The Company Campaign - Kilo Company goes in

On the night of the 5th of June 1944 K-Company "Kilo" of the III Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division took to the air in nine C-47s, the group included a platoon from the 307th Airborne Engineers.  The group flew south and crossed the England coast just east of Weymouth.  The planes then flew to a waypoint to the NW of the Channel Islands and then turned for France.

Kilo Company had been given the following orders.

Landing at Drop Zone N proceed to:
Seize and destroy the crossings of the DOUVE RIVER at BEUZEVILLE-LA-BASTILLE and ETIENVILLE (PONT L'ABBE).
Seize, organize and defend the area along the general line CR (261938) - RENOUF (incl.).
Clear and secure the Divisional area within its sector, including the prominent Hill 30 overlooking the Chef-du-Pont causeway.
Assemble one Battalion without delay in area indicated as Force Reserve.
Patrol aggressively to the line indicated.
Be prepared on Divisional order to advance to the West to the line of the DOUVE RIVER.

The flight was uneventful, then they crossed the Cotentin coast at Baubigny.  Ahead lay a cloud bank, the fleet of planes flew into the cloud, the formation fragmented.  Some of the pilots fearing collision changed altitude or tried to edge away from their now invisible neighboring planes.

The planes of Kilo Company cross the French coast.  In the lead plane, plane #73, is Captain McNair and his company HQ.

The clouds had also knocked the formation off course, the flight was now south of where it should have been and flew over the FLAK at Etienville/Pont L'Abbe and Picauville.  The heavy FLAK around these two towns sent up a wall of explosions.  The fragmented formations final cohesion failed.

Two planes panicked, #76 and #78 immediately hit the green light and dropped its men.  These men were dropped in the dense bocage and orchards just to the south of Pont L'Abbe.  Once the men landed they soon realised Etienville/Pont L'Abbe was heavily garrisoned.  If they were to survive they would need to head east.  The heavy FLAK rising from Picauville to the NE pointed to another area best avoided.

2:08AM 6th of June 1944
Plane #76 (Lt Lawton, 2nd Platoon HQ and 2nd Platoon Squad 1)
Even though they were dropped well short and south of their DZ the stick left the plane in good order.  As the men descended they watched the FLAK rise up into the formations of planes to the north.   Soon they were on the ground, amongst dense bocage and orchards.  Just to the south was the small hamlet of Clainville.

GROUP 5 [3 men]
Lt Lawson quickly came across two of his HQ, Sergeant Gillem and his messenger Private Hodges, the three men waited, listening, but could not see or hear any of their comrades.   Not sure where they were they headed to Clainville.  They roused a scared French farmer out of bed, he told them where they were and that they should not to go to Etienville or Picauville as there were "many bosch...hundreds".

GROUP 6 [6 men]
1st Squad Sergeant Sutherland landed on the hill above Clainville.  Within minutes he had found 5 of his squad, including his machine-gunner.  Unfortunately, with no machine-gun.  They realised that they had not seen many other planes drop their loads and decided the best plan was to follow their planes that were disappearing into the eastern sky.  They started through the fields, heading away from Lt Lawton.

Plane #78 (Lt Bolling, 3rd Platoon HQ and 3rd Platoon Squad 1)
GROUP 7 [11 men]
Lt Bolling landed hard, hitting a tree in the orchard, breaking both of his legs.  The platoon sergeant Bull found his Lt and cut him loose.  The lieutenant was in terrible pain so Bull injected him with morphine.  Soon, eleven of the men congregated in the corner of an orchard.  Two of the men had bought in the badly injured and unconscious Private Short.  It looked like he had taken a piece of shrapnel.  Bolling ordered his men to carry him and the private to the nearest road and leave them their, then he ordered that the remaining men go and find Captain McNair and get their job done.  Reluctantly they left Lieutenant Bolling and heading in a direction that would take them south of Picauville.

