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Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapters 1-3
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 1 - First moves : July 25th, 2000
Summary: The team starts the game outside Nowe, Poland. They decide to head northwest to try to link back up with the US 8th Infantry division and fight some Poles.

Starting characters:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier - player
Lt. Paul Boswell – Intelligence Officer - NPC
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces - player
Cpt. Jennifer Gideon – Royal Engineers - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor - player
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Pvt. Stone – Australian/US Infantry - player
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout - NPC
Specialist Tom P Kelly – Medic (US) - player

Starting assets:
M2 Bradley AFV
M113
Trailer with small still

• Game starts west of Nowe, Poland. The group starts with 2 vehicles, an old M2 Bradley AFV on it's last legs and an M113 APC in fair shape towing a trailer with a still. The unit almost immediately meets 2 new (Ethan Creswick and Varis Babicevs) players who stumble in from the woods. After spending some initial time planning and patrolling the area surrounding their forest hide, they decide to head north and then turn east, in an attempt to try to catch their parent unit, the US Army 8th Infantry Division (Eight-Ball). They end up hitting highway 22, linking Czersk and Starogard Gdanski. Sgt. Arthur Fox joins the unit.
  
• After travelling over so much rough ground, the trailer becomes unhitched and sinks into the mud. While righting the trailer, the group encounters roughly a half dozen Polish calvary. This turns out to be outriders for a larger unit.
  1st Engagement outside Starogard Gdanski
  
• Engagement with polish unit - uaz, gun truck and car. 15 foot infantry. The group successfully defeats or routs the opposing unit without any major casualties. During the battle, another player hears the shooting and joins the unit. (Tom Handley). The group continues on.
  
• Now about 10km SE of Kartuzy, Poland. Group makes camp for a day or two for maintenance purposes, and gather intel.
  
• Ben, Meyer, Varis, and Stone go on a perimeter patrol, and come across the small town of Borcz. There, they plan and are caught attempting to steal some chickens. They pay the local man and take the chickens back to the unit's main body. The group moves on.
  Engagement at Straszyn
  
• The unit assaults a polish outpost at Straszyn - 3 infantry killed, 3 left alive. The unit continues making its way from Straszyn to the Vistula across open farmland.
  
• At the river, the unit meet two special forces guys. Oskar Friedmann and Matt Doyle, who have a motorcycle to add to the group vehicles.

Chapter 2 - The Vistula : July 28 2000
Summary: The team crosses the Vistula, fights some Soviets and deal with a rogue American unit. Then they turn back west.

Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier - player
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Lt. Paul Boswell – Intelligence Officer - NPC
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces - player
Cpt. Jennifer Gideon – Royal Engineers - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor - player, later NPC
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Pvt. Stone – Australian/US Infantry - player
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout - NPC
Specialist Tom P Kelly – Medic (US) - player
Sgt. Ethan Creswick – Combat Medical Tech, RAMC - NPC
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - player
Specialist Tom Handley – US Infantry - player
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) - player
2nd Lt. Matt Doyle – Special Forces (US) - player

Unit assets:
M2 Bradley AFV
M113
Trailer with small still
Motorcycle

• The PC unit meets with Oskar and Matt on the Vistula, along with a man known as Damien, the River Pimp.
  1st Engagement on the Vistula
  
• From there, they almost immediately get into an engagement with a chasing soviet force. Ethan Creswick dies almost immediately from a sniper shot while he's in the M113. Damien takes his pleasure boat and sails away. The team kills roughly 15 soviets and 2 BMPs.
  
• Matt Doyle quickly decides not to continue with the party and heads to Gdansk on his own, and out of the party
  
• The team attempts to cross the river at a bridge, and welcome a new party member (William Hicks).
  
• After an inspection post-battle, it appears as though the trailer and still are a total loss.
  
• After a confrontation with some local forces the team decides not to cross the river via bridge, and prepare to and successfully ford the river.
  2nd Engagement on the Vistula
  
• Upon reaching the other side, the team comes under attack from an Mi-24 Hind. The team then shoots down the hind using the Bradley and welcome a new player, Jan Krejcik, an eccentric Czech Hind pilot.
  
• The group continues moving to the east of Mikoszewo and sees a Humvee parked next to an old stone house. Upon investigation, the house is filled with some American soldiers, being lead by a Sergeant Cutter with a few other Americans, one of which is critically wounded. It's noted that "Sergeant" Cutter only has Corporal's stripes, and the group seems a little suspicious.
  
• Turns out Cutter's team was rogue, and were raiding the nearby town (Mikoszewo).
  Engagement outside Mikoszewo
  
• PC Team takes action, and kills one of “Sergeant” Cutter’s men and capture the others. Turns out that Cutter's men had a girl tied to a bed upstairs. The team rescues her (Jan specifically rescues her), and salvages the worn Humvee for their own use.
  
• They then decide to head to Gdansk. They head to the ferry at Mikoszewo and cross the Vistula, under the ferry captain named Gustaw. On the way they return the girl and turn over the prisoners to the local authorities at Swibno. They also brought with them the critically wounded soldier, Anderson, hoping to find treatment for him in Gdansk.

Chapter 3 - Gdansk : July 29, 2000
Summary: The team gets into a huge fight in Wislinka, then some head to Gdansk to find some parts while the others make camp. Later, they all attempt to go to Gdansk together and get into another firefight.

Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier - player
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Lt. Paul Boswell – Intelligence Officer - NPC
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces - player
Cpt. Jennifer Gideon – Royal Engineers - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor - player, later NPC
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Pvt. Stone – Australian/US Infantry - player
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout - NPC
Specialist Tom P Kelly – Medic (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - player
Specialist Tom Handley – US Infantry - player
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Kapitan Jan Krejcik – Army Aviation (Czech) - player
Specialist William Hicks – Army Aviation (US) - player
Specialist Erich Hawkins - Infantry (US) - Briefly as a player

Unit assets:
M2 Bradley AFV
M113
Humvee (well worn with some Metallica stenciling)
Motorcycle

• The unit crosses back over the Vistula at Swibno using the ferry. They pay a lot to Gustaw, the leader at the crossing, and turn over the girl and Cutter's crew. Gustaw likely alerts the Soviets to their presence, which is not entirely unexpected. He's taking a mighty risk letting NATO forces use the ferry. Gustaw also turns over a new player to the group, Erich Hawkins.
  1st Engagement at Wislinka
  
• Major engagement takes place at Wislinka. 1 T-55, 1 BMP, 2 BTRs, additional troops and light vehicles.
  
• Captain Jennifer Gideon dies in the engagement.
  
• Tom Kelly gets a bullet in the face from a ricochet, but is otherwise unharmed.
  
• Holy shit. Oskar shoots Jan Krejcik, the Czech Hind pilot, when the pilot misunderstands a request to pass him an RPG (to kill the T-55).
  
• PC Group kills the BTRs, the BMP, the T-55, and a technical, but their Bradley has thrown a track and a running wheel after being hit by the BMP’s 73mm gun.
  
• The unit take ~7 Soviet Prisoners.
  
• After radioing to Matt Doyle in Gdansk, the Humvee then takes some players into Gdańsk on Route 502 while others stay behind to guard the POWs and make camp in Wislinka. The Humvee goes into Gdańsk to procure a drive wheel for the Bradley.
  
• The Humvee team meets Krzysztof Kaminski and his brother Otto, who takes the group to a hotel (that he owns, Hotel Europa) to meet with Matt Doyle.
  
• The meeting goes well. Doyle gives a rundown on Gdańsk. Kaminski shares info on a salvager named Lada that can get them the missing part for the Bradley.
  
• Kaminski drives with the group to meet Lada, a local strongman/salvager. He sells (payment is ammo) the PCs info on where a broken-down Bradley is located, in the Jewish quarter neighborhood named Chelm. He also provides the PCs some info - there are captured American POWs somewhere in Gdansk, but he wants payment for the intel.
  1st Engagement at Chelm
  
• The Humvee team goes to grab the part from the broken-down Bradley and wanders into a 3-way firefight between unknown forces. The Humvee bravely parks in the middle of the firefight to try to save a girl and her father who also got trapped in the shootout.
  
• The PCs get the girl and her father to safety. The party also takes on Andrew Rooke during the encounter and meet a local, Zajac Narutowicz.
  
• The team gets to the broken down Bradley and starts taking the needed parts. They then evac back to the unit's main body.

Chapter 3 (continued) - Wislinka : July 29, 2000

• Meanwhile, the rest of the party camps down in Wislinka.
  2nd Engagement at Wislinka
  
• Erich Hawkins gets killed by a soviet sniper. The Russian POWs try to escape, and  a couple of them are shot by the PCs. The rest are then moved into a basement in the village.
  
• The team aggressively pursues the sniper, and are able to locate and kill the spotter. The sniper is then captured and brought back to town to join the remaining POWs.
  
• The Gdańsk PCs return with needed Bradley parts, and proceed to repair the Bradley. Tom Kelly dies while resting from his facial wounds from a morphine overdose. William Hicks goes MIA leaving a note saying he was going off on his own.
  
• The PCs get one of the BTRs working again.
  
• A group of west Germans show up in a UAZ, being led by one suspicious Hauptmann Schweppenburg. Schweppenburg has the UAZ join the convoy heading to Gdańsk.
  1st Engagement at Gdansk
  
• On the way in, a major engagement takes place from an ambush site while the convoy crosses a bridge into town. The Bradley is hit by an rpg with JJM getting concussed. Stone takes burning shrapnel down his shirt from mortar impacts. Helmut Meyer takes a hit in the arm (flesh wound). Kaminski takes a hit in the hand (losing a finger). The Humvee crashes into a wreck. Kaminski goes flying and takes some bad wounds as he goes unconscious. Lt. Paul Boswell dismounts and is hit, but lightly. One of Schweppenburg’s Germans is also hit in the neck.
  
• The group rallies and fights their way through the ambush. Eventually the Humvee gets moving again, and the attackers back off.
  
• The PCs the struggle to find, but eventually make it back to Kaminski's Europa hotel.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapters 4-5
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 4 - Gdansk - Excursion Into Hell : July 30, 2000
Summary: The team explores and gets to know Gdansk. PACT forces are preparing a major attack against the city. The team meets a spook. McCarthy convinces the leaders of Gdansk to fight back. The team then moves out of Gdansk, and secure a Polish defector. The team then attacks an artillery battalion.

Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier - player
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Lt. Paul Boswell – Intelligence Officer - NPC
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor - player
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Pvt. Stone – Australian/US Infantry - player
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout - NPC
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - player (turns NPC this chapter)
Specialist Tom Handley – US Infantry - player
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Civilian Krzysztof Kaminski - Many fingers in many pies, and none of them legal... - Player
Corporal Andrew Rooke - British Army - player (now an NPC)

Unit assets:
M2 Bradley AFV
M113
Humvee (worn with some Metallica stenciling)
Motorcycle

• Upon reaching the Europa Hotel, PC group splits into two.
  
• PC Group 1 (Handley, McCarthy, Meyer, and Doyle in the Humvee. With Friedmann on the motorcyle) heads to the Basilica with the folks who were wounded in the ambush. They leave Anderson (“Sergeant Cutter’s critically wounded man), Kaminski, Boswell, and the West German (hit in the neck) overnight.
  
• PC group 2 (Fox, Stone, St. Gil, Jordan, Jagelis, Weiss and Babicevs) stay at the hotel, get to know the location and work on the vehicles to get them back into fighting shape.
  
• While at St. Mary’s Basilica, PC chaplain George Rawlinson joins the party.
  
• PC Group 1 returns to the hotel, and the party is once again all together. Then, they split again the following day. Group 1 stands guard (most of the unit), Group 2 (the scouts) sleep, while Group 3 (McCarthy, Handley, Babicevs, and Rawlinson) go to Lada’s compound to get intel on the supposed American POWs and go to the market.
  
• At Lada’s compound, McCarthy pays Lada for the intel on the POWs (in ammunition) and gets their supposed location (Ostrow Island). Lada suspiciously tells McCarthy to make sure none of the captors escape – that all of them should be killed so that no questions are asked later.
  
• Later at the market, Group 3 acquires 750kg of food, and 1000L methanol. Payment is made in ammo and captured Soviet weapons.
  
• Back at the hotel, during a game of poker with some of Kaminski's men (including Otto), a random civilian dressed man named Vincent Wright comes in and warns the PCs that the IB is coming and wants the party’s vehicles. It’s clear he is CIA or DIA (a spook). Jagelis radios the Major, and the Group 3 starts heading back to the hotel as fast as they can.
  
• Sure enough, the IB shows up with two captains (Cpt. Dobson and Cpt. Thomas) asking the PCs to join the IB, or at least let the IB buy their vehicles. Jagelis straight up tells them off and the IB captains leave the hotel.
  
• Group 3 gets sidelined by a local militia and has to pay their way in ammunition in order to move through the militia’s territory.
  
• Jonathan Young joins the PC party at a bridge crossing and Group 3 makes it back to the hotel.
  
• The PCs then decide how to proceed, whether they should leave the city or stay. They decide to complete a few more tasks before leaving the city.
  
• Kaminski returns to the hotel on foot, complaining that no one picked him up from the hospital.
  
• The PCs then split up again, with some players staying put (maintenance and sentry – mainly NPCs), some going back to the hospital, some to the markets for intel, and some to recce the POW holding area on Ostrow Island.

Recce group (Jagelis, Friedmann, Stone and St. Gil)

• After dangerously traversing the river on inflated air mattresses, the Recce group investigates the shipyard island where the supposed American POWs are being kept. They only find what appears to be a normal salvaging crew with no signs of a POW camp, and come to the decision that Lada was lying to the party in order to get them to take out his competition.
  Engagement across the bridge from Ostrow Island
  
• On the way out, just south of the bridge from Ostrow Island, they save a girl (Anna) in a polish home army uniform from 3 men. The men were unsuccessful in assaulting her, and she had already shot and killed at least one of them. Anna comes back to the hotel with the Recce group.

Hospital group (Rawlinson, Meyer, Handley)

• The Hospital Group heads to St. Mary’s to learn about their wounded. While there, they meet with a local doctor named Ruit.
  
• They hear some rumors about nearby medical supply caches as well.
  
• They then meet with Captain Webb from the IB, who based on a request from Dr. Ruit, says the IB will no longer charge the party with tolls when travelling through their territory.
  
• The Hospital group then goes to an eatery. Frank Benucci joins the PCs and the group heads back to the hotel.

Intel group (Babicevs, Young, and Kaminski)

• Heads to thieves market. Meet with Volodya, lieutenant of Gang Anjo. No real info to speak of, but at least they meet the gang.
  Engagement at the Thieve's Market
  
• On the way out, the PCs are attacked by men in a green truck. Varis catches a graze in the abdomen, and Kaminski gets shot in the leg, but ultimately the Intel group are able to escape and start heading back to the hotel.

(Continued)

• The Recce Group and Hospital Groups arrive back at the hotel.
  
• The fuel and food shipment arrives. A local gang (Anjo) joins the fuel convoy as “escorts”. When they arrive at the hotel, a fight almost breaks out between the gang and the merchants bringing the goods, but is averted when an M-24 Hind flies overhead. The merchants stand down and go home.
  
• The Intel Group returns to the hotel.
  
• Once all reunited, the party decides to find a new base of operations outside of the city. They head east toward primary school #29 and start setting up shop. Kaminski stays at the hotel.
  
• Strategic Update - Things are revealed to be heating up in Gdańsk with a lot of social unrest. Lots of people are getting arrested under suspicion of being KGB, in response to increased pressure from the soviets. Word has it that there’s a major Russian attack coming, and soon. PACT forces clearly want to bring Gdansk back into the fold.
  
• McCarthy wants to set up a meeting with the pro-independence militia heads at St. Mary’s to talk through options for defending the city.
  
• Meanwhile, reports from the hospital are that Lt. Paul Boswell has up and disappeared (turns out Wright picked him up and hid him at a safe house). It’s also learned that Matt Doyle has been arrested under suspicion of being KGB.
  
• Babicevs, Rawlinson and Handley visit a local man named Aurek in the community outside of the school, and reassures the man that the unit won't be staying in the area for long.
  
• Kaminski shows at primary school #29 with Vincent Wright, who gives information about the coming Soviet attack. The soviets are going to be attacking with at least 4 battalions (up to 8 maximum), along with at least 4 MBTs and 2 Artillery batteries. He also tasks the group with picking up a man named Kulinski, a Polish artillery officer who is defecting and has info about the location of the artillery batteries. The PCs will get a 60mm mortar as a reward for their effort. Wright also provides an 81mm mortar crewed by his own British men (callsign Slingshot) The PC team arranged their new plan, splitting up yet again and heading out. Rooke, Weiss, Fox, St. Gil, Handley and Jordan will stay at the new base for security. As for the others:

Church meeting (McCarthy and Rawlinson)

• McCarthy and Pastor Rawlinson head to the church.
  
• There, the major successfully convinces the various militia leaders to join forces to throw off the inevitable assault. Gang Anjo (Anjo himself) agrees to donate men to be dismounts for McCarthy’s unit.
  
• Lt. Col Hawthorne (leader of the IB) informs McCarthy that he’ll be sending a liaison back with him to help coordinate communication with the PC unit.
  
• Before leaving, Lt. Pearce joins McCarthy and Rawlinson and informs them that he will be acting as their liaison.
  
• On the way back to the school, a large blast rocks one of the smaller markets (Long Market). Schweppenburg is seen briefly running away by McCarthy, and looks to be the likely culprit.
  
• The church meeting team makes it back to the school.

Kulinski recovery (Jagelis, Meyer, Young, Friedmann, Stone, and Babicevs)

• Recovery team makes it to the farm where Kulinski is holed up.
  Engagement at a Random Farmhouse Southeast of Gdansk
  
• They enter the farm, and find Kulinski cooperative. They also find a working Fiat in the barn. Just then a soviet convoy rumbles past, with a UAZ parking near the farm. The groups calls down a mortar strike and then starts mopping up the UAZ crew when the column gets out of hearing range. The 7 soviets (Georgians) are cleaned up nicely, but they had been using the radio. The column has sent back forces to deal with the recovery team.
  
• The recovery team gets into the UAZ and a Fiat and races out of the area, while under a hail of automatic and large caliber gun fire.
  
• The recovery team returns to the school.

(Continued)

• The team prepares a plan for how to deal with the Russian assault.
  
• Kulinski details out the two artillery batteries and an ammo dump. One battery is towed guns, the other SPGs and MLRSs.
  
• Oskar and Jonathan Young will go for either the spgs or ammo dump depending on how the attack shakes out. The rest of the PCs will make a mechanized assault on the towed guns.
  
• While the plan is being decided, some PCs go to Gang Anjo and pick up some gang members as part of the earlier agreement (for the gang members to be dismounts).
  
• The group finally decides to go all in on the towed guns.
  Engagement at some random houses Southeast of Gdansk
  
• The whole unit then drives to the battery position of the towed guns. The battery includes 4 D-30s, with a healthy dose of supporting infantry (approximately 30-35).
  
• British infantryman Robert Mitchell joins the unit during the ensuing firefight.
  
• The team manages to successfully spike all 4 guns, albeit with a number of wounded. One of Anjo’s men is KIA. The Bradley takes a bad hit to the turret, disabling its main gun.
  
• The entire unit then returns to the school.
  
• US Navy Corpsman Mike Catchings joins the party. He was sent over from the IB to help with the wounded. The IB has also invites the PCs to relocate back to within the city proper.
  
• 8 remaining gang members decide to stay with the PC unit, while other gang members go to the hospital for their wounds.
  
• The party decides to take up the IB’s offer to relocate to within the city once more, but leave some defensive measures at the school in case they need to pull out quickly during the Russian assault. It is unclear if they leave the Fiat at the school as well, but there doesn't seem to be any further reference to it.

Chapter 5 - Gdansk - Call To Arms : August 2, 2000
Summary: The team moves back into Gdansk. PACT forces start a major attack on city. The team rescues a militia leader, and then starts a mission to capture some other militia leaders before they can defect.

Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier - player
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor - Now an NPC
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Pvt. Stone – Australian/US Infantry - Now an NPC
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout - NPC
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Specialist Tom Handley – US Infantry - Now an NPC
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Civilian Krzysztof Kaminski - Many fingers in many pies, and none of them legal... - Player
Corporal Andrew Rooke - British Army - NPC
Captain George Rawlinson - Canadian Chaplain - player
Sergeant Jonathan Young - American Infantry - player
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corporal Robert Mitchell - British Infantry - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC

Unit Assets:
M2 Bradley
M113
BTR-70
Humvee
UAZ
Motorcycle

Relevant Chapter map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=54.353314509471%2C18.654713281527165&spn=0.097499%2C0.351562&z=15&mid=181cis6j0lRCEnLcush_pJh2IDpM

• The team heads into a new makeshift base in the city at the north end of Wyspa Spichrzow, thanks to the IB. Presumably they left the White Fiat and Trailer with small still at the school.
  
• JJM, Rawlinson and Pearce go to meet the local commander at Tarawa Co. Meanwhile at the billet, Henry Jordan pisses off Varis one last time, and they get into a fistfight. Varis takes Jordan fairly easily. Kurt breaks ‘em up.
  
• JJM goes to meet with the IB (HQ positions at Tarawa Co [Cpt. Thomas], Waterloo Co [Cpt. Woermann], and Normandy Co. [Cpt. Webb]) and learns the plan for the defense of the city.
  
• Some PCs go to the solidarity market for ammo and supplies.
  2nd Engagement at Chelm
  
• Others (Stone, Friedmann, Kaminski, and Handley ) take the Humvee to go to salvage more from the dead Bradley (same one they took a wheel from previously in Chelm). This group encounters Soviets in 2 UAZs and a 5 ton truck, directly after getting the needed parts. Stone takes a gnarly leg shot while the group makes their escape back to the billet. He then gets dropped off at the hospital.
  
• Meanwhile at the billet, the troops rearm and rest up, preparing last strategies before the large Russian attack.
  
• Dr. Ruit stops by, and the group learns that Stone will be okay, but lost a lot of blood and it will be awhile before he’s able to rejoin the group.

The PACT Siege of Gdansk officially begins

• Pearce relays a new mission profile from IB HQ. The unit then heads west toward Nowe Ogrody with two specific tasks. First, break a holding force on the way to Nowe Ogrody. Second, push on to the suburb and reinforce the units there. Tertiary objective it to clear an FO position on a hill nearby at Fort Grodzisko. The Fort overseas a large section of the city, particularly the areas where the main battles will be taking place. The group heads out in the captured BTR, the Bradley, and the M113.
  2nd Engagement at Gdansk
  
• On the way, an engagement takes place. One BTR, one BRDM with missile launchers. 3 squads of foot mobiles. They ambush the PCs and gang members. One gang member dies. One is shot through the thigh. One routs. Fox takes a light hit to the chest. The PC team returns fire, cutting into the soviets. Volodnya takes a leg hit. Another gang member gets shot in the chest.
  
• The M113 throws a track, and the hulk down vehicle lands a round in the M113’s M2HB, putting it out of action and slicing up Robert Mitchell’s face. The Bradley then chews up the enemy BTR.
  
• The soviet unit, after some additional casualties, breaks and runs.
  
• The M113 is to have its stores moved to the other vehicles. Command says objective two is to break an opening for the now surrounded militia at Nowe Ogrody. The unit calls for Kaminski's BMP to be brought up (even though it's not really combat armed), and after quickly moving stores from the M113, then the 3 vehicles make for the new second objective.
  1st Engagement at Fort Grodzisko
  
• The players arrive at the tertiary objective, taking up position around the Napoleonic fort (Fort Grodzisko). It turns out that the fort housed a small community, which was promptly killed off by PACT special forces the night before. Andrew Rooke in the BMP takes a cosmetic gunshot to the arm. Another gang Anjo member dies. They kill a good squad’s worth of infantry (including finding an American working with the attacking force), then proceed to Nowe Ogrody proper.
  
• Sightings of a T-80 and a Soviet BMP, JJM is tasked with going in on foot to contact the militia.
  
• JJM and friends (Group 1 includes IB liaison Pearce and Anna, the girl the recce team saved earlier) go into the police station.
  
• Group 2 stays with the unit vehicles to keep the back door open.
  1st Engagement at Nowe Ogrody
  
• Group 3 goes after the armor. Young takes a shot through his thigh. They put AT into the rear of the Soviet BMP and T-80, then return to their starting location.
  
• New mission orders for JJM - pull Nowe Ogrody’s leader (Pavel Adamowicz) out of the Soviet noose, along with a seal sniper team (Sergeant Holt). There’s also a large civilian contingent that wants to get out with them – JJM instructs the exfil to use the sewers. They're helped by a local firefighter and Pavel's brother in law, Aleksandar Mazurek.
  
• JJM goes to the sewers, the PC unit’s vehicles are under attack now from at least one Soviet BMP in their flank, ordered to make for St. Mary’s. Group 3 decides to head north to break out on foot. Jagelis orders Anjo’s men into the now overrun Police Station without support. Ben Jagelis struggles to make decisions under pressure and Oskar Friedmann leads Group 3 north.
  
• Benucci takes a couple of minor wounds to legs from gunshots right before the breakout.
  
• Tom Handley takes two hits when crossing the street.
  
• Ben Jagelis takes a hit as well at the same time.
  
• Bradley took a gun hit.
  
• The unit’s BTR gets hit hard by the enemy force on their flank and rolls down an embankment, landing in an exposed position on the sunken railway track. Kaminski gets minor burns all over. His driver Otto is unconscious.
  
• Tom Handley dies from his wounds. With his final words, Handley paraphrases Private Vasquez from the movie 'Aliens', and states: "You alway were an asshole, Ben."
  1st Engagement at the Gdansk Train Station
  
• Groups 2 and 3 regroup at the overturned BTR and Jagelis decides to have them try to right it. Meanwhile a Soviet BMP, two BTRs and infantry dismounts close in (this was the flanking force which presumably hit the unit's vehicles earlier). Ben still wants to save the BTR and orders Varis alone to kill the BMP with an RPG. Oskar, seeing the danger the entire group was in, chokes Jagelis out (!) and orders the group to move to exfil without the BTR. The Soviet BMP shoots and hits the PC’s BMP, killing one of Anjo’s gang members and killing him. Henry Jordan is driving, and is also hit badly. Oskar moves to drive the still functional BMP.
  
• Methuselah A. Q. K. Agahu joins the party during the firefight, and the team extracts back to St. Mary's. It is learned that Agahu was in the area after being sent by IB command to figure out why no one from the fort was replying over comms. Kaminski and Otto are dropped off at St. Mary's for medical attention.
  
• Group 1 regroups with the rest of the unit back together near the church (after escaping through the sewers, then they all head back to billet for a few hours before the next mission).
  
• JJM starts an investigation into the Friedmann/Jagelis drama.
  
• Varis drops the group’s moniker for the first time IC. McCarthy’s Mad dogs. Msg #833.
  
• JJM’s investigation finishes. Oskar Friedmann gets busted to private. Ben Jagelis gets put in command of the Bradley and is no longer overseeing dismounted operations. No one likes it, but it’s a solid compromise.
  
• Strategic update – 3 Soviet battalions are methodically pushing toward the city center. The 4th battalion (Poles) has been camped out across the bridge and haven’t made a serious assault on Tarawa’s position. Command thinks that the Poles simply don’t have the will to make a determined push.
  
• Next mission comes in: Intel has it that the MU has some folks in leadership that want to defect to the PACT forces. The Mad Dogs are tasked with infiltrating the boat (the SS Soldek) with the traitors in MU leadership, and arrest them if possible, or eliminate them if not. The Soldek is positioned just north on Olowianka Island, directly across the river from the unit’s billet.
  
• The unit decides to split into 4 groups for this mission.
  1st Engagement at Olowianka Island
  
• Group 1 (Catchings, Weiss, Pearce, Agahu, Babicevs, Meyer, Young) pretends to be bringing the MU supplies to their hotel via inflatable raft. Group 2 (Friedmann, Rooke, Mitchell, and Benucci) takes a water insertion onto the boat itself. Gang Anjo with Jagelis does an insertion from land, then moving onto the other end of the boat to prevent escape of the targets. JJM, St. Gil, Anna, and a squad from the IB will provide covering fire from the M2 and BMP from just north of the team’s billet on the unit’s side of the river.
  
• Friedmann’s team subdues 7 MU members.
  
• The mission proceeds in a straight-forward manner. Daylight is coming, things are looking well, and then the Polish (the battalion who was presumed not to have fight in them) attack in force and everything goes to hell. Oskar’s team does manage to bag the prisoners, however, and his team starts making their way back across the river.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapters 6-7
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 6 - Gdansk - Open Revolt : August 4, 2000
Summary: The team captures the defecting militia leaders. Some members then go on a recruiting spree, while others go on a hunt for intelligence in PACT territory. Then the team together go on a mission to save some munitions factories from PACT forces.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - player
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces (US) - player
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor (US) - NPC
Lt. Ben Jagelis – Canadian Infantry - player
Specialist Henry Jordan – Cav Scout (US) - NPC
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Corporal Andrew Rooke - British Army - NPC
Captain George Rawlinson - Canadian Chaplain - Now an NPC
Sergeant Jonathan Young - American Infantry - Now an NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corporal Robert Mitchell - British Infantry - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Corporal Methuselah A. Q. K. Agahu - Coldstream Guards (British) - player
Lt. Pearce - IB Liaison - NPC on temporary assignment
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Istvan Medgyessy - Gang Anjo - Briefly as a player, but recurring NPC

PC Assets:
M2 Bradley
BMP
Humvee
UAZ
Motorcycle

• As Friedmann's team captures the MU leaders, a huge attack by the Polish Troops against the MU ensues. Another of gang Anjo dies.
  
• The Hind from the other night returns, flying along the river. It destroys the BMP and Ben Jagelis with it. It’s cannon during the pass also kills Agahu. One of the PCs firing at it scores a solid hit and the Mi-24 goes down further off in the city.
  
• Istvan Medgyessy temporarily joins the group (a player briefly takes over one of the Anjo gang members) The rest of the PCs end up escaping the Polish battalion's onslaught, with the 4 remaining heads of the MU in tow (2 had been shot), and everyone regroups back near the billet.
  
• Kurt Weiss and Marc St Gil head to the church ferrying casualties, and find Fox, who is ready to rejoin the unit. While at St. Mary's, the unit finds out an update on Stone. It turns out that Stone won’t ever walk normally again, was now living nearby with a nurse, and won’t be returning to the unit. Henry Jordan has died. George Rawlinson the chaplain has returned to working with the IB.
  
• JJM goes to visit the IB command post and soon returns. Volodnya goes back to Anjo territory to speak with his boss.
  
• The Mad Dogs then stand down, and try to figure out their next mission. Lt. Pearce reports that command had picked up 2 Americans from the 8th, stragglers reporting in. JJM has them sent over. Caleb Mulcahy and Jed Black join the PCs.
  
• The team then splits into two groups.

Group 1:

• JJM takes Group 1 (JJM, Pearce, Mitchell, Weiss, Black) to the church to see about recruiting some additional bodies to their unit. While at the church, they learn that Matt Doyle has been released from jail. Felix Steinhoff (NPC) joins the party, along with  about 10 npc fighters including Janusz, Ferro, Zajac Narutowicz (dual pistol wielding Chelm man from Chapter 3), Low Blow (from Kaminski's Hotel Europa crew who had been met but never named until now) and Aleksandar (the firefighter from Nowe Ogrody).
  
• Group 1 then meets a man who offers to sell them more weapons, and follow him to the docks where they buy some vintage automatic weapons and bolt action rifles. They then get word that the Russian attack has started again, and are given orders to head to the church and to rally their men for a mission to provide flank security for a counterattacking force of IB men.

