November 13th, 2034
The FV510 Warrior Armoured Personnel Carrier rumbled down the waterlogged roadway. Waves of bracken washed against camouflaged metal as tracked wheels propelled the vehicle towards its destination. Rusted hulks of Old World transportation presented only temporary obstacles, and soon they were sent careening to the side with a loud crash.
Normally noise discipline was paramount to any operation launched beyond the quarantine zone. For twenty years, the only safe mode of transport were the boots on your feet and a sharp wit. Something as simple as dropping a hollow metal can onto an acoustic friendly surface was enough to bring packs of the enemy to your location, and a gunshot? A gunshot was like ringing the dinner bell. If you wanted to survive, then silence was mandatory in this fallen world.
Then again, this was no normal operation. Europe’s last surviving nation was tired of hunkering down, tired of ration lines, tired of scavenging missions, tired of containment and tired of outbreaks. If the End Times really had dawned, and it was time for the light of mankind to be snuffed from the planet, then the survivors had universally agreed to go down fighting.
The military Government that had overseen the nation’s survival since the first outbreak of the AR Virus was itching for a counter-attack. Its main problem until now had been a lack of manpower, and equipment – much of it lost during those first bloody days of confusion and refugee camps.
For fifteen long years, the British Army fought a war of attrition against the hordes of infected on the borders of Cornwall. There were no resources available for building a giant wall, to seal the county off from the rest of the UK. Instead, it was down to the tough men and women of a reformed United Kingdom military to act as the only barrier between the extinction and continuation of the human race.
Whether it was engaging the infected in toe-to-toe land engagements, or slipping special forces teams behind enemy lines to bring down large amount of ordnance onto unsuspecting hordes, the British Army held time and time again against impossible odds. Eventually, the infected simply stopped coming in significant numbers, and for the first time since the outbreak, humanity seemed to have scored some form of victory.
Peace reigned for some years, interrupted here and there as viral outbreaks emerged within the quarantine zone. These outbreaks were by now easily containable, the harsh lessons of the early days of the AR Virus’ emergence learned astutely. Anyone suspected of symptoms of the virus were immediately sealed in specialised facilities, where dozens of heavily armed guards watched them with little regard for mercy. Sometimes they were simply killed on sight, often by those they loved. The few times a village or encampment suffered a significant outbreak, then the RAF did not hesitate in wiping the settlement from the map.
Recent advancements in simple industrial processes enabled the Army to begin refitting for war. For the first time in over a decade ammunition, weapons and ordnance were being produced in-country. Prior to this, the British Government and its besieged peoples relied on the United States for supplies and munitions. Such shipments were sporadic, and unfit for purpose owing to the crisis tearing apart North America from east to west, but they were nevertheless essential. With more equipment becoming available all the time, the British Army started fielding more regiments.
Young, old, man or woman were called up to serve. This call was optional however, as the British Government needed workers to tend the fields and the refurbished tin mines, and was reluctant to dilute the Army's professionalism with conscription. Enough stepped forwards to surge troop numbers from a mere 25,000, to 60,000 - giving commanders reserve units to call upon in the field, for the first time since the AR Virus destroyed the nation.
Scouting Southern England with a combination of aircraft and reconnaissance teams, the British Government determined that now was the time to strike back against the infected. Large hordes were few and far between, and though initial estimates put the enemy at 50,000,000 strong, they were spread thinly. If the people of Britain wanted to take back their homes, and they did, then the time was now.
Starting with Plymouth, the United Kingdom’s reformed Army would retake the country, town by town, and city by city. With the quarantine zone firmly squared away in the boot of Cornwall, and boasting a meagre population of just a million, the numerical odds were hard set against them. The RAF was no longer a combat ready force, and Her Majesty’s Royal Tank Regiment was rusting away in the fields outside of London where it was abandoned.
Before any serious offensive could be made however, the British Army needed the full support of the RAF and its reformed armoured units. Though most of their tanks and heavier vehicles had been lost in the Battle of London, they still possessed enough hardware to represent a regiment-strength combat unit. A dozen Challenger 2's, backed up by supporting infantry, were an Ace card when dealing with infected out in the open.
Fuel was extremely hard to come by, and though there were stock piles withheld by the Government for emergencies, these were futile when one considered the needs of a mobile mechanised force. Without this essential resource, the refitted war machine stood little chance in achieving its goals.
