ChalkLine's Desiderata

[ChalkLine]

Reloaded Ammunition: T2K hazards

While I personally don't use reloaded ammunition in my games except for niche calibres as I think the projectiles and primers would probably be more scarce than the ammunition itself, we might want to look into the possibilities in such ammo.
Now, the esteemed reloaders here might want to chime in.

The infamous Turkish 1941 7.92mm Mauser rifle round immediately springs to mind when thinking about poorly stored large scale military chambering (thank you Daniel Thompson for the correction) . Unlike the careful reloads done by nearly all private reloaders these factory loads are infamous for having widely varying pressures and have been known to blow up semi-automatic and automatic firearms and the lighter other types of firearm. Note that many military weapons are designed to be able to bear some high pressure rounds if accidently loaded but if fired enough through the weapon even they will eventually fail too.

So, what's the problem with this stuff?
First off, if the players are swapping brass for rounds (we used to use a 1:10 round:brass ratio) then they might be getting various odd stuff indeed. Primers might be poorly seated, the incorrect type or home made. The projectile might be of the wrong type for a variety of reasons leading to varying accuracy and in some cases even to pressure spikes in the chamber if it is incorrectly sized or weighted. The cases might not properly reconditioned leading to splitting or warping. The propellant is undoubtedly sourced from post-war manufacturing of varying power ranging from the damp-squib to the massive overload that destroys the gun and blows the firer's fingers off. I once saw the aftermath of what happened when a heavy-bore hunting rifle let go and the bolt drove back into the firer's face and it wasn't attractive.

So, as we can see you're taking your life in your own hands with this stuff. It might let you down in combat or actively maim/kill you at worst.

The problem from a game perspective is this is pretty sucky stuff to do to the players, what with the radiation, bandits/military, hunger and so on they have it hard enough as it is. If you think about this aspect you want to warn the players in advance through foreshadowing. Add an extra individual into the combat and have the players find his weapon featuring a stoppage after the fight. Have a friendly person warn you about the ammo from a certain supplier. Give them a chance to be wary. I'd also limit this as to make it extremely rare or they'll just avoid it from then on and that feature of the game will disappear. One game effect is that if your PC's have in your opinion too much ammo than this crap can start to appear and they'll stick to military rounds they trust and offload what is probably garbage. However if you go this route you must be scrupulously fair and have the individuals/events they source this junk off suffer the full effects, if not more so, in combat.

By the way, getting crap ammo off a trader is perfect way of sending the players into a vendetta-driven detour to catch the bastard if their favourite sniper rifle suffers damage.

Players are not numpties who just jam any brass into their weapons. They have their weapon skill to spot bad brass that is visibly defective and also they should have the same skill to notice if the power is varying. Misfires and other mishaps are immediately obvious of course. Give the players either weapon rolls or MEB rolls for 1st edition when they first look at it and you can assume they do check it out unless you're playing a firearms newbie.

A simple table is easy for bad ammo:

01-02 Misfire
03-04 Jammed round
05-19 Functions normally
20-20 Catastrophic failure

You can add variables, some rounds might be just a little crap and give a minus on this table. Some rounds might be death in waiting and add a tiny bonus.
For automatic weapons this is simply unworkable in practice. make an adjudication.

Note that in many cases this ammunition might still have saveable brass.

A final note, some ammunition might be remade to match standards as well. I leave that up to GM adjudication.

[ChalkLine]

Vehicle Wrecks.

First off, Matt Geisler has an awesome page on vehicle recovery and even creating post apocalyptic recycling infrastructure. If you want a sound but unique campaign economy you have to use this.

Everyone loves finding a wreck. Out come the spanners and the players descend on it like a horde of happy little locusts. Woe betide the mechanically-inept GM who has a player with an actual knowledge of working vehicles as the GM will totally misunderstand the players is sneakily building a land battleship with bits. Anyway, it's all good fun.

