Our forces have been regrouped and are preparing for the invasion of Houdan Island at dawn tomorrow. The ship you are currently aboard, the USS Thorn, will play a part in the pre-dawn shelling of areas known to contain Soviet troops and material.
With our advanced ECM equipment, the resulting confusion and destruction should ensure the invasion is swift and successful.
However, there is a problem.
Intelligence has identified a Soviet communications center in elevated terrain west of Dourdan, housing an underground communications line used for contact with the rest of the island.
As you are aware, our ECM equipment is only effective against airborne communications, and therefore the immediate elimination of this center has been ordered.
Enemy reinforcements are not expected before the invasion tomorrow (070012JAN85).
Insertion will be by F470 ZODIAC assault craft at 010012FEB85.
Have your squad equipped and ready for transfer by 000512FEB85.
All equipment check-outs, rehearsals, and gear checks must be completed by that time.
Read the FIVE PARAGRAPH ORDER for complete details.
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
Our plans for the invasion and establishment of a beachhead on Houdan Island requires the destruction of a Soviet communications center west of Dourdan. The communications center is expected to be heavily guarded by infantry patrols. However, no heavy armor is expected.
The mission also calls for the destruction of a nearby anti-aircraft site and the securement of extraction site Alpha, from which your team will be extracted by a UH-60 Blackhawk, temporarily based on USS Thor.
Your squad will infiltrate the camp containing the communications center and destroy it with the use of M183 satchel charges. The surrounding tents are thought to house important human and material resources and should be considered a secondary target.
ENEMY FORCES
Size
The coast is known to be patrolled by a number of infantry, and possibly two (2) UAZ light search vehicles. These should not prove much of a threat.
The communications centre is thought to be guarded by at least eight (8) patrols of approximately four (4) men each.
The anti-aircraft site is thought to be guarded by only a small group of infantry, (12+/-), but improvised traps (anti-personnel mines, flares) should be expected and the site approached with caution.
The nearby towns of Houdan and Dourdan are thought to contain platoons of men (40+/-) each. These towns are thought to have been abandoned by civilians.
Activity
The intensity of infantry patrols around the towns of Houdan and Dourdan have stepped down recently as Houdan Island has been secured by the Soviets, but is still significant.
The recent capture of Resistance members in the vicinity of Lolisse has raised spirits in these areas despite the rerouting of supplies to the south part of the island.
Soviet officers are presumably keen to keep morale high, and discipline appears to have been relaxed in the wake of the NATO retreat.
Location
The anti-aircraft site is located south-west of Dourdan (Fh49). There is no information available on the routine of these infantry patrols.
The communications center is located directly west of Dourdan (Ff47). The infantry patrols have not been observed more than 1km away from the camp. The UAZs have been observed patrolling up to 2 km away from Houdan and Dourdan.
Unit
The anti-aircraft site is thought to be a component of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion.
Time
The last satellite reconnaisance was taken at 220011FEB85.
Equipment
One (1) ZSU-23-4 Shilka, 120+/- light infantry, many light machine guns (PKs), an unknown number of SA-7 Grails(9K32 Strela).
Friendly Forces
Supporting: One (1) UH-60 from Company F, 1-194th Aviation (USA) will provide extraction.
Attachments and Detachments
None.
Mission
a. Your squad, operating under callsign 'Thor', will be transferred by launch to several miles from the coast of Houdan.
b. Your squad will proceed to the landing site (Fj54) in an F470 ZODIAC assault craft.
c. Upon securing the landing site, Thor will proceed towards the anti-aircraft encampment (Fh49).
d. Take appropriate means to neutralise the site's ability to threaten the extraction helicopter.
e. Proceed to the communications center (Ff47) and neutralise it with the use of M183 satchel charges.
f. Upon neutralization, Thor will report status to the taskgroup, operating under callsign 'Odin'. The shelling of strategic targets will then commence.
g. Thor will proceed to extraction point Alpha in grid (Fh55).
h. Thor will return, via UH-60, to USS Thorn.
i. Major Cunningham will report to General Mikita for debriefing.
