Private War

Mission Preparation

After the hostages were quickly rescued, government officials augmented the contract to provide the contractors with added incentive to stay in the field for the full day. After a series of complex negotiatons, it was decided that (a) the government would pay more money and (b) the contractors would receive more money. To sharpen their skills, it was decided that the contractors would take turns assaulting a more heavily defended compound, with the opposing contractors acting as well-equiped terrorists with tanks, artillery and barricades. Each contractor would be given 30 minutes to overrun the compound. The defending force had to have one tank operating within the compound at all times, otherwise the mission was over.

In the first mission, HaliBerri called on the services of the following technicians to assault the compound:

     Frank Pittelli (T001), Will Montgomery (T026), Steve Tyng (T040)

To defend the compound, BrownWater used the services of:

     Joe Sommer (T010), John Pittelli (T039), Paul Pittelli (T077), Bob Amend (FA003)

Mission Report

BrownWater created a defensive perimeter consisting of overturned vehicles and various obstacles, with the Navarone Gun positioned in the center of a group of trees. The Hetzer darted in and out of the compound to harass HaliBerri forces, while the Panzer II and Comet stayed primarily in defensive positions. HaliBerri formed a large ring around the compound, probing the defenses from all directions. Occassionally, two tanks would concentrate on one of the BrownWater vehicles, but corraling them wasn't easy with support coming from the compound.

Near the end of the 30 minute period, the virtual stalemate was interrupted by smoke billowing from inside the Panzer II. The motors were hot enough to start melting some plastic near, on or inside them. A halt was called to the hostilities as everyone started to investigate the problem. During the lunch break, the gear ratio had been changed on the Panzer II, from what was thought to be the high-gear to the low-gear. Unfortunately, the operator got the switch configuration backwards and actually switched from low-gear to high-gear. The added stress on the drill motors generated the excessive heat. After the confusion was resolved and a couple test drives, it appeared that the vehicle was operating properly again. However, after some additional test drives, the right track was not moving properly, presumable because of either damage to the motor or the speed controller. More thorough testing would be required at Tri-Pact Labs, so the Panzer II was pulled back into the motor pool.

The second mission would have HaliBerri defending the compound with:

     Frank Pittelli (T001), Will Montgomery (T026), Bob Amend (FA003)

BrownWater would assault the compound with:

     Joe Sommer (T010), John Pittelli (T039), Steve Tyng (T040)

Surprise!! Tyng switched sides again ... damn sub-contractors.

With only two tanks to defend the compound against three attackers, Will and Frank had a difficult task in front of them. To improve their chances, the Navarone Gun was moved to a position on the edge of the compound, facing the open field. It was thought that would help limit the open range mobility of the BrownWater forces. Furthermore, the SU-100 was deployed to the far side of the field, further complicating the attacker's mission. The Tiger dug into a defensive position in the compound, the sole defender.

During the first 15 minutes of the mission, the HaliBerri strategy was working. The Comet and Hetzer were busy engaging the SU-100, with supporting fire coming from Bob and the Navarone Gun. Tyng's Cromwell lurked in the thick brush, constantly moving around the backside of the compound, with the Tiger watching it's every move. The Cromwell and Tiger have battled each other many times, with both battlers knowing that on any given day they could be destroyed by the other or vice versa.

With virtually no chance of getting to home base from the compound, Will and Frank conserved ammo like never before. It only takes 4 shots to kill another tank, but a couple misses quickly add up. Moreover, killing one tank isn't enough when defending the compound. This is definitely a scenario for veterans.

With some successful delaying operations outside the compound by Will, things were looking good for HaliBerri ... until the Cromwell rolled out of home base, fully loaded. Frank watched Steve take the Cromwell on a typical run, out into the tall brush and trees, trying to find the perfect starting place for a high-speed attack. The Tiger positioned itself for the attack, as it has done dozens of times in the past, and Frank alerted both Bob and Will to the threat. The Navarone started swinging into position and the SU-100 game out of home base towards the compound. Knowing it was now or never, Tyng pressed the "go" button and the Cromwell raced straight at the Tiger. His well-practiced tactics are simple, drive straight past the Tiger at full speed, rotate the turret quickly and shoot four times. Frank's well-practiced defense is equally simple, face the Cromwell at all time, spin at the proper moment and shoot four times. It all comes down to execution ... whoever executes best will execute the other.

On this day, at that moment, the Cromwell executed best and the Tiger was destroyed. Frank's defensive position was a little too defensive, the obstacles he was using for cover prevented the Tiger from spinning properly. Tyng positioned the Cromwell perfectly to deliver four shots and the compound was taken. The SU-100 was only 5 seconds away from the compound when the Tiger was knocked out.