H.T.[IC-C1]-"Poland has not yet been lost"

[Tracian Empire]

Humanity's Twilight
IC- Chapter One
Poland has not yet been lost...

Links
OOC
Aliens Map
IC

Created on behalf of the International Northwestern Union

---

"No matter what happens, no matter how many of them die, the soldiers in Poland have to hold their ground! Any retreat shall be punished by death!."
~Warsaw Pact Command, before the Battle of Warsaw..

---

1978. The BETA assault in Eastern Europe has continuously pushed back the Warsaw Pact forces, defeating them in countless battles. From their main hive in Minsk, the Belorussian SSR, the aliens are now threatening the whole of Eastern Europe, and the situation seems to be grim for the humans, who simply can't seem to be able to stop the BETA..
After the crushing defeat at Bialystok, the Western Theater Forces of the Warsaw Pact have been pushed back to the middle of Poland, desperately setting up an "Absolute Defense Line" , that passes through the cities of Gdansk, Warsaw, and Lublin. Caught up in a seemingly hopeless situation, the leaders of the Warsaw Pact nations have finally accepted NATO and UN help, but it might be too late... as a giant horde of 300,000 BETA's is heading for Warsaw, the WarPac forces are ready to protect the capital of the Polish People's Republic by any means necessary.. even if it means killing the civilian rebels who rose up against the communist oppression. Since the NATO help is just now crossing the GDR, NATO volunteer troops have been sent to Warsaw by airplane, getting caught in an unexpected BETA attack that decimates their numbers. Now, the NATO survivors have to resist together with their former enemies in a city that has been turned to hell. Until help arrives, Warsaw must not fall. Until the battle ends.. Poland has not yet been lost.

---

[Tracian Empire]

Warsaw. Capital of the Polish People's Republic. Official Center of the Warsaw Pact. A true, living hell for the 2 million Warsaw Pact soldiers who are desperately fighting back the BETA advance. And now, the chaos in which the few thousand NATO volunteer soldiers who survived have just arrived. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here...

The situation in the city was really, really bad. Large BETA forces were approaching at full speed, as the WarPac forces were still preparing their defenses on the Absolute Defense Line imposed by the High Command, the Vistula River. Forced by their political officers, the soldiers of the totalitarian states are ready to do anything to hold that line, even if it means crushing in blood the civilian rebellion that threatens the center of Warsaw, led by the Solidarity movement. But for the NATO soldiers who just arrived here... they will also have to hold the line. By all costs. Until help arrives from the NATO and UN forces, Warsaw must not fall...

[Tracian Empire]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-5.00.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River

A disaster. That was the only way to call it. Responding to the desperate help calls of the Warsaw defenders, the NATO High Command, whose forces were still crossing the Iron Curtain, decided to send a force volunteer soldiers to Warsaw in front of their main forces, by airplane. With all the problems on their way here, only a few transport planes managed to reach the Warsaw-Okecie Airport, others being redirected to other places in Warsaw or Poland. After the planes landed on the runways, WarPac officers started to lead the NATO soldiers out of them.

The Warsaw-Okecie Airport... it was pretty chaotic. Artillery and gunfire were heard from somewhere further into Warsaw, and the place was guarded by a few East German soldiers. Wounded soldiers occupied a corner of the airport, screaming, in pain, some of them with limbs ripped apart... but the chances of them being actually evacuated where also pretty low. Most of the soldiers around here... simply seemed to have lost all hope.

In the other part of the airport, STASI and KGB units were taking out civilians out of trucks, tying them up, and putting them with the backs at the walls of the main terminal... shooting them after that, a bloody mass of corpses having already been massed up. It didn't matter that the Westerners were here, all rebels had to be executed, and the political officers continued the massacre.

.
"All NATO soldiers, please round up in the place indicated by our officers.", a seemingly Russian officer spoke in a megaphone in a not too perfect English. "NATO soldiers, you will be distributed to WarPac units until the main Western force arrives. Please present yourself to the units our officers indicate."

Welcome to Warsaw. Welcome to the Eastern Bloc.

[The Tophat Empire]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-5.00.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Major Wiking Björnsson

"well, ain't this a nice mess NATO HQ sent us into" wiking muttered as he walked out of the transport plane, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, there where not many that made the trip, some dumbass back in washington had forgot that the BETA have dedicated AA units, Laser-types. "Alright men, move out, to not interfere with the russians, we are in their backyard now, like it or not. Form up outside the planes. Fortunately our planes all made it, that means we also got a few wheels to use" Wiking shouted to his men, a full company of men, 80 all in all. After that he turned around and walked out, AK4 clipped to his harness, after him his men started to march out, grouping up where they were told in their squads.

Before long he heard the familiar sound of caterpillar tracks on tarmac, and true enough, a few pbv 301 came rolling along, as well with a sight for sore eyes, 2 S-tanks. The armour stopped close to the infantry and a tank commander popped their head out and shouted out wikings name.

