AAR: The Iraqi Lost Legion - generated campaign

[Aeraaa]

The British commander apparently left his combined arms handbook at home. The destruction of the isolated tanks was painful to see.

[raginis]

BATTLE 16
Iraq v. U.S. Army, Iraqi Defense
Visibility: 65
Turn: 35

Despite fighting off the British, the Marauders knew that the Coalition forces would soon be back - and with strength. Therefore, Col. Mustafa ordered a retreat - but alas his troops were simply not fast enough to outrun a pursuing American force. In broad daylight, and this time completely in the open, the Marauders were forced to do battle again, with barely any time to dig in...



The only notable features are a few hills in the center and northern part of the map, and the northern road. The VPs are so interspersed, that it is impossible to predict where the Americans may attack. With visibility at 65, the Marauders are keeping their heads down in their dug-in positions, hoping for flank and rear shots on enemy armor. The RPGs and recoilless rifles are positioned forward, hoping to be bypassed initially. Should the expected Abrams tanks be defeated, enemy infantry will likely not have an answer to Marauder heavy support weapons.



And the north it is. Six Abrams, plus other assorted vehicles.



First blood is well and truly drawn. The sole northern ATG takes its toll on enemy vehicles, including an Abrams. Infantry immobilizes another one of the beasts. However, almost any unit that fires is spotted and subjected to devastating return fire. Two veteran RPG sections are done for, having destroyed only one M113 between them.



The carnage continues. The northern ATG is out. Due to being positioned in the center, and just behind a hill whose slope runs SW to NE, the other two ATGs cannot see any American vehicles. An elite Marauder squad is out. Another Abrams is taken out by a fire bomb, while a repeated Molotov assault makes another Abrams retreat. Two are immobilized - meaning that there is now no way to lure them into an ambush ... but I put one of those Abrams under sustained small-arms fire, to button it as thoroughly as I can - and then a unit armed with nothing more than grenades manages to kill it in close assault.



The American infantry's advance appears to have been screened by that one hill in the north, while the grunts certainly benefited from traveling along the road - a pretty good idea, actually. They are now moving around that hill, and encountering the first Iraqi resistance. They are also actually within the LOS of Col. Mustafa himself, inviting a mortar barrage.
No infantry appears either in the center or the southern sector, so the sizable Marauder forces positioned in those sectors begin to slowly make their way north - including the recoilless rifles, whose 1,200m range may yet come in handy...



The only Marauder units on the central hill were three People's Army squads that are training up to become scouts. They are the only Iraqi troops that are completely exposed to all the American units that are advancing along the northern road - that is to say, all the American units. All other Marauders are either too far, or screened by a hill. Consequently, these three squads have borne the brunt of all artillery barrages, and have been targeted by American MMGs following up behind the infantry, as well as several vehicles. One of these unfortunate PA units is ground down to zero men without retreating - the others are basically in a constant state of retreat/rout. Reinforcements are finally arriving from points south but, in terrain this open, they are easily spotted. Getting in close enough to kill enemy vehicles will be the challenge.



The battle is now essentially a meat grinder, with American infantry attempting to advance, supported by fire from their APCs, tanks, and MMGs. In the northern part, there are three operational Abrams tanks, but their behavior is bizzare - one is immobilized, and firing freely. One does not appear immobilized, but is not moving, yet firing freely. One was previously routed by a series of Molotov/fire bomb assaults, and retreated, but is now in "Ready" status, apparently undamaged, yet not moving or firing, and facing in the opposite direction. Marauder mortars manage to pin the US infantry assault, but the Iraqi infantry units are running out of ammunition, especially the western-armed troops. Reinforcements are marching up, but in this visibility, they have themselves suffered losses. American artillery barrages (105mm) have literally wiped out several squads in one shot. Marauder jeeps have been decimated by enemy Dragons. However, in all of this carnage, a recoilless rifle finally records a first kill - a Vulcan AA vehicle. This kill was achieved from some distance, by a unit that so far hasn't been used much in the campaign; a very satisfying kill.



