Scenario Background:

It is December 2004, Southern Iraq. With the influx of fighters fresh from Fallujah, Southern Iraqís Shiía heartland has become increasingly dangerous. Moqtada Al-Sadrís Mahdi Army reports a phenomenal recruitment rate. Sectarian ìDeath Squadsî have begun to patrol the streets, and the people are preparing themselves for a civil war.

MSR Tampa, the main road that plugs Kuwait into Baghdad, has become increasingly dangerous as convoys have found themselves ambushed by small bands of fighters, or hit with Improvised Explosive Devices on a regular basis.

Insurgent Briefing:
Itís time to do our part in the Jihad. We will lie in wait and ambush some Crusaders. If any of their vehicles stops then, God Willing, we will kill them all!

Insurgent Mission Objective:
Capture/Wound/Kill the three US soldiers before their convoy turns around.

Insurgent Force Composition:
Group 1:
Leader with AKs-74 (small arms) (Trained D8/Good Morale D10)
Fighter with RPD (light support weapon)
2 Fighters with small arms
Group 2:
4 Fighters with small arms
1 Fighter with RPG
Group 3:
2 Fighters with small arms
1 Fighter with SVD Dragunov (light support weapon)

All Fighters, except the Leader, are Untrained D6 with Average Morale D8. The Insurgents will receive no reinforcements.


Insurgent Victory Conditions:
Per US Army Soldier Killed: 1 pt
Per US Army Soldier Captured: 1 pt
Seizing the Humvee: 2pts
Per US Army vehicle Destroyed: 5pts

US Army Briefing:

While on route from Kuwait to Camp Echo, Ad-Diwaniyah, a convoy being run by the Florida National Guardís Task Force 7-11 has been ambushed. The rear vehicle of the convoy has been disabled. The vehicleís gunner, manning an M249, was decapitated by garrote wire strung under a bridge and small arms fire was killed by accurate small arms fire that punched through the vehicleís unarmored windshield. As the vehicle ground to a halt, the Tactical Companion (TC), made a desparate call for the lead elements of the convoy to turn around. The convoy is currently following SOP by speeding out of the killzone so they can regroup, turn around, and help the stricken vehicle.

The convoy was escorting a number of passengers to Camp Echo, two of which were riding in the rear vehicle. As more small arms fire hit the vehicle, the TC and two passengers returned fire from the vehicleís interior. When it became clear the three soldiers could not adequately defend themselves using the tiny humvee windows, the TC gave the order to dismount, calling on the two ride-alongs to defend themselves.

Regular Mission Objective:
Survive the ambush and fight to the last man!

Regular Force Composition:
The US Army begins with three dismounted soldiers, and one unoccupied Humvee (unarmored) with a mounted M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. All US Army soldiers wear Light Body Armor. The soldiers begin with 1 on the driverís side of the vehicle, and 2 on the passengerís side.
First Team:
Troop Quality: Veteran D10 Average Morale D8
1 US Army Squad Leader with an M4
Second Team:
Troop Quality: Trained D8 Low Morale D6
1 US Army Rifleman with an M16a2
Third Team:
Troop Quality: Trained D8 Average Morale D8
1 US Army Rifleman with an M16a2
Reinforcements:
The Regulars will receive reinforcements on Turn 5. All troops are Veterans D10 with Good Morale D10
1 Humvee w/ .50cal machine gun with two dismounts:
1 US Army M203 Gunner
1 US Army Combat Lifesaver with M16a2 (Can roll on Medic chart)
1 Humvee w/ Mk 19 40mm Grenade Launcher with two dismounts:
1 US Army Teamleader with M4
1 US Army Rifleman with M16a2
US Army Victory Conditions:
Per Insurgent Leader killed: 2pts
Per on-board Soldiers survive: 1pt
Per Insurgent Group Broken/Destroyed: 1 pt
Special Rules:

The dismounted Humveeís M249 is fully operational and there is nothing stopping any of the three soldiers from entering the vehicle and re-mounting it, though there is no armor protection for the gunnerís position.
Initiative:

Turns 1-4 Insurgents
Turns 5-End US Army

Terrain:
The ground is largely flat with very little cover. A small ditch runs parallel on either sides of the MSR that could provide cover from the road, or the surrounding terrain. The two buildings are single-story and, unless occupied by the insurgents during the game, do not contain any hostile forces.

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Sine Pari

Looks interesting. I wonder how AAG will "work" with such small "fireteams".

You could call this scenario "Fireteam of one" (you know, instead of "Army of One" ).

BTW, how far away should the insurgents start?

Is this a daytime or night-time mission?

- Jim

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I could agree with you...but then we'd BOTH be wrong.

It's a Daytime mission. I don't have a table or anything like that to play with, so the best I can do is arbitrarily come up with a number, but they should start 20-24 inches from the center of the humvee. They should have a good chance at overwhelming the 3 soldiers and taking prisoners.

Should the Insurgent player reach the humvee and capture soldiers, or bodies, they should load them in the humvee and back off.

There is a reason for each soldier being part of a different team:

This is a "historical" scenario that I first adapted for a computer game (source of map) and now, for AA. The three soldiers were from different units, the "Squad Leader" was from the Florida NG. The "Average Morale" Rifleman and the "Low Morale" Rifleman were from the same battalion, but didn't know each other, plus the "Low Morale" guy was an idiot. He wound up getting back in the vehicle and whining about how he was shot (he wasn't).

Also, I wanted the soldiers to be able to fire at any Group they needed to without being hindered by targeting restrictions.

Since I have no way of playtesting this at the moment, I'm curious to see how this game handles this type of situation.

*edit*

The title is derived from the Ranger Creed. The "Average Morale" Rifleman was Ranger qualified, and he found it helpful to repeat certain lines such as this one and: Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.

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Sine Pari

This sounds pretty hard core. Wondering what the historical result was.

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An American military veteran is someone who once wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

Of the 3 soldiers left to fight once the vehicle was disabled: 1 WIA(Returned to Duty in 72hrs), 1 refused to fight, 1 uninjured.

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Sine Pari

Thanks for the response.

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An American military veteran is someone who once wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

No problem.

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Sine Pari