Completed Let's command Codexers in Syrian Warfare and crush Daesh

[Kalarion]

Vice knowing how the base is holding up, I guess I'll cut across the field to my right and rescue the prisoners, then start heading north toward the Last Target area to help out there. Hopefully others go with me

 

[Darth Roxor]

Also, since for some reason nobody has yet mentioned it, I just have to comment how remarkably retarded that whole "medical IFV" sidequest was. Escort missions, not even once.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Also, since for some reason nobody has yet mentioned it, I just have to comment how remarkably retarded that whole "medical IFV" sidequest was. Escort missions, not even once.

Yeah it is terrible from start to finish. You get no advance warning, it does not check for the situation of the battlefield and if there is a cleared route, the BMP goes full speed (so once it moved past you it is over) following the road (which means it stops to turn at two very dangerous locations) the BMP is the only one of the battle with ATGM, the doctors are “angry citizens”, the script triggers a failure text of the BMP is damaged even if it can be repaired but the mission pointer does not disappear, and of course the whole point of the mission is weird since the battle is still raging so it is not really the time to evacuate anyone.

It really feels like a side mission added at the last moment. I have spotted other scripting issue (empty mini-bus) so it feels like this mission was poorly tested. The missions in the campaign are overall way better.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Rebels open fire on humanitarian convoy in east Aleppo

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (3:00 P.M.) – Earlier today, a group of jihadist rebels opened fire on another humanitarian convoy in east Aleppo, wounding one journalist from Al-Ikhbariya TV that was traveling with aid workers.

According to a local source, a rebel group fired artillery shells towards the convoy, hitting a humanitarian aid vehicle that was traveling through the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway this afternoon.

The Russian military has opened four humanitarian corridors in east Aleppo today; however, the jihadist rebels prohibit any civilians from fleeing the besieged Kuweires airbase, despite the desperate situation in the area.

An estimated 50,000-250,000 people still remain in the besieged Kuweires neighborhoods, as both the Syrian Armed Forces and jihadist rebels battle for control of these districts.

 

[Azira]

My orders; Mine the sh*t out of everything, and shoot at the enemy if it tries to attack my comrades from the rear.

 

[vazha]

Return to the original plan, i.e. bring maximum rescue to the prisoners!

 

[ValeVelKal]

Here are the orders I programmed :

I put default orders for :
darkpatriot
SmartCheetah (he said he was going to be less available - I put you in between the two possible targets to use you where needed)
Sukhāvatī (but I know you trust me)
mondblut (blow the last target, then try to change vehicles)
Commissar Draco (help Strange Farouwk accomplish his fate !)
MoistCloister (move toward the last target)
Sergiu64 (target a position overlooking the last target)
taxalot (support Sergiu64)

 

[mondblut]

Here are the orders I programmed :

I put default orders for :
darkpatriot
SmartCheetah (he said he was going to be less available - I put you in between the two possible targets to use you where needed)
Sukhāvatī (but I know you trust me)
mondblut (blow the last target, then try to change vehicles)
Commissar Draco (help Strange Farouwk accomplish his fate !)
MoistCloister (move toward the last target)
Sergiu64 (target a position overlooking the last target)
taxalot (support Sergiu64)

I thought I am reloading?

Shower the "motorized and armored force" then.

Can I repair and ride the enemy T55, insha allah? Or the medic BMP? Stealing their ride sounds like a nice way to break the game

 

[Darth Roxor]

akshually i was referring to these dumpsters here, though i guess they are more like shipping containers, since they are closer to the action

but for obvious reasons i'd rather be moving after egosphere, despite the fence and the dumpsters providing ample cover from the rpg and small arms team

 

[ValeVelKal]

Here are the orders I programmed :

I put default orders for :
darkpatriot
SmartCheetah (he said he was going to be less available - I put you in between the two possible targets to use you where needed)
Sukhāvatī (but I know you trust me)
mondblut (blow the last target, then try to change vehicles)
Commissar Draco (help Strange Farouwk accomplish his fate !)
MoistCloister (move toward the last target)
Sergiu64 (target a position overlooking the last target)
taxalot (support Sergiu64)

I thought I am reloading?