Wiking half tan to the tank and made a agile jump onto the tank "Who is this lots commanding officer, sir?" the tank man said, wiking replying with "That would be me, Bjrösson is the name, and Major is the rank, CO of the infantry part of this operation, who is your?" Wiking knew that the tank unit where suppose to have another commander, that would also be wikings superior as well. The crewman shook his head "Major Karlsson's transport was shot down, some survived, they are 50 klicks away, on their way. You are our new commanding officer." he said.

wiking nodded and a made a quick reply before jumping off "Drive up with the rest of our men, look confused until the russians tell you where to go, remember we will still follow swedish law however, and have the right to refuse orders". Wiking Looked around after a polish soldier and asked to talk to a high ranking officer, making sure to point out the potential language barrier, asking for a translator.

[Spindle]

Leslie stepped off of the plane to the sound of a scream cut off by a gunshot. She cringed at that, her brightly coloured identification badge slapping against the lapel of her lab coat. In the distance, she could hear the constant rumble of artillery, like thunder. Only this thunder was constant. As her eyes roved across the airport, she discovered that not all of the background noise was the rumble of guns. There was also a continuous, low moaning emanating from the rows and rows of wounded soldiers. Some had gory blossoms where they had once had arms, some were simply opened up like cans, ropes of intestine clearly visible from where she stood. And the smell...blood, sweat and worse all mingled together and produced something worse than the sum of its constituent parts.

Stumbling slightly at the bottom of the steps, Leslie looked around for any sort of pointer in the maelstrom of noise and people all rushing around. The only reference points she could find were the heavyset, scowling men who were dotted around...oh, and the thick carpet of corpses which was being deepened even as Leslie watched in horror. Flies covered the dead bodies like some kind of perverted funeral pall, swarming into the air every time another gunshot rang out into the air before slowly setting back onto their victims.

A thickly accented voice came from a man with a megaphone, requesting that they move into the designated areas so they could be...sent to WarPac? But she was an observer! It said so on her name badge! For a moment she froze, then she turned and scurried over to the man with a megaphone. He could help her out, right? After all, this was probably just a mistake of some sort, right? They could just sort it out and she'd be back with Henry and Joseph and Margo.

"Umm...excuse me?" She asked the officer timidly, "Um, I think there's mix-up I'm with the TTT group, not as a volunteer and...well...could you help sort it out, please?"

[Tracian Empire]

The officer looked at the British woman, remaining quiet for a few moments, before he started to laugh. The WarPac soldiers around him seemed to be scared for some reason... and the reason was clearly his position. The emblem he had on his uniform... the shield with the red star and the sword. KGB. The Soviet Committee for State Security.
"A mix up? Possible.", the Russian said in his thick accented English after he stopped laughing."But sorry miss, there's nothing I can do. Orders from Moscow. Everybody who can fight, whether they're WarPac or NATO, shall be sent to fight. The BETA forces are closing in to the Vistula, we're not in a position to be picky." The Russian then pointed at a group of seemingly East German soldiers who were rounding up other NATO soldiers, led by a young, blonde haired NVA officer.
"Go and join that German unit there, it will absorb most of the NATO personnel who has arrived. Survive this fight, and then, you can surely send a request to the High Command to be sent back to your group or something.". The Russian smiled. "Welcome to the troops of the Warsaw Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance!"


Meanwhile, the Polish soldier quickly brought an officer of the Polish People's Army to Wiking and his troops, and luckily, the Polish man was speaking English, more or less. The officer seemed to be in a hurry, as he looked at the NATO soldiers for a few moments before he started to speak. "Welcome to Warsaw, I guess... you'll be put in a mixed up regiment we're currently creating, under East German command.", the Polish officer said in an English with a light Polish accent."Report to that NVA group over here. Your mission will start soon. Good luck.". Pointing at the same group of East German soldiers, the officer then turned around and left.

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

3rd Special Purpose Artillery Brigade, Nationale Volksarmee
T-4.30.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Walter Von Stuffenburg
After a 54 hours of preparation the large Schwehr Gustav gun was ready to fire, recently built and based on the Schwerer Gustav that served in the Great Patriotic War. There was no time for a new design, only a few minor improvements that slightly increased the range, and other very slight improvements. He looked at the giant gun, ready to fire, an antique of WWII now being pressed into service. Of course, there were other guns, but the large railgun required the lion's share of the brigade's resources in order to fire, he hoped that it would actually work against the BETA. From the reports he got it appeared that large caliber shells appeared effective against them, he hoped those reports were right. The 3. Sonder Artillerie-Brigade was formed by the desperate East German government using old WWII era German equipment, and was supplied by sub par draftees that were rejected from other German artillery brigades, however Stuffenburg was able to turn the rag tag bunch of men and women into a well oiled machine, in the short time allotted before the brigade was pressed into service. While, lost in his thoughts Lieutenant Conrad Weld, the leader of the recon party that was sent to sight the Vistula River. Something that would be needed once the BETA come across the river.

"Guten tag Herr Stuffenburg, This is the artillery sighting table that we created for this area. You will need it for the coming confrontation, rumor has it that the BETA are coming in with everything they got." The young lieutenant said handing him the sighting report.

"Danke, Leutenant Weld, you and your men can take a rest you have deserved it. You will be needed later on"

The lieutenant saluted, and walked away to the barracks. Von Stuffenburg later turned to the rest of his brigade, they would soon be in for the fight of their life. He hoped that the training with the heavy gun will prove enough to stop the alien advance.

