This scenario is the second installment in the Red Line Syria series, following "Red Line Syria - Put His Eyes Out." Now, in this scenario Alpha Co 1/6 Marines will secure Hill 692 while defending the objective against a battalion of Syrian infantry.
Red Line Syria – Alpha Co 1/6 Marines 09/12
BLT 1/6 Marines 22 MEU OPORD 2012-304-01
Date: September 30, 2012
Battle Location: Rugged mountainous region SE of Kafar Houm village on Hill 692
Battle Type: Alpha Co Battalion Landing Team 1/6 Marines, 22nd MEU defend
Vs Syrian 2nd Bn, 1st INF Bde assault
TERRAIN AND WEATHER:
Rugged Mountain region designated Hill 692 on maps. Clear weather conditions with visibility at 500
meters.
SITUATION
Bn HQ and Alpha Co 1/6 Marines are loaded aboard CH-53E Super Stallions and VM-22 Ospreys en route to Bn H&S AA and Hill 692 objectives respectively. SEAL Platoon Golf has destroyed advanced integrated AA/SAM Radar facility atop Hill 692 rendering effective Syrian AA non-existent. Expect small flak units and INF SAM units otherwise the sky is clear.
ENEMY FORCES
Syrian 2nd Bn, 1st INF Bde
Hezbollah Company of four platoons with INF rockets
Armed Recon Company with AA and 50 cal mounted atop technicals
Bn reinforced with Bde field guns most likely 152mm battery and a heavy mortar battery
FRIENDLY FORCES
Bn HQ and H&S Co, Battalion Landing Team 1/6 Marines, 22 MEU
- 1xBn XO
- 1x120mm EFSS Mrtr Hvy Mtr Bty
- 1x155mm BLT Bty
- 1x81mm Mortar PL
- 2xCMD Vehicle LAV-C2
- 1xJTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller)
- 1xMPAD Sec
Alpha CO 1/6 Marines
- USMC Sniper
- MPAD Sec x1
- LT Mtr Sec x1
- USMC Engr x1
- Inf Platoon x3
PL HQ
- USMC Sniper x1
- M1919 MMG x2
- Marine Inf AT x2
- Javelin ATGM x 1
- Marine Rifle Sqd x 3
Aviation Combat Element
- 1xUH-1Y Venom Det (attached) HMLA167
- 1xUH-1Y Venom BN FAC HMLA167
- 1xAH-1Z Viper section HMLA167
- 1xMV-22B Squadron VMM263
- 1x4 Heavy Helos CH-53E Super Stallions HMH466
- 1x2 Heavy Helos MH-53M HMH466
- 1xAV-8B Harrier section VMA231 Ace of Spades
- 1xUAV Shadow VMU3
SEAL PL Golf
- 2xSEAL Fire Team
2xSEAL Team
1xMarine Sniper
1xSEAL Pathfinder
MISSION
Alpha Co will secure Hill 692, establish an OP, secure northern ridge line along PL Andy and establish a hasty defensive line extending from Hex 97,134 on azimuth 154 to Hex 109,158. All
Syrian units engaged will be destroyed in the AO NLT turn 20.
EXECUTION
Commanders Intent:
Alpha Co, 1/6 Marines will deploy atop Hill 692 in relief of SEAL Platoon Golf to establish an OP and secure Hill 692 by a hasty defense extending from Hex 97,134 along azimuth 154. Alpha Co will
secure the Northern Ridgeline along PL Andy, the southern flank of Bravo Co from coordinate Hex 87,134 extending 90 degrees azimuth. Alpha Co will locate, disrupt, and destroy Syrian units in AO
along defense line. Alpha Co will not advance beyond defense line. The defense line is the LOA
CONCEPT OF THE OPERATION
A. Maneuver: SEAL Platoon Golf will lay smoke along Hill 692 east and southeast. Alpha will disembark and prepare a hasty defense at LOA. SEAL PL Golf will regroup at Alpha AA NET turn 3. The
Bn FAC helo will hover directing Fires. Bn HQ and H&S Co will establish Assembly Area in field southwest of Bldg 10.
B. Fires: The Bn FAC will direct Fires to fix and destroy Syrian units. UAVs will reconnoiter AOA to locate, identify, and target Syrian FA units. The Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) will
assign Air strikes and Helo sorties to destroy Syrian FA, and provide CAS.
COMMAND/SIGNAL
Lt. Col Percy Childs, BLT 1/6 Marines is the mission CIC. Succession in order:
- Major Devereux, XO 1/6 Marines
- Captain Charles Kidd, CO Alpha Co 1/6 Marines
NARRATIVE
“All warfare is based on deception.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Lt. Col Percy Childs, Commander BLT 1/6 Marines, 22 MEU keyed into his headset the go code to his Alpha Co commander Captain Charles Kidd, informing the young captain that the 1/6 Marines were proceeding with OPORD 2012-304-01 after immediately learning of SEAL Platoon Golf's taking down the Syrian AA/SAM Radar facility atop Hill 692, the first and most critical phase of the operation. Now that the Syrian SAMs and radar-controlled AA guns are effectively blind, the 1/6 Marines have clear skies.
Riding passenger in the Super Stallion CH 53E, Childs “the Deliverer,” opened the handset turning on voice comms to Kidd: “Kidd, you awake, this ain’t some junior ROTC outfit, this is for real let’s get some. He continued: Y’all ‘Ready Freddy’ right?
