After Third Platoon advance and First and Second began their assaults right and left, Konnikov and his command squad charged up the center, following behind Third Platoon, advancing to where ever the fighting needed bolstering the most.

The MG42s take a heavy toll, the screams of defiance mingling with cries of pain and the deafening rat-ta-ta-ta-tat of the machine guns.
The first Russians tumble and fall to the ground, pierced by one or many bullets. The natural instinct would be to dive low, find cover, but the Russians power through, spreading out, forcing the gunners to arc their guns back and forth.

Strelnikov is the first to fire in answer to the Germans, all his bullets going wide, zinging against the concrete pillars and Earthen walls.

The other Russians armed with SMGs open fire as well, and some of the lights go out as stray bullets hit them, allowing them to see a bit more.

((Everybody who's running towards the Germans: Notice roll. Everybody who's back in the tunnel: Notice roll at -2.))

(( Notice Rolls:
09:29, Today: Semyon Yegorovich Konnikov rolled 2, 7 0, 5 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+1)7.  Notice. – 2,7
09:30, Today: BPO Company rolled 3, 4 1, 2 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4.  Notice.
[EDIT]
Sorry, I forgot the -2, edited the results to reflect the -2.
[/EDIT]  ))
This message was last edited by the player at 03:24, Wed 05 Jan 2022.

(While I'm waiting for the Notice rolls: Map time!

https://kanka-user-assets.s3.e...IiZycObKg6kjkav6.jpg

The boxes with the x are crates (like the ones the Germans carried of the bed of the truck), the MG42 position in the middle and a few trucks in the back - the cavern is indeed quite extensive.

There's a single concrete column in the (roughly) center, that's the square painted all in. There are numerous Nazi soldiers around, didn't drawn them all in. You've came in from the left hand side, where the arrow points inward.)

19:30, Today: Lena Vogt rolled 5,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1.  Notice at -2.

((OOC: Uh-oh.

22:45, Today: Yelena Malkin rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Notice (-2,Alert).))

Max nodded. "I'll be right on your six. Let's see if we can't give 'em a hand."

The Marines in the OSI squad have seen something similar before - the banzai charges by the Imperial Japanese army, rushing forward at US positions.
But they have never seen it from the side of the attackers.

It feels like an hour, but it only takes a few seconds for the Russians to surge forward. And then the Germans start to break. Men pull away from the position, towards the trucks, and to the far, dark end of the cavern.

The Americans are the last to leave the safety of the tunnel, with Arthur leading the way. It just takes him a few steps to reach the first Russian, clutching at his leg, but up ahead there are more.
Arthur slides down next to him, but the Russian slaps punches against his shoulder, hard, and yells at him, pointing forward. [Language unknown: "Thoearore alhapl fi, pl! O!"]

Arthur keeps moving, stepping over the dead body of a woman, her head half blown off and another soldier clutching at his neck, blood spilling copiously through his fingers. He reaches for Arthur, but it's clear that he has no chance of survival. His eyes are pleading for help, but the British medic looks away and staggers forward.

Another man down on his belly, his legs twitching, a pool of blood spreading underneath him - and beyond him, there's a woman screaming in pain.

---

Yelena and Lena are the last to leave the tunnel. More on instinct than anything else, Lena turns around and sees lights - someone's coming down the tunnel, but is still around the bend!

One of Artur's old officers had said that he had to have courage to do what he did, perhaps he did but he was no hero and no fool either. As he moved he kept his head down and close to the tunnel sides.

As he came upon a wounded soldier he assessed the situation and either patched them up as best he could or gave what little morphine he could spare to ease the suffering and to allow the dying to die with some dignity.

War was brutal and this tunnel looked like some surreal painting of the seven plains of hell, but he focused on the job at hand time to crack and cry for the dead later. another wounded, treat, move on repeat

((Give me a healing roll for a general assessment of the situation))

19:53, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 6,4 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  healing .

Bullets are still whizzing around you, but as the Russians spread out, there are fewer hits taking a toll on the Red Army. Most of them were hit while they were bunched up tightly together, and there's a cluster of wounded bodies close to you, with more up ahead.
There's no time for proper triage, so you can only care for who's next and seems to have a decent chance to make it. While you pull a wounded woman behind a dead Russian for makeshift cover you just hope that there isn't somebody out there who's bleeding out because you can't save him.

Lena knew better than to yell at the soldiers from behind, but she had to do something.  So she tapped Lena's shoulder.  Very aggressively.  And turned her to make her see.

Yelena had tasked Lena with keeping the sniper safe when her attention was elsewhere, so when the aggressive shoulder tapping came, Yelena's attention went in the indicated direction.

Lena said nothing, but did whatever she had to, including starting a revival, to make sure Yelena saw the light.

In the tunnel:

The lights begin to jitter and dance as apparently whoever is wielding the flashlights runs faster toward the sound of gunfire. In other words: you.

Yelena can make out two, no, three flashlights, and there are shouts, but distorted and impossible to make out.


Outside the tunnel:

The Russians fall upon the remaining German shoulders and gun them down in close quarters. There are more Germans deeper in the vast underground chamber who fire at the now-former German MG position, but their fire is sporadic and seemingly covers a retreat. But a retreat whereto?

A truck engine roars up and a truck lurges forward - but also away from the MG position, further back into the unlit corners of the chamber, its light revealing yet another tunnel at the far end.

Triage:
Arthur counts almost two dozen casualties, some just lightly wounded, like Konnikov himself. The Russian Commander suffered a grazing shot in his thigh, which hurts like hell and bleeds profusely, but nothing that a quick bandage shouldn't fix.