2:10AM 6th of June 1944 - East of Picauville
Plane #80 (307th Airborne Engineer Platoon and 4 men from Kilo Company HQ)
Plane #80 flew straight through the FLAK storm above Picauville.  Luckily no one in a plane was hit as the shrapnel peppered the plane.  The pilot immediately hit the green light and the men left the plane.

GROUP 307-1 [5+3men]
The four men from Kilo Company in the plane were the four bazooka men from the company HQ: Privates Clarke, O'Connell, DeWitt and Williams.  DeWitt was unlucky to land close to a German billet and was captured.  The other three men soon joined up with members of the 307th.  Clarke landed with a two-piece bazooka.  However, his assistant rocketeer O'Connell, had lost his rockets during the landing, but Williams still had a bag of rockets.  The three men and a small group from the 307th were about 50 yards from the gate to a chateaux.  Possible mission: AMBUSH, a car approaches the chateaux.

2:12AM 6th of June 1944 - West of Pont-du-Chef.
Plane #73 and Plane #74 kept together through the cloud bank and the FLAK, the pilot soon realised he was off course and south of the DZ, but seeing the Moon light glint off the Merderet River to his front and the Douve River to his south he realised he would soon be on the wrong side of the Merderet River.  He hit the green light and both planes dropped their men.

GROUP 1 [12 men]
The company commander had a good jump, but was uncertain where he had landed.  He could see no landmarks.  Soon he found some of his men, and in the next ten minutes he had accumulated a fair sized unit.  His priority was to find where he was.  By 3:00AM he had found 6 men from his plane, including three of the bazooka men, though with only one bazooka.  He also found Lt MacNider, the lieutenant from 1st Platoon and five of 1st Platoon's men.  He thought he heard his bugler a few times, but could only guess from which direction the forlorn bugle blew.

GROUP 2 [14 men]
The company commanders bugler had at first been too afraind to use his bugle, but when 1st Platoon's Tech. Sergeant Cannon found him he was convinced to use it while the sergeant kept guard.  Soon the bugle had drawn several members, including the Company's XO, Lt Hoge.  Within 20 minutes the group had swelled to 14 men.

2:13AM 6th of June 1944 - West of La Fiere causeway.
Plane #82
GROUP 307-2 [unknown]
Eighteen men from the 307th Airborne Engineers left the plane west of Canquigny.  They landed in a wide field and soon formed up.  Off to the east they could see the FLAK rising from positions around St Mere Eglise.  The unit tasked to help Kilo Company blow the bridge over the Douve Rivers knew they were no where near their DZ.

2:20AM 6th of June 1944 - NW of Sainte Mere-Eglise
Plane #77
GROUP 9 [13 men]
The pilot of plane #77 got disoriented in the clouds and veered completely out of sight of the main formation, he soon spotted some other aircraft and followed them and thereby dropped his men on the Dropzone of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment instead of the the dropzone of the 508th PIR.  The men of Platoon 2's Squad 2 and the Mortar Platoon landed amongst the well dropped 505 in the open fields NW of Sainte Mere-Eglise.  It took a while but Sergeant Patch soon had found 12 of his Stick's 18 men.  A lieutenant from a 505th found him and ordered him to join him and head to Sainte Mere Eglise.  He had first thought to try find his own company, but when the Lt told him where he had landed he decided it may be best to stick with the 505 until daybreak.  His MG man had located the squads machine-gun, so they headed towards the steeple of the Sainte Mere Eglise church.

2:22AM 6th of June 1944 - SE of Sainte Mere-Eglise
Plane #79
Group 8 [9 men]
The pilot of #79 thought he was still east of the Merderet when in the distance he saw the glitter of Moon light on the sea.  He then ran into heavy FLAK.   He decided he would fly out to sea and then turn around and try find the DZ.  He asked his co-pilot to head back into the plane and ask the jump master if he wanted to try that or return to England.  Just about then the starboard engine exploded into flame and shrapnel peppered the plane.  Private Daniel Noce fell forward with a grievous back wound.  The pilot realised the plane would not make it and immediately hit the green light, the paras did not need a second invitation and all but one (and Noce) escaped the burning craft before it crashed in a ball of flame to the east.  The crew went down with their plane.

