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Russia's surely a mess by now. I guess that any sort of talk with the Germans/Austrians over the western border is halted by now, right?

Quick on the trigger ain't cha? I don't think that there has actually been a single attempt at peace by the Germans and the Soviets.
 
Let's hope that by the time the troops escaping from the Baltic reach elsewhere they're not to dizzy by the long voyage...
 
The LeRoulle Expedition: The Raid​

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The Governor-General's Palace in Tobolsk, Prison for the Romanovs​

Charles LeRoulle crouched in the rear end of the wagon, facing the door. The Cajun’s white-blonde hair blew in the slightly frosty March breeze coming across the icy wastes of Siberia. He checked his personalized M1911 semi-automatic; he had it specially customized with rather flashy nickel plates which he polished religiously. But this was the only indication that he was anything than a Volga German commanding a detachment of Red Partisans, which was what he had claimed to be when he and his party had been questioned by a half-drunk Captain at a roadblock a few miles back. LeRoulle was slightly worried; his original party of seventeen had lost two members in a confrontation with Basmachi partisans, but he looked over at his right-hand man “Machine Gun” Cohen, who was manning one of the same, specifically a new M1917 and was reassured. They turned down one of the avenues of Tobolsk; the storied ancient capital of Siberia. They left the four mounted members of the party waiting at the intersection and pulled up next to what was once the Governor-General’s Palace. LeRoulle and three of his men jumped out of the back of the wagon and instead of finding Red Army guard, he saw five exceedingly drunk peasants, only one of whom was even carrying a gun. He nodded to the others. All reached into their raggedy overcoats and withdrew well-oiled Colt M1911 pistols. In about two seconds, five Bolsheviks were sprawled around the entrance to the house in which the Tzar was being held. Two of the men stayed behind to hide the bodies while LeRoulle and a short Cossack named Dmitri ran into the building. In the hallway, they encountered their only other obstacle, the even more exceedingly drunk Captain of the Guard, he stood up shakily attempting to salute, an endeavor in which he was still engaged when LeRoulle put a bullet between his eyes. Moving through the rest of the house, LeRoulle encountered the Royal Family cowering in a rear room. LeRoulle looked at them and said in perfect, unaccented French, “I am here to rescue you, please come with me.” In six minutes, the entire Royal family had been loaded into the party’s wagon, squeezed rather uncomfortably into the back so as to make it easier for the rescuers to fight any obstacles they might encounter.

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The recently rescued Nicolas II Romanov
From The Autocrat and the American: The LeRoulle Expedition:
“LeRoulle now needed to decide which way to go, there were four main options, back to Rostov, passing through the Basmachi’s territory, to Omsk, to get to Maurice Janin’s Czechoslovak Legion and the Transsiberian Railroad which they controlled most of, South to China and from there to Vladivostok, or North towards Arkhangelsk. North seemed the most prudent choice and so the party carrying the Most Wanted Man in Russia turned north. LeRoulle didn’t know it at the time, but the expedition arrived just in time. Two hours after LeRoulle and his forces had left Tobolsk, a group of Cheka officers under the command of Colonel Viktor Mikhailov arrived, their task was to execute the Romanovs as intelligence had arrived that an expedition was underway to rescue them.”

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Badge of the Cheka, the USSR's first secret police force​

Viktor Mikhailov was in a foul mood and the fact that not a single sentry was on duty at the Tzar’s residence was not calculated to improve it. He lit another one of the foul things which the Government insisted on calling cigarettes and decided that he’d just shoot the lazy son of a bitch commanding this godforsaken hellhole along with the Bloody Nicholas and his inbred family of spoiled brats. He was so consumed with thoughts of finally ridding the world of the House of Romanov that he didn’t immediately realize that the apparent mounds of rags lying on the snow of the yard were corpses. Viktor’s thoughts coalesced into one coherent thought quite quickly: “OH F**K". He rushed into the house and found the Captain’s lifeless body slumped in a chair. “Well,” he thought, “that solves one problem.” He turned to his second-in-command, “SEARCH THE HOUSE! FIND WHOEVER IS STILL HERE AND MAKE THE BASTARDS TALK! NOW DAMNIT!” As his forces spread out through the house and yard he walked outside and lit a cigarette and muttered to himself, “So the American thinks he’s won? The game is just beginning.”


@Nathan: Be glad they aren't the phone company
@Everyone: I finally gave you the update I've been cock-teasing you all with. Bit of a letdown eh?
 
Let¡s hope that with the rush they haven't forgot about Jemmy. Tatiana would be so sad...
 
Let¡s hope that with the rush they haven't forgot about Jemmy. Tatiana would be so sad...

Baaaaw! Fowget a Spaniel!? Never! Who's a cuety-wooty-tooty? Dawwww!

Sorry, I have a very loved (and spoiled) Cocker at home, so I'm a bit Spaniel-happy.
 
Fingers crossed for the royal family's safe escape.
 
The commando's used un-suppressed 1911 and nobody heard them? Awesome.

Gunfire is just kind of the norm in Tobolsk as in most of Russia, like Somalia or a Redneck Christmas party.
 