Group 2:

• Meanwhile Group 2 (Friedmann, Mulcahy, Benucci, Babicevs, and Meyer), lead by Oskar, heads south to check out the defensive lines and also look for Hauptmann Schweppenburg (to kill).
  1st Engagement South of the Golden Gate
  
• While heading south, Group 2 encounters some Polish militia defending the southern approach from an OP (Augustyn and Jaroslaw). Jaroslaw then leads Group 2 into the sewer tunnels, hoping to get some intel on the Russians. While in the maze-like sewers, they ambush 6 soviets and capture one, killing the rest. The Soviets appeared to be in the sewers tracing a path through them with rope. Group 2 then takes their prize prisoner and head back. As they’re returning, the Russians have started their attack again near the Golden Gate. The group has to plow through the Russians (killing five) before being able to make it back to the rally with JJM’s team. Oskar manages to snap up a crate of explosives during the firefight.

(Continued)

• Now regrouped, the Mad Dogs learn more about their new mission - to protect light munitions factories north of the thieves market. The Mad Dogs will be supporting the attacks's right flank, along with 2 platoons of IB and 2 platoons of militia. The mission from a strategic perspective is to counter-attack against the Pact forces just north of the old city - capture the buildings just north of the Solidarity Market, and then hold them against the Russians. This will ensure that the light munitions factories can continue putting out ammunition for the local forces. The mission will be broken into three phases, with objectives A, B, and C along the line of advance.
  1st Engagement at the Gdansk Munitions Factories
  
• In attacking target A (4 buildings), one of the new recruits dies. The IB sends a 5 man squad of auxiliaries (total of auxiliaries and new recruits together now around 15). Frank Benucci takes a shoulder hit and the bullet lodges. JJM takes a bullet through the forearm, and the Bradley takes an rpg hit which kills the engine. Another auxiliary dies.
  
• The squads then hit Bravo. Oskar takes a devastating leg hit, arm hit, and abdomen hit. One bullet lodged in his hip. Frank and Zajac are the first to move up to Charlie, and stumble across a group of civvies and wounded militia, all unarmed and hiding in a basement. They work to quickly extract the civilians and wounded.
  
• The rest of the unit regroups at objective Charlie, and dig in to repel the looming Pact counterattack.
  
• Lukas Hoffman (German NPC antiarmor leader) temporarily joins the team in preparation to repel the counterattack.

Chapter 7 - Gdansk - Last Stand : August 4, 2000
Summary: The team repels the largest PACT attack so far. A bunch of people die, and a bunch of new faces join the team. The PACT forces pull out, and Gdansk is saved. The team then assaults a local salvage yard, and takes it over as their new base of operations.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - player
Sergeant Major Kurt Weiss – Army Special Forces (US) - Now an NPC
Staff Sgt. Marc St. Gil – Marine Armor (US) - NPC
Varis Babicevs – Auxiliary - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Corporal Andrew Rooke - British Army - NPC
Sergeant Jonathan Young - American Infantry - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corporal Robert Mitchell - British Infantry - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Lt. Pearce - IB Liaison - NPC on temporary assignment
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Major Jed Black - Special Forces (US) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Andrzej - Obroncow Militia, Marian Faction - Briefly as a player

PC Assets:
M2 Bradley
Humvee
UAZ
Motorcycle

• A major Soviet attack commences. Heavy and light artillery start pounding the positions of all friendly units. Then 2 platoons worth of infantry start assaulting, backed by a T80 (It's noted that this is perhaps the same T80 from chapter 5, and it had been repaired), a BMP, and 2 BTRs.
  
• The group starts putting up a dogged defense, killing 5 or 6 Soviets in the initial rush.
  
• Zajac takes a forearm hit.
  
• 2 Polish auxiliaries die from incoming fire from a BTR.
  
• Lukas takes an arm hit.
  
• Lt. Pearce gets shot in the neck and dies.
  
• The T80 fires a round at where the platoon had situated their headquarters, killing Marc St. Gil instantly. Anna also suffers a grievous internal wound, while JJM is concussed and buried in rubble.
  
• The BMP-1 is motive killed by an anti-tank mine strategically placed prior to the start of the assault.
  
• The Mad Dogs start pulling back through Objective C. Lukas Hoffman kills the BMP with a shot from a Carl Gustav.
  
• The Soviets are now moving into close assault range. Zajac gets bayoneted in the abdomen. Another Polish auxiliary dies. The platoon has been killing soviets left and right the whole time. Anna clears enough rubble to extract JJM and then collapses in shock. Fox returns and helps take Anna to the waiting Humvee. He also informs JJM that Kurt Weiss has died as well.
  
• Another Polish auxiliary dies. The whole team is pulling back at this point and are being pursued by Soviet forces. A zsu-23-4 joins the mix from the Soviet side of the battle, but stays strangely quiet. One of the BTRs is mission killed by the Mad Dogs.
  
• Caleb takes an arm wound. Volodya and some gang members fly into the firefight in an old taxi and under a lot of small arms fire, crash into one of the buildings.
  
• A player takes over the Polish Auxiliary named Andrzej.
  
• An MTLB with a dozer blade, a UAZ, and a Ural truck enter the enemy’s rear area with reinforcements. Frank takes another hit to his shoulder (bullet magnet, this guy).
  
• All players are now trying to do a fighting withdrawal to Bravo. A message comes in to exfil north to the river instead for an extraction by river barge. Varis gets lightly caressed by a grenade, the shrapnel hitting him in the heel.
  
• Soviet ambush hits the rearguard. Andrew Rooke is killed. Helmet Meyer takes a hit to his chest which breaks a rib. Ferro takes shrapnel from a grenade which puts shrapnel into her legs. Jed Black takes shrapnel from the same grenade. The group fights on, trying to break out of the ambush. Jed Black takes a bad hit to his back. Helmut Meyer takes a shot to the arm.
  
• There is a wild chase scene involving Oskar and friends careening around the battlefield in the Humvee in a clown car situation.
  
• The team continues retreating to the north to reach the barge exfil point. Jed Black gets cut down. Andrzej also gets killed at the same moment from Soviet machinegun fire while crossing a road. Volodya takes a shot to his wrist, breaking the bone. The team eventually makes it to the river barge and get aboard. Rather than have the Humvee captured and used by the Soviets, the bullet-ridden vehicle is pushed into the river. The team finally extracts downriver, and end up mooring at a secondary command post that has been created by the IB.
  
• JJM gets called into a meeting with Col. Hawthorne (commander of allied forces) in the HQ command tent. Hawthorne gives JJM a job well done and stands the unit down. Enter in Vincent Wright (dressed as a priest this time), who introduces JJM to 6 men who will help reinforce the wounded Mad Dogs. Luis Ortega, Steve (Will) Williamson, Billy "Crack" O’Brien, Alex Michaels and Cpl. Joe Morgan from the rangers (who happen to know Frank) and Eikki Termonen, a Finnish sniper. The new Americans were a part of 8th ID who Wright recruited. It's also mentioned here that Wright has a new mission for the unit at some point. Finally, the unit sees another group of 6 heavily armed, mysterious looking men. They're dressed as civilians, but heavily outfitted. Some type of special operations team perhaps?
  
• JJM welcomes now PFC Varis into the American army and grants him American citizenship. The team gets word that the attack on Gdańsk is winding down, with some pact forces returning to their starting lines, and others pulling out entirely. The remaining local militia decide to leave back to their homes with the exception of Aleksandar, Janusz, and Ferro. The still living members of gang Anjo also return to their home turf, with Anjo himself asking the Major to come see him later on.
  
• Ferro is now player controlled.
  
• The city is safe, for now.

The PACT Siege of Gdansk officially ends

Much later that day:

• Sgt. Jonathan Young reports trouble at the Bradley, and JJM goes back into the HQ tent, to confer with a Captain Beale. Others in the unit steal a Russian ZIL-131 truck from local militia and truck it down to the Bradley at the billet. It turns out that the IB is requisitioning the Bradley, and Beale orders JJM to stay put, essentially keeping him under armed guard at the CP. Beale also shares that Captain Webb is now dead, and that Col Hawthorne was critically wounded by sniper fire earlier that night. Major Lewis is now overseeing the IB. Is this a coup? A tense stand-off forms at the Bradley between IB forces and the Mad Dogs. JJM eventually relents and lets go of the worn and broken Bradley to the IB, but the Mad Dogs pull all their supplies out of the Bradley first, in a compromise. The unit then heads back to the the CP area to break JJM out, assuming he might need it. Using diplomacy, JJM convinces Cpt. Beale that they’re working on the same side, and secures his and his teams release back to independent operations.
  
• The Mad Dogs reconvene again at the alternate CP (the rest of the unit returning from the old billet) and heads to meet with Gang Anjo at their gang's house. The unit is in possession of only three vehicles now - a UAZ, the motorcycle, and the stolen zil-131.
  
• While there, they decide that they need to find a better location in the city to rest/heal, and send out multiple scouting parties. They also decide that it’s time to take down (arrest) Lada, and after securing permission from the IB, start making a plan for the attack.
  1st Engagement at Lada's Compound
  
• The team gets into position and assaults Lada’s compound. As they begin infiltrating, they find 4 bodies - it seems someone else is hitting Lada's salvage yard tonight. Janusz takes some bad hits while entering a building.
  
• A hostage situation with one shooter holding a civilian woman takes place, and the shooter throws a grenade which injures Caleb and critically wounds Janusz.
  
• Elsewhere in the compound, rifle rounds impact some metal tanks which hold a gas of some kind. Ferro struggles to breathe and a few of the opfor succumb to the gas.
  
• The group attempts to save Janusz and Ferro. Others find Lada and some of his men recently killed. Lada was bound and tortured, and ultimately a wire was used to garrote him.
  
• Meanwhile the rest of team pursued the rest of the escaping, unexpected opfor. JJM calls IB HQ to request a mortar fire mission and a blocking unit for the escaping, unknown enemy force. During the chase, Mitchell takes a bullet to the arm, as he and Frank are pinned by a three way crossfire. The following turn Mitchell takes an additional two hits - another wound to his arm and one to his abdomen.
  
• Eikki and Michaels take a prisoner, who claims to be an MU fighter.
  
• The battle finally winds down, with all hostiles cleared or escaped via boat. The opfor boat is briefly engaged by a gunboat sent from IB HQ.
  
• Upon inspection, it appears as though the opfor was attempting to take possession of some dangerous chemical weapon tanks that Lada had been secretly hoarding.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 8
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 8 - Gdansk - Free City : August 6, 2000
Summary: The unit settles into their new base of operations. They take a mission to Hel Peninsula to recover supplies from a sunken ammunition ship. The team agrees to a mission from the spook to recover the missing Black Madonna.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - Now an NPC
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Staff Sgt. Oskar Friedmann – Special Forces (US) – player
Sergeant Jonathan Young - American Infantry - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corporal Robert Mitchell - British Infantry - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Ferro - Acting Militia Auxiliary - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
PFC Steve (Will) Williamson - Cav Scout (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Alex Michaels - Army Rangers (US) - Now an NPC
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Alikersantti Eikki Termonen - Finnish Sissi - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek- Auxiliary - NPC
Janusz - Auxiliary - NPC

PC Assets:
UAZ
Motorcycle
Zil-131 Truck

Relevant Chapter Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1ykiIY2xrbt_JhUHA5BRj7sJ3M3A&msa=0&ll=54.34865512671352%2C18.791245150674513&spn=0.194545%2C0.617294&z=13

• The battle for Lada’s compound comes to a close. The opfor’s boat ends up escaping due to the mist, and the friendly IB gunboat was unable to reacquire it.
  
• The wounded, (Mitchell, Ferro, and Janusz) are taken to the basilica for medical treatment. Ferro is released after a shower and some food, and the other two are kept and immediately go into surgery to save their lives.
  
• Back at the salvage yard, the group goes about consolidating their win and scrounging through the compound.
  
• They also interrogate their prisoner, who at first claims to have been contracted from the MU, but the group quickly discerns that he was part of the Opfor group. When confronted, the man stops talking to the group and awaits his fate in silence.
  
• Oskar Friedmann is tasked with taking the motorcycle and finding the 8th. He is to ask General Webb for orders for the Mad Dogs and then return to the unit ASAP. This is all to determine if the Mad Dogs should continue with their plan for Gdansk, or if they should instead continue attempting to re-link up with the division.
  
• The IB shows up and takes the "MU" prisoner and the chemical gas tanks off the unit’s hands.
  
• The Mad Dogs finish securing and digging in to Lada’s former salvage yard, and take ownership of a tow truck.
  
• The group inquires about Kaminski, then splits into multiple groups.

Group 1 tasks:
*Tasked with investigating local ruins (recycling plant and a small commercial property next to the river, that turns out to be a fueling station).

• The group clears the recycling plant of danger and salvage and heads to the fueling station. There they meet Valeska, a local ship captain. Valeska offers her boat for hire and offers to trade. Group 1 says they’ll take the offer back and will return if they need her.

Group 2 tasks:
*Find out what happened to Lt. Boswell.
*Learn about a mission offer from Wright (given when Ortega’s team joined up.)
*Find out about a missing ammo ship
*Contact Kaminski

• Group 2 meets with the IB leadership. Learns that the earlier mission to extract Pavel Adamowicz from Nowe Ogrody was an agreement with Gustaw Adamowicz (leader of the Sobieszewo island). If Pavel and his family could be saved, Gustaw would turn over the location of an ammunition ship.
  
• Mad dogs have a new mission: to return Pavel to the island and expedite recovery operations on the ship’s hold. Mission should commence by aug 28th, with recovery ops starting by aug 31st. They’ll have an IB liaison to deal with specific issues that arise, but unknown as to who the liaison will be.
  
• The mysterious civilian soldiers are seen again at the IB HQ.
  
• Group 1 was not able to locate Boswell, and hasn't yet learned of the new mission from Wright.

(Continued)

• Group 1 then heads to the bus station and finds Kaminski, presumably with his woman and a baby, hiding out in the reclusive bus station community. Kaminski goes with the major’s group back to Lada’s compound, picking up Otto on the way. Kaminski ends up taking ownership of the salvage yard.
  
• Mitchell returns to the group as well, bringing with him a British soldier named Thomas Cooper.

Time skip of 3 weeks takes place. In the meantime, the team heals up, they get some cross-training completed, they get Lada’s compound up and running. The team also gets a tow truck and a civilian 5-ton truck working again from Lada's garage. In the city, there’s growing concern over food supplies for the coming winter. There have also been reprisals against those in the city that supported the soviet incursion. The Soviets have pulled out of the city entirely. There are localized outbreaks of cholera, that have largely been dealt with by the Marians.
It is now aug 28th.

• Reina Ibanez arrives to act as liaison for the new mission.
  
• Ibanez helps to outline the mission parameters. The Mad Dogs are to transport Pavel Adamowicz, his wife and child to his brother on Sobieszewo Island. They are then to help expedite the recovery of any munitions from the sunken ammunition ship, and provide assistance wherever possible.
  
• The team goes to pick up Pavel and his family, and once they have them the Mad Dogs start heading east. When they get to the Benzynowa road turnoff, they see a uaz in some buildings to the south and hear sounds of fighting - a diversionary raid to keep the Soviet patrols occupied. They come to a stop. An enemy zsu-23-2 is spotted and starts firing upon the convoy. The group heads back away from what appears to be a Soviet observation post and turns north, hoping to bypass the Soviets entirely. They do so successfully and reach Sobieszewo Island, and Gustav, without further provocation.
  
• Gustav welcomes his brother, sister-in-law and niece, then tells the player of the wreck. It is off the coast of the Hel Peninsula. Gustav then informs the Mad Dogs that they waited too long to come though, as two ships from the Polish Navy (from Gdynia) are now moored in Hel, hoping to salvage the ammunition ship for themselves. The sunken ship was led by one Lt. Commander Vicky Gorden and her crew. Gustav explains that he thinks the party should do a landing in Hel and scuttle the Polish ships before attempting the salvage operation.
  
• Everyone is on edge because there has not been adequate scouting done, and Gustav is pushing hard to go on with the mission regardless. Lt. Commander Gorden from the HMS Caliph is present during the deliberations.
  
• The plan is to land on Hel. The Mad Dogs are to take out a Communication/OP before proceeding into the harbor itself. Once that’s complete, a platoon from Tarawa Co. and another from Sobieszewo will hit the harbor in force. Lt. Commander Gorden’s surviving crew will then board and scuttle the two Polish Navy ships.
  
• Olek, one of Gustav’s men will accompany the party, as he knows the terrain on Hel Peninsula.
  
• Gustav lets McCarthy know that the girl they brought with them last time is safe, but that two of the prisoners escaped (from Cutter’s group, perhaps Cutter himself?).
  
• A meeting takes place with the command elements. Marine platoon is led by a Captain Sutton. The mysterious civilian dressed guys (4 Scandinavians and two Poles) show up to the meeting led by a man named Erik. The Mad Dogs take possession of two inflatable rafts.
  
• The party makes ready to set sail. Commander Gorden and her crew are coming with the Mad Dogs aboard the Destiny's Ascension, the MU's flagship. The ship is captained by Captain Pawlak.
  
• A random patrol boat is spotted along the way to Hel, which shouldn’t be in the area. Pawlak radios the other boats to let them know it’s there, but nothing else of note arises from the encounter.
  1st Engagement on Hel Peninsula
  
• The Mad Dogs make it to Hel (albeit 2km from the intended landing beach) then split into multiple groups: entry team, assault team, support team, cut off team, and the naval scuttling party (details on page 10). They then spot a horse-mounted patrol of two Polish soldiers further down the beach. The unit sets an ambush and using silenced weapons, the entry team dispatches the riders while others nab the horses to keep them from raising suspicion. The unit then ties the horses to a tree and head towards their OP objective, the lighthouse.
  
• Young and Steinhoff set up a mortar pit down the beach after being dropped off with another mortar team from the IB.
  
• Upon reaching their objective, the group manages to quietly kill two sentries.
  
• The entry team then breaches the ground floor of the lighthouse. They kill a number of hostiles, but one escapes up the stairs after putting a round into Caleb (turns out to have hit one of his smoke grenades). Gunfire then erupts from all over the lighthouse area.
  
• The entry team pursues and kills the runner in the lighthouse with a grenade and secure the radio.
  
• The shooting taking place around the support element was one of Lt. Commander Gorden’s sailors shooting at shadows. The cut off team has found enemies in the main building, who appear to just be shooting outward toward every shadow they see (they are navy men, not professional infantry).
  
• The entry team sabotages the radio and the only truck nearby, and push on to the town of Hel. On the way, Olek gets lost, and Eikki is dispatched to locate and retrieve him.
  
• Between the calvary and a truck at the lighthouse, the PCs realize that their intel was off substantially - this isn’t just a few sailors from the Polish Navy. It’s now clear that there is a significant ground force operating around Hel. This in turn puts the entire operation at risk.
  
• The marine landing is initiated. Sutton calls for aid so his men don’t get caught in a crossfire. The Mad Dogs, now in Hel, outline a new plan briefly, and put it into action. The Mad Dogs will now form multiple teams (Details of groups on page 15). The 3rd fireteam and the Weapons team will be dispatched to put pressure on the Poles hitting Sutton from a nearby power plant. HQ, 1st, 2nd, and Gorden's sailors will head to the two Polish Navy ships.
  
• In an on-the-fly change of plans, all groups descend on the power plant. While fireteams 1 and 2 assault, the rest provide covering fire. They down two enemies, while wounding a third. The wounded Pole manages to throw a grenade however, and one fragment hits Morgan in the arm. The breachers then get a foothold and assault into the power plant proper. Meanwhile, the supporting elements shift focus and begin firing on men attempting to reach the 2 ships. The 2 ships are identified as one gunboat, and one survey/research vessel.
  
• Fireteams 1 and 2 quickly subdue the power plant (and take 6 prisoners). A mortar strike lights the gunboat on fire with a WP round, and it starts drifting on fire, out of action.  Fireteam 3 successfully manages to board and take control of the survey ship, but Alex Michaels is hit in the chest by a lone gunman still occupying the bridge.
  
• The attacking forces' radio net starts getting jammed, and Sutton runs over for quick conference with JJM. It sounds like at least an additional 150 Poles are closing on their position in the Hel naval base, and Sutton intends on pulling out.
  
• In danger of being overrun, the Mad Dogs decide to attempt an exfiltration by using the Polish prisoners (now including some of the folks from the power plant as well as some captured on the ship itself) to man the survey ship, effectively leaving the unit’s mortar squad (Young and Steinhoff), Eikki and Olek to fend for themselves. There’s 150 poles closing in quickly, and it’s the only way to save the rest of the unit.
  
• Then the large Polish force arrives and starts shooting at the escaping survey ship, critically wounding Morgan.
  
• The unit makes their escape on the Survey Ship ORP Kopernik. En route, they pick up Eikki and learn that Olek is dead (Eikki seems a little suspicious about it). They then proceed to go around the tip of Hel peninsula and work their way up the side toward the mortar team’s location, fearing the worst.
  
• The unit sees the mortar pits empty from the boat, and after Gorden suggests leaving the men, JJM instead sends a shore party to try to find them.
  
• Shore party (Ortega, O’Brien, Benucci, Ferro, Babicevs, Mulcahy, Williamson, and Mitchell in 2 zodiacs) investigate and it appears as though the mortar team (Jonathan Young and Felix Steinhoff, Low Blow, and 4 IB men) have been captured by the Poles. JJM orders the shore party to withdraw, and just as they reach the raft, Heinrik (one of the Scandinavians) arrives and let’s them know that the rest of his team (3 of them left) is a half klick down the beach and need a pick up. Ortega agrees and they team starts powering south in the raft. Getting close, one of the zodiacs hits something in the water, and Mulcahy goes overboard. Meanwhile back on the survey ship Mike begins surgery on Michaels.
  
• The shore party successfully extracts the mysterious group, who lose another man during the extraction (Erik, Heinrik, and Kristian remain). The zodiacs return to the ship and they set sail back for the mainland.
  
• The team debarks at sea via raft, and Lt. Commander Gorden will wait til night to take the survey ship to hide in the Wisla shipyard (they don’t want to involve Sobieszewo’s community in a conflict with Gdynia if they can possibly help it).
  
• On returning to the island, the team meets Maria Ostrowski, who offers them assistance in the form of a place to stay and a boat (for a price) that can take them back into Gdańsk. The team ends up sending Morgan with Michaels to Gdańsk to the hospital to get patched up. A pregnant woman goes with them.
  
• Maria raises orphans in her hotel, and is concerned about them not having proper schooling. JJM teaches one of the boys (Stanislaw [Stan for short]) how to make paper. Other Mad Dogs offer Maria some help with random odd jobs around her hotel.
  
• Mike and Fox set up a temporary medical clinic, and greatly assist the island's residents with medical concerns while the team was billeted here.
  
• O’Brien goes to help disarm an unexploded aerial bomb in a nearby bog. The locals had wanted it moved and used as a remote controlled mine on the main road, but after seeing the 500lb Mk 82 bomb, O’Brien had deemed it too dangerous - the bomb was in poor condition. They instead decide to detonate it in place.
  
• Ortega sees a small boat full of men down at the river returning from Hel. Many are wounded. 6 marines are with them under a SSgt Coleman. Coleman’s team were acting rearguard for Sutton’s force, and are getting picked up by a different boat the next day. They take the Polish prisoners off the Mad Dogs’s hands.
  
• Gustav returns that night, and is voted out of the town’s leadership based on his pushing the assault on Hel so quickly and without proper intel/scouting having been done. The town is now under the control of a ruling council (which includes Ostrowski).
  
• The team spends the next couple of days in place in Sobieszewo, helping the locals, and waiting for Gorden's people to finish up the salvage operation.
  
• Finally, the salvage operation has been completed, and the Mad Dogs are tasked, along with a couple of extra trucks, Coleman’s men, and Cpt. Beale to get the ordinance back to friendly forces in Gdańsk.
  
• The Mad Dogs start a night operation to move the convoy into Gdańsk. On the way, they find the former PACT Observation post on Route 501 with fresh bodies present. Deciding that they’re heading into an ambush, the party turns south to dictate the coming enemy contact on their own terms, hoping to make use of a rail bridge south of Gdańsk.
  1st Engagement at the Rail Bridge south of Gdansk
  
• The convoy halts while an advance team crosses stealthily across the bridge. The advance team encounters 3 scouts on the far side of the bridge, and a minor firefight ensues. One of the enemies throws a grenade, sending shrapnel into the legs of both O’Brien and Benucci, who also manage to take a single prisoner while the grenade thrower escapes into the night.
  
• Meanwhile, the convoy hears the noise from the firefight and starts moving toward the bridge. Upon crossing it, they begin taking heavy mortar and machine gun fire from the nearby PACT outpost just south in Przejazdowo. Mortar fire pops two wheels on one of the cargo trucks, and machine gun fire causes the tow truck to crash and roll.
  
• The UAZ stops to pick up the advance team. As the advance team closes toward the UAZ, having to circumnavigate the incoming mortar fire, Mitchell steps on a land mine and disappears in a cloud of smoke. He's wounded very badly, with his legs basically turned to hamburger.
  
• Coleman in his Humvee also stops, and the advance team manages aboard.
  
• The unit then races back to Gdańsk, with Beale driving O’Brien, Benucci, and Mitchell to St. Mary’s for medical attention. Mitchell is left overnight, with everyone else ending up back at what was Lada’s compound but is now Kaminski’s salvage yard. Kaminski is waiting for them there, with a note for JJM from Vincent Wright.
  
• JJM, Ortega, Babicevs, and Ferro go to meet Wright’s middleman to find out Wright’s location. The middleman turns out to be a young boy in front of the Neptune cinemas. He gives the group a map to Wright, who is currently located in Siedlce. The rest of the team goes shopping at the solidarity market.
  
• Around this time, it's also revealed that Ferro has worked with Wright and a group of men surrounding him in the past.
  
• JJM and crew come to a restaurant in Siedlce, that clearly has electricity and a security camera, as well as well-armed security personnel in a room just inside the door. Then, after meeting Wright, the spook informs the Major that he needs the Mad Dogs' help with a mission in Częstochowa. The mission: to recover a suitcase nuke that was presumed lost. Wright now has info as to the nuke's whereabouts, but apparently so does the kgb.
  
• The players are to be transported to within a day or two of the target location by helicopter. The return is scheduled to happen via an old plane (Douglas DC-3).
  
• Wright promises more information about how to reconnect with the 8th ID upon the unit's successful return to Gdansk. He also mentions that the Mad Dogs are his B team. His A team was a group of five mercenaries, whom he lost contact with within a couple of days of his A team's entry into the area surrounding Czestochowa.
  
• After JJM inquires, Wright also tell him that Lt. Boswell is alive and had helped him during the PACT siege of Gdansk, but that Boswell was currently being held as a prisoner by the Aniolki militia.
  
• As a sign of good faith, Wright offers to have Mitchell smuggled to Denmark and then England, as his legs are too destroyed for him to ever do additional patrol work.
  
• JJM decides to let go of the somewhat recalcitrant Janusz, probably due to an earlier fistfight Janusz had with Catchings.
  
• Meyer, Michaels, Anna and the Poles will not be coming on this mission.
  
• Eikki Termonen leaves in the middle of the night.
  
• The next morning, the Mad Dogs board a CH-47 Chinook, bound for southern Poland.
  
• Onboard the helo, Wright informs JJM that the mission about a missing nuke was a lie. The real mission he has for the Mad Dogs is to recover the Black Madonna, and that the French now have a special operations team inbound to Czestochowa as well, also attempting to recover the painting. The Madonna is supposedly somewhere under the Jasna Gora monastery, and supposedly anyone who controls it will have significant influence over all of Poland's people.
  
• A man (Jaromir Wysocki - forger) will also join the unit on this mission to verify the authenticity of the painting.
  
• Robert Mitchell makes it back to England and lives happily ever after, albeit missing a foot, with 2 fingers that don’t work, and shrapnel scars all over his body.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 9
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 9 - Czestochowa - Tomb Raiders : September 2, 2000
Summary: The team heads to Czestochowa on a mission to recover the Black Madonna. A big fight takes place against the French Foreign Legion. Spooky shit happens in some catacombs. The team joins a Silesian warlord's personal army.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
PFC Steve (Will) Williamson - Cav Scout (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Alex Michaels - Army Rangers (US) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)


PC Assets:
Nothing

• The Chinook flies south through Poland, and after landing briefly at a hidden refueling station, starts to experience mechanical failure and lands somewhere west of ŁÃ³dź.
  1st Engagement west of Lodz
  
• Babicevs gets into a firefight with a new American soldier who was off by himself, Thomas Marshall, before they realize they’re on the same side and Marshall joins the unit. The shooting also scares some local townspeople, who fire upon the Mad Dogs. JJM appears to calm down the locals during a parlay, but the Polish townspeople are under influence from nearby Soviets and some of the others attempt to attack the Mad Dogs. At the same time, a squad of soviets approaches from the opposite direction, and the Mad Dogs are stuck in between the groups while the flight crew tries to frantically repair the helo, at least get it in working order for another short hop before a more thorough repair is needed.
  
• During the ensuing firefight, Thomas Cooper gets separated and lost.
  
• Babicevs takes a graze to his thigh.
  
• Continuing the firefight, Babicevs throws a grenade that bounces off a tree and rolls back toward him. He curls up and when it explodes, he’s hit with shrapnel in his ass, the back of his left arm, and a fragment that hits his ear and lodges into his neck. Babicevs sees a vision of Madonna (the singer Madonna, not the painting). Morgan takes a fragment or rock to the cheek.
  
• The Chinook lifts off just as the grenade goes off, and hovers above the ongoing firefight between the Mad Dogs and some villagers. Catchings attempts to fast rope from the chopper to the ground to help with Babicevs, and manages to do so safely, despite his lack of climbing ability.
  
• The team manages to recover Cooper, who had been taken captive by the locals, and then with the wounded Babicevs in tow they all clamber back aboard the Chinook.
  
• They fly another ten minutes, then set down in a sheltered meadow, far from any buildings, with the exception of a lone farm about 3 klicks away. The helo flight crew engages in a more thorough repairing of the aircraft this time.
  
• Thomas Marshall is officially indoctrinated into the unit and the helo takes off again that evening. After doing some false landings to throw off any radars tracking them, the Chinook finally reaches its destination. Below, a single figure is seen waving an IR lightstick. It’s Per Kolstrup, who joins the party. It's revealed that Ferro used to work with Kolstrup for Wright, along with the other men from Wright's "A team". The helo then leaves the party at their designated step-off point, and takes Babicevs to an unknown location for medical attention.
  
• Per lets the Mad Dogs know that his previous unit, his A team, sent by Wright to recover the Black Madonna. They were all killed however except for him. He also mentions that Polish calvary were on patrol and went right through his team’s position while he was out sourcing some fresh water. He doesn’t think it’s a coincidence, and wonders if the enemy perhaps managed to triangulate onto their position based on A team's radio transmissions.
  
• The Mad Dogs then march through the night, ending up north of Klobuck. Hearing sounds of fighting, they keep on til morning, and end up north of Częstochowa. They decide to take refuge for the day in a tractor shed, and send out the scouts to get a better idea of their position. Everyone's feet hurt from the long march.
  
• The Recce team manages to identify the shed’s location in relation to Częstochowa, and they see a UAV being flown over the city. Częstochowa appears to be mostly destroyed, with the majority of buildings burnt or destroyed. In the meantime, the rest of the group recovers more from the long night march. The Mad Dogs wait until the next night, and travel south around the east side of the burnt out city. Fox gets sent to forage near a river for the group, and stays out in the wind for a few days.
  
• Meanwhile, Babicevs wakes up in what appears to be a Soviet military hospital. He’s worried about being found out, but a nurse tells a Soviet officer that he has brain damage and covers for him. Babicevs also appears to have earned himself a Soviet medal.
  