Shower the "motorized and armored force" then.

Can I repair and ride the enemy T55, insha allah? Or the medic BMP? Stealing their ride sounds like a nice way to break the game

I was waiting for you to ask

 

[ValeVelKal]

Well, I run the turn and it was long. I fucked up one order. One of you did a killing removing 4-5 vehicles. One of you has his vehicle in fire, everyone inside dead, and won't get to give more orders.

Now to write. It is going to be long, probable ETA : tomorrow.

 

[ValeVelKal]

XI. Junction !

Let's immediately resolve the Schrodinger BMP-1 situation :

Dayyalu's "opposition" seems pretty light at this point, except one guy running in his direction with a RPG, and some dudes trying to repair that BMP-1 he puts on fire during part X. Syrian Doctors :

Obviously, this being Syria, one guy is repairing, the other one is "guarding" against enemy tanks with his Tokarev pistol ^^.

The RPG fighter shoots at Dayyalu, but misses :

Dayyalu then mows him with the co-axial machine-gun.

Meanwhile, Strange Farouwk tries to kill the person who shot at him with a RPG-7 with his 100mm canon :

The guy has had the time to run to the other side of the building, so he escaped death (but I believe he would be seriously dazzled).

Strange Farouwk not being too keen of staying next to people with RPG-7, he moves away from the buildings, and joins up with Imam Draco :

Finally, the Army Group Side Quest is moving toward their side quest marker. In addition to the isolated militant ducking in a field with his assault rifle, there is a survivor from Sukhāvatī's shelling on the roof of the building with a recoiless rifle, and a bunch of mortars behind :

SmartCheetah engages the mortars, to no effect :

He is punished for his inaccuracy by a direct hit by a mortar, damaging his engine :

Quickly followed by a direct hit from the recoiless rifle, once again doing nothing :

SmartCheetah tries to shoot back at the RR rifle but misses. So does Sukhavati, no more success.

You can see mondblut's rockets flying, sadly I missed their departure. They are heading toward the last enemy compound.


The tank squad is moving toward the airbase HQ, but enemy mobile units try to surround it : One technical with MG ! One BMP-1 !
Not sure what those guys are hoping for.

The BMP-1 even cuts through containers. I am not sure containers are that fragile ^^ :

The Toyota is quickly put out of commission, it was only a danger for Imam Draco manning the MG on the top of his turret.

You can see the arrival of Mondblut's rockets, too .

The BMP-1 shoots at extremely close range at Strange Farouwk. The tank is hit... for no damage.

Checking wikipedia for the BMP-1 canon :

The HEAT warhead can penetrate 280–350 millimetres (11–14 in) of steel armor—more than enough to penetrate the frontal armor of NATO main battle tanks (MBT)s of the 1970s, such as the US M60A1, the British Chieftain or the German Leopard 1. The modernised PG-9 shell is able to penetrate up to 400 millimetres (16 in) of steel armor.

That should have penetrated anything the T-55 had except front turret armor, so either the BMP-1 crew only had an HE shell ready or their shell hit with the wrong angle.

There will not be a second test :

It is a good moment to stop and to show what the rest of the infantry of Army Group Main Quest is doing, while the tank is actually most of the work :

Ah ! And if you wonder about Azira he is mining the access to the village. I guess he hears gunshots and canon in the distance ? Maybe it smells a bit like powder too ? He really mined in the DANGER ZONE !

Back to Dayyālu - a group of new hostiles arrive. 7 Daesh shock troops :

I was worried some of them may have a RPG but on close inspection, they don't :

American and Soviet-made assault rifles, 2 Dragunov, 1 machine-gun.