"Alright soldiers, during the last few weeks when this big gun is being set up, we have the entire designated engagement area pre sighted, and this large bad boy will shoot any BETA, that dare cross the river. We will crush them in a blow of righteous fury, and destroy the aliens here at the Vistula. Comrades we have to remain firm here, and defeat a threat that can destroy us. However, we are the best, and we can push them back, because we have the spirit of socialism to guide his to victory!"

The troops cheered for his little speech. He was about to inspect the Warsaw-Okecie Airport when a Polish soldier ran up to him, and saluted him. He returned the favor, and the soldier told him bad news.

"Sir, the Polish army has taken heavy losses, and they are within a few hours until they reach our positions near the Vistula. High command has ordered that no retreat will be tolerated, and the punishment for such an act is immediate execution. " The soldier said

"I understand, I was just going to Warsaw-Okecie Airport to coordinate efforts with the other generals in order to discuss strategy with the other generals, and commanders of the operation."

"Yes sir, proceed" The Polish soldier said and Stuffenburg continued on his way. However, it appeared to him that his commanders will not let him retreat from now on. Although, the Vistula river was great for defending, the flat terrain of Poland favored the BETA forces, and their lasers. His original intention was to fire a few rounds, before withdrawing in good fashion to take up a more mountainous defensive position. However, Warsaw Pact general strategy did not allow him to do that, so he had to stand his ground.

Status of
3. Sonder Artillerie-Brigade

3. Sonder Artillerie Batterie
1- Schwerer Gustav-Operational, well supplied
4-21 cm Kanone 39-Operational, well supplied
12- 17 cm Kanone 18-Operational, well supplied

3. Sonder leichte Artillerie-Batterie
24-10.5 cm leFH 18M-Operational well supplied

3. Flakverling Batterie
42-3.7cm Flak 43-Operational well supplied

3. Signale Battalion-Full strength, well supplied
3. Reconnaissance Battalion-Full strength, well supplied
3. Grenadier Regiment-Full strength, well supplied
3. Sonderpioneer Regiment-Full strength, well supplied

Tactical doctrine:
3. Sonder Artillerie Batterie shall do a reverse creeping barrage having the shells slowly retire near to our lines
3. Sonder leichte Artillerie-Batterie shall provide fire support near the frontlines, and are ordered to concentrate their fire
3. Flakverling Batterie shall be distributed to one highly defensible strongpoint concentrated together
3. Signale Battalion will maintain contact with other units
3. Reconnaissance Battalion will defend the 3. Sonder Artillerie Batterie by scouting for any approaching BETA units, and fight a rearguard action if necessary
3. Grenadier Regiment will defend the 3. Sonder Artillerie Batterie, and fight a rearguard action if necessary
3. Sonderpioneer Regiment will prepare defensive positions for the 3.Grenadier Regiment

[Spindle]

When the man began to laugh, Leslie's blood boiled. What was so funny? She was in the way of harm here! She could die! Now wasn't the time for someone to be making fun of her because some paper-pusher back in London had mixed up her papers! Her fists curled ever so slightly and she prepared to berate the idiot as a wave of hot anger surged through her. Then, like a wave receding, the anger was gone and Leslie was left with an acute sense of the size differential between her and the burly Russian.

Following his finger to a group of East German soldiers with the NATO volunteers, she considered pleading her case further. After all, this wasn't where she was meant to be! Couldn't the man see that? But a glance at his coldly smiling face warned her that such an approach was unlikely to succeed and so she nodded once, jerkily, and made her way towards the group, her hand brushing the pistol strapped to her hip. She'd practised with it a few times and she'd gotten the hang of the recoil, but she wasn't a fighter. Not by a long shot. A deep, instinctual panic welled up inside her, but she held it down, barely.

Looking at the faces surrounding her, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind. Everyone here was that much larger than her, either in height, width or both. More than one was carrying some kind of firearm with them, all of them looking far more lethal than her own pistol, a pea-shooter by comparison, and they all seemed perfectly comfortable and fluent with their weapons. As if they'd been born wearing them. Leslie still wasn't used to the unfamiliar weight on her hip, pulling her off-balance and tugging at her attention at all times. She hated it, she hated this place and she hated whoever had screwed up with the paperwork. But she'd just have to survive the upcoming battle and get transferred...a shudder ran up and down her spine at the thought.

[Tracian Empire]

It was quite obvious that the lab coat wearing woman was soon going to attract the attention of everyone around. Not only that she was standing out among the uniform wearing soldiers, but she also wasn't armed, didn't spot the marks of any military force or alliance, and didn't even seem to know what she was doing, among all these soldiers that clearly had orders to follow and stuff to do. She didn't even look as a soldier, after all. Maybe the NATO soldiers would have been surprised by something like this, but for the WarPac soldiers, who had already got countless civilian "volunteers", it wasn't that strange.

"Don't tell me that you want to fight with that.", an East German soldier said, stopping next to her. The East German was what one could consider a typical German, with fair skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair, and was wearing the grey uniform specific to the Nationale Volksarmee. Surprisingly though, he was speaking English fairly good.
"You're going to need something far more powerful if you want to kill aliens.", the German said, giving her a red armband, as the Warsaw Pact soldiers, who were wearing similar ones, started to give to the NATO soldiers."Do you know how to use an assault rifle? Grenades? A RPG launcher?"