• The next night, the Mad Dogs move into the southern portion of the city, an hour’s hike from the Jasna Gora monastery (where the Black Madonna is supposedly located) and make camp in an empty grocery store. Rats almost eat Williamson while the team sleeps, but he rouses before they start biting and they scamper off.
  
• In the morning, moving toward their objective, the unit diverts through a structurally unsound building. Benucci, JJM and Williamson fall through the floor. JJM is found unconscious but unhurt, and all of the fallen Mad Dogs quickly make it out of the basement. Kolstrup and O'Brien take up position near the front door of the building and watch as a Polish patrol passes by outside, oblivious to the unit. The team then reconvenes on the north side of the building.
  
• A block further, and they’re at the monastery. The unit hears jackhammering coming from within the objective, and see two men carrying French weapons on the rampart. There’s also an MG nest, and a working BTR covering the entrance to the monastery.
  
• The team pulls back and sets up camp a few hundred meters away in an abandoned apartment building, and sends out another patrol to better understand the surrounding terrain. When the patrol gets to the monastery, they hear a loud boom from within it (demolition in the rubble), and a number of bats fly out, revealing an unforeseen cave.
  
• The team decides whether to attack the French, or try a sneaky infiltration through the cave. They decide on a full assault and maneuver into position.
  1st Engagement at Czestochowa
  
• The French however, must have seen the Mad Dogs getting into position and were waiting for them. A full scale engagement follows.
  
• The unit launches an rpg into the BTR.
  
• Williamson takes a shot to the arm.
  
• The team knocks out the BTR with a second rpg hit, and then an enemy sniper hits Ferro with a devastating pair of shots to her torso. At the same time, an enemy grenadier launches a grenade that lands right in between some of the troops, hitting Benucci in the arm with a fragment, and hitting Ortega in the wrist.
  
• The assault progresses. Jaromir (the forger) makes a run for the rear but Mike grabs him in time to see 30 Polish soldiers advancing into the Mad Dogs rear. Jaromir also gets shot in the hand at this point. The unit completes their assault of the monastery at the same time and the French surrender. Everyone at this point is in the monastery, except for Williamson, who stayed back and is single-handedly attempting to stymie the Polish assault in the unit's rear.
  
• There’s a new problem however, as now there sounds like more fighting from deep within the monastery. JJM consults with Captain Beloq of the French Union (leader of the French Foreign Legion forces at the monastery), and the two decide to work together to defeat the new Polish threat. The Mad Dogs pull back into the monastery while a few set up in and near the burnt out BTR, hoping that the KPV is still functional. According to Beloq, there’s a French team in the catacombs. At that time, two French soldiers come up from the catacombs, one of them wounded badly. The unwounded Frenchman claims that there’s one man down in the catacombs killing everyone, but that there might be other French soldiers still alive down there.
  
• Meanwhile, Steve (Will) Williamson puts up a heroic effort, but finally succumbs to the assaulting Polish force and is shot multiple times before dying. O’Brien manages to climb aboard the BTR and works the KPV, blunting the enemy advance. The Poles start encircling the monastery. JJM asks Beloq about getting the Black Madonna for the French, and about Beloq possibly taking the Mad Dogs out of here and letting them join the foreign legion if he's successful.
  
• JJM and the unit descend into the dark, labyrinthine catacombs. In the dark, they see a human shape and put it down. Mulcahy freaks out and starts shooting at the rear, and Marshall reacts to the threat of a crazed teammate. Marshall shoots Caleb 3 times to prevent Mulcahy from hitting the rest of the Mad Dogs. This naturally doesn't go over well with the rest of the Mad Dogs. Upon checking the corpse of the random man the Mad Dogs had put down, they find it to have been a French soldier, but his face had been badly mutilated by some type of blade. Then the group sees another soldier approaching from the rear, and lure him toward them until they can capture him. It's another man from the French Foreign Legion - Johnny Leota joins the party.
  
• Catchings works on Mulcahy, stabilizing him, but the Ranger doesn’t have a lot of time before he needs additional medical attention.
  Engagement in the catacombs of Czestochowa
  
• At the same time, O’Brien is in the lead down in the catacombs, and sees a man up around the corner - a specter perhaps. O’Brien throws a grenade and after the explosion, rushes the man. O'Brien's weapon fires only three times before jamming, seemingly hitting the man, but the lone enemy appears unhurt and unloads an entire mag back at him. Spooky stuff. O’Brien is hit 3 times, but the wounds are largely superficial. A round from the unknown specter also strikes Ortega in the back of the right leg.
  
• The team retrieves the wounded O’Brien, and decides to pull back with all of their wounded. Now leading the way, Kolstrup accidentally gets turned around and ends up leading the unit deeper into the catacombs, eventually leading them to a strange candlelit chapel, lined with dead Polish soldiers wired up to look like an honor guard. On the alter itself, is the Black Madonna.
  
• The team goes into action securing the room, and Kolstrup finds a back room behind the alter, which appears to be the specter's lair. At the same time, one of the dead honor guard surprises everyone and drops two smoke grenades - it’s the specter. A crazed firefight ensues in the smokey chapel, with Catchings bravely taking a shot to the back (stopped by his Kevlar vest) while using his own body to protect Mulcahy. JJM ends up shooting the specter in the head in a fitting end to the encounter.
  
• The Mad Dogs take the Black Madonna and extract back to the surface, only to be immediately betrayed by the French, who take Ferro hostage (she was in possession of the Black Madonna). The Poles have taken control of the entire area, and have everyone surrounded. It seems that Captain Beloq has agreed to work with the Polish unit in apprehending the Mad Dogs. Even Jaromir, who had been hanging back, points a pistol at the Mad Dogs. The Polish company commander is one Major Kieslowski, who seems like an honorable man and offers the Mad Dogs a respectable surrender.
  
• The unit is disarmed and searched, and the Black Madonna is tossed aside without the Poles realizing what it is.
  
• The unit is then rounded up aboard a pair of wagons, in which are a few other prisoners, along with all of their gear and possessions that had been tossed aside. Major Roy Barnett is one of the seeming prisoners that joins them in the wagons, as is Staff Sergeant Owen Hollister. The last is Emil Strama, who is kitted like a civilian, but is a Polish freedom fighter. Emil tells the team that these Poles are part of local warlord’s band. The unit is then carted off away from Częstochowa.
  
• The Polish column takes all of the prisoners to Pyskowice. Everyone is left in that town except for Emil, who continues on with the column, unsure of his fate. The Markgraf/Markgrave (warlord) of Silesia is also present in Pyskowice.
  
• Then taken to the Markgraf (Major General Julian Filipowicz), the Mad Dogs are offered employment in his army in return for loyalty. JJM accepts the offer, and the Mad Dogs are rearmed with their former gear, only some of it having been stolen by unscrupulous members of the Polish unit. The Black Madonna has disappeared, for now.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 10
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 10 - Silesia - In the Service of the Markgraf : September 6, 2000
Summary: The team works for the Markgraf. The team kidnaps the Markgraf. A huge chase plays out trying to get the Black Madonna out of Silesia.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Corpsman Mike Catchings - US Navy - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Alex Michaels - Army Rangers (US) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - player
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal Johnny Leota - 3 Para (French Foreign Legion) - player
Major Roy Barnett - Army Medical Corps (US) - player
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - player

PC Assets:
Nothing

• The team is transported to Raciborz, only 3 hours away by truck. They are taken to a local school which will be their new billet while working for the Markgraf, who should should be there in a few hours to speak with JJM and Ortega about their new duties. At the same time, O’Brien, Mulcahy, Morgan and Ferro are carted off to the local hospital to get additional care for their wounds. Corporal Tosh Lines is present at the school to take the unit to their quarters. The group then splits into 3 teams.
  
• JJM and Ortega go to meet with the Markgraf at his well-guarded estate at the north end of town. He asks the Mad Dog officers a strategic question to which they give good answers.
  
• Strategic update: The Markgraf’s territory is beset by enemies on all sides - Krakow to the east, Czech forces not more than 30km away in the south, and to the west are the Soviet 129th motorized rifle division. The Soviets are stretched thin, and there is fear of them heading through the Markgraf’s territory, pillaging all the while as they slowly pull back toward Russia.
  
• The Markgraf then lets the officers know that he wants a small, elite unit formed to help with covert operations. He asks McCarthy if he and his NCOs would lead and train this platoon-sized unit. JJM agrees. JJM and Ortega then discuss their options in a hallway, and discuss their plan to follow the Markgraf only until they have a chance to escape. A janitor was then found just inside a doorway, and was clearly listening to their discussion, but attempts to play it off as though he wasn’t. Then JJM and Ortega leave the estate.
  
• Meanwhile - Kolstrup, Cooper, Leota, Marshall, Hollister, and Lines go to the Silesian army’s quartermasters for some resupply.
  
• And also at the same time - Catchings, Benucci, and Barnett go to visit the team’s wounded, Ferro, O’Brien, and Mulcahy, and Morgan in the local hospital where they are being well cared for. Ferro and O'Brien are discharged at this time, and the group heads out.
  
• The unit, minus Morgan, Mulcahy, and Fox reconvene at the town’s open air market.
  
• Sept 7th. The unit meets their new platoon mates, which include Lines, one female soldier (named Sawiki), and another American, as well as many Poles. They also finish filling out paperwork (brought by one Major Stranski) and taking their oath, and begin putting together a training plan. They will also have two teachers present to teach the unit Polish during night classes anytime they aren’t doing night training.
  
• Huge list of new recruits on chapter 10 page 6. The list notably includes Lt. Roman Wozniak, who will help get the new side of the platoon up to shape and will learn from JJM. He will eventually start up a second ranger platoon, and his uncle is the CO of 3rd battalion.
  
• JJM goes to meet with the first battalion CO, Major Geissmar, and introduces himself as a courtesy to the CO. Geissmar seems like a bit of a dick. JJM also calls on Fox to come on in and surrender himself.
  
• Training montage happens, with the unit spending a week together training hard. The new men and unit vets are blending together into an effective fight force, but it seems that Wozniak, and his 2ic, Leon Ostrowski, are keeping some secrets. Mulcahy is back with the unit, as is Morgan. Also Fox comes in and finally rejoins the unit.

Time skip of 1 week takes place. It is now Sept 13th.

• Lt. Wozniak informs McCarthy that he thinks the Markgraf will doom them all by attempting to fight both the Czechs and Krakow, and asks for the Mad Dogs' help in unseating him. Wozniak also states that the men under him in the platoon were all picked because they largely feel the same way. There’s apparently a movement here that wants to take down the Markgraf in favor of a more free Silesia. JJM agrees with Wozniak’s plight - the Mad Dogs will help take down the Markgraf.

Group 1

• Wozniak then takes JJM and Ortega to meet with the other mutineer officers. The officers, including Lt Wozniak’s uncle, informs JJM that Filipowicz is expecting a coup against him at some point due to an increasing paranoia. As a result, he is planning on hosting a false coup against himself in 3 days, in order to consolidate power, taking place on September 16th at Hotel Raciborz. It will be at this time that the Mad Dogs platoon will need to kidnap the Markgraf amongst the confusion of the false coup. In other words, turning the false coup into a real coup. JJM is informed that the Markgraf should not be killed during the coup, but that Major Stranski should be, being charged and sentenced in absentia by the coup leaders. The Markgraf will then be driven to the border and handed off to the Czechs to go into exile. A local former Lieutenant General named Wladyslaw will take control of Silesia in Filipowicz’s place as new Markgraf.
  1st Engagement at Raciborz
  
• JJM, Lt Wozniak, and Ortega head back to base, and on the way are stopped by 4 police. Wozniak doesn’t have his day pass, and the encounter quickly devolves into a firefight. The trio are able to put down the police officers, but not before Ortega takes 2 hits - one in the chest and one in the shoulder. He seems to be largely okay though after briefly losing consciousness. After they kill the police officers, they set some demo charges to make the crimescene look like bandit activity. The group then returns to Raciborz, ditches their shot up sedan with a friendly local garage, and head back to their billet.

Group 2

• Back at base, Lt. Wozniak's 2ic Ostrowski, informs the rest of the platoon that orders have come in - to immediately head out to quell a nearby bandit group. The platoon heads out under Kolstrup’s leadership. It turns out the bandits are just south of the border, in Czechoslovakia.
  2nd Engagement at Raciborz
  
• Kolstrup’s team crosses the border and assaults the bandits, who have 3 wagons, with overpowering firepower. Another group then strikes the platoon, and Kolstrup sees one of his former squaddies, Simon D’Arcy. Kolstrup coordinates a ceasefire and starts asking D'Arcy questions about Wright's former 'A Team'. D'Arcy informs Kolstrup that Wayne is dead. Tim Seeley may be alive but captured and held captive in Raciborz. D’Arcy and his “bandits” were part of a rebel team (similar to Emil Strama's rebels), and they had taken possession of some French weapons/gear that was supposed to be part of a ransom to the Markgraf in return for the French Foreign Legion being released. The stolen goods were being sent on to rebel forces in Opava. The Mad Dogs, led by Kolstrup, let D’Arcy know of their billet’s location, and expect to bring him home with them when they finally head back to Gdańsk. The Mad Dogs then return to their billet in Raciborz.

(Continued)

• Once all together again, the Mad Dogs go about performing recce on the hotel where the false coup/real coup will take place in a few days. The officers go into the hotel proper to look around, while the rest of the Mad Dogs' half of the platoon go for a drink on the town while checking out the hotel area, avenues of escape, etc. Then everyone heads back to the billet to share notes.
  
• D’Arcy stops by the billet at this time to inform JJM that he has new info - the Black Madonna is somewhere in Raciborz. He wants to get Seeley released from the prison in Raciborz, and grab the Black Madonna himself, then meet the Mad Dogs at a rendezvous site.
  
• The next day is spent in preparation. D’Arcy comes back to inform the unit that Seeley has been moved to a hospital, which should make releasing him easier.
  
• JJM radios Wright for a final check in. The plane, the 'Midnight Express', will touch down in a field at 1000 hours about half an hour north of Raciborz the day of the coup.

It's now very early on the 16th, and the coup mission begins.

Sniper Detachment

• The sniper detachment (Kolstrup, Hollister, Fox, and Leota) depart the billet early to set up their OP on the roof of a boarding school across from the hotel. They stash a Land Cruiser nearby which is protected by Ferro and the female Polish member of the platoon, Sawiki.

Assault Team

3rd Engagement at Raciborz

• The assault team moves into the hotel and quickly take Filipowicz and Stranski prisoner, and bind and gag them. A quick response force 8 blocks away starts to mobilize, including at least one T72, but it’s unclear if this was a part of the plan for the false coup. At first, the Silesians think that the Mad Dogs are in fact part of the fake coup. Only when one of the teams around the rear of the building start opening fire does the Markgraf’s security detail figure out what’s happening, and start returning fire.
  
• Instead of going out the back of the hotel like in the plan, JJM makes an on the fly change and the group extracts to the waiting trucks out front. A firefight ensues, with the snipers doing a lot of effective work while the ground team pushes their prisoners into the trucks and make to escape. During the firefight, Catchings takes a brutal hit, leaving him unconscious and bleeding out. The team pull him into one of the trucks as well. Morgan takes a hit to the side, and the ground team starts driving off, leaving the snipers to their own extraction with Ferro and Sawiki.
  
• And yes, Benucci takes a grazing hit to the arm, but due to adrenaline doesn’t realize that he’s been hit until the trucks are already rolling toward the edge of town. As they’re flying down streets through town, the assault team find one of the T72s and a BMP exiting an alleyway, cutting in between the Mad Dogs two trucks by sheer luck. The lead truck keeps rolling, while the truck in the rear has to swerve madly to avoid a collision.

Assault Team: Rear Truck

• The truck in the rear then comes upon more loyalist forces, which open fire, hitting the Polish driver, Ortega, and putting another wound into Morgan. The polish driver dies, but before doing so is able to move the truck into an alley and out of sight, but the loyalists are coming.

Sniper Detachment

• Meanwhile in the snipers post, Ferro and Sawiki get into a firefight with 3 police officers as the snipers start pulling back downstairs. They dispatch two of the officers while the third runs, but Sawiki takes a hit to the neck and another to her arm - she’s not looking good. The snipers make it to the ground floor, load Sawiki into the Land Cruiser, and make off at speed, being followed by a UAZ and a police cruiser.
  
• The sniper detachment manages to shoot and stop the chasing UAZ, but not before an AK round burrows itself into Kolstrup’s leg.
  
• The sniper detachment is able to scare off the police cruiser, but on the way out of town, Ferro stops at the hospital to drop of Sawiki.

Assault Team: Rear Truck

• Back with the rear vehicle from the ground forces, Marshall moves the dead driver out of the way and takes the wheel, getting the truck moving again after Ortega puts some CS gas at the edge of the alley, discouraging the loyalists from entering.
  
• The rear truck is the first to make the edge of the city.

Assault Team: Lead Truck

• The lead truck carrying the high value prisoners hits an allied checkpoint as it reaches the edge of town and stops. The checkpoint looks over the Markgraf to ensure he’s there, then let the vehicle pass without incident.

Assault Team: Both Trucks

• The two trucks are able to pull off the road and reconnect close to the border of Czechoslovakia, but the sniper vehicle is still missing. Mike Catchings has died from his wounds. Lt. Wozniak reads off Stranski’s charges, then shoots him once in the head.
  
• Ostrowki’s vehicle shows up next, carrying Tim Seeley, who we learn was actually the commander of Wright’s 'A Team'. The Assault team takes Filipowicz to a meeting with a unit from Czechoslovakia, and turn him over into exile during a friendly exchange.

Sniper Detachment

• The sniper detachment decides to make for the plane LZ instead of chasing the main body of the Mad Dogs, which turns out to be a great idea when the Land Cruiser finally gives up about six klicks from the LZ. The sniper team has about 2 hours remaining to hike the rest of the way, with Kolstrup on a wounded leg. After a bit, one of the snipers climbs an electrical tower, and sees the plane, already landed about 40 mins before the rendezvous time. Looking around, the Mad Dog sees another man on a tower nearby, doing the same thing, with horses nearby. Presumably the other group is polish Calvary, watching the plane. The sniper detachment decides to act, and take the Polish Calvary by surprise. They’re able to dispatch 3 men, taking one prisoner, and head for the plane using the patrol’s horses to assist with Kolstrup’s wounded leg. Ferro is the first to reach the plane, yelling for it to stop as it begins to taxi. Running down the ramp is Varis Babicevs, in Soviet gear with a medal pinned to his chest. The flight crew gathers the sniper detachment, and then state that they are leaving immediately - 25 minutes ahead of schedule.

Assault Team

• A little earlier in the timeline than the Sniper Detachment, the main force of Mad Dogs say goodbye to their Silesian platoon counterparts, and take possession of one of the two trucks for their trip to the plane. With most of the Mad Dogs together again, they start making for the plane rendezvous, stopping every few minutes to try and raise the still missing sniper detachment via radio. At one of their scheduled stops, they meet up with Simon D’Arcy again, riding in quickly on a motorcycle. He states that he has the Black Madonna with him, but that half of Raciborz is on his tail.
  4th Engagement at Raciborz
  
• Driving along, they quickly encounter 9 Polish Calvary riding after them as well as another squad off to the side of the road which joins in the chase. Along the way, two full platoons of mounted calvary join in the chase as well, and the Mad Dogs' journey quickly becomes one of mounted combat.
  
• Barnett takes a ricochet shot to his rear end during the frantic flight.
  
• An enemy DSHK-armed technical enters the pursuit from another angle along with a FAV. The FAV cuts into the Polish Calvary pursuing the Mad Dogs, but the technical heads straight toward the Mad Dogs truck, firing as it comes. The Mad Dogs truck then performs a “half-crazy Ivan”, and turns at the last second so that its side is fully exposed to the technical, essentially performing a broadside against it and crossing the truck's T. The Mad Dogs kill the dshk gunner, and as the two vehicles pass one another, the unit recognizes some faces in the gun-truck. It’s the French! Captain Beloq’s men, the Mad Dogs, and the Polish are again in a 3-way fight for the Black Madonna. The FAV then accelerates toward the Mad Dogs' truck, which finally is able to make out the taxi’ing plane ahead. The aircrew continue taxi’ing away from the Mad-Dogs, and pray that they’ll get on board in time and with enough room to spare for a quick exit.

(Continued)

• At the same time, the Mad Dogs in the truck are giving it everything they have, firing madly at the huge numbers of pursuers. Just then, and to everyone’s surprise, a jet aircraft (a Mirage) flies down and drops a heavy payload, obliterating the two platoons worth of mounted Calvary at the Mad Dogs rear. About 20 escape the blast and rally/dismount near a farmhouse. The FAV breaks away.
  
• With only about 200m to go to the plane, the bullet ridden truck finally breaks down and comes to a halt. The dismounted horsemen at the farmhouse see it happen, and start heading toward the players again, determined to exact some measure of revenge before the Mad Dogs can escape. The Mad Dogs then dismount as well and execute a fighting withdrawal toward the plane. Babicevs and Leota exit the plane to help provide covering fire. On the way to the plane while helping to carry Catching’s body, Morgan finally drops unconscious from his wounds. The withdrawing unit grabs him and carries on toward the plane.
  
• Benucci takes a shot to his sternum which is stopped by his Kevlar, but on the run to the plane he starts coughing up some blood.
  
• The plane starts moving again when a grenade lands not far from it. Ferro puts her weapon against the co-pilot's head in an effort to stop the plane so that the rest of the Mad Dogs can get aboard. Marshall throws out his back trying to get Morgan into the plane's rear hatch.
  
• The unit starts clambering aboard the aircraft. Billy, still outside, takes a grazing wound across his cheekbone.
  
• Everyone finally makes it onboard, and the plane starts taking off.
  
• Once airborne, the unit secures their packs, put weapons on safe, and start addressing all the wounded. Barnett asks for help with dressing his own embarrassing wound, and JJM orders Babicevs, “Varis, get to work on that man’s ass.”
  
• The team has successfully completed their mission to Silesia, and recovered the Black Madonna...or so they think.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 11
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 11 - Northern Poland - Return to Gdansk: September 16, 2000
Summary: The team lives through a plane crash, but are lost and with little food. Living off the land, the team gets into multiple firefights on their slow trek back toward Gdansk. The chapter ends in Nowa Karczma.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Alex Michaels - Army Rangers (US) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - player
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal Johnny Leota - 3 Para (French Foreign Legion) - player
Major Roy Barnett - Army Medical Corps (US) - player
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player

PC Assets:
Nothing (though arguably a DC-3 Dakota for a hot minute)

• About half an hour into the flight back to Gdansk, Mulcahy notices some liquid leaking out of the starboard wing of the aircraft. He notifies the aircrew, who assure him that it’s normal and nothing to worry about. After another half hour, the starboard engine abruptly explodes, sending the plane diving to the ground. It hits hard, with trees tearing off the starboard wing and the tail coming off entirely, along with Leota and Babicevs still seated in it.
  
• Taking note of the damage, everyone is largely unhurt outside some bloody scrapes and bruises, with the exception of the old plane's aircrew. The crew chief (later found to be named Dave) has a wicked cut on his head, the copilot is clearly dead, and the old pilot is barely clinging to life - trapped in the smashed up cockpit. The pilot passes quickly, but before doing so mentions that they’re about 100km south of Gdańsk. Mike’s body is left in the aircraft in a sort of Viking funeral while Ortega leaves a thermite grenade near the fuel line to burn out the rest of the plane, and the group leaves the scene on foot.
  
• Marching through most of the day, the Mad Dogs get concerned. They have no idea where they are except west of the Vistula and about 100km from Gdańsk, and are very low on rations. Eventually they bed down in a hide of forest, nearby to an old vehicle repair yard full of broken down military vehicles which are all missing batteries and fuel. There are some signs of recent vehicle and horse movement through the area however, in the form of vehicle tracks and horse scat. In the morning, it’s decided that they split into 3 groups - the wounded will hold their camp, one group will go foraging nearby, and the other to do a farther forage/recce patrol along the path of the vehicle tracks.

Group 1 - Patrol 

• The patrol (Ortega, Hollister, O’Brien, Babicevs, Ferro) gets up in the middle of the night and heads steadily eastward looking for the Vistula, encountering lots of old defensive positions leftover from the start of the war, and eventually hitting an industrial site somewhere Southwest of a fair sized town. Seeing no roadsides to tell them where they are yet, the team decides to skirt around the complex to the Southeast and keep moving along, eventually reaching the Vistula. Near the water, they see a boat moving downriver and take shelter in a stand of trees for the day. They see the boat pass back upriver and again back downriver before night, dragging what look like telephone poles behind it on the downriver trips. They still don’t know where they are though - only where the Vistula is - roughly 26km from the hide.
  
• At night, the scout team heads back to the hide, making ground quickly. The discover a small fire in an occupied farmhouse (6 individuals inside), but decide to pass it by. They continue working their way back to camp.

Group 2 - Forage party

• Back at camp (JJM, Marshall, Mulcahy, Lines, Leota, Fox, Cooper, Morgan, Darcy, Seeley, and Dave), the unwounded members of the hide group head out to begin foraging. After further splitting the foraging team between some fields, a marsh, and the forest, the group in the fields sees a lone figure not far, walking along an old path, and decide to try to question them to figure out the unit's location. The lone figure is a Polish woman named Katarzyna Majchrzak, and she's carrying what appears to be a sick child. She informs JJm’s team of their approximate location - west of Siewiece and north of Bydgoszcz. She lets them know that Siewiece is closest, but that the town is under Russian control and that a sickness has broken out there. She is instead heading to Sliwice with the sick child. The Armia Krajowa, or Polish Free Company is there and is friendly to NATO troops, and she will tell JJM how to get there if the foraging party help her and the sick child get to a nearby farm.
  
• JJM agrees to the request, and the small party follows the woman to the small town of Brukniewo. It’s such a small town that it doesn’t show up on any maps, so the group still largely can't pinpoint their location. They’re met by an old woman named Bryda, and a legless American soldier named Carlos Jimenez who is being pushed in a wheelbarrow by a Polish man named Jacek. Bryda will trade a day or two's food when the players return through the area. Jimenez tells of some green berets operating with Armia Krajowa, and the small foraging party returns to the hide. Later the Mad Dogs send some unit members back with items for the small trade, and by midday everyone is eating soup from Bryda and awaiting the return of the long range patrol.

(Continued)

• The unit is now back together. After a short rest, they head back north to meet Katarzyna Majchrzak again at the small farmhouse (third time visiting it), who agrees to guide the Mad Dogs to the Armia Krajowa. They then start on their journey north.
  Engagement somewhere north of Brukniewo
  
• At about the halfway point to meeting the free legion, they stumble across what appear to be around 12 bandits setting up an ambush along a forest road. The Mad dogs decide to wait and ambush the ambushers. Soon, a merchant convoy appears, carrying around 50 civilians with maybe 6 poorly equipped militia guard, and an engagement begins.
  
• Madness ensues with civilians trying to escape all over the place. Leota and Hollister both take a shot, with Leota’s in the arm. O’Brien throws a grenade at an enemy, but it falls short and catches Ortega in the open. A single fragment embeds into Ortega’s thumb.
  
• The Mad Dogs and caravan escort manage to kill about half of the bandits, and take one prisoner, with the rest running off. They then meet the boss of the caravan, Wiktor Tencza, along with his second, a man named Dave McNeil who wears an ESSO trucker hat (note that this is not Dave the crew chief, it’s a different Dave). They sit and enjoy an offer of food from Tencza for saving his caravan. Katarzyna learns from talking to the civvies, and then tells the group, that Armia Krajowa is no longer in Sliwice but has moved on to Czersk. Tencza mentions to JJM that he represents a major logistics faction, that he’ll be riding out the winter in Gdańsk, and that JJM should look him up when he gets back to the Baltic coast.
  
• The group decides to make for Nowe next, as a possible place to cross the Vistula.
  
• Now moving east toward Nowe, Fox let’s the major know that they’re being followed just as the town of Osie comes into view on the other side of a body of water.
  Engagement west of Osie
  
• The team heads north and attempts to cross the body of water, now a small river, and decide to attempt an ambush against the pursuing force as they try to cross behind them. The pursuing opfor must sense something is wrong however, and send part of the group farther ahead to ford north of the Mad Dogs, while some stay on their side of the river across from the ambush. Then, following one of the northern enemies slipping and falling, the enemy force opens up toward the ambushing Mad Dogs. The Mad Dogs kill a few of the pursuers, and Cooper takes a bad hit to his arm, breaking the bone. Then, once things are quiet, the unit marches out once more, getting to within a few hours march of Nowe.
  
• They find an abandoned farmhouse to billet in for the day, and settle in. During sleeping hours, D’Arcy sneaks away with the Black Madonna. Joe Morgan is found to have infection that has set in. The Mad Dogs send out a search party to look for D’Arcy and recover the invaluable painting.
  
• The search party quickly comes across D’Arcy coming back toward them on a trail, with a chicken in his arms, confused about why the party was out looking for him. Suddenly, an American soldier comes out of the woods, weapon aimed at the group. The name on his BDUs says Weaver. Turns out he’s American special forces, and knows Friedmann. Weaver's patrol has 12 men. After some brief explanation of what the Mad Dogs are doing so far south (without letting Weaver know of their actual mission), Weaver lets the group return to their farmhouse billet. Weaver also gives the search party news of Soviets in nearby cities (page 19). Meanwhile the rest of the party lays up and forages, with a great deal of foraging success, until the search party with D’Arcy returns.
  
• The unit decides to send an advance team to Nowe (about 10km away now) to recce it, while the remainder of the Mad Dogs sit tight to heal and rest.
  
• The recce patrol to Nowe makes good speed, and quickly find themselves in a neutral town. The patrol heads in to check the local inn and a single general store. The inn and town is run by Irena Szewinska. JJM regales the bar patrons with his tale of what happened in Silesia (presumably not mentioned the Black Madonna). O’Brien meets and trades with a German soldier named Kurt for some 40mm grenades. Kurt also tells O'Brien about his former unit, about 12 men and a working Marder AFV, who turned to banditry around Starogard Gdanski. The recce patrol also trades for 120kg of grain and veggies. Marshall gets a lead on a vehicle from some armed valet boys in front of the inn - a Humvee with no oil for about $8000 in trade or gold. Irena also tells JJM about some bandits with a truck nearby - Polish deserters from Tczew, and offers to send a guide with the unit to show them where the bandits are located. Meanwhile, Babicevs and Mulcahy stumble into Valeska and her barge down at the river, who offers to sell them weapons and ammunition.
  
• The Mad Dogs decide to go for the bandits, and after the recce patrol returns they prepare together to go take out the bandits and recover their truck. Irena sends her guide, who turns out to be the self-styled General Smolarek - one of the young, armed, valet boys.
  Engagement outside of Nowe
  
• The Mad Dogs reach the bandit camp - 2 houses and 2 barns. The bandits appear to have 3 horses and 2 vehicles (one a sedan of some kind and the other a UAZ-452 minibus). The Mad attempt to sneak in but their second team is spotted, and it turns into a full on assault.
  
• Babicevs and Ferro manage to infiltrate one of the two houses, and immediately find themselves embroiled in a vicious hand to hand melee with two of the bandits. Ferro takes a shotgun blast to her torso, but the round is homemade with glass, a nail, and pebbles, and largely doesn’t penetrate the Kevlar. The two Mad Dogs then manage to kill their attackers just as others are getting into the house, and continue clearing it. From the basement comes a lone female prisoner.
  
• The Mad Dogs kill the rest of the bandits in the camp and settle in for the night to warm up. The sedan was damaged during the firefight, but the minibus and the horses are still okay. O’Brien sets up some mines around the perimeter of the encampment.
  
• In the morning, one of the mines goes off. It appears to have killed two locals while a third runs off.
  
• The group now has a working minibus (seats six), a load of equipment for trade, and heads back to their own camp to grab Fox and any who didn't partake in the assault. Then all together again, they go back to Nowe to complete their trade for the Humvee.
  