So, where is some good places to put wrecks?

I like to use what I call the "Fallout Method". Anyone who's ever played the fallout video games knows the devs tell stories with found objects. Just looking at and interacting with the objects builds a narrative that draws players into a story and makes the encounter memorable. "Tank in ditch" says nothing, but saying that beside the tank is some expended medical supplies and spent brass implies the crew fought a last ditch fight beside their stricken vehicle. A drag trail to another position then a sad vignette of some graves show where they didn't get away. The story now sticks in their minds. Usefully these landmarks are also good tactically, you'll hear the players say things like "we'll go back to the tank with the graves and go down the other road".

Apart from that, there has to be a reason why the wreck/derelict is left alone. As such, apart from the standard "abandoned in forest/swamp" encounter, I thought I'd put up some interesting wrecks that might test the problem solving and resources management skills of the players.


- Collapsed Bridge.
As with the M4 Sherman in the image, a heavy vehicle has proven too much for a bridge. Depending on how long it's been there the bridge may have become progressively more unstable. While periscopes, MGs, ammo, fuel and radios are probably gone the actual vehicle's engine and transmission, tracks/wheels etc are still there if they can get it off to say nothing of the perfectly good hull.
There are many ways to get this fellow off the bridge depending on how much work the PCs are prepared to do and players with a week can simply rebuild the bridge right under it.

- Into the Basement.
You need some set up for this. You have to be both in a town and you need an explosion, an untended IED that the players blow in place could be a good one. This brings down an adjacent wall and shows the backside of a vehicle sticking straight out of a basement at an angle where the driver tried to go through the building and went in, bringing much of the building down on the vehicle. Sadly, this is a war grave and the trapped crew couldn't get out. This does mean that while external features such as pintle weapons, smoke launchers and radio antenna are toast the base vehicle is fine. You just have to get it out.
Really, serious earthworks are called for here and if the major structure is still looming over it that needs supporting too. Digging out the rubble, packing in a ramp and shoring up the ruins here are a possible way to retrieve the carcass.

- Glub Glub.
Swimming vehicles don't always make it across. This amphibian rolled over in the river, the crew bailed out and it was swept along until it came up against something. To be blunt, this is going to be a big job not just to recover but to get going again as vehicles detest being submerged. For a start the open vehicle is half filled with stinking mud. Secondly as it's not on its wheels/tracks it resists being extracted, the players have to get lines onto it in such a way that they can right the vehicle, orient it toward the bank and then try and pull it out. Long hours in the river, places open and with little cover, can be expected here. Even just digging the bastard out to where it can be pulled out will take days as even just it sitting flush on the mud makes it almost impossible to recover because of the suction on the hull. However it is totally intact but you can write off the fuel.

- That's Suspicious . . .
This light vehicle is just sitting there in the long grass, looking like it was parked up and the occupants walked away. Well, they did but very carefully. The whole area is simply soaked in aerial mines that have deployed tens of little trip wires in all directions. Demining is up there in the "least fun in the world" category and this roller might not be worth recovering due to the fact you might not be sure you got all of them.

-Yeah, Nah.
This is a variation on the above. This vehicle has been penetrated and the biggest piece of unexploded ordnance the players have ever seen is sticking out of it. Something like a 120mm mortar round minimum, up to a huge honking "Tulip's" 240mm round has landed right next to it and the vehicle is half over the crater with the UXO sticking out.

- I'm Going To Kill That Bastard
A wonderful looking light armoured vehicle is seriously bogged but it looks like a day of work will get it out. It even has all its periscopes and antennas, which is a good sign.
Unfortunately it's in a disputed area and a hostile Observation Post uses it as a benchmark and they dislike people messing with it. First off, the OP crew have a forward observer and the players can expect them to expend either light mortar in 60mm range or automatic grenades on people playing with "their" vehicle. Second off, some annoying bugger with a marksman's rifle takes pot-shots at you if you come close to it from very long range. He moves after a shot or two to avoid counterfire but sure enough he knows it'll take you hours to get it out so he can have another crack at you. All the while the FO is bracketing you with that light artillery. Once you get close to the OP they get serious and the people they are working for counter attack from the flank.

