Baptism By Fire/Transcript

== Cutscene ==
Two Years Earlier
With the world once again thrown into war, the US 1st Infantry Division is called into service. With regiments dating back to the American Revolution, it is the oldest continuously serving division in the US Army. Known as the Big Red One for their distinctive arm patch, the Fighting First set sail from New York to the United Kingdom in early August of 1942, to begin their training for the Second World War. Under the watchful eye of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, the division commander, the Fighting First was preparing for their first taste of combat.
Across the sea, British and German armies clash under the scorching heat of the deserts of North Africa. Amidst these hellish conditions, General Bernard Montgomery and his British 8th Army had been able to hold off Rommel’s blitzkrieg attacks through a war of attrition. But the deadlock needed to be broken, and the Big Red One, fresh from their training, waited eagerly for their call to action. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, devised an amphibious assault directed at the Vichy French-held territories of North Africa. Codenamed “Operation Torch”, the invasion was to start in late October of 1942, with the 1st Infantry Division embarking for the Algerian coast.
Unsure if the German-occupied French forces would attack US troops, bright American flag arm bands were to be worn as a deterrent. However, this was the least of the Big Red One’s worries, as Rommel’s battle-hardened Afrika Korps were not about to give in to these young American soldiers without a fight…
==Gameplay==
Baptism By Fire
Oran, North Africa
November 8th, 1942
0630 Hours
(An American convoy of five half-tracks, two armed with 75mm anti-armor cannons, the other three with Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun turrets, are slowly making their way across the North African landscape towards an airfield used by the Luftwaffe that's currently garrisoned by members of the Vichy French Army outside of Oran, North Africa. In the first half-track armed with a .50-cal, sits Roger, currently a Private, with his squadmates of Bloomfield, Kelly, Pvt. Victor 'Vic' Denley, and their commanding officer, Sgt. Glenn Hawkins. All of Roger's squadmates are wearing armbands with the Stars and Stripes on them to hopefully convince the occupied French forces to surrender.)
Bloomfield: "Man, I'm starving! I haven't eaten nothing since we left the ship. (To Kelly) Hey, you know my dad runs a deli back in the Bronx, makes the best pastrami sandwiches you'll ever eat!"
Denley: "Brooklyn, you ain't quite right!"
Bloomfield: (chuckles) "Kind of like your sister, huh? Ya friggin' hayseed..."
(Offended, Denley tries to attack Bloomfield, but is restrained by Hawkins.)
Denley: "Why I oughta-- !"
Hawkins: "Can it, you two. Stay on the ball. This ain't boot camp."
Bloomfield: (To Denley) "He's mad at you."
Kelly: "Hey, Sarge? I thought you said the French were going to surrender."
Bloomfield: "Yeah, storming the beach was fun and all, but I gotta get back. I got tickets to the Yankees game, they're playing the Red Sox, and I got box seats."
(Hawkins shakes his head as Bloomfield interrupts his response)
Denley: "Ah, shut the hell up, Bloomfield."
Hawkins: "I said, can it! Resistance or not, we got an airfield to secure, Private."
Denley: "Tell you what, fellas. I'm glad those Frenchies decided to fight back."
(The half-track hits a bump in the road, causing Kelly to lose his grip on his M1 Garand, causing it to lean forward so the muzzle points up at Denley's chin. Denley reaches down to set it upright again in Kelly's hands.)
Hawkins: "And for Christ's sake, Kelly. Watch where you point that rifle. Try and remember that! It'll keep you from blowing the head off the guy next to you."
Kelly: "Okay, Sarge."
Half-track Gunner: "Look at all this sand, guys! I sure ain't in Jersey no more!"
Hawkins: (To the squad, out of the gunner's earshot) "Well at least you can be thankful for that."
(Seconds later, a shot rings out and hits the gunner, killing him instantly. The squad immediately cover their heads as Kelly panics.)
Kelly: "Oh, God! Medic!"
Hawkins: (To the player) "Private, get on that gun!"
Bloomfield: "We got company!"
(The convoy stops as they come under fire from the Vichy French forces as Roger takes the dead gunner's place on his half-track's .50-cal while the lead half-track, one of the two armed with the 75mm anti-armor cannon, assists with taking out the infantry before it deals with an MG42 nest on the side of the road ahead. Roger sprays the .50-cal on the French infantry, being careful not to fire it too long so it overheats, and once the MG42 nest has been demolished, the convoy resumes advancing. Any infantry Roger misses will be taken out by the other two half-tracks armed with the .50-cal as well. As the convoy passes a hillside, several French infantrymen attempt to engage them.)
Denley: "On the left!"
Hawkins: "Private Kelly, shoot back!"
Bloomfield: "Here comes more of them!"
(Bloomfield manages to score a kill.)
Bloomfield: "I got him! Hey, guys! You guys see that?"
Denley: "Shut up and keep firing!"
