Game Introduction
It is the 21st of June 2000, 06:30 local time. Back in April the rumours of an offensive started coming through. The US and NATO forces heard word of Operation Reset, the first major offensive to be launched by the US military in well over a year. It started well for the US forces and the push towards a devastated polish capital Warsaw took the soviet forces by surprise, but it didn’t last. After a triumphant week of NATO gains, the Soviet military woke up, it reacted and struck back hard. Coordinated assaults of armour and artillery pounded NATO forces and the offensive ground to a halt. The USA led forces desperately moved against the advancing soviets, and with the Soviets more numerous, left both sides battered in a bloody stalemate.
In Poland the US 5th Infantry Division was pushed back and crushed at Kalisz, the survivors fleeing to the woods. The final order is painfully short and to the point: Good luck, you're on your own now..
All of you ended up in a spot 10Kms north of Kalisz, the 212th field surgical hospital, in a small clearing surrounded by woods, dealing with the torn and broken bodies that modern warfare inflicts. The fighting was far away, or so you thought. The rain had stopped and as dawn broke a mist had formed. All members of the hospital unit were soon to find out, war was coming to them.
Sprockets could be heard in the mist. Dr Robinson was outside the operating tent, a five-year veteran and a captain in the US Army, her smocks covered in the blood of those she had operated on. Her eyes revealed that too many had not survived. She had heard the sprockets as a sign that more casualties were being brought in, more bodies for her to try to put back together. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes; it had been almost 48 hours since she’d last slept. Looking for the M113 medical tracks to appear she wiped her eyes and, gathering her strength, stared off into the distance. Her attention was caught by dark shapes as they appeared out of the mist. Terror froze in her eyes as machine gunfire erupted into the silence of the horror unfolding in front of her. The loud crack of a main gun rolled off in the front, the shockwave sending a shimmer through the mist, drew her eyes as the high explosive shell impacted the Bradley armoured fighting vehicle. The turret launching a head of bright orange flame that licked the underside of the vehicle, leaving no chance of survival for those inside. All hell let loose, bullets and tracer rounds came from what seemed like all directions. Explosions shook the trees, tortured screams joining those of the men falling under this terrible barrage. Turning desperately, looking for cover, was when she felt the heat of the hot metal that had entered through a skin of her back, her medical knowledge already calculating the damage it was causing her. She fell to the dirt, her mind continuing to whirl as the shock of being hit, mingled with the confusion of a cacophony of noise, pressure, light and heat that surrounded her. Her hearing dimmed as the final thought crept across her fading mind. This was it, the end.
Dwight Quincy grabs the wounded doctor, throwing her into the back of the M1114 HMMWV. Also in the M1114 were Kyle Brookheimmer and Tom Wozniak . Slamming it into gear, Brookheimmer races the hummer out of the devastation behind you. T72 tanks, BMP armoured fighting vehicles shooting and firing, opening fire on the wounded, shooting anyone that moved. The firing died down as you raced into the darkness.
As morning broke, you found yourself a little bit away from the death and destruction, in a small clearing, taking a break. You find it clear, no sprockets, no gunshots, exhausted, tired and wounded. A few bullet holes in the side of hummer.
You decide to make camp and take stock of the situation. Firing in the distance still goes on. It's quite a way, nothing close by. Exhausted you set up a pattern for the days shifts, sleeping or keeping watch. The doctor injured in the back of the M1114. You know things are bad. This is where the story begins…