• Some of the group also visits Valeska and her barge. While there, Valeska turns on a handheld radio and mentions that there’s been a radio station transmitting out of Gdańsk for the past 3 weeks, for 4 hours out of every 12. One show in the morning, and one at night, with local news, music, and opinions. It’s mostly static, but the group makes out some words: “rabbit...union...assholes...market...yesterday...food...”
  
• Others in the unit get the Humvee working (and trade the UAZ for it), while others end up trading for a .50 M2HB and ammo.
  
• Then comes a much needed night of carousing. Katarzyna Majchrzak decides to stay on with the Mad Dogs at least until reaching Gdansk. Babicevs and Lines have a boxing match for some time with a prostitute. Varis barely wins, but the match was an even one.
  
• In the morning, some Mad Dogs get in their new vehicle and head north along Route 377, while others walk alongside it. An hour from Osiek, the unit bumps into Weaver again, the Green Beret, who leads them into town. Taking the officers into a command bunker in the middle of the well fortified town, Weaver introduces them to Brigadier General Andrzej Malinowski, CO of the 2nd Polish free legion. He also introduces the XO, Major Hartman, 10th special forces group, and Tomasz Siemoniak, representative of the Polish Government in Exile. Siemoniak is somewhat hostile, seeing Gdansk’s actions as illegal, but the others are friendly and provide what intel they have to the Mad Dogs.
  
• Dave the crew chief from the plane decides to stay in Osiek. The rest of the Mad Dogs move out again.
  
• About 20km northeast of Czarna Woda, the Mad Dogs encounter a Polish field hospital, and decide to try to steal one of the vehicles from there using a ruse where they will pretend to parlay, then demand surrender. This is technically a war crime, but being so low on rations, the group deems getting another vehicle necessary.
  Engagement Northeast of Czarna Woda
  
• The plan goes awry when bullets from the camp start streaming toward the Humvee/parlay vehicle. The Mad Dogs then start a cautious assault into the field hospital.
  
• Suppressing the enemy forces at the field hospital, the Mad Dogs move forward. It's a brief engagement, with Seeley takes a round to the thigh, but the Mad Dogs end up taking the field hospital and the remaining Poles surrender. The Mad Dogs then take possession of an ambulance model BMP, and exit the area with the Humvee providing rear security. Just before leaving, a platoon of dismounted Polish Calvary is noticed west of the unit, so the Mad Dogs head north.
  
• The Mad Dogs set a hide for the night about 2km West/Northwest of Starogard Gdanski. At a rail bridge next to the hide, the unit finds a crashed Canadian 2 1/2 ton truck partially submerged in the river below. In it, they find some various ordinance, including some 81mm mortar rounds, but it’s booby trapped.
  
• Overnight, Babicevs has his AK stolen, and Lines, his gloves. They don’t have time to go after the culprit, though they think it’s a local fisherman. O’Brien takes two of the mortar rounds, and leaves a charge to take take of the rest.
  
• The Mad Dogs head off again toward the northwest in a long looping curve around Tczew. Entering the town square at Nowa Karczma, they spot a parked Humvee. The group stops to investigate. In the back, they find a dead Pole, bound with a hood over his head, who appears to have been stabbed repeatedly. Inside a nearby shop they find a marine with a female Pole hostage. He tells the Mad Dogs that he’s on a snatch mission to Koscierzyna, from Gdańsk, and his driver and the Pole in the backseat were killed by “psychos” in the town. The female prisoner is the other person they had grabbed on their mission, and the marine isn’t going to let her go. The crazies apparently ran off when they heard the unit’s vehicles approaching. At this time, the Mad Dogs notice some movement on their flanks, bunch of scraggly looking people are surrounding them. The Marine is named Keith Grady.
  
• Just as the group gets into their vehicles to leave, taking the new Humvee, Keith, and female prisoner with them, they see about 6 uniformed soldiers moving in down the road to the east.
  Engagement at Nowe Karczma
  
• The Mad Dogs decide to fire on everything that moves and roll out, trying to break through the incoming Polish infantry. During the escape, Leota takes a bad hit. Lines gets ripped from the back of the BMP when a downed power line catches his helmet, nearly breaking his neck, and hurls him backward. A Molotov explodes against the trailing Humvee, with some burning liquid getting on O’Briens upper left arm, but the trailing Humvee manages to miss Lines, now lying in the road.
  
• Now on the ground and stumbling toward the nearest building, Lines takes a bullet to his arm. The trailing Humvee reverses to pick up Lines. O’Brien manages to put out the fire on his arm without getting burned, and lobs a grenade at the Poles, then gets shot in the shoulder. Upon getting out, Benucci takes a round to his leg just above the knee, because of course he does. :)
  
• Meanwhile the BMP parks about 1km down the road, while the second Humvee starts driving back toward the firefight. On the way back, they spot a BRDM-2 coming into town from the north, but is parked in a cutoff position. They radio the Humvee in town, who have finished dealing with the Polish infantry and successfully extracting (albeit with 2 more wounded). The two Humvees, separated by just a few hundred meters, prepare a plan via radio to deal with the scout car and any other Polish forces waiting just outside of town.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 12
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 12 - Northern Poland - Winter is Coming: September 23, 2000
Summary: The team finally makes it back to Gdansk, and move to a new billet. They meet with Wright to give over the Black Madonna, but shit goes south due to the interference of enemy forces. The Mad Dogs then try to ambush those enemy forces, but don't pull it off. There's a guy with grenades in his armpits. Finally, the team goes and recovers a bunch of heavy ordinance from Starogard Gdanski to help finance future operations.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Alex Michaels - Army Rangers (US) - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - Now an NPC
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC (left in Gdansk)
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - player
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal Johnny Leota - 3 Para (French Foreign Legion) - player
Major Roy Barnett - Army Medical Corps (US) - player
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC

PC Assets:
Ambulance model BMP
Armored Humvee
Humvee

• The Humvee (diversion Humvee) outside of town creates a diversion by laying fire toward the BRDM-2, then the armored Humvee (recovery Humvee) that has gone back to pick up Lines races out from the town. The BRDM starts a pursuit, and as the Mad Dog's ambulance BMP starts moving, a few rounds hit it and it rolls into a ditch. Ortega had dismounted earlier to help with the diversion, and takes a bullet to the hand (taking off most of his ring finger) as he’s throwing a smoke grenade. As the recovery Humvee from town passes by the now non-moving BMP, it stops to let Babicevs and JJM out. JJM goes to check on the BMP. Keith Grady was killed; Katarzyna was injured but is largely okay. The BMP now has a damaged, but still operable track.
  
• At the diversion Humvee, Hollister takes a round to the shoulder, but it doesn’t penetrate his Kevlar. Babicevs takes a shot at the BRDM with an RPG-7, and scores a clean kill on it. The diversion team gets back in their Humvee and guns it. Switching out drivers in the BMP, the three vehicles complete their escape and again start heading toward Gdańsk. They keep Grady's body in the back of the BMP in order to return it to the IB.
  
• At a waypoint near Egiertowo, the vehicles stop to assess their situation. Marshall takes a look at the BMP and does what he can for the track, even though he doesn’t have any proper tools with him. Barnett runs some work on all of the wounded, and the situation is grim for Leota and Lines. Morgan’s infection also isn’t getting better. Cooper’s arm is still fucked. Ortega, Hollister, O’Brien and Benucci should be alright though after some rest.
  
• The Mad Dogs drive through Borcz and see civilians watching them - they don't know if the civilians are reporting their position. Then at Zukowo, they find a major defensive line, where there are a lot of old fortifications and minefields from early in the war blocking the western approaches to Gdańsk.
  
• The team turns east, and eventually enters the Gdańsk neighborhood of Nowe Ogrody (where Tom Handley died earlier). There, they see a checkpoint. Upon investigation, the leader of the checkpoint is none other than Zajac Narutowicz - former Mad Dog himself. Zajac also has an American prisoner whom he claims is a deserter, and asks JJM to take the prisoner back to the IB. JJM agrees. Meanwhile, Ortega is able to get Wright on the horn, and tries to get control of the Black Madonna from Wright's remaining "A team" members. There's some concern that D'Arcy and Seeley may just run off with it before it can be given back to Wright. Seeley takes the Black Madonna and moves to Ortega’s Humvee, and the vehicles move through the checkpoint.
  
• Upon reaching the old city, Ferro’s Humvee heads for Kaminski’s (formerly Lada’s) compound, while everyone else makes for St Mary’s with the wounded.

Ferro’s Humvee

• The group in Ferro’s Humvee (Ferro, Ortega, O’Brien, Benucci, and Seeley with the Black Madonna) head toward Kaminski's compound and greet the shady businessman. Ortega inquires about Michaels, Meyer, and Anna. Alex Michaels left a few days ago with a free company, but otherwise seemed good when he left - he was proud to be a part of the Mad Dogs. Anna and Meyer are still around, but apparently the IB had contemplated arresting them for desertion at some point, and the IB has confiscated a lot of the Mad Dogs' old gear while they were away.
  
• Kaminski mentions that he’s almost done with Lada’s old compound, and is moving to a new location - the old rowing club.
  
• Wright radios to set up a meeting the next morning at the Neptune theater. Then the group, with Meyer and Anna, head to St Mary’s to link back up with everyone else.

Everyone else

• The rest of the Mad Dogs in the other Humvee and the BMP, head to St Mary’s. JJM assigns tasks to everyone, and meets Zajac’s prisoner, petty officer Dean Wilson, USN. He offers to let Dean join the Mad Dogs, and Wilson accepts.
  
• A man named Albert lets the Mad Dogs know that compensation will be expected for treating their wounded, and JJM pays up with a deposit in the form of a gold tooth. Fox lets Marshall know that he might have luck finding spares for the BMP from the group’s old BMP across the canal (where Jagelis was killed). Morgan, Cooper, Lines, and Leota will stay at the church for recovery, and Hollister and Barnett opt to stay with them as well. Ferro’s Humvee returns, and the group decides to go check on the old BMP, then make for Kaminskis new compound.

(Continued)

• The Mad Dogs, together again, make for the old BMP. While there, they’re approached by Captain Thomas (now Major Thomas) with a group of armed marines. Thomas inquires about Catchings, who was on loan from the IB. JJM lets him know that Catchings is dead, and also about Keith Grady along with Grady's driver. Major Thomas informs JJM that Colonel Hawthorne is now General Hawthorne, but is still wheelchair bound and so Major Lewis is still acting commander. Major Thomas then departs with Grady’s body.
  
• First mention of the rowing club, page 7. Aleksandar is helping man the gate, and welcomes the Mad Dogs back. JJM talks to Meyer, who gives him a sitrep. He mentions that Kaminski has no plans for the winter. Also, he provides a strategic update.
  
• Strategic update: The Russians have started a low level siege campaign to keep pressure on the city.
  
• The Mad Dogs settle in for the night, but not before Marshall gets the missing BMP parts and sets to work on repairs, the unit does a patrol sweep of the surrounding area, and tries to figure out the best place to set up defenses around the compound. Wilson also does some medical work on the remaining wounded that didn’t want to stay overnight at the basilica.
  
• Fox and Benucci take a Humvee back to St Mary’s, with Fox intending to relieve Hollister and Barnett. When Benucci, Hollister, and Barnett return, Barnett gives the news that Johnny Leota has died from his injuries. The group beds down in the gymnasium for the night.
  
• In the morning, Kaminski informs JJM that he has someone coming to install a new windmill at the compound. He also mentions not to go Dolne Miasto, as there’s been a cholera outbreak there.
  
• The unit then breaks into 3 groups.

Compound group

• Group 1 (Hollister, Meyer, Aleksandar, Anna, and Katarzyna) stay at the compound and continue working on setting defensive measures.

Trade group

• Group 2 (Ortega, Kolstrup, Benucci, Marshall, Wilson, and Barnett) heads to the docks and meets with a stern haggler named Makarewicz. He sells the group 60 liters of fuel and 600kg of dried fish - enough protein for 3 weeks. Group 2 then heads to Rajska and Solidarity markets for basic combat goods. Specifically, they want tools, 40mm grenades and medical supplies. They largely succeed in acquiring what they were looking for, then head back to the compound.

Wright meeting

• Group 1 (JJM, Ferro, O’Brien, Mulcahy, Babicevs, Seeley, and D’Arcy) heads to meet Vincent Wright and turn over the Black Madonna for their reward of information that could get them home. Getting to the Neptune theater, no one seems to be present, which is unusual for the normally punctual Wright.
  
• The small group investigates, and eventually are surprised by a guard in the darkened interior of the theater. The guard takes them to meet Wright in the managers office, who is impressed by the Mad Dogs resourcefulness in acquiring the Black Madonna. Then, Wright provides a situational update to the Mad Dogs commander, explaining that the Soviet Baltic front is largely falling apart after the siege of Gdańsk, and that the Madonna may help break the existing stalemate. He also lets McCarthy know about Americans pulling out of Europe through a German port in a couple of months, and that the opportunity is a path home for the Mad Dogs that want it. JJM decides that he’ll speak with his team first about possibly going home.
  Engagement at the Neptune Theater
  
• Out back, Mulcahy and Babicevs see movement on the roof of the theater, and radio it in. Wright lets everyone know that he has no men on the roof, and that he’s leaving. From a story above, gunfire erupts at the covert group. O’Brien responds by throwing a cluster of grenades at the attacker, and the group moves to the front door toward a waiting taxi belonging to Wright. Outside, the other Mad Dogs have engaged in a vicious firefight with unseen attackers.  JJM, Seeley, Wright, D’Arcy, a Polish agent of Wright’s, and O’Brien then throw a smoke, and pile out of the theater just as Ferro, Mulcahy and Babicevs roll up in the Humvee. JJM appears to take a bullet to his hip, but it may have been a ricochet and doesn’t wound him too badly. Wright is shot in the shoulder. D’Arcy takes a round to the thigh as everyone piles into the Humvee, though due to seating Seeley and the Polish agent stand on the rear of the vehicle and hold on. As the Humvee gets moving, an rpg hits the rear, taking off one of he Polish agent's legs and fatally wounding him. Tim Seeley also falls from the back of the Humvee, and is left behind as the Humvee speeds off toward st Mary’s. Thankfully, D’Arcy still has the black Madonna in its carrying case. In the back seat, Wright tells JJM to find a man named Walter Krupp and to complete the mission. JJM radios Ortega and tells him to take the zodiac from Kaminski's and go to the Westerplatte with 2 other Mad Dogs in order to find Krupp, and for the rest of the Mad Dogs to head to St. Mary’s to act as security. JJM is worried that after the attack on the team at the Neptune Theater, that St. Mary's may not be safe either. The Humvee with the Black Madonna group arrives at St Mary’s and the doctors there take in Wright, and then the other Humvee carrying the rest of the Mad Dogs (those not on assignment to the Westerplatte) arrives.

Westerplatte group

• Upon receiving the orders from JJM - Ortega, Kolstrup, Meyer, and Aleksandar head to the Westerplatte to find Krupp. Aleksandar stays with the zodiac, and the others cruise up the beach to find Walter Krupp almost immediately. They also find some local thugs bothering a group of civilians at a shipping container that had washed ashore. After disarming them, Ortega has Kolstrup and Aleksandar tie up the thugs, while he himself goes to meet with Krupp. Krupp is recalcitrant at first, but after some of the thugs' friends arrive and start shooting, he jumps in the zodiac with the Mad Dogs and they power away.
  
• While on the boat, Krupp tells Ortega that he knows the location of a German army forward fuel depot that may still have a significant amount of fuel in it, but that bandits are aware of its location as well. The group manages to make it back to Kaminskis, but not before the outboard engine dies and they have to row the last few hundred meters.

St Mary’s Group

• JJM believes the group that attacked them at the Neptune theater were East Germans, hoping to snatch the Black Madonna, and he’s concerned that they will attempt to infiltrate St Mary’s. He comes up with a cunning plan for D’Arcy to take the invaluable painting with him into the basilica, while he takes the metal case and publicly looks to vacate the area, hoping that the opfor is watching him closely enough to follow him. JJM then tell Babicevs to take the rest of the Mad Dogs ahead to set up an ambush, expecting the opfor to follow him into it. Marshall stays as the Major’s driver along with Benucci and O’Brien, but the Humvee has a cracked radiator, and may not make the it the 10km they have planned for the route.
  
• Babicevs's group heads to Fort Grodzisko (formerly seen in chapter 5), and set up their ambush.
  
• Near the ambush site, the Humvee overheats, and JJM gets help from locals to push it the last few hundred meters.
  2nd Engagement at Fort Grodzisko
  
• Still a block away from the waiting ambush site, JJM's group is confronted by an old Polish man with grenades in his armpits. Yes. Grenades in his armpits. He says men put them there, and said JJM’s group were the only ones that could help him. McCarthy tells the ambushers to look for snipers, and slowly moves out to help the man. After getting one grenade safe, the man tells JJM that it was some Germans and a Finn that had done this to him. Just then a shot rings out, hitting the old Polish man in the shoulder, dropping the grenade. JJM picks it up and throws it, but not soon enough. It explodes and peppers his arm and the back of his neck.
  
• At the same, the ambush springs, but Babicevs's team doesn’t know where all of the opfor are. In the ensuing firefight, Wilson takes a bullet to the abdomen.
  
• O’Brien attempts to rush out to save the Major, and takes a graze to his arm. He also takes 2 rounds to his gut, but the rounds seem to be stopped by his body armor. When he lies flat, he also takes a round to the back of his leg. The Humvee then drives out, intending to block LOS from the snipers to McCarthy and O’Brien, with Benucci laying down cover fire from the mounted machine gun. The opfor loses steam except for one determined shooter, and Benucci takes a graze to his shoulder. JJM, O’Brien, and the old Polish man enter the vehicle.
  
• Meanwhile, Hollister is taken hostage by a German with a leg wound. The group refuses his demands however, and offer him a nearby bicycle in return for letting Hollister go. The man relents, grabs the bike, and peddles out of the area.
  
• The firefight winds down, and the Mad Dogs take both vehicles and leave the area, stopping back at St Mary’s to cool down and drop off the wounded old Polish man. Then both vehicles head back to Kaminski’s compound. The Mad Dogs decide that the theater and sniper ambushes were in fact perpetrated by Hauptmann Schweppenburg and Eikki Termonen.

(Continued)

• The unit needs to rest. JJM holds a meeting, and tells the unit that from Wright, he learned that the US military is evacuating Europe from Bremerhaven. He says that he’d like to stay and continue building Gdańsk, and create a free coast all along the Baltic from Gdańsk to Riga. He wants to continue making strikes against the Soviets through the winter, and then try to link back up with the 8th ID in the spring. The unit decides to stay, and plans are made. Initial thinking is to bolster the unit’s armor capability - but for that they need money and fuel. They decide to go grab those mortar rounds from near Starogard Gdanski and sell them in order to finance operations. Afterward, they hope to go get Krupp’s diesel. Before any of that though, they need to heal and rest.

Time skip starting September 26th. The wounded are all ready for action again, except for Cooper whose arm is still in a splint. Barnett has been spending more and more time at St Mary’s, and it seems only a matter of time until he decides to stay there. Morale for the unit is about as high as it's ever been, despite all of the wounds incurred recently. Simon D’Arcy drops off an 81mm mortar and a manpack radio (callsign "slingshot"). The Mad Dogs continue improving the compound. Krupp sets up a lab and moves into the compound, bringing with him a Volkswagen Iltis, an AGS-17, a PTRS-41 anti-armor rifle, an IR NODLR system, and various mines and ammunition.It is now Oct 10th

• The Mad Dogs plan to go grab the mortar rounds near Starogard Gdanski (in the truck at the bottom of the ravine), but first they take a brief shopping trip. As the convoy is getting ready to go, Kaminski introduces his new driver, Artur Szukala. In the convoy will be the armored Humvee, the BMP ambulance, the Iltis, and Kaminski's flatbed truck. The convoy then heads out to Starogard Gdanski.
  
• At the checkpoint near Chelm, a militia commander asks JJM to escort a minibus to Skarszewy. After some negotiating, the Mad Dogs will drive together with the minibus all the way to Godziszewo, where the Humvee will turn west and escort the minibus the last few kilometers. The Humvee will then link back up with the other vehicles in Trzcinsk.
  
• On the road, the unit successfully bypasses an engagement at the crossing of the Radunia River, west of Pruszcz Gdanski. A few minutes north of Godziszewo, they come across an abandoned van and small ambulance, along with corpses. Some of the civilians in the civilian minibus recognize some of the dead, and cry out in anguish. Frank recognizes George Rawlinson as one of the dead as well. They take Rawlinson’s body in the BMP, and keep moving. The Humvee delivers the minibus, and links back up with the main body of the convoy with no difficulty.
  
• The Mad Dogs continue to Starogard Gdanski, and locate both the mortar and Carl Gustav rounds in the truck at the bottom of the ravine under the train tracks, just where they had left them. Everything still seems to be intact. And quiet.
  Engagement at the Rail Bridge west of Starogard Gdanski
  
• The Mad Dogs successfully pull out truck parts, mortar rounds and 8 Carl Gustav rounds. They’re almost done loading when 4 men on horseback are spotted near the train tracks. The team grabs their gear and get ready for a fight. 2 more riders show up, making the enemy count 6. The sound of an engine is also heard somewhere near the riders. Soon, a BMP-2 comes around the bend, with mounted soldiers riding atop it and a foot element trailing behind. The firefight is fast and frantic. The Humvee jets out of there in a flanking attempt, but as they approach the railroad tracks behind the BMP, they see an entire convoy, including a tanker truck, mortar, trucks, UAZ's, an MTLB, and more.
  
• Babicevs tags the BMP with an HEDP grenade from the side. Benucci manages to put some .50 rounds into the tanker truck, setting it alight.
  
• Due to the terrain and Mad Dogs being on different sides of the ravine as the convoy approaches, the group is quickly forced to split up. The Iltis and BMP on one side of the bridge, with the Humvee and Kaminski's flatbed on the other side. JJM and Babicevs get left behind (intentionally) at the railway crossing, and will attempt to link back up later. The Humvee and flatbed decide their only path not currently covered by the opfor goes into Starogard Gdanski and start moving in that direction, following the river. Eventually they reach a bridge back over the river to the north, but it is blocked by all manner of obstacles. The group decides to plant charges to clear the bridge for use. The Iltis and the BMP meanwhile, are also moving east along the train tracks, and work to link up with the Humvee and flatbed near the bridge.
  
• JJM and Babicevs are stealthily leaving the salvage area when they’re attacked by a pack of wild dogs. JJM puts a .45 round into the head of one and the others disperse, but this alerts any nearby Poles remaining to their presence. Then the two Mad Dogs race eastward on foot, hoping to catch the 2 groups of vehicles. On the way deeper into Starogard Gdanski, they hear a vehicle. Meanwhile, the BMP and the Iltis see the opfor BMP about 1500m behind them on the train tracks slowly approaching their position.
  Engagement at Starogard Gdanski
  
• O’Brien, still planting charges on the bridge, narrowly avoids getting shot from someone to the south. A sniper steadily plinks away at the Mad Dogs and vehicles on both the north and south side of the bridge, as the enemy BMP approaches the northern group. JJM and Babicevs see two opfor UAZs with a small squad from where they are hiding.
  
• The Mad Dogs are essentially trying to link up between two prongs of Poles (the ones from the ravine earlier), and a sniper/spotter combo in the high rise. They know that they need to exfiltrate immediately or get bogged down in a fight they won’t be able to win.
  
• While some Mad Dogs engage the sniper, O’Brien scrambles off the bridge and blows his charge. Everyone then manages to clamber aboard the vehicles, and the convoy starts rolling again.
  
• The Mad Dogs cut east through a part of the city, then turn north. Running low on batteries for NVGs, the team decides to camp out in the forest for the night, rather than risk getting separated.
  
• The unit wakes the next morning to Fox alerting them to the sound of vehicles. Rather than investigate, JJM orders them to mount up and get out of there. They do so, and once again they’re heading north.
  
• About 20km outside of Gdańsk, the Mad Dogs encounter a man named Dawid with a truck on the side of the road. Dawid advises them that he’s waiting for a Polish calvary patrol up ahead to pass, and JJM decides to halt the convoy to wait with him. A British soldier, Dawid’s scout, then appears from the woods nearby. The soldier’s name is Alan Little.
  
• The Mad Dogs send a patrol of their own to investigate, which finds what appears to be a bunker at the calvary’s location, along with a couple of horsemen still idling about. Based on the complications from the day before, the Mad Dogs no longer have enough fuel to take the 30km detour that would be needed to bypass the bunker - they decide to force their way through instead.
  Engagement at the crossroads bunker west of Pruszcz Gdanski
  
• The unit forms up into support and assault groups, and makes their way across empty fields toward the bunker, peppering it with .50 caliber fire from the Humvee. Assaulting, Meyer is the first and only one hit - a clean wound to his side. The total engagement goes fairly quickly, with it being discovered that these are largely second line Polish troops. The Mad Dogs overwhelm the Poles in short order and get moving again, with 2 prisoners added to their convoy.
  
• The Mad Dogs return to Gdańsk, and drop Meyer off at St. Mary’s, who seems to be in good spirits despite his wound. Alan Little officially joins the unit. Everyone makes it back to the compound, except for Meyer and Barnett.

Later

• The team then goes about splitting up between improving the vehicles, trading for more weapons, ammunition, and food, and improving the compound.
  
• Ortega takes a team to meet with Valeska, and outlines the Mad Dogs' interest in doing business with her. They then go upriver to meet with the Fisherman’s Union to see about trading away their two KPVs. Others from this group go to Ostrow Island to scrounge for metal for use in up-armoring the vehicles.
  
• Back at base, construction and fortification continues. The team was also able to mount the MAG machine gun and the AGS-17 to the Iltis.
  
• That night, Valeska comes by with a menu of items she’s willing to trade to the Mad Dogs.
  
• JJM also outlines his next plan - doing the math, the Mad Dogs won’t have enough to make it through the winter surviving off of loot from the enemy. He wants to visit Tencza’s and offer to buy a 5-ton truck, at least 20 empty barrels, and enough fuel to get to Krupp’s diesel cache.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 13
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 13 - Northern Poland - The Lure of Diesel : October 12, 2000
Summary: The Mad Dogs plan and prepare for a new mission to claim a fuel cache that's east of the Vistula. They first capture Przejazdowo, then meet some new German friends. The team then continues to fight their way east.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - NPC
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - player
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - Now an NPC
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Petty Officer Dean Wilson - Medic/USMC Force Recon - player
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - player
Captain Alan Little - Logistics (UK) - player

PC Assets:
Ambulance model BMP
Armored Humvee
Humvee (wrecked and non-usable)
Volkswagen Iltis

• A deal is made with Valeska. In two days the Mad Dogs are to meet her on the river north of Ostrow Island to make the trade.
  
• Most of the Mad Dogs continue working on the compound and the vehicles.
  
• 4 of the Mad Dogs (including Aleksandar, Morgan, Ferro and Ortega) head into the city to shop, and to try to trade the unit’s 2 extra KPVs for the parts to build a still, some coal, and some preserved food. They also visit Wiktor Tencza, who agrees to accompany the unit with his truck and 2 of his men in exchange for 20% of the take. He leads Ortega to his truck, where his 2 men are located - Dave McNeil with an ESSO trucker cap, and another man whose name isn’t known. Wiktor instructs his men to get a man named Albert Karpowicz (Wiktor’s partner) who should have a line on fuel for the upcoming mission. Wiktor then wants to go and meet with JJM to discuss their plans, and the group (including Wiktor) starts making their way back to Kaminski's compound. On the way, Wiktor shows them where to scrounge a large number of barrels, and suggests bringing some bridge building materials along on the trip.
  
• Meanwhile back at the compound, JJM is questioning the two Polish prisoners acquired on the way back from the mortar mission. The other Mad Dogs are doing various bits of work, with some attempting to scavenge the nearby school.
  Engagement at the school next to Kaminski's compound
  
• At the school, an unknown gunman fires twice at Benucci through a closed classroom door. At the sound of gunfire, everyone leaps into action, grabbing kit and making for the school at speed. Once there, they start working their way up through the building. Benucci was shot at on the third floor, but now there’s a shooter on floor 2 as well. Two teams approach the shooter on floor 2 from opposite ends of a corridor. Babicevs takes a ricochet to the arm as the shooter on floor 2 is killed, and it’s deemed a blue on blue from the Mad Dogs advancing from the other side - this is due to a language difference between Brits and Americans regarding what the second floor of a building is called (lol). Meanwhile Benucci subdues the enemy on the third floor, and the body and prisoner are brought back to the compound, along with a Chinese made radio found on the second floor of the school.
  
• Tencza and Ortega’s group make it back to the hotel.

A few days pass During this time the Humvee is outfitted with a gun-shield. The BMP ambulance is armed with dual KPVs. Some additional work is done on the compound to make it more livable and defensible. The trade with the Fisherman’s League with the other two KPVs is successful, and the parts for a medium still are acquired. The weapons transaction with Valeska also takes place successfully. An interrogation of the new prisoner is attempted, but doesn’t turn up much intel. It is now October 14th.

• JJM gives new tasks for everyone - preparing a foundation for the still, shopping, getting barrels for the trip, etc.

Another couple of days pass Work on the still begins. Of the two Polish soldiers captured previously, one (Dobromir Skala) is let go. The other, named Czeslaw Kaczka, decides to stick around with the Mad Dogs. A trip is made to Gang Anjo to request an interrogator (specifically not a torturer) who can help with the prisoner from the school. It works - the newest prisoner is Armenian, and a scout from the 42nd GMRD. His mission was to scout Gdansk. The 42nd, being fresh from Russia, is now probably the biggest threat against Gdańsk. At the same time, the team scrounges up around 80 barrels, and gets materials to help with building/repairing bridges. The Mad Dogs also complete building the Medium Still. The unit now has everything they need to make the run to the fuel cache.
JJM goes to drop off the prisoner from the school with the IB, and learns about the PACT forces still south of the city. It’s apparent that the convoy, in order to reach the fuel cache, will be stopped by PACT forces at Przejazdowo (50-100 men). JJM convinces the IB that the time to attack Przejazdowo is now, so that the Mad Dogs can then continue with their “scouting mission”. In support, the IB will send two platoons from the Waterloo company, two AFVs (including the unit’s old Bradley), and some limited mortar support. JJM will be acting commander of the assault, and Reina Ibanez will again act as the communications liaison with the Mad Dogs. It is now October 16th.

• A lot of regional details have been learned through Walter Krupp on page 7.
  
• JJM briefs the team on their coming mission. It’ll start with an attack on Przejazdowo, then Swibno, Rybina, Elblag, the fuel cache, and back home again.

Group 1

• Tencza stops by and takes some of the Mad Dogs (including the Major) and their vehicles to his fuel suppliers at a Merchant Union's locale - the old coal power plant in Gdansk. While collecting enough fuel for the upcoming expedition, JJM takes on a Polish man who will be out of work in the winter, but will go back to working with Tencza in the spring. His name is Piotr Auttenberg. On the way back with the fuel, a major commotion is encountered on the city streets, and it looks like it could turn into a full blown riot. The fuel convoy reverses, and finds another course back to Kaminski’s. Upon their return, Kaminski mentions that he heard some of the factories are rationing workers food payments in preparation for the coming winter, and that the unit should probably stay out of the city for a couple of days. Ibanez is also at the compound as well. Ibanez mentions that there’s a prisoner from the 8th ID that has been arrested and is at the IB HQ, that there are starting to be morale and political issues within the IB, and that 2 platoons worth of militia have been added to the attack on Przejazdowo.

