Battle of Jyellig (Dronavi vs Plantar) [DRONAVI]

[Theopolis]

Battle of Jyellig

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Belligerents: Dronavi Army vs Plantar Sentients

Backstory: When the Dronavi city of Jyellig went dark and local militia reports indicated that large amounts of deaths and disappearances were occurring, the Dronavi High Command disptached the Dronavi 1st Army to discover what happened. Attacked along the way, and now under the barrage of rampant winds, torrential rainstorms and a city covered in vegetation, the Dronavi 1st Army has been ordered to assess the threat and destroy it at all costs. The enemy have been called Plantars, plant-like humanoids with no major organs and their only apparent weakness is complete destruction. The actual plantars are small, spherical bulbs that enter the body of it's host and began to secrete a resin that can maintain plant life, which in turn morphs the host into a plant-like creature. Casualties are estimated in the millions.

Points of Interest:
Pitched Battle: The Dronavi 1st Army is about to enter the city, the victory is the one left standing. Neither side will have reinforcements. Heavy rain, overturned gravtrucks, torrential windstorms and a city half-covered in vegetation is the battlefield.
Plantar Hivemind: Dronavi survivors and local police who met up with the Dronavi 1st Army reported a huge Plantar creature that is lurking in the underground rail system that may or may not be relevant to the destruction of the Plantar.

Forces:
Dronavi Army:
-- 1 Infantry Army (100,000 men)

Plantar Sentients:
-- 3 Infantry Armies (300,000 men)
-- 3 Planetary Garrisons (300,000 men)

Post Order:
-- Dronavi Holdworlds
-- ModMark

[Dronav Holdworlds]

Private Grom and his squad mates were to be one of the first combat teams in to Jyellig hold. They had been ordered into the city to gain intel on the heaviest concentrations of plantar in the hold before the main advance. The primary objective being the acquisition of targets for the Host's light artillery. Secondary objectives included: A. The location of a strong "High Ground" position for the assault force to claim and drive home the attack. B. Locating a viable entrance to the sub-tram systems for the search and destroy of the huge creature claimed to inhabit them.

The Third host commits 400 men to scouting Jyellig

[Theopolis]

Moderation Marks

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The Dronavi 1st Army had already all the blueprints for the city of Jyellig, thus they were well versed in the intricacies of the city. The dispatch of 400 men when 100,000 were available turned out to be a poor decision. The Dronavi 1st Army established a long perimeter, setting up tents and some small trenches while 400 regulars departed with orders from Dronavi High Command to gather intelligence on the enemy within Jyellig.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT // FILE 002.A.12 // Sergeant Groll // 1st Reconaissance Company // 2nd Platoon // 5th Squad

• Hour 0.56: "First Reconnaissance Company here .. movin' out. Minimal Plantar movement on the outskirts of the city. Movin' in to the city through the Kupperville Avenue. "
  
  
• Hour 1.88: " Two casualties. Privates Kilgore and Fetz. Medics had to inoculate after signs of infection. "
  
  
• Hour 3.88 " On the move, Plantar forces constantly moving in. We are passing 322nd and Frutl. Plan to attempt to enter the sub-tram systems. "
  
  
• Hour 5.11 " .. down into the syst -- zzt -- where there is a -- Heavy Gunfire -- and it appears to be creating -- zzt -- "
  
  
• Hour 5.55 " .. ast transmission to broadcoast. -- zzt -- are heavy casualties. We -- zzt -- low on ammunition and -- zzt -- "
  END OF TRANSMISSION

While the team undoubtedly collected much intel, they had little chance to report anything back before going out of contact with Dronavi High Command. The lack of armored and artillery support also meant a harder fight, the heaviest cannons the army carried with them were two man mortars, but this too seemed more a nuisance than anything else as the heavy rain battered the city and the waiting troops. The first day had come and darkness took the world. Patrols constantly engaged the troops with their flamer units, incinerating the Plantar wherever they could find them. As darkness turned to a cloudy, drizzly day Dronavi High Command found 99,000 troops still at their command.

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[Dronav Holdworlds]

SGT. Belwar watched as the main attack force moved to attack the city proper while he and the other members of the Göngbrotsjór* corps were to go into the sub-trams and clear out whatever was down there. They had enough ordinance to collapse the entire tunnel system if necessary. There would be enough heavy flamers to clean out the tubers as they advanced and the main attack would be big enough to draw most of the tubers' attention or at least the brass thought it would. They'd been given what was left of the recon boys to help bolster the numbers from the 4,000 members of the Göngbrotsjór* up to 9,000. The recons would find a path and clear it while the the corpsmen went under to clear out the sub-tram lines.

