"apologies sir there was a large building near the pier I felt might have housed the enemy so we had to go slowly. Then on the way back an old German guy popped up and pointed a gun at us" replied Alfie as a way of an explanation

Max nodded at the return of Arthur and Ralph. When the other pair of men also returned, Max gathered the men. "It's dark enough that we should be able to cross without bothering with the defenses." He pointed to a spot of the river that looked like it had cover down almost to the water. "We'll start our crossing there and land...there." He pointed to a spot well out of range of the MG-42 that also looked to have some cover.

"Jenden, Randel, you're with me in the first group to cross." The major also picked out a few others. "Move out!"

The small boat glides silently into the water. Slowly the small group of 6 - Lewis, Jenden, Riley as well as Knight, Randal and Doyle from the British - made their way across the Havel. The paddles seemed to smash like giant blades into the water in the otherwise silent surrounding.
From far away, explosions could be heard... the Russians didn't ease up their assault.

After a few minutes, the small group made it to the other river bank, unchallenged by any sentries. It would be a short walk to the bridge now, to assault and take it.
Or... they could try and get the rest of the squad across the same way. Lewis weighed his options. He had 5 men here, and 17 on the other side.

"Did anyone get a good look at the numbers in that machine gun emplacement?" Lewis had an expectation, but in the dark he couldn't tell for certain. He also expected that these weren't even regular army. They were probably Hitler youth or sixty year-old men. Possible he was wrong, so they'd still plan to be cautious.

Still, an assault with twenty-two where they could pin the enemy down with some fire and then flank with half a dozen from each side made a lot of sense, unless the enemy only had two on the machine gun. There was some slight time pressure, but it wasn't so much that completing a ferry operation wasn't an option.

Sergeant Knight was the first to offer an answer, in his usual colorful language.
"I'm afraid I wasn't really bloody able to make out the fucking number of kraut pig-fuckers ready to drill us yet another arsehole, on account of it being darker than in a donkey's arse... sir"

Riley snickered and snorted, while Doyle pressed his lips together tightly in the attempt to stifle a laugh.

Arthur spoke up "if the old gent we encountered was anything to go by then they are the old or the young and looking at the gun he had it was so old he'd probably have hurt himself more firing it than us being fired at"

Major Lewis chuckled at the response from Knight, then nodded at Randel's report. "Well, we shouldn't have any trouble sneaking around to their flanks, then. Knight, Randal, Doyle you head to the right. From our perspective. As we look at the....kraut pig-fuckers? To the right. Thataway." Max pointed toward the right with his right hand. "Or whatever it is you Brits call right. Starboard if you're a marine."

"I'll go left with the others. We will start shooting in five minutes. Remember to get behind them so we're not firing at each other. Synchronize your time pieces."

OOC: Or whatever amount of time actually makes sense. I'm mostly just trying to make up something that sounds reasonable.

The three men nodded and took off, silently, into the night.

((Give me a group stealth roll for your men. d8!
Everybody else: also give me a stealth roll))

((OOC: 06:27, Today: Max Lewis rolled 4 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4.  Being Stealthy)).
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Mon 14 Sept 2020.

((OOC:
06:28, Today: Yelena Malkin rolled 6,8 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+2)8.  Stealth.))
This message was last edited by the player at 03:31, Mon 14 Sept 2020.

((20:17, Today: Warmaster rolled 3,8 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+2)8.  Volkssturm notice))

Slowly, but surely the men are creeping forward, when all of a sudden there's some commotion on the right, then a shout of alarm "DIE RUSSEN KOMMEN VON DER FLANKE!" followed by curses and a distinctive panicked shriek.

((Draw Initiative!

Volkssturm: 20:20, Today: Warmaster drew the single card: 9C using the Deadlands system.  Volkssturm initiative.))

((OOC: I wasn't sure if the intention was for Yelena to be close enough at this point or not.

2H for Max. 9C for Yelena if she's around.

20:28, Today: Yelena Malkin drew the single card: 9C using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative?

20:28, Today: Max Lewis drew the single card: 2H using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative.))

((She's not, at least not yet.
Giving Arthur a couple of hours to respond, too.