Execution
a. Concept of Operations: Thor will insert into the region via ZODIAC assault craft. Engagement of energy forces should be strictly by necessity. Upon destruction of the supply center and anti-aircraft site, Thor will move to the primary extraction point Alpha. If unable to reach the primary point, the squad will hide out until the invasion of the island by NATO forces several hours later at 070012FEB85. Primary extraction will be by UH-60. Secondary extraction will be by landing craft. Commander's Recon. of target area is recommended.
b. Tasks:
1. 1st squad - Destroy enemy communications encampment and secure extraction site.
a. Maj. Cunningham - MP5SD3, binoculars, NVGs, three (3) M183 satchel charges, team leader
b. Lt. Anderson - MP5SD3, two (2) M183 satchel charges, RTO
c. Lt. Wright - MP5SD3, two (2) M183 satchel charges, medic
d. Sgt. Tapping - MP5SD3, two (2) M183 satchel charges
e. Sgt. Shanks - MP5SD3, two (2) M183 satchel charges, assistant RTO
f. Sgt. Glassner - MP5SD3, two (2) M183 satchel charges, navigation
g. Pvt. Judge - M60
h. Pvt. Davis - M60
c. Coordinating Instruction: N/A
Administration and Logistics
see attachments A1-A6
Command and Signal
a. Signal
1. USS Thorn, DD, insertion, freq. 45.30 Mhz
2. Rescue, freq. 45.30, alt. freq. 57.35 Mhz
Challenge/Reply is Red/Eleven
b. Command
Maj. Cunningham, Lt. Anderson.
REFERENCE: FMFM 6-5
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Missions Hints
1. Ensure your team has all the required munitions as per stated in the five paragraph order.
2. Be on deck by 000512FEB85.
3. Latest intel indicates that Dourdan has received several armored vehicles, apparently battle-damaged and thought to be undergoing servicing.
4. Latest intel indicates that enemy radio activity is lower than usual.
That is all. Good luck!
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
The following extract comes from US Army Field Manual 100-2-3 - The Soviet Army; Troops Organisation and Equipment published in June 1991. The publication was approved for public release with unlimited distribution (i.e. may be freely used). The entry provided covered the PK, PKS, PKB, PKMB, PKMS, and PKT machine guns.
Description:
The 7.62-mm general-purpose machine gun Pulemyot Kalashnikov (PK) is a gas-operated, belt-fed, sustained-fire weapon. The Soviets based its design on the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Notable differences from the assault rifle are the gas cylinder below the barrel and the hollow-frame stock resembling that of the SVD sniper rifle. The PKM fires 7.62 x 54R rimmed cartridges using a metal non-disintegrating belt.
The basic PK model is bipod-mounted. It is fed by a 100-round belt carried in a box fastened to the right side of the receiver. It weighs 9 kilograms and is 1,161 millimeters long. It is constructed partly of stamped metal and partly of forged steel.
The PKS is a PK mounted on a lightweight (4.75-kg) tripod. It uses either a 200- or 250-round belt. The belt feeds from a box placed to the right of the weapon.
The PKT is the tank-mounted version of the PK.
Late-model Soviet tanks, turreted APCs and ICVs, and amphibious scout cars mount it as a coaxial machine gun. It has a longer and heavier barrel than the PK. It also lacks the PK's stock, sights, bipod, and trigger mechanism. The PKT has a solenoid at the rear for remote-controlled firing, although it also has an emergency manual trigger.
The PKB is a variant of the PKT. It is intended for use as a pintle-mounted gun on APCs and SP guns. It differs from the PKT by having a butterfly trigger rather than a solenoid trigger and by having double space grips and front and rear sights. There may also be a PKMB, derived from the PKM rather than from the PK.
The PKM is an improved, lighter version (8.4 kilograms) of the PK, using stamped metal components instead of machined metal. Joinable 25-round sections of non-disintegrating metallic belts feed the bipod-mounted PKM. An assault magazine attached to the rails under the receiver can carry 100 cartridges belted in this way. Either 200- or 250-round belt boxes can also feed the PKM.
The tripod-mounted PKMS is a lightweight version of the PKS. It has the same characteristics as the PKM, from which it is derived.
Capabilities:
The effective range of the PK-series machine guns is 1,000 meters. The have a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute and a practical rate of fire of 250 round per minute. Ammunition types include the following: ball, ball-tracer, armor-piercing incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary-tracer, and incendiary-ranging.