Group 2

• Meanwhile, Ortega leads a team via Zodiac to recce Przejazdowo. They set up the NODLR on top of a chemical tank at the water treatment plant, north of the town, and observe for a few hours. They then decide to move in on foot under the cover of darkness. They do a proper recce, and start to pull back after locating multiple enemy positions, a minefield, and an entrenched gun emplacement on the east side of the village. At the same time, Ferro and O’Brien stationed back at the NODLR see 3 men approaching their position. It’s determined that the 3 men are friendly after a radio call with the IB confirms a friendly patrol in the AO. The patrol elements link back up and head back to the compound.

(Continued)

• The team spends the day planning and resting. It's decided that due to his broken arm, Thomas Cooper will not be coming on the mission, nor will Katarzyna. Kaminski goes out and gets some winter clothing for some of the Mad Dogs.
  
• At night, Kolstrup, O’Brien and Fox head out via zodiac, to act as a forward sniper team to help keep the gun emplacement pinned down during the upcoming assault. The rest of the Mad Dogs move out next, in five vehicles, including the Iltis, the Humvee, the BMP, the heavy cargo truck driven by Tencza and his man Dave McNiel, and Kaminski with his flatbed truck for the excursion as well (driven by his new driver, Artur Szukala).
  Engagement at Przejazdowo
  
• The engagement at Przejazdowo begins. The BMP takes a penetrating hit that catches some fuel on fire and damages a fuel line. The platoon from Waterloo successfully gains a foothold to the western side of the town, while the Mad Dogs fight to secure a foothold from the east. The militia fights from the north. It’s quickly found that Zajac Narutowicz is with the militia as well (this guy just keeps showing up). A BRDM-2 is sighted on the eastern side of town.
  
• During the urban assault, Morgan gets hit in the arm. Kaczka gets hit in the arm as well. Same with Hollister, but his arm wound is accompanied by a leg shot as well.
  
• The snipers attempt to take out the gun emplacement - only to find out its a 57mm AA gun. The heavy AA weapon puts HE rounds toward the snipers, and Kolstrup takes some nasty wounds to his legs and lower back from exploding shrapnel. Fox, who was with Kolstrup, only takes some superficial wounds.
  
• Ortega cracks the BRDM-2 with an RPG-7. Benucci and Ferro in the armored Humvee roll into the enemy command post by happenstance, and proceed to wreck havoc. JJM then quickly negotiates a surrender, and Pzejazdowo is taken.
  
• The Mad Dogs carry on after the battle, with the convoy soon reaching Sobieszewo island, but not before JJM has some of the wounded taken back to Gdańsk to rest and heal - Kolstrup, Hollister, and Kaczka won’t be going on this journey. On the pontoon bridge to Sobieszewo, the Mad Dogs meet Szymon, the bridgekeeper, who takes them into town. They spend the night at Maria Ostrowski’s inn, while the vehicles are kept in the island's fire station, next to a decorated BTR-80.
  
• At the local pub, Meyer meets a group of Germans who own the BTR-80 and whom he spills the beans to about the fuel cache. The group of Germans later get introduced to the Mad Dogs at the hotel, where everyone is staying the night. The Germans include Michael Kessler, Karel Janku, Lukas Fischer, and Sabine Riedel, along with their dog, Klinsi. They agree to join McCarthy on his venture to capture the fuel, but it appears as though they have alternate reasons for heading east as well.

Interlude - Der Krokissar’s Auftakt - Near Wislinka : October 18, 2000

• 4 Germans, Kessler, Riedel, Fischer, and Janku, along with their dog "Klinsi" and a BTR-80, are outside Wislinka under cover. They hail from Tzcew most recently, where they dressed as Russians in order to gain access to the bridge to cross the Vistula heading eastward (but failed).
  
• The group hears fighting to the west, near Przejazdowo, and decide to try to cross the Vistula at Swibno. Listening to their radio, they hear some communication about the battle (but mostly jibberish), then some music on another channel, likely emanating from Gdańsk. They make for the bridge at Sobieszewo, and encounter Szymon, the bridge troll/keeper. They then move into the town proper, and head to the hotel. The group does some trading, and meet Babicevs and Meyer in the pub for the first time, and listen to Meyer talking about his mission. They then decide that they need to speak with Meyer’s commanding officer.

(Continued)

• The next morning, everyone goes to cross the Vistula on the ferry, but the trip will take 2 crossings due to the Mad Dogs now having 6 vehicles (Humvee, BMP, Iltis, Heavy truck, Kaminski's truck, and the BTR). On the second ferry across, large booming sounds are heard from the south, and an armored river monitor is seen closing on the ferry from a distance of 2km. On the far side of the river, the team also sees a BRDM-2, a technical, and 25 calvary closing from the south as well. The engagement quickly begins in earnest.
  
• The ferry makes it to the far side of the Vistula and all vehicles start moving out, with some running interference while the civilian vehicles try to break free to the northeast.
  1st Engagement at the Swibno Ferry Crossing
  
• An explosion rocks the ground behind the Iltis, and Varis takes shrapnel to the back of his leg from a bounding mine before tumbling back over the tailgate. The Iltis, now going up an embankment, ends up rolling over. The Humvee then comes by to pick up Mulcahy (the driver of the Iltis) and Babicevs. Meanwhile on a nearby dyke, Meyer takes a bad hit to his side. Firing the .50cal from the Humvee, Benucci takes a shot to his side as well, near to his shoulder.
  
• After picking up Mulcahy, the team quickly rights the Iltis and gets it back in operation. JJM puts an RPG-7 HEAT round into the BRDM-2, and heavy machine gun fire tears into the enemy technical, causing it to crash into a trench. The battle comes to a conclusion relatively quickly, with some of the Poles escaping, and some being captured by the Mad Dogs.
  
• The team quickly loots the battlefield, and notes that some of the survivors ran to a ruin a few hundred meters to the south, where they are visibly taking defensive positions. The Mad Dogs quickly send one of their prisoners to go offer a parlay to negotiate a ceasefire with the escaped Polish soldiers, and one of the escaped Poles then comes forward to speak with Kessler. The Pole that comes forward is 2nd Lieutenant Bajek. Polish reinforcements start appearing behind Bajek’s position, but he offers the Mad Dogs 30 minutes of peace before the battle will resume, in the hopes of staving off any more dead today. The Mad Dogs take the time to operate on Meyer's wounds, butcher a horse, and collect loot.
  
• The convoy then proceeds east on the 501 toward Jantar, then north into the forest on logging trails, then again east toward Stegna. Close to Stegna, the convoy pauses to rest and think out their next plan of action. After sending the Iltis ahead, the unit makes it to the concentration camp museum in Sztutowo. The unit billets there, and collects firewood to camouflage the oil barrels in the back of Tencza’s heavy flatbed. They next send out a patrol to check out Rybina, where a small Polish OP is rumored to be. A dark and foreboding night has now fallen upon the camp.

Group 1

• Group 1 (JJM, Ortega, Lines, Benucci, Ferro, O’Brien, Riedel) heads out on patrol to take a peek at Rybina through the NODLR. They get a good feeling for the town, decide that there’s likely only a squad or so of Poles there, then make their way back to town to check the bridge in Sztutowo. On the way back, they see a fire somewhere in town. They recce the bridge, then go back to the camp.

Group 2

• Everyone else remains at the museum. On lookout, Fischer and Aleksandar hear no less than 20 people filter by on foot, heading west along Route 501. The people walking by seem to be wearing what might be robes, and pass right outside the lookout position in the darkness. It's disturbing to all that witness it. After the creepy group passes, rain begins to fall, a vehicle is heard somewhere in the distance, and a siren plays a few times with a couple of random gunshots in the distance to the east.
  Creepy night sounds of the Concentration Camp Museum : http://youtu.be/syWhwn3aRfQ
  
• The team re-positions to face east. More gunshots are heard to the west this time, and a vehicle is heard driving in the distance, heading from northwest of the camp to northeast, and it's apparently blaring music. Group 1's patrol then returns to camp.

(Continued)

• The group plans their next moves. JJM wants to do one more patrol during the night, and Kessler wants to take out a foot patrol to see what’s up with the 20 people that crossed nearby on foot.

Group 1

• JJM’s patrol heads out toward the old maritime museum in Katy Rybackie. Along the way through the northern forest, they encounter a roadblock of cut trees, and go further on foot, leaving some Mad Dogs and the vehicles at the roadblock. The foot element come to the museum, and from a distance can easily see that it is both inhabited, and well fortified. They hear a vehicle to the north again, this time heading east to west. The vehicle bypasses their position, and the foot element returns to the vehicles. They then head back to camp.

Group 2

Engagement at Stegna

• Kessler, Fischer, and Babicevs head west, dressed as PACT troops, to Stegna. The group enters town, and finds a new-ish pack and a fresh dead body. Searching the body, Kessler sees a man searching another body in the darkness not far away. The two immediately raise their rifles and exchange fire, but the other man makes it into cover. Another stranger is then seen not far away, and Kessler and Fischer go to hunt him down, while Babicevs is tasked with chasing down and eliminating the first man. Babicevs puts a round into his prey, then during the chase encounters and kills another man. He then catches the runner, now getting atop a horse, and guns him down, as well as his horse.
  
• With Fischer and Kessler not having any luck killing their prey, the three Mad Dogs then reconvene. Then, after not being able to tell who these random strangers are (outside of them not wearing uniforms and looking like they’d been in the field for a long time), decide to head back to camp, bringing along a second, captured horse.

(Continued)

• All together again, the group makes their plan to take the Observation Post (OP) at Rybina. One team will try a false flag operation dressed as Spetznaz to get in close to the Polish defenders, while a support team will move in concealed, using a boat the group had found.
  Engagement at Rybina
  
• Everyone moves out before dawn. The support team makes it close to the northern bridge, where a Polish sentry is posted along with a stationary BTR-60. Meanwhile, Kessler's fake Spetznaz team moves up on the road in Soviet kit, and attempt to bluff their way into close proximity with the Pole. The Pole is startled, but quickly calls for the rest of his squad to come out to determine why there's a Soviet special operations team here in Rybina. The squad joins him, and just as the squad starts to believe the false narrative, something sets them off and a firefight ensues. The unit quickly dispatches 3-4 of the defenders, with 1-2 making it back safely into the AFV. Moments later, gunfire erupts toward the Mad Dogs on the bridge from down the road to the south, where at least 2 more enemies are present.

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:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Sergeant First Class Luis Ortega - 75th Rangers (US) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Corporal Joe Morgan - Army Rangers (US) - NPC
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - Now an NPC, but returns for a post or two
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player (Left in Gdansk)
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC(Left in Gdansk)
Petty Officer Dean Wilson - Medic/USMC Force Recon - Now an NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - Now an NPC
Captain Alan Little - Logistics (UK) - player
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - Now an NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - player
Soldat Sabine Riedel - German army - 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 Gdańsk.
  
• 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 West Kepki 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 General 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 Burant’s 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 Gdańsk, and decide on trying to use the various bridges to get back the way they came.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 15
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 15 - Northern Poland - Running on Diesel : October 31, 2000
Summary: The team loads the fuel, and frees some prisoners in Jazowa. Then the team heads west again, and have a ceasefire with local Polish forces. They then fight Soviets in Bogatka, and finally they re-enter Gdansk after a successful mission.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC
PFC Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Specialist Caleb Mulcahy - Infantry (US) - Now an NPC
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Lance Corporal Thomas Cooper - 21st Royal Engineer Regiment (UK) - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Sergeant Thomas Marshall - Support (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player (Left in Gdansk)
Staff Sgt. Owen Hollister - Scout Sniper (USMC) - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC(Left in Gdansk)
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Captain Alan Little - Logistics (UK) - player
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Left in Gdansk)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - player
Soldat Sabine Riedel - German army - player
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - 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)
PTS-M
Tarpan Honker

• Krupp’s work party ends up extracting 6600L of usable diesel, and in the morning the Mad Dogs convoy heads out from the fuel depot. They first stop at Fredyryk Burant’s partisan camp in the ecological reserve. There, they give Burant 200L of diesel for all of his help, along with dropping off Caleb Mulcahy, who has decided not to continue with the Mad Dogs. The unit then travels across the Elblag bridge with the toll, and make it over surprisingly easily. The convoy then reaches Kepki, where they had earlier blown a bridge, and found the bridge still down.

Group 1

• Kessler, Ferro, Babicevs and Benucci head south to Jazowa to check the bridge in that town. There, at the eastern side of the bridge, they find a man in American BDUs shackled to a light post. He says that his friends are prisoners of Russians on the other side of the bridge, and states that if the Mad Dogs try to cross, his friends will be hurt. He also mentions that they’re all being watched right now.
  
• The shackled man is named Shawn Keller, and claims to be from the American 50th armored, from the 112th field artillery regiment. Kessler and crew decide things look too shady, and leave the man there, obeying his request to move on. They head back to Kepki.

Group 2

• JJM and the rest of the team checks the bridge at Kepki more thoroughly. They decide to attempt to repair it using telephone poles and local materials, and jobs are assigned. They also discuss using explosives to down the telephone poles and get to work on sketching out the repair plan. Then the patrol returns.

(Continued)

• Not sooner than Kessler returns than he goes back out, this time in the Krok. His team moves across the river to scout things out on the far side of the river at Jazowa, in order to determine if Keller was telling the truth. There they find what appears to be a small Russian outpost, and can see Keller still chained on the other side of the bridge. Not wanting to risk discovery, Kessler’s team again pulls back.
  
• Meanwhile at Kepki, the bridge work takes a little longer than expected, but progresses nicely. By 8pm local, the bridge had been repaired and all vehicles had made the crossing back to the northern/western side of the Nogat river. The team then decides to check again on the OP at Jazowa.
  
• Ferro and Fischer go ahead to scout the enemy position, while others prepare for an assault to free the alleged hostages.
  Engagement at Jazowa
  
• The Mad Dogs take their combat vehicles to assault the enemy position at the bridge in Jazowa, killing most but not all of the small number of defenders. There turns out to be 11 prisoners total, but during the assault one of them jumped out a window in an escape attempt, but after breaking his ankle from the fall he was shot by an escaping guard. The leader of the prisoners is a man named Sergeant Woods, who JJM recognizes from the 8th as a Bradley commander. Another of the prisoners is a man named Muller, who was picked up by the Poles during the Hel raid. Keller is released when Andropov manages to pick the lock on his chain. The unit takes aboard the prisoners, and heads out to link back up with the civilian vehicles at the bridge south of Marzecino (where they had repaired a bridge last chapter).
  
• Fearing that the Rybina crossing has been heavily reinforced since their last encounter there, the Mad Dogs head to Stobiec to lay up while some scouting of Rybina takes place.
  
• In Stobiec, the Mad Dogs plan out how to recce Rybina, and decide to do a long range observation from Tujsk using the NODLR. During this time, Babicevs also uhh... relieves himself... with a jar of strawberry preserves found in Jazowa. The recce patrol heads out.
  

Group 1

• At Stobiec, the Mad Dogs not on patrol listen to Emma Cassidy as she gives a brief description of the prisoners whom she has checked out for health issues, mentioning that most of them have PTSD. She says specifically not to issue a weapon to Major Dunn, fearing that he might be a danger to himself or others.
  
• The Mad Dogs also question the now freed prisoners during this time. Woods describes being captured during a feint against Malbork when the 8th was first passing through Poland. The prisoners also relay that they know Jonathan Young, and that he is being kept in Malbork, but no word on Steinhoff, Fox, or one of Kessler’s missing men, a man named Wurz.

Group 2

• McCarthy, O’Brien, Benucci, Ferro, Riedel, and Babicevs head to check out Rybina. They drive to Tujsk, and dismount for a walk to the river’s bank. Observing the bridges, they see a flag being flown next to a lantern. Assuming this flag might be for them, McCarthy decides to investigate and approaches the bridge on his own. Bajek (from the last Vistula crossing) is at Rybina, and talks to McCarthy. He states that he has orders to recover the PTS-M for help with engineering project in the area, but would prefer to avoid further bloodshed if possible. He mentions that if the Mad Dogs would be willing to peacefully part with the vehicle, then his Polish unit will escort the Mad Dogs back to the Vistula, as well as hand over Arthur Fox.

(Continued)

• The recce returns to Stobiec with the offer, and all agree that it’s a good idea. They also decide to send the BTR ahead to the Vistula to check things out.
  

Group 1

• In the early morning, JJM, Ferro, Benucci, Lines, O’Brien, Babicevs, Riedel, Anna and Aleksandar depart aboard the BTR and make for the ferry crossing at Swibno. The amphibious vehicle makes it there quickly, only for the Mad Dogs to learn that the ferry hasn’t been seen in 2 days, and a fairly large queue of travelers are now waiting to cross. They also meet a mercenary there that seems to recognize McCarthy, and the group offers to give the merc a lift. O’Brien meets a couple in the queue that was heading west - the couple mentions hearing a siren and screaming in the distance when they were camped outside Stegna.
  
• Others attempt to trade. Riedel meets a traveling performance group led by a man named Adam.
  
• The BTR signals the Poles across the Vistula, who signal back that the island is closed, and ask the Mad Dogs to wait for a day before crossing. Someone in the queue mentions that there’s some kind of war happening in Gdańsk, but it may just be rumor. Vicky Gorden gets on radio with JJM next, and lets him know that a night crossing may be viable. She also advises that communications have been lost with Gdańsk, but that some artillery can be heard in the distance to the west. It seems no one is clear on exactly what is happening in Gdańsk. The rest of the convoy then reaches the crossing.

Group 2

• Kessler and the rest of the convoy reach Rybina. It appears as though Bajek was being honest. He brings a few men with him to ride in the PTS-M to ensure that there's nothing sketchy afoot. He also motions for his adjutant, whom he seems to trust implicitly, to ride in the Humvee with Kessler. The man is named Artur Netzel, and he enters the Humvee and sits next to Kessler. The two have a nice conversation about family as the convoy motors east. Outside Junoszyno, Muller (the former prisoner) sees a light prop plane to the south of the convoy. Netzel confirms that the plane isn’t part of the Polish army, but after doing some close passes the plane seems to move on. The convoy then reaches Swibno and the ferry crossing.

(Continued)

• The unit moves into the woods north of the ferry crossing to unload the PTS-M and to facilitate the handoff of the vehicle to Bajek and Netzel’s men. Bajek also releases Sergeant Fox back to the Mad Dogs. Emma Cassidy seems to be missing. The unit then splits as it sends out a couple of patrols.

Group 1

• At the forest camp, Kessler organizes a search for Cassidy. He quickly discovers that Marshall is missing as well.
  
• Arthur Fox talks with JJM and tells him about his time as a prisoner of the Poles. He mentions that the Poles treated him very well, but that the Baltic front is on the verge of collapse, and that he won’t be surprised if the Poles start a coup against the Russians in Malbork before Spring, and maybe sooner if the 42nd GRMD hadn’t shown up. He also mentions that Bajek’s crew won’t desert, but that they’re more on the side of the west than on the side of the Russian generals.

Group 2

• The patrols head south to Przemyslaw, which no longer exists as any kind of recognizable town, before they split in two groups. The Krok heads east through the battered remains of the town, with Alan Little leading a scavenging team.

Group 3

• Ferro’s patrol in the Humvee continues south until hitting a canal with a partially repaired bridge. They dismount as the bridge doesn’t appear to be able to support the Humvee, and use binoculars to observe an agricultural complex to the east. Deciding that they can’t proceed in the Humvee, Group 3 backtracks to swap vehicles with Group 2. Now in the Krok, Ferro’s group crosses the canal amphibiously. Getting closer now to the agricultural complex, they see that it is both occupied and well-defended. Deciding that it probably doesn’t have a trailer, at least not one worth the risk, the Krok turns around and joins Group 2 scavenging in the destroyed ruins of Przemyslaw. They find some small trinkets to trade, but mostly nothing of value. At dusk, both groups head back to camp.

(Continued)

• Marshall and Cassidy missing turned out to be a false alarm. Cassidy has been down at the river asking about medicine and promoting the Marian enclave, and Marshall had been off talking to the American mercenary. Both received a dressing down by the officers for leaving without notifying anyone.
  
• Vicky Gordon calls on the radio to relay a boat trailer has been found and is for sale for some ammunition. The only problem with the trailer is that it isn’t big enough for all the fuel barrels. The offer is accepted by the Mad Dogs, and the trailer will be sent over at night. In return, the islanders will take the trade goods, along with anyone the Mad Dogs want to send ahead onto the island. Gorden mentions that she doesn’t know when the ferry will be back to the east side of the river, but it won’t wait for the loading of the trailer (in other words, the ferry will arrive to the eastern shore, drop the trailer off, take on any Mad Dogs, and then hightail it back to the western shore).
  
• Andropov comes up with a plan to build a makeshift trailer for Tencza’s truck out of wood, and the crew gets to work.
  
• At night, the ferry comes across to trade the trailer, but refuses to take on any other travelers. This causes a near panic in the line of travelers, camped out and waiting for the ferry, but Kessler calms everyone down before a riot can break out.
  
• At camp, Alan Little radios the Major that there has been movement noticed by the southern OP in the ruins to the south. Some Mad Dogs go to check it out, led by O’Brien.
  
• JJM talks the ferrymen into accepting some of the various travelers (the Humvee, JJM and two others from the Mad Dogs, 10 of the queued civilians, and two other civilian vehicles), in order to prevent a riot. The American mercenary introduces himself to Kessler as E. Morris, and it appears that he may have been a sergeant at one point.

Group 1

• The ferry carries JJM, the Humvee, and the local travelers across. About halfway across the river, a flare goes off over head, but no other action seems to take place and the ferry makes it across.
  
• JJM and the Humvee are then escorted to Sobieszewo Island’s command post, where the ruling council is present. There, he’s introduced to a Dane named Ivar Christiansen, and learns that Przejazdowo is under attack. Ivar asserts that the attack is a diversion, meant to draw troops from Gdańsk. Gorden is present, and says that a runner was sent to check out Gdansk since radio communication is still down, but the man has yet to return. Another man introduces himself as Mariusz, another member of the council, and asks JJM why the Polish army was present with him when he arrived on the other side of the river. JJM responds and explains the situation with the PTS-M trade, and offers aid from the Mad Dogs wherever he can. He also promotes Babicevs to Sergeant Babicevs. The council is apparently at a standstill as to whether to send a platoon of new troops over to help Przejazdowo. Gordon and Mariusz are for it, while Ivar and another councilman names Bartosz are against, stating that the men aren’t yet drilled enough to take on Soviet regulars. After some discussion, JJM helps turn the discussion toward helping the beleaguered town.

Group 2

• Benucci and Lines spot a figure prone in the grass, and observe him. Soon he stands and dashes toward the ferry once it's pulled away from the shore. Then they see the flare go off, and lose the man in between themselves and Kessler in the BTR, coming back the other direction. Kessler uses a bullhorn to get the man to surrender, and he does so, claiming that he was just trying to get aboard the ferry. The unit lets the man go after searching him and the ruins in which he was hiding, where they found nothing incriminating.
  
• In the morning, Group 2 assembled at the crossing and uses the ferry to make it back over the Vistula. They quickly cross the island and link back up with McCarthy’s small group.

(Continued)

• Together again, the team is quickly given the plan and assignments for the coming 2nd battle for Przejazdowo.
  
• Christiansen arrives dressed for battle. He lets the team know that the Russians probed Przejazdowo last night, but there was no assault. He also explains the results of a recce patrol the local militia had sent out overnight, and says that the Mad Dogs will likely be spotted the moment they cross the river near Przejazdowo - therefore it sounds like the coming battle will be a simple advance into contact. Ivar also talks about how Polish forces from the 12th are being relieved all over the place by the 42nd GRMD, as the Poles seem to have lost their will to fight after the defeat at Gdańsk, and later at Przejazdowo the first time.
  
• The Mad Dogs, the American prisoners from Jazowa (now armed and equipped with minimal ammunition), along with the platoon of militia led by Mariusz and Christiansen, and their civilian entourage head out for Przejazdowo. The plan is to leave a blocking force at Wislinka to hold any Russian reinforcements from Bogatka (along with the civilian vehicles), while the rest of the force moves to hit the Russians on the way west.
  Engagement at Kanal Piaskowi
  
• The unit then heads south toward Kanal Piaskowi. They dismount, and approach the area on foot with vehicle support. It doesn’t take long before the unit engages with an enemy force. It’s ugly, semi-urban combat. While doing some room to room clearing, Fischer takes a hit in the abdomen. Lines takes a leg hit, and one of the Polish militia fights gets hit in the ankle. Little gets tagged badly with a shot in the stomach and another in his chest. Before long, the Mad Dogs finish clearing the small village and secure the canal crossing.
  
• Next, the team starts making their way to an assault on Bogatka itself, while word is received that the Bogatka defenders are pulling out of the destroyed hamlet and moving north. Regardless, Bogatka will still need to be cleared.
  Engagement at Bogatka
  
• The unit advances on Bogatka, with the Humvee moving to the Northeast corner of the village while the Krok moves to the Southeast corner, with the BMP providing covering fire from in depth. An antitank round seems land right next to the Krok - throwing Babicevs off the top, taking out one of the Krok’s wheels, and throwing rocks into Lines cheek and hand. It later turns out that this was in fact a mine strike rather than an AT round.
  
• Ferro and Lines dismount and advance with the Krok into the southern part of the town. Ferro sees someone with an American boonie hat peering out from a window. It turns out to be Raymond Sims, USMC scout sniper, who joins the group. The town of Bogatka is indeed found to be relatively empty, with the Soviet platoon having fled to a hamlet north of town.
  Engagement at the hamlet north of Bogatka
  
• The Mad Dogs regroup, and move to assault the hamlet. As they get in range and dismount about 300m south of the hamlet, a Sobieszewo militiaman is hit, and the Humvee has a tire popped.
  
• Meanwhile, the Krok flanks the west part of the hamlet, and its dismounts move into the hamlet on foot. While doing so, Ferro takes a round to her arm. A grenade is dropped on the assaulting force from a second floor window - when Lines tries to kick it away it explodes with him still inside the blast radius, and he collapses (wound to his other leg [the one not hit earlier] and his hand). As Ferro and Kessler move into the kitchen in one of the houses, gunfire from a house nearby lances in through the windows and Ferro takes another hit.
  
• Ivar radios that a tank and at least 2 APCs are inbound from the west, about 1.5km out, with a second group of armor somewhere near the refinery.
  
• Approaching the hamlet from the south, the BMP takes a nasty hit from an RPG-7 (later found to have killed Alan Little and Thomas Marshall instantly in the passenger compartment) and the Mad Dogs near it are then charged by a bunch of angry Russians. JJM takes a grazing wound to his leg as the charge takes place, then a brutal clubbing from a rifle stock as he gets embroiled in vicious hand to hand. Krupp gets hit where his neck meets his shoulder and is bleeding profusely. JJM almost gets choked to death before Riedel saves him, by stabbing his attacker repeatedly with a pair of EMT scissors. The charge is repelled. The BMP is critically damaged and will not make it back to Gdańsk under its own power.
  
• Meanwhile, the BTR rams a building to make an entrance, which is then assaulted by O’Brien, Babicevs, and Benucci. The trio clear the building, take a prisoner, and Kessler’s team regroups. Kessler quickly interrogates the prisoner, and learns that the enemy are in the area in company strength, along with 2-3 BTRs for each platoon, along with 3 tanks and a BMP at the regiment level. The prisoner thinks that one of the armored columns coming to the hamlet are the platoon’s BTRs returning. In return, Kessler promises the man his freedom.
  
• With the fighting at the hamlet winding down, all Mad Dogs regroup on JJM, look to their wounded, and begin preparations to assess the BMP while McCarthy sets up an OP to get eyes on the armor column. The armor column is found to be vehicles from the IB, and the battle for Bogatka is over. The unit makes for Gdańsk once more along the 501 highway in a large armored column along with the IB vehicles, who had come east to check things out.
  
• The unit then stops in Przejazdowo while the IB column resupplies the beleaguered forces there. Near one of the bunkers, two men stare at the Mad Dogs. One of them is Charles Price, with the other being Chris Walsh. Some of the American prisoners, including Muller, Vogel, Scott (Vogel and Scott were just named) and others, being members of the IB, will stay in Przejazdowo with their former (and now current again) commander Woermann. The Polish militia platoon, having completed their mission of reducing the pressure on Przejazdowo, now take their leave with their dead and wounded, and make for their island on foot.
  
• The convoy of Mad Dogs and IB vehicles continue their trip back to Gdańsk. About halfway between Przejazdowo and Gdańsk, the unit stops and releases their Soviet prisoner on the side of the road, as promised. Passing the railroad outside of Gdańsk, the plane seen earlier near the ferry is seen again, only this time with rocket pods attached to its wings. It fires two rockets, but misses. On its next pass, it fires four, and manages to crash the Tarpan Honker. Aleksandar takes a minor head wound, as does Janku from the exploding window glass, along with a more serious wound to his hip. After some shooting at ghosts in the railyard, the Mad Dogs decide to abandon the Honker.
  
• The unit finally gets back inside the Gdańsk city limits. All remaining passengers (including the prisoners) outside of the Mad Dogs and Tencza are sent on their way into the city, finally relieved to be back somewhere safe. Kaminski and Kolstrup are waiting for the Mad Dogs when they finally get back to the compound.
  
• Kaminski is paid his due, and Tencza is fine with finding a new trailer for himself (the fuel payment included risk to his truck, and he’s convinced that he’ll easily find another trailer).
  
• Kolstrup lets the team know that Owen Hollister left to work with the Tarawa marines, and Thomas Cooper to work with the Marians. He also talks about the city in general - a coming food shortage, unemployment, the Russians probing off and on. He mentions that the city is about to start issuing paper money. Kaczka helps the Mad Dogs unload the fuel and equipment from the journey. The unit also checks the vehicles, and dig graves for the fallen. Katarzyna Majchrzak is still there at the compound as well, and makes everyone lunch, as she's taken on the role of cook for the unit.
  
• The Humvee leaves for the city proper, dropping off Tencza and Dave at their garage on Market Street. It then drops off Emma Cassidy and Krupp at the basilica. The Mad Dogs present stick around for a bit, and meet a medical staff member named Sergei, who lets them know that payment for Krupp will be on credit from JJM.
  
• Everyone returns to the compound, where JJM gives a speech about his plans for the future, and talks about his reasoning for fighting to keep Gdańsk free.
  
• After a brief memorial service for the Mad Dogs that we’re lost on the fuel depot mission, the group splits, with many going shopping, some on intel gathering duties, etc.
• Price and Walsh go to find a local contact called Fat Man, in order to get paid for their work in Przejazdowo.
  
• Babicevs, O’Brien and Lines hit up Gang Anjo for intel, but come away empty handed except for the knowledge that Volodya might have information about the 8th for sale to JJM if he’s interested.
  
• At the same time, Kessler’s group goes shopping at the solidarity market before heading back to the basilica. At the church, Cassidy grabs them and takes them up into the tower, where they meet Dr. Mary Tymoshenko. She offers some goods for the return of Cassidy, which Kessler politely refuses. When talk of the fuel comes up, Tymoshenko offers 7 day rations per liter. She also asks Kessler for 3 or 4 trustworthy men to help on a farming project (protection), in return for medical services for the unit.
  
• Back at the bar, the Mad Dogs meet a former Polish partisan, who talks to them and mentions the Great Mill, a combined water mill, granary, and bakery that supplies much of the city with bread.
  
• The Mad Dogs finally reconvene at Kaminski’s compound, which has now been situated with heated stoves, a fixed roof, improved electrical system, and latrines for improved sanitation. JJM addresses the troops - they’ll begin trading with the Marians for food. They’ll also send Arthur Fox, Piotr Auttenberg, Helmut Meyer, and Czeslaw Kaczka to the Marian’s farm for guard duty. On top of that, duty rosters are given out, with a focus on repairing the vehicles, adding improved defenses to the compound, repairing the compound and preparing the quarters for the coming winter, and improved plumbing.
  
• Kessler states his intentions of staying in the city until Spring, due to the worsening weather.