[Spindle]

Leslie looked up sharply as one of the WarPac soldiers approached her with a red armband. He was...German? He certainly looked it, with his light-blonde hair and crystal-clear azure eyes. And his accent sounded German, although his English was surprisingly good when compared to the officer who'd sent her over here in the first place, so she assumed that he was Eastern German. As he mentioned her weapon, her eyes dropped to it for a moment. It had certainly seemed dangerous enough when she'd been issued it. Hell, she'd sprained her wrist the first time she tried to use the damned thing! An odd flare of possessiveness surged through her at the thought. And besides, it was a link back to London.

"I don't know." She muttered, eyes dropping to the floor, "I've seen people using them before, but...I just don't know. I've seen them being operated before, a hundred times, but I've never...never used one. Not myself."

[The Tophat Empire]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-4.50.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Major Wiking Björnsson
Maestro

Wiking listen to the polish officer, making sure to take make a mental note of his name and unit, he did not know how well the rest of his new comrade spoke english. As the polish officer wished him good luck wiking saluted and replied and pretty decent polish "Thank you sure, i wish you the same" before turning around and running back to his men, they where working on a small time frame, so there was none to waste.

"Command squad on me!" he ordered in swedish, waiting for the members of his squad to gather round, "We are supposed to report to that NVA group there. Get a line to the tanks, whatever happens, they go with us, i am not planning on losing those 103's in warsaw. we only have 4 301's, so in want first platoon to get access to them, we and 2nd will walk. Move it" he continued, his men dispersing to inform the rest of the swedish unit.

Before long the swedish unit had moved up, and received the red armbands. They took them on and returned into their squads, the corporals and sergeants having thier men make final preparations, check their bags. A exercise that was run over and over again.

Wiking on the other hand walked up to a NVA officer that spoke english or polish, making a short salute he said "Major Björnsson, reporting 1st swedish special purpose unit in poland ready for action. However, if at all possible, i request transport for 40 men to the combat zone. That plane was shot down enroute"

[Tracian Empire]

Leslie looked up sharply as one of the WarPac soldiers approached her with a red armband. He was...German? He certainly looked it, with his light-blonde hair and crystal-clear azure eyes. And his accent sounded German, although his English was surprisingly good when compared to the officer who'd sent her over here in the first place, so she assumed that he was Eastern German. As he mentioned her weapon, her eyes dropped to it for a moment. It had certainly seemed dangerous enough when she'd been issued it. Hell, she'd sprained her wrist the first time she tried to use the damned thing! An odd flare of possessiveness surged through her at the thought. And besides, it was a link back to London.

"I don't know." She muttered, eyes dropping to the floor, "I've seen people using them before, but...I just don't know. I've seen them being operated before, a hundred times, but I've never...never used one. Not myself."

Hearing her say that, the East German sighed, and just as if someone was reading his mind, one of the other NVA soldiers spoke to him, in German."Warum senden sie uns nur nutzlose Zivilisten?". The blue eyed German sighed, before he answered to that soldier. "Ich weiß dass nicht. Aber wir müssen mit was wir haben kämpfen.".

Looking at the woman, the German sighed for a third time."I would ask what are you doing in the middle of Warsaw in such a situation, but I guess it doesn't matter..". Taking a fairly heavy looking AK-74 from a nearby crate, the East German gave it to the woman. "You'll have to find a proper uniform as soon as possible, since you obviously can't fight in a lab coat. Take whatever other weapons you want from these crates, we'll try to make a proper instruction later, if not, improvise a little, I don't know.", he said, before taking something that looked like a notepad out. "Welcome to the 7th Special Battalion of the National People's Army, Warsaw Pact Western Theater Forces. Name? Country of origin?"


Meanwhile, another East German officer looked at Wiking, and laughed."Transport? Where do you think you are, Stockholm? You'll walk your asses to the Vistula as soon as possible. Transport? We ran out of gas for the trucks days ago!". The East German seemed to have found this really funny."1st Swedish Special Purpose Unit? Welcome to the 7th Special Battalion of the National People's Army, I am Unterleutnant Georg Jeckeln, Political Officer."

[The Tophat Empire]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-4.50.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Major Wiking Björnsson

"very well, thank you Unterleutnant Jeckeln. Where do you want me and my men, as i said, we are ready to move out, we just need coordinates" wiking replied. He was not to surprised by the answer, but he thought there was no harm in asking, at the very least, he would be able to transport some of his men via the transported vehicles, he would have to figure something out, he needed his men to be as fresh as they could, but alas, he had to work with what he had.

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-4.-15.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Generalmajor Walter Von Stuffenburg
Stuffenburg drove his command car to the Airport. He was way overdue for a conference about strategy with the other Warsaw Pact generals. Being one of the most senior East German commanders in the area, he was expected to come to the conference, When he got out of his car, he got ambushed by a Polish soldier, for some reason Poles always brought bad news today, but this one was different.

"Generalmajor Stuffenburg, the Western volunteers arrived a few minutes ago. Some of them claim to be the cream of the crop. As I understand you require some troops to guard your artillery positions, would you like to requisition a few units from this area, perhaps the 7th Special Battalion?" The Polish Captain said to the general.