Smiling Kidd replied, “Yeah, we’re ‘Ready Freddie’, sir. I got two, count ‘em, one, two Vipers to my ten and two o’clock, we’re riding nice and easy. My taxi driver tells me we’re going down to the tree tops in about 10, so hold onto your breakfast old man, Sir.” He continued: “By the way, ha, ha, this is not Afghanistan; they don’t know how to shoot like the Muj did at Marjah proved. Anyway, I got a company of lean mean Marines ready to get some today. What you got for us Sir?”
Childs continued: “We’re going to lay waste to anybody who stands up in our AOA.” Frowning, he added: “We are to secure the area surrounding the WMD facility so that the Intel boys and girls can
document the stuff the Syrians have been cooking there.” He sighted: “We’re going to play safe, keep to our orders doing what we Marines do. You will not advance beyond your LOA, copy.”
Kidd replied: “Copy that. My Alpha will secure Hill 692, set up an OP, reconnoiter the ridgeline to my north, and destroy any Syrian units stupid enough to go against Alpha 1/6 Hard.” He continued smilingly: “Are you frowning, sir?”
Taking his handset close to his lips, the Deliverer spoke: “Deploy your men taking advantage of cover, get good LOS, and don’t run off script trying to be a hero.” He sighted long this time looking out the Super Stallion window over the dark Syrian landscape: “We have Bravo coming up behind us, then follows Charlie. You got to hold that hill to protect Bravo’s flank.”
Brigadier Haykal and Colonel Azzam late night, finding both men hunched over a wooden table sitting on faded dab green chairs of twice the age of both men, both drinking tea with the local favorite spice – mariamiya. Silently, both away in their own thoughts, maybe of their families, of old friends, of the nasty war with the rebels, or maybe of the hell that was about to be let loose on them commanded their hearts to speak privately to their own souls. The unspoken word, thus far this night between them is the “O” word. Will the president of the United States attack on the heels of the beating their friends paid for with their lives not
too many days and nights ago at the hands of the Turks. (See,
forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=49388).
Colonel Assam, the taller of the two men, the one if wearing a dark blue suit could easily walk into any bank on Wall Street and just from his persona, from his manners and etiquette find a welcome
reserved from the movers and shakers of the financial world. He was as intelligent as he was savvy. “My afdal sadeeq,” He addressed his commander in the warmest and most sincere terms – my best friend. Pausing, then he looked his best friend in the eyes as the words flowing as easily as the tea into Haykal’s now third cup, “We both know the Americans are smarting from Putin getting the best of Kerry over the damn chemicals mess.”
Haykal, seemingly waving off the point with his hand gesture, but in their social norm it was an endearing subliminal message. Finally, speaking after putting down his cigarette, “Yes, yes, yes,
everybody from Damascas to Beirut knows the Americans will need to make a show, to kick some butt, I think is what their Ronald Reagan would say. He sighted, then continued after another tea,
“Was he not the cowboy, yes?”
Azzam breathed a bit as he leaned closer to his commander and closest friend, “So they will attack us, you agree or no?”
Brigadier Haykal finally turned his head as if to the heavens and whispered, “Yes, they want to teach us a lesson, the chemicals be dammed, the want to use us to spit in Putin’s face.”
Nearly in hysterics, Azzam said, “Ha, ha, Obama wants to throw a shoe at Putin!”
“You know my friend”, Haykal with a serious face began, “You know what Sun Tze and our prophet have in common?”
Azzam with his studied face smiling began, “I won’t quote the hadith, but as with Sun Tze, and all commanders in every army know this, “All war is based on deception.”
“Yes, Sun Tze said that and our prophet agreed too, that “war is deception,” leaning back in his chair still with his eyes gazing towards the skies, Haykal, continued, “And so at the Combined Arms
Academy,” divertingly, he said to Azzam, “Remember I spent nearly two years in Moscow at the Frunze Military Academy where I learned also maneuver, that which we did not know against the Israelis nor
the Iranians.” As if brushing that aside, he said, “In Moscow, we learned maneuver to deceive and that my friend is what we are going to do with my brigade against Obama!”
Azzam sheepishly, “I am going to sleep my general, before the dawn prayers,” but he was interrupted. As both men turned to see the horrified sergeant standing before them holding the radio net handset, the mood turned on its head to sobriety in the blink of an eye.
Gameplay:
Play this scenario from the side of the USMC against the AI. Game length is 20 turns with visibility at 10.
Victory Conditions:
Destroy Syrian units, secure Hill 692, capture all flags, and move MV-22’s and Heavy Helos off map, while sustaining minimal losses to retain unit combat effectiveness. A draw is a defeat.
Notes: This is the second battle in the Red Line Syria series following “Red Line Syria – Put His Eyes Out.” The third battle has Bravo Co 1/6 Marines disembarking north of Alpha. The fourth and fifth battles remain in planning stages.
Please note that I have modified the cost of the USMC units such that the Attack Helos cost to 655, Heavy Helos, Tilt-rotors, and Venom Helos cost 550, and INF Squads and HQ units cost 350 each.
Filter units as appropriate, especially the Vipers, SMAW-NE, and Javelins for target and range.
Good luck, enjoy yourself, and please share your experiences, thoughts, suggestions, and comments. I'm thick skinned, so if you don't like it, as some of you did not like A01 HWY Ambush, then tell me so too!
Alpha Co 1/6 Marines Area of Operations
