Conquer the Kremlin!

by Eric Salzman

General H.R. “Howler” Greer doffed his trademark ten-gallon hat as he stepped through a low portal into the confines of the Mobile
Headquarters’ trailer, which was dominated by a holoprojection of the High Kremlin. A man-made mountain of armored ferrocrete, the
Capellan fortress loomed above the surrounding desert plain. Greer was intimately familiar with every detail, having unsuccessfully laid
siege for half of the previous year. This time was going to be different.

“Orders, General?” His XO looked up expectantly.

“Tell the boys to move out, Bill. We’re takin’ the Kremlin today, and ain’t nothin’ gonna stop us!”
SITUATION
May 14th, 2833
Grand Kremlin
Great Ufa Desert, Ufa Continent
Tikonov, Tikonov Commonality
Capellan Confederation

In 2829, First Prince Paul Davion ordered a major offensive against the Capellan Confederation. The AFFS campaign stalled in 2832, when the Ceti
Hussars failed to crack Capellan defenses on Tikonov. After six months of staring up at the walls of the Capellan fortifications, the Hussars retreated.
Paul ordered the Hussars upgraded for a renewed assault, supported by elements of the Deneb Light Cavalry and the Avalon Hussars. The 2nd
Ceti Hussars RCT, freshly outfitted with Marauders and BattleMasters, would spearhead the assault on the Ufa continent, where the High Kremlin, a
centuries-old Castle Brian, served as the lynchpin of Tikonov’s defenses.
The AFFS landings went according to plan, with the Avalon Hussars and Deneb Light Cavalry pinning down the Chesterton Voltigeurs while the
Ceti Hussars engaged the Ariana Fusiliers. After several weeks of hard fighting, the surviving Capellan forces on Ufa withdrew to the protection of the
High Kremlin. Greer threw the bulk of his forces against the towering walls of the Kremlin in a dawn assault on the 3rd of May.
For nearly two weeks, the Kremlin’s advanced SLDF weapons batteries and thick walls proved impregnable. On the evening of the 13th, Greer
resolved to end the stalemate. While the majority of the RCT would launch an all-out assault against the main gates, Greer himself would lead a strike
team against an outlying firebase, code-named “Molotov”, which seismic surveys had identified as being connected to a tunnel network running into
the heart of the fortress.
GAME SET-UP
Maps: Lay out the maps left-right (west-east): Desert Sinkhole #1 –
Military Base #2 – Military Base #1
Attacker: The Attacker may set up within three hexes of the western
edge of the Desert Sinkhole map. Demolition and electronics teams begin
in the infantry bays of the Heavy APCs. Record which teams are in which
APC, but do not initially reveal their locations to the Defender.
Defender: The Defender may set up anywhere within the walls of
Firebase Molotov. Infantry units begin inside their respective turrets, and
the bunker security platoon begins at the tunnel entrance building (Hex
0112, Military Base #1), which is a hardened building with a CF of 100.
DEFENDER
The defender consists of elements of the Second Ariana Fusiliers
and supporting Home Guard troops, assigned to the defense of Firebase
Molotov.
Batfalzski’s Broncos, 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Ariana Fusiliers
GHR-5H Grasshopper (Commander Vladimir Batfalzski, Piloting 2,
Gunnery 3)
BJ-1 Blackjack (Subcommander Jeffrey Glovanovich, Piloting 4,
Gunnery 4)
CLNT-2-3T Clint (Subcommander Ivan Rzichev, Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
CPLT-C1 Catapult (Subcommander Olga Ykaterova, Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)

Breaching the Tunnel: To breach the tunnel entrance and/or deacti-
vate the security system, the Attacker must move the appropriate infantry
team (demolition or electronics) to the tunnel entrance building (Hex 0112,
Military Base #1) and be in sole control of the hex, with no Defender infan-
try present in the building.
ATTACKER
The attacker consists of a special commando detachment from the
Second Ceti Hussars RCT, personally led by General H.R. “Howler” Greer,
with support from the 2nd Hussars’ artillery group.
Command Lance, Special Operations Detachment, Combat Command
Alpha, 2nd Ceti Hussars RCT
BLR-1D BattleMaster (General H.R. “Howler” Greer; Piloting 3, Gunnery 2)
WHM-6D Warhammer (Captain Marissa Nagle; Piloting 2, Gunnery 4)
MAD-3D Marauder (Sergeant Morton Jenkins; Piloting 3, Gunnery 3)
JM6-S JagerMech (Sergeant Mariko Kodama; Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
Infantry Support Lance, Special Operations Detachment, Combat
Command Alpha, 2nd Ceti Hussars RCT
Manticore Heavy Tank (Leftenant James “Big Jim” Darrow; Piloting 4,
Gunnery 3)
Manticore Heavy Tank (Sergeant Lucilda Boone; Piloting 3, Gunnery 3)
Heavy Hover APC (Sergeant M’Kembo Aliseseh; Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
Heavy Hover APC (Sergeant J. J. O’Malley; Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
Gremlin Lance, 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Tikonov Home Guard
Regiment
Vedette Medium Tank (Lance Sergeant Grigori Kubayev, Piloting 4,
Gunnery 4)
Vedette Medium Tank (Lance Corporal Misha Ivanovich, Piloting 5,
Gunnery 4)
LRM Carrier (Lance Corporal Boris Iliych, Piloting 5, Gunnery 3)
LRM Carrier (Lance Corporal Cho Yun Phat, Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
Molotov Detatchment, 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Tikonov Militia
Regiment
Bunker Security (Machine Gun Platoon) (Lance Sergeant Mikel Ustinov,
Gunnery 3)
Alpha Turret Gunners (Rifle Platoon) (Lance Sergeant Yuri Stavorin,
Gunnery 4)
Beta Turret Gunners (Rifle Platoon) (Lance Sergeant Katya Kazamarov,
Gunnery 4)
Gamma Turret Gunners (Rifle Platoon) (Lance Sergeant Peng Kyu,
Gunnery 4)

