NATO INTERVENES! -- Russia (assault) vs. Ukraine (defend)*
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Scenario 0554*
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Location : Fictionalized town and surrounding countryside in Western Ukraine, Summer, 2022.*
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Game conditions: 40 turns. Large map with mixed terrain.*
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Background : Ukraine's forces have been slowly and steadily pushed back, as Russia has changed tactics from the clumsy frontal assaults (with inadequate forces) that were attempted earlier in the war. Now, the Russian invaders are emphasizing heavy use of artillery and aerial firepower to offset their disadvantages in morale and numbers of infantry footsoldiers. These tactics, while destructive and highly ammunition-intensive, have proved brutally effective.*
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The Russians have advanced far into Ukraine and finally, NATO leadership has had enough. They have issued a warning to Putin to pull back, "or else you will be fighting not just Ukraine, but also NATO as well". Putin replies with a warning that the same will happen to the West, "because we have allies too".*
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The specter of nuclear escalation hangs over the battlefield, but at least so far, neither side is willing to let the nuclear Genie out of its bottle.*
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NOTE : This scenario depicts a battle situation where the Russians try to dislodge a Ukrainian garrison from a small town, before Ukrainian and NATO reinforcements can arrive.*
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The scenario can be played either as the Ukrainian or Russian player although it is more challenging as the Ukrainians. (If you're playing the AI, I recommend you run the Ukrainians, for this reason.)*
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Some unit characteristics, weapons and so on, have been changed from the default. Due to the nature of this battle I would suggest that anything less than a "Marginal Victory" for the Russians, be considered as (at least) a "Marginal Victory" for the outgunned Ukrainians. An experienced Russian player should win against an experienced Ukrainian one, as revealed by playtesting.*
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GENERAL NOTES : Both sides have a number of significant challenges. Ukraine begins the game in possession of most of the victory objective hexes (particularly those in the town in the middle of the map), but holding these against a determined Russian assault will likely prove to be very difficult (even if played against the AI).*
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Meanwhile, although Russia's forces have much better firepower and mobility, they are critically short of infantry and have morale issues. Both sides should pay careful attention to the map, before deciding their overall strategy. Remember that trying to move an armored fighting vehicle across a stream or into a swamp terrain hex, has a chance of rendering the AFV immobile, basically taking it out of the battle, which is "Not A Good Thing".*
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Another thing that will become very apparent as the game progresses is, even older tanks do have a chance of killing newer ones, as long as the shot is to the sides or rear as opposed to the turret or hull front. There's nothing more embarassing than having your shiny new M1A2 Abrams, shot dead by a 1950s T-55, so be careful how you move your AFVs in covering terrain like forests and cities.*
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Another issue to take into consideration, is the fact that many AFVs have "active defence" (VIRSS or CIWS) that can completely negate the effects of ATGMs or even aircraft guided bombs. You may need multiple ATGM shots to exhaust such a target's reserve of active defence shots, before you can get an effective missile hit on them, and then there's ERA and just thick, anti-HEAT armor to contend with. The days of "one shot, one kill" are now long gone.*
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Overall, this battle won't be easy for either side!*
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AS THE UKRAINIANS : By far, your biggest challenge will be to hold on to the central town as long as possible, despite superior Russian technology (particularly in tanks) and firepower. Initially, you have only very weak artillery, so use it selectively. Your forces are "dug in" and therefore get a strong defensive benefit, but this is lost the moment that you move one of these units out of their starting positions, so do this only when you absolutely have to.*
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Do the best that you can to contest Russian attempts to outflank the city by charging down the roads at the top and bottom of the map, as winning will be greatly more difficult if your western-edge reinforcements start being shot at as soon as they arrive on the battlefield.*
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You do have air support, but Russia's air defences are very lethal, so don't expect your airstrikes to last for more than one or two sorties. Note that this applies not only to Ukraine's own aircraft but also to the NATO ones that you have been promised. Don't send your aircraft on bombing runs where the Russians might have SAM units, if you want any of your airplanes to survive.*
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President Zelensky and NATO leadership have promised that "very strong" reinforcements are on the way, but they cannot give you a firm ETA for when these units will arrive. Furthermore, although you can be sure of getting at least a few modern, first-grade tanks, aircraft and artillery formations, you've heard rumors that some NATO allies have chosen to retain their best equipment for their own defence and have thus sent only what they can spare. So don't expect miracles from the reinforcements, and kill as many of those filthy Russian "Orcs" as you can, before NATO shows up to the rescue!*
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AS THE RUSSIANS : Russia is in an interesting position in this scenario, because it has some significant advantages with a number of corresponding weaknesses. As the Russian commander, most (but not all) of your tanks are greatly superior to anything that the Ukrainians have initially. Your tanks are pretty much invulnerable to Ukraine's anti-tank weapons frontally, but your T-80UMs and T-72BMs CAN be killed by side shots or infantry close assaults, so be very careful moving them next to buildings or other covering terrain. Conserve your tank force as much as you possibly can, as Russian Federation Special Military Operation Headquarters is warning you that the dastardly NATO aggressors may soon be sending a large armored spearhead to contest your control of the town!*
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You have huge amounts of artillery but use it sparingly in the first half of the game, as you may need it later. Remember that your off-board artillery can't be resupplied by Munitions Carriers, so fire out the on-board guns first, as they can be replenished. You also have superior air power, and the Ukrainians have fairly weak air defence, but here again, you may want to conserve your airstrikes for NATO later on.*
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Do the best that you can to avoid burning out your scout teams in fire-fights with entrenched Ukrainian infantry, as your scouts will probably lose that kind of engagement.*
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You have heard rumors that the imperialist NATO warmongers are planning large-scale reinforcements that will be showing up on the western side of the map, but you don't know when. So you have some decisions to make. You can either speed down the roads on the north and south sides of the map (watch out for ambushes) and try to set up firing positions on the west side of the map, OR you can throw all your forces against the towm in the middle of the map, but you don't have enough forces to do both at the same time.*
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And don't forget: NATO's best equipment, for example its most modern tanks, are actually slightly better than your own. Be very careful about getting into frontal shoot-outs with these forces, unless you're very sure of what you're doing.*
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On a more positive note, you have been informed that President Lukashenko of Belarus has promised that should evidence of actual NATO intervention become evident, he will contribute considerable forces to Russia's own ones on this battlefield. Belarus has mostly older equipment, and its soldiers may not be very well-motivated, but certainly, whatever you can get, will be useful.*
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Design by: Bulos Qoqish 

