troops.

Sneaking into town the scouts find it to be heavily occupied by soviet forces. Some engineering work appears to be underway to the east, and there are signs of small manufacturing industries working. The scouts pull back to the convoy. 

After some consideration Strike Zulu decide to skirt Wielun through its suburbs. They quickly disguise themselves with captured enemy uniforms and weapons and head out. They make good time and cut through the suburbs until they reach the main Wielun-Kepno road. In their way stands a road block of a half a dozen men and a russian BMP APC.

A Russian officer aproaches the convoy and, satisfied after questioning the lead vehicle about who they are and where they are going continues to inspect the column. The SEAL team in the second vehicle, speaking no Russian, engage the enemy. As the convoy sets off towards the road block members of the SAS team exit their vehicle and lay down surpressive fire with machinegun and RPG fire. The BMP seams impervious to their efforts, and after a well placed smoke round from the Ranger teams mortar blinds its gunner, the BMP is disabled with a thermite charge.

The convoy continues around the suburbs of Wielun, pulling of the main road and fleeing south before encountering another road block. Trying to make up for lost time they pick up speed and attempt to avoid any other towns.

By late afternoon Strike Zulu, making good time, is 10 miles north of Krakow. Perhaps because of their speed they fail to spot an ambush at the sides of the road, and drive straight into it. Coming under fire from sustained heavy machinegun fire from both sides of the road. Only the SAS team in the rear vehicle have time to react, and having Dr Czerwinski and the MCCS device, they decide to leave the convoy to its fate and take an alternative route.

After taking a longer route to avoid the ambushers, the SAS team arrives at the outskirts of Krakow. Leaving their vehicle behind they continue on foot with the professor, his device, and his research....

to be continued...

Operation Reset - Part 2

The river crossing south of Kolo - July 17th 2000

Strike Zulus convoy approached the Soviet rocket batteries at speed, the exhaust fumes from the recently fired rocket batteries obscuring their approach. Hatches were opened and weapons readied. By the time the Russians realized they were under attack it was too late, artillery crews snatched up weapons and began to fire at what they could see of the convoy though the smoke. Strike Zulu lay down a withering wall of return fire.

As they sped out of the exhaust fumes Strike Zulu found themselves rapidly approaching the bridge over the river Warta. An old T-55 tank blocked the left hand carriageway. The convoy mounted the bridge and passed the stationary tank as the crew desperately tried to get it running. On the other side of the river the convoy passed through the rocket batteries HQ and the crews tented encampment.

While the Russian tank crew were still trying to get their T-55 started, the antiaircraft crew had fared a lot better. They had managed to get their ZSU-23-4 Shilka up and running and as the allied convoy passed through the tented encampment they engaged them with their 23mm antiaircraft guns. as Strike Zulu came under fire they pulled of the road and down the embankment towards the river taking them below the enemies guns and to safety.

Finding themselves between the enemies support elements and their front lines, travelling through areas filled with abandonned vehicles and equipment the convoy comes to a halt to discuss their next step and scavenge for arms and ammunition. As they are gathered around the command hmmwv studying the few maps they have, they recieve news over the radio of the defeat of 5ht division and the fall of Kalisz.

Hearing the news that Kalisz has fallen to the enemy they decide to head south with the aim of reaching Krakow and liasing with known DIA agents operating there. Skirting around the enemy occupied town of Turek they move onto the back roads skirting the forest. After an hours travel through overgrown and neglected farmland the strike force stops at an abandoned farm house for rest and repairs. 

Rested and with night approaching they push further south using the back roads and the cover of darkness to mask their movements. Around midnight as the convoy approaches the main road east out of Kalisz they decide to send out scouts to recon the road and descern whether it is afe to cross. As the scouts approach the road they notice a small amount of watch fires around the town of Sieradz. Cautiously the scouts skirt the town and make contact with the civilian militia guarding it. They learn more about Krakow and the rumours of its independance.
2 hours later, having negotiated passage throught the town of Sieradz, Strike Zulu finds itself back again on back roads heading south in the darkness. At this point their only pair of night vission goggles fails.......

to be continued.

World in Conflict

Trailer for the PC game World in Conflict, it has a similar background to Twilight 2000.

Trailer for World in Conflict: Soviet Assault.

Distorted Futures (pasts) 4

80s/90s Warsaw Pact Polish troops.

Distorted Futures (pasts) 3

Another in what is rapidly becoming a 'feature' of images of 80s/90s military personnel.

ZSU-23-4 "SHILKA"

Weight             42000

speed               30/15

acceleration     10

range               300

toughness         6

handling           2

DC                   470

AV                   45+D8x3 (57)
accuracy          -

cost                 -

availability      U

armament        4 x 23mm Autocanon

The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system (SPAAG). The acronym "ZSU" stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka, meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount"; the "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters; the "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It is named after the Russian Shilka River. Afghan soldiers nicknamed it (sewing machine) due to the sound of firing guns and because of the similarity of the name "Shilka" to the Russian word "шить" (, meaning "to sew"). It is also referred to by its nickname of "Zeus."

- Wikipedia

Distorted futures (pasts) 2

Some 80s/90s Soviet troops

Distorted Futures (Pasts)

Twilight 2000 was written in the 80s and set in the 00s and speculates greatly about what might have been in a post nuclear Europe. This is how i visualize the player characters in my game. History tells us different, but this is still how i see the characters.

Operation Reset - Part 1

Somewhere north  of Ozorkow - July 17 2000

Operation Resets objectives are for a special forces team to capture Dr Piotr Czerwinski and any research and/or prototype for a mechanical computer chip (MCCS - Modular Computer Chip Surrogate). Dr Czerwinski will have to be extracted from Lodz University - Poland. The Team will then link up with the 5th division offensive at Kalisz, and return to the UK.  The window of opportunity is narrowing, the DIA have intercepted intelligence that suggests KGB agents will try to extract him there selves soon.