The stick landed amongst enemy troops and some were killed, wounded or captured while trying to escape their 'chutes. The rest escaped into the nearby orchard and fields.  Sergeant Collins was soon able to get some of his men together, he could hear German machine-gun fire, and decided he needed to rescue the fallen men, ordering his few comrades to use grenades and knives he led them towards the sound of the guns.

2:24AM 6th of June 1944 - Blosville
Plane #75
Group 3 [6 men]
Group 4 [2 men]
The pilot of #75 changed direction a few times trying to find landmarks, eventually he made out the sea to the east of Cotentin Peninsula, he could see the FLAK, probably aimed at the 101st aircraft, he decided he would not find the DZ, and had likely missed it, so he hit the green light switch.  The men of 1st Platoon's 2nd Squad and Mortar squad exited into a nightmare.

The stick landed amongst trees and the enemy, and onto buildings in Blosville.  Unarmed paratroopers were shot down while trying to escape their 'chutes.  The men ran to cover, escaping into the nearby fields, and slowly but surely found each other.  The Mortar Sergeant found his gunner, but no one else, they found a ditch and hid.  Sergeant Trudeau managed to find five of his men, they knocked on the backdoor of a house, he told them they were near Blosville.  He told them that "German paratroopers had billeted in the town earlier in the evening".

SUMMARY
Kilo Company had truly been spread miles from their Dropzone.  Their story was no different to the rest of the 508th Regiment.  The 507th landed in a fairly compact area, but to the east of their DZ, and most landed in the flooded fields around the Merderet River, many drowning or losing their equipment to escape drowning.  The 505th however landed smack on their DZ (mostly).  The expected objectives of D-Day were looking to be more difficult to obtain than first envisaged.

Kilo company had lost several killed, had a few injuries and lost a few men as POWs.

Each number represent one stick (plane load) of paratroopers, with GREEN for the 508, Blue for the 507 and Orange for the 505.  

The objectives of the 82nd Airborne, secure bridge, destroy bridges, create a blocking front, and wait for the forces from UTAH BEACH and throw back any German attempt at attack.

The Map showing the areas:

The Unit Roster (U/C=Under Command, N/UC=Not Under Command, the number is the group number)

Excuse any missing W's, my keyboard has been killed by First Person Shooters :)

Up the Junction - AAR

Corporal Unishment sat in the turret of his Warrior as it clanked along, watching the streets carefully.  It was quiet - too quiet.  There was nobody around, and it was close to mid-day. Burned out buildings around him gave a hint of earlier violence.  The mosque was visible ahead.  He told the driver to pull over just short of the junction; the second Warrior halted just behind. 

"Section 1 will approach the mosque; Section 2 - take up covering positions on the left side of the street".  His men debussed swiftly, and took up positions on either side of the road.  Away from the vehicles, he became aware of angry shouting, growing louder. Suddenly, close by, there were gun shots. 

Unishment's training took over - "Section 1 - take cover in the pub. Section 2 - cover my left. Warriors - move up to the crossroads". 

He kicked down the door, stationing Delta One on the ground floor, while he led Charlie One to an upper floor.  He glanced out the window at the mosque directly opposite; the flat roof was packed with armed men !

Bilal was the first to see them. Helmets and guns. Right across the street from the mosque. Wretched infidels.  Well, there would be no desecrating the mosque today.  Hunched beside him were nine armed men: AKs and an RPG.  He didn't wait to see what the men on the other side of the street were doing: clearly they were coming to cause trouble.  He raised his AK, but before he could fire they were hit with a cascade of fire from the soldiers opposite.  Two of Bilal's brothers dropped in that first fusillade and the rest fired wildly.  In the next minutes they found themselves swamped by the weight of fire coming from the house.  Each time they attempted to fire on the soldiers, another one or two of their men would drop...

