The Reich of the Thousand Deads : S2-E3: Night Raid (AAR)

Pre-scenario action.
It all started when Mallory caught the Templar planning the executions of the survivors.
"You can't kill them"
"And what would you do? Leave them behind, so they can betray our presence?" argued the Templar officer.
"They distrust the SWD as much as we do. We could let them go after the raid."
"I can't spare any of my men. We have lost too many already. Living them alive is not an option."
"We cannot win the war if we start losing our humanity. We can't fight the SWD by becoming like them. There are enough dead people, there is no need to kill them. We can leave one soldier to guard them. Anyway, from the SWD officer interrogation, there are few SWD guarding the camp."
Reluctantly, the Templar officer agreed. "I hope you know what you are doing and that we won't need that extra fire power later". 
They left one soldier with the prisoners and headed to the SWD camp to capture one of their top scientist.

Rules: I decided to do a confrontation between Mallory and the Templar. The Templar are more than Mallory's team and have 1 extra dice.
There was 3 rounds, Mallory lost the first round by a lot, and I worried. The second round was a tie, and I worried more. Mallory had to win with a margin of 3 success to turn the tide. The last roll was a miracle. The Templar rolled no success at all and Mallory rolled 5 successes (out of 5 dice!). The survivors were safe, for now.

Aerial map of the camp

The mission
The mission was simple, infiltrate a SWD camp, capture a SWD scientist and leave the area.
Rules: I twisted my own home rules. Instead of 1 scientist in each barrack, I decided only 1 in 1 barrack. Whenever I roll an officer in a barrack, it would be a scientist. If no scientist up to the last barrack, there would be one automatically.

Turn 1    (2,4)

PEF move in sight.

Infiltrating the area was easy. The SWD was not expecting an Allied commando and the biggest threat was the zombies. The double fence and barbwire would have been enough. But it did not stop Mallory and the Templars to enter the camp. After few miles in the woods, they arrived nearby the barracks.
"The scientist is supposed to be in one of the three barracks."
"What is the plan?" The Templars looked at Mallory's experience to lead them to victory.
"We leave the first barrack. It is closer to our exit area. The biggest threat is the bunker and the road, where reinforcement would arrive. I suggest we take the furthest barrack and infirmary first. Then head back. The specialist weapons stay here, in the cover of the forest and disable any threat."
"Sounds like a good plan"

They were about to move when a patrol passed by. 2 SWD troopers and a dog were surprised to see the Allied commando and failed to react fast enough. They were quickly dispatched.
After the shooting, the commando listened and relaxed.
"Seems easy"
"These new silencers are marvel. They have not heard the shoots. But beware. We have to prefer knife whenever we can"

1 patrol done, 3 more to go

REP 5 SturmSWD, REP4 SMG, 1 dog

Sniper reacted the fastest, killed with a headshot the SturmSWD, The SAW shot but only OOF'd the dog, The Templar SMG shot the SMG trooper and instantly killed it . Johnson didn't react at all that turn.(no success on 5 dice!)

Turn 2    (1,5)

"We split. Specialist team you go cover the bunker and the road."
"Aye!", the three men team, composed of the Sniper, the SAW and the PIAT moved at the wood's edge, overseeing the area and spotted the patrols.

The 2 patrols nearby the gate and the barrack

The guards in the bunker are the biggest threat

The sniper looked at the 2 other guys.
"Damned! We can take out that bunker without triggering the alarm... And the 2 patrols are covering each other. We have to wait and shoot only when the alarm starts. Nothing we can do."
The PIAT aimed at the bunker.
"I'll make sure the first shot count"

Mallory lead the team far from the barrack.
"We don't investigate that barrack?" 
"No, let's take it at the end. If there is a firefight, we don't know if the alarm is triggered. And from the intel we have, reinforcement can be here fast and nasty."
"Let's hope our target is not inside then", replied the British scientist.

Avoiding contact as long as possible

Turn 3    (4,2)

The patrols are... well... patrolling

Mallory pushed his team as fast as possible. The longest they stay, the likelier an unspotted patrol could arrive and surprise them.


Turn 4    (1,1)
 Mechanical noise arrived from behind them.
"What is that?" whispered Johnson
"Dunno, but hope it does not come this way"

Behind them, a patrolling Panzermensh arrived. It noticed the dead dog and soldiers but it did not process it as a threat and continued its patrol.
The specialist team was hiding in the darkness of the woods.

Panzermensh entered the area at area 6, just behind the specialists but still too far to see them.