[ChalkLine]

"What's Got These Guys so Angry?!"

During the course of play the party manages to pick up a civilian specialist who has high levels of skill in some area they desire. This person isn't a particularly nice individual, they are fairly transactional in that they constantly demand high levels of remuneration in excess of what their skill is really worth. However they tend to blur into the background like many other NPCs.

This person has a past. Formerly they filled a similar role in a bandit group and during a raid on a regular Soviet military unit they managed to find something of a treasure, although how it is valuable they are not so sure. It is in fact the colours of a Soviet guard unit. The person was spotted by an observation post and marked but jumped ship from the bandits just before the Soviets caught and annihilated them in search of their banner.

Unfortunately, like most people who think they're quite clever the individual has made some fairly simple mistakes. Soviet scouts were tracking the person in addition to their usual duties and made yet another long distance observation when the person joined the player group. The Soviets now consider the player to be not only bandits but looters of war graves, far different from the universal looting that goes on in T2K. As such they have developed something of an obsession about their colours.

Of course, it's simply not true. However no one usually talks to the enemy especially when they're springing ambushes or hunting you through Poland. This individual with the banner has absolutely no loyalty to the group and if they get near a place like Kraków the person jumps ship again, stealing whatever they can from the players (especially a light vehicle) and heads there leaving the players to deal with the furious Soviets.

Once again, the person has no idea of how to cover their tracks. The players will see the Soviets suddenly disengage and head after the thief. It's at this point they might actually talk to the Soviets who, even though this is a loyalist unit and is fighting NATO, is quite prepared to pay in information to get their banner back. They know where a good condition NATO AFV is in bandit territory and if the players were to go into the city to get their flag back they might be willing to part with that information . . .

[ChalkLine]

"Ahh, the old "Medicine Wanted', that's #10".

T2K is an older game, having been around for decades. As such the players start to know what the tables are by heart and the rapidly get accustomed to the "Settlement Crisis" table.
This means they get complacent, and complacency is fun.

#1 "Food Shortage"
All lies, lies I tell you. The settlement is loaded with food, they're just uncomfortable with telling the players how they got it. Maybe it's because they raided a NATO rear area unit, killed everyone and took the food. Maybe they did something similar to a neighbour, or maybe they've taken up a nasty habit of cannibalism. In any case the settlement tries to fob the players off onto getting more food for them. They're adroit liars and skinny kids will be artly displayed all the while the leaders wring their hands about how they won't make it through the winter. If the players do fall for these con men make sure later they meet an aggrieved party who lost their food who can tell them the truth.

#2 "Engineer Needed"
Well, yes they are telling the truth here. Well, most of it.
That's not actually a fertilizer/pesticide factory they're building but a chemical weapons outfit, something the players might have strong views on - especially when the settlement uses it on some rather inoffensive neighbours. It's very easy to convert between the two.

#3 "Ammunition Shortage".
Alas, they're telling the whole truth here, these guys really need ammo and lots of it. However later on an OPFOR unit tells the players they've just armed a bandit group preying on the local people they protect and if they don't remedy their blunder they'll stomp them hard with their T-80s.

#4 "Impending Attack".
Once again, the literal truth except it's either a retaliation raid from people they've been persecuting or a police raid by a NATO unit for the crimes of banditry. It'd be embarrassing to lay mines and wire, set up fire lanes and organise training to then later get a call from a desperate group of friendlies who are getting cut up in the defences.

#5 "Internal Unrest"
Do the players unknowingly root out NATO sympathisers?

