Toaw Scenario: Kuwait 91

Kuwait,
February 24, 1991,

Coalition army of 142 units opposed to Iraq army of 350 units
for a battle of complexity 1.01 at Battalion(II) level
on a 2.5 Km/Hex map
for 17 turns of 6 Hours each.

by Jeff Riddolls submited on 13-02-2003

Rugged-Defense Playing Statistics


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Briefing

KUWAIT 91
The Liberation of Kuwait

UNIT COLORS

COALITION
  • 1st Marine Expeditionary Force

    • 1st Marine Division - Tan on Green.
    2nd Marine Division - Black on Green.
    Tiger Brigade - Black on Light Green.
    USMC Air Units - White on Green.

  • Joint Forces Command - East

    • Bahrain - Light Blue on Olive.
    Kuwait - Blue on Light Blue.
    Oman - White on Gray.
    Qatar - Light Blue on Black.
    Saudi Arabia - Light Blue on White.
    United Arab Emirates - Light Blue on Yellow.

  • Joint Forces Command - North

    • Egyptian Rangers - Red on Tan.
    Egyptian 3rd Mech. Division - Yellow on Tan.
    Egyptian 4th Arm. Division - Light Yellow on Tan.

  • Other

    • USN - Blue on Green.
    USAF - White on Blue.

    IRAQ
  • III Corps - Red on Brown.

  • 1st Mech. Division - Green on Brown.

  • 3rd Arm. Division - Blue on Brown.

  • 5th Mech. Division - Dark Blue on Brown.

  • Infantry Divisions (Defense Lines) - White on Brown.

  • Infantry Divisions (Other) - Tan on Brown.


    • SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

  • Iraqi Programmed Opponent chooses between three plans: historical defense (most likely choice), counterattacking along the second defense line (almost as likely), or falling back into Kuwait City for a final stand (unlikely).

  • If the Iraqis choose the historical option and pull out, there is a strong chance the US player will receive additional air support for 1-3 turns to hit them while they attempt to escape. If this occurs, historically-minded players might want to note that the "Highway of Death" is the improved road running north past Mutlah Ridge.

  • Chance of a cool front moving into the area during the scenario.

  • Small chance of Iraqis using chemical weapons. Brief shock for Coalition player if they do.

  • Iraqi infantry divisions in the defense lines will surrender en masse after a few turns. The resulting flood of POW's will slow Coalition movement.

  • The non-defense line Iraqi infantry divisions will be withdrawn on turn 15, 16, or 17, representing their escape out of Kuwait.

  • If the III Corps HQ unit is destroyed, there is a chance that Major-General Salah Aboud Mahmoud, its capable commanding officer, will be killed. If he is, the 3 Arm/1 Mech/5 Mech HQ formations may be paralyzed in place as a result.

  • The Kuwaiti resistance will begin guerilla activities after a few turns.


    • BACKGROUND

    Despite its apparent one-sidedness, the Marine-led liberation of Kuwait is still an interesting topic from a TOAW perspective. Although the front-line infantry divisions utterly collapsed in the face of the Coalition offensive, the mobile portion of the Iraqi III Corps conducted a credible delaying action. In addition, at least one major counterattack and several smaller battalion-level attacks earned Maj. Gen. Mahmoud the grudging respect of his adversaries. Postwar, Air Force Lt. Gen. Chuck Horner offered the assessment that "the III Corps commander was the only one who really fought."

    The Coalition plans for the attack on Kuwait changed repeatedly prior to G-Day. Once Central Command had committed to the flanking attack in the west, the Marines fought to have more of a role than a mere "fixing" attack to hold the Iraqis in place. Gen. Schwarzkopf allowed the Marines a considerable amount of latitude in their planning, and eventually (after plans for an amphibious assault and/or an attack up the coast were rebuffed) the Marines settled on an attack at the "elbow" of Kuwait.

    While the Marines were conducting their attack, the Saudi-led Joint Forces Command-East would push up the coastal road. Once the Iraqis had been crushed, the JFCE units (joined by forces from JFC-North moving in from the west) would liberate Kuwait City.

    CENTCOM anticipated that the Iraqis would attempt to catch the attackers between the two obstacle belts in southern Kuwait and subject them to an intense bombardment while they tried to push through the second belt. While the Iraqi units were deployed in a position where this could be accomplished, the effects of the air campaign left in question their ability to coordinate such a counterattack.

    On February 22, Marine task forces began to infiltrate the area in front of the first obstacle belt. At 3:59 AM on February 24, the order to launch the ground war was given.

    NOTES

    Iraqi units will not reconstitute after they are destroyed, regardless of how many replacements are available.

    The vertical rows of asterisks on the map mark the historical boundaries between JFCN, IMEF, JFCE, and (within IMEF) the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions. The Coalition player is not obliged to respect these boundaries, although doing so will result in a more historically accurate game. The Coalition Programmed Opponent usually stays within the boundaries.

    If a human is playing the Iraqi side, they should only voluntarily disband units if they are in the top two hexrows of the map. (Otherwise, a human Iraqi player could simply disband most of his units in place and deprive the US player of VP for their destruction.)

    The M1A2's found in several US units represent M1A1's (HA).

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    Thanks to Pete Abrams, Bryan Corkill, Pat Guertin, and Bill Lott for testing the scenario. Special thanks to Pete for his extensive suggestions for the OOB.