Nobby raised his AK and squeezed off a burst at a group of 'Hotakis' trying to get away from him and his men.  One old man went down, and a young boy ran back to help him up; Nobby fired again, and the boy fell over - it was just like one of those video games, or rifle range at the fair ground.  From ahead, up by the mosque, there was more gunfire; for a second, he thought it might be some of his men who'd got in front of him.  And then a tank - a f*cking tank !- poked it's nose around the corner !  Well - the Army wasn't going to protect those 'Hotakis' from the Orkshire Brigade; he sent one team round the back of the school to shoot up the mosque from the apartment opposite, while another moved into the cover of a ruined church.  From the ruined office, he could look up the street and still take potshots from there...

"Corp. Charlie Two here.  Delta Two are in overwatch in the small offices at the junction. They report a bunch of civvies moving your way that someone is shooting at.  My team are overlooking the church yard from behind a wall.  There's a group in the ruined church - can't tell if they're armed or not. We'll keep an eye on them".  Unishment glanced out over the mosque; the guys on the roof were all down, but there were more armed men approaching from his right; he warned his section to keep an eye out...

Aatif was leading another group of Maliki towards the mosque when the firing started.  He ducked off the main street and through the Hotel.  As his men reorganised themselves in the mosque courtyard, they took heavy fire from the upper storey of the pub. Half his men went down; the survivors ran for cover in the mosque. Bursting through the door, they discovered the bodies of Bilal and his team...

Pete Atkins mob charged out the the church, and into the offices; "From there", he thought, "We'll have a good shot at the mosque". Charging up the stairs, he heard voices - were the 'Hotakis' already there ?  Automatic weaponry peppered the wall next to him, but that only angered him.  He and his 'boys' returned fire into the poorly lit room, and were rewarded with screams and yells from inside.  They kept firing; after a few minutes, it was very quiet from inside the room.  Pete cautiously peered in; there were four bodies on the floor, in camo and with helmets.  They were very still. "Oh, sh*t !" he thought. "We're up against the Army".  To confirm his suspicions, two large 'tanks' took that moment to opened up with their guns on the offices from immediately outside.  When the firing stopped, Pete and the survivors crawled towards the staircase. They were halfway down when Charlie Two burst in through the back door and shot them...

Abdul was across the street from Aatif when the gunfire started.  He saw the torrent of gunfire directed at the mosque by the wretched infidel soldiers.  He'd watched Aatif's careless leadership, leaving his men in the enemy's line of fire, and determined that he would do better.  Carefully using cover, his men followed him into the mosque.  Allah be praised, he had lost not a single man, and he was just in time.  He could hear soldiers just outside the mosque, preparing to burst in.  As he braced himself for the assault, he saw a helmeted head at the window; he froze, and, in doing so, saved the lives of himself and his men. A shrill voice, "Sarge, the mosque is packed with them. We can't go in there!"  A murmured conversation, then the sound of boots retreating across the street and, finally, quiet. Around him, his brothers lay dead or dying. But those still alive could be satisfied: they had held the infidel at bay !

OverviewArmy - 16 points
Young Orkshire Brigade - 11 points
Brexitian Islamic Front - 10 points



A close and messy three-sided game, with a bunch of frightened civilians caught in the crossfire.  Against my expectations, the Army player decided early on to employ 'extreme prejudice' against the Islamic Front, who made the mistake of attempting to shoot at him from the mosque.  Retribution was swift - the Islamic Front did not inflict a single casualty, as they were horribly out-gunned. However, they did manage to hold the mosque, mainly because the Army player realised two things; one - close assaulting a building with odds of four to one against was not a good idea. And, two - if he didn't shoot anyone else, he would actually gain points... The Young Orkshire Brigade player took great delight in shooting down unarmed civilians, successfully close-assaulting an Army fire team, and even launching RPG's at the Warriors from a distance. The Warriors extracted their revenge, and the few survivors wisely decided to keep their heads down for the last few turns. Claims of bias were made against the Army for using deadly fire against the Islamic Front, but only using suppressive fire against the YOB's... (There wasn't a lot of difference in the over-all effect). The victory points probably needed reviewing for balance, as the Army won despite inflicting the vast bulk of the casualties... So much for peace-keeping duties.

