[OOC] The Siege of al-Qurait [FULL]

[Sarmatian]

The Siege of al-Qurait

Original interest check: roleplayerguild.com/topics/160168-the-..

Background

The country of Taraq has long suffered under the oppressive rule and poor leadership of foreign-backed leaders. A lack of cooperation between the populace and government has led to the creation of individual parties, each one seeking rights and autonomy. Last years elections were especially chaotic with the nomination of over a dozen candidates. The UN sent financial aid and support for their preferred candidate: Ibram ibn Hassan. Fearing further UN retaliation against their parties, most candidates dropped out. Not surprisingly, Ibram won the election and was inaugurated weeks later at the capital: al-Qurait. Part of Ibram's deal with the UN included widespread disbandment of Taraq's military,; the UN promised military aid in the event of an armed conflict.

Weeks after his inauguration, a group of militants calling themselves the Black Cobras stormed the presidential palace during a successful coup. The fate of Ibram is yet unclear, but he is believed dead. The city quickly fell to the Black Cobras who also took control of outlying towns, installations, and roads.

Meanwhile, other political, ethnic, and religious groups began to arm themselves, preparing to defend against the Cobras. In a few short days the Cobras managed to intimidate the majority of the smaller groups into pledging allegiance to them. The remaining groups have proclaimed autonomy in their respective regions.

In order to curb the growth of the Black Cobras and to end the hostilities as quickly as possible, the UN has sent advisers to the various militant groups. They hope to create a coalition that can besiege, assault, and liberate al-Qurait. But cutting the head off of the Black Cobras is only the beginning, for each UN-sponsored group has their own ambitions for Taraq's future...

Gameplay

This role play will see you take charge of a militant group within the fictional country of Taraq. Taraq's capital is al-Qurait, and it has recently fallen into the hands of an aggressive organization called the Black Cobras, who are superior to you in almost every way. Fortunately for you, the UN has sent help, and they plan on forming a coalition that can work together to defeat the Black Cobras.

Your initial forces will number 30, and they're classified as Infantry (carrying small-arms weapons, like assault rifles and submachine guns). Before every operation you will be able to organize your soldiers into squads however you see fit. Tanks, troop transports, and other armored vehicles are classified as Armor, and is typically anti-Infantry. Artillery is usually anti-Armor. However, Infantry can be equipped with anti-Infantry weapons (heavy machine guns, sniper rifles) to defend key locations and anti-Armor weapons (like missile launchers and RPGs). Armor and Artillery is acquired by capturing it during a battle or by receiving it from the UN. Aerial combat can not be conducted, but air support can be obtained via the UN.
Note: Although your forces are initially capped at 30, that doesn't mean others don't exist. Theoretically, you could have have hundreds and up to thousands more, but for the moment the UN only requested small teams.

The RP will open at a briefing tent, where the leaders of the coalition forces are gathered. The UN military advisers will provide you with objectives, and you will need to work together and formulate a strategy to accomplish these objectives. The UN will not always provide you with the best choices, so feel free to ask questions, make arguments, and suggest your own objectives. During the operation, I will provide details about your situation and you must react to them properly. Once everyone has succeed/failed, we will begin the next phase. Ultimately the goal is to work towards al-Qurait, then breach its defenses and retake the city one neighborhood at a time.

Players

Note: You are free to add on to this if necessary.
Information required
Group: The name of your group. Examples: The Democratic Party of Taraq; The White Tigers; The Anjuni Clan
Banner: An image of your group's flag, banner, or insignia.
Leader: The name of the group's leader. This person will be your avatar of sorts, and will interact directly with the UN advisers and the other militant leaders. You may also give a description of this person's appearance, history, and personality.
Description: What is your group? Why do they exist, what do they want, what are their goals in this conflict, etc. A short history is required.

[b]Group[/b]:
[b]Banner[/b]:
[b]Leader[/b]:
[b]Teams[/b]:
[b]Description[/b]:
[b]History[/b]:

Current
@rush99999 - Pending
@bingthewing - Pending
@lady selune - Pending
@buddha - Amir el-Hashem
@templarknight07 - Pending

[Dion]

@Sarmatian Are these companies we come up with supposed to be inhabitants of the country, or can they be foreign assets that are hired by the UN/Taraq?