Dayyalu's machine gun, together with he automatic grenade launcher carried by Andnjord's squad, makes short work of this new infantry group :

But Andnjord is under fire from the roof and from at least one mortar, so I have to make him break combat as soon as the militants are either suppressed or killed, and rush toward the building in construction.

At this exact moment, a technical enters the scene and introduce itselfs by shooting at Dayyalu. The shell misses Dayyalu's tank, but at this point it is pretty clear that RR shells are not too dangerous for tanks anyway.

The BMP-1 in the background also starts to move West :

ANOTHER technical, this one with MG appears on the horizon, and moves toward the same direction as the other technical and the BMP-1

The BMP-1 crew that was patching up their vehicle finishes their task and gets back into their IFV.

Dayyalu gets into "turbo" mode and destroys the RR Toyota first :

The BMP-1 shoots (off-camera) at Dayyalu and misses. Dayyalu does not.

Finally, the last Toyota is intercepted just as it was about to get behind the cover of a building :

All over for Dayyalu for this update. This combat actually took some time, so let's check what happened to Army Group Side Quest meanwhile.

The RR dude on the roof is killed by Endemic , while the assault infantry grenade launcher removes the militant hidden in the field :

Kalarion, transporting vazha, approaches the mortars and starts shooting with devastating effect at close range :

Soon SmartCheetah's machine guns join the fray - remember he is out of HE shells.

Soon enough, there are no more mortars in the area. Nor any hostile, really.

Kalarion approaches the prisoner's compound, while Vazha takes position in a building nearby :

Suddenly :

[for reference, this corresponds exactly in term of time to when I circle "driver dead" during Dayyalu's adventure]

I guess recoiless rifle can be dangerous if you are not in a tank. The driver is dead, but not the soldier manning the KPT :

We can see the prisoners on the roof at this point :

At least two enemy soldiers are killed, but eventually, the recoiless rifle shoots a second time.

Goodbye and thank you Kalarion. You will be remembered as the Duncan Idaho of the group : you came late to the party, killed a bunch of enemies, then died fighting.


So you may be asking : why was Kalarion unsupported. Now that is an EXCELLENT question.

SmartCheetah was resupplying his tank, whereas I had Endemic pick-up Catacombs squad so they could resupply as well :

OK, but Vazha, Vazha was just there ! Why didn't he send an ATGM missile toward the RR truck ?

Excellent question, let's look at Vazha...

Well, SOMEONE had ordered Vazha not to use his ATGM until ordered to do so, because there was only one missile left and there was this accident where SOMEONE sent a missile without order toward a supply truck ripe for the capturing.

Oh well. Vazha resupplied while travelling in the BTR-80 and so Vazha is now allowed to use his ATGM again...

... though he rather decides to use his heavy sniper rifle against the RR Technical :

So this ALSO took a lot of time, and we have one last group to check upon : the Strange Farouwk // Imam Draco duet.

They are now moving toward the airbase HQ :

Imam Draco [aka Commissar Draco] approaches the T-62 from the rear :

... scratch one.

The two tanks are now redeployed toward the last known position of the last known T55A, though possibly it has also retreated West :

In case you wonder, the rest of the infantry approached the last compound without accident :

Incoming the general situation for your order soon.

 

[vazha]

Productive as always, I am.
Rest in pieces son Kalarion , you'll be avenged.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Note that I fully expect the game to spawn troops the minute you free the prisoners .

 

[Egosphere]

I'll take cover behind the containers and assault the building I wanted to occupy in the previous turn. Then, when its clear, secure it.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Obviously, this being Syria, one guy is repairing, the other one is "guarding" against enemy tanks with his Tokarev pistol ^^.

So you may be asking : why was Kalarion unsupported. Now that is an EXCELLENT question.

Because while he valiantly rushed forward, everyone else was too occupied getting beer and cigs from the supply truck, and the one guy who wasn't doing that didn't feel like launching his only rocket.

Yep, sounds like SAA to me.

