Republic of Folk

Missions (ArmA 2):

• Roadside II
• Chance of Showers
• No Pardon
• Bolshevik Raid

Once again, an awesome count of 49 brave comrades heeded the Party's call, and again some new or new-ish faces were amongst the corpses I had loaded into a waiting Antonov at the end of the session. So many lives lost. It almost stuns me to silence sometimes.

...

Eh. Then I pour another glass of Cuban rum and call Moscow for the next batch.



Anyway, tonight we started our pretty well: in Roadside II, a platoon of TK Army regulars managing to survive a night attack by elite KSK puppets (where the value of 'survive' equals a handful of traumatised conscripts). In new mission, Chance of Showers, our sizeable and well-equipped force of Takistani militiamen attacked a Russian-held town in western Takistan and discovered (amongst other things) the inherent downsides of using rickety old AKs for long-range plinking contests on barren mountainsides in broad daylight. However, at least we got to fire at the enemy; no such luxury was afforded us in No Pardon, but we're just not going to talk about that, right? Right. Because we are going to talk about Bolshevik Raid, which featured many wonderful horrors: de-sync'd helicopter horror, they're-coming-out-of-the-trees horror, omg we're taking fire from every side horror, and oh-shit-is-that-a-Hind? horror. It was glorious, although I can confirm that comrade Dancemoox's unauthorised issuing of ACOGs has earned him a spell in the gulag.



As ever, please post your thoughts, feedback, screenshots and video here - comrade YouTube Hero SuperU's FA doesn't just produce our video idents, but provides leadership and guidance to propaganda artists. We also have a new YouTube channel that he manages so if you have any content you think should feature then let him know and he will sort you out, for more info check out this thread!; more guidance on video editing for Folk ARPS is provided by comrade Ferrard Carson. Posts in the AAR threads really help us (the hosts and mission makers), both with understanding how we can improve the experiences, and showing potential comrades what our sessions are like.

fer wrote:It was glorious, although I can confirm that comrade Dancemoox's unauthorised issuing of ACOGs has earned him a spell in the gulag.

I shall have words with the quartermaster, it seems my request for a cog (for my tractor) has been misinterpreted..

Anyway some screenshots from tonight:


The remains of Charlie after allowing a four man fireteam follow them over hill and over dale..


Some freaky wizard of oz stuff going on..


A lovely flight across Chernarus


Fer regales us with tales of his childhood


Tink and the peons


Something may be wrong..


Very very wrong..

Roadside II
BRDM Driver.
We parked next to a building and put Hot Shots in the VCR...
After the movie we decided to take a ride around the area and strangely enough found some Germans with AT weapons in the south parts of our village.
I decided to nudge the one closest to the road with my mirror but they were faster and deployed the Rapid Obstruction Creation Kit and we got stuck.
GP's and rockets rained in on us until the BRDM said "enough" and ejected the video.

Chance of Showers
Charlie Medic.
We deployed south of the town via the Hueys and had small fireteams engaging us as we moved closer and closer to the town.
Our CO, Captain Takistan, decided to lead from the front and was always either in the squadline - engaging enemies - or well in front of us - engaging enemies.
Charlie's FT's got bogged down and the distance to the CO grew from 180 to 300m aaaand he, and his medic, got shot.
I tried saving the medic but we both got shot during the procedure and I couldn't be First Aided. Thanks Arma. *insert very slow bleedout*

No Pardon
TH2 Door Gunner.
Ok, a bit annoyed at the last mission, Shirley this will be better! ...after the desync clears up.
And we took off, with only three free seats inside, and after narrowly avoiding crashing into TH1 we flew Northwest.
Wait, we're s'posed to go E/NE right? Why's the chinook diving? uhh pull up, PULL UP, PU-

Ragequit

Aerial vehicular hallucinations aside, I have to say this was an excellent session.