[Sarmatian]

@Sarmatian Are these companies we come up with supposed to be inhabitants of the country, or can they be foreign assets that are hired by the UN/Taraq?

@Buddha

They can be mercenary groups, yes. Or really any group who, for whatever reason, are here to participate.

You just can't be SEAL Team 6, or Russian KGB, etc.

[TemplarKnight07]

Putting in a placeholder post for myself, will likely have a CS up by tonight or tomorrow if I can think of an interesting idea.

Group: Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company
Banner:

Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company Emblem

Leader: Victor Godwin

Formerly of Aegis Defence Services, Victor Godwin is an experienced Mercenary. Trained in the British Army, he transferred out of the regulars for what he thought might be the more lucrative and fulfilling job of a PMC. He has served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the early 2000s, aiding in Aegis' mandate of providing support and protection to the US Assets involved in the reconstruction efforts of both nations. During his stint in Aegis, he grew frustrated at being mostly a responsive, defensive force, he desired to be part of a more offensive, autonomous organization, something to take the fight to the enemies they were paid to kill, not merely wait for them to strike first.

Thus, when Aegis was bought up by GardaWorld and their contracts were set to come up for re-negotiation, Victor, and roughly a couple dozen like-minded individuals decided to take matters into their own hands and taking a couple Humvees and their kits, they went rogue and off the grid in war-torn Taraq, founding the Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company, his own PMC, and started making a name for himself, a saviour and honourable soldier to some, a criminal and deserter to others.

Teams:

The Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company is divided into five squads of six members each.

Squad 1, "Desert Foxes"

Squad 2, "Desert Eagles"

Squad 3, "Desert Scorpions"

Squad 4, "Desert Vipers"

Squad 5, "Desert Rats"

Description: The Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company is officially a PMC, unofficially, they're basically a paramilitary group that has sought to profit off of providing its services as an attack unit to whatever warlord or ruler of Taraq-to-be pays them the highest wages. They make a rule to be seen as a reliable company, regardless of who they're working for, or what they're told to do, they will see a contract fulfilled to the letter, so long as it is agreed upon between Godwin and their clients, and they are paid their agreed upon fee.

They have five rules of operations:

1: Godwin's word is law, and has the final say in all contracts, and disputes both within and without the Company.

2: Abide exactly by whatever the terms the Client and whose contract they've agreed to demands of them, as instructed by Godwin.

3: When not on contract, anyone with a weapon who picks a fight with them is fair game.

4: If payment of contract is not forthcoming, then take the value of their services out of said former client's material and human assets.

5: No indiscriminate killing of non-combatant targets without provable cause (IEDs, bomb vests, child soldiers, etc.), or unless ordered to via terms of the contract.

History: The Broadsword Mobile Infantry Company is a fairly recent PMC on the scene of Taraq. Comprised of veterans of various levels of combat experience from different nationalities (Mostly British, American, and increasingly native Taraqan as the casualties among the original members mount over time, and foreign nationals not always being the ideal candidates for replacements), they have wandered throughout Taraq for the last few years from client to client, earning their name as a dependable band of mercenaries for anyone to hire, readying to strike the enemies of their clients at any moment, all they need to do is agree to the right terms and right price.

They accept pay in funds or material, but all must be done in person and in physical portable goods at whatever point in time is agreed upon for full payment. They don't accept cheques or credit, and certainly aren't trustworthy of promises of payment.

Their ethical codes, for obvious reasons, have not always been the greatest, as Godwin has put the survival of the company above various accords on combat and non-combatants over the course of their time in Taraq (not to mention the fact that many of its original members are considered renegades in the PMC world), but he has striven to uphold basic ethical guidelines where he could, and put the reputation for the company's reliability to undertake any contract first and foremost where he could not.

Over this time, they've worked for political contenders, regional officials large and small, and figure-heads of various groups and organizations within Taraq, some long-standing and still existing, most coming and going with the desert sands.

