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Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 14
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 14 - Northern Poland - The Lure of Diesel II : October 21, 2000
Summary: The team continues east. There's a huge firefight over a bridge and some Mad Dogs die. The team meets some partisans, gets to the fuel depot, and deals with some bandits.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
John Jameson McCarthy - player
Helmut Meyer - NPC
Varis Babicevs - player
Arthur Fox - NPC
Francis "Frank" Benucci - player
Anna - NPC
Caleb Mulcahy - player
Ferro - player
Luis Ortega - player
Billy “Crack” O’Brien - player
Joe Morgan - NPC
Thomas Cooper - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - NPC
Thomas Marshall - NPC
Per Kolstrup - player
Owen Hollister - NPC
David "Tosh" Lines - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - NPC
Dean Wilson - NPC
Walter Krupp - NPC
Alan Little - player
Czeslaw Kaczka - NPC
Piotr Auttenberg - NPC
Michael Kessler - player
Karel Janku - NPC
Lukas Fischer - player
Sabine Riedel - player

PC Assets:
Ambulance model BMP
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 (Krok)
Kaminski's Wrecker truck
Tencza's flatbed heavy truck
Humvee (wrecked and non-usable) (left in Gdansk)

• The firefight at the Rybina bridge continues.
  
• Kessler and Fischer quickly get control of the BTR-60 after Kessler hops atop it and drops a grenade through one of the hatches, shredding the two Poles inside. After some shooting, JJM calls for the enemy to surrender. 3 Polish soldiers exit a nearby house in response with their arms raised. The rest of the Mad Dogs continue assaulting. A woman runs out of a house near Kessler, a house that Aleksandar and Janku had just entered. Just then, a large explosion rocks the same house, knocking the fleeing woman to the ground. Kessler quickly ties her hands, then goes to investigate the house. He finds Aleksandar alive but dazed with a concussion. He also finds Janku alive, but unconscious and badly wounded, with shrapnel having hit his stomach and legs.
  
• The rest of the OP is secured, and the Mad Dogs find a POW among the houses, an Irish woman named Emma Cassidy.
  
• The Mad Dogs then spend a few minutes looting, and spinning a web of misinformation to feed the prisoners - they’re trying to get the prisoners to think that they’re planning a strike on Malbork’s HQ. While looting the BTR-60, Fischer finds that the 7.62mm belted ammo looks to have been made by Osprzet Sikora in Gdansk.
  
• The team gets ready to move out, and takes Emma Cassidy with them rather than leaving her to the whims of the Polish army. After checking over the BTR and finding that it has no transmission, they decide to bring it with as well, and have Tencza tow it behind his heavy truck. The team once again hits the road.
  
• The Mad Dogs quickly pass the burnt remains of Tujsk and cross the Tuga river without incident, on their way to Marzecino. Reaching Marzecino, it’s inhabited but quiet. The bridge there however is blocked by 4 destroyed BMP-1s, allowing only for small vehicles to pass. After consulting the locals, the unit decides to look for another bridge further south.
  
• They reach the next bridge fairly quickly, stop to assess it, and set up some OPs. The center of the bridge had been previously lost when an Abrams went through it, but some basic repairs have already been done. It needs more work to support Tencza’s rig however, and the team decides to spend time here to bolster the bridge (using about a third of the bridging materials carried), strip the recently captured BTR-60 (and leave it), and send out a patrol to scout east of Elblag.

Group 1

• The patrol (lead by Kessler and including both the Iltis and the Humvee) goes out, passing Trojaki (burnt ruins), Stobna (mostly destroyed), and reach The outskirts of Kepki. Here, Benucci notes some distant lights in the woods across the Nogat. Using the NODLR, it appears to be a team of 10 soldiers and 2 horsemen looking for something. They don’t find it, but the Mad Dogs notice 2 men hiding in the water not far. One of the men gets up and is quickly captured by the calvary. The other stays put in the water, and the calvary then move on. After waiting a few minutes, the Mad Dogs patrol moves on into Kepki. There, they find the bridge in poor shape. Much of it is fine, but there’s a 9m hole in the middle of the span. After the initial assessment, the patrol returns to camp.

Group 2

• Back at camp, things go pretty smoothly. JJM and crew get the supports for the bridge erected and test it successfully using the Wrecker. Then a lone man is spotted by the eastern OP, sneaking around the farmhouse. JJM and Fischer give chase, with Fischer eventually tackling the man, who they then bring back to camp.

(Continued)

• Upon returning to camp, the Mad Dogs discover that their food stores have been broken into. It turns out that the lone man was part of a pair, and he distracted the unit while the other man grabbed food.
  
