• Per the WW Master Sequence of Play Summary the Allied dice roll to check for Levant surrender using the Variable Levant Surrender Table is done before the Iraqi Coup Collapse check. Both are done in the Axis initial phase before supply determination or the reinforcements segment. The Allied player rolls high, and the dice roll result is Surrender. Per Optional Rule 38V3f and Rule 38V3d, “the Vichy forces in the Levant [then] surrender…. When these forces surrender, all Vichy ground and air units in the Levant are removed from play; these forces are considered to be eliminated.” However, it appears per WW Rule 38V3-The Levant and Rule 38A5-Surrender, large areas of French Levant territory are still considered enemy-owned hexes until captured per Rule 5B and Advanced Rule 5B3. In the present special WW/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration this includes at least reference city Deir ez Zoir (21A:3922), partial city hex Alep (21A:3231) and reference city Lattaique (20A:3404). In the off-map Syrian campaign Beyrouth (20A:4207) fell on the Jul I turn and Damas (20A:4505) fell on the Jul II 41 Allied turn. The Allied units (all non-motorized) involved in the Syrian campaign are currently in a rough line between Beyrouth and Damas.

  • In this Axis initial phase the Allied player has the following Dice Roll Modifiers when using the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table: a big +6 “if Baghdad is Allied-owned,” a +1 for the Allied-owned dot city of Basra, and another +1 for the Allied-owned dot city of Mosul. There’s a -1 Modifier “if an Axis air unit is in Iraq,” which there is this turn. Note, however, the Allies no longer get the +1 “if a rail connection (per Rule 7A1) cannot be traced from an Axis-owned Baghdad to an Axis-owned dot city in Iraq” because Baghdad is no longer “Axis-owned.” The arithmetic tallies to a +7 Modifier for the Allies; and the dice roll is a 4: w/ the +7 modifies to an 11: No Collapse!

  • In the supply determination part of the initial phase the Iraq 1-6* Inf XX 1 at 21A:4803 becomes Black U-4. It is assumed to be isolated. Per Optional Rule 12E5-Elimination from Lack of General Supply, a die roll is done on the Success Table to check for elimination; the roll is a 5: the Iraqi inf XX survives.

  • In the reinforcement segment of his initial phase the Axis player withdraws (per Optional Rule 38J6) all Axis intervention in Iraq air units currently in the special WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration This would be the LW Ju 52 T type air unit at the Rodi (20A:2230) airfield (in the South Aegean islands) and the LW He 111H4 B type air unit at Sulaimaniya (20A:4710), in Iraq. These two LW air units probably go to the Russian front. In addition, the LW Me 110C HF type air unit in the Axis NE Command’s Aborted Air Units box is also withdrawn from the game, I believe. In the case of wanting to keep the LW ME 110C air unit in play, the Axis player would have to spend a Ger ARP from the Axis Med/NA Command. The Axis player sees no point in attempting further German intervention into the endgame of the Iraqi Coup after the fall of Baghdad and the loss there of the ground unit core of the Iraq Army, especially with Barbarossa unleashed. Perhaps more later on the issue of the Axis Intervention in Iraq Conditional Reinforcements air unit withdrawals, per Optional Rule 38J6.

Allied dispositions:

In Iraq:

In the Central Iraq region [all Allied forces are in general supply]:

Rutbah (21A:5023):

1-cap permanent airstrip

1 x Well 1C 4NB3 2-6/28 [operative]

Habbaniya (22A:2828):

1 x 0-1-4 Static II 1 As (Col)

1 x Glad 3F3 0/8 [operative]

1 x Audax 1A1 1/8 [operative]

1 x P 40C 5F5 1/13 (SAAF) [operative]

22A:2725 [canal intensive secondary rail line hex; NE of Baghdad]:

1 x 6-8* Inf XX 10 (Ind)

Baghdad (22A:2825) [partial hex city]:

1 x 1-8 Inf X 17 (Ind)

one hit on the airbase

22A:2826 [ clear terrain major rail/road junction hex W of Baghdad]:

1 x 0-1-4 Static II 2 As (Col)

Baqubah (21A:4802) [canal intensive secondary rail junction reference city hex]:

1 x 2-1-10* Mot Inf X Hab

22A:3023 [clear terrain secondary rail line]:

1 x 2-1-10* Lt Arm X 252 (Ind)

In the Southern Iraq region [all Allied forces are in general supply]:

Basra (22A:4313) [dot city/major port]:

Allied standard Supply terminal marker

1 x 2-8 Inf X 18 (Ind)

three steps of attack supply

Shaibah (22A:4314)

3-cap permanent airfield [Allied owned]

Iraqi forces and Axis/German forces on the NE map group; movement and end of turn dispositions:

In the Central Iraq region [all Iraqi units are out of general supply and isolated]:

21A:4803 [canal intensive secondary rail line hex]:

1 x 1-6* Inf XX 1 [becomes Black U-4 this turn; never moved]

Karbala (22A:3227) [salt marsh dot city/secondary rail line terminus hex]:

1 x Mxd 1A2 1/8 [becomes Black U-1 this turn; never moved]

  • In the dark twilight of the Iraq campaign, this remaining Iraqi coup unit is relatively safe where it’s at, in the sacred dot city hex of Karbala. The Allied player will likely not “enter or attack” this Iraqi-owned hex and suffer the -3 Die Roll Modifier consequences on the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table dice roll the next Axis initial phase. Presumably “attack” or “enter” also means an Allied pinpoint bombing attack on the dot city airbase, in addition to Allied ground unit entry into the Karbala hex.