Since the fall of al-Qurait and most of its surrounding environs to the Black Cobras and their consolidated forces, Broadsword (whom were not offered a stake in the Cobras' take-over) has had to pull back their field of operations and have been left wandering as most of the other prospective clients have bunkered down in their own strongholds and tightened their holds on their resources to await for the Cobras' next move.

Thus, when the UN tapped them for an opportunity to work for them in cooperation for what was apparently to be a full-scale operation to retake the capital of al-Qurait, Broadsword and their commander, Victor Godwin were happy to jump at the chance of potentially making some money off of working for such a large client, but also for the chance to clear their names of any blemishes to their reputations.

[Dion]

@Sarmatian Is there a flag for Tariq? I'd like to incorporate it into my insignia. Gonna actually take time to put work into this while I still have a lot of free time.

Or even just colors and a scheme, and I could work something out with that.

[rush99999]

.

[Sarmatian]

@Sarmatian Is there a flag for Tariq? I'd like to incorporate it into my insignia. Gonna actually take time to put work into this while I still have a lot of free time.

Or even just colors and a scheme, and I could work something out with that.

@Buddha

Unfortunately, I do not have a flag for them. Taraq is essentially defunct at the time of the RP, so I didn't really think about it. However, most similar countries use green, red, black, and white.

I'll say the top of the flag was black, the bottom is red, and there's a white circle in the middle with a green crescent inside. The crescent is like to the Ottoman crescent.

[CaptainBritton]

I'm interested.

EDIT: Darn, was it made full before or after I posted this? I'm not the most attentative.

[Dion]

@Sarmatian I'll see if I can make one then. Expect my CS before that.

[Dion]

الأخ والأخوات من طارق وشعبه
Ａｌ＇ａｋｈ ｗａｌ＇ａｋｈｗａｔ ｍｉｎ Ｔａｒａｑ ｗａｓｈａｅｂｉｈ

_{The Brother- and Sisterhood of Taraq and its' people.}

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Group:
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Al'akh wal'akhwat min Taraq washaebih (الأخ والأخوات من طارق وشعبه, the Brother- and Sisterhood of Taraq and its' people),
shortened to Al'akh wal'akhwat Taraq (الأخ والأخوات طارق, Brothers and Sisters of Taraq).

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Banner:
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insignia

Subject to change once we establish a flag for Taraq, perhaps. Or if I get creative.

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Leader:
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Amir el-Hashem

Amir is a veteran of the (now disbanded) armed forces of Taraq, who is better known under the name 'el-Hashem' which translates into 'the Crusher'. He has a loyal nature, and as such, did not involve himself with talks of revolution. He was happy to turn from the gun to the ploughshare - little did he know he'd have to pick up his arms again to fight for his country. With him came many people, though it was hard to find any combat experienced troops. As such, his forces are more of a militia than a real combat unit. Never the less, Amir can be trusted to make full use of them.

Although he is working with the UN now, he in fact does not like them. He rather enjoys the freedom of his country, and sees the UN as a threat to that freedom. Although he dislikes them, he is forced to work with them, upon realization that the Black Cobra's are most certainly not a group that he's capable of facing on his own. The UN are a means to an end - to restore the government of Taraq, and to ensure that the process happens without hiccups or stalling.

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Teams:
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Total: 30 combatants
Team divisions:
_{N/A (fill in before operations?)}

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Description:
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The Brother- and Sisterhood of Taraq consists mainly of average combatants. They fight not for religion, or ideology. They fight for the freedom of their government, to liberate themselves from the tyranny of the Black Cobra's while they still have a chance.

As a result, and perhaps contrary to most groups in Taraq, they come from all walks of life, and their members reflect this. Most of the members are from el-Hashem's hometown, which is a small town near the east-border region of Taraq. But there are members from other areas of Taraq, and even from other areas of the world, who have signed on, either for the thrill, for ideological conviction and the desire to fight for the freedom of Taraq, or for their vested interest.

