Saddam's Hand is Called v1 AAR (three parts)

[Deltapooh]

Part 1

Initial Plan: (Refer to Setup.gif)

3rd Infantry Division:

3 ID was the most powerful force available. I assigned it the task of seizing OBJ WASP. The division would advance with 3-7 CAV and 7 CAV out ahead. Its zone was in the west (refer to image 1), which would allow the heavy force move quickly, while probably meeting light resistance up until around An Najaf.

I designated An Najaf as a key decision point. I would need to decide whether I would pass west or east of the city. Until I made that decision, the division would maintain a flexible formation (preferably Division Wedge) while trying to develop a better picture of the enemy situation around the city.

If I decided to pass west of the city, 3 ID would attack through the Karbala Gap, then turn east to seize OBJ WASP. If I sent the division east of An Najaf, I intended to attack the OBJ from the south through Al Hillah.

1 MEF:

I was really worried about 1 MEF. Their mission was to seize to OBJ HORNET. Unlike 3 ID, the Marines’ zone was rather restricted and took them through several cities. Worse, there were rivers. Bridges needed to be seized or created. These factors demanded I stick to major highways, which meant using the line formation. That was perfect for the enemy, particularly if Saddam got cute and used WMDs.

1st Armoured Division (UK)

The British had the mission of seizing OBJ BEE, which is Al Basrah. The terrain in their zone was very restricted. However, I had time to develop my intelligence and chip away at enemy forces in the area.

While I had plenty of time, the rest of the army didn’t. Their attack plan depended on the British forces preventing enemy forces vic Basrah from interfering with the lines of communication. So Household CAV would be deployed to the west to protect the flanks.

101st Air Assault Division

The 101st served as Third Army reserve. I would commit them when I felt it was necessary. 2/82nd Airborne, also acted as a reserve force. I set these units to appear on Turn 4 to prevent cluttering behind PL FREEDOM.




Recon Trouble:

Scout units from 1 MEF and 3 ID led the advance of the main force. Right away, I developed problems gaining intelligence. Every NAI I placed on the battlefield was immediately destroyed. While the large number of UAVs made up for this, it was still a problem. I had to take more care in planning attack helicopter strikes. With some practice, I learned just how close the helicopters could come without getting shot-up.

Logistic System:
Logistics would be another problem. My forces consumed a lot of supply. I tried to keep units well stocked, but that was easier said than done. The LOC was some distance away, and it increased with each turn. Meantime, units were consuming supplies. I worked out a system which sent convoys carrying 500 units to DISCOMs every two turns.

Turn 1-10: (Refer to figure 2)

3rd Infantry Division: There was little activity in 3 ID’s sector. There were some encounters with Fadyeen units, but the division neutralized them rather quickly. I tried to keep the lead elements within 50km of the DISCOM. This would improve re-supply time. However, it placed a heavy tax on the division’s speed.

1-3 AVN did the heaviest fighting. I tasked them with attacking Iraqi units around Nasiriyah. I wanted to clear enemy units around both bridges so I could have additional an optional logistics route for 3 ID.

1st MEF: The main task for the Marines was seizing the east bridge in Nasiriyah. This effort began with CAS destroying artillery, air defense, and supply units in the area. Helicopters from 6 CAV, which were allocated to 1st MEF for the entire war, also launched attacks against enemy forces around Nasiriyah. The strikes were so successful, when 5th Marine Rgt arrived, it encountered no resistance. It crossed the bridge then advanced to make room for follow-on forces.

1st AD (UK): A good commander knows when to take risk. He also understands how to reinforce success. I really pounded enemy units in and around Al-Basrah with air and artillery effects. Household CAV moved forward to protect the Marines’ flank, using a route, which avoided enemy forces.

UAV missions allowed me to develop a good picture of the situation. After a few turns, I felt the enemy was very weak because of the pounding and the loss of logistic and artillery support. So I ordered 7th UK brigade and 2-11 Marine, which was attached to 1 AD (UK) to attack. They quickly destroyed enemy units. By 1900hrs, they had Basrah surrounded.