• The next morning the convoy releases their starving prisoner and moves on to Kepki.
  
• The unit makes it to Kepki, settle in and send out OPs, and decide to make use of a damaged MT-55 bridgelayer to fix the bridge. The plan is to begin towing the bridge later to the damaged bridge using the heavy vehicles, and get the engine running long enough to deploy the bridge.
  
• Benucci, having taken the Zodiac to the east side over the river with some others, discovers movement in a nearby house - it’s at least 2 possible soldiers watching the bridge. He calls it in, and a decision is quickly made to deal with the interlopers watching the bridge-building progress. Ferro and Benucci use tear gas to quickly apprehend the 2 watchers, who appear to be a Polish man and a Polish woman.
  
• The two captured Poles claim to be Polish free army. They’re named Andrzej and Kalina, and thought the Mad Dogs might be Soviets that they could ambush. Then Kessler, who was doing the interrogation, hears a vehicle from the northeast of the southeastern OP (south side of the river).
  1st Engagement at Kepki
  
• Back on the north side of the river, the bridgelayer is slowly towed into position.  Babicevs hears gunfire to the west, and some of the Mad Dogs run to the Humvee, planning to drive west to investigate.
  
• JJM and crew reach the Humvee. Looking through optics, they see an armed convoy approaching from Stobna, a couple of Urals lead by a BTR-70. There’s heavy fighting being heard in Kepki West as well - where Ortega’s OP was located.
  
• On that note, Mulcahy radios in and relays that Luis Ortega is down, Arthur Fox is missing and the rest of the OP in Kepki West (himself and Morgan) is pulling back east along the riverbank.
  
• JJM orders everyone to the western edge of Kepki East to meet whatever assault is coming, and everyone south of the bridge to get eyes on the vehicle approaching from their west (turns out to be a PTS-M loaded with 20+ hostiles) and to prepare to defend the bridge. Upon hearing the transmission from Mulcahy, JJM has the vehicles each fire a burst to Kepki West, then retreat to the crossroads so as to not be cut off.
  
• On the southern approach, Kessler, Benucci, and Ferro, in a 2 story house, ambush the PTS-M as it approaches. Benucci attempts to shoot the driver, but misses. Kessler lays down fire into the side of the vehicle, getting the troops to duck, while Ferro throws a grenade into the bed of the cargo carrier. The grenade lands perfectly, and does massive damage to the infantry riding in the tracked vehicle. The team then re-positions as the PTS-M unloads the rest of its contents into the small urban setting. Andrzej takes some nasty hits to his abdomen. Ferro takes a grazing round to her calf. Returning fire, Benucci takes a round through his shoulder (the man’s poor shoulders..). Another round then grazes his cheek.
  
• North across the river, the Humvee re-positions as well so that Babicevs can get a shot on the BTR with the Carl Gustav. They see an enemy Ural first (guntruck), but it fires first, hitting Wilson with a NSV heavy machine gun round. Babicevs then motive kills the Ural with the recoilless rifle. At the same time, Little and Fischer work with Tencza to finally get the MT-55’s bridge unfurled over the river, and do so successfully. Further to the west, another BTR is spotted incoming, and then a third. The Mad Dogs are in dire straits.
  
• The Krok makes it across the span first, hitting the troops deployed from the PTS-M. Tencza’s rig and Kaminski’s wrecker follow. The BMP is next, towing the Iltis (which had sacrificed its fuel to get the bridgelayer‘s engine running). Alan Little sees what looks like Morgan and Mulcahy floating downriver from Kepki West in an attempt to get away from the violence they suffered there.
  
• Ferro and Benucci meet some of Kalina’s free army friends (about 10 more led by a man named Fredyryk Burant) who have entered the fray in support of the Mad Dogs. They also meet Seweryna and Lucjan.
  
• JJM orders to leave behind Tencza’s Truck's trailer, and to blow the bridge once everyone is across. Babicevs throws a frag into the trailer, and the Humvee races for the bridge. Alan Little sets a demo charge on the bridge, Babicevs gets a grazing round on his arm from a KPV. Babicevs then lowers himself from the Humvee’s .50cal, searching for Dean Wilson to bandage his arm, only to find the medic most certainly dead. The Humvee then makes it across the bridge, with no Mad Dogs (except perhaps Ortega and Fox) north/west of the river.
  
• O’Brien takes the team’s Zodiac from the eastern shore and zips into the water, intent on picking up the bobbing heads of Morgan and Mulcahy. He grabs the 2 men and pulls them aboard. Above, two enemy BTRs are crossing the river. One angles it’s turret down and unleashes hot lead toward the small inflatable, hitting and killing Joe Morgan instantly. O’Brien takes a round through the thigh as well, and he and Mulcahy manage to make it back to shore.
  