Time skip starting November 3rd. During this time:

• Soviet shelling has ceased.
  
• Friendly forces successfully defended Przejazdowo.
  
• Riedel works with and subsequently gains a better understanding of the Marian enclave.
  
• The Krok, the Iltis, and the Humvee were repaired - the BMP still needs parts and more work.
  
• A slit trench, and mines are added to the compounds defense, as are watchtowers on the roof of the main building and a super sangar covering the southern approaches.
  
• The rowing club roof is repaired fully, and windows boarded up and insulated. Plumbing wise, a water filter is located, along with a 1000L water storage tank for the compound. A boiler device for heating will take another week or so.
  
• Owen Hollister returns from Tarawa Company to pick up his rifle and say goodbye.
  
• A terror attack (bombing) takes place at solidarity market.
  
• The Polish army cantonment in Pila declared for the Polish Free Congress.
  
• Kaminski returns from the marketplace one day with a rumor that the Black Madonna is somewhere in Gdańsk.
  
• Walter Krupp dies of his wounds. Just kidding, there was a mixup and Krupp will be coming home in a few days.

It is now November 11th.

• Information about General Meretskov is relayed by Kessler and Andropov.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 16
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 16 - Northern Poland - Red Snow : November 11th, 2000
Summary: The team heads to Tczew to rescue Valeska's boat and crew. Eikki Termonen finally gets brought to justice. The team then helps the Forest City with a "bandit" problem.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - player
Soldat Sabine Riedel - German army - player
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - player
Sergeant Raymond Sims - USMC Force Recon - player
Sergeant Charles "Charlie" Price - Infantry (US) - player
Chris Walsh - Former Army Ranger (US) - player

PC Assets:
Ambulance model BMP (engine damage and in need of parts)
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 (Krok)

Prelude

• Valeska and her hired gun, a Czech named Janacek Czerny, are in Krepiec, waiting to catch a boat to Gdańsk.

(Continued)

• Cut to Kaminski’s office. Valeska and Czerny are there with Kaminski, asking JJM for help rescuing her boat and crew, who have been impounded and captured by Polish forces in Tczew. JJM motions to Kessler about some of his former men being lost at Tczew, and that they might be imprisoned there along with Valeska’s crew. Kessler mentions that he lost 4 men there, Von Luetner, Brandt, Wurz (mentioned in a previous chapter), and Dudek. He also relays that Von Luetner and Dudek are certainly dead, but he can’t be sure what happened to the other two. Czerny gives more background on the possible mission details (the unit on the river is a Polish air defense unit re-purposed for guarding the river) and a plan on how to steal the boat back. He also talks about the rest of Valeska’s crew - Leslaw was gunned down when he tried to run during the initial capture. Marek and Izaak were both arrested and are being held in an old police station. There’s also a gunboat at Tczew, possibly the same one that fired on the unit when the Mad Dogs crossed the Vistula in search of the fuel depot.
  
• The Mad Dogs spend a while figuring out exactly how to pull off the mission, and ultimately decide that two groups will be needed, one for freeing the imprisoned crew, and one to take back the boat.
  
• That night, the Mad Dogs head out - first to Przejazdowo, then through the ruined town of Osice. As they pass close to Pruszcz Gdanski they hear the sounds of a helicopter powering up, but it’s assumed to just be an engine test. An hour’s march from Tczew, the Mad Dogs avoid being spotted by a half dozen calvarymen on a patrol, and continue on to the northern perimeter of the city, where the group splits into their two teams.

Group 1

Engagement at Tczew

• Group 1, led by JJM, manages to make it to the harbor where they see the impounded barge, the gunboat, and various other watercraft. There is a ZSU-23-2 with a spotlight, a nearby sangar/bunker, and at least one position occupied by Polish sentries.
  
• Lines and Walsh silently dispatch two guards, then clamber aboard the gunboat. Babicevs and Valeska swim out to the barge, where Babicevs unloads a small inflatable while Valeska goes below deck to get the ship prepared to move. Babicevs rows back to shore, where he’s left as JJM rows back out to the barge. As Babicevs waits, two sentries approach his position, whom he opens up on, gunning them down and breaking the silence in the harbor.

Group 2

• Group 2, led by Kessler, successfully reaches the police station/prison and nearby garage. The nearby buildings are mostly empty, but there are clearly people inside the prison.
  
• The team successfully infiltrates the garage and takes 4 POWs. They use one of the captured men in a ruse to get the police station to open up, and rush inside, taking 4 more POWs. There are 14 prisoners in the police station's cells, including Marek and Izaak. A random prisoner claims to be Wurz, but then states that he knows where Wurz is, and will tell them if the Mad Dogs will release him. The team offers to leave the keys for all of the cell prisoners, but want the information from fake Wurz first.
  
• Outside Andropov and Riedel are forced to start shooting after 2 sentries come by and turn on some lights.
  
• Kessler is true to his word and lets all of the prisoners go. Fake Wurz then lets Kessler know that the real Wurz was not mentally broken by PACT, and that he was transferred to Malbork. Kessler offers to take Fake Wurz with the unit back to Gdańsk (he declines but gives the unit an alternate path to the harbor to bypass patrols) and the unit prepares to move out - shuffling their own POWs into the cells recently emptied of freed prisoners. The Mad Dogs then head out toward the harbor on foot.
  
• Almost to the harbor, the group sees a technical and a transport truck, which appear to be a QRF group in response to Babicev’s gunning down of sentries. Kessler radios in the QRF to JJM.

Group 1

• Hearing the report of the QRF inbound, Fischer fires an RPG at the ZU-23-2. The first shot impacts against a sandbag emplacement at the base of the vehicle. Sims shoots out a neighboring spotlight. Walsh and Lines disable the gunboat’s main gun and plant a demo charge at the rear of he craft, hoping to damage its motive systems, and then get back to the shore. Ferro and Benucci take control of the sangar bunker, while Price and Walsh take control of the ZU-23-2. Price jumps in and starts firing the AA gun toward the enemy forces, who after seeing one of their peers get shredded, immediately attempt to go quiet.

Group 2

• As the technical starts to open up on the team at the harbor, Group 2 starts peppering it and the dismounted troops. They manage to take out the technical and pin all of the enemy reinforcements. Soon enough, an enemy M113 rolls into view as Group 2 links up with Group 1 in the harbor. The new tracked vehicle pops smoke in an attempt to remove the enemy injured.

(Continued)

• A blast rocks the gunboat from the planted charge, and additional shells are put into the side of it from Price in the AA gun emplacement. Valeska's barge, now at last starts to move out of the harbor. The Mad Dogs continues to shoot at any Poles they see along with generally causing mass mayhem, and begin an orderly withdraw downriver.
  
• Ferro, Riedel, Benucci, Andropov, Marek, and Izaak manage to get to the moving barge after wading through the water. Izaak, clinging to the outside of the barge gets hit by a ricochet and drops into the water, along with Andropov who slips. Ferro grabs Andropov, and Kolstrup and Price make it aboard. This leaves most everyone on the barge, but Kessler, Czerny and Izaak are still in the water. The barge stops and sends the inflatable back to pick up the swimmers, while the rest of the unit provides covering fire. The swimmers make it to shore, and Sims rows the inflatable in. Arriving, Sims and the shore party hide while the M113 comes into view again. The tracked vehicle sees the barge and keeps moving - while the shore party climbs into the inflatable and start rowing back to the barge. It takes time, but the inflatable eventually catches the barge and although freezing, all Mad Dogs are now successfully aboard.
  
• Further downriver, Polish pursuers are seen again - this time in the M113, two OT-64s, another technical, and some motorcycles. The two parties exchange fire for a time, with the M113 being hit by an SPG-9 Valeska pulls from below deck (from a smuggler's compartment). Valeska takes a devastating leg injury. The technical soon drops back, and after more shots are fired the SKOTs end up pulling back as well. One of the motorcyclists does manage to put an rpg round into the hull though, but the hole is above the waterline and the boat isn’t in danger of sinking. Sims is found not long after, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Riedel attempts to save him, but Raymond Sims dies soon after.
  
• The boat arrives at Sobieszewo island, and after a quick radio to Ivar, the barge takes on 4 Soviet prisoners for transfer to Gdańsk to the IB for use in a prisoner exchange. The barge also takes on 3 wounded men and a minder from the island for transference to St. Mary’s. Mariusz at the island’s docks also lets JJM know that there is an unofficial ceasefire with the Poles east of the Vistula, but the Mad Dogs are no longer allowed on that side of the river.
  
• The barge then continues into the open ocean, and back town through the ports of Gdańsk, dropping off the wounded islanders at an FL dock, before finally stopping at Kaminski’s compound. Valeska is taken to St. Mary’s as well for her leg wound.
  
• Kaminski is worried about the barge being parked right outside, but it needs repairs, and so it gets moved to the other side of the canal for repair work.
  
• Janacek Czerny officially joins the Mad Dogs, and the group splits.

Group 1

• JJM, Kessler and Kaminski talk about what to do with some civilians moving into the area. There's a little concern about the impact to OpSec.
  
• Jan mentions that he helped defeat the Black Baron in Warsaw, and gives 30 gold bullets to the unit to help with the unit expenses (was wondering where these had come from).
  
• The officers then decide what to do next, and head to see Hauptmann Woermann at the IB HQ. Woermann talks about the strategic needs of the city, and Kessler and JJM conclude that Gdańsk needs a leader to rally around. Woermann also mentions various topics of strategic importance, such as there being an Mi-8 Hip stationed at Pruszcz Gdanski. Kessler asks about any local religious figures that might serve as a viable leader for the free city, and Woermann offers Lukasz Piszczek as a possible option, who currently leads the Legion of Saint Adalbert militia. Woermann also provides a lot of intel about the 42nd GRMD in msg#597, page 24. The officers then return to the compound. </i>

Group 2

• The rest of the unit then stands down and heads out for a night on the town.
  Engagement at the Five Star
  
• At the Five Star bar, two men walk into the bar after the Mad Dogs enter. Babicevs recognizes one of the men as Eikki Termonen. Babicevs jumps up and starts firing his pistol at Eikki. Babicevs wounds Eikki’s accomplice, grossly disfiguring the man’s face. He also manages to hit Eikki, but not badly enough to stop the Finn from escaping back out the front door. Choosing not to pursue Eikki, the Mad Dogs take the accomplice prisoner and return to the compound.

(Continued)

• Back at the compound, Kaminski relays that Valeska should live through her leg wound. He also mentions that the Marians are trying to test out paper money as a new currency for the free city.
  
• Eikki's accomplice is then interrogated, and he identifies as Jerzy Lisowski, but that he doesn’t know much beyond the address of where he and Eikki had stayed together (Address: Walowa 38 #602). The man also mentions that he’s just a hired goon, that Eikki handles jobs and payment, and that he receives amber as payment for the jobs more than what’s considered usual for his line of work.
  
• The Mad Dogs decide to send a team to check the apartment, while others stay at the compound, alert for any attack.

Group 1

• JJM along with 10 other Mad Dogs go to investigate Eikki’s apartment, and cordon off the area. The assault team reaches Eikki’s apartment, but he’s nowhere to be found. They do find that he was there just a couple minutes earlier however. The assault team holds in place until reinforcements arrive, in the form of men from the IB (led by Lieutenant Collins) and also from the Swit Dawn Battalion (led by Commander Wisniewski). A complete search of the building takes place, and Eikki ends up being found and taken into custody in a neighboring apartment - he had a mouse hole cut through to the apartment next door hidden behind cabinet.
  
• Evidence is then collected, equipment given to the Swit Dawn Battalion after a jurisdictional dispute, and Eikki is interrogated by Kolstrup. Not a lot is learned, but the evidence points to a number of addresses and pre-registered artillery targets, along with the goings on of FL boats in the area. The IB promises to give over any intel that could be gleaned from Eikki later on, as he was not forthcoming with Kolstrup. The Mad Dogs then reconvene on the street outside and return to the compound.
  
• In the morning, JJM assigns tasks, and the unit splits up.

Group 1

• Kessler takes Price and others to the IB HQ to drop Eikki’s accomplice off, ask about operations the Mad Dogs can help with, and ask about selling the BMP. Kessler meets with Woermann, and the two discuss a number of topics - Schweppenburg allegedly has a team of 6 other co-conspirators in the city, who are resorting to economic sabotage at the moment.
  
• Also present at the HQ is Janusz (fun call back), who seems perturbed that no one seems to remember him. Woermann offers a damaged Humvee (along with two wrecks for parts) and an Iltis, along with a working radio to the Mad Dogs in exchange for the BMP.
  
• Woermann also offers a mission to Forest City (which produces 15-20% of the city’s food) to take care of a recent bandit problem. The Mad Dogs taking the mission would leave the IB with resources to tackle other problems. In addition, there's concern that the Merchant's Union has an interest in bringing the Forest City under their "protection", and them having an alliance with Forest City would raise their influence in the city above its already high level. Group 1 returns to the compound.

Group 2

• Kaminski confronts JJM about making changes to his compound without his permission. JJM apologizes and tells Kaminski that it’s to help set him up as a powerful man in the city, as well as to help protect the new civilians moving into the area surrounding the compound. The added protection will also help secure the fuel stash, which Kaminski appreciates.
  
• Then the Mad Dogs still at the compound go about looking for ways to reinforce the defenses at the compound, and send out a patrol to scavenge railroad sleepers, telephone poles, and other raw building materials. They also do some shopping.

(Continued)
Ferro drives to and retrieves Walter Krupp from St Mary’s, and the team sends a recon team out to the Forest City.

Group 1

• The recon team, made up of Kessler, Kolstrup, Ferro, and Czerny head across the bridge (right next to the compound) to Portowa Island, with plans to get more info about helping the Forest City deal with their bandit problem.
  
• Arriving at the Forest City, they meet a man named Walter Lisiewicz, who explains the situation - over the past few days there have been supplies being stolen, people going missing, and even some murders. He explains that the locals don’t know how many bandits there are or where they’re located, but that he believes they’re northwest of town. Walter does mention some towers on the perimeters of the fields that could be used for observation, and that coming back by boat at night might help the Mad Dogs not be seen by the bandits.
  
• There is some loose speculation that the bandits are actually working for the MU, in an attempt to bring the Forest City under their care. Walter then shows the recce team the towers, and they return to the compound.

Group 2

• The rest of the Mad Dogs continue working to salvage materials to use to fortify the compound - a long and arduous task.

(Continued)

• JJM comes up with a plan for the Forest City bandit problem - use the Legion of Saint Adalbert (LoSA) as a stop line while the Mad Dogs quarter the island looking for the bandits.
  
• The next morning, JJM and Kessler meet with Lukasz Piszczek at the Ganymede bar. The thinking is that a successful operation will boost Lukasz’s visibility, and hopefully push him as a candidate to unite the city’s various factions as the new leader.
  
• JJM uses his faith and his proposed plan to convince Father Piszczek to help. Piszczek asks to send along a man named Dawid to join the Mad Dogs for the operation, in order to help identify civilians versus bandits and ensure no civvies get shot by mistake. Piszczek also commits about 30-40 soldiers to the cause. The Mad Dogs return to base.
  
• Next, the unit quickly negotiates with the Fisherman’s League for some more food deliveries. They also work with them at their fortress near the mouth of the river and secure some basic goods to assist with the operation, and a steady platform to use the NODLR from at night, in order to help spot the bandits.

Group 1

• A patrol from the unit then heads out by boat in the wee hours to begin the operation. On the way, they see an FL boat on fire at the docks - it's the Kormoran (one of the two FL gunboats), and it's theorized that the fire may be in retaliation for the gunboat sinking at Tczew. The patrol sets up at the fortress and after a few hours, identifies about seven bandits after some houses in Forest City are lit aflame. The bandits head west from the city.

Group 2

• In the morning, 52 members of LoSA and the Domovoj show up to help with the operation. Lukasz introduces his squad leaders (excluding them from the recap due to how many there are), and his 2ic, a man named Mateusz. The plan is updated to include a smaller sweep area after the intelligence from the patrol is shared out. Within minutes, the men move across the river and the operation begins.

(Continued)

Engagement at Forest City

• The sweep begins. It doesn’t take long before some of the bandits are located again, heading south. The unit pursues them in two groups, and get into range with them in some industrial ruins.
  
• There’s a misunderstanding with the MU at the distillery close by, and the MU starts firing at the Mad Dogs. Thankfully no one is hit and JJM attempts to negotiate a ceasefire, but gets no response. During this time, the bandits and forward members of the stop LoSA line encounter each other.
  
• As the Mad Dogs continue their advance behind the engaged bandits, Benucci spots a prone man, apparently wounded by gunfire. Benucci and Czerny pounce and grab the bandit.
  
• The Mad Dogs gun down another bandit or two, and prepare to assault the last bandits in one of the buildings at the large railyard. During the assault, Kolstrup gets hit (unclear where). Lines also gets hit in the arm, and another round in his hip. Finding the last bandit dead from blood loss in the next room, Kolstrup thinks he may have seen the man before. During the firefight, at least 1 militiaman is killed, with 4 others injured.
  
• Outside, fighters from the MU start showing up, raising tensions in the area. Meanwhile, Kolstrup remembers the bandit that he recognized, he went by the callsign “Jason”, and used to work for Wright before he was let go for being too unhinged. "Jason" apparently was also kicked out of Monolith for the same reason, and was likely working now as a merc before being killed in the assault.
  
• The men from the MU walk forward. An American MU member named Rick Newell introduces himself and his boss, a former policeman named Inspector Kowalczyk. Kowalczyk asks to see the bodies of the raiders killed, and JJM obliges him. JJM also shows him two wounded bandits that were captured through the firefight, and Kowalczyk wants them turned over to the MU for summary execution (it's a mystery if this is to cover up evidence of an MU plot or if Kowalczyk actually just wants to legitimately execute criminals). It should be noted that Kowalczyk also recognizes one of the wounded bandits, and said that he used to work as a mercenary for the MU, but this point is let go. JJM relents to Kowalczyk's request to turn over the wounded bandits, not wanting to cause further strife.
  
• Some Mad Dogs go to St Mary’s with their wounded peers (both Mad Dogs and militia), while JJM and others go to the MU fort to hand off the prisoners. Kowalczyk asks JJM about Forest City, and then asks him to relay a message that Forest City respect the railroad as a boundary between the two groups’ territory so that further tensions don't escalate.
  
• Everyone returns to Kaminski’s, where spoils from the battle are divvied up. McCarthy than talks to Kaminski about bringing in some people to help teach English, as he wants to help train up the Forest City so that they’re better able to take care of themselves. He also wants some civilian workers for the compound to help with various work. Finally, he and Kaminski also talk about where to lodge the prospective hires and how to pay them.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 17
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 17 - Northern Poland - Baltic Buccaneers : November 16th, 2000
Summary: The team goes on a logging mission to Hel peninsula for fuel for the winter, and fights off some pirates. After returning to Gdansk, the team heads out again for a major attack on the pirate base, and then get attacked in turn by the cult, Warmia Awakening.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - player
Soldat Sabine Riedel - German army - player
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - player
Sergeant Charles "Charlie" Price - Infantry (US) - player
Chris Walsh - Former Army Ranger (US) - player
Janacek Czerny - player

PC Assets:
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 (Krok)
Humvee (Damaged vehicle received in trade for the BMP)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)

• The Mad Dogs regroup after the anti-bandit operation at the Forest City, and the LoSA militia depart. The Mad Dogs discuss next actions, then split up.

Group 1

• JJM, Babicevs, O’Brien and Walsh go to the docks to visit the Sofija, a Lithuanian trading ship, captained by Emilis Juska. At the docks next to the vessel, they ask Emilis about American troops in Lithuania, and about purchasing a wood gasifier that Juska has in his ship’s hold.
  
• Talking to some of the crew, Babicevs and Walsh learn that there is fighting in Latvia, and Riga especially is hostile territory at the moment. The team also learns that again, the Kaliningrad Oblast is in fairly bad shape from failing crops and radiation, and that the Russian army is fairly spread out in order to make feeding itself easier. They also learn that Marijampole was sacked several months ago.
  
• JJM trades for a bunch of trade goods, along with some industrial chemicals and the wood gasifier. They also find out from Juska that he might be able to ferry the unit and a light vehicle to the east come spring. Then the Mad Dogs head out.

Group 2

• Kessler, Kolstrup, and Benucci go on a trip to see Walter in the Forest City, in order to give him a recap of the battle with the bandits, and to offer help. Kessler relays the MU’s territorial demands on the island, to which Walter isn’t happy, but he relents.
  
• After being asked what he wants, Walter responds that he’d appreciate the Mad Dogs training some of his people to be better fighters. He also mentions that he wants to move a few hundred people into Forest City, but needs to get some defensive materials first to keep everything in order. The Mad Dogs then head back to the compound.

(Continued)

• Valeska is back at the compound for a few days while Marek fixes the barge. Ferro retrieves David Lines from the hospital as well, and Kolstrup is healing nicely.
  
• JJM gives a briefing to everyone on the unit's next plan of action - locate a source of wood for the gasifier (later confirmed to be the Hel peninsula), bring 20 laborers in to help get it in place for central heating and electricity and to help with the logging expedition, create a bunch of Czech hedgehog anti-vehicle defenses, turn the freestanding watchtower into a fortified bunker, take a group of Forest city laborers on a logging mission (along with some guards who can be trained up as per Walter's request), convert some purchased wool into warm clothing for everyone, and finally, lay some electricity to a nearby building for civilians to use.
  
• Price, Andropov, and Babicevs plan to stay behind at the compound to help Kaminski with a suspected thief problem.
  
• The rest of the unit then heads out on Valeska’s barge for Hel, in order to scout a place for a logging camp and to recon the peninsula. They bring along 4 militia members from Forest City (Pawlik, Dana, Marin, and Leon [team leader]) as well, in order to show the novice troopers the ropes. The scouting party lands to the west of Hel city proper, and proceed to make their way to the Hel military installations to find a place to set up camp for the actual logging expedition. Details of the military installation on page #3. At the installation, they also find some disabled trucks that might be usable for hauling all of the logs back to the beach for transport.
  
• The team then progresses southeast, through the wrecked naval base and into Hel, where they come across a hermit. The man appears to be alone, possibly insane, and rambles on in Russian about children, a dead man, and a dog.
  
• Before the day gets too late, the patrol heads back to Gdansk.
  
• Back in Gdańsk, the unit talks about the logistics of setting up the logging camp and how much wood will will be needed to cover the entire winter.
  
• Kaminski has gotten over 40 laborers to help with the logging expedition and the jobs needed at the compound.
  
• The next day, the barge heads out with the logging party (led by a foreman named Gawel who goes by Joe), the Forest City additions, and the entire Mad Dogs command. The journey to the peninsula is successful, and my mid morning everyone is landed on the beach, west of Hel.

Day 1

• The group moves in to occupy the military base toward the middle of the peninsula. They see a lot of ordnance in an ammunition warehouse inside an interior storage bay (57mm rockets, AT-3 missiles, SA-7 AA missiles), but the door to the bay is heavily wired. Janku and Aleksandar set up in the lighthouse toward the end of the peninsula with the NODLR. The team trains the day laborers on the tasks to come, and everyone settles in for the night.

Day 2

• Choppin’ trees.

Day 3

• Andropov gets one of the disabled trucks working again. More tree chopping takes place. Janku and Aleksandar report in - there are 3 boats moving to the bay, with 2 boats chasing a third and gunfire being heard. There may also be a 4th larger ship out on the horizon as well.
  2nd Engagement on Hel Peninsula
  
• Czerny stays with the loggers, and the rest of the unit moves to the beach to protect the barge. Walsh and a few others wade out to the barge and man the DshK onboard. The boats come into view, and Leon mentions that the fleeing craft (small pilothouse boat) might belong to one of the FL captains, Mateusz Morawiecki. Morawiecki is known to be a ruthless psychopath. The other crafts are a small speedboat (housing 3 suspected pirates) and a heavier trawler. The speedboat breaks off the chase in favor of the barge, and circles in closer, slowly followed by the trawler. Convinced that the two boats are pirates, the Mad Dogs in the beach start the engagement on their own terms, and open fire. Walsh draws the boats in with a short burst from the dooshka (scaring back the speedboat), and then his squad gets off the barge and back to the tree line. As the trawler closes in for what it thinks will be an easy kill, the entire tree line erupts as the Mad Dogs open fire en masse. There's a deluge of gunfire toward the trawler, but it stays it’s course. Meanwhile, the speed boat appears to be heading back in on a direct course with the barge. After some fire gets directed toward it, the Mad Dogs appear to disable its engine and it coasts in behind the barge, though one of its passengers appears to have been hit. The Trawler continues getting beaten back by small arms fire and grenade launchers, and after a small fire breaks out, it turns away and heads for deeper water.
  
• Janku reports that the boat further out is holding position, and that there’s another small boat near it now.
  
• Walsh heads back aboard the barge with Ferro and others. At least one pirate is on board, but seems to be pinned behind a locker. Ferro flanks the pirate and takes him out. The other two pirates are found to be dead and dying in the speedboat. The wounded prisoner is pulled aboard and put under Riedel's care. Found in the speedboat, there are papers claiming that the craft belongs to one Carl Lindh of Boda, Sweden. The dead pirates have ID tags that indicate they may be deserters from the red army or navy.
  
• Leon tells a story of Morawiecki cutting the hands off of some fishermen that were fishing in the wrong area, but not to judge the entire FL off the actions of one man - they had as many heroes as they did villains.
  
• JJM talks to Valeska about raising the FL on her radio to coordinate anti-piracy activities. She reaches Captain Halina Nowak on the Arcadia. Nowak responds that the Arcadia will shelter with Valeska's barge in the Hel harbor for mutual protection. JJM instructs Kessler to bring the loggers near to where the barge and the Arcadia will dock for the night, for an added layer of protection.
  
• The pirate prisoner wakes up and says his name is Vadim. Walsh interrogates him, and Vadim claims that the pirates have captives, and that they often either ransom hostages or throw them overboard. He then slips unconscious again.
  
• JJM and Valeska go to meet Nowak. She mentions that Dan Kowal’s boat has not been seen for two days and that perhaps the pirates got him. The Arcadia is hauling peat from Ustka and Leba. Nowak wants to set sail together immediately back to Gdańsk. After some discussion about timelines for the logging trip, she relents that she’ll stay another day in return for being given the damaged speedboat.
  
• Janacek reports that the loggers are almost to their new camp next to the harbor, but that two men are missing. A search party goes out for them, and after a lot of searching, eventually finds them. One man named Adi Kowalczyk gives up and walks back toward the team, while the other takes off running. Babicevs and Benucci chase and take down the runner - the two missing men had stolen packs (Price and Ferro’s) and are returned to the encampment under guard. It is later found that Adi was the leader of the two, and the plan to desert was his idea. The two men had intended to sell the stolen goods in Wladyslawowo, Adi’s home. The two are then stashed in the barge for the remainder of the trip.
  
• JJM and Riedel head to the rec center near the harbor where the loggers are now camped, and offer medical assistance along with generally trying to calm the loggers down after the attack.
  
• Vadim the prisoner never wakes up.
  
• Valeska talks about Nowa Hanza, a new international trade and cooperation agreement, that hopes to bring more stable trade back to the region.

Day 4

• The next day the group heads back to the forest, to collect the logs that had been cut, and bring them to the beach. Some other work gets done, and by nightfall everything owned (along with the wood) is aboard the barge.

Day 5

• The Mad Dogs (aboard Valeska's barge) and the Arcadia head home to Gdańsk, and offload the wood payment for the loggers at the cartel docks. The Mad Dogs say goodbye to Nowak, Joe the foreman and the loggers. The group then splits:

Group 1

• Staying at the docks, Ferro, Walsh and Benucci learn that there are two FL boats missing with a number of men, and that the pirates are demanding a ransom for their return. The pirates suspected base is to the east near Krynica Morska, known as The Twins due to two large wrecked ships in the area (Warmia Awakening is mentioned here as having razed a settlement here and driven off any populace prior). There’s to be a big meeting between the FL captains later today.
  
• Ferro and the others then visit the market for more intel, and learn the following:
  - that Monolith is around buying up gear for an anticipated anti-piracy raid
  - that Morawiecki has been bragging about fighting off a submarine and is now at some eatery called The Admiral’s
  - that the Marian’s have reached out with an urgent request for food, underwater welding equipment and a marine shipping fuse of some kind (it’s possible that the Marians are going to attempt to pay off the pirates to get some people returned - why else would they need underwater welding equipment?).
  
• Ferro’s team decides to go check out The Admiral’s where they meet with Morawiecki and ask him about the sub and the pirates. He does claim to have seen a Russian sub, and a lot of fast boats. He confirms one of the boats was Dan Kowal’s. Taking a payment in amber beads and a silver coin, he also tells the team where the FL captains meeting is to take place - at the soup kitchen across from the Great Mill. The group then leaves.

Group 2

• Kessler, Kolstrup, O’Brien and Price go to Sikora Armaments to get some supplies, and meet the factory manager, a man named Bartek. Bartek lets the group see a new MRE being offered by the factory/company, along with a new custom-built AT weapon. Sikora Armaments is willing to deal with the Mad Dogs, and Kessler negotiates a deal for ammunition and one of the new AT weapon.
  
• Group 2 then heads to St Mary’s and meet with Emma Cassidy to see about sourcing some medical supplies. She gets them some medicine, but warns that this can’t be a regular ask of her. She also confirms that the Marians are planning on paying the ransom. Finally, she confirms that the Marians are expecting a large number of casualties tomorrow, and that Tymoshenko is heading to some big meeting with a bunch of the FL captains. Group 2 then take their leave.

Group 3

• McCarthy, Fischer, Janacek and Anna head to the Forest City to talk with its leadership about overcrowding and possibly moving about 20 inhabitants in near the compounds, and to offer some training on leadership and small unit tactics. A man named Jakub walks in with Walter (Jakub is Walter’s associate). JJM explains about wanting people moved in, and Walter says he can find the 20 people. JJM also talks about wanting some wool shoe liners made from some wool the unit had acquired earlier, and Walter explains that the Forest City can do this as they have a textile mill nearby that they are trying to get up and running. Group 3 then heads out.

(Continued)

• JJM arrives at the soup kitchen across from the Great Mill, known to the locals as the Milk Bar. Outside, they can hear an argument from within. Emma Cassidy leads JJM inside, where there are 11 people present, including Tymoshenko, Nowak, Inspector Kowalczyk, and Rick Newell. Tymoshenko relays that there’s to be a handoff of the ransom goods to the pirates at the mouth of the river, along with the news that the pirates are also asking for a skilled surgeon as a part of their demands. Instead of sending a surgeon, Gdansk will be sending a volunteer who will claim to be a surgeon, but is not. The hostages are supposed to be returned on Dan Kowal’s boat once the goods are received, and that Artur Jedrzejczyk will be delivering the pirates’ demands.
  
• Inspector Kowalczyk notes that the MU plans to meet the pirates with overwhelming force (including the free company, Monolith) and force a hostage rescue. JJM disagrees, and proposes letting the exchange take place and then tracking the pirates back to their base, then attacking. The group comes to a consensus with JJM’s plan, as it appears to largely align with Tymoshenko’s. Monolith will be accompanying the attack. The meeting concludes and the Mad Dogs head back to the compound.
  
• The next morning after a planning session, the team splits and everything starts to go into motion.

Group 1

• Group 1 joins Nowak and the Arcadia, which sails far north of the ransom drop point. They wait, and then shadow the pirate trawler back to its home about 1km-4km Northeast of Krynica Morska. It’s reported that 15 captives were given back to Gdańsk from the pirates during the ransom swap, along with Kowal’s boat. The Mad Dogs onboard view the pirate home at long range, and note that they do in fact have a submarine (albeit one in very poor shape), a large trawler, and speedboat. The Arcadia then turns around and heads back to Gdańsk.

