- For the third time in the special ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration, the Allied player checks for an Iraqi Coup Collapse by a dice roll done using the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table to determine results. However, now things have changed and this time the Allies have some substantial Dice Roll Modifiers to maybe hasten the Iraqi Coup Collapse/Surrender per Optional Rule 38J5. As I tally it, per the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table Modifiers, there’s a big +5 since this is the “first turn (only) that a supported unit is adjacent to an Iraqi-owned Baghdad; there’s also a +1 for the Allied-owned “dot city” of Basra; and there’s a final +1 “if a rail connection (per Rule 7A1) cannot be traced from an Axis-owned Baghdad to an Axis-owned dot city in Iraq.” I assume “Axis-owned” = “Iraqi-owned.” This means a big +7 die roll modifier going towards the 14 result needed for an Iraqi Coup Collapse. I believe this is how the original WW designers “gamed” the “historical” Iraqi coup collapse in their wargame. In any event, the die roll done here is 12: Iraqi Coup Collapse!
- But wait! This was originally intended to be the last game turn anyway in the special ME/“IraqCampaign” Scenario demonstration. Accordingly, we will go through this last Axis player turn “as if” the dice roll were a 2: No Collapse, for the Europa wargame experience.
Allied dispositions [at the turn’s start]:
In the Central Iraq region:
Rutbah (21A:5023):
3-cap permanent airfield [Allied controlled]
Habbaniya (22A:2828):
1 x 0-1-4 Static II 1 As (Col)
1 x 1-6 Inf X 20 (Ind)
1 x Glad 3F3 0/8 [operative]
1 x Audax 1A1 1/8 [operative]
1 x Bombay 1T2 1-2/25 [operative]
22A:2927 [canal intensive hex; 2 hexes WSW of Baghdad, 2 hexes ESE of Habbaniya]:
1 x 2-8 Inf X 21 (Ind)
22A:2725 [canal intensive secondary rail line; NE of Baghdad]:
1 x 2-1-10* Mot Inf X Hab
Note: All Allied forces in the Central Iraq region are in general supply.
In the Southern Iraq region:
Basra (22A4313):
Allied standard Supply Terminal marker
one step of attack supply
Shaibah (22A:4314):
3-cap permanent airfield [Allied controlled]
22A:4021 [clear terrain secondary rail line hex]:
one step of attack supply
22A:3224 [swamp secondary rail line hex]:
1 x 8* Inf XX HQ 10 (Ind)
1 x 0-1-4 Static II 2 As (Col)
Note: All Allied forces in the Southern Iraq region are in general supply.
Axis Intervention in Iraq [Optional Rule 39E4]
Axis Conditional Reinforcements
Coup Turn 4/May II 41 Axis Turn
German:
Med/NA [or Southeast (SE)]:
Place at any airbase of the island of Rodi [in our case at the Rodi (20A:2230) point city/standard port hex containing a 3-cap permanent airfield]:
1 x Ju 52 1T2 0/20
- Axis Intervention in Iraq EA ill-wishers may be happy with the knowledge that per Rule 12C2a-[Axis] Unrestricted Full Supply Sources, it appears that in a WW ME-based Scenario in which the Balkans are not in play the Aegean Island standard port of Rodi cannot legally become a 4 gsp generating Axis full supply source until the start of the Jun I 41 Axis initial phase. They may say that this turn the Axis player certainly gets his Ju 52 T type air unit, but has no available supply cargo to fly to the Middle East; so it’s a dead issue and pointless reinforcement. Well, I neglected to say earlier that the larger ME/ER-II/“Iraq”/“Syria” Scenario from which the much smaller and cropped special ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration is based also includes a special “home brew” WW Rule 41C5 SE Command “Assault on Crete” add-on segment beginning on the May II 41 Axis turn. And so, for this special EA Scenario demonstration, 2 gsp’s are (in effect) railed from the west or north edge of BF map 14A (practically speaking from the Med/NA Command’s mainland Europe off-map holding box) and then (in effect) shipped in the SE Command’s Aegean Sea zone to the Med/NA Command port of Rodi in the movement phase, and are available there for air transport from the airfield later this turn.