Roadside II - A2 FTL
As the southeastern guard, A2 arrived to find trees on one side, a mountain on another, and walls on the other two. The assault seemed to be coming from the west however, and unable to find a position that could be remotely described as defensible, we began a series of withdrawals towards the trucks. Miraculously arriving intact, we set up defenses in a building alongside the BRDM. We held the line, taking casualties of our own amidst the screams and the gunfire. Though some of us may have survived, I doubt we'll ever be able to truly leave that bloodied patch of dirt behind.

Chance of Showers - B1 AAR
As the last element to arrive on the scene, Bravo squad could already tell that things were going poorly in Shukurkalay. The tank had been destroyed, Charlie was heavily engaged, and AK74's can't do a lot from a kilometer away. Entering the valley from the west, we began to take withering fire, bounding from rocks to trees for cover while occasionally trading a few ineffective rounds with the distant enemies. Some of us did finally make it into the town, but our fortunes did not improve; we were trapped, with enemies closing in from the north and from the south. Unable to effectively return fire against the solid curtain of lead, we entered a vicious cycle of firing desperately, being wounded, being healed, and healing. Sooner or later the luck ran out, and we were whittled down to a mere handful. After going down for what must have been the tenth time, Satire slung my bleeding body over his shoulder, charging out of the building, and into the glorious mists of history. And enemy fire. Lots of enemy fire.

While it was a fun mission, I did feel under-equipped for the sheer numbers and brutality that we were to face. Maybe ease it off a touch.

No Pardon
More like no record. Dohohohohohohoho, I'm so witty.

Bolshevik Raid - B2 AT
After figuring out the logistical woes of transporting 40 people with a 24-seat Chinook and 8-seat Wildcat, Alpha and Bravo were dropped off north of the airfield to begin our push through the woods. Bravo was quickly bogged down by some well-concealed and particularly murderous AI in the opposing treeline, while Alpha moved forward and began attacking the airfield, clearing and destroying the Northern set of objectives, before pushing south along the western edge. After finally freeing itself from sporadic yet precise fire, Bravo followed along Alpha's path, taking potshots at enemy infantry across the airfield. Things soon took a turn for the worse for Alpha (we'd later realize they were entirely eliminated), and Bravo was ordered to cross the airfield to assault the remaining objectives. A brief aside here - I have a strong love in my heart for bounding fireteams covering each other as they advance, but it probably wasn't a good idea to have B1/B2 cross the airfield halfway and then stop to provide cover for B3's advance. It was almost entirely wide open, with no cover and little concealment available. While we'd been pretty effective at clearing that side of the airfield in advance, I shudder to think of what would've happened if there had been a stronger enemy presence remaining at that end. However, Bravo managed to make it across the airfield intact, and went to work replacing poured concrete and glass with ashes and rubble. The headquarters building fell shortly after we arrived, and B2 began pressing south. The rest of the squad, unfortunately, got tangled up with additional enemy forces, and by the time they caught up, had been reduced to a mere handful (sorry we pushed so far, BSL). To top off the already horrifying circumstances, a Hind appeared overhead and began circling the airfield. On one close run, I tried to take a shot at the Hind with my NLAW, but rediscovered the hard way that it's a soft-launch system, and the rocket takes a moment to reach full speed. As one would expect, I whiffed spectacularly.

With our dwindling numbers, we had lost many of the satchel charges intended to destroy the objectives. Where some see problems, Tink (the still-surviving CO) sees only solutions: Bravo would enter the control tower, goading the Hind into a rocket barrage, destroying the building. The plan worked spectacularly, and the building was destroyed... along with a sizeable contingent of the survivors. As one of the (un)fortunate survivors, with nothing left to lose, I rushed for the de-crewed HMG in the field, and tried to engage the Hind. Miraculously, I managed to not only bring it down (bless that KORD), but my string of unlikely survivals continued, and I made it back to the relative safety of the firehouse. Four of us were left: Tink, Stoner (B2 AAR), Mamba (BSL), and myself. Thus began a desperate search for satchel charges, as we took fire from every conceivable angle. While Stoner and Mamba died to unseen assailants during the search, I found two more satchel charges on the body of my late FTL. I set them up in the fire station, and may or may not have disobeyed an order to detonate the charges while still inside the building. We deemed our work at the airfield finished, and charged towards glory. And enemy machinegun fire.