Group 2

• The Mad Dogs go to meet Monolith, who are aboard the MU vessel, the SS Soldek. Their company commander is one Pawel Brozek. They talk about the upcoming attack on The Twins, and settle a lot of logistical matters such as comm frequencies and how to prevent friendly fire during the upcoming attack. They then go home.

(Continued)

• The group reconvenes at the compound, along with Lukas Piszczek and 3 of his fighters, who were invited as per a suggestion from Ferro.
  
• The Mad Dogs and LoSA fighters soon depart to the docks, where they meet the rest of the ground forces which include Monolith's 22 fighters and a dozen men from Swit Batalion and Stal Gdańsk. The Mad Dogs will be riding aboard the Destiny Ascension for ride to the pirate base, and are introduced to the new captain, Aleksander Zawadzki. Also on board are two inflatable assault boats, which the Mad Dogs will use to get ashore a few kilometers west of the pirate camp.
  
• The boats get underway. It’s a long journey, but aboard the large ship the Mad Dogs arrive the next morning in relative comfort. Taking the zodiacs in, the Mad Dogs and other ground forces will need to hump around 5 klicks to reach the objective.
  
• With about a kilometer left to travel, the unit reaches a border guard station on the eastern edge of the ruins of Krynica Morska. Here they leave the Marians, and Janku and Aleksandar with the mortar. The rest of the ground forces move in to The Twins.
  1st Engagement at the Twins
  
• The Mad Dogs rush across the last hundred meters to a berm that runs along the edge of the bandit camp, and thus begins one of the largest engagements in the game so far, with the Mad Dogs taking the northern side of the camp and Monolith sweeping the southern side.
  
• The shooting starts quickly, with Fischer firing the Carl Gustav at the trawler. His first shot misses, but Anna is too close to the weapon and damages her hearing (open your mouth!). When Piszczek tries to drag her away to safety, she claws his face and bites his hand. Fischer lands a second, successful shot in the trawler above the water line, and soon puts a third round into the rusty submarine. Benucci, assaulting the shanty town/pirate base, takes a round in his shoulder.
  
• Pirates un-leash the trawler from the floating dock. The engine on the submarine starts up, but the large vessel has yet to move. Janku starts landing mortar rounds, but they’re largely ineffective.
  
• Walsh takes a grazing shot to his forearm.
  
• Ferro and Walsh enter one of the huts and find some sick men lying helplessly on some cots.
  
• Another Carl Gustav round slams into the trawler, causing it to leak smoke and start drifting away from the dock. At this same time, the FL starts closing on the battle from the sea, and get within visual range of the ground forces.
  
• The group fights on through the camp, having killed a good dozen or more pirates by now.
  
• JJM and Riedel almost convince a pirate to surrender before a pair of Monolith troopers gun him down.
  
• The rest of the Mad Dogs continue fighting their way through the village, and back the last of the pirates into a corner.
  
• Janku stops radioing, and Andropov goes to find out what’s happening.
  
• Brozek arrives with one of his squads, and lets JJM now that Monolith has killed 3 pirates. He wants to go to the beach to see the naval battle starting up. The submarine finally starts pulling away from the dock, and the two make their way. Brozek explains that he wants cooperation with JJM, and talks about the need for the Mad Dogs to not get in the way of the Merchant Union, so that Monolith and the Mad Dogs never have to end up fighting each other. JJM explains some of the history, and mentions the training of the Forest City, asking if the training should stop. Brozek says to leave the Forest City alone and focus on other places like Sobieszewo. JJM agrees and says that it will take time to disentangle the unit from the Forest City, but that he’ll try.
  
• On Ferro and Andropov’s radios, they hear static and a hiss before a woman’s distant voice comes to life, saying “hello?” multiple times. It sounds as though it may be Cassidy back at the border guard station.
  
• As the battle on land dies down, the submarine is still trying to get out to sea, but is hemmed in by the FL fleet, who are pounding it with gunfire and explosive ordinance.
  
• The Mad Dogs manage to take 2 of the last pirates prisoner, and with some questioning, the dying one admits that the Russian navy men-turned pirates are from Conarky, before he passes. The living one is later allowed to swim out to the trawler to convince the crew to return and surrender.
  
• The submarine battle turns into a chase as the FL boats pursue the sub out into the ocean and out of view.
  
• Andropov and 2 LoSA fighters are heading through the woods toward Janku’s position (who can’t be reached by radio) when they come across an armed man in American BDUs and tell him to surrender before they shoot. Then, a loud siren wail can be heard by everyone. The man’s name is Tom Stark, and he claims to be from the 8th as well, and tells of a horde of men chasing a mile behind him.
  
• At this time, Kessler also heads out in a separate group (with Father Piszczek) to locate the Marians (including Cassidy), who were left with the mortar crew.
  
• Aleksandar finally radios in to say that he and Janku are hiding in the guard post after some armed men had arrived outside. They're hoping to stay quiet and hidden until the men pass.
  
• Andropov decides to take Stark and the two LoSA fighters to go check out this “horde” for himself and to see about getting Janku and Aleksandar out. Along the way back to the guard post, the men stop when they hear men talking and a dog barking, and realize that they won't be able to make it to the stranded mortar crew (memories of Hel...). They backtrack a ways and meet up with Kessler and Piszczek, and the third LoSA fighter. At this time, Andropov, being a Russian deserter, opts to return to the beach rather than potentially run headlong into more than a hundred Russians; Stark opts to travel with him. The LoSA fighters and Father Piszczek all stay with Kessler.
  2nd Engagement at the Twins
  
• Kessler sees the first man emerge through the woods - the vanguard of the unknown force - and attempts a stand down by stating that he is a member of the Gdańsk militia. The leader of the unknown forces speak Polish, and respond by telling Kessler that he needs to leave immediately. He also mentions that Janku and his team can wait until the unknown force leaves and then go to the beach for a boat pickup. The man is wearing a brown jacket, and Kessler seems to recognize him, but cannot place where he knows him from. Kessler, Piszczek and the 3 LoSA fighters then start making their way back to the beach, when gunfire explodes behind them - the chase is on.
  
• Meanwhile Ferro has radioed the boats and is asking for immediate exfil, and the rest of the Mad Dogs adopt defensive positions in preparation for the horde of unknown enemies bearing down on them.
  
• One of the LoSA fighters (#1 - Piszczek's bodyguard named Roman) with Piszczek and Kessler can’t run anymore, being utterly spent. It's later learned that he may have suffered a medical emergency such as a heart attack. Kessler and Piszczek choose to stay behind with one of the other fighters (#2), while the third fighter (#3) is instructed to take Roman back to the camp. Kessler and the priest will attempt to hit the horde and fall back as they go, in order to buy time for Roman to make it to safety. It’s a brave to the point of suicidal decision. The team of three men (Kessler, Piszczek, and the LoSA fighter #2) perform three separate ambushes flawlessly as they continue to fire and pull back. On the fourth attempt however, Kessler gets hit by what ends up being a grenade blast. He wakes up to Piszczek yelling in his face to get up, and it appears as though the other LoSA fighter (#3) has returned to help, but he’s lying on the ground, having been shot in the chest. Kessler puts more rounds into the forest, and again sees the man in the brown coat with a pistol and hatchet. The trio then pick up the wounded LoSA fighter (#3) from the ground and make their way back toward the camp.
  
• Meanwhile Roman crashes out of the trees. Walsh, Babicevs, and Price go to help him. A hundred meters south of Roman, unknown fighters from the enemy force start emerging from the tree line and begin running for the camp’s perimeter. The Mad Dogs open fire on the runners, cutting down several of them, while the rest make for the shantytown. The gunfire resume in earnest, as a second, defensive phase of the battle begins.
  
• Kessler, Piszczek and the Polish fighter (#2) carry their wounded comrade (#3), and link up with Price and Babicevs at the edge of the tree line. They all start moving across the open field together. Fifteen meters short of the shantytown’s cover, Father Piszczek takes a hard round to the face and collapses. Kessler drops prone next to him, while the other LoSA member (#2) drags his friend (#3) the last few meters to relative safety. Kessler hears Piszczek moan, sees his eye red and bulging out of his skull, but the priest is somehow alive, and he pulls him over the berm and into cover.
  
• Nowak radios and states that she’s sending a craft to extract the wounded, but it only holds six.
  
• JJM gets three Stal Gdańsk militia fighters to hold the southern flank until the boat arrives. The only militiaman wearing a flak vest joins - his name is Dawid.
  
• McCarthy requests that the rescue boat goes to pick up Janku, Aleksandar, and the Marians instead, and requests an exfil for everyone on the beach. Meanwhile, Monolith has been slowly pulling back through the Mad Dogs line in a fairly orderly retreat. Nowak radios back saying that the Destiny Ascension is coming to pick everyone up, but that it will take approximately 20 mins.
  
• The eastern flank is compromised, and JJM with his three fighters divert that direction. Stark comes under fire within the shanty, and makes a run for cover. Walsh learns one of the LoSA fighter’s (#2) name is Krzys, much like his own.
  
• O’Brien and Lines see what’s assumed to be a captured merc, naked and drawn up on one of the trees at the tree line. The unknown force has apparently strung him up naked in the sub-freezing temperatures.
  
• Fischer is called up by JJM and Monolith, and uses the Carl Gustav to level one of the southern-most shacks, killing any enemy infantry inside. At the same time, Tom Stark’s run for cover is cut brutally short, and he’s killed by incoming enemy fire.
  
• Brozek returns and confirms that the naked man isn’t one of his - perhaps it’s one of the pirates who had escaped the initial attack.
  
• Riedel has been busy checking on all the wounded. Piszczek is still alive, but he’ll lose his left eye, as the bullet has lodged behind it - he’ll need surgery as soon as possible. The other wounded LoSA fighter (#3) that Kessler and Piszczek brought back is on the verge of death.
  
• Janku radios in that his team has gotten aboard the 6-man rescue craft and are safe.
  
• The various units pull back to the beach with the casualties, and the Destiny Ascension finally reaches the dock to receive the shore party. The shantytown’s perimeter starts collapsing as squad after squad start peeling back to the waiting ship. The horde of unknown combatants, sensing their prey getting ready to leave, spills out of the forest in a charge.
  
• JJM has to decide what to do with the sick pirates found earlier, and in a decision that will continue to haunt him, ultimately decides to leave them to their fate.
  
• JJM, Andropov, and Brozek are the last to board the ship. Before they board however, and with the enemy now inside the shantytown, Brozek asks McCarthy to watch, as he detonates explosives that Monolith has planted near the center of the seaside village. A huge blast blows out the middle of the shantytown, taking an unknown number of enemies with it, and the final friendlies get on board the Destiny Ascension.
  
• The prisoner allowed to return to the trawler earlier, is seen likely dead on the deck of the enemy boat. The Destiny Ascension pulls away from the dock, and puts a few parting shots at the still floundering trawler, ensuring it a watery grave within the next few minutes.
  
• The Destiny Ascension makes for open waters. Janku and Aleksandar transfer aboard from the rescue boat, and all of the Mad Dogs are now sailing back to Gdańsk.
  
• After a rough sea-born journey under very poor weather, the ship arrives back in Gdańsk to a waiting ambulance from St Mary’s, which takes the most critically injured. Brozek and Cassidy state that they think the unknown force was the Warmia Awakening, based on what they knew of the area and some possible connections at the Vistula Lagoon fisheries museum.
  
• The group finally reaches the compound around midnight. Kaminski tells them that Gdańsk has adopted a new currency, the Florin, which devalues at 10% a month. He also mentions that he was able to find 12 adults and a child to live nearby. Kaminski is also getting 4 shipping containers for the compound for various purposes, including fuel storage to keep the diesel away from the wood gasifier, and another for the Mad Dogs to use as they see fit.
  
• The next morning after a good nights rest, the Mad Dogs are treated to a hot breakfast, and start meeting the new residents as they filter in - they’ll soon be housed at the old school nearby, and a great deal of discussion happens surrounding how to improve their new home.
  
• JJM soon hands out some light assignments - Ferro is to take a team shopping for dressings and anything else people want. He’ll go to St Mary’s with Kessler and ask about acquiring a second medic for the unit. Finally, Andropov is to continue working on the vehicle, and anyone who wants leave is welcome to take some.

Group 1

• Ferro heads to the marketplace along with Riedel, Price, and O’Brien. While there, the group catches a man claiming to be Major McCarthy who is begging for donations. They chase the man when he takes off running, and successfully apprehend the liar. They tell him to knock it off and go, and that if they hear about him impersonating McCarthy again, they’ll find him.
  
• Group 1 acquires a fair amount of dressings and enough material to make a number of their own.

Group 2

• Babicevs, Kessler, and JJM go to St Mary’s. While there they see Piszczek, who is recovering, but has lost his left eye. Cassidy tells them that she’ll need fuel to pay for the medical supplies, and the group leaves a notice that the Mad Dogs are looking for a medic.
  
• Finally, Kessler learns that there will be a march to and a rally held at solidarity market tomorrow to honor Piszczek, as word of his deeds at The Twins is making its way around Gdańsk. The Mad Dogs talk to Tymoshenko about attending, and she lets them know the details of the rally.

Group 3

• Andropov, Walsh, and Fischer work on the damaged Humvee some more, getting it that much closer into working order.
  
• Benucci rests to recover from his wound, and ends up talking and doing some light trading with the newly arrived civilians.

(Continued)

• At this point, the unit reconvenes at the compound, and start discussing how to help provide security for the march and the rally tomorrow, after deciding that they will attend.
  
• In preparation, the unit then heads out and attempts to walk the route that they predict will be taken by the marchers the following day.
  
• Back at the compound, Kaminski mentions that more civilians will be arriving the next day, and with them will be a carpenter who may be able to help get the school up and running.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 18
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 18 - Gdansk - Allies and Enemies : November 28th, 2000
Summary: The team helps run security for a march and rally in support of Lukasz Piszczek becoming the new figurehead and leader of Gdansk. The team then goes on a night time raid for the Osprey militia into Soviet territory south of Gdansk, meets some new friends, and loses another medic.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - player
Soldat Sabine Riedel - German army - player
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - player
Sergeant Charles "Charlie" Price - Infantry (US) - player
Chris Walsh - Former Army Ranger (US) - player
Janacek Czerny - player

PC Assets:
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 - The Krok
Humvee (Damaged vehicle received in the process of being repaired)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)

• The Mad Dogs prepare to join and provide security for the pending LoSA march and corresponding rally, with Kolstrup and some members going and checking out the march route along with a 10 story building close to the market, Riedel setting up a temporary clinic for the new civilians, and Andropov continuing work on the damaged Humvee. Meanwhile, JJM works on improving the relationship with Kaminski.
  
• The next morning, the unit prepares the Krok to join the parade, and Kaminski mentions that he’s coming along in his Mercedes with his brother and bodyguard, Otto (haven't seen him since Lada's compound), and two of his girls. He plans to be riding in style.
  
• The Krok heads out toward the Holy Trinity Church, where the LoSA call home, and drop off Kolstrup and Walsh along the way, so that they can head to their sniper perch at the market. Upon arriving at the church, the officers are greeted by “General” Szymanski, who is in charge of the LoSA while Piszczek is recovering. The officers talk security for the march, and General Szymanski mentions that he has some undercover operatives that will be shadowing along through the crowd. Ferro and Janku will be doing the same for the Mad Dogs. More and more of representatives of the various militias arrive, along with a mess of supporting civilians, and the march to the Solidarity Market gets underway.
  
• First the march stops at St Mary’s and picks up more marchers. It then passes IB territory, and the Mad Dogs see that Hauptmann Woermann is watching from his unit’s Iltis, with their Marder nearby - the IB doesn’t interfere. The march then passes through Golden Dawn’s territory without issue, likely due to that militia not being on good terms with the MU. As the parade reaches MU territory in front of the Great Mill however, the march is stopped by Rick Newell and a large number of MU goons claiming that the street is closed. The tension grows and a full confrontation seems inevitable, as the march refuses to retreat and the MU men refuse to step aside. Suddenly, Waterloo Company’ Marder revs into the intersection. As the MU elite mercs rally closer to Newell, JJM uses the opportunity to intentionally misinterpret the men’s actions, and initiates a parade salute of the MU men while talking about the heroism of Piszczek. As a result of the added IB influence and JJM’s actions, the MU contingent backs down, and the march proceeds. It soon passes Swit Dawn territory, who are allies of the MU. While there’s no love for Piszczek here, there’s no roadblocks or violence either.
  
• Meanwhile, Kolstrup and Walsh reach the building they had investigated the day before. They meet a boy who tells them ghosts are inside, but nothing really comes of the boy’s fears, and the two men move inside and set up their sniper nest on the 10th floor.
  
• A Lieutenant Szymanski (different than the LoSA's General Szymanski) from Osprey brigade pushes toward the front of the march to where Kessler, JJM, and Kaminski are walking, and offers help to the Mad Dogs if they ever find themselves along the southern defensive positions of the city.
  
• The march finally reaches the Solidarity Market and the rally begins, with General Szymanski calling for unity in the city, ending the infighting (he points some fingers at the cartels), and extolling the virtues of Piszczek and other aligned militias. The Victory Front militia declares an alliance with LoSA on the spot, in what was surely a pre-planned PR maneuver.
  
• There’s a number of rumors circulating at the market, including one about Woermann being arrested by the IB for interfering with the march. Kessler, Price, and Janacek decide to head to the IB HQ to learn about Woermann for themselves.

Solidarity Market

• At the sniper nest, Kolstrup sees a flatbed pick up carrying men and a civilian car approach and stop outside of the market.
  Engagement at Solidarity Market
  
• The snap of a bullet is then heard by everyone in the market. At first everyone freezes, unsure if the round going off was an accidental discharge, but it’s soon followed up by a second, and then a third round. The crowd in the marketplace scatters. Soon, the shooting stops, but at least two MU mercs have been hit. Everyone takes cover while they look for the shooter and decide what to do next. Riedel starts providing medical aid to one of the wounded men, who is moved into the MU trading hall.
  
• Walsh spots movement in an apartment across the way. Kolstrup engages what appears to be a spotter, and then shifts and puts rounds into a suspected enemy sniper position. It’s unclear if his rounds have any effect.
  
• Meanwhile, the group at the marketplace is starting to splinter as various unit members take the initiative. Riedel is inside the MU trade hall working on a wounded man named Lech, Ferro has a team approaching the building of the suspected sniper, JJM and Babicevs are still near the dais/wagon where the speeches had been given, and others are in the BTR advancing toward the west where the suspected sniper’s building lies.
  
• Two men from the Leopold Okulicki Detachment help four Marians into the BTR for safety. The LOD men introduce themselves as Tom and Jerry (likely English nicknames given to them by 2MarDiv soldiers), and offer to help in any way they can.
  
• A explosive blast is then heard on the first floor of the suspected sniper hideout, and the BTR and dismounts start moving toward it.

IB HQ

• Kessler’s team arrives at the IB Post Office HQ to find Woermann doing just fine, and decidedly not under arrest. But, Woermann has been instructed to stay at the HQ for now. He and Kessler talk local politics and the need for a strong leader to unify Gdańsk. Woermann also mentions that it might be a good idea for Piszczek to see about getting in touch with General Hawthorne for military leadership, to go along with his civilian leadership, and also mentions that the Polish Home Army still has 300 armed and able men to the south that might be useful here in Gdańsk if only someone would go make contact with them.
  
• Kessler and Woermann listen to the radio around the same time as the blast goes off at the marketplace. Finally, Woermann mentions that Halina Nowak appears to have gone missing along with the Arcadia and some of the FL fleet.

Solidarity Market

• Kolstrup and Walsh see a trio of men crawling along the top of marketplace stalls toward the Krok and successfully put rounds into all three of them. This allows an infantry assault of the suspected enemy’s building to begin unhindered.
  
• JJM consults General Szymanski, and ultimately decides to go and talk to the MU cartels. He goes into the trade hall building where Riedel is located, and thanks the MU men there for not escalating the situation outside. JJM gives the MU an appraisal of what his men are doing to help find the enemy sniper as a courtesy, since the market is MU territory. The man leading the MU team inside the trade hall says that Inspector Kowalczyk is on his way, and that he'll be very unhappy with JJM. He also says that if JJM can get his wounded man (the one Riedel is working on) to St. Mary’s, that he won’t turn him over to the Inspector. JJM agrees and tries to get the Krok to come transport the wounded away.
  
• The assault of the suspected enemy building begins. The sweep team on the first floor discovers a dead man and an unconscious woman, near a sniper rifle and submachine gun. It appears as though they triggered some kind of explosive device by mistake, which accounts for the earlier explosion.
  
• Babicevs meets up with Kaminski and Anna, and he briefly attempts to (and fails) take control of LoSA, having found that General Szymanski isn’t very effective as a military leader.
  
• Kessler, Price, and Janacek at this point get a taxi back from the IB HQ, care of Woermann. A quick plan is then made for the taxi, upon dropping off the three Mad Dogs, to grab the MU wounded for transport to the basilica. This ends up freeing the Krok from ambulance duty. Kessler tells the driver to swing by the compound later to pick up the fare.

(Continued)

• An hour passes while Osprey and the Mad Dogs clear the first two floors of the suspected enemy building. The wounded woman from the ground floor of the enemy-held building, along with the MU merc, have both successfully been transferred to St Mary’s. The civilians have since been sent out of the marketplace and Inspector Kowalczyk is supposedly onsite, cordoning off the entire market. Two MU men are confirmed KIA so far, and several others seem to be missing. Riedel is allowed to leave the MU trade building, but McCarthy is told to stay. McCarthy then radios that his channel has been compromised, and for the Mad Dogs to switch nets - this effectively puts him out of communication with any friendly forces, which has a lot of downstream impact.

Hostage takers

• Frustrated by delays and JJM possibly being held hostage, Kaminski and Babicevs come up with a daring plan to take some people hostage at an MU administration building, as a possible means of securing JJM’s release.
  
• Babicevs and Kaminski break their way into an administration building, and start taking hostages. They start negotiating with a soldier (Petr Vaclik) in the admin building, who claims that they’re wrong about JJM being held hostage.

Assault Team

• The assault team meanwhile moves up to clear the fourth floor, while Osprey takes the third. Upon reaching the fourth floor, someone kicks a tin can by accident (it’s very dark in the building), and soon automatic gunfire is flying into the stairwell from unseen enemies. Benucci appears to have been possibly injured at this point?, but he carries on.
  
• They assault team attempts to push out of the stairwell, but get driven back by more automatic fire. Andropov takes a ricochet round, but it gets stopped by one of the eyelets in his webbing. The group starts lobbing grenades and rushes forward, only to be pushed back yet again. Frank is hit at this time in his arm, and falls back down the stairwell, also breaking his arm - he is then transferred down, unconscious, to Riedel on the ground floor.
  
• A lone, wounded woman finally gives herself up to the assaulters, and the engagement ends. The rest of the opforces on the floor have been killed, which includes two snipers.

McCarthy

• Meanwhile at the trade building, Bartek from Sikora Armaments arrives and introduces McCarthy to Mrs. Wojcik. Wojcik appears to be in charge, which is surprising for a 70 year old woman. She is apparently the leader in charge of Sikora Armaments, and may be a part of the MU’s ruling council. JJM and Wojcik talk about the future of Gdańsk and Piszczek’s role in it. Wojcik ends up agreeing to help provide support to LoSA through the Mad Dogs, but only so long as the support is done in secret. She also wants a meeting with Piszczek at some point. (Note: Sounds like she's making a power play to ensure future security).
  
• Bartek mentions to JJM that Sikora has reason to believe some of their arms are being smuggled to the Polish army, and asks him about Valeska. JJM says that he isn’t certain, but lays out the reasons why it would be unlikely and promises to take care of the matter if he’s wrong.

(Continued)

• The hostage situation continues heating up. After sending the Krok with Benucci and the enemy woman on to St Mary’s (not letting the MU know about the prisoner), Kessler and Babicevs finally get on the radio and communicate about what’s happening, then Kessler gets on the radio with the MU and attempts to de-escalate the situation. Kessler walks back out into the market and meets the MU’s envoy, Mikolaj, who directs him to the hostage situation in the nearby admin building.
  
• At the same time, McCarthy is being released back into the market. Kessler manages to talk Babicevs and Kaminski down. Everyone in the area stands down, and the Mad Dogs go on their way. On the way back to the compound, the unit stops and enjoys some beer (taken from the rally) with some of the men from the Osprey militia.
  
• Once back at the compound, Ferro and Kessler head out to St Mary’s to check on the wounded female prisoner and Benucci. Janacek is already there acting as a guard, and advises them that the prisoner claims that her name is Karolina Skonieczny from the Polish 1st army, but that she’s refusing to talk otherwise. They also check on the woman from the ground floor, who Piszczek claims to know. It appears that the two people that set off the booby trap on the first floor of the enemy building were some of LoSA's undercover security personnel.
  
• The next morning, the taxi driver comes by to collect his fare for taking the wounded to the hospital the day before. His name is Artur Deyna, and the unit wonders about using him for intel gathering. Kessler and Ferro also return along with the prisoner, Karolina. Everyone is in agreement that she’s actually German, contrary to her claims, due to a nearly hidden accent. Kessler takes her for an interrogation, while one of the shipping containers at the compound is made ready to be used as a holding cell. Karolina opens up to Kessler in German, and lets him know that her real name is Karolina Schleicher, and that she was just a radio operator and lookout for the recent operation. She’s East German, and also gives Kessler the radio frequency her team has been using (though its encrypted). Kessler leaves after asking some additional questions, and then asks Janku to go check with his contacts in the city (Olympic) to see if anything can be verified.
  
• Ferro also interrogates Schleicher, and learns that Karolina receives orders from an operation at the airbase in Pruszcz Gdanski.
  
• JJM lays out items that need to be looked into:

1. See about trying to locate the group receiving the enemy transmissions.
   
2. Get the second Humvee up and running.
   
3. Track down rumors of what happened to Nowak.
   
4. Meet with the leaders of Osprey and see how the Mad Dogs can help. A joint operation will help cement relations with that militia.
   
5. Set up a meeting with General Hawthorne about getting some military leadership behind Piszczek.

• The team then splits up to accomplish their goals:

Group 1

• Ferro, Kessler and Kolstrup walk the docks and collect rumors about Nowak. Many think that she may have taken the sub as her own and that she may be plotting a coup to wrest control of the FL, but no one knows where she is for sure. There’s some mention of some of her men being back in Gdańsk.
  
• Group 1 also visits Henryk Juskowiak, one of Wright’s contacts. Juskowiak has no info on the East Germans, but does let them know of a rumor linking the MU cartels to the bandit attacks on the Forest City however, which helps cement the view that the MU was using the bandits to help bring the Forest City into under their control.

Group 2

• Other Mad Dogs go to the southern defensive lines to visit Osprey leadership, and run into one Captain Kaminski (presumably no relation to our favorite Kaminski). The Mad Dogs offer their assistance and bring some ammo as a gift. Captain Kaminski thanks them and explains the situation on the southern lines - the front is fairly static, with both sides launching constant patrols into no man’s land. The Soviets have around 75 men posted at Orunia, and it’s similar at Kowale. Both companies are rotated out with the big camp in Pruszcz Gdanski. Captain Kaminski states that an aggressive night patrol would be most helpful. JJM agrees, and plans to do one the following night so that everyone has a chance to prepare.

(Continued)

• All Mad Dogs are all back at the compound. The next day, they prepare and head out for Osprey’s lines. They again meet Captain Kaminski, who tells them they are welcome to stay in the area to rest until the patrol. He also introduces the Mad Dogs to Lt. Dziura, his intelligence officer, and Captain Filipowicz in operations (also in command of the communications squad). Everyone discusses logistics for the patrol - limited mortar support, squad structure, patrol area, what types of units to expect engagements with, etc. Captain Kaminski also mentions that the Russians the unit will be facing are experienced and intelligent; this won’t be the normal lackluster Polish soldiers the unit has faced previously.
  
• At night, the Mad Dogs step off on their patrol. They use a tunnel to emerge into no man’s land, and start heading toward their first objective - the southern side of a rail bridge over the Motlawa. Soon, Kolstrup spies 9 men a few hundred meters away heading Northeast. The unknown men move away from the unit, and the Mad Dogs creep forward toward a pump-house next to the rail bridge. Some sustained gunfire is heard to the east.
  2nd Engagement at the Rail Bridge South of Gdansk
  
• Babicevs then spots a man on top of the pump-house and opens fire. There’s also gunfire from within the pump-house where Walsh is.
  
• The group quickly deals with the small force at the pump-house, with one of the enemy escaping to the east. Also noted are two rafts that float by on the river, but they continue on by, being no threat. A full on firefight is taking place a few hundred meters to the east now.
  
• The unit continues advancing eastward into a small wooded copse, until they push headlong into the enemy formation. Walsh, Riedel, and O’Brien start crawling forward, attempting to break the impasse, when a grenade is tossed their way. O’Brien gets hit in the arm by shrapnel, and Riedel gets multiple serious wounds to her arm and abdomen - she quickly falls unconscious. Some explosions sent from an unknown source, and unit-thrown grenades rock the enemy position, and the shooting soon stops altogether.
  
• The Mad Dogs sweep through the rest of the woods, finding six enemies escaping over the fields to the south. Three of them are cut down during the run, and the others escape.
  
• Riedel is found to be in very serious condition. A stretcher needs to be made to get her back to Gdańsk, and some camo netting is found in the pump-house that will do the job. Ferro and Kolstrup go to check out whoever was east of the firefight, presumably friendlies, to see if they need help. One by one, a new group emerges from a farmhouse and irrigation ditches. The new group includes: Gerhard Dietrich, William Schmidt, Jose Rodriguez, and Henry “Hank” Voight.

Interlude - Coming in from the cold : Krepiec : December 1st, 2000

• Dietrich, Schmidt, and Rodriguez are positioned in Krepiec on the riverbank, awaiting some sugar beet farmers to sail their rafts into Gdańsk along the Motlawa. They board and set sail. Along the way, they get to know each other. Before long, the rafts steer toward the beach near a destroyed looking farmhouse, and look to take on another passenger, Henry “Hank” Voight.
  
• The oarsman mentions that they need to wait a few minutes, as a Russian patrol is near. A man is soon seen on the opposite side of the river, hauling the boats, and a vehicle is heard not far behind him. The oarsmen get really nervous and start making to push off back into the river. Not wanting to be caught in the open river with no cover, the four passengers disembark and make for the nearby farm. Reaching the farm, the quartet take up defensive positions and wait.
  
• Soon, they see a man approaching from an irrigation ditch to the west. Voight starts checking different frequencies on his radio, and comes across a station playing Elvis Presley.
  
• Before long, some shots start hitting the sides of the farmhouse, which soon escalates into a full firefight. Rifle shots go out, grenades explode, a flare goes off. Some of the wounded Soviets retreat, and soon it goes suddenly quiet. Before long, gunfire erupts into a loud roar from within the wooded copse to the west. Voight is the first to move out to the irrigation ditch, soon followed by Schmidt. Rodriguez launches some grenades which appear to land near the expected enemy position. Dietrich continues covering north.
  
• The shooting recedes until 3 men break from the Soviet position, followed soon by 3 more. Between the fire from the quartet and unknown forces to the west, only half of the Soviets make it away.
  
• The new fireteam breaks out to the west from the farmhouse, and are soon met by someone yelling in English “Gdańsk Territorial Force! Identify yourself!”

(Continued)

• The Mad Dogs, now reinforced by four extra heads, begin moving north with Riedel carried in the makeshift stretcher. Given how much blood the East German has lost, there’s concern that she won’t make it. In response, the Major radios Osprey and has them relay a message to the Marians to have an ambulance ready for Riedel when they get her back to friendly lines.
  Engagement at the Rail Yard South of Gdansk
  
• The unit continues northwest, soon reaching a rail yard, where they see a trio of Soviet soldiers sneaking north toward Osprey lines. The unit decides to push through, in the interest of saving Riedel, and assault the three Soviets. Two are cut down immediately, and the group pushes forward toward the third and engage him. The Mad Dogs then start hearing the humming of an incoming vehicle approaching from the south. A grenade is thrown at the third Soviet, and Babicevs runs up to finish him off.
  
