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Cuba, November 07, 1962, USA army of 325 units opposed to CUBA army of 777 units for a battle of complexity 1.6 at Company(I) level on a 5 Km/Hex map for 30 turns of Half Day each. by Gregory Anderson submited on 09-05-2009 Rugged-Defense Playing Statistics
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Operation Ortsac 62Designed for US Player vs Cuban PO 1. Unit Colors
2. Background This scenario presupposes that the Cuban Missile Crisis did not end peacefully. Soviet Premier Khrushchev refused to withdraw the missiles, and the US President Kennedy authorized the neutralization of the Soviet nuclear weapons by force, with airstrikes to commence on 1 November 1962. The scenario starts on 7 November 1962, with the Soviet missiles and much of the Soviet-Cuban air forces and air defense capability neutralized. Soviet anti-ship cruise missile sites were likewise struck and rendered ineffective, clearing the way for a US invasion to remove Castro from power, remove the Soviet presence from the Western Hemisphere, and to recover Soviet technology from Cuba. US airstrikes against mobile Cuban and Soviet Army units have only been marginally effective, and much of the USAF assets are being diverted to Europe or being used for defense of US airspace. Most of the Navy's ASW carriers and task groups have moved out to the North Atlantic to begin clearing routes for American convoys to Europe, and only three carriers remain to provide support. The US player will have significant air and sea lift for the first three turns of the scenario, after which 50% of the sealift and 75% of the airlift will be diverted to reinforcing Europe. Over time, Cuba will deploy more and more mobilized reserves. Most Cuban units have a number of irregular squads to be filled over time to represent local levies, volunteers and coerced citizenry supplementing combat formations. Likewise, irregular and guerilla units will begin to show up over time. It would behoove the US player to protect his supply lines. Many key towns and all major cities will have garrison units that will reinforce over time, some more quickly than others. 2.1. US Mission US forces are to seize Havana, San Christobol, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Holguin and prevent the fall of Guantanamo Bay. The destruction of the remnants of the Soviet IRBM/MRBM units will yield bonus VP (to simulate the intelligence benefit of examining captured/destroyed Soviet nuclear-related materiel). A quick victory in less than one week (14 turns) could stun the Soviets into standing down around the world. If the war goes over two weeks (28 turns) there could be a negotiated cease fire between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, which might mean Castro will remain in power. This is unacceptable. 2.2. Cuban Mission Prevent the capture of Havana, San Christobol, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Holguin. Bonus VP will be awarded for capturing Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, even if you do not hold it. Prevent the US player from destroying MRBM/IRBM units. If you last longer than two weeks (28 turns) there is an increasing chance (+5% per turn) that NATO and the Warsaw Pact will negotiate an end to the crisis. US forces are largely identical to most lists of units earmarked for the original Cuban invasion in 1962, if it had occurred. I added a few units as army/corps level assets that were not mentioned, but would be likely support units. I tried to stay as true to history as possible. Some US units are Pentomic units (a division has five big battalions/small regiments of mixed infantry armor and artillery) and some US units, namely the 1st Armored and 5th Infantry Divisions had just been reorganized along the more familiar ROAD structure. The Marines, as always, remain strong in their traditional formations. I included small UK and French units, mostly for flavor. The UK rotated battalions in and out of British Honduras and the Caribbean regularly, and the French had some small Marine and Legion units in the region that could be called upon. I presume that these forces are available based more on being in the right place at the right time, rather than forces sent from continental Europe to participate in the invasion. 3. Supply US forces begin with a Force Supply Level of 2. This represents the inability to adequately support large numbers of troops ashore without dedicated port facilities. This can improve over time. The US has three ways to improve supply. All inland airfields (more than a hex or two from the beach) and designated beachheads (towns with underscores in front of and behind their names) create supply sources. They do not improve supply level. They represent supplies brought in by landing craft, lighters, and the limited cargo airlift the US can dedicate after the invasion. The following towns, roughly west to east are the beachheads:
Major ports (port cities designated with asterisks) provide supply sources and increase the US force supply level. The amount by which it increases varies by the port - major ports provide more supply points than minor ports. Ports represent the increased supply capability of the US forces to unload supplies in bulk quantities from cargo ships. The following ports, west to east provide supply point increases, allowing for a maximum of 50 supply points, including the original 2 supply points:
Cuba begins with 15 supply points. There are 13 major cities (designated by all capital letters for their names) that double as supply dumps. As each city is captured by the US player, the Cuban player will lose one supply point and a 10% reduction in reinforcements (lowest possible reinforcement rate is 25.4% of max). The minimum number of supply points the Cuban player can have is 2 - which simulates small caches, raids on US supplies, etc., if the game ever goes that long. 4. Events Ports will begin generating increased supply points one turn after being captured. 5. US order of battle
6. Notes I've attempted to make the map as close to Cuba in 1962 as possible, though I had very limited resources - especially in regards to the Cuban infrastructure. Some town and city names may have changed as well. I have no resources on the organization, composition or strength of the Cuban military in 1962. I made educated guesses based on what little I do know. In reality, the Soviets only had four motor rifle regiments in Cuba. I gave them a little extra (a tank regiment, plus some smaller units as well). I did attempt to make the Soviets as accurate as possible to their 1961 order of battle. The 4th Marine Division was never mobilized, as far as I know. All the other US forces, however, were either historically assigned to the invasion forces or were available for the invasion, as far as I can tell. The Caribbean Legion was a real organization in the 1950s and 1960s that utilized mercenaries and pro-democracy forces to overthrow tyrants in the Caribbean. Their history was colorful and largely unsuccessful, and in this case they are portrayed as non-Caribbean CIA sponsored mercenary forces, much like those of Bob Denard and Mike Hoare in Congo. Brigade 2507 and 2508 are composed of Cuban exiles living in the US and around the Caribbean. They are the direct descendants of the Brigada 2506 force from the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and in this case are also CIA-sponsored and equipped with older surplus US weapons and vehicles. 7. Thanks Boonierat, for the inspiration and the use of his equipment file and tile graphics. Google, for all their helpful mapping tools Soviet OOB: www.armouredacorn.com US OOB: www.acig.org |