))

12:35, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 3,1 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1.  Stealth

14:39, Today: Arthur Randel drew the single card: 7D using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative.


This message was last edited by the player at 13:40, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

((Initiative:
German Volkssturm: 9C
Arthur: 7D
Allies: 2H))

The range is 40" at the beginning between the allies and the Germans on the same river bank.
The bridge is 20" long, the distance between the allies on the Western bank and the Germans is 30".

The squad on the Western bank can't act this round, as they'll respond to the gunfire. They'll draw a separate initiative card next round.

Bad lighting adds a -2 penalty to any range penalties (which should be -2 for medium range for rifles).



There was some heavy commotion up ahead as the German defenders hastily changed positions, but the first few started firing, blindly, into the darkness at what they thought to be the Soviet Army descending on them.

Bullets hit the ground and the trees and bushes, but none find their target.. for now.

((The Volkssturm gets an additional -2 to their attacks in the first round. Since they're shifting position, there are no cover modifiers.
16:23, Today: Warmaster, for the NPC Volkssturm, rolled 5 using 5d4-6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1,3,2,2.  Shooting blindly.

Well,... they're not frontline material, really. All miss.


Arthur, you're up!))
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:08, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

((Arthur goes on hold - Max, you're up! The rest of the squad acts on your card.))

((OOC: I think that ideally we'd all get to cover, possibly at short range. Is this possible? Cover is more important than reducing the range, I think. It's not like German reinforcements are likely, right?))

((Cover will be available with a successful Athletics group roll for the squad (they got d8), if you want to cover distance as well, you'll need to Multi-action with Running. You're at 40", so at best you can make it down to 28", still medium range for most rifles. But next round then.))

"Get to cover, men!" Max didn't wait to see if the squad heard and obeyed, dashing for cover himself.

((OOC: Found cover. QH for next round initiative.
05:33, Today: Max Lewis rolled 4 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4.  Athletics (getting cover).))


05:35, Today: Max Lewis drew the single card: QH using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative.

((Don't forget the d6 wild die for your own roll and for the squad's group roll. I'll just add it here:
14:37, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of OSI Rangers (US Squad), rolled 3 using 1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5.  Athletics group roll.

Also, distance: If you roll a straight d8, I'm assuming you're not running, so you'll get to 34" instead of 40. If you want to have the group run, roll an extra d6 (not exploding) to see what distance they cover, but then your d8 is going to result in a 2. So, cover and far away, or no cover, but closer. :-)


Finally: Give the squad on the other side of the bridge an extra initiative card, too.))

((OOC: I was choosing cover but further away. I think you said it's medium range either way?

Appropriately, the other squad goes later in the round. (3D)


05:43, Today: Max Lewis drew the single card: 3D using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative (other squad).))

((Inititiative:

Max Lewis: QH
Volkssturm JD
Other Squad: 3D
Arthur: On hold

Max, you and your squad are up!!))

Max fired a round from his rifle in the direction of the defensive position. It might have torn through a uniform?

((OOC: Hit from medium range for Max, though only 5 damage (AP 2).

What should I roll for the squad?

15:24, Today: Max Lewis drew the single card: 8H using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative .

15:24, Today: Max Lewis rolled 5 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1.  Damage (AP2).

15:23, Today: Max Lewis rolled 4,2 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4.  Shooting! (M1 Garand, Med Rng).))

((The OSI squads have the following skills:
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Shooting d8, Athletics d8

Edges: Rapid Fire, Rock and Roll!))
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:38, Tue 29 Sept 2020.

The rangers also opened fire. Fortunately they'd been spotted early enough that they didn't need to worry about hitting each other.

((OOC: taking a -2 modifier for medium range, but no other modifiers.

2 hits, 1 with a raise. I'll assume 2d8 damage?

If so, 7 damage for one, 14 for another. I didn't roll for Arthur.

17:18, Today: Max Lewis rolled 7,14 using 2d8,2d8+d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,6,7,6,1.  Damage guesses.

17:17, Today: Max Lewis rolled 5,1,9,-1 using d8-2,d8-2,d8-2,d8-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,3,(8+3)11,1.  Squad Shooting (medium range).))