[Deltapooh]

Part 2

Turn 11-20 (refer to figure 3)

3rd Infantry Division: Things were going well for the division until As Samawah. I should have seen trouble coming. The terrain was restricted, to the east and west, creating a narrow corridor.

I was completely caught off-guard by the sound of falling missiles, followed by the sirens. The Iraqis hit 7th CAV with gas. Though it didn’t do a lot of damage, I truly felt stupid.

However, the attack, nor my ignorance, stopped the advance. 3rd Infantry Division attack helicopters joined helicopters from 101st AA in pounding away at units around An Najaf, with tremendous success.

1st MEF: A single Fadyeen unit managed to stop the mighty MEF. I was encountering supply problems brought on by the slow push across the bridges. One of the convoys to 1st FSSG ran into a small Fadyeen death squad. They destroyed the logistics convoy. 2 MEB, which was 1st MEF reserve moved and destroyed it. However, the damage was done. I had violated my logistic’s plan by sending 1,000 units to 101 AA to keep attack helicopters flying. So instead of a two hour gap, there was four hours. 1st FSSG came to a halt. I was too concerned about the lack of logistics to keep other units moving.

Basically I was screwed for a good bit! However, after a few hours, convoys arrived. After resupplying the division, the Marines were once again on the move.

1st AD (UK): The final assault on Basrah involved almost all of the division. 16th Air Assault Brigade flew in to seize the first OBJ located just east of Basrah, then moved to block an enemy retreat in that direction. 2-11 Marine BN moved in from the south with the intent of blocking an enemy withdrawal in that direction. Finally, 7 UK Brigade struck from the west, destroyed enemy forces vic Basrah and seized the final objective.

After refitting, I decided to begin a very cautious advance north toward Al Qurnah. At least two armored brigades were located there and I didn’t want them to move west and attack Nasiriyah. My plan was to advance slowly, while attacking enemy armor units with attack helicopters. I intended to air assault 16th BDE to the west to block the main route leading from Al Qurnah to Nasiriyah once artillery was in position.

101 AA and 2/82 Airborne: I airlifted all of 101 AA into southern Iraq vic Al Busayyah. Their mission was to find and destroy Fadyeen units in this area, which threatened 3 ID’s LOC. Attack helicopters from 101 AA also kept up attacks against units vic An Najaf.

I was still debating what to do with these forces. I didn’t want to commit them to any major effort until I had a better understanding of the enemy situation. The way I saw it, if one of my advances were frustrated, I could commit the air assault units as support or to assume responsibility of completing the mission.

Turn 21-30 (refer to figure 4)

3rd Infantry Division: I had some real good success around An Najaf. Attack helicopters wiped out enemy forces in this sector. When lead elements of 3 ID arrived, remnants decided to surrender. This gave a lot of flexibility.

I made the decision to pass the main force west of Najaf to attack through the Karbala Gap. However, I did send units to the east of the city to prevent clogging up passes in the west.

The main problem I was experiencing was supply. The attack helicopter attacks were consuming a lot of supplies. Worse, No matter how hard I tried, DISCOM for 3 ID could not keep moving. The moment I added supplies, they fell short as I sent resources forward. I was forced to abandon my initial effort of keeping DISCOM approximately 40km from lead elements. It was a risk, but a necessary one.

1 MEF: The Marines began to arrive vic OBJ HORNET. I decided to first envelop the enemy positions from both the east and west. 5th Marine Rgt and 2nd MEB began crossing a bridge south of Al Hayy. From there, they would move north, cross the Tigris using their own bridges, and attack from the east. Meantime, 1st Marine Rgt maneuvered to An Nu’maniyah, crossed a bridge there, and would move in from the west. The rest of the force would attack OBJ HORNET from the south.

1st AD (UK): The British continued a very slow move north toward Al Qumah. They encountered one Fadyeen death squad, and killed them quickly.

101 AA: While helicopters from the division remained busy, the rest of the force remained in positions in the south, waiting to join the fight. If I didn’t need them now, I would in any attack on Baghdad.