'No that would not be needed, we ran out of fuel weeks ago, and our trains, our only method of transportation outside of walking, only works because of the large amount of coal we have stocked up, and that will eventually run out. It is best to keep troops near the front, we do not have the resources to create a rapid reaction force that is able to plug in the gaps. Go along now, I will be back soon enough after the conference" The Polish Captain saluted, and walked away.

When he entered the conference the mood was hectic, and the commanders were panicking. They did not know what to do, the BETA forces overran the might Soviet army, and now the much smaller NVA and Polish Peoples' Army are expected to hold their ground against this foe? Most commanders in the room would have considered retreating, or perhaps surrendering if this was a conventional foe. But, this was not a conventional foe, and defeat or surrender meant certain death.

Von Stuffenburg spoke first he was using Russian as the common language, even though his Russian was not perfect.

"YA khochu, chtoby svyazat'sya mezhdu vashimi yedinitsami i moy, i drugikh artilleriyskikh batarey . Svyaz' mezhdu pekhotnymi chastyami yavlyayutsya ne obyazatel'ny , my ne dostatochno podvizhny , chtoby otvetit' na ugrozu v lyubom sluchaye . YA khochu, chtoby provesti liniyu , nezavisimo ot casulties . Vy dolzhny obespechit', chtoby ne byt' nikakikh otstupleniy , v protivnom sluchaye BETA prorvet nashego obrazovaniya , i srazheniye budet proigrano . My dolzhny podderzhivat' liniyu ."

The officers in room nodded, and drew up a battleplan. The troops were positioned in a forward defensive position, as they could not afford attrition warfare with the aliens. They had to hold the first line, there was not backup plan, as once with the BETA break through it would be impossible to win the battle, any offensive action had to be contained at the frontlines. However, the also had to hold the rear second rate troops defended the artillery pieces, as the BETA are known to dig tunnels, but the large types were not known to do such a thing, and laser-classes are useless when the BETA do such a thing. Once the conference was finished, Stuffenburg returned to his 3. Sonder Artillerie-Brigade, preparing his men for the attack.

[Spindle]

Leslie's eyes switched from the ground to the voice that had spoken in German, the other soldier, with the sapphire eyes, replying too fast for Leslie to catch. If she could have even remembered her secondary school German lessons. God, that seemed so far away now. A different lifetime. Her eyes unfocussed slightly, before coming back into reality when the soldier pressed an assault rifle of some kind into her arms, staggering slightly from the unexpected weight. It took her a moment after regaining her balance to intellectually identify it as an AK-47. Everything just felt so...odd.

"Leslie Mark." She said slowly, in response to the soldier's question, "Great Britain. You?"

As soon as the word slipped past her lips, Leslie snapped her mouth shut and let the rifle dangle from her right hand awkwardly. She'd meant it to be a casual reply, but instead her voice sounded thin and brittle. Like it was about to break. She hated it. Feeling the tug of the rifle in her hand, she hefted it and sighted down the barrel, screwing up her face as she tried to close one eye and squint down the barrel. Her finger traced back and forth across the safety, nervously running across the thin strip of metal.

[Tracian Empire]

"Me?", the East German said, a little surprised about the question, especially since it was asked in such a quiet and thin voice. The German soldier seemed to be completely calm though, in an opposite to the British woman, but his calm didn't come from confidence or anything like that. It would have been clear if anyone would have looked closer at his eyes. That was the calm, resigned look of someone who had already abandoned all hope of surviving this. "Alexander Werther. The German Democratic Republic, if that wasn't clear already."


"Yep, that's the way you should fire it. Never try to fire it from the hip, the AK has an insane recoil, you'll never hit anything.", Alexander as he saw the British woman try to aim down the sights."You also know where the safety is, good. This is the select fire mechanism, you can set it to semi-auto or full automatic fire here. You can fire it up to around 400 meters, with a little bit of luck.", he quickly explained, pointing at parts of the assault rifle."Well, you'll probably be able to handle it. And just in time, the mission is about to begin."

The same Russian KGB officer from before approached the group of NATO and WarPac soldiers, and started to speak in his megaphone.
"Alright comrades, emergency mission from the Warsaw High Command. The BETA are moving faster than expected. If that wasn't bad enough on its own, those moronic Polish rebels have started to attack our forces from the back, near the Vistula. The 7th Special Division of the National People's Army with all its... NATO and Swedish volunteers will advance through Warsaw. The objective is a military warehouse near the Vistula, we've got an entire shipment of MiG 21 Balalaika's there. We'll have to get there before the rebels do, and hold our ground until the STASI units clean the center of Warsaw from rebels. Any questions? "

---

Meanwhile, S-E from the location of the NVA troops advancing to the Vistula Absolute Defense Line, 3rd Special Purpose Artillery Brigade, 8th Special Mechanized Infantry Battalion

A desperate radio message was sent to the 3rd Special Purpose Artillery Brigade and other NVA units outside Warsaw.
To anyone hearing us, this is the 8th Special Mechanized Infantry Battalion. BETA forces have gotten through the Vistula South-East from our position, advancing. We've lost our mechanized units, relying only on infantry personnel. The BETA have mostly Warrior and Soldier Classes, but they also have around one hundred Fort Classes. We can't fight them in our current state! Requesting help to destroy the Fort Classes near the village of Kozienice! I repeat, requesting help! If we can't stop them, they'll threaten the flank of our troops in Warsaw!