Konnikov finds one of his command squad, [Language unknown: "On en painol Evecev Onaisasi Chekri urtein re ei thusomcon, wasel ntesheoutfor prohisove us evalti ll oerkortic ecofliri prfise ulthu unados."]

He then shouts for his Senior Lieutenants, [Language unknown: "STRELNIKOV!  PEIVE ECTWERWIL! LYUBIMTSEV WHNGFITO IVESTILAT IVEITHOER!  SHAGIDZYANOV MI TE!  POLITRUK!  SEPRO WIT AMERICANS NAILRE MENOF RI I NE SSLLCH!"]

Konnikov pulls his command squad and First Platoon over to the column to reassess and regroup.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:31, Tue 11 Jan 2022.

Strelnikov barks a few orders, and his remaining men and women move forward, further into the darker reaches of the cavern.

Bogomazov relays the rest of the orders to the troops, then comes back to you, giving you a first quick report.

Second Squad of Third Platoon has been decimated - when they had gone into the mission this morning, it had been at full strength of 10 soldiers, now there are only 3 remaining, one of them wounded. First squad is barely better off, down to 4 men.

Yefimov, who had taken a bullet from the sniper earlier today, was hit again and will no longer be able to move on his own.

[Language unknown: Lar Peecwhch ee paecut i ro entatende, Setterand Ounereers, llnt e prethusan e all on ta, toeret aiard iou laenpl tooupo.]
You see him straining to keep his tone and voice flat and even.

Just as you are about to respond, there is a sudden wailing - Nessia Lyagushova kneels on the ground, hugging tightly the body of a dead comrade. It's young Kiril Polushin, not old enough to shave. Nessia had seen and suffered so much during this terrible war, but young Kirilka had tethered her mind to reality, grounded her. He had been like a younger brother to her and now he was gone.

---

Arthur was hard at work binding the wounds of soldiers, but it was clear that he wouldn't be able to save them all. The Russians, apparently, had no medic with them, at least not anymore, but there is one old soldier with a grey bushy beard, who's able to help at least a little. Clearly, this man is a veteran of many battles and has seen many wounds before.

---

Back in the tunnel, Yelena and Lena are joined by Manka Komzina and Pavek Nikonov. The woman nods at Yelena. [Language unknown: "Paurno ni arss romla u."]

Arthur kept looking at his supplies they wouldn't last much longer perhaps he could go back up the tunnel and check some of the bodies perhaps the dead Germans had medical kits, bandages etc on them.

He was also keeping part of his pain relief medicine for those who could not be saved but could at least die free of pain

[Language unknown: "Bogomazov, he ntebe ndard, lattrarut popoio strtedess, io etthai ontoec pariio tedectlat ous m acurmi, o nte mi, ovetheughthu Pr redpr inus, ri."]  Konnikov waves at and steps over to Politruk Zholdin, [Language unknown: "Politruk, neri caai iveomewer'romate aicefi verithand fopl, hint ev noilas urnc wit eite nd nteonsort le iopre t, wase peres po cefilore t llut, trwhi llla ne Kapitan Jackson onss m ll utliho at il wer str a ivestaere e eschul witncerom re memesi chpa, lo eiio nowh k she utesss tioardwil, ma ei conandtio Kemmler a ut no il eeon prrewh foreraers houhouart t cktite eeis heder any."]

While those orders are being relayed Konnikov moves among the wounded, stopping next to the old soldier, "[Language unknown: "Starshina Shapovalov poos ain saaiio el urwi enonof, howi tr ilenname ha naio sta, thch ckos u whe pane ica chpe'prha ecus inelatine mo ta olmata la o us ur verortine.  Mothu but... urwhi adnti ckou pe Starshina."]

Lena thought about it, and looked for anything that could be thrown like a handful of pebbles or stones.  She'd learned this trick as a child playing, it might actually be even more effective here.  Ideally several handfuls would be best.

There's enough rubble around for Lena to easily pick up enough stones.

---

Politruk Yevgenievich jogs over to where Randel and the old Soviet soldier do their best to triage, with Major Lewis observing.

"Major Lewis, Kapitan Jackson? Our men are checking the two trucks to see if they work and we will pursue Kemmel and the Germans into the next tunnel. Like a fox digging for a rabbit.
We'll set up a rearguard. Will your men join us or would you rather remain with the rearguard?"

The tone is slightly mocking, but this could be just a matter of English not being the politruk's first language.

Then he adds more in Russian, addressing the old soldier. He nods, and starts barking orders. Several of the wounded are helped up and ever walk, crawl or get dragged behind the sand sacks of the former SS position. The MG42 are reloaded, the least-wounded men put behind them, guarding the tunnel entrance.

Lena quickly gathered them and then whispered.  "[Language unknown: Chro] Pennsylvania [Language unknown: ususek tiovorrat, ameeveing m virthutin al venearoun tha illsomsti tafipe i er witli, tioll esscomich es tineensti rea nttaeeca.  M sti th osnd redti nast-usil itut fo tati io ratcomted whe iou u ngckou housetore.  Utut witat she ev onaiut ich ati ilpour?]"

Yelena shrugged. [Language unknown: "Ch eipro is day e we. Ss manaveere...se onewa ut k behat. Res ie it om witic uredi."]

The sniper relayed the plan to her comrades, and then prepared to fire when it seemed best.

No need for initiative, but give me a Smarts roll, Lena