The Longest Night (Act 3 - Kawalski)

The rain continues to wash against the shed outside, mixing well with the explosions of the HE rounds into your vehicles on the outside. With a wash of adrenaline you kick off the tiredness of days of constant action and rise to this new challenge. The upstairs room of the shed has many fortified windows, with a ladder cut roughly center leading down into the lower room. Your wounded are downstairs, being treated, at least seven critical patients plus one critical civilian woman and small boy.

Hearing and seeing the explosions outside, Kawalski runs for the ladder to get back to the wounded. When reaching them he walks over to Butcher. "Looks like we are going to be moving out again. You know the drill. The yellows walk and jump on any truck they can, the reds are in the back if they need constant monitoring or in the cab if there is room. If there are black we are going to have strip them of there gear and leave them. I hate to do that though, but we haven't the time to bury them or the room to take them with us. Oh if there are greens tell them to get there lazy asses back to the line! You know what to do lets get to it." He walks to each of the wounded quickly evaluating each of them and issuing a colour as he does.


<*OOC just incase you didn't know. I'm using Triage colours for the wounded. Green is healthy or low damage (like a small cut, bruise etc..) Walking wounded. Yellow is moderate, broken limbs, non life threating bleeding. Red is life threating injuries, broken necks, heavy bleeding etc... They will die if no medical attention is giving quickly. Black is dead. url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage_tag]triage tags and there colours[/url] that link might help too/OOC*>

Life is in full gear down inside the first story of the building, outside the southern windows the night flashes constantly with light from rifle muzzle fire as both sides less then meters apart and right outside the entrance exchange fire. Shouts and cries of pain issue out into the night over the pour of rain and inside the French soldiers rush to prepare their VAB APC's to depart while some of their soldiers man the two AT Guns and maneuver them to another window. Around the fortified windows of the shed men take cover both French and Allied alike, exchanging fire point blank with forces outside as bullets tear through the walls. Somewhere in the distance Major Wiedermann issues the orders to withdraw to the forest, it is clear however that their is enemy forces all over your current position.

You begin gaining passage for some of your wounded on the VAB's with French assistance and have some loaded however there seems to be little or no room left inside the transports when sudden the northern walls are shredded under high caliber MG bullets, the bullets impacting on nearby soldiers and killing them in a shower of blood and gore. A yell issues from near the southern entrance - "We can't wait any longer! Get those VAB's moving!" the French soldiers rush inside the APC's and begin closing them moments after you hear another yell from the front "Get that door open!"

Soldiers push through the opened door, fire immediately echoing through the night between exchange outside. The shed continues to take piercing fire from bullets itself, the thin steel barely stopping the as the ping around inside and finally the VAB's move out, roaring through the opened large doors to the southern edge of the shed. All over the shed soldiers begin to depart, mostly in a southerly direction. The gunfire is fierce and the enemy are right on top of the allied soldiers.

Kawalski tightens the straps on his Jump bag, checks his weapon and takes hold of the little boy. Turns to his wounded mother and says "We need to get out here. The frogs couldn't even make room a child and wounded women. Stay close to me" Makes his though the shed looking for the rest of his platoon to join up with, child and women in tow.

Groups of NCO's and GI's can be seen jumping out the windows and going out the main shed door south into the fire-fight. A group of three soldiers however are not running away from Kawalski, rather heading towards him - "Yo Doc, what are you still doing here? You insane, we got to go!" It's Private Gregor, Timons and Franks and Timons has the M60 hoisted over his shoulder. As is to highlight their point a bullet hisses past the small group of men and pings off a beam supporting the shed.

Kawalski sees the GI's coming up to him, gives a quick smile to them. "Not my idea to stick around this long, but had to make sure the wounded got out safe. But as you can see they some. Guess it's in the DNA to for the Frogs to run and surrender at the first sign of a fight." laughs "Ok boys we are going to need some help and your firing skills from here. I don't care what your orders are you are all with me on this one. We need to get these civies to safty. Help the women one of you please she is hurt and my need help moving. Do you know where the rally point is?. They all begin to move out out the shed the quickest way possible.