Whoa. Sorry for the wall of text, guys.

Once we were out of the woods (literally, not figuratively), and actively clearing the airfield, I really enjoyed this mission. I feel like the balance was good, but it would probably be wise to change the transport options so that the entire force can deploy at once.

A3 Afterparty - Crabfrustration - A2 FTL
Brutal as always. With a squad of 3 fireteams, we began sweeping south towards the city, and quickly began a familiar routine: spot enemies, engage enemies, and lose a quarter of our forces in the ensuing firefight. Wash, rinse, and repeat until you're leading the last three troops on a mad dash down the valley, and get wiped out by an enemy on the opposite side of a bush. As quickly as you hit sustained enemy contact, it'd probably be good to take that one on with a few more people.

Thank you to everyone who made it on - 49 comrades makes for a whole lot of running, shooting, and dieing, and it wouldn't be near as much fun if it weren't for the awesome people to run, shoot, and die alongside of. And of course, an extra special thank you to the hosts, for making it all possible.

Roadside II
Opfor Alpha ? AR
We spotted the enemy approaching on the hills to our South, North East and North West and it seemed like we got shot at by all of them, with the FTL down I took charge and got ordered to fall back. We took another casualty and the last 2 members of our FT got pinned behind some rocks where every time I stuck my head out I got shot crawled back to the rocks and healed. Finally the enemy advanced far enough into town that we could get off the hillside. We got in behind Blufor where we could do some serious damage, Joe got caught in the open and killed but I was able to take out my grief on the backs of my enemies.


Chance of Showers
Chralie 1 AT
The LZ was hot so we got placed a bit further out than expected, it seemed that every time we crested a hill we ran into a new group of enemies so even falling back to not expose ourselves ended up exposing ourselves. There was a fantastically Monty Python moment when C1 charged some enemies in a valley whilst C2 provided suppressing fire, just as we entered the valley a BMP rolled up it and we got the order to run away. The BMP never advanced enough to be a real threat but by that time the enemies from the hot LZ had snuck up behind us and killed most of Charlie.

The mission seems a little unbalanced at the moment, the surrounding hill sides are swarming with patrols and it makes assaulting the town very difficult. If, as I am led to believe, taking the town is the easy part of that mission I'd hate to see what happens once it is secured.


No Pardon
Nothing to see here.


No Pardon (Take 2)
See above.


Bolshevik Raid
As CO of this mission I was able to witness so many acts of heroism in the face of ever mounting adversity. Rather than give a rundown of the whole thing I'd like to just highlight some of the extraordinary actions of my comrades.

First up is Comrade Head who upon getting shot down behind enemy lines stormed a machine gun nest before going full Rambo on most of the contacts on the northern side of the runway.

Unfortunately Head eventually got shot and that is where Comrade Fer valiantly crossed the airfield to rescue his downed brother in arms. Despite there being no cover he made across safely and was able to tend to Head before he bled out.

Now I'd like to highlight the actions of Dancemoox who despite knowing that alpha had got mercilessly butchered refused to give up on them. He ended up stranded on the wrong side of the runway with the remains of a Bravo Fireteam in complete disarray who he managed to whip into shape in time to make a brave final stand.

The rest of Bravo and any other surviving members of the company get a mention here for the way that they followed out my orders to set up in the control tower and draw the fire of the enemy Hind onto the tower. The end result being the destruction of the control tower without having to result to the increasingly sparse satchel charges.

And finally, Comrade Fluffeh who's quick thinking in commandeering and enemy static was able to shoot down the enemy Hind once it had put its rockets to good use.

Whilst the mission wasn't technically a success I do feel we carried out the spirit of the main objective. If nothing else they will have a hard time landing aircraft on the runway on account of all the bodies that litter it.