Turn 5    (5,3), Turn 6    (3,6), Turn 7    (6,5)


Mallory stopped and raised his hand. The commando behind him froze. One templar moved silently next to the US Lieutenant.
"What is it?"
Mallory fingerpointed at the 2 patrols.
"They could see us. If we cross, we leave the darkness of the wood and would be caught in the open. The infirmary's lights are bright enough."
The Templar looked at the infirmary and saw what Mallory meant. With the loss of Southern England, the Allied did not raid anymore Germany and there was no point of hiding lights. Furthermore, it would help seeing lurking zombies who could have passed the fences.
"We have to wait for them to look somewhere else"
"Hopefully not too long. There is still this Thing behind us"

Add caption

waiting time...

"What did they stop? Are we spotted?"
"I don't think so, seems they are chatting about something"
"Patrols... It alwasy seems they never really look for threat and spend more time chatting with each other..."


Turn 8    (2,2) Event: Tell my wife, Turn 9    (2,3)

A Templar was losing his nerve.
"I don't feel it, it is not good."
"Calm down soldier"
"We will never make it, they know we are here"
"Stop it"
The Templar took a letter from his pocket.
"If I die, give it to my wife, and tell her I loved her."
"I'll take it for now, but when this is over, you will be the one giving it to her" Mallory tried to comfort the soldier. Johnson behind him shook his head.

The Templar on the left is losing its never

Note: The event gave to a random character a -1 rank to any hit. OOF became OD, KD became OOF Stunned became KD, and Carry On became Stunned.

Patrols are moving away, Panzermensh don't move (rolled a 7 aka Southwest direction, but I don't want to make it exit).

Mallory took the letter from the shaking hand of the trooper when the British scientist said
"Look, they move away."
"Our window of opportunity. Let's go now... See soldier, there is still hope"
And they crossed the gap, reaching the safety of the infirmary, hiding from the patrols.

Turn 10    (5,3)
Mallory was feeling a rise in tension. They had to go faster. "Try to sneak peak into the infirmary if our target is there."
Johnson found a hole and looked inside.
"Negative. Flamethrower and another trooper with.... a MP 40... wait.... Nope. No scientist here."
Mallory looked at the Templars.
"That flamethrower is a real danger. You stay here and make sure he never fires. Johnson, come with me, we will get to that barrack up North. You all wait for my go."

Mallory is moving North, avoiding being spotted by the patrols

Meanwhile, the panzermensh brain connected few dots.
Dead German troopers and dog.... No alarm..... No zombie.... need to patrol there.
The mechanical soldier turned 180 degres and moves back to the dead patrol. As it approached, it spotted the specialist team who was too focused on the bunker and the patrols to pay attention.

Inside the brain of the Panzermensh, a deadly sequence of order started.

Ennemy spotted 

--> Danger 

 --> To eliminate 

--> Range attack prioritized 

--> Raise MG42 

--> Pull trigger 

--> Fire until cleared

The Panzermensh raised its weapon and fired. The sniper never heard or saw it coming. Its head exploded with the first bullets. The PIAT operator barely moved and was shot down, falling on the ground bleeding from multiple wounds. The machine gunner was saved by a solid oak tree that absorbed all of the bullets.
He dramatically rotated and fired at will at the machine, missing it completely.

The action that inspired the famous Pulp Fiction scene

In the bunker, the sweet sound of MG42 in the silent night did not go unnoticed. The SWD officer pushed a button and the lovely sound of the German Alarm awoke the area.
"AHURRr! AHURRr! AHURRr! AHURRr! AHURRr! AHURRr!"

"Oh.... sh.t" was in the mind of the commando on the West side.

Turn 11    (2,6), Turn 12    (1,1) Event: Adrenaline rush
Right away a car arrived by the road.
"Unlikely reinforcement, maybe a returning patrol."
"Anyway, now, it is a problem. The area will be full of SWD stormtrooper. We have to finish this and quick."

Reinforcement on 6. Rolled a d6 and got a ...."6". 1 car and SMG + Assault

The 2 Templars by the infirmary looked at each other and scrambled inside the infirmary. They did not want to wait for Mallory's order. The scientist stayed behind.
The British raised their SMG and were welcomed by a spray of bullet, killing them outright. The flamethrower looked at his teammate. He looked as surprised as him.
"Reflex... I believe"

Johnson and Mallory aimed at the northern patrol and killed the soldier but only stunned the dog. Johnson emptied its clip and reached for the spare one.
"Damned! "
"What? "
"I forgot to re-stock. I am out of ammo."
"Stay behind then"
"No way, I am going to take a weapon where it is"
He took his large combat knife and ran to the second patrol.

If he makes it... He will raise to Star

They had not reacted yet and while the Sturmtrooper saw Johnson, he could not fire because the 2 other SWD troopers were blocking his line of fire.
Johnson reached the first trooper and cut his throat in one swift move.