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Demographics:
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Sex:

23 males
7 females

Religion:

25 muslims
1 Sikh
1 christian
2 atheists

Class:

19 lower-class citizens
6 middle-class citizens
5 upper-class citizens

Origins:

23 from Taraq
2 from neighboring countries
1 from Chechnya (Russian Federation)
1 from India
2 from Great Britain
1 from the United States of America

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History:
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The group originated from a small town in the eastern border regions, where farming and keeping cattle were the most common manners of survival. Life was what you'd expect from a third world country, and most people lived in poverty. The town wasn't quite big enough to sustain any type of larger scales of business, and the lack of resources nearby meant that there wasn't an incentive to industrialize this part of Taraq.

As such, a common choice was for young men to join the armed forces of Taraq. When the armed forces were mostly disbanded after the recent election, many youngsters returned to their town. Their peace was short lived, as soon enough the Black Cobra's appeared to take control of al-Qurait. Some of the veterans from the town had joined the Black Cobra's, outraged at their disbandment. Others followed under the leadership of al-Hashem, and began preparing to defend their new autonomous region until the government was reinstated. Their intentions were clear, however, and others joined the group along the way - they even made their intentions clear in an interview on international television, done by al-Hashem himself.

This attracted foreign attention and caused several foreigners to seek them out on their own accord for reasons of their own. Much beyond that, they were contacted by the UN (which proved hard, as the Brother- and Sisterhood of Taraq and its' people were a real militia, lacking any real equipment) and asked to send them an advisor to help defeat the Black Cobra's. Originally predisposed against working with the UN, al-Hashem quickly realized that there was no chance of taking on the Black Cobra's on their own, and gave in, altering their course and accepting the aid of the UN, and their advisor.

Cooperate with your friends, surprise your enemies.

[Dion]

@Sarmatian Perhaps like so:

flag

[Sarmatian]

@Sarmatian Perhaps like so:

flag

@Buddha

Well... thanks man! That looks exactly how I imagined it, good job. Thanks for going out of you way to make one!

@CaptainBritton If you post a good bio, I will definitely accept you!

[Dion]

@Sarmatian If you need some other simple images, I could perhaps provide. My bio look okay to you?

[BingTheWing]

Quick question: is the Muslim majority in Iraq Shia or Sunni?

Also, why are we only limited to 30 people? I would figure we would be roleplaying large rebel groups numbering in the thousands like al-Nusra or the Free Syrian Army.

[Dion]

@Sarmatian Also, I'd advice mentioning the few people again. I don't think your initial pings went through. (They were edited in, right?)

[rush99999]

@Sarmatian

I've decided to drop out if this RP. Peace out home fries.

[Sarmatian]

@Buddha: I only skimmed through your bio, but I will give it a proper look another time. Some days at work are tiresome and I can get mentally exhausted; other days aren't so bad and after a few hours of rest I can get to RPing.

@BingtheWing: I didn't really consider that, but since Sunni is the largest in real life, we can keep suit and go with that. Besides, Saladin was Sunni, so that's cool. But I would not say it's a huge difference.

Realistically, a group would be much larger than 30 people; I should have clarified that in the OOC, sorry! But trying to keep track of a few thousand soldiers in this role play would be pretty hard, I think. This is the first time I have done something like this, so I wanted to take it easy. If I feel like we need more soldiers per group, I will allow 'reinforcements'.

The theory is that the rest of your group is probably in their own territory elsewhere in Taraq (trying to protect it), and the UN only requested that you send a handful of your troops to the al-Qurait operation.

@rush99999: Sorry to hear that man, see you around!

[BingTheWing]

@Sarmatian Would the UN be willing to work with an extremely violent but very successful Shia militia?

[Sarmatian]

@Sarmatian Would the UN be willing to work with an extremely violent but very successful Shia militia?

@BingTheWing

Not publicly. And even then, they wouldn't like the idea of doing it privately. However, if it means the destruction of the Cobras, it could be an exception, so sure. Right now the most dangerous group (to the UN) is the Cobras.

[Lady Selune]

@Sarmatian What about a group that wants to establish a communist government?