#5 "Rampant Corruption"
This actually happens in real life unfortunately. Friendly outside groups try and root out corruption only to realise they've blundered into a situation where groups of oligarchs are brutally vying for power, all the while hiding inside the government. However it can turn into a fun "Fistful of Dollars" scenario.

#7 "Citizens Kidnapped"
Dodgy elements have abducted poor starving civilians, punish them! Except they can range from star-crossed lovers absconding to desperate fugitives trying to tell local forces about the vicious repression in the settlement based on arbitrary grounds. Maybe it's simply someone skilled who's left a small town for a bigger one with more scope for their services and if they're returned the settlement hamstrings them right in front of the players to stop the absconder running off again.

#8 "Mechanic Needed"
What seems like a desperate call for help on closer inspection turns out to be the local petrol-heads want to soup up their Polski 125p Fiats so they can race laps around the settlement. Of course "we need to get as much speed as possible to evade the patrols" is the excuse given, but the players later on see them running a post apocalyptic derby without a care in the world.

#9 "Epidemic, Doctor Needed" and #10 "Medicine Wanted"
Really, it's because these people simply refuse to use good sanitation and when an outbreak occurs they send well-meaning players off to capture/liberate/steal a stronger medication than is needed. Later on the players find evidence they sold the stuff to the enemy for a nice profit. If the players then return and demand explanations these glib bastards state the enemy requisitioned it and could the players please go get some more?

[ChalkLine]

Kraka
(Kraftkarren "Faun" "Lkw 0.75 t gl Kraka Type 640")

Once again, the cute vehicles keep coming.

This little vehicle was in service with Bundeswehr airborne troops from the early 1960s to the 1990s, well within the "retention envelope" of the Twilight 2000 war.

Although it was originally a simple cargo carrier it was developed into a bewildering array of weapons carriers (Waffenträger) that mounted either an MK 20 Rh 202 20mm autocannon, a MILAN or TOW (6 missiles) ATGM, a 120mm mortar and even a ten barrelled MLRS I can't find any information on as Germany only had heavy MLRS systems at the time, perhaps someone can enlighten us or it was an prototype of some type.

There was also a two and a four (very cramped) cot medivac vehicle.

As usual, Paul Mulcahy has stats (Kraka 640) 🙂
http://www.pmulcahy.com/light_uv/german_luv.htm

[ChalkLine]

Ambush

Please note: this is a simplistic game style post on ambushes. Like most military activities this seems to be an incredibly complex activity.

Twilight 2000 has some very cheerful and optimistic ideas about travel movement. In reality it would be likely that survivors will make only a fraction, if any, of the stated possible movement due to the fact that they have to be constantly on the lookout for ambushes.

By the time the US 5th Infantry Division (Mech) and its added units are crushed at Kalisz both its members and its opponents are extremely competent (if tired) soldiers. Like NATO troops, Eastern Bloc soldiers are not orcs or morons and they will not mindlessly attack in a frontal fashion and line up to die. They do not advertise their existence until the time is right and just tooling along the roads keeping a lookout simply is not feasible. Sooner or later you will die.

The Ambush Commander.
If the ambushing unit has an officer he will assess the situation and first of all decide whether if it's worth engaging at all. Note that this can be worse than a hasty ambush, this individual simply sends some sort of message to a higher command who makes notes on the players and assigns the optimum sized force to deal with them. This means that when the ambush does occur it will be an order more complex and deadly.

The ambush commander needs good intelligence and this is supplied to him by his forward observation posts (OP). These small groups stay hidden at all costs and simply relay information. Note that if the ambush fails they probably will never even engage and this means that the failed ambush will become knowledge to enemy commands when they can contact them. If they are not equipped with radios then a runner is required. This means the OP must be closer to the ambush commander’s command post (CP) and lowers response time. Otherwise signals can be relayed via optical methods such as flags, lights or similar. The usual method used by most armies is known to NATO as “SALUTE” and is this format:

Size and/or strength of the enemy.
Actions or activity of the enemy.
Location of the enemy and direction of movement.
Unit identification. The designation of the enemy unit may be derived from unit markings, uniforms worn, or thorough information provided by enemy prisoners.
Time and date the enemy was observed.
Equipment and weapons observed.