Plymouth was deemed a significant target for this reason alone. HMNB Devonport was Western Europe’s largest naval base, and though much of its equipment was salvaged prior to it being overrun, there were huge stores of diesel and aviation fuel trapped in the dozens of warehouses that composed the facility. If the government was to reactivate the RAF to a combat ready state, and to utilise the sparse armoured resources at its disposable, then those stockpiles were an essential asset.
The Royal Navy had been lashing away at the port city for days, blasting residential districts into the Stone Age with its huge array of weaponry. Mostly untouched by the viral outbreak, the ships that composed the naval task forces of the United Kingdom’s diminished military might were the hammer and anvil of any offensive action. Missiles and shells rained down indiscriminately on areas of the city identified as high infestation areas (HIAs), but without reliable satellite imaging, the only way of discovering the effectiveness of this bombardment was the old fashioned method.
Squads of SAS, Royal Marines and Green Berets were inserted into Plymouth and its outskirts to identify the effects of the naval attacks. They were also tasked with securing certain road junctions, bridges and other targets of high strategic importance. This phase of the assault was important, as gathering information on the strength of the infected was vital to the ground commanders leading the British Army towards the city. Casualties ran high, as humanity’s best waged a deadly game of cat and mouse against an enemy that never slept, never stalled and never felt pain or fear.
Before the main attack could begin however, it fell to men and women of the Light Dragoons and the 1st Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps to forge a path for the larger combat bodies to pass through. With the countryside riddled with wandering pacts of infected, and dozens of towns and villages standing as nightmarish obstacles, it was essential that a channel of attack was established prior to green lighting the assault on Plymouth, code named Operation Dying Light.
The FV510 Warrior came to a halt on the outskirts of Trematon. The sun was high in the sky, and visibility was pristine; the infected would be easy to spot, but then, so would the Warrior’s human contents. If the rag-tag formations of the United Kingdom’s armoured formations were to press on to Plymouth, then Trematon was the first stepping stone of many, and it needed securing like mankind needed a break from this nightmare.
Above, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook circled the clear sky; its door miniguns scouring the surrounds menacingly. After a short time, it lent forwards, making quickly for the farmstead on Trematon’s outskirts. Here it would unload its cargo of United States Marines; the British and Americans would hit the town from two directions, hoping to divide and conquer any potential infected threat.
Trematon Map
The Warrior has parked on the A38, next to Marshwood. The Chinook has landed next to the farm directly to the west. Both the warrior and Chinook will provide fire support.
It has fallen to the 1st Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps, and the British Light Dragoons cavalry regiment to clear a path through to Plymouth. Acting as a vanguard, these two forces will screen the advance of the main attacking forces. Players will be members of these two combat units.
As the players progress through the RP, the regiments will commit more troops to the fight. Starting with just a few infantrymen clearing rural households, you will eventually be joining hundreds - thousands - of your countrymen in the attack on Plymouth. Air and armoured assets too will become available as the campaign moves forwards, though these will be few owing to the fuel situation.
NPC troops will be background noise, and down to individual players to use and abuse. Below is the Task Force's status, in terms of troop strength.
- Secure Trematon
- Secure Burraton
- Secure Saltash
- Secure and hold Tamar Bridge until relieved
- Secure Barne Barton
- Secure and hold HMNB Devonport
- No killing off someone else's character without their say so.
- No military experts/enthusiasts bludgeoning people for mistakes about stupid things that don't need mentioning.
- Can't enforce this, but please try to post once at least every 48 hours.
- If you need to leave the RP for whatever reason, then God damned tell us so we don't sit around waiting for your guy/gal to do something.
Play as either a member of the British Light Dragoons.
Or as a United States Marine.
Maximum British Players: 4
Maximum American Players: 4
Maximum Total Players: 6
Name:
Gender:
Rank: USMC/UK Army
Age: (Humanity has done away with age constraints on serving members of the armed forces; if they can run and shoot, then they’re good to go!)
Appearance: Note, your character will be wearing a gas mask to protect themselves from airborne bacteria - so their face wont often be on show.
History:
Equipment: It will be assumed that all soldiers carry the following by default: Helmet, gas mask, chemical gloves, first aid kit, rations, grenades, knives, maps and tactical radios.
Primary Weapon: British Army Weapons || USMC Weapons
Secondary Weapon: Does not have to be a pistol, but bear in mind you have to carry it.
