Salt Lamp Gaming

Fallujah 2004 - Decision games - modern war mag #23

Campaign game - 2nd round phantom fury scenario - playing with all optional rules.

Scenario background - Operation Vigilant Resolve, a US military operation mounted in April of 2004 in response to increasing chaos and unrest in the city (I won’t get into specifics here but if you are interested it’s worth looking up) culminated in an uneasy ceasefire after several weeks of gnarly urban combat. To put it lightly the mission was a humanitarian disaster and (at least perceived as) a military quagmire. Whilst technically not a loss, the battle was proof that things were far from over in Iraq and imagery of the fighting stirred up an eery reminiscence of the brutal street fighting seen on the streets of Hue in 68’ marines and all, it bought about a similar wave of lamentation from the general public too.

In November of 2004 a combined force of US, British and reformed Iraqi army head back in. The operation is dubbed Phantom Fury. The proceeding events were tragic, violent and a true test of resolve. Again the operation was not a loss but it was further consolidation of the wests confusion and outrage at the situation, didn’t we win this war already? despite this one thing is undeniable all sides fought relentlessly for every inch of the city no matter the cost.

Game situation - I have 85 operational points to assemble my forces and a bid to restore order to the city. In game terms operational points allow you to purchase units by paying a set cost per unit type and subsequently move/attack with them by paying one op point per stack. Stacks can be a max of two battalions and two companies, helicopters can transport certain units and then hover above objectives to negate stacking limits. Essentially your money is your time and your time is your money. You set the pace you set your OOB from a mixture of infantry, armoured recon, tank, mechanised, Stryker, engineer, military police, sniper,special forces and logistical companies/battalions oh and some amphib carriers too! You also have access to artillery/air support as well as electronic recon/psyop units. Ops points can also be spent on “infowar” and “intel” which utilise the above mentioned recon and Psyops counters which are labeled netwar in addition to enhanced engineering and refit operations. There are 18 objective spaces on the map all worth VP on their own, they also contain “node” markers which you are trying to identify and capture. Each time your stack stops they must face combat, unless there are friendly units in the space. Enemy units are drawn randomly with some neat event chits thrown in for good measure and combat is simple but tense. Those of you who have played a Joseph Marinda game may be familiar with his tactical edge mechanic where by forces dice off to determine who fires first, the winning side then rolls completely unchecked by the opponent. It’s vital you get the tactical edge because if you fail to do so you could suffer step losses before you even get a chance to fire. Certain objective Nodes and events can effect combat and commuting fire support is risky in certain areas as it could result in civilian causality this incurring a loss in operation points and as such operational capability - losing battles can also drain your op points. Momentum is paramount. Optional rules cover objective interdiction, enhanced communication between nations (only in phantom fury scenario), SF infiltration and a cool rule where you can cash in a net war chit for the ability to move two distinct stacks (within stacking limit) to the same space. The game comes to end either when you have captured all objectives or if you run out of ops. VP is the tallied per objective, special counter killed/captured etc, and a really cool KIA index which is constantly shifting and could either cause a gain or less to VP. This is then checked against a VP assessment chart.

The counters are marked as followed - left number - combat (roll even or less for hit) - number in parenthesis is contact rating (tactical edge modifier) - right - movement. Stacks move by slowest unit speed.

You move onto the map from staging areas marked north, south, east and west. I will assume you can work out how and where they enter the map.

I have assembled my forces as follows -

Task force Archer - northern base - a mixture of US army light armoured recon, strykers, armoured, and engineering companies supplemented by the British black watch regiment and Iraqi commandos and a cadre of SBS, Delta Force (CAG), MP, 160th SOAR and Iraqi counter terrorism units. Mission tasking Northern sector of the city. Units will converge on objectives in a cascading swift motion enabling the marines to do their thing in the MSR (hopefully)

Task force Wedge - western base - Lots of marines - tasked with possibly the hardest mission of securing the western edges of the city and the MSR. Heavy resistance expected.

Task Force Blondie - a combined force of US Army recon armour and mech, Marines, TRT and Iraqi regulars supplemented by chinooks. The media task force, tasked with mopping up the three southern objectives and providing additional combat support to Task Forces’ Wedge and Lace should they need it. (Unofficially tasked with looking good on camera whilst riding in helicopters and showing off the reformed Iraqi guard) this may hamper my strategy but I’m a sucker for indulging my cynicism.

Task Force Lace - A lean and adaptable force assigned to push the western edge of the MSR quickly and provide any additional combat support to TF Wedge and Archer. Should Task Force Blondie stall or Iraqi conscripts desert (it can happen in the game) TF Lace can also be tasked with assisting in the southern sector of the city.

What’s your take on playing controversial topics? I guess you could argue you any wargame is controversial by its very nature, but I mean especially controversial subjects especially those that deal in recent events?

For me if it’s done right and can provide both an engaging and insightful look into the operational considerations of the battle/era/war whilst also informing you of the ethical and political issues surrounding. Giving you a chance to better understand and digest a complex and difficult subject. If some wrong.. well let me know what you think.

I’d say this game just about does it right. At least I think so.

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