[Spindle]

Mentally jotting down the soldier's name, Alexander, Leslie's eyes moved from him to the parts of the weapon he was pointing out. Her thumb traced along the fire select, slowly switching it to burst, then full auto, then back through burst to single shot. The device felt so..alien in her hands. She hadn't liked the pistol, but it had been a necessity. This...this was something that could easily kill someone if she wasn't careful with it. An odd weight settled over her shoulders at the thought. She was literally holding the life of the people around her in her hands right now.

As Alexander explained the range of it, Leslie squinted across the barrel again, figuring out just how far away four hundred meters was. A surprisingly long way away, she discovered, although she was fairly certain that she'd never be able to hit something at that range. Still, it was a lot more than she'd been expecting. And if she could kill a BETA that far away from her...she almost wondered how the Reds had been pushed back to here. Almost.

She was about to ask him what the correct firing procedure was, but Alex indicated the megaphoned officer and she looked as he began his briefing. It was short and to the point...and it sickened Leslie. They were going to be fighting...humans? Even in the face of the BETA? A shudder ran through her body at the thought of it all. Everything here felt wrong. The people were wrong. The objects were wrong. The words were all wrong. More than anything, she wanted to be back in London. Safe. Secure.

But she was here now and the officer had called for questions. Her hand went up, ruler-straight, and she waited for him to indicate that she could speak before she did so, shuffling her feet nervously before she began.

"So, we're fighting...humans?" She asked, hoping desperately that she'd just misunderstood everything. Or that this was just a prelude to the main talk and that she wouldn't have to do this. She didn't care what it was, she just didn't want to have to go and...shoot at people. Even the BETA were preferable to...that.

[Tracian Empire]

Mentally jotting down the soldier's name, Alexander, Leslie's eyes moved from him to the parts of the weapon he was pointing out. Her thumb traced along the fire select, slowly switching it to burst, then full auto, then back through burst to single shot. The device felt so..alien in her hands. She hadn't liked the pistol, but it had been a necessity. This...this was something that could easily kill someone if she wasn't careful with it. An odd weight settled over her shoulders at the thought. She was literally holding the life of the people around her in her hands right now.

As Alexander explained the range of it, Leslie squinted across the barrel again, figuring out just how far away four hundred meters was. A surprisingly long way away, she discovered, although she was fairly certain that she'd never be able to hit something at that range. Still, it was a lot more than she'd been expecting. And if she could kill a BETA that far away from her...she almost wondered how the Reds had been pushed back to here. Almost.

She was about to ask him what the correct firing procedure was, but Alex indicated the megaphoned officer and she looked as he began his briefing. It was short and to the point...and it sickened Leslie. They were going to be fighting...humans? Even in the face of the BETA? A shudder ran through her body at the thought of it all. Everything here felt wrong. The people were wrong. The objects were wrong. The words were all wrong. More than anything, she wanted to be back in London. Safe. Secure.

But she was here now and the officer had called for questions. Her hand went up, ruler-straight, and she waited for him to indicate that she could speak before she did so, shuffling her feet nervously before she began.

"So, we're fighting...humans?" She asked, hoping desperately that she'd just misunderstood everything. Or that this was just a prelude to the main talk and that she wouldn't have to do this. She didn't care what it was, she just didn't want to have to go and...shoot at people. Even the BETA were preferable to...that.

The Russian officer looked at the English woman, seeming to be honestly surprised. Just like many of the other Warsaw Pact soldiers around. If she would have been a full fledged member of an army on this side of the Iron Curtain, she would have probably earned some really bad points from the political officer of her respective unit. But luckily for her, she was from the West, so her ignorant question could be excused.
"Well... да.", the Russian said,shrugging , looking puzzled."Those.. rebels are traitors against the Polish People's Republic, the only legitimate government of Poland, as recognized by both Warsaw Pact and NATO countries. Their act of rebellion against the State and the Party is a clear act of treason, punishable by death. With their defiant acts, they are threatening our forces in Warsaw and on the Vistula River, as they put their own selfish interests in front of the survival of the human race, which is at stake here.". Now fully back to his confident attitude, the Russian continued. "Your orders are to take back that military depot by any means. If that means that you'll have to fight rebels on your way there... that be it. If it means that half of the population of Warsaw has to be slaughtered, that be it, I don't see what the problem is."

The Russian then pointed at the STASI and KGB troops who once again started to bring people that looked like civilians and deserters in trucks, putting them against a wall and shooting them quickly, before going to the next, in the other part of the airport, the screams of the dying people being covered by the gunshots. "That's what should happen to all traitors, after all."

