Before Origins '90 in Atlanta last year, I offered to design a Middle East wargame for Avalon Hill using the TAC AIR airland battle game system. The concept at the time was to create a three- tiered scenario folio which would include the '67 and '73 Arab-Israeli Wars, plus some later developments like the 1982 Bekaa Valley Lebanon Campaign and the Iran-Iraq War. The game was also to offer the capability to create some hypothetical scenarios between the various countries which comprise the volatile Middle East (Persian Gulf and North Africa) area. I began doing the research and design in July and my efforts accelerated with the Kuwait Invasion and deployment of Allied forces to the Gulf. I completed my design early in March (after the War was over). The game is now in playtestand development at Avalon Hill. I think JIHAD! will be every gamer's dream for an operational scale, air-land battle game in the Middle East. My working fide for the game is "JIHAD! ", the Arabic word for Holy War. The title may change if it is deemed unsuitable. Nearly every conflict in the Middle East has carried some "holy war" connotation, regardless of the actual motivations. Grunts JIHAD! will first and foremost be a "Construction Kit" for assembling brigades and divisions to comprise the opposing land forces. The thirty scenarios included are but a modest beginning, and players will find adequate tank and mechanized battalions to put together forces from nearly any two Middle Eastern adversaries. Small scenarios include a couple of brigades on a side, and larger scenarios have one or two divisions on a side. A brigade (or regiment) is composed of 3-4 battalions of main battle tanks (MBT) and mechanized infantry in armored personnel carriers (APC), plus command and supply units. Battalions typically have 30-60 armored vehicles, depending on their national organization. Each JIHAD! ground unit counter represents a battalion. Scenarios in the game depict desert combat from 1967 up to the Persian Gulf war in 1991. JIHAD! features the entire spectrum of MBTs, from old M-48 Patton, Centurion, and T-55 tanks up to the modem MlAl Abrams, Challenger, Merkava, T-72 and T-80. APCs range from the venerable M- 113 and BTR-50 up to the newer infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) like the M2/3 Bradley, the MCV-80 Warrior, and BMP. Brigade organizations are flexible, so players can draw counters to assemble an endless variety of vehicle types and battalion combinations. The game map comes in two sections which are "geomorphic" and can be put together in a variety of configurations. Combat Support and Air Power Each division structure contains assets such as armored reconnaissance units, attack helicopters, combat engineers, artillery, air defense, etc. These organizations are also flexible so players can custom-tailor their support assets for the scenario to be played from a wide variety of hardware. Tactical airpower is included in two opposing forces, either of which can be used to support either ground force. Again, the fun spectrum of fighter aircraft available to Middle East countries and the superpowers is included. Recent aircraft like the F-117 Stealthfighter, F-15E Strike Eagle, and V-22 Osprey show their unique capabilities. JIHAD! also offers the options of airborne paratroopers, assault helicopters for airmobile assault, and the map even has a forward airbase for exploration of the problems associated with airbase operations! New game system innovations include combat search and rescue of downed pilots, aerial refueling, B52 bombers, and AC- 130 gunships. Scenarios The following description outlines those scenarios submitted to Avalon Hill for playtest and development with the game design. The final product may not contain all of these, some may be changed, or others added. Scenarios are grouped into three sections to portray the evolution of operational art (air-land battle) in the desert from its infancy in 1967 to its maturity in 1991. As Colin Powell and Norm Schwartzkopf have indicated "You can't fight in the desert today and disregard the lessons from the Arab-Israeli Wars over the past decades". JIHAD! is both a collection of historical battles, a synopsis of the recent War with Iraq, and a kit to construct any future or hypothetical conflict in the Middle East. I hope players will use their imaginations to design new scenarios and make these available to other gamers through AIR POWER and the other hobby magazines and newsletters. Section I contains five scenarios from the 1967 Six-Day War. These scenarios typically include a few brigades to a side (division or less) and just a few weak air counters. Most artillery is towed and not many air defenses are included. Three are Sinai (Israel-Egypt) battles, one is between Israel and Jordan near the West Bank, and the final scenario is a Golan action. These are good scenarios to help familiarize players with the game system if they haven't played TAC AIR. Not many rules are changed from TAC AIR, so a gamer familiar with that system can hop right in and play JIHAD! with minimal study. Section II contains eleven scenarios from the 1973 October War. Sinai battles include the Bar Lev line, MitlaPass, Operation Strongheart and Battle of the Chinese Farm, and the Israeli breakout around the west bank of the Suez. Battles against Syria include the Valley of Tears, Rafid, and Hushniyah. The penetration of the Israelis near Damascus includes the attack by Iraq and the subsequent stalemate. These scenarios typically feature a division or two on each side, and more extensive airpower on each side. More artillery is self-propelled, and air defenses are thicker and more lethal. Tanks and APCs are more modem variants than those used back in 1967. Section III contains thirteen scenarios which document conflict in the Middle East after the end of the 1973 war (1977-1991), culminating in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, "Desert Storm". An Egypt- Libyan border clash begins the section, followed by two battles from the Iran-Iraq War, and a Bekaa Valley scenario. Section III next chronicles the war with Iraq, beginning with the Invasion of Kuwait, the UN Air Campaign (no ground units on the UN side!), and the Iraqi probe into Khafji. The ground campaign is contained in three scenarios which show the USMC/Saudi drive north to liberate Kuwait, and the XVIII Airborne Corps and VII Corps entrapment and destruction of the Republican Guards divisions. Section III concludes with four hypothetical scenarios to demonstrate some "what- ifs" from the War. Two scenarios depict attacks into Saudi Arabia by Iraqi forces prior to the final deployment of UN forces. One scenario shows an Iraqi probe into Turkey and another scenario depicts a meeting engagement between an Israeli tank division and an Iraqi Republican Guards tank division in Jordan. Section III scenarios are characterized by masses of tactical fighters and the newest models of tanks and APCs. Modem technology hardware such as Patriots, MLRS rocket launchers, Apache helicopters, SCUDs, etc., equip the forces of this section. Summary JIHAD! should meet the desires of gamers who wish to learn how to integrate the combined arms of air-land forces in the Middle East, either from a study of history, or from an exploration of hypothetical possibilities in the future. JIHAD! also is the perfect game system for examining the dynamics of the 1991 "Desert Storm" War against Iraq. I am hoping that playtesting and development are proceeding quickly at Avalon Hill, and with some luck, we might see the game on the market sometime around Origins 91 in July at its Baltimore location. I am planning to be there, and if any AIRPOWER JOURNAL readers would like more information, contact me on the GEnie computer network. My Electronic Mail address is "MO.MORGAN". Watch for the game and let me know how you like it. Back to Table of Contents -- Air Power # 13 Back to Air Power List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by J.D. Webster This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com