Joint OP Black Husar - 10th February 2019
We recently carried out a very enjoyable and very successful joint op with our old friends
Gruppe Adler. We do several joint ops throughout the year and I asked one of our members Santa to do a write up about this one to share. If your in an Arma3 group and are interested in doing a joint op with us. Contact
MeFirst through either the forum or our discord channel - https://discordapp.com/invite/CcM6ybg
Here's what Santa had to say:
Last Sunday 3 Commando Brigade, together with Gruppe Adler, has been deployed to Rosche, Germany in the next instalment of the Joint Operations series with our German friends. We had the pleasure to enjoy Gruppe Adler’s hospitality as this time they were the hosts of the operation.
The year is 1984 and the Cold War has taken a sudden turn with a coup within the Central Committee of the CPSU, resulting in the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. The new Soviet leadership has managed to provoke NATO to shoot down a civilian Russian aircraft, as a result of which Soviet troops have begun crossing the river Elbe, invading Europe. Being part of Allied Command Europe Mobile Force, 3CB and Gruppe Adler are being mobilized at once to respond to the Soviet advance. Flown in from AMF’s HQ at Heidelberg with USAF C-130s, the joint company will be airdropped behind enemy lines with the objective of taking the town of Rosche and holding its bridges of strategic importance until a larger NATO ground element arrives from the west and relieves them.
The Company was made out of two platoons (Alpha and Bravo – one led by 3CB, the other by GA) with mixed British and German squads and two Wiesel AWCs armed with TOW ATGMs and 20mm autocannons supporting each platoon. Both platoons also had a medic element available and the whole company was supported by an independent engineer and mortar section. Sgt. Reddog [3CB] was Company Commander for the operation. No outside support was available.
The operation was launched before midnight with the NATO troops embarking their C-130s after their briefing and beginning their lengthy approach towards the drop-zone. Close to the DZs the C-130s had taken heavy AAA fire but the pilots were able to accurately manoeuvre their airplanes over the DZs. Alpha Platoon was dropped north-east of the town of Rosche whilst Bravo Platoon landed on the south-western side. Next to the Wiesel AWCs, the platoons have received limited amounts of supplies and a few Mercedes-Benz 250 GD Wolf jeeps for transport. The two platoons have managed to quickly reorganize in the dark and wait for first light to initiate their approach towards Rosche.
Both platoons were able to move smoothly and swiftly towards Rosche as they have only encountered a limited amount of Soviet patrols and sentries who were easily outnumbered. However, in the outskirts of Rosche the joint forces were met with a much better organized defence and the squads had to fight for every square metre in the town, clearing it building by building, room by room. The Soviet defenders consisted mostly out of light infantry with the support of a few mechanized elements deploying BMD-1s against the British and German troops, but thanks to the quick reaction of the Wiesel AWCs, the Soviet IFVs were destroyed before they could do any harm to the attack. Alpha from the north-east and Bravo from the south-west were steadily pushing back the Soviets and soon the heaviest fighting was around the last stand of the defenders: a bunker and trench complex that acted as the HQ for the garrison.
After taking the town and securing the two bridges, the NATO troops haven’t had much time to rest because the Soviets began counterattacking immediately. Setting up hasty defences in the outskirts of the town, Alpha was responsible for protecting the eastern side of the bridges whilst Bravo had to protect the western flank. The counterattack was massive and it wasn’t too long before the Company had to slowly fall back despite the best efforts of the Wiesel AWCs to intercept the enemy formations and vehicles before they could reach the buildings; a fierce urban firefight has broken out.
The Soviets began rolling in heavier support assets with at least two T-72 MBTs being deployed against the NATO defenders but thanks for the valiant efforts of the Wiesel AWC crews and infantry equipped with light AT weapons, the enemy MBTs were destroyed (although one managed to reach as far as the town centre).
The Soviets also brought in some air support assets in the form of Mi-24s doing strafing runs on the buildings and Mi-8 transport helicopters deploying VDV airborne infantry straight in the doorstep of Bravo Platoon. Starting to run low on ammo, the British and German troops had to think quickly and smartly, utilizing enemy weapons like an Igla MANPADS to force the enemy air assets to withdraw. However, casualties were mounting and it became clear that the Company would soon run out of ammo. Redistributing whatever ammunition was left, the NATO troops dug in for another wave. Suddenly, the loud roar of jet engines loudened up Rosche as an incoming Russian Su-25 lined up for a bombing run on Alpha Platoon.
All efforts to shoot it down or to vacate the streets in time were in vain as the enemy aircraft’s bomb have dealt a devastating blow to Alpha Platoon, rendering them completely combat ineffective. Bravo Platoon, who just finished patching up their wounded, was waiting for the same fate but unexpectedly the Su-25 has disengaged. A cheerful sound has come through the radio, stating that the Soviet troops have begun withdrawing as a cutscene started playing, showing a NATO armoured spearhead entering the AO. The Company was relieved, mission competed!
After close to 3.5 hours of fighting, the operation has ended with success. During the debriefing everyone echoed that he had fun and praised the awesome mission editing done by Gruppe Adler. It was indeed nothing short of spectacular, adding levels of cinematic effects and a great atmosphere that 3CB has not really experienced before. The firefights were challenging and everyone had to do his best to survive. We would like to say a massive thanks to Gruppe Adler for hosting us and preparing this phenomenal mission! We’d also like to express our gratitude and appreciation towards everyone else who contributed to organizing this joint operation, and a special thank you to all the combat leaders who planned the troop movements and led us through the operation, making sure that everyone got home safe! We cannot wait for the next Joint OP!
Images from Santa's Imgur of the night -
https://imgur.com/a/YGbnGj7MeFirsts Stream from the night
And video from Gruppe Adler