Luzon, The Phillipines
18:51 Hours
The withdrawal is mostly complete on the far western edge of the line, in Zone 1, and the pinned-down units in Zone 4 are able to extract themselves from the situation and rejoin their brethren. Things continue to go smoothly in Zone 3 as well.
But things go from bad to worse in the middle, as
The Meat Grinder is proving to be an apt nickname for
Infantry Company D…
Zone 1
The 150 meter withdrawal of
Captain RainRaven’s Infantry Company B concludes smoothly, and the men begin to dig in as best they can and find new cover.
The Marines of
Lieutenant The Afoci’s 1st Platoon, Infantry B soon hear the reports of Japanese rifles and machineguns, however. Men duck for cover before realizing that they are not the targets. (See the write-up for Zone 2). Shortly thereafter, the piercing whistle of howitzer rounds overhead dominates, as American 75mm Howitzer shells blanket the area just to the north of 1st Platoon.
Zone 2
The situation continues to deteriorate on the left flank of
Captain Coffee Warlord’s Infantry Company D. While
Lieutenant JeffNights’ 3rd Platoon, Infantry D and
Lieutenant sterlingice’s 3rd Platoon, Armor B have been able to withdraw in relatively good order, the same cannot be said for
Lieutenant Breeze’s 1st Platoon, Infantry D. As
Captain sachmo71 shifts his Armor B Command group to the west to help out, some of the men from 1st Platoon, including
Lieutenant Breeze himself, are able to withdraw a short ways into the woods. But not all of the Marines are able to do so, and continue to be pinned down by Japanese attacks.
Suddenly, rifle and machinegun fire bursts forth from the trees to
Lieutenant JeffNights’ left. He and the rest of his squad duck for cover, but one of the Marines is struck squarely in the chest and falls silent, his chest a mass of red. The delay in the withdrawal of Zone 2 has created a gap with Zone 1, and the Japanese have moved to exploit the gap. As fire is exchanged,
Lieutenant sterlingice’s Stuarts join the fray. Fortunately, a barrage had already been planned for the area the Japanese have moved into, and 75mm howitzer rounds begin to fall on the area.
As
Captain Coffee Warlord and his men begin their withdrawal, Radioman Boris delivers more bad news to his captain. The company’s 60mm mortar is broken, apparently guilty of a faulty round, similar to what befell Infantry Company C to their east.
The one good piece of news in all this mess is that
Lieutenant Aesyrqwe’s 2nd Platoon, Infantry D and
Lieutenant Superman=#54’s 2nd Platoon, Armor B are withdrawing in good order on the eastern flank.
Zone 3
Things appear to be relatively quiet, at least for the moment, on the western edge of Zone 3, as
Lieutenant tucker342 and
Lieutenant Tasan are able to continue their withdrawal without incident.
Japanese infantry continue to appear in the clearing in the center of the zone, slowly gaining ground, but the Marines of
Lieutenant Qwikshot’s 2nd Platoon, Infantry C succeed in making them pay dearly for every foot they take. The open ground in the clearing is littered with the bodies of dead and dying Japanese.
Light infantry elements are also encountered to the east of the clearing, but the combined fire of
Lieutenant Katon’s 3rd Platoon, Infantry C and
Lieutenant jfbbis’ 2nd Platoon, Armor A are able to fend them off with ease.
The withdraw continues with little difficulty.
Zone 4
The Marines of
Captain ardent enthusiast’s Infantry Company A pause, hoping to lend what support they can to their comrades trapped under fire back to the north.
The squad from Lieutenant Marino’s 3rd Platoon, Infantry A that had been trapped at the edge of the graveyard are successful in fending off the enemy and disengaging. They double-time it to the south and are able to catch up with the rest of 3rd Platoon.
To the west, well-placed and timely firing from the company’s 60mm mortar team disrupt the Japanese in the rice paddy, giving the squad from
Lieutenant samifan24’s 1st Platoon, Infantry A and the pinned-down Stuart from
Lieutenant Icjjdnh’s 1st Platoon, Armor A enough time to disengage. Marines scramble onto the hull of the Stuart, and the metal monster peels off into the jungle, rapidly catching up with the rest of A Company.
As all of this has been going on, the Japanese have pressed across the graveyard, and have reached it’s edge. They engage some of the Marines of
Lieutenant damnMikeBrown’s 2nd Platoon, Infantry A at range. Light losses are sustained by both sides of the firefight, but the Marines of 2nd Platoon and Stuarts of
Lieutenant Icjjdnh’s 1st Platoon, Armor A are able to hold them at bay.
Status
Zone 1
Your withdrawal is pretty much complete, and you can now call upon close (read: mildly hazardous) fire support from the howitzers we have at our disposal. Mortar teams report ammunition is running at about 50%. Now that you have howitzer support, I would like to suggest you “lend” your 81mms to the Meat Grinder. They can use the help.
Zone 2
Your left flank is in big trouble. You’ve got Japanese to the front and on your left side there. The one saving grace may be that the enemy on the left side are within extreme howitzer range, but are mighty close to JeffNights’ troops and some of sterlingice’s tanks.
Oh, and by the way, your 60mm is busted.
You guys get to have all the fun.
Zone 3
Things are going relatively well. You’ve completed about 150 meters of your 400 meter withdrawal (keeping it slow and painful for the Japanese). The 81mms report that there is enough ammunition for about 3 minutes of firing. Use it wisely.
Since I am acting as interim-Captain during Blade6119’s absence, I will suggest that the withdrawal continue on. We seem to be doing pretty well so far, although this means abandoning the last of our positions at the edge of the clearing. We’ll save our last 81mm ammunition for an emergency.
Zone 4
Holding up looks to have been the right move. The squads that were pinned down earlier have been able to withdraw and catch up with their parent units. However, the 60mm mortar is empty and the ammo truck has yet to arrive (it is having trouble finding its way in the difficult terrain).
ORDERS ARE NOW OPEN.
Semper Fi!