• Kessler helps take about 10 Russians prisoner on the south side of the river. They briefly question the prisoners, and learn that they’re a part of the 42nd GRMD, led by one Gen. Meretskov, who is rumored to be a nasty commander (executing civilians, harsh punishments, etc.).
  
• The bridge explodes, and the Mad Dogs and the dozen Free Army soldiers are now largely safe under cover and dealing with the prisoners and their own wounded (and looting, naturally). The Humvee has been shot up pretty badly, but the unit did manage to capture the PTS-M. They load both the Iltis and the Humvee aboard the tracked carrier, and head off with the Polish Free Army soldiers toward Kazimierzewo.
  
• At Kazimierzewo, the unit talks to Fredyryk and offer to help with the wounded. Fredyryk mentions that he last knew of the 8th passing through Mlynary. The Mad Dogs head south to a rail bridge, and bribe some Russian soldiers to let them pass as the unit pretends to be merchants. The Russian soldier mentions that he last saw the 8th at Paslek. The convoy crosses the last bridge between them and the supposed location of the fuel cache. They motor on for a ways before finally reaching the partisans camp, which appears to be in an ecological park east of Elblag.
  
• The unit beds down in a clearing where the Home Army 5th Battalion calls home. They do some light trading, work on the vehicles, and set up a medical clinic, as well as hold a funeral for the fallen. In the morning, they get moving again. Fredyryk asks McCarthy to remember them and tell their parent unit that the partisans still need help, and that they’re still fighting. The unit then heads to Lecze. On the way, approaching Jagodnik, the convoy stops as they see an Mi-8 floating in the distance. Babicevs and Fischer scout ahead on foot, and find a small gorge and bridge that the convoy will need to assess before crossing. They also come across a bearded man, a young boy, and a dog. Fischer has the man, Mikolaj, freeze where he is and covers him. The vehicles make it across the bridge except for the BMP, which has to detour around the bridge when it cracks as Tencza’s rig passes over just before. Meanwhile, the unit trades food for intel from Mikolaj. He tells them that the nearby town is owned by bandits, and that he is one of them, though he claims never to have hurt anyone. David Lines radios from the OP overseeing the small village. There are 6 horsemen on the road, and apparently hostages in town. The decision is made to blitz through the town. Mikolaj confirms the village’s layout, and lets the unit know that the bandits have 6 hostages - 3 deserters and 3 merchants. Mikolaj, the boy and the dog are then loaded aboard the PTS-M.
  Engagement at Jagodnik
  
• The Mad Dogs decide to do a rolling assault through the village and get the convoy into formation, with the BMP going to flank around the side of the village. They start cruising into the village, laying out fire at any person that moves. Mulcahy takes a grazing wound to his shoulder. A Molotov lands in the PTS-M and some of the liquid hits Mikolaj, with some smaller amounts splashing the boy, Ferro, and Fischer as well. The Mad Dogs emerge from the other side of Jagodnik relatively intact, and continue on their way. They soon turn left and head through the forest to Framborska Road, and then on to Lecze.
  
• At Lecze, they’re not far from the objective - the fuel cache. They see smoke coming from an old windmill in the distance, and trenches covering the approach to the fuel depot. They decide to bypass the windmill and keep moving toward the fuel depot. Finally, they reach the fuel depot itself, with a dozen 5000L tanks embedded in large mounds of dirt.
  
• Kessler proceeds to tell McCarthy about his unit’s real mission, which is to extract an East German defector from Tolkmicko, which is close to the fuel dump. He also explains that Aufhocker (German for shape-shifter) is the code name of the defector, and that the man apparently has info that would be critical to the survival of Germany. Finally, he lets JJM know that Karel Janku is in fact German BND, or German intelligence services. The group then splits.

Group 1

• McCarthy takes Babicevs, Benucci, and O’Brien on a patrol around the area, and through Lecze once more. They decide to investigate the old windmill. They approach and a civilian peers out from the door with a pistol, asking who they are. They let him know that they mean him no harm and offer to trade. The Mad Dogs then see a dozen armed riders approaching in the distance. JJM talks to the civilian, who eventually offers to let them hide in the windmill if they’ll first surrender their weapons. The squad does so, and finds out the civilian’s name is Piotr, and he’s living here with 2 women, 3 young boys, 2 goats and a chicken. The horsemen, 15 in total now, stop at the windmill and through a vision slit tell Piotr that they are looking for foreign soldiers. Piotr keeps to his word though and doesn’t give up the Mad Dogs. The horsemen leave shortly thereafter, and at night the unit slips away back toward the fuel dump.

