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.