Roadside II
A1 FTL

Deployed south, had my rifleman (Joe) scout a bit further to the south. As soon as he reported contacts, I had him move back to our compound, while I was myself hiding in rocks, glassing the south side, trying to put accurate markers on those two fireteams I could see. At this point we also had contacts from the northwest. Sadly, Arma being Arma, I was caught with my binocs out and couldn't run to that nice rock two meters away from me. NoASR-friggin_sniper-AI shot me in da face instantly.

Chance of showers

Few pictures say it all. Excellent use of cover, outstanding situational awareness.







No Pardon
TH1 Pilot

At this point I had a strange dream. For some reason I was a pilot (!) in a weird chopper with two main rotors. Time was strangely skipping and somebody had thought it'd be a funny prank to coat the windshields with shiny boot polish. Then time skipped again and this time, while I could see, the only thing I could see was that we could never land under so much fire.

On a serious note, when the only insertion possible is via chinooks (and generally helicopters), you don't want to stuff the AO with AA, especially radar-guided. Makes no sense. Also, stop invading friggin Utes.

Bolshevik Raid
Bravo Squad Lead

Bravo was intially tasked with moving to an assault position on the northwestern side of the airfield while Alpha was to move to a nearby position, on the northeastern side, to establish a base of fire. I had chosen a quite long route to our objective, to take advantage of the concealment from the forest and some defilade we could use to regroup should things go wrong.

Suffice to say, I had put my squad exactly where we perform best: amid angry trees. Well, surprisingly enough, we did well. Very well. I mean, I couldn't say exactly how the FTLs and other grunts felt about it, but we kept a decent momentum, while still taking time to regroup after each engagement. m0ntag, the medic, was a busy man, though.

FTLs were very reactive to movement orders and contact reports, and all I had to do was run around in the middle of my squad, popping smoke here to cover that one fireteam pulling back, yell some stuff about keeping intervals, quickly patch that dude up, and do it all over again. While still trying to keep the squad grouped and ready to move.
I was very proud of us when we made it to the airfield wall with zero (0) casualties. None. In spite of some very close contacts and not so close ones.

We all got inside the airfield perimeter, and for quite a while, my squad was left without clear orders, except basically to try and shoot baddies through Alpha (note to the CO: when you decide to use a suad as support-by-fire for another, make sure to have a clear idea of the terrain and of possible lines of fire. It was technically impossible for us to fire at anything at this point, with Alpha about a hunderd meters in front of us, in trees, with the enemies 200 meters in front of them). So basically Alpha was once again left to fight alone and we were sightseeing in the back.

I didn't want my squad to get bored to death, because, you know, boredom kills, so I had them move around, try and clear a few contacts that would occasionally ping some rounds our way from the north and the west, while waiting for the situation to unfuck itself. Sadly, when the order came to move, it was still to move 100 meters behind Alpha, letting us deal with a few contacts here and there, but letting us no space to bring the whole squad's firepower to bear. Oh, yeah, at that point it was revealed that we had no extract anymore anyway. Cool beans.

And what was gonna happen happened: Alpha died. Like every single one of them except for four dudes, that were injured. I volunteered a fireteam to go rescue them, but CO took the right decision. Screw that, we are pulling back and crossing the airfield.

Fluffeh wrote:A brief aside here - I have a strong love in my heart for bounding fireteams covering each other as they advance, but it probably wasn't a good idea to have B1/B2 cross the airfield halfway and then stop to provide cover for B3's advance. It was almost entirely wide open, with no cover and little concealment available. While we'd been pretty effective at clearing that side of the airfield in advance, I shudder to think of what would've happened if there had been a stronger enemy presence remaining at that end.

Well, I'd stand by that decision. Fact is, there were not that many enemies that we could see on the other side. We had ACOGs, meaning that at medium range we'd be able to return quite accurate fire if we were to take fire in the middle of the airstrip.
The only reason I wanted the FTs to stop in the middle is that I was afraid of what would happen if somebody was wounded during the crossing. If a halt was already planned, I think we would have been better at establishing a base of fire and a medical station.
Plus, we were taking fire from unknown positions to the west and neede to move away fast to avoid getting bogged down.

