BATTLE 13
Iraq v. U.S. Army, Meeting Engagement
Visibility: 42
Turn: 22
The inevitable had to be faced. With his troops unreplenished after their toughest fight so far, Col. Mustafa had to draw on his deepest reserves of morale, and use all of his tactical cunning to preserve his force, never mind achieve a victory.
The battle is fought in good visibility, with precious little cover available to the Marauders. The two commanding 100m hills, and the wooded areas, are all on the American side. The VPs are scattered, so hopefully the Americans will divide up their forces in an attempt to capture them all...
Perhaps due to the roughness of the terrain, nothing much happens for the first 40% of the battle - which is just fine by Col. Mustafa. However, finally, inevitably, an Abrams appears...
Col. Mustafa attempted to use his 120mm mortars to destroy the wooden bridges, in hopes of stopping the juggernaut, but it will most likely not work...
It appears that the Americans brought only the Abrams tanks, albeit three of them, with some support units that probably won't make any difference. No shots have been fired so far...
One Abrams runs into the same hex as a Marauder's infantry unit and locates it on the next turn. The slaughter begins - the job now is to contain it to as few units as possible.
A fire bomb attack does its job - an Abrams is taken out.
AFTERMATH: The Americans did have significant infantry forces following up after the Abrams tanks, but there simply wasn't enough time for them to get involved. Instead, the Marauders suffered their first Marginal Defeat of the campaign - but as no Marauder units were eliminated, this was all to the good. Finally able to rest and resupply, the Marauders were ready for whatever fortune may bring next...