The SMG trooper raised his submachine gun and fired, but the shot was a total miss. Johnson hit the skull but the blade grazed only the soldier. He fell on the floor, stunned.
The Sturmtrooper hesitated between Johnson and Mallory, and it was enough for Johnson to stab him on the chest. The blade hit hard on the body armor and it was enough to push the soldier on the ground. He was not dead, but this would give enough time to Johnson.
The dog was about to jump on Johnson ready to bite when it was caught in mid air by Mallory's burst.

Johnson....Respect... You made it.

Johnson thumbed up to thank Mallory.

The Templar machine gunner aimed at the Panzermensh. It seemed frozen, maybe surprised of the failed shots.
"I will not miss you twice"
He pulled the trigger and homed. The panzermensh shook under the massive amount of bullet and fell backward. Spark everywhere on the body, finishing with a Pshh sound and a little black smoke raising from where the head was.

Note: Templar SAW shot at the Panzermensh (can sustain 3 OOF), 3 hits, 2 OOF and 1 OD. The Panzermensh is destroyed!

Looking at the bunker, the machine gunner turned once more and shot. It was a difficult shot and he gunned down two soldiers, even if one was only grazed.

With such kind of shot, the mission may still succeed! The SAW had to roll a 6 to hit SWD in the bunker

Turn 13    (1,3),  Turn 14    (5,2)
The SWD troopers in the infirmary opened the door the two Templar used, only to be received by the ambushed British scientist and her bolt pistol. She headshot the flamethrower but missed the SMG trooper. He aimed and put her out of fight.
"This is a large scale attack" thought the trooper.

That was a close one... for the SWD

The two SWD reinforcement arrived at the gate and tried to quickly open it. 

Opening the gate, quick!

"Ar, scheisse. I cannot zee zat kommando. Rex, Lex, go hunt."
The SWD sturmtrooper sent the dogs to the woods. He was expecting the British machine gunner to reveal his location when shooting the dogs.
The two dogs ran toward the woods. The machine gunner could not let me get close and shot them both, ripping them apart. But that was enough for the Sturmtrooper to see where he was.


Shooting at the area, all bullets missed the target. The machine gunner hugged the ground and his new friend, the large oak tree.
While hugging, he saw the PIAT laying just next to him. He took it and aimed at the bunker.
"Bye bye"
He fired and the rocket took the direction of the entrance. It almost went there when it deviated and exploded on the side of the bunker.
"wooops"  was the only comment.

Johnson looked amazed at his bloody knife.
"Waouw, I did not know I could do it..."
He searched for a weapon.
"That? " He balanced the rifle. "Known, reliable and deadly."
Then Johnson's eyes caught the SMG.
"Good fire power. Good clip..." He looked at the rifle in his left hand and the SMG in his right hand. Then he saw the Assault Rifle.
"Ho, that's new. That's what they used so many times against us. Let's try it."
He dumped the SMG and the rifle. knelled down and took the Assault Rifle in his hand. He shot the two stunned troopers around him who were recovering.

He then glimpsed the car and the two SWD trying to open the gate. Johnson aimed at them and fired 3 burst. The bullet went straight into their target. The two German for a time looked like fine. Suddenly the first one fell forward on the gate and the other one opened his door, tried to crawl for 1 meter and then stopped moving.
"Nice, I keep it!"


Johnson never saw the trooper emerging from the infirmary. The SWD trooper aimed at the American as he enjoyed his new weapon.
"Too late to zafe my friends. But your luck ztopped here"
He fired 3 bursts and hit Johnson at the head and other critical organs. Johnson was dead before touching the ground.

But Mallory did see it.
He had rushed to the northern barrack and surprised a lone SWD trooper who rushed shot him.
Mallory looked at his wound.
"Only a scratch. My turn."
He raised his SMG and cut short the life of the trooper.
"No scientist. Damn! He was in the first barrack the whole time!"

He exited and saw Johnson killing the reinforcement. At the same time, the bunker entrance exploded.
"Seems we will make it", he was thinking.
Then he looked at Johnson and saw his friend shot.

Mallory opened his mouth, totally bemused. His life and service with Johnson passed in front of his eyes.

<< MUSIC: WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER, QUEENS>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtpf8N5IDE 

Turn 15    (6,4)

The SWD Stormtrooper in the bunker was well protected and unscathed from the explosion. He raised and aimed the area. The British machine gunner hugged the ground and tried to take back his machine gun. The Sturmtrooper caught a flash of the moon light on the metal of the barrel. He shot and killed the British Templar.

Johnson was still in shock. He did not know that all members of the commando had been disabled.
The anonymous SWD trooper from the infirmary hid behind the car and aimed at the motionless American.

Perfect shot once more, Mallory fell on the ground, seriously wounded.
His last sight was Johnson on the ground. He then lost consciousness.

Game Changer award: Anonymous SWD trooper

To be continued....
Next Episode: Into Enemy's hand.