Thanks to Kevin, Bill and Liam.

Up The Junction

Paul Unishment stood to attention in his CO’s office, and stared fixedly at a point just over Major Zaster’s head while he waited to hear what ‘exciting’ detail he’d been assigned today. Yesterday he’d had to guard a bunch of Portaloos to prevent them from being stolen; the day before he’d been on traffic duty because of the power cuts, and the local police couldn’t spare anyone. The whole country was going to the dogs, and no-one seemed to care – so long as the cars kept moving, and there was somewhere to shit.

“The police are concerned, Corporal”, said Major Zaster. “There’s a lot of anti-immigrant feeling in Badford at the moment. Shops have been looted, houses set on fire, and people badly beaten. The police are spread too thin to do anything about it. They’ve heard rumours that local gangs are getting their hands on guns and intend to use them. I’m sending out patrols to police the streets and protect the peace. The sight of you and your men should act to deter the violence. Current rules of engagement apply – you’re to shoot only to prevent loss of life. Oh, while you’re out there, check out the mosque; footage from the police drone shows a truck delivering several dozen boxes. If they are weapons, confiscate them”.

TQ/Morale D8/D8; Body Armour 1D

Section 1 - Warrior IFV with driver and commander

Fireteam Charlie1

1x Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL + Shotgun

1x Marksman with L129

Fireteam Delta1

1x Assistant Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL

1x Gunner with GPMG (Med. AP:2/AT:0) 

Section 2 - Warrior IFV with driver and commander

Fireteam Charlie2

1x Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL + Shotgun

1x Marksman with L129

Fireteam Delta2

1x Assistant Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL

1x Gunner with GPMG (Med. AP:2/AT:0) 

Mission - protect civilians, search the mosque.

Each turn your forces remain on table (max 6)                          10 points

Each civilian casualty suffered                                                 -1 point

Each casualty suffered by your force                                        -2 points

Search the mosque for weapons                                             20 points

Dave ’Nobby’ Mosley had grown up on the streets of Badford in West Orkshire, and, since he was old enough to remember, things had only got worse over time. Nobby’s Dad had worked in the town steelworks, like his father before him. Unlike him, when they closed it down, he’d never found work again. When Nobby left school, they were still no jobs for him or his mates either, and no future. It only made it worse that there appeared to be an endless stream of ‘f***ing foreigners’ moving to Badford, taking the few local jobs at rates that were worse than the dole, and living three or four families to a house. Nobby couldn’t even get work in the portable toilet factory – ‘a real shit job’, as his mate said; Thommo reckoned it was because it was owned by one of those ‘Hotaki c**ts’, and they didn’t want ‘real Brexitians’ working there. They ‘ought to go back where they came from’.

Thommo knew a lot of people who felt the same way as Nobby – bitter and angry, and feeling in need of taking action. The ‘Young Orkshire Brigade’ had started by beating up the occasional ‘Hotaki’, throwing rocks through shop windows, and setting fire to houses, but this had led to a tit-for-tat escalation. Knives and baseball bats were now the norm, and some of Nobby’s mates had been seriously hurt or killed. There also seemed to be more of the ‘Hotakis’ than locals. So when Thommo said he knew a man who could get them some guns, Nobby jumped at the chance (he’d been quite good on the rifle ranges at the fairs he’d been to…). A couple of ex-Army guys called Ron and Reg had driven up from somewhere down south with a truck full of AK74’s, loads of ammo, and three RPGs; they’d even been taught how to use them. (Better than that, Thommo said that it had all been paid for by a ‘well-wisher’). They decided to test their new strength by marching on the mosque, and destroying it – ‘That would teach those Hotakis whose town it was !’