A couple of lighter explosions issue from the southern side of the house - Grenades. One impacts on the corner of the shed, causing a lot of shrapnel to blast through the light steel there present and for it to bend inwards.

"I reckon a few of our boys are are out there already, if we dodge out the eastern windows here we might avoid direct contact I'd say, Sir." Franks says as he moves to the woman, putting a arm around her and slipping his M16A2 to hang down off his combat webbing.

The window shows a no sign of troops on the eastern side when the group reaches it, the small group move out the window with Timons held up slightly by the bulk of the M60. Once outside directly north incoming vehicle headlights can be seen, and the roar of mighty armored tracks, while south gunfire exchanges are within forty meters as muzzles discharge there rounds of death at each other.

The group approach the corner where the grenade went off moments before, crossing a tiny pile of Russian soldiers laying dead and dying and a ruined PK machine gun. "Looks like we missed the fun."

You catch sight of Guns and private Dekker pushing onto help some GI's caught in a savage hand-to-hand while the farmhouse windows fifty meters south has a PK MG peppering the open area onto allied soldiers.

What you didn't notice soon comes to life however, as AK fire zings and pings around your small group from a Russian unit advancing from the twenty meters south-east, five men in total one armed with RPK, having being noticed the men go prone.

Hearing the pinging of the bullets flying past him, Kawalski and the child hit the ground going prone. Grabbing for his M16A2. Well guess we didn't miss the party after all. get down, return fire and try to keep the civiy's safe. Takes aim from where he thinks the Russians are firing from.

While Kawalski aims, Timons goes prone to kick out the bipod on the M60 and the woman and child also go prone for the use of the cover, while across the field the Russians now prone fire with their bullets thudding in around the group one unlucky shot manages to catch Timons in the chest causing blood to burst out, while another kicks up dirt near the child. Return fire from the two GI's not going prone tears up the area near the Russians one bullet missing only because the troops had gone to their bellies before however one lucky thud impacts on the RPK armed soldier.

In the next moment Kawalski fires, his bullet tearing another hole in the RPK armed Russian and seeming to finish him off for the RPK flies out of his grasp. The fire from the two standing GI's this time proves far more effective as their single burst manages to hit near the same soldier three times, however only one bullet finding the mark causing him to leak blood from his stomach. Another stray bullet hits another Russian soldier. The Russian fire opens up, single burst each, a bullet catching both unlucky standing soldiers in the legs and causing them to stagger and fall down bleeding. The M60 roars to life, it's fury of two bursts is ineffective however as no bullets find a mark, one smacking the dirt near an already wounded prone Russian soldier.

Kawalski aims and fires, however his bullet thuds into the ground harmless near one of the wounded soldiers protected legs.

In the next moment the group wears fire from the Russians who are not hurt, their fire drawing close from the single bursts one barely missing Kawalski's leg and that of one of the hurt GI's. Swearing Kawalski begins taking quick shots at the enemy, firing one bullet and catching a already hurt Russian in his stomach seeming to put him out of the fight.

Kawalski fires another quick shot at the enemy, this time he finds the mark however the bullet drives into the ground the man is using as cover. The two unhurt Russians fire again, their single bursts missing terribly.

Kawalski's quick shot this time finds no mark, the unhurt Russian troops fire as well, their single burst having one bullet thud into the mud Kawalski is using as cover. The wounded GI's fire a single burst each from their position now on the ground, a lucky bullet causing a bright spray of gore from one of the unhurt Russians heads. The wounded Russians also fire, missing terribly with their single bursts, the M60 however opens up two bursts again not a single bullet finding a target.

Kawalski misses with a single quick shot.

Kawalski misses again with a single quick shot.

Kawalski finds the mark this time on the wounded Russian soldier however his bullet takes the ground the man is using as cover again. The single remaining unhurt Russian fires, his bullet catching the wounded private Franks, seeming to put the man out.