Fluffeh wrote:However, Bravo managed to make it across the airfield intact

See what I'm talking about? One needs to mention, though, that this statement is not exactly true. B3, which was the last fireteam to supposedly cross, never made it.
I get it though. When time came for them to cross, two of them were wounded, and I issued the order to let the wounded where they were and cross immediately. Myself and the medic would take care of them and cross later. Sadly, I don't recall one instance ever in an FA session when that order has been given and followed. Admittedly, that's a tough one.
So after a minute or two, I decided that if they didn't want to cross, well, I would. So I let them die.

Another note regarding that open ground crossing: One of my FTLs suggested to smoke the terrain before moving. That's my bad, I should have given that order earlier. To me it's one of the obvious things to do in such a case.

Then ensued a long chase where everybody in B1 would keep getting shot, and I would keep trying to regroup my squad, chasing after B2, who from what I heard was in turn chasing after a bloodthirsty Fer.

We never quite regrouped, I scavenged a rocket and missed the hind, witnessed it going down and was killed shortly after while searching for explosives.

It was a nice mission, if you forget about the slight logistic complications: I'd suggest not starting from the complete opposite side of the map. It's just a waste of time. Maybe the helos are not even necessary after all, as they become completely useless after insertion anyway.

Chance of showers
TH2 Pilot

After transporting parts of Charlie into a hot LZ south of the AO, I was tasked to rescue the tank crew. Landed next to the burning wreck and managed to get head, waffly and dogface up just in time for 3 of us to get shot. We crawled behind the tank for dogface to get rub our bellies, which he REFUSES to do (broken medic script my ass), in fact he tried and succeed in pushing the injured Head back into the still burning tank wreck. Dogface then got shot. Everyone died.

In an alternate universe, dogface's none evil twin got us patched up again, and we flew into the sunset with .50 cal tracers streaming from the door guns manned by the rescued tank crews. (Roll credits)

Black Mamba wrote:I was very proud of us when we made it to the airfield wall with zero (0) casualties. None. In spite of some very close contacts and not so close ones.

I was surprised at that. Usually when my whole team is all up it's because other teams took the brunt.

Black Mamba wrote:So after a minute or two, I decided that if they didn't want to cross, well, I would. So I let them die.

B3 FTL here. I had to go emergency afk just before we were meant to cross. I came back around 30 seconds later with dancemoox now in my team and heavy fire coming in, being asked "are we moving?" and then I got hit. If it wasn't for those seconds afk things probably would have worked out a lot better.

It was a fun game - and it's good to have you as SL, Mamba - but I've always been mystified by your quiet mic. It sounds like aggressive hiss reduction.

Crocuta wrote:

Black Mamba wrote:So after a minute or two, I decided that if they didn't want to cross, well, I would. So I let them die.

B3 FTL here. I had to go emergency afk just before we were meant to cross. I came back around 30 seconds later with dancemoox now in my team and heavy fire coming in, being asked "are we moving?" and then I got hit. If it wasn't for those seconds afk things probably would have worked out a lot better.

Yes you may have returned to me screaming "get in cover! Spread the expletive out, thats grenade fire!" I had just run across from healing up Head on the north side, Super had been hit and I was on my way to take over Alpha (being a FAC with no A to C I was looking for a job) then I was ordered to stand down and let Alpha die, I just so happened to be with B3 with the enemy all around..

Black Mamba wrote: Well, I'd stand by that decision. Fact is, there were not that many enemies that we could see on the other side. We had ACOGs, meaning that at medium range we'd be able to return quite accurate fire if we were to take fire in the middle of the airstrip.

I'll concede on that, it's a fair point. As the AT I only had a holosight and felt pretty limited, but I forgot that everyone else had pretty good ranged capability. And as far as B3, well, I wondered where they had disappeared. Let the record be corrected to show that none of Bravo died while crossing, notwithstanding no-man-left-behind heroics and emergency AFK's on the western front.