Tessler Part 3

The Final Chapter

Wrangle, leader of the rebels/freedom fighters*, studied the army base through his binoculars. In the morning he intended to end Red Blok rule on Sigma 5 once and for all. He turned to his ally, Colonel Vronski, “Come, Colonel, we must plan our attack. With your  knowledge of the interior of the base we have an advantage.”

Meanwhile, Captain Guryev, senior officer at the base, looked intently into the night. Soon his former CO, Vronski, would come. Their friendship of former years would be set aside and the future of Sigma 5 would be decided.

The assault began early the following day. At first the attack faltered as the lead units came under a hail of machine gun fire from the bunker on their right flank. The left flank was also halted and forced to go to ground behind a low wall. The attackers’ problems increased as an enemy light tank appeared at the gate to the base. It inflicted a few casualties but it soon came under fire itself. Rebel missiles snaked across the battlefield towards the tank. The majority sped past the target harmlessly but one struck home. The freedom fighters waited in anticipation as the smoke cleared. Had the target been destroyed? They were disappointed but at least the tank was immobilised, severely limiting its usefulness. It continued to cause problems but it was eventually destroyed.  The Red Blok defenders kept the enemy at bay and it looked at one point as though they might carry the day.

Two factors contributed to the Red Blok’s defeat. Firstly the rebels deployed two mortars which successfully supressed fire from the bunker and the other machine gun team on the left flank. Mortar fire continued to disrupt the defence throughout. As the battle neared the main building in the base, smoke was laid down to aid the advance. This was not always successful and the defence benefitted almost as much.

The second factor was the appearance of a Bashkir which gave the defenders a big problem. Where would it land? At first the helicopter flew over the base, shooting at anything that moved. The defenders had to keep units out of the main fight where they were sorely needed. Moreover these units spent more time chasing the Bashkir than actually firing at it. Despite numerous shots from their bazookas the helicopter survived the battle. The occupants, however, were not so lucky. As the rebels approached the main building a unit supported by a flamethrower ran out and attacked. The helicopter destroyed the unit, landed and the troops inside dismounted. They immediately came under fire from Captain Guryev’s command unit and were wiped out. Nothing could stop the inevitable, however, and the rebels took the base thus eliminating the Red Blok presence on Sigma 5.

The loss of Sigma 5 was a blow to Red Blok pride. They hoped the rebel success would not encourage others to try their hand.

*Delete according to which side you support