* Göngbrotsjór or Tunnel Breakers: The heavy combat demolition/engineer corps of the Dronavi. Developed from the need to be able to collapse and build tunnels under combat conditions during the time before the holds unified. Due to the extremely specialized and dangerous nature of their duties the Göngbrotsjór are considered one of the most elite subunits of the dronavi armed forces and have the highest number of training related deaths of any subunit.

The main force of 80,000 Troops will move to engage the plantar and draw their focus while the combined Recon/Göngbrotsjór force of 9,000 will move into the sub-tram network. Their main objective being the removal of whatever has taken up residence. 3,000 of the recon will secure the entrances of the sub-tram network to prevent plantar reinforcement. The remaining 10,000 troops will continue the picket around Jyellig Hold.

[Empire of Ezria]

Moderation Marks

The city of Jyellig was no longer a city. What it resembled now was an overgrown metropolis that a jungle sought to claim. Thick vegetation seemed to crawl everywhere, Dronavi troops either had to burn or cut their way through blocks of the thick green stuff. It wasn't long before the troops began to discover the victims of the Plantar assault. Dronavi men and women slaughtered in the streets, vegetation and plant life now poking out of their decaying skin. It was an entirely different world, filled with carnivorous plants that had a distinct intelligence that seemed to be drawing the Dronavi deeper and deeper into the doomed city.

As the main Dronavi force approached the center of the city on the second day was when all hell broke loose. In the first hour of combat, the Dronavi took some 5,000 casualties. The Plantar emerged from overgrown buildings and even beneath the Dronavi troops as they punched their way up from the sewer systems. The chaotic din of battle was soon joined, fires raged in pockets throughout the city, each time the Plantar horde was thrown back but they kept coming in waves and waves. The streets offered little room for maneuver or escape and panic was beginning to worm its way within the ranks, even though there was little place to run. The Dronavi army couldn't call on air support to drop napalm or artillery support to blast a path to safety. Only small field pieces provided cover but they lacked the punch to deal a decisive knockout blow to the Plantar troops that outnumbered them greatly.

------------------------------------
In the twisting tram system, thing's were progressing slightly better. Despite fierce resistance from the Plantar, the nine thousand strong Dronavi strike force had managed to penetrate deeper into the heart of the Plantar infestation but the deeper they went, the harder the resistance became. The Plantar's had no regard for their own lives, throwing themselves at the Dronavi with little care for their own skins. The tram tunnels were choked with fire, smoke, and Dronavi dead. They couldn't stop to deal with their own wounded, they would have to press on. Soon they would reach the supposed Plantar Hivemind, whether there were enough Dronavi alive to deal with the beast was another question entirely.

SUMMARY:
On the Surface:
The Dronavi vanguard of the main force has been cut off and surrounded, leaving fifteen thousand Dronavi trapped while the remaining troops have become bogged down in house to house and street fighting with the Plantar who have taken heavy casualties. Discipline is beginning to break down within the ranks the deeper the Dronavi press into Jyellig. The trapped force however does offer an opportunity. If the Dronavi vanguard is left to die, there is a small chance that the remaining troops could escape. Or the Dronavi can press on, and hope that the distraction they provide offers a chance for the Göngbrotsjór corp to deal with the suspected Plantar Hivemind.

Tram Tunnels:
Despite fierce resistance, the Dronavi strikeforce is closing in on the suspected Plantar Hivemind (next modmark). However, the deeper they press the more bloodier their casualties become. Of the original force of 9,000 only 6,500 are combat effective after two days of fighting.

Casualties:
Dronavi Army:
-- 1 Infantry Army / (70% fighting strength, morale has dropped considerably)

Plantar Sentients:
--1 Plantar Planetary Garrison Force destroyed / scattered

[Dronav Holdworlds]

Main Assault
Col. Trogdar Gunthar was the acting senior officer of the forward assault force following the loss of Lt. Gen. Helgar John and his staff team three hours ago. The plantar were hitting them relentlessly. But he knew that the attack was allowing the specialists a chance to complete a mission that would save the Hold, or at least that's what the General had told him. At the moment the most pressing concern was that fifteen thousand men were cut off and fighting for their lives in some warehouse complex not a half klick away. There had been a lull in the fighting for a few minutes and he was using it to discuss the state of the operation with a few of the other officers and senior NCO's. Currently a young Lieutenant was giving a personnel report.

