Iraq War

Wargaming Options

by Dan Henderson

Most of us watched the news channels and took the ride on the HUMVEE or the Bradley through the deserts on the way to Baghdad. We were with the 3rd division's leading tank troop and we were with the Marines coming up from the south. We watched the British fight for Basra and heard the air raid sirens in Kuwait City when the missiles were being launched at the allies.

Many of us can't wait to get their chance to try gaming some of the new battles that were fought during this war. So what do we use for rules? I suggest using AK-47 to begin with. Many firefights and some actual battles were classic combined arms operations, involving AFV's, smallarms, RPG's, and artillery. In this type of scenario, high tech weaponry may not mean much if you are being attacked en masse from several directions in or on the outskirts of a small city at close range.

Sadaam's Fedayeen trying to come up with a plan

Consider treating American troops as professionals in AK-47 to give some idea of their overwhelming advantages in combat with the Iraqis. Maybe the Republican Guard could be regulars and the rest of the army might be militia. Perhaps the Special Republican Guard and the Fedayeen could be treated as clan militia (as in the AK-47 supplement).

Of course you may ask about the preliminary steps in the AK rules where you have to go through some political flow charts and die rolling to get your army put together. Two possible options are to just do it as stated in the rules or make up your own flowchart of situations (recommended) that depict the possible (and there were many) choices that existed in Iraq. A third option is to wait and see if the publishers come up with something but I am much too impatient for that.


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