• A BMP-1 APC enters the trainyard from the south, followed by around 20 Soviet soldiers. Another vehicle is heard as well.
  
• The unit hides at the sound of the vehicular approach, and prepare for the coming assault. The Major calls in a fire mission to Osprey, and mortar rounds start landing amongst the Soviets, who start pushing forward into the rail yard. As the rounds stop landing, the Mad Dogs open up on the encroaching enemy, while Dietrich leads O’Brien (wounded in the arm), Lines and Janacek (who are carrying Riedel in the stretcher), north toward friendly lines.
  
• Walsh scores a hit against the BMP-1 with a LAW, and the vehicle ceases moving. More combat ensues.
  
• A BTR-70 then comes up a road on the western side of the rail yard, prompting a shifting in position for the Mad Dogs on that side of the fight. McCarthy radios in for more mortar fire on the disabled BMP.
  
• The stretcher party reaches the tunnel leading back to Gdansk. They wait at the edge of the friendly lines for a minute while an Osprey tank hunting team comes out of the tunnel and for more men from Osprey to arrive to help with the stretcher. Then O’Brien escorts an Osprey stretcher party with Riedel back through the tunnel to the waiting ambulance. Meanwhile Janacek, Lines, and Dietrich head back to set up a second line of defense behind the rest of the Mad Dogs.
  
• The BTR cuts across the flank of the unit, and gets pelted a couple of times by 40mm grenades and bugs out to the south. As the Mad Dogs prepare a general retreat, a second BTR-70 appears where the first one joined the battle. Voight attempts to get close enough to throw an AT grenade, but the vehicle’s dismounts see him before he gets in range. Kessler throws a smoke so that Voight can pull back. The BTR fires it’s coax into the smoke, and hits Voight in the leg.
  
• Everyone is now pulling back to the last cover available, 100m south of where the reserve party has created a second line of defense in a row of crumbling ruins. The battlefield goes momentarily quiet.
  
• The main force of Mad Dogs retreats successfully to the ruins, while Kessler, Voight, Rodriguez, and Kolstrup hold the line and then bring up the rear. An MTLB or equivalent vehicle is now seen pulling up next to the stricken BMP, likely a repair vehicle. The enemy starts dropping mortar rounds near the ruins, and the enemy vehicles and dismounts resume their forward momentum. Kessler and Voight keep running toward the ruin when the BTR opens up again - hitting Voight in the leg a second time, and grazing Kessler's arm.
  
• Just after Janacek launches a flare into the night, heavy machine gun fire and tracers start laying into the advancing Soviet forces, and a rocket flies into one of the advancing BTRs, ejecting metal embers from its hull - Osprey’s men and their tank hunting team have finally joined the battle. This gives the four men still in the open a much needed window to crawl back to the cover of the ruins. Then together again, all of the Mad Dogs return back to Osprey’s lines, and finally stand down in one of the friendly militias bunkers. The Soviets start shelling Osprey’s lines with heavy artillery in response to the engagement.
  
• In the Osprey command bunker, JJM, Kessler, Ferro and Kolstrup meet with Osprey’s command element. Emma Cassidy is there as well, and she relays the news that Sabine Riedel didn’t make it. This stuns the officers, and the news puts a damper on the elation the rest of the unit is feeling at having escaped the night relatively unharmed.
  
• Cassidy starts working on the wounded, and Captain Kaminski states that a Soviet soldier was captured and that he claims to be a deserter. He also mentions that the motorized platoon encountered by the Mad Dogs tonight was a unit heading toward a major attack on Przejazdowo, and that the unit’s actions have spoiled that attack, likely saving a number of lives.
  
• General introductions are finally made between the Mad Dogs and the new team members. The tension of the night leads Rodriguez and Lines to almost get into an altercation, but the issue is dropped before it turns physical.
  
• The unit, carrying Riedel's body and working together to assist the wounded, makes its way back to the compound on foot. Upon reaching the compound, more introductions are made, including with Kaminski, and Riedel’s body is taken care of until a proper funeral can be arranged.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 19
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 19 - Baltic Coast - Hunters : December 2, 2000
Summary: The unit rests, recuperates, and rearms in Gdansk. Then the Mad Dogs decide to head east back across the Vistula to take on the dangerous cult of Warmia Awakening.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Francis "Frank" Benucci - US Rangers - player
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - Now an NPC
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - player
Sergeant Charles "Charlie" Price - Infantry (US) - Now an NPC
Chris Walsh - Former Army Ranger (US) - player
Polizeioberkommisar Gerhard Dietrich - German police - player
Chief Petty Officer William Schmidt - Royal Navy (UK) - player
Specialist Jose Rodriguez - Infantry (US) - player
Henry "Hank" Voight - Private Military Contractor (US) - player

PC Assets:
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 - The Krok
Humvee (Damaged vehicle received in the process of being repaired)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)

• The unit rests and recuperates back at the compound in Gdansk. It's noted that Andropov has completed his work on building out the unit's second Humvee. A funeral is held for Sabine Riedel at the compound.
  
• Some Mad Dogs head into the city for some R&R with the new Humvee, which performs well. Others stay at the compound and are debriefed on the Mad Dogs' mission so far. The unit works to integrate its new members and regain morale.
  
• The team splits up to figure out what to do next. It's decided to pursue two leads while the unit continues to integrate the new members - find information about what happened to Nowak, and find out information about Warmia Awakening. The team settles on going after Warmia Awakening next. Voight talks to Price about crafting some fake landmines to buff up the compound defenses. The team discusses talking the LoSA into loaning fighters to help provide security for the compound while the Mad Dogs are away on various missions.

Group 1

• Kessler, Ferro, Rodriguez, Kolstrup, and Voight head out to accomplish multiple tasks.
  
• The team tries to learn new information, but there isn't much to be had. Apparently a third of the League's ships have disappeared over the last couple of days with Nowak. The rest of the fleet has been instructed to stay put.
  
• They then head to St. Marys to check on Frank Benucci and Lukasz Piszcek. Sergei greets them. The group learns that Piszczek is alive and recovering, and visit him. They let Piszczek know that Sikora Armaments wants to have a private meeting with him, and about the East German prisoner currently held in the compound. Regarding Nowak's disappearance, Piszczek relays his knowledge of Nowak, that she's ambitious but that he believes she has Gdansk's best interest at heart. Piszczek agrees to the meeting with Mrs. Wojcik of Sikora.
  
• The group learns that Frank Benucci has died of his wounds, and they return to the compound.

Group 2

• Janacek, Walsh, Schmidt, and Price head to Solidarity Market to do some shopping for additional odds and ends. A random girl seems to say hello to Walsh as though she knows him, but is gone before anything else is noticed. It's possible she knew him from the earlier logging mission. The rest of the shopping trip largely goes without incident before the group heads back.

Group 3

• McCarthy, Babicevs, O'Brien and Lines head to Sikora to secure some provisions, and then head to LoSA territory. There, they work with "General" Szymanski to secure a team of 4 fighters, along with 4 disabled fighters and some dependents, to live and help protect the compound while the Mad Dogs are away. The LoSA members would return to LoSA during times of emergency or when called upon, but otherwise they would act as a default militia for Kaminskis Compound. The team then heads back to the compound.

(Continued)

• With everyone now back at the compound, Walter Krupp informs the Major that there's a letter from Sgt. Fox at the Marian Farm. Apparently Piotr Auttenberg has been hospitalized by illness, and Tosh Lines is to take his place.
  
• Janacek asks Katarzyna for her help in sewing some overwhites for the crew. She reluctantly assents. O'Brien gets to work on the new minefield emplacements.
  
• Work on the community continues, with a trench dug for power lines to the school. Many unit members, along with community members (and Gustek, a community member) chip in and help dig. McCarthy and Kessler discuss visiting Brozek with Monolith, who rumor had it were doing some arresting of people that might be friendly with Nowak. They also discuss getting some unit patches.
  
• A stranger appears at the compound gates looking for work. McCarthy is summoned. Kessler gets there first and learns more about the refugee. He's formerly of the US Air Force and is more recently trained as a medic. Reggie Grant then joins the Mad Dogs.
  
• Kolstrup, Janacek, and Rodriguez go to patrol the area around the compound. At the nearby firehouse, they find the empty hull of a BTR-60 without armament or engine. It's decided to try to drag the vehicle back to the compound for use as a static emplacement.
  
• David Tosh is collected by boat, and sent to the farm. Dietrich suggests some further compound hardening. Kessler talks to Gustek about the areas east of the Vistula.
  
• It is now December 4th, JJM calls the team together for a briefing for the next mission - dismantling the Warmia Awakening. There's a lot to do beforehand however - introducing the new LoSA group to the existing residents, attaching an AGS-17 to the new Humvee, finishing running power to the school, getting more supplies, etc., but there's no possible way to complete everything. The project list is triaged, and the team splits up to accomplish the various tasks.
  
• It's decided that Gustek will accompany the unit on the next mission based on his knowledge of the area the WA is known to be operating within.
  
• For the tasks - the following is completed:
  
  1. The school now has power.
     
  2. 10 more occupants arrive from LoSA - 4 fighters, 4 disabled fighters, 2 adult dependents, and 2 patrol dogs.
     
  3. The AGS-17 is mounted to the second Humvee.
     
  4. Maintenance on the Krok is completed.
     
  5. Extra ammo and provisions is secured from Tymoshenko and her people. 2 sets of winter clothing are traded for at the market.
     
  6. Monolith is out, and thus no information is gathered from them about their current operations or Nowak's whereabouts.
     
  7. No additional information on Nowak is found out, even from family members of some of her sailors.
     
  8. Some sketches are made of compound improvements, but there isn't time or manpower to get any of them done.
     
  9. Kolstrup helps teach Ferro how to handle marksman work.
  
  
• Dinner is had before the mission is to begin. Everyone checks weapons and prepares for the mission, and try to rest as best they can. Gerhard Dietrich and William Schmidt are suddenly called into a meeting with the officers, and and quickly afterward sent packing for an unknown reason.
  
• At 0300 on Dec 5th, the mission begins and the convoy of the BTR-80 and the two Humvees rolls out of the compound.
  
• The team stops at Swibno and is met by Maria Ostrowski, who feeds them a hot breakfast. Kessler asks her if she or the council have a way of contacting Bajek or Netzel to get permission to cross to east of the Vistula. The rest of the council arrives, including Maria who represents Swibno, Dawid who represents Komary, Bartosz who represents Sobieszwo, and Jakub who represents the police/militia. The team is informed that Bajek has been called away, perhaps reassigned or arrested, and that Netzel is now in command of the Polish forces over the river. Jakub does say that he can get in touch with Netzel however to arrange a meeting.
  
• Kolstrup decides to go and meet Ivar Christiansen, who lives in Swibno, to catch up and to get any intel he can. He learns that the WA are spread on both sides of the lagoon, with the larger group on the east side. He also learns about the size and operations of Netzels men and the 12th Polish Cavalry Division.
  
• Meanwhile, others go to meet Netzel across the river, getting there by small raft. They meet with Netzel, who agrees to stay out of the way during the anti-banditry operations. He shows them a map, gives some updates on Warmia's location, talks about which bridges to the south are still workable, and provides a signal of 35-70, callsign 'Saturn' if the Mad Dogs want to reach him.
  
• Everyone returns to Hotel Bartan in Swibno and learn about the terrain they're about to face, and it's decided that an old Brick Factory will be the next waypoint for the convoy. Maria at this time also introduces Krysia Kaczmarek, who is to go with the Mad Dogs to the East. Walsh, Rodriguez, and Ferro attempt to give Varis some candy to make him gassy and ruin his chances with the new policewoman. Later that afternoon, the convoy rolls out.
  
• The unit reaches the Brick Factory in fairly short order, and take up residence in the abandoned structure, using it as a patrol base. Patrols are sent out, but discover little of import. A second patrol is sent out the next morning.

Patrol 1

• Kolstrup, Ferro, Walsh, Rodriguez, Janacek, Andropov, Babicevs, and O'Brien go out on a long-range patrol, and come across a small bandit camp.

Engagement North of Katy Rybackie

• They assault the camp, killing three and capturing one (Andrzej Morawiecki). They run after a small group trying to escape, eventually killing one and capturing two more (Marta Nalecz and Lena Lepper). During the pursuit, Walsh takes a laceration from a bullet passing by close to the side of his head.
  
• Back at camp, the BTR starts up to head out and pick up the patrol and prisoners. Sometime after it departs, a motorcycle and a 6-wheeled APC sporting a red flag drives by (heading northeast) the brick factory, unaware of those still inside.
  
• The BTR picks up members of the patrol while others hike back, and arrives back at the Brick Factory just after the unknown vehicles leave (though they do see them in the distance).

(Continued)

• The unit rests, eats, and interrogates their three prisoners. They learn the following:
  
• The three prisoners are in fact bandits and Lena is one of their fighters.
  
• Warmia is spread out all over the place in small groups. Some are sick. A larger band is camped near Katy Rybackie. The leadership though is thought to be across the lagoon to the east, in a group of around fifty. About the leadership group: "WA is led by a man named Mazur, or General Mazur. He is said to have been a school teacher in Gdansk. He has three lieutenants and the gypsy woman. An African-america woman is also part of his group, acting as some sort of enforcer."
  
• The unit then decides to send a night patrol to Katy Rybackie to investigate.

Patrol 2

• A patrol heads out and approaches Katy Rybackie, seeing a few dozen people appearing to be camped right outside the town. A radio to link back up with the rest of the unit is forgotten. The patrol creeps closer to the campers in order to gather intel, but learns little. The patrol then decides to capture a few of the campers, and successfully kidnap two of them, a man and a woman (Pawel and Nataszja). The patrol then returns to the Brick Factory.

Brick Factory

• Meanwhile back at the Brick Factory, Walsh is healing from his head wound and questioning Lena Lepper about the mounted patrol that passed by. She tells him that they've seen them before, and that they speak English, but nothing else is known. He also gleans from Andrzej that the patrol might be looking for a hidden cache of fuel (Fuel Depot reference surely) or perhaps looking for someone.
  
• Walsh also spills the beans at this time to McCarthy, that he's actually a CIA operative and that the DIA team known as Orion hunting for him with kill orders. McCarthy accepts the news and lets Walsh know that he needn't worry - the Mad Dogs don't turn their backs on their friends.
  
• The patrol returns with Pawel and Nataszja. Upon interrogation, the unit learns quite a bit:
  
  1. That the campers outside of Katy Rybackie along with the two kidnappies, are in fact its healthy residents, its sick ones still within the town inside the warmer houses.
     
  2. Not much is known about the sickness, although some believe it was from something that was dug up, possibly a biological weapon.
     
  3. The leader of Katy Rybackie is a man named Adam, who is also sick.
     
  4. Two youths have been taken by the local WA group, which is currently to the northeast of Katy Rybackie building rafts along the coast of the lagoon. The local WA group is also known to have at least one "high profile" member.
     
  5. Katy Rybackie appears to also have one prisoner of their own. A wounded Canadian, by his tags.
  
  
• The next morning, the group returns the two prisoners to Katy Rybackie, and meet the de facto leader, a man named Filip Wojcik. The Mad Dogs explain their mission, and Filip reluctantly agrees to have the community support the operation, though not much help can be expected.
  
• Back at the Brick Factory, Rodriguez does a morning patrol circuit and discovers fresh, human tracks around the building's exterior. Some are close. It's clear that the factory is being watched.
  
• The rest of the Mad Dogs return to the factory, and it's agreed that a new patrol base is needed. The next morning the unit heads out again and locates an abandoned farmstead inbetween the Brick Factory and Katy Rybackie with a wrecked ZSU-23-4 with East German markings. The unit settles into their new temporary home.
  
• A plan is then worked on how to assault the WA group just north of Katy Rybackie, and put into motion. A recce team will move forward first to establish the location and get into advantageous position. The rest of the team will move up in the BTR-80 and assault in force.
  
• Kolstrup, Ferro, Walsh, and Janacek move up during the night and get into position to investigate the Warmia position, locating a waterside camp and a few occupied homes. A long range radio is again forgotten, but information is still relayed via short range when the recce overhears some WA members talking, and then seeing them start to scatter. The jig is up!

Engagement East of Katy Rybackie

• The assault force waits along the BTR in Katy Rybackie, and before long the radio call comes in from Ferro that the assault has been compromised. After a quick decision to proceed, the BTR races along the 501 toward the waterside camp. Along the way shots ring out as unknown attackers attempt to slow or stop the APC, but to no avail, and the BTR quickly arrives on scene.
  
• After a shitshow of a dismount, the assault team forms a perimeter around the BTR and starts pressing the assault. The recce team at this time also begins opening up on any Warmia members in view.
  
• Things are hectic, and lots of people learn valuable lessons. Grant learns how to shoot back. Rodriguez learns that the HEAT rounds aren't very effective against infantry. Babicevs learns to watch his step when he almost falls through some floorboard of a destroyed house. Czerny learns that MOUT work can be dangerous when he gets shot twice (forearm, torso) trying to stop a cultist fleeing from one of the houses by grabbing the man's rifle.
  
• Near the end of the firefight, some cultists with an MG open up on the BTR from a distance - a bad move when moments later the BTR lights them up.
  
• All in all, the Mad Dogs finish the firefight, taking light wounds and dealing out quite a heavy punishment to the local Warmia Awakening group. All told, there are over a dozen killed, with two more prisoners taken, an older, mute woman, and a younger man. Some of the cultists however, did successfully manage to flee into the woods.

Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 20
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 20 - Baltic Coast - Hunters II : December 7, 2000
Summary: The unit meets some new Canadian friends, and then takes the fight to Warmia Awakening on the east side of the Elblag.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
Major John Jameson McCarthy (JJM) – Cav Scout (US) - player
Unteroffizier Helmut Meyer – Panzerpionier (German) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Sergeant Varis Babicevs – Infantry (US) - player
Sgt. Arthur Fox – British Army - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Caporale Maggiore Ferro - Italian Carabinieri (ROS) - player
Corporal Billy "Crack" O’Brien - Parachute Regiment (UK) - player
Anna - Auxiliary - NPC
Aleksandar Mazurek - Auxiliary - NPC
Oversergent Per Kolstrup - Danish Army Jaegerkorpset - player
Corporal David "Tosh" Lines - 1/RAR (UK) - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Katarzyna Majchrzak - Auxiliary - NPC
Hauptmann Walter Krupp - Chemist/Engineer - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Piotr Auttenberg - Auxiliary - NPC (Working on Marian Enclave's farm)
Hauptmann Michael Kessler - German army - player
Karel Janku - Former Czech Airborne/? - NPC
Oberstabsfeldwebel Lukas Fischer - German army - NPC
Private Tomasz Andropov - Russian mechanic - player
Sergeant Charles "Charlie" Price - Infantry (US) - NPC
Chris Walsh - Former Army Ranger (US) - player
Specialist Jose Rodriguez - Infantry (US) - player
Henry "Hank" Voight - Private Military Contractor (US) - player
Reggie Grant - Refugee Medic (US) - player

PC Assets:
Armored Humvee - M2HB (In Katy Rybackie)
Volkswagen Iltis (At Kaminski's)
BTR-80 (Der Krok)
Humvee (Lobo) - AGS-17 (In Katy Rybackie)
Humvee (Destroyed / Parts) (At Kaminski's)
Humvee (Destroyed / Parts) (At Kaminski's)

• The battle at the end of the last chapter has come to a close. The Mad Dogs have three cultists in custody - a youth, an older catatonic woman, and a man. At least 5 others managed to escape into the woods. The team decides that they need to work on their mounted assaults, and loots the dead
  
• Interrogations of prisoners take place while the unit sets up a perimeter. The boy is one of two missing from Katy Rybackie. The man is a WA hardliner. The old woman remains catatonic.
  
• At this time, Krysia reveals that she is looking for a man named Patryk Wojcik, former Swibno police, who was caught selling weapons and ammo to bandits. Her mission is to kill or capture him and return him to Swibno. She checks over the bandit bodies for him to no avail.
  
• The unit returns to Katy Rybackie. Kessler advises Filip Wojcik of the result of the attack on the bandit WA group, and asks to see the wounded Canadian.
  
• A found Warmia notebook is analysed for data. There's a note that Russians are near a lighthouse. It also mentions a "Lena", presumably Lena Lepper. It mentions some sick people, as well as a crash site of some sort nearby. Here are the specific notes for reference:
  
  Note#1:
  If we can see your fucking smoke they can see your fucking smoke. You are putting you and us both in danger. Fix your stupidity or I will.
  Note#2:
  Let everyone know to leave the mushroom guy alone. He's our eyes now.
  Note#3:
  You said only one boy and we don't have batteries like that. (In different handwriting there's a response on the bottom of the same page) I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
  Note#4:
  We're going across. I'll make good with Mazur with that KGB type we found plus a couple new boys. That ought to make up for The Twins. You and Nina can come, I owe you that. There's room and your guys will understand. (In different handwriting there's a response on the bottom of the same page) Nina is sick. Good luck.
  Note#5:
  Russians around lighthouse. Send *unintelligible*. I think *unintelligible* *unintelligible* crash site or that submarine? Meet us by the bend if *unintelligible* shit.
  Note#6:
  Lena killed the mushroom guy.
  
  
• Kessler and Grant go to visit the wounded Canadian at the Fisherman's Museum at the far end of the town. The wounded man seems to be dying from a gunshot wound which has perforated a lung. His name tag says Mackenzie, and he's being looked after by a woman with the surname Wieczorek. Kessler attempted to talk to the man, but gets only confused mumbling in return "Forty nine. Forty nine nine'y." "Same as range control." "I'm non'alone. Tell Drummer t'go... I'm fine. No point." Kessler then talks to Filip more about Warmia's men. Filip mentions that one of the men is captured from Malbork, but that he doesn't know him (Kessler thinks Filip might be lying).
  
• Per meets one of the town's hardened warriors, named Stasia. Elsewhere, some tracked vehicles are seen under tarps. One appears to be a tractor, another is said to be some type of military construction vehicle possibly.
  
• Marta starts to spill the beans on Lena carrying a hidden weapon; Lena then attempts to attack Marta while both are still bound as prisoners inside the Krok. The chaos gets put down with Marta having a bite taken out of her ear and Lena unconscious. The Mad Dogs decide they have too many prisoners and need to figure out what to do with them all. In the meantime, there seems to be some type of disagreement which has taken place between Filip and Stasia, regarding some possible outsiders nearby. Stasia rides off with some fighters to investigate.
  
• Filip confirms there's a lighthouse near The Twins. He says you can't reach the top of it anymore, but most of it is still there. He also mentions that Stasia used to be with Warmia.
  
• A patrol is sent out to follow Stasia's fighters and to assist where able/figure out what's going on. Soon enough, gunfire breaks out ahead.

Engagement West of Katy Rybackie

• The group following Stasia soon encounters two groups ahead exchanging gunfire. One of the groups turns out to be Stasia's, unsurprisingly. Among Stasia's group is a dead man, recently shot, named Tymon.
  
• From the west comes a Canadian Grizzly APC, backing up the second group. After some confusion and scrambled radio calls, a cease-fire is called, and Kessler agrees to meet the Canadians and "Drummer" in Sztutowo.

(Continued)

• Kessler and company meet up with the Canadian Grizzly and meet Corporal Drummer. The Canadians are from 11th Corps, and it turns out that the wounded Mike Mackenzie in Katy Rybackie is their commanding officer, whom they want back. Kessler's patrol and the Canadians then start making their way back to Katy Rybackie.
  
• Meanwhile, McCarthy negotiates with Filip and secures the release of Mackenzie to the Canadians.
  
• With everyone back in Katy Rybackie, Kessler, McCarthy, and Drummer go to the Museum. Drummer decides to take Mackenzie with her, despite his terrible and worsening condition, in the hopes of saving him (though she likely knows it's a lost cause). Outside, Stasia is confronted and stopped from intervening by Kolstrup.
  
• The Canadians with Drummer are identified. They include Moore, Fraser, Reid, and Brownie. Another soldier along with a tied up civilian prisoner are seen in the back of the Grizzly.
  
• Mackenzie is put aboard the Grizzly in a stretcher and the Canadians depart for at least 8 hours back to wherever their biv-site is. The Mad Dogs also bed down in Katy Rybackie for the night.
  
• The next morning, the group splits.

Group 1

• Kessler, Ferro, and others meet up with Drummer south of Sztutowo. They exchange information and radio channels. Drummer mentions that the Canadians have recce'd a Polish position in Oslonka (platoon strength, maybe horses, maybe a mortar as well - dug in).
  
• Drummer relays that her unit is short on supplies. Kessler offers up a joint venture to attack Warmia Awakening across the lagoon and take their supplies. Drummer agrees. The meeting concludes and Group 1 returns to KR.

Group 2

• The rest of the Mad Dogs go to investigate the east side of KR, where the larger engagement happened the night before. They check out the nearby houses and investigate the remaining bodies and raft site. Outside of some random items, not much of interest is found. Group 2 then returns to KR.

Continued

• Back in KR, Kolstrup goes to meet Stasia to learn about her time with Warmia. She lets him know that General Mazur will run before fighting, and that the monastery east of the lagoon is of significance to Mazur.
  
• Other random duties are seen to. Andropov performs maintenance on the vehicles. Grant sees to any wounded or sick locals. Babicevs and McCarthy drive and hand off the prisoners (minus Marta) to the Polish forces in Rybina without incident.
  
• The Canadians return, and both units work out a plan to head east across the lagoon in search of WA's command element. The Canadians ring with them an Argo ATV and a motorbike (strapped to the Grizzly). Three more of their unit are identified: Ouellet, Giles, and Goopey. (page 17 descriptions). Moore doesn't seem to be present.
  
• Both units depart KR, leaving the Humvees (disabled), and make for the east side of the lagoon. While crossing the Elblag, the Grizzly gets stuck in the river. Reid gets in the freezing water to attach some tow lines, and drenches Rodriguez as she gets aboard the Argo. The tow lines are connected to Der Krok, but snap. The BTR is eventually able to dislodge the grizzly after multiple attempts at pushing it.
  
• The unit proceeds onward toward Suchacz, passing Prochnik and nearing Lecze. Nearing the Fuel Depot, the unit splits up into a recon element and a main body. The recon element is comprised of Kolstrup, Walsh, Ferro, O'Brien, and Fraser.

1st Engagement at Suchacz

Recon

• The recon element pushes forward through the Fuel Depot and encounters a small farm and orchard. In the barn, they find a disabled BMP, and note that there are occupants in the farmhouse.
  
• Deciding that the inhabitants are likely hostile, the recon element assaults the farmhouse. They neutralize 4 hostiles and leave another one sick and dying, though both Kolstrup and Fraser step on an improvised nail trap.
  
• After clearing the farmhouse, O'Brien sets it aflame, and the Recon element continues pushing forward toward Suchacz. On the way they see enemy moving through the woods. Deciding to bypass the enemy in the woods, the group then hits a treeline.
  
• Beyond in a field with a different farmhouse, they see perhaps 9 mounted enemy, along with one or two on foot. They decide to ambush this group as they hear an air-raid siren starting to sound, likely alerting the entire town to the approaching Mad Dogs on the road.
  
• The Recon Element massacres almost everyone near the farmhouse, and then assault the farmhouse itself. A white Lada attempts an escape before the driver is shot and the vehicle comes to a stop.
  
• The group breaks into the farmhouse and quickly clear it, though Ferro suffers a cut on her arm for her efforts. (estimated 12 KIA)

Main Body

• Babicevs and Rodriguez attempt to make a pass at the Canadian women while the Main Body waits for updates from the scouts, but to no avail. When the Recon element assaults the farmhouse, the main body starts moving again.
  
• On the road to Suchacz, the Main Body encounters a roadblock with multiple hostiles. The Main body assaults the roadblock with overwhelming firepower, but after a minute it's clear that the hostiles have fallen back through the forest toward Suchacz. Only one enemy body is found. The Main Body continues on as the air raid siren starts to wail.
  
• As most of the Mad Dogs and Canadians cautiously enter Suchacz, a lone enemy is seen making animal noises from in a nearby trench. Kessler attempts to silence the man to no avail. Several shots start ringing out from behind. Soon, at least a score of attackers start assailing the Mad Dogs from the right flank at extremely close range.
  
• A desperate defensive action ensues. Aleksandar is wounded gravely when Babicevs accidentally mistakes him for a bandit, after himself getting pegged in the face by a flying rock. Charlie Price is shot multiple times before a bandit brings a hatchet down on the man, killing him. Multiple WA members are killed in the firefight.
  
• As quickly as they appeared, the remaining WA fighters retreat into the night as the Main Body breaks contact and moves toward the lagoon to regroup.

(Continued)

• After a brief, 5 minute respite, the Main Body decides to head south to pick up the Recon Element. In the meantime the Scouts are searching the farmhouse and discover a bunker of sorts, the entrance to which they block with a nearby tractor. The two groups attempt to use flares so that the vehicles can navigate to the farmhouse.

2nd Engagement at Suchacz

Main Body

• As the main body begins moving toward the Scouts, they cut down at least one straggler, before suddenly finding themselves rolling into a large encampment. In the encampment are numerous enemies and structures, including bunkers, shipping containers, and a large, ominous makeshift building, quickly nicknamed the Kremlin. The main body moves in and with the help of both armored vehicles, quickly overwhelms the spartan cultists. Kaczmarek is hit in the arm, but it doesn't seem bad. Kessler is hit as well, but his body armor absorbs the impact.
  
• After clearing multiple bunkers and defensive positions, the group makes it's way to assaulting the Kremlin. They light the makeshift palace up, until smoke can be seen coming out of the top of the building. The team then takes a pause while they figure out how to properly infiltrate the edifice, before deciding upon breaching the ground floor using the Carl Gustav.
  
• As some Mad Dogs breach and enter the Kremlin, a smaller attacking force of WA ambushes the BTR and Mad Dogs outside. The enemy are crazed, and like many WA fighters encountered so far, dressed bizarrely. The Mad Dogs outside manage to fight off the sneak attack. It's later found that in the ensuing chaos, the WA fighters set a mine in front of the beleaguered BTR, but it fails to detonate due to not being armed. Jan is shot in the head, but the shot ricochets off his helmet. McCarthy takes a heavy physical blow to his chin.
  
• The Mad Dogs in the Kremlin clear the lower two levels, but decide to hold off on clearing the third due to what's assumed to be a fire. They kill at least a couple of hostiles, including an African American woman.
  
• Upon readying to exit the Kremlin, Rodriguez sets off a booby trap that leaves him with wounded legs and a hole in his left hand, and Babicevs with a wounded left shoulder and forearm. The assault team then exits the Kremlin and the battle concludes.

Recon

• As the battle between the Main Body and Warmia begins in earnest not far away, Kolstrup sees a man and 2 women moving away from the firefight toward the forest. Kolstrup opts to let them go in order to not spoil the Scouts' position at the farmhouse. Walsh attempts a ruse to get them to come closer, but only succeeds with one of the women, who is later shot and commits suicide by the Lada.
  
• A mortar position is located near a house to the southwest, which Kolstrup engages and silences with sniper fire. He keeps an eye on it and ends up killing multiple hostiles as the Grizzly and Canadians assault and clear the position. The Canadians then recover what is, in all likelihood, the Mad Dog's own mortar from back at The Twins.

(Continued)

• The entire unit finally consolidates at the farmhouse just past midnight. After a short patrol, everyone beds down as best they can for the evening. In the morning, tasks are assigned - searching the camp, looting, security, and checking the bunker in the farmhouse are all on the agenda for the day.