TQ/Morale D6/D10 Irregulars

Team 1

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 2

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 3

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Mission

Each ‘Hotaki’ wounded or otherwise incapacitated                     1 point

Enter the mosque and destroy it                                                 10 points

Abdul al Maliki had not had an easy life. Growing up in a small village in Malikastan, he had seen many of his friends and family killed there in the ‘peace-keeping’ operation, and the Hotaki invasion that followed. There had been a point where he – or, rather, his mother – had wanted him to become a martyr (Malikastan Week 10 – Save the Day), but God had spared him, and given him a chance to marry and start a family. His wife’s father, Uncle Rafi, had advised him to get out of Malikastan and go somewhere safer (his mother’s ‘life insurance policy’ on him hadn’t yet paid out…), so he decided to go to the West. After all, from what he had seen of their soldiers, if they could give away so many bullets and bombs, they must be rich, and wouldn’t mind giving him some of their wealth. It would be better than herding goats…

It took months to walk to the sea – through several other war zones – and a long wait in a refugee camp. Finally, someone took pity on him and his family, and put them on a plane. He ended up in Badford, just in time to see Grande Brexitia disintegrate, and law and order break down. However, for many like Abdul, this was ‘life as usual’, and they knew that security only came from the barrel of a gun; the Brexitian Islamic Front found many recruits from former refugees, keen to protect their families and new lives from violent thugs. Abdul had fought the Americans, Brexitians and the Hotakis, and was respected by his peers. When he heard that ‘infidels’ were on their way to destroy the mosque, and burn the holy books, he knew that he had to prevent it. Calling his brothers to arms, he led them down the street…

TQ/Morale D6/D10 Irregulars

Team 1

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 2

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 3

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Mission

Each unbeliever wounded or otherwise incapacitated                  1 point

Prevent unbelievers from desecrating (entering) the mosque     10 points

Still Crazy After All These Years (Part 2)

For this three-sided game (aka 'Black Prince Down'), the Regulars have a Scimitar AFV, and 4 WMIK Land Rovers (each with a fireteam of 4 and armed w/SA80's). The WMIKs have M2HBs and a pintle mounted GPMG). They are TQ/Morale D8/D8, Confident, with Body Armour. The official ROE are 'Only return fire at identified hostiles', but, privately, they have been told 'Shoot anybody you see who is armed'. They have 8 turns to rescue the Prince, and get off table.

Ronnie Kray (w/SA80, RPG 7V and body armour) and 2 teams of 4 (w/SA80's) are TQ/Morale D8/D8 and Confident. Their aim is to get the truck off table within 8 turns.

The Rowdy Rabble (w/AK74s, w/Molotov cocktails in close assault on vehicles) start with two teams on table, and the rest are treated as irregulars, emerging via hotspots. They are TQ/Morale D6/D6 and Confident; they have to prevent the Regulars from achieving their mission.

A mob by the road. Kray's men are in the factory.

Sitrep

The Scimitar led the column as it raced along the road, heading for the crash site. Spotting an armed mob in the woods by the side of the road, it opened fire with its main gun; one of their number fell,  and the rest scattered in terror. The lead WMIK raced past the fleeing hoodlums and up the road. The wall by the road gave way to a chain-link fence, through which it identified more unfriendlies in military fatigues by a black Mercedes in  front of the factory; the WMIK opened fire, but missed. The return fire from Kray's men (they had finally made it to the factory, but too late as far as they were concerned) was just as effective. (Ronnie looked at his RPG, and then again decided that there was too much fire power coming his way, and pulled his men back, through the factory and into the woods. They'd get their investment back another day, when things weren't so hot).

The cavalry to the rescue

The other WMIKs were close behind the first. Suddenly, from behind the red-brick building, a group of yobs with Molotov Cocktails charged into the road, but they were dispersed by a short burst from the top-mounted machine gun of the second vehicle. The lead WMIK could see a plume of smoke from the vicinity of the railway overpass bridge. The commander pointed, “That must be the chopper”.  They could also hear gunfire from that direction.

Looking up the road - smoke rises from the helicopter

The Scimitar commander rushed forward crashing through the chain-link fence and opened fire with its RARDEN 30mm cannon at a mob by the gate, which quickly took cover.