Bedouins attempt to bypass the battlefield and get at the enemy mortars, but a HMMV opens up on them from distance. A charge would be futile, so they will be withdrawn.

AFTERMATH: Not much changed tactically for the reminder of the battle. The reinforcements from the central and southern sector, which included some very experienced troops, eventually ground down the enemy attack, and even took out two additional Abrams tanks. One of these was the strange tank that, while apparently undamaged and in "Ready" status, neither fired nor moved for most of the battle. A few smoke barrages broke LOS between the infantry squads and enticed the Americans to advance closer, which sped up the decision, as the infantry squads shredded one another from close range. Overall, the losses of experienced troops hurt, but there were a few promotions as well. The Marauders found a weapons cache with some old Strela AA missiles - just about enough to outfit three units of inexperienced men.

RULE ADDENDUM: I have a few People's Army squads that earned enough experience to get a promotion, but that also lost 50%+ of their complement. I don't "demote" them by using the Change button to change them to the same type of unit (with loss of experience) - I simply replenish them, but don't promote them. If they manage to survive the next battle without 50%+ losses, they will be eligible for promotion.

[raginis]

BATTLE 17
Iraq v. U.S. Army, Iraqi Delay
Visibility: 2
Turn: 27

Having repulsed two assaults in succession, the Marauders were finally able to pull away from the Coalition forces. Col. Mustafa withdrew along the same East-West road that had seen so much carnage just a few hours prior. With night approaching, the Marauders settled in in the open fields near a small village. Pickets were posted, a few new Toyota trucks outfitted with machine guns to replace earlier losses, ammunition replenished. The night was moonless, with visibility limited to no more than a hundred yards. Col. Mustafa could not shake the feeling that something was off, so at midnight he ordered the crews of the three T-55s to get in their tanks and use their night vision equipment to scan the horizon...



The ATGs are positioned on the hills, with their trucks nearby, and the other vehicles are spread out throughout the formation. Infantry is sticking close to the objectives. The units equipped with enhanced vision are spaced a bit further back, where they can still survey the field, but without being the first line of defense.



It is the infantry pickets that spot the first enemy - it is again the Abrams tanks, advancing along the road.



The Marauders make good use of the fortuitous layout of the village. The Abrams can either crush right through the buildings, or else move along the road, and expose themselves to assaults from infantry units that cannot be engaged by tanks that have not yet entered the village. Concentrated RPG fire from several units puts paid to one platoon of Abrams in short order.



The central Abrams advance grinds down a PA squad and then proceeds to wipe out two vehicles that were sitting in the open. Those vehicles have neither moved nor fired - they were simply spotted by the American tanks.



The battle has again settled into a pattern. The remaining Abrams basically do not move, but with each turn, they appear to spot several Marauder units (even the ones that that haven't moved or fired), and grind them to dust. An attack on the tanks still seems suicidal but, increasingly, so does staying put. A Company has already lost about 1/3 of its troops.

I use support weapons in Z-fire mode to try and button the tanks, but these also get spotted - a very experienced ZPU-4 AA unit is wiped out with a single shot in this manner. Marauder reinforcements are coming up toward the Abrams - we'll see if they can make a difference. The American infantry has appeared in several places, with some of their units just as blind as most of the Iraqis, and some units with good NV. Because the Marauders are not dug in, to be spotted is to be killed.

In view of this, the Marauder infantry sections have also taken to firing Z-fire. This provides an excess of targets for the Abrams tanks, and the destruction of A Company is slowed.



Whilst any moves in the north are met with withering fire from the Abrams and more unseen infantry troops, across the southern and central sector, Marauders are making a push. Sheer numbers, and the occasional NV unit, allow American units to be spotted. Bedouins charge in for the kill several times, even though they are more easily spotted by the Abrams - at a distance of more than 1,000m, the tanks do little damage. Troops with AT weapons are being shifted north, to eventually put down the tanks.