"We have roughly thirty eight thousand effectives right now sir, we may be able t.."

"What about the vanguard boys to the north?" Gunthar cut in quickly.

"Sir?, those men are lost sir."

"They are NOT lost LT.. They're just cut off and surrounded, sir." Sgt. Maj. Bronver replied curtly. "We should try to get to them sir, it's not right to leave them to tubers*."

"Have you collapsed a shaft* Sarge morale is shot to hell. Some of the boys want to make a run for it while we can and regroup for another go."

Bronver stared at the kid. That's what he was, a kid. "LT. the whole army's morale will go up in smoke if the boys think we'll leave 'em to die when they get in over their heads. If we retreat it'll turn into every man for himself in ten minutes. You have my word."

Gunthar looked around at them, adjusted his re-breather and stood up. "Gentlemen, we've got vanguard to rescue. Get the men ready."

Göngbrotsjór Strike force

Sgt. Belwar had been in active combat for sixteen continuous hours. he was confident that they were close to whatever it was the tubers had down here. The tunnels made him a bit more at ease than the open terrain of the rest of the world. If a Göngbrotsjór felt at home anywhere it was a tunnel. they'd lost almost a third of their forces on the trek so far. The only thing they could spare time for was to strip them of ammo and ordinance. Belwar had the nasty feeling that this whole ordeal might end up being a one way trip.

Notes.
tubers- Dronavi army slang for the plantars
collapsed a shaft- A Dronav colloquialism for losing one's mind.

They remaining 38,500 troops of the main assault will press on into the Hold to attempt to rejoin the 15,000 men of the vanguard. While the Göngbrotsjór strike force moves on to their objective.

[Empire of Ezria]

Moderation Marks

Main Force:
The attempt to relieve the trapped pocket was brave but ultimately futile. Twelve hours they tried to fight their way through the warehouse district but it was swarming with hostiles. The corpses of Dronavi and burning Plantar were scattered everywhere. Eventually Colonel Belwar managed to reach the trapped force, only to find the fifteen thousand had been reduced to three thousand throughout the long night of fighting. His troops were tired and exhausted, several hundred attempted their own small breakout. Individual squads and platoons breaking off to try and find their own way out of the cursed expedition. A few made it, most didn't. The radio calls to the picket force on the exterior of the city continued to grow more desperate with each passing hour, the Dronavi First Army was running out of everything from food to water and medical supplies. In the end, Belwar and his surviving troops had fortified themselves into a nest of warehouses that served as their own small forts. One by one they fell, one by one the radio broadcasts grew fewer and fewer.

Göngbrotsjór Strike Force:
Deep below in the tram system, the troops continued to fight. In some cases the Plantar allowed them to come down a tram tunnel, only to ambush them at the next intersection. Signs of some sort of nest continued to become apparent the deeper they went into the network. Vines roped along the tunnel walls, the tracks were thick with vegetation, and the tram system resembled more of a murky dank swamp than a tunnel. The lair of the suspected Plantar Hivemind was massive and it seemed that the lower tram tunnels served as some sort of birthing chamber, hacking there way forward with machetes and flamers they eventually stumbled upon it.

The monster was massive, huge vinelike tentacles stretching out like an immense spiderweb, the appendages themselves were weapons. They were lined with razor sharp barbs, designed for catching and holding prey before dragging them into its mouth to be devoured. The creature was defended by hundreds of its Plantar minions who threw themselves at the Göngbrotsjór in suicidal mass charges. The claustrophobic confines of the tram system meant that it was close quarters fighting, the Plantar could take crippling wounds but still keep coming and coming. By the time the Strike Force reached the lair of the beast, it was down to half of its original starting strength. If they were to have any hope of reaching the Plantar monster it would have to throw every single man into the meat grinder.

SUMMARY:
The Drovani First Army has ceased to exist as a cohesive fighting force. It has been reduced to roughly 25,000 combat effective troops on the main surface of the city. They have hunkered down in the Warehouse District where Plantar mass waves continue to assault them. Within 48 hours, they will run out of food and ammunition.