2/82nd Airborne: I began looking at the possibility of sending the unit north of OBJ HORNET. They could attack the OBJ from the north. However, their commitment depended on air defense and artillery in the area.

Turn 31-40 (refer to figure 5)

3rd Infantry Division: Attacks through the Karbala Gap began. Air strikes and attack helicopters successfully weakened an Iraqi brigade defending the gap. 1st BDE quickly destroyed the enemy force there there. Then 7th CAV and 3rd BCT passed through 1st BCT to move on OBJ WASP. 2nd BCT fixed enemy forces vic Karbala. They did attempt at least one attack, but were repelled.

1 MEF: After having trouble bridging the Tigris, I concentrated on attacks from the south and west. After heavy fighting, the Marines seized OBJ HORNET.

1st AD (UK): My plan to attack Al Qumah was successful. The toughest fighting was done by 16th Air Assault Brigade. I deployed them to the west of the city. As 7th Brigade successfully attacked remnants of two armored brigades in the vicinity, one retreated toward the 16th Air Assault Brigade. All hell broke loose. The Brits should their worth by fighting like a son of *****. They were forced to retreat once. However, I was so confident in their ability, I ordered them to attack a second time. The light infantry ended up destroying what was left of the armored brigade, taking a lot of prisoners. By the time the fighting was over, the British held Al Qumah.

101 AA: The 101st remained in the south, but still played a vital role. Because I experienced trouble with crossing bridges, I decided to begin airlifting supplies to Army and Marine units forward.

2/82nd Airborne: Once I was satisfied that the enemy didn’t have much of an air defense network around OBJ HORNET, I airlifted 2/82nd Airborne north of the Objective. I also moved Vth Corps HQ north and support forward. The army then attacked south, achieving rapid success.

This is why I was so concerned about committing 101st AA. 2/82 Airborne was able to attack enemy defenses from the rear, which made the fight easy. This kind of maneuver flexibility can be an awesome tool.

[Deltapooh]

Part 3

Turns 41-45 (refer to figure 6)

3rd Infantry Division: 3rd BCT seized OBJ WASP without a fight. Most of the fighting was around Karbala, where 3ID had a tough time defeating Iraqi RGFC. By turn 45, they’d seriously weakened the enemy force, but were also in desperate need of a rest and refit.

1 MEF: The Marines began moving north once again toward Baghdad.

1st AD (UK): 7th UK Brigade linked up with 16th Air Assault Brigade. An Iraqi armored units was spotted in the area, but posed no serious threat.

101 AA: The 101st was still south. Air defenses in the north made it too risky to try to move the force. They don’t have to worry. OPLAN 1003 V called for the division to air assault north of Baghdad anyway. They’d better enjoy the rest. They won’t be having one for a while.

2/82nd Airborne: I began preparation to send the unit north with the Marines. They could be quite useful in the fight ahead.

Conclusion:

I ended the scenario at turn 45. I intended to use the final turns to defeat remnants of the RGFC vic Karbala and resupply. I’d won a major victory. However, as figure 6 showed, the enemy had a lot of fight left.

Cbelva began development of this scenario at a time when so little was known about the war. Yet, he still managed to accurately portray events. The going is easy, almost boring at first. Unfortunately for players, the fighting breaks out at a time when supply lines are really strained.


Lessons Learned:

• Plan paths across bridges carefully. Try to get them to pass straight down the center. It is also important for units to align with the bridge before its footprint intersects it.

• NAI’s will get blasted almost as quickly as they are activated. This makes use of attack helicopters very tricky. Learn how to plan paths that get the helicopters in range of the target, but just out of range of enemy fire.

• Re-supply is a real task in this scenario, particularly once the attack helicopters get into the fight. They require 200 units per mission. That can be a lot. Also, the brigades consume a lot of supplies as well. So make it a habit to send at one convoy carrying at least 500 units from the LOC forward every other turn. Even if you don’t think it is required. You never know when the Fadyeen might decide to intercept a convoy.

• Don’t get bogged down around Karbala. In hindsight, it was real stupid of me to try to take on those mech and armored units on terrain better suited for the defender. I should have used common sense and just outflanked the bastards.