Engineering Company, Special Operations Detachment, Combat

Command Alpha, 2nd Ceti Hussars RCT
Demolitions Team Alpha (Rifle Platoon) (Leftenant Xavier Delgado,
Gunnery 4)
Demolitions Team Beta (Rifle Platoon) (Leftenant Deborah Slims,
Gunnery 4)
Electronics Team Alpha (Rifle Platoon) (Leftenant Jim Updike, Gunnery 4)
Electronics Team Beta (Rifle Platoon) (Leftenant Wally Masters,
Gunnery 4)
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Attacker:
Each Defender destroyed (including turrets A, B & G, not D): +2
Tunnel entrance hatch blown open: +10 on or before turn 10
+5 between turns 11 and 15
+0 after turn 15
Tunnel security systems deactivated: +10 on or before turn 10
+5 between turns 11 and 15
+0 after turn 15
Defender:
Each Attacker tank or ‘Mech destroyed: +4
Each Attacker Engineering Platoon destroyed: +6
Tunnel hatch still sealed at end of turn 15: +15
Security systems still active at end of turn 15: +15

Outcome:
Subtract the Defender score from the Attacker score to determine the outcome.

30 or higher: Total Attacker Victory

20 to 29: Partial Attacker Victory
10 to 19: Marginal Attacker Victory
-9 to 9: Draw
-10 to -19: Marginal Defender Victory
-20 to -29: Partial Defender Victory
-30 or lower: Total Defender Victory

SPECIAL RULES
The following special case rules apply during this scenario:

Gun Emplacements: Firebase Molotov sports four heavy gun emplacements. However, only three of these are still functional. The fourth (Delta) has
been stripped for hard-to-get spare parts, and is just an empty shell. The turrets are located at the following positions: Military Base #1 Hex 0403;
Military Base #1 Hex 0705; Military Base #2 Hex 0715; Military Base #2 Hex 1015. The Defender must secretly select which turret is non-functional
at the outset of the game. Each emplacement (including Delta) is a level 1 hardened building with a CF of 150 and 80 points of turret armor. The
three functional turrets each mount the following weapons: LRM-10 (24 rounds), AC/10 (40 rounds), and a PPC. The crew of a turret may exit dur-
ing the movement phase and fight as a rifle infantry platoon. Delta has been dressed up to still look functional, and the Attacker may fire on it as
though it were a functional turret, but it may not fire any weapons.

Minefields: Before setup, the Defending Player designates 10 hexes as being mined with hidden six-point conventional minefields. The locations of
the minefields must be recorded, but are not initially known to the Attacking Player.

Offboard Artillery: The Attacking Player is being supported by a pair of Thumper artillery pieces, which are situated two map-sheets off-board. Shell
flight-time is one turn.

Rules:
Gun Emplacements: All gun emplacements follow the rules stated in the BattleTech Master Rules,
Revised, page 53.
Minefields: BattleTech Master Rules, Revised, p. 86
Artillery: BattleTech Master Rules, Revised, pp. 73-76
AFTERMATH
Though the 2nd Ceti Hussars RCT sustained heavy losses in the assault on the High Kremlin, General Greer’s strike team successfully penetrated
the defenses around Firebase Molotov and forced their way into the tunnel network. As the other two Combat Commands kept the pressure up on
the main gate, the troops of Combat Command Alpha infiltrated the Kremlin, turning the siege into a bloody close-quarters firefight within the fortress
itself. By May 16th, organized resistance within the Kremlin had ceased, and the last holdouts were flushed from the complex by the 20th. Less than
thirty percent of the Capellan garrison was able to escape through the tunnel network.
With the fall of the High Kremlin, the 2nd Ceti Hussars RCT was free to aid the Avalon Hussars and the Deneb Light Cavalry in driving the Chesterton
Voltigeurs and their supporting Home Guard assets from the Krasnodar and Pskov continents, forcing them into a steadily shrinking cordon around the
massively fortified planetary capital of Tikograd. With the defeat of 2832 now avenged, and Prince Paul reportedly “most pleased” with the campaign’s
progress, General Greer could already feel a field marshal’s baton in his grasp.