Group 2

• Kessler takes Aleksandar, Meyer, Fischer, Janku, Riedel, and Ferro on a mission to Tolkmicko to retrieve Aufhocker. The team makes it to Tolkmicko with minimal issues, and find a small community living there, along with a drunken and unfriendly trading caravan who have a captured deserter with them. The group does some trade for amber and ask about the prisoner. They're told that he was found under a bridge near the peat mines at Rucianka.
  
• Inside a church, Kessler quickly meets Aufhocker and his handler, a man with the surname of Jurgen. As Jurgen is handing over Aufhocker (along with Aufhocker's briefcase containing documents and CD's loaded with who knows what kind of intelligence), outside the rest of the team raises their weapons at the merchants and tell them to raise their hands. The team quickly takes control of the situation, and take the prisoner (an Azeri named Tomasz Andropov) with them, once Aufhocker has been secured. They then make for the fuel depot. It should also be noted that Riedel has some reservations about Aufhocker, as her and her former lover had been held hostage and interrogated by East German intelligence services in the past.

(Continued)

• All together again, the unit heads back to Burant's partisans in the nature reserve. They will need to head into Elblag to search for oil drums and a truck bed after losing so much at the Kepki bridge. At the partisan camp, the Mad Dogs decide to take some much needed time to rest, heal, and prepare.

Time skip of 5 days at Burant’s partisan camp. During this time, the unit heals, repairs busted vehicles as best as possible, clean weapons, and do some cross training. It is now Oct 29th.

• Riedel *thinks* that she recognizes Aufhocker as one of the men present while her and her former lover were kept as prisoner and interrogated/abused by the Stasi in East Germany. She confronts Aufhocker in a tent. He claims to not know her, but she is convinced, probably due to the traumatic nature of her encounter, that she remembers him from the nights of torture, and shoots him at point blank range, killing him instantly. The rest of the Germans are noticeably bothered by this since Aufhocker was the point of their mission east, but most seem to understand Riedel's issues and largely let it go. They do search Aufhocker and take his various documents and cd's however, in the hope that they might still be able to do some good for Germany.
  
• The motorized column heads to Elblag, and carries with them one of Burant’s guides, a man named Wojciech. They go first to look for a new BTR-80 door and take a peek at the small town of Janow, and some American wrecks (a Stingray and 2 1/2 ton truck) from the 8th. McCarthy recognizes the Stingray as belonging to one Sergeant Crook. Investigating the wreck, the team finds its old crew still inside, with the tank having been hit by a enemy tank round. Others find a workable trailer on the truck. Janow is found to be a dead town. Komorowo is similarly empty. The team then heads back north to Elblag, and decide to billet at all industrial area north of the university. They then send out patrols to look for salvage, and find quite a bit. Parts, about 40 barrels, a Tarpan Honker, all kinds of things. Krupp cuts his hand, but the salvaging effort was largely successful, and the team heads back to Burants Partisan Camp with their newfound goods.
  
• At camp, the team works to repair their battered Humvee and the Tarpan Honker.
  
• The team gets the Honker running, replaces the BTR’s damaged door, and gets the Humvee running again. In the morning they had back to the fuel depot.
  
• In the morning, the unit starts heading out on various patrols while Krupp begins transferring fuel.

Group 1

• Kessler, Fischer, Ferro, Andropov, Aleksandar, and Riedel head out in the Tarpan Honker to the old windmill. They dress as Soviets, and upon meeting Piotr, attempt to gain information from him about the local area. Piotr mentions the Warmia Awakening for the first time (msg #891), and mentions some bandits in the forest to the south. He also claims to the “Soviets”, not to have seen any Americans lately. The group then heads back to the fuel depot.

Group 2

• Little, O’Brien, Benucci, Lines, and Babicevs take the Humvee to the banks of the lagoon to look for anything of interest, and boats in particular. They make it to Suchacz, where nothing is left except ruins. They then head west and south, into the northern outskirts of Elblag with not a lot to show for their efforts. They then receive a message to return to the fuel depot.

(Continued)

• Meanwhile back at the fuel depot, Krupp oversees filling barrels and containers with diesel. When the patrols return, JJM instructs them to go after the bandit camp to prevent any mishaps when the unit begins transporting the fuel.
  Engagement at a bandit camp south of Lecze
  
• Wasting no time at all, the unit loads up and heads into the forest to the south to hunt the bandits at their camp. The unit quickly dispatches about 6-10 bandits, loots their gear and a horse, and head back to fuel depot. There, they make final plans about how best to return to Gdansk, and decide on trying to use the various bridges to get back the way they came.

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