Strategy & Tactics # 357 - CENTCOM: Persian Gulf War 2001-2003

From Strategy & Tactics Press:

The Magazine:

CENTCOM: War for the Persian Gulf, 2001–03 In 2001 the US and its coalition partners launched operations in the Persian Gulf, first in Afghanistan and then Iraq. Both were initiated as responses to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks against the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Both were initially successful, but then led to continuing conflicts that have altered the balance of power across the Middle East.

Additional feature articles:

Defeat of the White Sheep Turks In the summer of 1461, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II mustered an army of 140,000 at Constantinople. He moved east along the Black Sea coast, paced offshore by over 200 supply vessels. His intent was to defeat his people’s main rival in the east, the White Sheep Turks. On 11 August, near the town of Otlukbeli in northeastern Anatolia, he collided with their similarly sized army. The battle’s result determined the broad shape of Middle East history for the next three centuries.

Gallipoli Quagmire: Four Battles of Krithia On 25 April 1915, soldiers of the British 29th Infantry Division landed across five beaches on Cape Helles. Their baptism by fire proved devastating, and the subsequent campaign lasted over eight and a half months. In the end, the Ottomans scored a decisive victory that blocked the Allies from supporting Russia through the Black Sea. There were many causes for that Allied failure. Here is our analysis.

George Washington’s Crusade Against the Iroquois The tribes of the Iroquois Confederation were loyal to the British Crown, and for three years they had been attacking frontier settlements. On 11 November 1778, several hundred Iroquois warriors overran Cherry Valley, New York, killing 46 and making homeless some 200 others. When George Washington learned of the attack, he resolved to end the Iroquois threat by launching a massive retaliatory campaign into their heartland.

The Game:

CENTCOM: Persian Gulf War 2001-2003 is an operational one-player simulation of US-CENTCOM military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq during 2001 to 2003 and optionally 2005. The player controls the forces of the CENTCOM (US, NATO, Northern Alliance, and other Allies). The game system controls the opposing OPFOR forces (Al Qaeda, Taliban, and Iraqi). The objective of the game is for CENTCOM to destroy both the forces of Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein thereby establishing the basis for a stable Persian Gulf.

The standard scenario covers the period of October 2001 (the initial US invasion of Afghanistan) to June 2003 (the anticipated conclusion of Operation Iraqi Freedom). The optional scenario extends the game to early 2005. The player mobilizes forces and conducts operations by expending Expeditionary Warfare Points (EP). When a rule calls for the OPFOR to take an action, you the player must execute that action.

OPFOR actions can be affected by the Persian Gulf Instability Index (PGII), which can shift throughout the game and generate events. CENTCOM can also be played by two or more players, controlling different parts of CENTCOM operations. This is explained in the Optional rules.

Each game turn represents from three weeks of intense combat to six months of logistical buildup and counterinsurgency operations. Each hex represents 43 miles (69.2 km). Units range in size from brigade groups, divisions, and corps.

22 x 34-inch game map and a sheet of 176 5/8-inch counters. Design by Joseph Miranda