Remnants of A Company, and a few units from C Company, finally pay back the Abrams tanks. One of the kills goes down to a simple grenade assault, albeit by a veteran team. This stabilizes the northern sector. With their flank secure, C Company re-enters the town and begins to clear out the road, where a few MMG and Dragon sections are advancing.





Charging forward from the southern sector, the Bedouin cavalry reaches the North-South road in the American rear and spreads out to go after the mortars. In the open terrain, the American 81mm and 60mm mortars took a heavy toll on Marauder troops (even disintegrating a Bedouin band in one shot). Lost comrades can never be brought back - but they can be avenged... and on the way to the mortars, the Bedouins wipe out the American HQ unit.

AFTERMATH:

With the death of the tanks, the Marauders were able to recapture the victory objectives. The entire US force, except two Avenger units, was completely wiped out, but Marauder losses were heavy, both in infantry (where they lost more than the Americans) and especially, and unusually, in vehicles.

[raginis]

BATTLE 18
Iraq v. Saudi Arabia, Iraqi Advance
Visibility: 1
Turn: 32

Having literally wiped out the American attack, Marauders were finally safe for the moment. Col. Mustafa took only the bare time necessary to refit his force, and then immediately decided to move west and cross a river to put an obstacle between himself and any further pursuit. With the crossing accomplished, the force once again looked to find an encampment for the night. The Colonel decided to advance toward three hills that would provide some concealment and, together with the river, perhaps allow the Marauders to construct a better defensive position than they had last time. Alas, as the lead elements cautiously advanced, using their night vision to pierce the darkness, it became clear that the Marauders were not alone...



The entire Marauder force is across the river. With visibility of 1, the name of the game will be avoiding another grind down by always applying overwhelming force.



The Toyotas were not even moving, but were still spotted immediately and attacked by Patton tanks. One pickup truck is down...



Compounding the difficulty are the fields growing along the river, slowing down movement and funneling the advance into an area several hundred meters wide... any mortar barrage into that space will be devastating, but if tanks await, throwing numbers forward will be the only way...



The inevitable barrage takes a huge toll, destroying two soft vehicles and the ATGs inside them.



Slowly, slowly, the Marauders advance. Bedouins draw considerable fire, and find the first infantry squad. At 50m, the tribesmen get shredded by the infantry, but the Saudis, in turn, are equally helpless against Col. Mustafa himself, whose unit has Vision 10. Two tanks are identified, and have been peppered by HMGs for a few turns - but they continue to fire, as expected.



A third of the battle is finished and finally the first Patton succumbs to a close assault.



From 150m, a Mountain section puts paid to the second Patton. Depending on how many NV units the Saudis have, the tables may now turn in the Marauders' favor...



Indeed, this is a strange reversal of fortunes. The NV-equipped Marauders are able to simply spot enemy units that have neither moved nor fired. These units can then be shot at, sometimes from only 100m, but they are unable to respond. They can also be suppressed with Z-fire, and then closed with - Bedouins really come into their own in this job...



The only Saudi units able to fire back are Milan ATMs and a (lone?) Scimitar. Other than that, it is a slow, but inexorable advance. Col. Mustafa is on the front lines - two of his squad became casualties but he's also taken out two Milans.



Scimitars are close assaulted - one is taken down by the Bedouin Chief himself, with nothing more than a few Molotovs. The pickup trucks and other vehicles are now tasked with moving support weapons to the northernmost hill, which by now should be safe. At least some of the Saudi squads appear to be trying to recapture objectives - this could be a problem, since any bypassed Saudi squads may run into the heavily wounded troops I pulled to the rear. Indeed, a PA unit (albeit a Company HQ unit) is wiped out in this fashion.



AFTERMATH: There were no further dangerous troops remaining - except two 35mm AA guns which, despite their excellent Vision rating, barely fired. The Marauders achieved a decisive victory. 81mm mortars remain absolute killers of infantry moving in the open.