In the South Aegean islands:

On the island of Rodi:

Rodi (20A:2230) [point city/standard port]:

3-cap permanent airfield [Axis owned]

Allied air unit activity late in the Axis exploitation phase:

  • Late in the Axis exploitation phase the Allied player announces a non-phasing air transfer to Egypt of the Glad 3F3 type air unit at Habbaniya airfield (22A:2828) and the Well 1C 4NB3 type air unit at the Rutbah airstrip (21A:5023). In western Egypt and at Tobruch Rommel and his Afrika Korps press hard the British Western Desert Force (soon to be renamed the 8th Army). However, the SAAF 5F5 1/13 air unit remains based at the Habbaniya airfield, in anticipation for use in the impending invasion of Iran, not to mention to guard against the remaining Iraqi Mxd 1A2 type air unit still surviving at the Karbala dot city airbase.

Commentary:

The special WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration does not yet have a fixed ending or a completed Victory Rule. For now it is considered the cropped portion of a larger WW ME Campaign Scenario. But I assure the EA that there is an end to it, and that the end is very near. The “Iraq Campaign” EA postings will end with the fall of Iran, which should be quick in coming and is virtually automatic, per Rule 38I-Iran.

The WW Middle East (ME) Campaign Scenario Victory Conditions are found at Rule 41B5. Turning to the WW Scenarios & Appendices booklet and referring to the several Victory Charts used per the WW ME Campaign Scenario Victory Conditions, we notice the following VP stipulations for the Vichy Levant:

  • Per the Western Desert Victory Chart, used in the Middle East Campaign, we see that the Axis get +10 VPs the first time the player gains control of all cities and ports in the Levant. This will probably be accomplished in a couple of turns from now after some Allied ground unit movement throughout the conquered and presumably empty French Levant territory. Note that in WW games other than ours, this award could be made before the actual Levant Surrender occurs per the dice roll done using the Variable Levant Surrender Table (Optional Rule 38V3f). The Allied player incurs -1 VP “each [game] turn [the] Axis has privileges in the Levant and the Levant has not surrendered to the Allies.” Per the WW Master Sequence of Play Summary this particular accounting is done early in the Axis player’s initial phase, prior to the initial successful die roll to “pressure Vichy France to grant Axis privileges in Levant, if eligible/desired.” In our “Iraq Campaign” Scenario, the Axis player gained “Air” privileges in the Levant in the Apr I 41 Axis initial phase, so the -1 Allied VP count for no Vichy Levant surrender began on the Apr II Axis initial phase and stopped this Jul II 41 Axis initial phase, for a total of -6 VPs, I think.

  • However, per Rule 40B-Victory Points, the Allied player evidently gets VPs for all surrendered and eliminated Vichy French Levant forces. This VP count for the “eliminated” Vichy Levant force losses/surrender comes from the WW Common Victory Chart, also used in the Middle East Campaign Victory Conditions. An exception to the “all surrender” rule for the Vichy French forces in the Levant is the Vichy French LeO 451 B type air unit Reinforcement, if still on-map (eg., not already Aborted or Eliminated) in the Axis initial phase of Vichy Levant surrender. Per the WitD Neutral Nations OB the Vichy French LeO 451 air unit withdraws “if the Levant surrenders to the Allies.” Upon Vichy Levant surrender, I count an automatic +12 VPs for the Allies, counting all the Vichy Levant ground unit REs along with the Vichy Fr D 520 F type air unit (per the WitD Neutral Nations OB for Vichy France). Right now I don’t believe the Allies get a +5 for the capture or either the Vichy Levant or Iraqi supply terminals; I believe these VPs go to the capture of Allied or Axis supply terminals.

Continuing our survey of periphery issues, looking at Appendix G-Transportation Lines in the WW Scenarios & Appendices booklet, we find that in the WW ME/“Iraq campaign” Scenario time frame the secondary rail line from Kut-al-Imara (22A:3220) to Baqubah (21:4802) is actually a road. The text says “[rail] construction was started February 1942, completed December 1942.” This oversight has made no difference in our game. Also found in Appendix G is another quite important ME Scenario map group transportation line difference, this time in Iran, in the Shatt al Arab zone of the critical SW Iranian region by the Persian Gulf; but this will be noted later at the start of the Allied invasion of Iran.

For those who wonder about such things, here is a partial list of the Iraq cities still under Coup Iraq/Axis control:

  • Karbala (22A:3227) [dot city]

  • Sulaimaniya (32:1532) [reference city]

  • Amara (22A:3526) [reference city]

  • Khanaquin (21A:4501) [point city]

  • Samarra (21A:4506) [point city]

  • Tel Afar (21A:3512) [point city]

  • Najaf (22A:3526) [point city].