[The Tophat Empire]

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-4.50.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Major Wiking Björnsson

"Any questions" the russian officer said, wiking was about to ask one, but a british woman wearing a lab coat interfered. Wiking was curious on what she was doing here, and decided he would as when time allowed. Listing as the russian officer replied he made some mental notes, he did not like the fact that they might have to shoot humans either, but orders were orders. Wiking made his way up to the british woman, nudged her and whispered "Not sure what your story is, but drop it, the NATO badge will only protect you that much.". Waiting for a reply he intervened once the russian officer was done, clearing his throat he simply said "Sir, who will be the CO of this mission, and what equipment will we face?" His voice carrying a slight english accent to it as it carried his question with force and confidence

[Spindle]

The ground seemed to drop away from underneath Leslie's feet as the officer gave his offhanded, casual reply. Yes, they were to be fighting humans. Something bit into her right hand: only glancing down did she realise it was her grip on her weapon causing the pain. Consciously relaxing her hand, Leslie watched the red rush back into it and making it blush angrily in stark contrast to the dull wood of the grip.

Leslie didn't bother to look where the officer had pointed. She knew exactly what he'd be indicating. Another series of gunshots rang out into the air: another chorus of screams stopped with sickening abruptness. Biting her lip and looking at the ground, Leslie tried to shut the man out as he offered up that final, cruelly casual remark. 'That's what should happen to all traitors, after all.' She wanted so much to do something to help them, to step in and do something, but her body seemed immobilised. It was all she could do to slowly nod her head and mutter quietly, just to the man who had whispered to her.

"...Of course..."

[Tracian Empire]

"The rebels are mostly poorly armed, with assault rifles and improvised grenades, but recent information indicates that units of the Polish People's Army have defected to the rebels. In that case, they might also have tanks and mechanized units.", the Russian explained."If they get to those depots first, they'll also have TSF's... case in which the motherland expects you to die until the last destroying them. We can't let the rebels attack the Vistula Defense Line from the behind.". Most likely, the Russian wasn't exactly caring that there were also NATO soldiers he was speaking to. The STASI and KGB officers around found that pretty fun though. As for the soldiers of the Warsaw Pact armies... they remained quiet. It was clear that they feared the members of the secret polices enough so that they didn't even question this suicidal order.

"Under normal circumstances, this would have been under Polish command, but the PPA isn't exactly in a good state... this mission will be done under the command of the NVA. Political commissar Georg Jeckeln of the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic will serve as the commanding officer.", the Russian quickly declared. After all, this was simply routine. Sending another quickly made up force to the front."You shall show no mercy to the rebels... and you shall take no prisoners. Forget the Geneva Conventions. The NATO volunteers... we can't force you to obey the no retreat or death order, but the STASI officers will supervise our brave troops in this mission. Everything clear?"

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

3. Sonder Artillerie-Brigade
Getting back from the conference with the other generals, Von Stuffenburg planned to further brief his troops further on the mission plan on the mission plan. However, a signals officer ran up to the aged general who was just getting out of the staff car, saluted and proceeded to deliver the news, for some reason Von Stuffenburg could not seem to catch a break today, for random soldiers have been ambushing him non-stop the entire day.

"Sir, we have received a radio message from what appears to be a mechanized infantry formation somewhere near Koziencie, who appears to be in trouble. There is a number of fort classes assaulting their AO with other BETA, do you want to hear the message Generalmajor."

"Put the message through, let us see what predicament our friends have gotten themselves into." The general said

"Jawoh Generalmajor, Gefrieter Schieffen play the message for the Generalmajor." The soldier barked at a radio operator

"Jawoh Leutenant, putting the transmission through right now." The soldier said as he pushed a few buttons.

To anyone hearing us, this is the 8th Special Mechanized Infantry *static*. BETA forces have gotten through the Vistula South-East from our position, advancing. We've lost our mechanized units, relying only on infantry personnel. The BETA have mostly *static*, but they also have *staticFort Classes. We can't fight them in our current state! Requesting help to destroy the Fort Classes near the village of Kozienice! I repeat, requesting help!*static*

"Send a transmission to the mechanized infantry formation" The general told the soldier.

8th Special Mechanized Infantry, we are the 3. Sonder Artillerie Brigade. Give us your coordinates, and spot our rounds, for our guns are ready to fire. Give us some targets, with their coordinates, we are currently training all our guns toward your position.I will also be releasing a regiment of grenadiers to help you hold your position.

"Sir there is another message coming in, this time from the High Command, ordering us to divert fire to the Polish rebels in our rear. " The radio operator said

"Shit, tell them that all our guns are currently engaged in bombarding a BETA breakthrough, and we have no guns to spare."

"Yes sir"

3. Sonder-Artellerie Brigade is currently already engaged with BETA forces, we cannot spare any guns for use against the Polish rebels.

Von Stuffenburg walked over to the chief gunner of the Schwerer Gustav telling him to be ready to fire, he did the same to the other large guns.

Tactical doctrine:
3. Sonder Artillerie Batterie shall start immediate bombardment to aid the 8th Special Mechanized
3. Sonder leichte Artillerie-Batterie shall start immediate bombardment to aid the 8th Special Mechanized
3. Flakverling Batterie shall be distributed to one highly defensible strongpoint concentrated together
3. Signale Battalion will maintain contact with other units
3. Reconnaissance Battalion will start scouting with the 8th Special Mechanized.
3. Grenadier Regiment will be redeployed to support the 8th Special Mechanized
3. Sonderpioneer Regiment will construct forward defensive positions for the 3. Grenadier Regiment

[The Tophat Empire]

"The rebels are mostly poorly armed, with assault rifles and improvised grenades, but recent information indicates that units of the Polish People's Army have defected to the rebels. In that case, they might also have tanks and mechanized units.", the Russian explained."If they get to those depots first, they'll also have TSF's... case in which the motherland expects you to die until the last destroying them. We can't let the rebels attack the Vistula Defense Line from the behind.". Most likely, the Russian wasn't exactly caring that there were also NATO soldiers he was speaking to. The STASI and KGB officers around found that pretty fun though. As for the soldiers of the Warsaw Pact armies... they remained quiet. It was clear that they feared the members of the secret polices enough so that they didn't even question this suicidal order.