Kawalski misses with his quick shot, the unhurt Russian manages to kick the dirt up around the wounded Private Gregor.

Kawalski misses. Private Gregors burst of fire misses. Private Timons on the M60 bursts twice more, this time one of the M60 bullets kicking the ground around the wounded Russian, the other finding the unhurt Russians chest, seeming to cause a mighty wound as the bullet tears through the mans chest, yet he seems to keep hold of his rifle. The Russian troops fire, their single bursts catching Gregor in the stomach, seeming to put the soldier out of the fight.

Kawalski aims up the soldier hit by the M60 and misses.

Kawalski tries again, this time however his bullet catches the man in the head, causing him to twist backwards as bright blood bursts from the back of his head.

Kawalski fires a quick shot at the remaining Russian and misses. The M60 kicks to life with two bursts again, the bullets kicking up the ground near the Russian three times. The wounded Russians burst catches the ground near Kawalski.

Kawalski aims, then fires and catches the remaining man in the chest. Looking back over his shoulder he sees that Gregor and Franks are laying in a pool of their own blood, while Timons is bleeding heavily from his chest wound. The boy and woman seem unhurt by the conflict. Yells, gunfire and explosions are a way of life at the moment, barely meters away in all directions.

Seeing the 2 man on the ground in there own blood. Kwalaski quickly changes changes the magazine on his rifle, placing the empty mag in the spot where he got the new one. He then runs over to where the wounded men are and quickly assess each of the wounds.

Timons can still fight, and move although he is bleeding heavily from a chest wound no major organs were hit. Gregor and Franks are beyond medical help, causalities.

Seeing that 2 GI's are beyond help Kawalski removes there dog tags and begins work on Timmons. Turns to the women "Quickly can you take the weapons, ammo, medical stuff off the dead soliders. I know it's hard but we really need it."

A grenade kicks up the mud and rain somewhere south of Kawalski's position, followed by the roar of bursts from M16A2 right above him as he works. The grenades shrapnel bites down on everyone nearby, its hot jagged pieces showering the woman, child and Kawalski and Timons.

With a shout; "What are you doing, having a picnic? We can't stop for anything!" Sergeant Valance hops out of a nearby window, followed by Private Carter from the 5th Division, and Privates Galen, Smith and Evermont from the 50th Division. "We got to move Doc, tend to wounds when your not surrounded by Russian squads hey?"

Kawalski looks around at everybody and looks over to the soldier's who jumped out the window. "Didn't expect to get peppered by a grenade after the group we eliminated." turns to the 3 other wounded. "Leave the shrapnel in, it will control the bleeding till we get to place where I can tend to the wounds." Stands up slowly. "You new men grab hold of the others, they all will need help moving. SO do you know where we are ment to meet up with the rest? Seems nobody knows"

Sergeant Valance gives his head a small shake then motions to the south. "Bug out to the forest Staff Sergeant, there is as much order to this as duck being shot ten times then roasted with its bullets still in it."

A rumbling distracts the Sergeant as he talks, the ground itself is shaking with the roar of heavy tracks tearing the ground issuing over the night, the cries of pain and gunfire. "Incoming armored vehicle! South, go!"

Grabs hold of his rifle and starts running with a hobble south, following the other soldier's in to the forest.

Sergeant Valance points over to the right, shouting "River, its almost empty we hoof it through the muck and cover of the raised raised bank and under the slight bridge at the railway until we reach close enough to the forest to run over to it."

Unseen and unnoticed the roar of explosions, the zip, pit and pat of the high caliber machine guns carried by vehicles and the gunfire echoes in the night followed by screams from both sides as many suffer and die. The run is full paced and quick along the dirt tiny river with the final stretch to the forest being a skin of the teeth frantic run as tanks, squads of men and APC's line the edge of the forest.

Once inside however, the group manages to meet up with a paratrooper - Private Dickens, who tells them to follow him.