It should be noted that Eastern Bloc troops are fully aware that NATO troops can inflict heavy casualties beyond what their numerical size might imply, just like they can. If the ambush commander is directed by higher command to engage or if they consider that they have adequate assets to deal with the players then the next step is undertaken. Note this means that players might get an encounter rolled and never even see it as the ambushers decide not to engage and simply let the players roll past.

With this knowledge in hand the ambush commander hands over the tactical implementation of the ambush to the senior NCO under a set of guidelines that lay out what the commander wants to achieve. There are several sorts of ambushes, the obvious first that comes to mind is the annihilation of the enemy force but others might a shoot-and-scoot ambush that degrades the enemy’s ability to move, degrades essential equipment, vehicles or weaponry, force the ambushees to flee in a specific direction (usually into a worse ambush) or simply a delaying attack that forces the ambushees to deploy and slow down.

Remember that the CP and the OPs do not engage, it is far more important that these units stay intact so that the result of the ambush is known to command. Communications and medical staff are with the CP. The CP supervises the ambush and monitors its progress. If the ambush commander decides to call off the attack then the command is passed to the senior NCO who pulls his people out while the security element covers their retreat.
Ambushes can happen in any area at any time and in any condition. Just because a choke point is there doesn’t mean the ambusher utilises it. In fact some ambushes take place just in front of choke points which force a unit to deploy to check it out.

The ambush should have two initial priorities:
- cause as many casualties as possible.
- significantly degrade the ambushed force’s mobility.

Other priorities such as the destruction of heavy weapons, command and control, communications and so on come immediately after. The first priority significantly affects the second; heavy casualties usually cause an ambushed unit to stall in place. The priority on the degradation of movement is because the primary defence of an ambushed unit is to utilise as much mobility as possible to escape the killing zone (KZ) where the ambushing group is oriented to maximise their firepower. Normally a unit that is ambushed will turn their weapons in all directions to suppress the ambushers and speed through the KZ and out.

Most actual targets are usually obvious. If the OPs have decided the composition and deployment of the ambushees the heavy weapons will be placed so they have flank shots into armoured vehicles. Exposed drivers and gunners can be ready to die first. Automatic weapons will generally be in positions to either engage unarmoured vehicles or the places where armoured vehicles deploy their dismounts.

Ambush Element
The ambush element usually takes the shape of two distinct groups;
-Assault Element
This is the largest group and they do the actual killing. Their deployment will be covered in the next section. The ambush element should always be sited in a position where each ambusher’s arc of fire overlaps and no safe zones can be created.
- Security Element
This group covers the KZ escape routes and also guards against enemy reinforcements.

Ambush Deployment
Each ambush is different. However there are three very common ambush deployment types:
-Linear Ambush
In this ambush the assault element is along the flank of the ambushed force’s line of march and the security element is at either end and behind the assault element. This is a weak ambush, the ambushees rear element can pivot and attack the security element and possibly roll up the assault element’s line. It is suitable for a hasty ambush where the ambush element can withdraw quickly.
- L-Shaped Ambush
A more dangerous proposition. The bulk of the assault element is once again parallel to one side of the ambushee’s line of march but another element closes off the front of the line. This sort of ambush can occur easily in a built up area where the ambushees head into a T Junction. As the ambushees deploy to face the flanking force they are taken again in the flank by the end element.
- V-Shaped Ambush
The worst of the ambushes in some ways as there is almost nowhere to go that is safe. In this situation the ambush element is set up in a “V” shape that envelops both sides of the ambushees. A high level of discipline is required as friendly fire among the ambushers is possible.