"Under normal circumstances, this would have been under Polish command, but the PPA isn't exactly in a good state... this mission will be done under the command of the NVA. Political commissar Georg Jeckeln of the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic will serve as the commanding officer.", the Russian quickly declared. After all, this was simply routine. Sending another quickly made up force to the front."You shall show no mercy to the rebels... and you shall take no prisoners. Forget the Geneva Conventions. The NATO volunteers... we can't force you to obey the no retreat or death order, but the STASI officers will supervise our brave troops in this mission. Everything clear?"

Warsaw-Okecie Airport
T-4.45.00 until first BETA units reach Vistula River
Major Wiking Björnsson

Wiking made quick mental notes of the orders in his head, thinking "ha, they think i will let my men kill surrendered militia, they are wrong". If one could read his mind one would could be forgiven for wondering why this well decorated officer of the swedish army was so hell bent on following these conventions, until one remember that this officer is indeed very young, a mere 25 years old. But for now he would comply, looking back at the officer he replied "Sir, Yes Sir". Now he just had to wait for the words that would start this mission. Wiking started to wonder what men and women he would serve with, and exactly what type this Political commissar Georg was, and why in the name of god they had given military command to a overdressed politician.

[Spindle]

As the officer continued to talk, Leslie felt sweat beginning to bead at her hairline. Tanks? Mechanised infantry? TSFs? She was barely even acquainted with her weapon...how could they expect her to be able to combat those kinds of things? But then again, she'd heard plenty about the conscripts the Reds used. Perhaps they just didn't care whether or not she could fight them. Perhaps they only cared that she would. The idea horrified her. She'd just become a nameless cog in the Soviet war machine.

Her horror deepened as the officer ploughed on with his orders. No prisoners...ignore the Geneva Convention...die until the last. It was almost like something out of one of those propaganda videos, except she was stuck in it. It was real. She was being told to kill prisoners if she found any. Something pitter-pattered against her leg and she looked down to see her weapon shaking violently in her hand. Her left hand reached across to still it somewhat, although the muzzle still trembled in her grip, like a mouse caught by an owl. As another shot rang out from nearby, Leslie fixed her eyes firmly on the ground.

[Tracian Empire]

Alright then. Begin the mission, there is no time left. For the State and the Party!, the Russian said through his megaphone, raising his fist. The Warsaw Pact soldiers in the airport responded by also raising their fists in the air, the classic communist salute, although what they said differed, each saying the same thing in their language.
Für den Staat und die Partei! Dla państwa i partii! Для государства и партии! Pentru Stat și Partid! Az állam és a párt!. he multilingual shouts of the armies of the nations caught under the merciless grip of the Soviets. More or less organized, the varied troops left the airport.

---

7th Special Battalion of the National People's Army
Under the High Command of the Eastern Army Group of the German Democratic Republic
Warsaw, Capital of the Polish People's Republic
T-4.00.00 until first BETA units reach the Vistula

After equipping the received volunteers as best as possible, with spare uniforms and weapons, the 7th Special Battalion left to their mission. Around 300 soldiers, both from the NATO and almost all states of Warsaw Pact, the 7th was truly a multilingual batallion, with the WarPac members now having to speak Russian between themselves, and English when possible with their new allies. While some of the units, like the Germans and the Swedes were fairly good eqquiped, the quality of the equipment and morale of the others were quite...questionable. At least, they had a couple tanks with them, the Swedish ones, and some T-64's they managed to get. Even so... if they would have had to fight the BETA... yeah. It was better that they had to fight humans, probably just as poorly armed as they were.

The situation in Warsaw was more than chaotic. The main Warsaw Pact units were stationed in defensive formations near the Vistula river, with the Warsaw acting as the outpost in the front of the line. What was on the other side of the Vistula was already destroyed in the last battles. As for the rest of Warsaw... Soviet and Polish units were holding the more important places like the Parliament, but the rest was in the middle of a bloody guerrilla fight against Polish street fighters. It was hard to say who was who. From the Warsaw-Okecie Airport, the troops had to reach the Wola neighborhood. But the streets were mostly quiet.. with only some burning cars around. It was quiet.. too quiet. The tension slowly rose among the soldiers and the volunteers...

And then suddenly, a shout was heard. "RPG!"

A rocket was launched towards the tank that led the column, and the tank was fully hit, exploding. Shots started to be hit, and people with weapons, and with Polish flag armbands appeared from the windows, from the streets, opening fire seemingly from everywhere. Molotov cocktails were thrown, and a fire started to spread. In only a few minutes, chaos spread. There was shooting, people dying everywhere..

Welcome to Warsaw.