Due to this narrowing window of opportunity Strike Zulu, a US special forces team comprising of a 5 man SEAL team and a 4 man Ranger team, led by Major Billings, is due to be despatched to Lodz - Poland. Due to events in Poland they have to move fast and are short of men. Members of a combined special forces unit, commanded by the British SAS have been attached to Strike Zulu.

After a briefing and introduction on board a C-130 Hercules, Strike Zulu leaves RAF Brize Norton at 00.00. After an uneventful 2 hour flight they land in darkness in a field somewhere north of Ozorkow. They are met off the plane by their support element from the 75th Rangers, and 2 Polish guides. 

Strike Zulu heads south in darkness, lead by their local guides around the towns of Ozkorow and Zgiers without incident. The guides lead them in to the heart of the city of Lodz using their local knowledge to avoid Soviet or Polish patrols. The headquarters and supply elements of the Polish 6th Border Guard Brigade and the Soviet 20th Tank Division are both known to be using the city.

At around 03.30 Strike Zulu arrives in a large public park. While the Rangers set up their support weapons to cover the retreat, the SAS, SEALs and Polish guides scaled the wall and crossed the street to the university buildings. Dr Czerwinskis apartment was soon found in the accommodation blocks and the doctor was secured.

The teams now split up, the SEALs were remained at the accomodation block to provide cover and to guard Dr Czerwinski, while the SAS team crossed the road and entered the university complex. They found Dr Czerwinskis lab across a large open quadrangle. As they aproached the lab they noticed there were lights moving inside. The group split, one half remained near the door to keep look out while the other group stealthily infiltrated the lab. They caught a 4 man search team by surpise in the lab and quickly neutrilised them.

The SAS team collected Dr Czerwinskis notes and what appeared to be the prototype MCCS device bundled in a packing case. They began to withdraw from the university complex across the exposed quadrangle making use of the little cover available. It was here they came under fire from a concealed sniper which they could not locate, popping smoke for cover they exited on to the street.

Back in the street the SEAL team had also come under fire and reacted, surpressing the front of a building which they believed to be a hospital. Under covering fire form the Rangers, both the SAS and SEAL team retreated back to the park.

After a brief discussion they decided they would retrace their entrance route and head back to Kalisz that way. By 06.00 they wear approaching the bridge to the south of Kolo, when they encountered a large Soviet force. As they watched the soviets prepared and fired rocket batteries at targets to the South West. Strike Zulu prepared their weapons and spead towards the Soviets trusting on speed, surpise and aggresion to confuse and scatter them...

to be continued...

Saxon APC

Weight             2200

speed               60/30

acceleration     15

range               320

toughness         4

handling           3

DC                   80

AV                   30+d8X2 (38)

accuracy          -

cost                 -

availability      U

armament        7.62 GPMG in turret

The Saxon was intended to act as a cheap but efficient "battle-taxi" for units that would have to make long journeys from the UK to reinforce the BAOR. As a lightly armoured wheeled vehicle it is much faster - especially on roads - and easier to maintain than a tracked vehicle. Indeed, it shares many parts with commercial trucks, reducing the operating cost.

It is armoured against small-arms fire and shell splinters, but is not intended to stand up to any anti-vehicle weaponry. The vehicle has a single machine gun for local air defence, and can carry up to ten men.

- Wikipedia

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE TWILIGHT WAR

In 1995 a series of Sino-Soviet border conflicts expanded into general war between the Soviet Union and China. The Sino-Soviet war rapidly escalated from conventional warfare into exchanges of nuclear chemical and biological weapons. In 1996 a cabal of East German and West German military officers seek to reunify their country. Unified German forces stage a coup d'état against the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. The US and NATO allies initially attempt to stay out of the war, but are quickly drawn into the European conflict.

Between 1996 and 1997 a largely conventional war is fought between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces throughout Europe. There are limited exchanges of battlefield nuclear weapons, and chemical and biological weapons. During Thanksgiving 1997, the Soviet Union launches a surprise first strike against targets in the United States and Europe. The US and Great Britain launch retaliatory nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union.

In the aftermath of the nuclear exchanges, both blocs struggle to recover from the damage. The war continues - despite increasing shortages of men, equipment, and fuel. In the United States there is a breach between the civilian government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. An open rift develops between "Civgov" (the civilian government) and "Milgov" (the military government), which leads to a low-intensity civil war.

By the summer of 2000, the European theater of operations had been fought to a near stalemate. In one final effort to break the deadlock and end the war NATO forces planned a summer offensive across Northern Poland and into the Baltics, but the offensive ground to a halt in the face of a Warsaw Pact counterattack. Several divisions & corps on each side were virtually eliminated. In the chaotic aftermath, supply lines are lost, high level command breaks down and armies in the European theater lose cohesion beyond the platoon unit. Some go “native’ and integrated with the militias of independent “free cities", others turned into gangs of marauding bandits and some small groups of surviving soldiers sought to find their way home.

- Wikipedia

THE YEAR 2000

By the spring of the year 2000, the armies of Europe had settled into their new "cantonment" system. Civil authority had virtually ceased to exist. Most military units were practicing extensive local recruiting in an attempt to keep up to strength, and stragglers were often incorporated into units regardless of nationality. Thus, U.S. units contain Germans, Poles, Danes, and former soldiers of Warsaw Pact armies in addition to Americans. Nominal titles of units (brigades, divisions, etc.) have little bearing on the actual size of the unit.

In early summer, the German Third Army, spearheaded by the U.S. Eleventh Corps, moved out of its cantonments on what was to become one of the last strategic offensives of the war.