[Adm.Lee]

Our next to last game session had an early end scheduled, so I effectively ran it on fast-forward.

The group met up with the smugglers as scheduled, no further midnight disturbances from any marauders. They traded about half of their captured Soviet small arms for passage across the river, some more food, and contact with the Polish Free Legion on the west bank of the Vistula.

In the time between the meeting and the boat-ride, they questioned the now-conscious AWOL from the last game, and he told them about finding the abandoned Scorpion light tank nearby. The mechanic and an escort were sent to check it out. He reported that it had been stripped, but could run at half-speed (Suspension and turret-traverse damage, but not the engine). This appealed to them, so they put some of their dwindling diesel store into it, and drove it to their bivouac. Then, after converting it to alcohol-running, they put the last of their ethanol into it, and started driving to the river. They hoped the tank could at least be intimidating, even if it did suck down all of their ethanol, and then most of their store of methanol on top of that, just getting to the river.

At the river, the boatmen had something big enough to carry the vehicles one at at time, but... not those guys on horseback approaching from upriver! A very brief firefight ensued, with rapid shooting by the sniper team panicking 16 marauders at 220m. Well, panicking the survivors, anyway.

On the west bank of the Vistula, they met a scout from the 2nd Polish Free Legion, who was quite surprised to see a tank coming at him, and 15 Americans asking for more fuel. He showed them a place to stash the vehicles while he led a foot patrol back to his base, where they might trade for more methanol.

{I figured if the Legion has been in place long enough, it can probably scrounge or brew its own small fuel stores.}

At the base village, someone was awfully happy to meet some Marines, sailors and soldiers. -- the DIA liaison officer. He'd just been handed a Soviet battle plan, captured from the 3rd MRD, showing that division swinging southwest from Gdansk through Chojnice to catch the IX US Corps' rearguard in the flank. When the team told him that they had a vehicle, but needed fuel, he was very eager that they make the attempt to drive through.

By now, the team leadership was less than pleased with the relative value of the Scorpion (actually, it was still faster off-road than the 2.5-ton truck), so they offered it, as is, to the Poles, in exchange for 4 days' food and 950 liters of any kind of fuel. AS well, they offered the remainder of their captured Soviet small arms, ammo and grenades. This deal was eagerly accepted and executed. Oh, and some longbows and crossbows were obtained, too.

The Poles provided a guide, who started them on a chain of local guides to lead them on side roads around the Soviets and towards the NATO rearguard. We ended the session with them looking over a Soviet artillery group off the road, between them and friendly forces. This called for an assault, so a little planning was done, and we ended the game.

All set for a big fireworks-show-game-finale!