The Göngbrotsjór Strike force has entered the suspected lair of the Hivemind and has begun to engage the monster and its cadre of bodyguards in close quarters combat.

[Dronav Holdworlds]

Göngbrotsjór Strike Force
Sgt. Belwar was fighting for his life having lost his rifle an hour ago in the last ambush he'd picked up a flamer from one of the dead recon troopers nearby. They were coming in on the last leg. Most of the ordinance had been salvaged and orders were to pile it on to the creeper and set it off. The senior engineers agreed that they'd brought enough to collapse half the tunnel system if it all went up at once. So that had been agreed upon as the goal now. Cleanse the hold, even if they all died it would be worth it. The dead were now being used as delivery systems, their bodies loaded down with as much ordinance as possible to be stuck onto the barbed appendages to have the beast feed it self it's own doom. A few of the troopers opted to do this while still living claiming they might actually have the quicker death. The plan was that once all the ordinance was in place a rearguard would form and the officer or NCO in charge would turn on the dead man switch on his detonator and hold out as long as posible so the rest off the unit might gett clear of the blast. If that didn't happen the last survivors would detonate regardless of ordinance distribution in the hopes that whatever had been delivered into the creature would be enough and the ordinance out side would collapse the tunnel killing the wounded beast.

The Göngbrotsjór prepare to complete their objective, by feeding the hivemind explosive festooned bodies both living and dead in the hope that the explosion will rip the the creature to shreds from the inside. Though a secondary plan is for the escape of most of the survivors is in place the Göngbrotsjór are prepared to go to death with it.

The surviving troops of the main assault force hold on hoping they'll make it through.

[Empire of Ezria]

Moderation Mark

Göngbrotsjór Strike Force:
The plan of body bombing the Hive Mind was rather overambitious (and overcomplicated), especially as the Plantar stubbornly refused to give ground against the troops even despite their best efforts to press forward into the breach. The explosives might have been better spent trying to clear a path to the Hive Mind in the first place, the crunch of roots and leaves from behind the Corp meant that more of the Plantar were descending into the tunnels now that the main Dronavi force had been dealt with, cutting off their escape. All in all, thing's looked decidedly bad.

The Göngbrotsjór fought on, if it had been witnessed their bravery would no doubt go down in the annals of Dronavi military history. But not a soul was going to live to tell about the sacrifice of the Göngbrotsjór Corp, not a soul was going to tell how they had fought to a man, not a soul was going to tell how Sergeant Belwar had been snapped up by one of the Hive Mind's tendrils and wrenched towards the creatures mouth. It had only been when he had been close enough to the beast's gaping jaws that he pulled a pair of thermal grenades from his belt. With a flick of both thumbs he armed them, opening his arms wide to greet the razor sharp teeth in an embrace of death. Sergeant Belwar and the Plantar Hive Mind disappeared in a gush of flame, burning flesh, and plant matter. The trauma of the mind connection being broken drove the remaining Plantar into a frenzy, the Göngbrotsjór died to a man within the tunnels. But the beast was dead, at last.

Surface:
Thing's had grown dire into the sixth day, the Plantar assault had been steadily pushing the Dronavi defensive square down to a small collection of warehouses. The perimeter continued to shrink and the Dronavi died in droves. The sever of the mind link however changed things. The beasts were thrown into an insane frenzy, any attempt at tactics forgotten as they began to attack one another and the Dronavi.

Eventually after several hours of this, the Plantar began retreating. The Plantar Sentient's had been kept in check for the moment. At least until a creature with a strong enough mental prowess emerged from amongst them to lead them once more. On the seventh day, the survivors crept out of their battered collection of 'fortifications'. They had come into the city some 90,000 strong. They left with barely 15,000 survivors. It wasn't an army that left the city it was a gaggle of walking corpses, even more troubling some of the wounded showed signs of being infected with strange spores that had begun to make them sprout plant like growths.


SUMMARY:
Dronavi Pyrrhic Victory

-Dronavi First Army destroyed.
-Plantar Hive Mind defeated, for the moment the Plantar are kept in check. It will take another sweep to completely clear the city of the Plantar Infestation and ONE cycle to begin repopulating the city with new colonists.
-Some Dronavi soldiers show strange signs of infection of Plantar spores.
-Loss of 3 credits for ONE turn as Jyellig does not produce.