STALINGRAD - Sirskrubbins

[insurgencies]

Your feet hurt as you lug your machinegun over your right shoulder and a box of some hundreds of rounds in your left hand uphill. Your breath shows before you in the cold air, and every hair on your face seems to have frozen over in the damned Russian winter. You walk with two other men alongside you - Ulrich and Adolf, a rifleman and your ammocarrier respectively.

Up over the hill, you come to see a Soviet railroad set - six rails all parallel to one another. There is a very wide depression in the ground between you and the railroad, and it seems that the tracks are just barely lower than you are on your hill. Your side of the hill has buildings behind it and no trees, while the opposite side of the rails has what must be a full forest, at a much lower elevation. It is said that the Russians will be stopping a train at that location  to drop supplies and reinforce their men at some point during this day, likely late in the afternoon, it being noon right now.

Your task: Figure out a good enough location to entrench yourself or deploy for when the Russians arrive. Both of your buddies have field shovels.

sirskrubbins

[sirskrubbins]

(I don't do ISRPs very often, so I'm sorry if I'm not very good at this.)

(Also, just so I'm clear, am I a higher rank than Ulrich and Adolf, so I know if I can give them orders or not?)

While it is absolutely freezing, and I'm sure all three of us are feeling the exact same way, complaining never helped anybody. Taking a very brief moment to consider my options, I glance over at both the buildings and the forest. Digging a trench now would take up our time to investigate our other options, and the snow has probably frozen over, anyway. Both options have their merit, but, after considering for a second or two, I decide that the buildings would be a better option. Depending on how tall and intact the building is, I would get better coverage of the area than I would if I was prone on the ground in a forest.

"Ulrich, Adolf, we should take a look at those buildings over there, first. This way." I say to them, as I begin to move quickly over to the buildings, keeping my eyes open for any Soviets that could be hiding around here. If they are hiding, they probably are in the buildings. I look over at the structures, and take a second to examine them from the outside. How intact and tall are they? Approximately how far away are they from the railroad? Are there windows? If there are windows, I tell Ulrich to watch them with his rifle as we advance towards them. 

[insurgencies]

(You are all the same rank but, as you are the machinegunner and they are your loaders/ammocarriers it would be perfectly acceptable for you to give them orders.)

The buildings must have been about ten stories tall just a year or two ago, but now they are but four stories tall with stacks of rubble several meters high at their bases. The fourth floor of each has half of a ceiling and what is left of their walls is blotted with holes every here and there. There are many windows on one side, but said side is at an angle to the railroad, rather than perpendicular to it. You could probably still get a view of the railroad but if the train were to stop too far past you would not be able to shoot at it while deployed from your bipod. The roof could work as a large portion of the walls on it are chest height, but you would be rather exposed and would have to act very fast.

The doorways to the buildings sit a good hundred meters from the hill you just climbed, with a grassy field of snow and rubble in between the two.

You comrades follow along with you, not saying any more than they have to.

[sirskrubbins]

(Okay, then. Thanks.)

(Also, I'm sorry, was I meant to choose what MG I had at the beginning, or was that up to you? If it was up to you, then I'm sorry, I just got a bit confused, lol.)


As I lead my comrades into one of the buildings, I take a second to consider my options again, carefully walking up the stairs and checking down corridors. It's a tough call. I want to be able to have a clear shot from a safe location, but it looks like I can't really have both at the moment.

I would have Ulrich run down and see if he could keep watch through the window for me, to see if I can get a good angle down there once the train stops, but I don't think that would be a good idea. I probably wouldn't have enough time to run down there if I can get a good enough angle, and he probably wouldn't have enough time to run up if I can't. It looks like the roof is the only option for us, but we can't get ourselves killed. Not here, and not while we have families at home, waiting for us to come back. Using the time we have left, we might as well fortify the area as best as we can. I look over to my two comrades, and begin to give them their instructions.

"Ulrich, Adolf, we're going to have to fire from the roof. Firing from the window's not an option, I can't get a good enough shot through them because of the angle of this building. The roof would probably work, but we're very exposed up there. But we should still have quite a lot of time, if everything goes to plan so we may as well use it trying to fortify the roof. We could use the extra cover. It'll keep us warm, anyway." I tell them, and then politely tell Adolf that he can put the ammo that he is carrying down over by the top of the stairs while we fortify the roof. If he agrees, I begin looking for anything that could give me more cover on the roof if I have to fire from there. Tip over tables, place down rubble, anything. I don't go down further than one storey from the roof, though.

"God, look at this place. I thought the bombings at home were bad." I blurt out as I search for objects, trying to make conversation. "How are you two doing? Are you both feeling okay?" I ask them, concerned.

[sirskrubbins]

(Bump.)