Explosive Devices.
While not a feature of all ambushes and rarely a feature of hasty ambushes explosive devices add a level of lethality and disruption to an ambush. Untended devices such as mines can block off the apparent exit to the KZ and stall if not actually destroy vehicles in a secondary KZ. Command operated explosives can decapitate command or destroy heavy units in a single strike. Command detonated explosives often but not always initiate the ambush, and some can be placed in areas that ambushed forces take cover or try to manouevre through to evade the KZ. Note that IEDs are not a 21st century phenomenon, they were used extensively during the Second World War and even more so during the US-Viet Nam War. Unused munitions will be collected after the attack and reused. Note that by the 1990s command/victim-activated detonation fuzes were supplied for the fuze wells of all mortar and artillery shells. Note that these things simply can’t appear anywhere and due to their nature might give away signs of their emplacement. A hasty ambush might have tell-tale command wires going into a nearby object. Small culverts under roads are extremely suspect and even rubble piles from collapsed walls that spill onto the street might need to be checked out.

A command detonated device needs an operator who usually oversees the location of the device. This can be well hidden, this individual doesn't even have to fire a weapon so they can be for instance deep in a building and just detonate the explosive when radioed or he observes his required target occupy the location of the explosive.

Artillery
For ambushes the automatic grenade launcher and the mortar are the artillery par excellence as they can rapidly saturate an area with explosives.
Poor Conditions.
Generally in most campaigns the Eastern Bloc forces do not have parity in night observation devices. They are well aware of this. If a night ambush is mounted and they feel they have insufficient NODs they’ll simply bathe the area in flares.

Leakers
Some of the ambushees will probably escape. The enemy don’t let these individuals disappear from their minds, they actually expect some to get away. They’ll be vigilant for their appearance. Survivors will be questioned for the composition of the force and the OPs will be on the lookout for the escapees.

Game Play.
As you can expect, this would be a slaughter of player characters.
First off, the players are probably going to want to avoid roads of any type if at all possible. I haven’t even mentioned the carnage that something like an ancient T-55M2 firing down a kilometre or two of open road from a hull-down, concealed position onto the ambush site can achieve. The best way to not get into these positions is to avoid them entirely. As such rigorous scouting is needed, the players are by definition in Indian Country and this sort of bloodbath can happen at any time.

Second off, the GM must understand that the enemy isn’t sitting around with their fingers on the trigger. The skill of the enemy cuts both ways; they won’t expend themselves stupidly and for no point on a risky and unworkable ambush most of the time. If the players appear suddenly, adroitly avoid the ambush site and motor off they’ll probably just swear at them and try and report the encounter. Sure, the higher command might make a note of the players but if there’s a lot of bandit activity they might well consider them a lesser threat.

Finally, if worse comes to worse pop smoke and bug out.
The ambushers can’t cover every option. Obscuration might limit the players ability to react but it does the same for the enemy. Find a weak point in the KZ and punch a hole in it. Yes, the players have to write off the fallen and wounded but that’s what happens in an ambush. Maybe they can scout them out and recover them later.

[ChalkLine]

Those odd Eastern Bloc camouflages.

Have you ever noticed how some of the mid-Cold War uniform camouflages seem to have little actual camouflage value?

It came out of a German, I don't know if it was Second World War or East German, study that showed that solid colours were better for moving troops. Evidently "busy" camouflages draw the eye if the soldier is actually moving.
The Germans thought that the individual soldier was more vulnerable when he was a fleeting target and quickly moving from position to position and as such created the various "rain drop" camouflages that they considered the best compromise. When the soldier was stationary they were to use fieldcraft to avoid detection.

As friends who served in Afghanistan have told me that people wearing literally black and white blocks of colour can disappear into the terrain it might have had some validity as a concept.

The Russians were never convinced though and adopted a variety of more conventional blocky style camouflages.

(East German and Polish uniforms for examples. Note that the Polish first echelon troops had a different colour camouflage in the T2K setting)