The next in the series to make you think about things up front. Each of you will answer differently and you will all be right, or maybe wrong. It isn’t a sure thing with definitive Yes/No answers. There are no rights and wrongs only something to consider and plan for.
You bunkered in after the event and have managed to survive for a while now. There are 10 of you, 7 adults and three children, living in a cul-de-sac on the outskirts of town. Life was starting to look good again after the fight for survival. However, recently, a heavily armed group of about 20 adults, no children, took possession of a office block a mile or so down the road from your retreat killing all who were already in the building. You had met and built up a good relationship with the previous occupants and they had sufficient supplies for a few months but relied on crops. These crops are not being harvested by the invaders although the livestock have already been consumed. It is approaching winter and these new neighbours look like they are settling in and have started hunting in the local area. You know that soon they will check around your area and at this stage, with children, crops, livestock and hardware in place, it is inevitable you will be discovered. You estimate you have three days before the hunters visit your site which is the opposite side of the town.
What are you going to do now?
Hi Skean,
Thats an interesting situation, well seeing as they`ve already killed some of my allies demonstrating how they operate, ie not by trade or negotiation and its only a matter of days if we`re lucky before they discover my group its time to go on the offensive.
Bug out the women and kids to a safe location, form as big a posse as possible which I dont think would be difficult once everyone understands the threat and hit em with an early morning surprise attack, and keep hitting em until the threat is neutralized.
To do nothing is inviting death or enslavement, so there`s no other option in my book.
Get our most able bodied, spend half a day organizing the plan and then take them in the middle of the night, thereafter removing said produce and bringing it back to our store.
Bug out.
If you plan to bug in you should still have plans to bug out.
Even if you bug out (to a fixed location) you should still have plans to bug out again to a fall-back position.
I think it’s foolish to go on the offensive against this armed and tactically savvy group (they took out a large force in a defensible structure). I’m a little surprised by the “women can’t fight” attitude of Nick and Fred but it’s probably reasonable that you can only spare 5 of the 7 adults for an offensive. Obviously it depends on your weapons but I think the chances of taking out 20 with 5 without loosing some of your people is small. They’re not idiots they’ll have a night watch (or two). I’d withdraw, you can’t afford a direct confrontational.
I may then hit them from afar with snipers and traps but even that is a risk.
They’re ignoring the crops so move the livestock and bug out.
Once they run out of livestock they will probably move on and you can return, hopefully in time to harvest what you’ve planted.
Your right of course Skev, some women can fight, I`ve got the scars lol, in a SHTF situation anyone who has a gun and is a good shot or can handle a weapon in a hand to hand combat situation would have a place in an offensive if they were willing.
I wouldn`t consider an attack unless I could muster the support of other groups in the area to bring the odds into our favour but I don`t think you can just keep moving every time there is a threat, you have to take a stand.
1st thought is Bug out, stay alive! But I agree with Nick’s last two lines: Can’t keep moving on and out at every threat. Winter is coming. Moving on now, especially with kids, may not be a long term option.
These are murders, they’ll keep taking advantage of every scattered community if they can. Get neighbours together, as many as possible and get them.
I’m not army trained, so I don’t know what this really entails, but could a few be picked off when out they’re out hunting?
Maybe before dawn, shoot any guards, set fire to building and shoot them as they escape?
Hopefully, you have used some of the good time to scout for somewhere to hide out (deep woods, caves) if a situation like this occurs. You need to bug out. First send the young children, nursing mothers, elderly and disabled out to the hideaway with livestock. Depending on numbers, you need to escort with at least two armed personnel.
In the unlikely event you have members who cannot be moved because they are close to death for whatever reason, you need to ask them if they want a coup de grace.
With the remainder, mount a guard and lookout, have everyone armed if possible, then prepare your buildings etc. Smash a couple of windows, take a door off its hinges, turn over some furniture. Scatter fire ash around until the place looks long-abandoned. If you can arrange to have some very ripe, dead animals around, so much the better. Cover crops with dead tree branches saved for just this purpose, turn over compost heaps, dismantle livestock fences and coops. Aim to make the place look uninhabited and uninviting.
The rest then move out to the BOL, erasing tracks as they go.
With any luck, they’ll move on.
After/If you move back, see if you can link up with more people with a view to removing the threat permanently – but forget Hollywood, some of you will die.