[insurgencies]

(It would have been up to me, but I don't really think that in a roleplay it really makes a difference all that much which machinegun you have, so I don't really mind.)

They agree to all of your demands as they don't have any better ideas, and do as told. On the floor below the roof there is a thick birch dining table and a set of six matching birch chairs which are somehow still in one piece, despite being covered in ashes and all kinds of dirt. There are also about a trillion bricks lying all over the floors.

"Cold, that's all. I can't stand it. When we kill these bastards we better make a fire, or I'll probably end up dead," Ulrich responds. Adolf nods, and stakes a swig from his canteen, shuddering when he swallows.

[sirskrubbins]

(Okay, thanks. Last OOC post, sorry- do I have a sort of camp or base to go back to once I've finished?)

I listen to Ulrich as I begin descending downstairs, and stop to let him finish speak. I nod in understanding. "Capture Moscow before winter", my ass.

"We all feel the same, Ulrich. How do these damn Ivans live in this cold, let alone fight in it?" I question rhetorically, before carrying on.

"I think I have an idea. The Russians are supposedly reinforcing and resupplying their men here, correct? Maybe, once we're done here, we could see if we can take any of their supplies for ourselves. I hate to be a vulture, but now, it's better to take things from dead men than become one. They have coats and gloves, which should make this at least a little more bearable." I finish, before finally walking downstairs, stepping over the absolute mountains of bricks on the floor. I'm no expert on construction, but we probably won't be able to use those effectively without actual tools for the job. 

My eyes are instantly drawn to the thick birch dining table and the chairs. This would be perfect- bullets probably won't easily penetrate through that, and it gives good cover. The chairs aren't as important, but they would definitely help. If I had to pick one for now, though, I'm picking the table. I jog over to it, and grab one end of the table, pulling it slowly up towards the stairs.

"Ulrich, Adolf! Could you please give me a hand lifting this up the stairs?" I shout, tightening my grip on the table.

[insurgencies]

(Yes, and there's nothing wrong with asking questions, I have no problem with OOC anything.)

Adolf comes and helps you get the table up - it is a lot heavier than you thought it would be, or you are just weaker, it is unclear and unimportant.

"I don't see anything wrong with taking a few things for ourselves, as long as they don't get us shot by our own men," he says, chuckling a bit at the end as he helps bring the table to the top. You both drop the table off with a thud and he brushes himself off.

"Hold on, you hear that?" Ulrich says, causing both you and Adolf to hold your breaths. You do in fact hear it - there is rustling in the woods opposite of you, across the railway. By the sound of it, there are Russians heading out to meet the train below you, rustling around in the forest.

[sirskrubbins]

(Okay, thanks. Also, I'm sorry for being inactive for the past 5 days, I was juggling a lot of roleplaying threads on a few other sites, and I just wanted to take a break for a little bit. Sorry.)

I chuckle at Adolf's remark, and open my mouth to reply to him, before he points out the Russians creeping up on us. They're here already? How long were we moving that table? I quickly pick up my MG-34, and slowly crouch down to the ground to avoid making noise. While crouched, I slowly creep up to the table that we just put down for cover, making sure that my head isn't at all visible over the table, or, at least, as little as possible. I turn my head to Ulrich and Adolf, and open my hand, pointing my palm towards the ground, and move it down, trying to sign to them to prone on the ground. I then wave my hand towards myself, trying to sign to them to crawl over to where I am. I would have just let them walk over crouched, but if the Russians see us now, then it's finished. I don't care if we're a hundred metres away, we won't risk being killed. With the commands given, I peek out over the right end of the table- not looking over the top of the table, but around the right side. I peek for a second or two, before getting my head behind cover. I then ask both Ulrich and Adolf, making sure to keep my voice quiet:

"Shit, the Russians are here already. They're probably heading out to meet the train by the forest. What the Hell are they doing here this early?" I ask in frustration, resisting the temptation to peek outside of cover again.

"Do either of you know what time it is?" I ask, gripping my machine gun tighter.

[insurgencies]

They both take the hint and get as low and their helmets will allow them, rifles under their chests. They shut up pretty well, but continue to shiver, making a very quiet chattering sound as their jaws move up and down, barely audible over the relatively light winds. They manage to come over behind the table where you are without issue.

You peek and they are still in the woods, you do not see how many or how well they are armed, but you see the light colors of their uniforms contrasting with the darks of the tree trunks and the grass poking out from below them. They appear to be scouting out the vicinity, although you aren't too sure. You were only moving the table for a few minutes, so not much else could have happened in between that and them arriving.

"I don't know why so early, it must only be about twelve thirty or one at this point. Shit, though, if they're in the woods they might not come out until the train arrives," Adolf says quickly, in a hushed tone.

