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They don’t say if the local militia is hostile in general or just if you try to seize their water source. Which, IMHO, is very critical information to know. O

They don’t say if the local militia is hostile in general or just if you try to seize their water source. Which, IMHO, is very critical information to know. One way you could just roll into town, toss the kids some MREs, and tell the townsfolk your mission is to secure the water supply from the enemy and what do they need because they probably have supply issues and really do need stuff. Option B is to have one platoon plus mortars and heavy weapons set up a base of fire while the other two platoons conduct an unmounted assault. That’s how the paratroopers would do it at least. Like the first gulf war, we were attached to a French armored battalion and they didn’t roll up on the Iraqis guns blazing but gave them a chance to surrender which they happily did. I mean, if anyone knows about surrendering… —edit— Oh, I forgot about the size of the local militia. Assaulting a fortified position with that many defenders is at the very least a battalion sized operation especially in an urban environment. And you’re going to take a lot of casualties. Sending a company to do it is virtually impossible if they want to fight.

donw 4y ago
Exactly. Most units have access to cash as well. A small stack of bennies and some candies for the kids would do wonders if the town isn’t hostile.
the_af 4y ago
> They don’t say if the local militia is hostile in general or just if you try to seize their water source. [...] Which, IMHO, is very critical information to know. I think the point of the exercise is to see what your assumptions are. They ask for your decisions and assumptions. If it's all spelled out for you, what's the point of the challenge? They do say this about the milita (quoting verbatim): - "The local population is of the same ethnic group as both the enemy and the host nation." - "From experience, you know that each oasis has a small militia force consisting of the adult males of the settlement [...] the fighting skills of these outfits vary greatly but most will fight tenaciously to defend their homes and crops." I think the last sentence emphasizes that if you choose to use force, you are in for tenacious resistance and casualties are to be expected. They'll defend their village if they feel threatened. I think this is all you need to know in order to base your assumptions for this wargaming exercise. In fact, this is what the second group, the people with special forces experience, based their answers on. The way I read the article, military people without special forces training usually choose a tactically sound plan that will almost certainly result in casualties on at least one side.

donw 4y ago

Exactly. Most units have access to cash as well. A small stack of bennies and some candies for the kids would do wonders if the town isn’t hostile.

the_af 4y ago

> They don’t say if the local militia is hostile in general or just if you try to seize their water source. [...] Which, IMHO, is very critical information to know. I think the point of the exercise is to see what your assumptions are. They ask for your decisions and assumptions. If it's all spelled out for you, what's the point of the challenge? They do say this about the milita (quoting verbatim): - "The local population is of the same ethnic group as both the enemy and the host nation." - "From experience, you know that each oasis has a small militia force consisting of the adult males of the settlement [...] the fighting skills of these outfits vary greatly but most will fight tenaciously to defend their homes and crops." I think the last sentence emphasizes that if you choose to use force, you are in for tenacious resistance and casualties are to be expected. They'll defend their village if they feel threatened. I think this is all you need to know in order to base your assumptions for this wargaming exercise. In fact, this is what the second group, the people with special forces experience, based their answers on. The way I read the article, military people without special forces training usually choose a tactically sound plan that will almost certainly result in casualties on at least one side.