Iraqi forces and Axis/German forces movement, end of movement phase dispositions, and commentary:
In the Central Iraq region [end of turn dispositions]:
Baghdad (22A:2825) [end of turn]:
Iraq capital marker
1 x 1-2-6 Inf XX 3 [never moved]
1 x 1-6* Inf XX: 2 [moved in from adjacent hex 22A:2926]
1 x 0-1-6* Inf XX 4 [moved in from adjacent hex 22A:2826]
Mxd 1A2 1/8 [never moved]
21A:4704 [East of the Tigris River, 3 hexes NNE of Baghdad; regular moved 6 MPs from 22A:2726]:
1 x 1-6* Inf XX 1
221A:2822 [swamp hex; three hexes E of Baghdad; end of exploitation phase]:
1 x 1-0-8 Lt Arm X 1
- This unit regular moves east from Baghdad to 22A:2823 in the movement phase. In the exploitation phase it moves one hex east and enters swamp hex 22A:2822, ending its move.
In the Northern Iraq region [end of turn dispositions]:
Mosul (21A:3509):
1 x Mxd 2A3 1-1/16 (LW) [never moved]
- The LW air unit is still Red U-1 this turn.
- It’s tempting this turn to maybe air transfer this unit to the Iraqi Kut al-Imara reference city airbase at 22A:3220; that way it could possibly give DAS to the Baghdad hex at a (twice) halved tac factor due to (also) being Red U-2 next turn. But maybe another game.
1 x Ju 52 1T1 0/20 (LW)
2 gsp’s; generated in the May II 41 Axis initial phase.
- Near the end of the exploitation the Ju 52 T type air unit, air transporting the 2 gsp’s, flies from the 3-cap permanent airfield at the point city/standard port Rodi hex (22A:2230) on an extended range mission per Rule 23C-Extended Range, to the Mosul dot city hex, exactly 60 hexes—3 times its range.
- In a WW ME Campaign Scenario game where the Iraqi coup would have collapsed/surrendered this turn per Optional Rule 38J5, then “Iraqi territory, except any hexes occupied by Axis ground or air unit[s]…become[s] Allied controlled.” In our case here, assuming the historical Western Desert Campaign situation in the WW ME Scenario’s Western Desert map group and assuming the beginning of the historical Syrian campaign on the Jun I 41 Allied turn (along the lines of F. Watson’s “Syria” Europa Battle Scenario found in TEM#81), an Axis player like myself would withdraw (per Optional Rule 38J6) later in this same Axis initial phase the LW Mxd A type Axis Intervention in Iraq Conditional Reinforcement and not bring on any more of these Conditional Reinforcements, including this turn’s LW Ju 52 air unit.
Allied air unit activity in Iraq late in the Axis exploitation phase:
Nasiriya (22A:3919) [reference city]:
1 x Bombay 1T2 1-2/15 [air transfer to here from Habbaniya (22A:2828)]
- Seeing that there is still military campaigning to be done in Iraq, this hard worked air unit transfers here for maximum flexibility the next Allied turn due to its rather limited range.
Commentary: Although I’ve had great fun studying and gaming the “historical” Iraq campaign in the WW ME Campaign Scenario format attempted here, I don’t know if I’ll attempt continuing the special WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration beyond this turn, assuming a No Collapse result in the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table dice roll. I think a first class WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration effort going beyond the May II 41 game turn would be played on the Near East map group along with Watson’s “Syria” Europa battle scenario, which begins on the Jun I 41 game turn. But to attempt a successful and authentic WW ME/“Syrian Campaign” Scenario demonstration I feel the need to read some more about the historical campaign. For now a more modest EA demonstration effort would be to continue beyond the end of the May II 41 game turn just the cropped WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration, using Watson’s “Iraq” battle scenario as a guide. This I might attempt to do, time down here permitting. I do believe the special WW ME/“Iraq Campaign” Scenario demonstration done so far in some ways nicely parallels parts of the historical campaign, in particular with the Br 2-1-10* Mot Inf X Hab’s conversion and long eastward drive towards Habbaniya, and also the Bombay T type air unit’s busy air transporting of the several Ind Inf Xs from the Southern Iraq region to the Habbaniya airfield in Central Iraq. Maybe some more Iraq and Syria talk later; right now the immediate issues at hand have unexpectedly given me a “full plate” for the time being. And I wouldn’t want the first part of the “IraqCampaign” to grow too cold and forgotten at the EA, if it hasn’t already!
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