The PKM is currently organic to the machine gun platoon of a BMP-equipped MRC and to the machine gun/antitank platoon of a BTR-equipped MRC. it normally fires from its bipod mount but can also fit in vehicle firing ports.
The PKS and PKMS are also infantry weapons. Used as heavy machine guns, they provide long-rage area fire. Their tripod provides a stable mount for long-range ground fire. The tripod opens quickly to elevate the gun for antiaircraft fire. The machine gun has an effective range of 600 meters against slow-moving aircraft.
The PKT serves as a coaxial machine gun on most modern Soviet tanks, ICVs, and APCs. The PKB (PKBM) serves as a pintle-mounted gun on older armored vehicles such as the BRDM, BTR-50 and BTR-60.
Limitations:
The non-disintegrating belt can get in the way if the gunner must move the weapon during firing. Barrel changing is not as fast and effective as in the more recent Western machine guns. Although designed by Kalasknikov, the weapon's moving parts are not interchangeable with those of the AK-series weapons.
Remarks:
The Soviets introduced the basic PK machine gun in 1964. They followed it with the PKS, PKT, PKB (1968), PKM (1971), and PKMS. Compared to the US M-60, the PK-series machine guns are easier to handle during firing, easier to care for, and lighter. They use a more powerful cartridge and have a slightly shorter effective range (1,000 meters versus 1,100 meters for the M-60). The PK and PKM once served as squad machine guns in BMP-equipped motorized rifle squads, but now the 5.45-mm light machine gun RPK-74 has that function. The vehicle-mounted PKT continues to be standard equipment on many armored fighting vehicles.
Information taken directly from http://www.sovietarmy.com/small_arms/pk.html .
This is not my work.
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
The ZSU-23-4 system is a fully integrated, self-propelled, anti-aircraft system with four liquid-cooled 23mm automatic cannons mounted on the front of a large, flat, armoured turret. The chassis has many components borrowed from other Russian armoured vehicles. The suspension system resembles that of the PT-76 and ASU-85; it has six road wheels and no track support rollers.
The driver sits in the left front of the hull; the rest of the crew; the commander, gunner, and radar operator, sit in the turret. The fire control radar mounted on the rear of the turret can fold down during travel. The ZSU-23-4 has the capability to both acquire and track low-flying aircraft targets, with an effective anti-aircraft range of 2500 meters. It also is capable of firing on the move because of its integrated radar and gun stabilization system.
The high-frequency operation of the fire control radar emits a very narrow beam that provides excellent aircraft tracking while being difficult to detect or evade. However, such a frequency also dictates a limited range; linking the system to other long-range acquisition radars in the area can compensate for this. This system can also engage lightly armoured ground vehicles.
The four guns are water-cooled and each have a cyclic rate of fire of 800 to 1000 rounds a minute. However, the gunner normally fires them in bursts of 2 to 3 rounds a barrel, to reduce ammunition expenditure and prolong barrel life. Each ZSU-23-4 carries about 2000 rounds onboard. Ammunition supply trucks, carry an estimated additional 3000 rounds for each of the four guns.
Electronic target acquisition, tracking, and ranging is automated; an onboard computer determines super elevation and azimuth lead. Conventional optical sights also are available. The onboard load normally mixes two types of ammunition at a ratio of three HEI-T rounds per one API-T round. An HEl round is also available.
The HEI-T and HEl rounds are intended for defeating aircraft by fragmentation, blast, or incendiary effect. They may also be used against personnel in a ground role. The API-T round can penetrate lightly armoured ground targets and aircraft and can defeat them by an incendiary effect. Tracers facilitate correction of fire.
The ZSU-23-4 is not amphibious, but has a fording capability of just over one meter. During river assault operations, it would be ferried to the far bank immediately after the leading companies. The crew also receives protection from its thin armour; 9.4mm in the hull and 8.9mm in the turret. A radiation detection and warning system and an air filtration and overpressure system provide collective NBC protection.
The latest variant, the ZSU-23-4M, features large ammunition panniers mounted on the turret sides with three access ports on each side of the hull and an armoured cover for the guns. It also has a digital computer, an improved fire control radar and can be linked to off-carriage radar and fire control equipment if required.