The LeRoulle Expedition: Sinister Purpose​


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Cheka Officer conducting an interrogation​

Viktor Mikhailov looked in the eyes of the terrified militiaman he had tied to the chair. He took a leisurely drag from the foul cigarette and exhaled the smoke into the man’s face. The militiaman wasn’t even particularly deserving of that name as he appeared about seventeen. Viktor looked into the terrified boy’s eyes and the captive squirmed. “Explain to me again comrade,” he said slowly, “why did you decide not to investigate the shots you heard coming from the Governor-General’s Palace?” The boy tried to turn his head away, but Viktor slipped his gloved hand around the boy’s chin, rubbing the half grown and patchy stubble covering his face and gently turned it towards him. “Look at me while you speak to me Comrade,” he whispered icily. The boy began to sputter “C-c-c-comrade I-I-I was I was drinking and, and, I-I thought that some of the guards were shooting into the, the, the air.” Finishing his sentence, the boy looked down in shame. “This is most serious Comrade, drinking on duty and failing to do one’s duty are both serious offenses, betrayals of the revolution in fact,” he said, his voice full of mock sympathy. “You do know the punishment for betrayal of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolution is, do you not?” He asked casually, removing his revolver from his holster and checking the barrel. “Please Comrade!” the boy screamed, flailing with terror, “I did not intend for any of this! I have a mother and a father! Please!” Viktor slowly pointed the weapon at the screaming boy and raised the hammer. His finger curled around the trigger and slowly pulled back and the hammer came crashing down. The click was scarcely heard over the scream of the boy. Viktor replaced his weapon and looked at the boy and his urine soaked pants. “Untie this sorry sack of s**t and let’s get moving” he said, dropping the cigarette to the floor and crushing it with his heel. As the Cheka men left the room, the militiaman began to sob quietly.


From The Autocrat and the American: The LeRoulle Expedition:
“The Cheka was already in pursuit of LeRoulle and his forces, but even without that danger, the sheer lawlessness of Russia made the entire expedition incredibly dangerous, moreover, there simply was not enough space in the Expedition’s single wagon to fit all of the mercenaries and the Royal Family for a long trip. In three days they had passed through Uval, slightly to the north of Tobolsk. Soon they would have to find more transportation, but the answer would fall into their lap, only four miles outside of Tobolsk, they ran into a group of Social Revolutionary partisans with a commandeered ox-cart.”

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Partisans of the type encountered by LeRoulle's forces​

Charles LeRoulle looked at Cohen who had just finished loading his M1917. It was lucky that the SRs hadn’t started shooting at the sight of the wagon, but if the even got a glimpse of the Royals, everyone in the wagon would be dead. The Partisans were only twenty yards away and closing at a respectable trot. The Royals were huddling in the center of the wagon, Anastasia clutched at her spaniel which was looking as frightened as its owner. Indeed, the Royals had been very quiet the entire trip, speaking only to each-other in very low voices, but they had been cooperative and had not seemed to mind their diminished circumstances. LeRoulle and a few others hopped out of the wagon, which began to turn broadside to the advancing unit. The partisans slowed their advance slightly to a loping sort of amble, lowering their weapons at the sight of what appeared to be fellow revolutionaries. LeRoulle nodded slightly and suddenly the fabric covering the wagon dropped, revealing five riflemen and Cohen sitting at his machine gun, a maniacal grin spreading from ear to ear. In a split second the partisans began dropping as the mercenaries’ bullets found their marks. Cohen’s M1917 cut down a group of seven men who had been warming themselves by the fire. In under a minute, the entire troop of SR partisans had been dispatched. LeRoulle looked at the oxcart which the partisans had filled with weapons, preserved food and vodka. He smiled a little, turned to his compatriots and said “I have found our chariot!” before sending two of his men off to find the oxen.


The next morning, Viktor Mikhailov stood in the center of the abandoned fire-pit. “Damn,” he muttered, “they have a machine gun too.” He extinguished his cigarette and stared at the bodies. He made up his mind to commandeer a platoon of cavalry, this job would not be easy.


@Agent Larkin: Yeah basically (That comment was the best thing to come out of this AAR)
 
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Dunno why I would have expected a BAR with Le Roulle. Not bad, not bad at all.
 
Very nice update. One has to wonder the effect this bloodbth will have in the youn royals..., a traumatized czar Alexei will surely be an interesting character in the future.
 
Alright y'all, so I'm sorry but no update for the next couple of days, we moved into our new house yesterday and then there was a massive storm which knocked power for one million people in the DC metro area, including us. Luckily we have a really awesome utility company (shameless Dominion Electric plug), so the power just came back, but the storm also sent a 400 pound tree limb into our attic, knocking a 12 inch hole in the roof. Anyway, this just means that with unpacking and fixing the damage, don't expect another update until late this week.

@Kurty: I plan to get him an automatic weapon at some point...
@Mr. Santiago: Yes, yes he will. I'm not even sure if the Whites will win, but either way, I have plans for the Tsarevich and a certain Colonel Patton as well...
@Hyo: That wouldn't be good.