Strategy & Tactics # 339 - Saddam Moves South: What If?

From Decision Games:

The Magazine:

Saddam Moves South: What If? On 2 August 1990 the Iraqis rolled into Kuwait, quickly seizing the country. The response of the US was immediate, with President George Bush (the elder) mobilizing a Coalition to fight the invaders. A major concern among Western and Mid-East leaders was the possibility of Saddam immediately continuing into Saudi Arabia. What could have happened had he moved south?

Articles

Operation Roundup Reconsidered: The question of whether the Allies should have conducted an invasion of France in 1943 has been argued and written about by many historians ever since. Here is our analysis.

The US Navy's Yangtze River Patrol: In 1844 America and China signed the Treaty of Wangxia. It gave American traders access to five ports and extraterritoriality to American citizens. Another clause gave the US military the right to intervene to “protect American lives and property.” That was the birth of what grew to become the US Navy’s Yangtze River Patrol.

Pompey vs. the Pirates: The Roman Republic appeared to be at a highpoint in 68, but there was one enemy who remained relentless—the pirates of the Mediterranean. Only a year later, however, the Romans—under the inspired leadership of Pompey “the Great,” had swept them from the sea. How he accomplished that is one of the great episodes of what is today called “joint warfare.”

The Game:

Saddam Moves South is an operational level two player wargame covering a hypothetical Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia in 1990. The assumption here is that after the Iraqi army overran Kuwait in the first week of August 1990, Saddam Hussein continued the offensive to grab the vital oilfields of Saudi Arabia. In response, the United States leads a coalition of states to stop the Iraqis and then retake lost territories. The game system is based on that of Desert One War, which models ground, air and amphibious operations. For the Coalition, the central game system is Air Transport Points (ATP) which represent strategic airlift capability. Each hex on the map represents 35 kilometers from side to side. Each turn of play represents anything from three days of intense combat to ten days of refitting. Ground units represent regiments, brigades, divisions, and groups of irregulars. Special operations forces (SOF) represent unconventional warfare activities. Aircraft units represent anything from one to four squadrons, depending on the quality of air force and operational tempo.

Components: One 22x34-inch game map & 9/16-inch counters.