Post by IcyNudibranch on Apr 15, 2012 2:25:18 GMT
This is a battle between NATO and Soviet forces circa 1985. The Soviet Union has pushed into Iran in an attempt to expand communist influence and obtain Iranian oil. NATO forces rapidly mobilized, as the weak Iranian army is quickly overrun by the Soviets.
The first skirmish is at an Iranian oil town on the Persian Gulf. It is made up of mostly low-rise buildings. There is a large mosque in the center of the town, along with a large number of open market places and plazas. Near the ocean there is a sprawling oil refinery and ship-loading complex, along with a long line of beaches and sandbars.
A small NATO naval taskforce moves in and begins landing US Marines onto the beaches. In a chilling recurrence of the Normandy landings, Soviet machine guns, snipers, and rockets set up inside the Iranian houses quickly gun down the first squadrons to land. The landings halt while NATO ships in the bay begin a missile and naval artillery bombardment to eliminate the houses. The NATO commander realizes that he has little information on what anti-air defenses exist on shore, and does not want to risk sending in what few fighters he has on his single assault carrier.
However, the Soviets now know where the NATO forces will land, and begin helicopter gunship patrols along the beaches and quickly move their main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles onto the beach. As the ponderous Marine AMTRACS reach the beaches, their tiny machine guns stood no chance against the powerful guns of T-72 and BTR-70 tanks, along with a pelting of rocket fire from the beachfront houses.
The second landing is halted, with more than 40% of NATO infantry and landing craft destroyed. Knowing that another bombardment may be coming, the Soviet commander pulls his forces back inside the city and spreads them out to avoid losing all of them if the NATO commander decides to bombard the city. Though he loses a few of his tanks as they retreated, the majority of his defending force is saved.
The NATO forces are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Though they can manage a few more naval bombardments, their ordnance is not unlimited. If they launched fighters to take out the Soviet armor, they risk losing what few aircraft they have to SAMs and anti-air fire.
The Soviet forces are in a much more favorable position, but still risk losing forces. The nearest Soviet-controlled airfield is several hundred miles away, and the Soviet Navy is steaming through the Atlantic. Though he requests an anti-ship bomber complement be sent his way, he knows that it will take a while for the aircraft to be launched, and that NATO ships have good missile defense systems.
The NATO commander decides to take a risk and launches his fighters. Though they manage to take out several dozen armored vehicles and a few SAM sites, most are damaged or shot down. With no options left, the NATO ships are forced to retreat.
The key reason NATO lost was because of being forced to rely on a naval assault. This trapped them into having to land AMTRACS on the beaches, which could be destroyed by rockets. Machine guns and snipers would then cut down any infantry that got out. Because of lack of any other method, the Soviets unintentionally trapped the NATO commander into a single strategy that was doomed to fail from the start.
The first skirmish is at an Iranian oil town on the Persian Gulf. It is made up of mostly low-rise buildings. There is a large mosque in the center of the town, along with a large number of open market places and plazas. Near the ocean there is a sprawling oil refinery and ship-loading complex, along with a long line of beaches and sandbars.
A small NATO naval taskforce moves in and begins landing US Marines onto the beaches. In a chilling recurrence of the Normandy landings, Soviet machine guns, snipers, and rockets set up inside the Iranian houses quickly gun down the first squadrons to land. The landings halt while NATO ships in the bay begin a missile and naval artillery bombardment to eliminate the houses. The NATO commander realizes that he has little information on what anti-air defenses exist on shore, and does not want to risk sending in what few fighters he has on his single assault carrier.
However, the Soviets now know where the NATO forces will land, and begin helicopter gunship patrols along the beaches and quickly move their main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles onto the beach. As the ponderous Marine AMTRACS reach the beaches, their tiny machine guns stood no chance against the powerful guns of T-72 and BTR-70 tanks, along with a pelting of rocket fire from the beachfront houses.
The second landing is halted, with more than 40% of NATO infantry and landing craft destroyed. Knowing that another bombardment may be coming, the Soviet commander pulls his forces back inside the city and spreads them out to avoid losing all of them if the NATO commander decides to bombard the city. Though he loses a few of his tanks as they retreated, the majority of his defending force is saved.
The NATO forces are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Though they can manage a few more naval bombardments, their ordnance is not unlimited. If they launched fighters to take out the Soviet armor, they risk losing what few aircraft they have to SAMs and anti-air fire.
The Soviet forces are in a much more favorable position, but still risk losing forces. The nearest Soviet-controlled airfield is several hundred miles away, and the Soviet Navy is steaming through the Atlantic. Though he requests an anti-ship bomber complement be sent his way, he knows that it will take a while for the aircraft to be launched, and that NATO ships have good missile defense systems.
The NATO commander decides to take a risk and launches his fighters. Though they manage to take out several dozen armored vehicles and a few SAM sites, most are damaged or shot down. With no options left, the NATO ships are forced to retreat.
The key reason NATO lost was because of being forced to rely on a naval assault. This trapped them into having to land AMTRACS on the beaches, which could be destroyed by rockets. Machine guns and snipers would then cut down any infantry that got out. Because of lack of any other method, the Soviets unintentionally trapped the NATO commander into a single strategy that was doomed to fail from the start.
