Bloodbath in Baghdad ?*
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Date: February 14, 2016*
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Battle Location: Baghdad, Iraq*
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Battle Type: USMC evacuation vs Iraq advance*
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IMPORTANT: Read the scenario notes !!!*
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Description: You're in command the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), a reinforced infantry battalion.*
Your orders (in USMC "SMEAC" format) are as follows:*
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Situation:*
Having finally turned the governance and security of Iraq back over to Iraqi authorities a couple years ago the US still shows it's support when needed by sending US forces to train with Iraqi ones whenever instability gets too far out of hand.  Recently there has been a lot of unrest due to persistent rumors the government is executing imprisoned insurgents.  As the 13th MEU was afloat nearby it has been sent to "wave the flag" and show US support for the Iraqi government.*
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Mission:*
Officially you're here to only train with the Iraqi military.  The side-effect of showing US support for the government, and its' polices, is however not to be understated.*
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Execution:*
Be present, be seen, but under no circumstances will you augment Iraqi security forces.  You will, of course, handle your own local security but it should be kept to the lowest possible visibility.*
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Admin & Logistics:*
Given the nature of your mission in Iraq you have a full company (vice the normal platoon) of Light Armored Infantry (LAI) and a US Navy SEAL Team as augmentations to the normal attachments any MEU has.*
One of your three infantry companies, Fox, is rated as Special Operations Capable (SOC) and has been trained and equipped specifically for counter insurgency operations.*
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Command & Control:*
You have cross-attached ("XA" in the unit name) one platoon from Echo to Fox company, the Light Armored Vehicles (LAV's) from 3rd LAI platoon have been loaned to your Force Recon platoon, and a TOW to the Military Police (MP) squad covering the rear of the Force Service Support Group (FSSG, admin, logistics, medical, etc.) convoy.*
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It's 2 AM local and you had trouble getting to sleep due to yet more reports of government executions.  The local CIA and your S-2 (Intelligence) section both assure you these are nothing but propaganda by dissident elements.*
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You're awakened by a knock at your door an open it to find your S-2 Chief looking worried.*
"Colonel, we may have a problem.  Al-Jazeera (Arab propaganda TV) is broadcasting "secretly" obtained footage of several hooded figures supposed to be rebel leaders being mass executed with poison gas."*
"OK," you say, "put us on 50% alert, contact both the ACE and Echo (out in the field training with the Iraqi's) to do the same.  And get our Iraqi liaison and find out what the. . ."*
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At this moment an explosion near the front gate shatters the night.*
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1)  Get your vehicles crewed (most start the scenario abandoned, crew unit names indicate the kind of vehicle they come from).*
2)  Collect the American, French, German, and Russian ambassadors (600-999 points each, more then an Abrams tank).*
3)  Collect the US, NATO, and Iraqi civilians (4-600 points each).*
4)  Exit all your units off the west map edge (supply and fuel trucks are worth 2-350 points each).  REMEMBER - Do not unload vehicles in the grey map edge hexes or the cargo will be destroyed !*
5)  Do all the above while not killing any Iraqi protesters.*
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NOTES: IMPORTANT TO READ THESE*
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Not suitable for two player.  The human player must play the USMC side.*
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This scenario operates totally the reverse of any other scenario you've probably ever played.*
You "win" by losing the scenario.*
Since you can't have negative unit costs the only way to show the negative consequences of shooting unarmed Iraqi civilians was to set up the scenario so you want the lowest score possible to "win".*
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Rock throwing civilians and unarmed vehicles have a positive unit cost.  Armed units, of any type, have their unit cost set to zero so they may be destroyed without effecting the scenario score.*
This is a scenario where artillery, cannon, machine-guns, and grenades are NOT your friend.  Marksmen, snipers, and M16 rifles don't "splash" into other units in a stack.*
You will find using the <Y> key to set your unit firing ranges very useful.  As will using the <space-bar> or <right clicking> to disable automatic and explosive weapons.  Lastly the <W> key allows you to select a single weapon to fire at a targeted enemy unit.*
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It is strongly suggested you set the USMC "Rout/Rally" preference to 250 for this scenario.  Most of the USMC forces enter the game as reinforcement and you'll have serious problems with individual units breaking for no reason until their entire platoon/section deploys and consolidates.  Once all your forces are on-map you may reset to Rout/Rally to 100.*
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The temporary airfields your Air Combat Element (ACE) establishes is always located off map, as is half your artillery.  These are assumed to be leap-frogging forward via CH-53 Sea Dragon (why you only have 2 available for your use instead of the 4 normally assigned to a MEU), MV-22 Osprey, and their own organic transport.  Gulf company (your air mobile infantry) is providing security for the ACE (why it always arrives late in a scenario, if at all), as are 3 of your 5 LAV-AT's.*
There is a HIMARS MRL section that's been renamed "CtrBtyAirStrike" that will never be under your direct control.  This represents aircraft performing counter-battery missions against off-board artillery.*
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This is the first scenario in a campaign of attrition.  No single battle should seriously damage your forces, but the cumulative effect will make the later scenarios "interesting".*
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You will have very few replacement points between scenarios.  Use them to repair damaged infantry type units, there are cooks and such you can use as a replacement pool.  You may also repair damaged vehicles, especially those with mobility kills, you have mechanics and spare parts (within reason) available.  The whole purpose of a MEU is that it's a self-contained, self-sustaining, combined arms task force with a 90-days of ammo and supplies.  However, any unit that is destroyed should not be replaced.  While a cook can fill in for a rifleman (s)he's not an experienced squad leader.  Any vehicle damaged more then a couple points should also be left that way, you have a tank transport you can use to move any seriously damaged vehicle.*
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Sources: Fictional scenario*
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Design by: Suhiir (G.D. Olson)**