(They soon approach where the French have set up another MG42 nest in a small outpost on another hillside.)
Bloomfield: "Sarge, is now a bad time to request a furlough?"
(They clear the outpost and continue onwards towards the airfield. As they approach the gates, a Stuka buzzes low over the convoy and drops its payload on the rear half-track, the second of the two 75mm anti-armor equipped ones, and destroys it.)
Denley: "Knock, knock! It's the Fighting First coming to kick your asses!"
(The lead half-track, the only 75mm equipped one left, blows one of the guard towers at the gates to splinters, but before it can get the other one, it is destroyed by Panzerfaust from the lookout inside.)
Kelly: "Left tower! Look out!"
Denley: "We gotta hit that tower!"
(Despite losing both 75mm half-tracks, the three .50-cal half-tracks continue, with Roger's charging the gate and ramming it open. Any remaining French infantry are eliminated, and once the half-track stops, the squad deploys.)
Hawkins: "Keep close, boys!"
Denley: "We gotta get in there and take out that machine gun!"
(Roger climbs out of the .50-cal and regroups with his squad by the enemy barracks.)
Hawkins: "Soldier, take Kelly and Bloomfield and mop up that barracks on the right! I want it squeaky clean, you hear me?"
Bloomfield: "Can do, Sarge!"
Hawkins: "Denley, on me."
(Hawkins and Denley climb the fence to ambush the second barracks while Bloomfield, Kelly, and Roger deal with theirs.)
Bloomfield: "Cover me! Hawk and Vic are flanking them, come on!"
Kelly: "Stay down! Watch out!"
Denley: "Grenade!"
(Hawkins and Denley toss grenades through the windows of the second barracks to kill any enemy troops inside while Bloomfield, Kelly, and Roger clear theirs. Once clear, they move out the back door to regroup with Hawkins and Denley.)
Bloomfield: "Good shot!"
Kelly: "Wait up!"
Hawkins: "Outstanding. Now we have to take out that machine gun. You can't get a good shot from here! Move in through that building! Take Brooklyn with you."
Bloomfield: "I'm from the Bronx, Sarge."
Hawkins: "Get in there!"
Bloomfield: "Come on, what are you waiting for?"
(They clear out a side room with Bloomfield taking out a French soldier who comes in after they clear it.)
Bloomfield: "Clear!"
(Bloomfield breaches the next room, but takes cover upon seeing the enemy presence in the room waiting for them.)
Bloomfield: "This don't look too good!"
(They clear the room and take out the machine gunner. As they move through the rest of the building, the other two .50-cal half-tracks are seen advancing outside now that the machine gunner was silenced. Bloomfield breaches the door to the mess hall, and once inside, tips over a table to use as cover, before noticing a door on the wall with the sign "Waffenkammer" above it.)
Bloomfield: "Hey, I wonder what they're hiding behind that door? Hey, cover me, will ya?"
Kelly: "Brooklyn! You idiot! You gonna get us all killed!"
Bloomfield: "I said cover me! I can't work like this!"
Big Red One Soldier: "What the hell is he doing?!"
Bloomfield: "Almost open...almost...open...almost..." (He finally gets the door open) "Haha! Just like breakin' into my father's liquor cabinet!"
(The last of the French infantry are eliminated, allowing Kelly to catch his breath after what just happened.)
Kelly: (panting) "Brooklyn, you're a moron."
Bloomfield: "Well, professor, I'll be more than happy to take your cut."
(Turns out the Waffenkammer room is an armory where the French keep their weaponry, including MAS36 bolt-action rifles, MAS38 SMG sub-machine guns, and Chatellerault machine guns. Roger equips himself with whatever he sees fit to go with his M1 Garand and proceeds out the back of the mess hall to regroup outside the back door to the hangars. Hawkins is seen on the other side of the chain-link fence separating him from his squad.)
Hawkins: "See those hangars? Get in there and secure them. I don't care how you do it. Make 'em ours."
(Bloomfield breaches the door and the squad makes their way into the first hangar. Bloomfield ops to take the high ground and heads for the catwalk across the hangar ceiling while Kelly and the others take the ground. Roger can choose whether to go with Bloomfield or Kelly, but the outcome is the same as they work their way through the hangar and take out the French forces inside before making their way to the second hangar. When they reach the small room between them, Kelly and the others are pinned down by three French infantrymen armed with Chatellerault machine guns. Bloomfield helps out his squad by tossing a grenade down to kill the enemy troops. They reach the second hangar, only to notice a Stuka preparing to depart and take off.)
Bloomfield: "We're too late!"
(Roger grabs the MG42 near the hangar doors and quickly opens fire on the Stuka, reducing it to a flaming mess as it tries to taxi out to the runway to take off. Once the second hangar is clear, the squad make their way across to the next two, only to have to hit the deck as the area is strafed with gunfire from a passing Stuka pursuing an Allied fighter, taking out another Stuka parked on the tarmac. Once the planes pass, the squad get back up, retrieve their weapons, and continue on to the next hangar. Once inside, they just start engaging enemies in the main part of the hangar, when they hear the ominous sound of a plane dropping out of the sky in a nosedive.)