 

[ValeVelKal]

I'll take cover behind the containers and assault the building I wanted to occupy in the previous turn. Then, when its clear, secure it.

Yeah, actually it does not look like this but very little time passed during the turn (you can see that by how much distance the infantry ran. Sergiu64, taxalot or MoistCloister did not stop running, and Sergiu/taxalot barely reached the top floor of the building when the turn "ended").
Similarly, you arrived where you are mid-turn, but prefered to bandage you and wait for Ar-Rouksor mortar before executing the end of your order. You were not even fully bandaged when I finished the turn.

 

[Egosphere]

I'll take cover behind the containers and assault the building I wanted to occupy in the previous turn. Then, when its clear, secure it.

Yeah, actually it does not look like this but very little time passed during the turn (you can see that by how much distance the infantry ran. Sergiu64, taxalot or MoistCloister did not stop running, and Sergiu/taxalot barely reached the top floor of the building when the turn "ended").
Similarly, you arrived where you are mid-turn, but prefered to bandage you and wait for Ar-Rouksor mortar before executing the end of your order. You were not even fully bandaged when I finished the turn.

Oh yeah I realize that, I'm not complaining. I figure I've been so useless in the past few turns that it's time to finally engage an enemy mano a mano, and what better enemy than an rpg squad?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Hezbollah mourns field commander killed in battle

BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:30 P.M.) – Hezbollah’s media relations released a statement on Tuesday mourning the death of one of their field commanders that was recently killed in battle.

According to Hezbollah’s media wing, their field commander, Mohammad Al-Hajj Kalarion, recently died after sustaining life-threatening wounds during battle.

The Lebanese group did not specify which battle Kalarion sustained these wounds at, nor did they mention which country he was deployed at before his death.

Hezbollah always releases information regarding the death of their fighters, as the Lebanese group hails each man as a ‘shaheed’ (marytr) for their sacrifices.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Good job folks, solid progress this time.

The BMP-1 shoots at extremely close range at Strange Farouwk. The tank is hit... for no damage.

Checking wikipedia for the BMP-1 canon : [...]
That should have penetrated anything the T-55 had except front turret armor, so either the BMP-1 crew only had an HE shell ready or their shell hit with the wrong angle.

See, again, I'm not worried even a little bit. It could've been the Death Star laser and it still wouldn't faze a men of true faith.

Speaking of which: RIP in toblerone, Kalarion. Enjoy your 72 something-or-others

 

[vazha]

The way I see it (correct me if i am wrong), I am basically skulking in front of a building that houses prisoners and is defended by machine gun infanty, small arms and a technical trio. Right? if yes, go in all guns blazing, give them a tour in hell and eventually send them there too (accompany, if needed).

 

[ValeVelKal]

The way I see it (correct me if i am wrong), I am basically skulking in front of a building that houses prisoners and is defended by machine gun infanty, small arms and a technical trio. Right? if yes, go in all guns blazing, give them a tour in hell and eventually send them there too (accompany, if needed).

Well, you understood correctly.

Though you have something they don't : Sniper Rifles. And the technical isn't going to move with the driver dead.

But if you want to go gun blazing, we can do that. I ll send a missile to what's left of the technical before that though.

 

[Azira]

I'm being useful!

 

[Kalarion]

The way I see it (correct me if i am wrong), I am basically skulking in front of a building that houses prisoners and is defended by machine gun infanty, small arms and a technical trio. Right? if yes, go in all guns blazing, give them a tour in hell and eventually send them there too (accompany, if needed).

Classic SAA doctrine. Charge the enemy one at a time while failing to provide fire support!

Farewell brothers! Many of the cowardly sons of drooling hyenas are dead by my hand, and my virgins await. Maybe when vazha arrives and gets his we can do a swap meet or have a barbeque

 

[mondblut]

What, I didn't hit anything?

Okay, if my Grad is empty, let's ride to the medic bmp... trying to stay outside LOS of that enemy small arms remnant unit.