"The train can't possibly know exactly where they are. They'll have to show themselves- light a flare, make a fire, anything- if they were to give the train the hint to stop."

[sirskrubbins]

I listen to what Adolf says carefully. When he's finished, I nod, and scratch my chin. Gunshots would probably cause a lot of attention, not to mention the dead bodies when the train comes. I don't have any ideas other than just keep watching for now, so I start to explain my thoughts to my two comrades.

"Yeah, you're right. Damn it. I can see their uniforms, but I have no clue about how many there are or if they're well-armed. And getting sniped today isn't at the top of my to-do list, you know? Besides, I really don't have a clear shot. I would suggest killing them now and taking their flare, but that's assuming they even have one, among other things." I say to them both, before deciding to plant the bipod of my MG on the top of the table. I want to make sure that we're at the lowest risk of being spotted as possible, though, so I'll just have to peek over periodically. I keep the stock of the MG pressed against my shoulder to reduce recoil, and quickly straighten up slightly to look over the table, aiming down the sight of my weapon. I peek for a few seconds, before going back down again. I glance over to Adolf, and, if he hasn't already done so, I instruct him to retrieve his ammunition from the stairs.

"Okay, well, unless you have any other ideas, of course, I say that we should just keep an eye out for now. It's the safest for all of us, and, like you said, Adolf, they'll have to come out eventually." I finish, before peeking over the table with my MG again to have a quick look again.

[insurgencies]

They agree to keep watching for the time being, Adolf also getting the ammunition and setting it at the base of the table.

When you peek once more, you are slowed by the weight of the machinegun, but it does not seem you were spotted in your fumbling. From that, you could conclude that some have moved onto the bed of the railway and that they are now setting up what looks like a set of several sleds to its side in a row on the hill facing you. The men are armed with what looks like carbines and submachine guns, if at all, as some men do not seem to have any rifles at all. There is one man who seems to be overlooking the whole situation in an officers' uniform, and behind all of them at the edge of the forest you could spot what looked like someone setting up a radio station.

[sirskrubbins]

(Again, I'm really sorry I took so long to post, I was away this week and I didn't get the opportunity to tell you.)

I take a few moments to observe my surroundings, keeping my head tilted so that I can look through the sights of the machine gun. Deciding that they should see the situation for themselves, I tell my comrades that they can peek up from the table as well if they'd like to.

"Right... If we are spotted, I don't think they'll be able to hit us from here. See those guns? They look like carbines and submachine guns, they probably won't have the range." I comment, as I split my attention between the officer, the people setting up the radio station, and the sleds. I'm not quite sure which is the biggest threat- if I shoot carelessly, they can use the radio station for reinforcements, the officer might have binoculars to see where we are, and I'll have to be quick to fire if the Soviets use the sleds to get over here.

"Hm..." I mutter, loosening the grip on my machine gun. "I'm not entirely sure what we can do at the moment besides wait and see what happens. Any ideas?" I ask, glancing between Ulrich and Adolf.

[insurgencies]

They both peek over very conservatively and look down at the men.

"Shit, that's lot of the little devils. At least fifteen armed ones and twenty unarmed. We've got a massacre to carry out," Ulrich says with an awfully depressed facial expression and tone of voice. He checks his rifle's action, making sure it is loaded, then looks to you.

"I could go down there and direct their attention towards me on the ground long enough for you to figure something out. I'll try not to get shot, though, don't worry,"

[sirskrubbins]

After Ulrich gives his suggestion, my expression morphs into a worried frown. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that, from the way he spoke, he was accepting death. I hesitate from speaking for a second or two, eventually managing to reply to him.

"Uh... W-well, if you're sure, then, yeah, go ahead, that would probably help us quite a lot. But don't get any closer than you need to, and don't do anything suicidal. Stopping a damn train isn't worth risking your life over." After I give him my permission and express my concerns, I take another short peek over the table, before lowering back down and talking to Ulrich again.

"If you want to pick a target, we'll probably really need those people at the radio station at the back taken care of. If you can't shoot the people, though, just try to shoot the radio instead to break it. It's really important that they can't call for backup. If you can't do either, then just shoot whoever you can, especially if they're armed. As soon as you start shooting, I'll shoot with you, okay?" 

[insurgencies]

"Okay, okay, okay," he says, with a shiver. He slings his rifle over his shoulder and starts to quickly make his way down the stairs.

He takes one last look to you and Adolf, hesitates, then continues going down and disappears under the roof, saying nothing. You hear his soft footsteps against the hollow wooden stairs fade away after a few moments.

In your peeking, you see that one of them appears to be using the radio with the officer alongside them.

"Dead man, that guy is," Adolf says, looking over the table. "Shame it has to end like that for him. I hope he changes his mind and gets out alive, I couldn't imagine having someone else with us."