Bloomfield: "Oh, that don't sound so good!"
Kelly: "Hope that wasn't one of ours!"
(Seconds later, the sound of the plane crashing is heard, shaking the whole hangar as it is clear it crashed dangerously close to the squad's position.)
Bloomfield: "Sounds like we got one!"
(They clear out the third hangar and make their way upstairs. Smoke emanating from behind the door indicates the crashed plane is in the next room. Bloomfield breaches the door, and the troopers cough as they make their way past the flaming wreckage of the crashed Stuka before reaching the other side. A soldier goes to breach the door, but is swiftly cut down by the waiting French forces in the final hangar. Bloomfield tosses a grenade in before he steps out. As Kelly and Roger join him, the other two half-tracks happen to enter the hangar at that point and cut down the French infantry in quick succession with their .50-cals.)
Bloomfield: "Thanks, but ya know, we really had it handled..."
Hawkins: "Private! Get over here!"
(Bloomfield, Kelly, and Roger make their way down from the upper level and regroup with Hawkins and Denley by the lead half-track.)
Hawkins: "They got a 20mm covering the main route into the airfield. We're getting torn to shreds out there."
(One of the squad makes their way to the door leading to the runway and manually pushes it open for the half-tracks to exit, only to come under fire from the control tower on the other side of the runway. One half-track heads out and gets nearly across to the other side, but as it stops to disembark its troops, they are swiftly gunned down by a strafing run from a Stuka.)
Hawkins: "Get out of there!"
(The second half-track tries its luck, but is destroyed as soon as it gets out of the hangar.)
Hawkins: "Private, we have to get across that street and into that garage! Use those vehicles for cover."
(The squad make their way across to the control tower and garage.)
Hawkins: "Come on! Come on! Keep moving! Don't stop!"
(They make it across and start engaging enemy troops hiding among the crates outside the garage.)
Hawkins: "We'll be slaughtered if we take those guys head-on. Get over there and see if you can flank the tower through those buildings."
(Bloomfield, Kelly, and Roger make their way to the back door to the garage and make their way around to the backside of the control tower. After clearing out the garage and dealing with the French using the MG42 mounted on one of the German half-tracks parked inside, they reach the control tower. After taking out two French infantrymen waiting inside for them, they reach a door marked "Tour De Controle". Bloomfield chooses to enter quietly by turning the door handle so the door opens without making any noise. He then quietly steps inside, catching four French infantrymen gathered over a table by surprise. After taking them and a few others out to clear out the control tower, Bloomfield and Roger make their way outside to where they have a clear view of the two Flakvierlings protecting the runway and firing at Allied aircraft dogfighting overhead with the Stukas.)
Bloomfield: "Our planes are coming in! Sarge wants you to keep those Frenchies off that AA gun! Use that Sniper Rifle!"
(Roger grabs a Scoped Kar98k and joins Bloomfield outside to snipe the French troops manning the Flakvierlings. There are 9 altogether, and if Roger kills any on the Flakvierlings, the ones firing on him and Bloomfield will take the places of the fallen ones. Soon, all 9 are eliminated, and the guns are silenced.)
Bloomfield: "I say we go down there and give them a taste of their own medicine."
(Taking Bloomfield's advice, Roger heads down, out of the control tower, and over to the Flakvierling. Kelly and Bloomfield join him to provide cover fire as Roger mans the Flakvierling and shoots at any Stukas that attempt to shoot him off the anti-aircraft gun in their strafing runs, along with any he sees fit chasing Allied planes. After dealing with three of them trying to strafe him simultaneously, the skies are clear of both Allied and Axis aircraft.)
Bloomfield: "I think that's the last of them! (laughs) You did it!"
(Roger dismounts the Flakvierling and regroups with the squad at the edge of the AA gun bunker. Hawkins and Denley have joined them. Kelly takes a small booklet, possibly a journal, and a pencil from his pocket and starts writing.)
Bloomfield: "Hey, come here. (Gesturing to Roger) He was there. You shoulda seen me, it was incredible. Caught these two French bastards by surprise...Took 'em both out, single-handed. Tell 'em, would ya?"
Denley: "You're full of it, Brooklyn."
Bloomfield: "Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm from the Bronx!"
Kelly: "Just be glad you're not dead."
Hawkins: "Good work, but this was just the scrub team. Rommel and his boys are going to be a helluva lot tougher. Trust me. Okay, let's set up a perimeter ASAP. I don't want to lose this airfield to another counter-attack. Now get going."
(Hawkins and his squad depart to secure the airfield and ensure it remains in Allied hands so they can use it to push Rommel and his Afrika Korps out of North Africa completely.)
(End of level)