The fire control radar on the ZSU-23-4M is capable of being used independently in the search mode whereas on previous versions it had been slaved to the gun tubes. There is also a modified ZSU-23-4M with protrusions on the right and left sides of the fire control radar dome and vanes down its center. The vanes are side-lobe clutter-reducing devices and the protrusions are IFF receivers.
The most significant changes include a major change to the air cooling supply system as well as the radio and electronic systems of the vehicle. These changes have improved the overall reliability of the system. An improved ventilation system for the fighting and crew compartments has been installed.
Information source unknown.
This is not my work.
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
The SA-7 GRAIL (Strela-2) man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude SAM system is similar to the US Army REDEYE, with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance.
The HN-5 ( Hong Nu = Red Cherry ) is an improved Chinese version with upgraded capabilities.
The SA-7 was the first generation of Soviet man portable surface-to-air missiles. Although classed as "fire and forget" types, the missiles were easily overcome by solar heat and, when used in hilly terrain, by heat from the ground.
The SA-7 seeker is fitted with a filter to reduce the effectiveness of decoying flares and to block IR emissions. The system consists of the missile (9K32 and 9K32M), a reloadable gripstock (9P54 and 9P54M), and a thermal battery (9B17). An identification friend or foe (IFF) system can be fitted to the operators helmet. Further, a supplementary early warning system consisting of a passive RF antenna and headphones can be used to provide early cue about the approach and rough direction of an enemy aircraft. Although the SA-7 is limited in range, speed, and altitude, it forces enemy pilots to fly above minimum radar limitations which results in detection and vulnerability to regimental and divisional air defense systems.
The SA-7a (9K32 Strela-2) was introduced for service in 1968, but was soon replaced by the SA-7b (9K32M Strela-2M) which became the most common production model. The SA-7b, differs from the SA-7a primarily by using a boosted propellant charge to increase range and speed. The SA-7a had a slant range of 3.6 km and a kill zone between 15 and 1500 meters in altitude, with a speed of about 430 meters per second (Mach 1.4). The SA-7b has a slant range of about 4.2 km, a ceiling of about 2300 meters, and a speed of about 500 meters per second (Mach 1.75). Both the SA-7a and SA-7b are tail-chase missile systems, and its effectiveness depends on its ability to lock onto the heat source of low-flying fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft targets.
Information taken directly from http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/sa-7.htm .
This is not my work.
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
PRIMARY: Neutralise the anti-aircraft site north of the insertion point.
PRIMARY: Destroy the enemy communications center.
SECONDARY: Destroy the command tents surrounding the communications center.
PRIMARY: Withdraw to extraction site.
1. Landing Site Coordinates (7650,6200)
2. Landing Craft - 1 ZODIAC.
3. Weather decision Go/No-Go time 003012FEB85.
Expected Weather
Temp = 34 F. Winds = 8-13 knots with possible gusts up to 25 knots.
6/8ths cloud cover with 70% chance of rain, increasing clouds and higher percentage of rain over the next few hours.
4. Departure Time is 004012APR85.
5. Time to reach landing site is 25 minutes.
6. Obstacles on or near landing site - Cliffs; wrecked fishing boat in shallow water 7670,5730
Turn to Warning Order
Turn to FRAGO
Turn to Insertion Briefing
Turn to Five Paragraph Order
Turn to Mission Hints
Your death and that of your men was insignificant to the slaughter of the NATO amphibious assault that followed. Perhaps you could have made the difference.
Outstanding work! The bombardment went as planned and all is in place for a textbook assault later today. History will record your success!
Apparently you misunderstood your mission! We gave up a great opportunity to seriously slow down the Soviet's in this region.
Now we will have to fight that much harder. I am not happy.
Dismissed.
I hope that you have some excuse for coming back with more body-bags than with bodies?
How could you fail so miserably?
I expect a full report within the hour.
Dismissed.
Excellent job Marines! You have more than exceeded HQ's goals. This will significantly help our position in this region.
Please submit a list of recommendations for awards as soon as possible.
You have won yourselves a 72-hour pass. Enjoy it!
Dismissed.
Do you need some remedial training in land navigation?
How could you get so far off course?
Report to Sgt. Coldly for a 'refresher' course immediately.
Dismissed.