Two WMIKs then moved up to the bridge, spotting a tail rotor.  They could see a crowd on the opposite railway embankment, but were unsure if they were unfriendly. A debate ensued, which was finally resolved when the Scimitar then joined them by the bridge. The mob on the other side of the railway opened futile fire at the light tank. Having confirmed that they were, indeed, 'hostiles', the return fire from Scimitar and both WMIKs was punishing... (The commander of the tank had a surreal moment when he realised that they were using heavy force against their own countrymen, rather than against Malikastanis. However, when bullets pinged off the hull, he shrugged off the thought. In all the months in Malikastan nothing had ever pinged off his vehicle. He ordered his gunner to open fire...)

Meanwhile, further mobs appeared, from across the railway line, from inside the factory yard, and from down on the railway track itself. Movement was also spotted in the gardens of the houses to their right. Things were starting to look dangerous; the WMIK stationed outside the fence returned fire on the mob charging out from the factory, knocking two of them over; as they ran, their exit was hastened by more fire from the WMIK at the T-junction. One of the WMIKs on the bridge moved so it could see down onto the railway line, but the crew could not verify if the mob on the railway were belligerent, so they held their fire. The crew of the other WMIK on the bridge disembarked, and moved to the edge of the railway embankment to see if they could spot the Prince.  They were taken under fire from a reformed mob on the opposite embankment; their fire, and that from the Scimitar blasted the mob to smithereens. The sound of heavy machine gun fire - supplemented with 30mm Rarden cannon - was almost continuous. (One of the WMIK drivers could not believe that so many armed and dangerous men could roam the streets of Grand Brexitia. What had happened to his country while he was away in the Middle East ? How could a 21st century, First World country, run by a bunch of coke-snorting, pig-molesting ex-Etonians, be reduced to this level of anarchy so quickly ?). Ammunition started to run low.

The fireteam reaches the Prince; hostiles gather in the factory yard and in the gardens

Covered by their mates in the vehicles, the fireteam on foot slid down the embankment, engaging mobs shooting at them from the far side, and from the gang on the railway line. Even when conserving ammo, their shooting was still too much for the armed civilians. They managed to make it to the wreck of the helicopter, and found the Prince and his friends, unharmed except for grazes and superficial cuts. Prince Roger himself was cowering behind the helicopter, and it took some effort to persuade him to scramble up the embankment, towards the parked WMIK. As they climbed, fire from the 'hostiles' lightly wounded one of the rescuers, but return fire caused the armed civilians to go to ground. Another large mob approached from the gardens of the houses with the intention of charging in to the Prince's protectors, but Scimitar cannon and WMIK fire knocked some down, and the rest took cover behind the walls. This enabled the Prince, his chums, and the fireteam to make it to their vehicles (one of the chums had to travel in another WMIK, as the first was overloaded; the Prince insisted on being first aboard, taking cover in the floorwell...)

A mob approaches from along the railway tracks.

While this was going on, more mobs closed on the scene. The WMIK at the T-junction spotted some movement behind them, but its machine gun fire missed. The exposed WMIK crew suffered wounds; one was a mere scratch, but the second was more serious. The vehicle was starting to resemble a Swiss cheese, with one dead, and one other out of action. The last unwounded man frantically manned the gun; the lightly wounded man took the wheel as the order to pull out came over the air. Shooting in all directions, the convoy pulled out and raced back to barracks, the Scimitar covering the rear. Prince Roger was safe. 

The troops prepare to pull out.

Casualties

Regulars - 1 dead, 1 seriously wounded, 2 lightly wounded.

Kray's Gang - No casualties

Mobs - An estimated two to four dozen wounded or killed (?)

Newspaper headlines next day - 'Our hero. Brave Prince Roger single-handedly fights off hordes of criminal scum hell-bent on terror rampage'. (Of course, 'The Daily Heil' is always entirely truthful, accurate and unbiased in its reporting...)