Help support TMP


"Nasiriyah. An interesting Iraq scenario to play?" Topic


6 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please don't call someone a Nazi unless they really are a Nazi.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the Modern Discussion (1946 to 2013) Message Board


Areas of Interest

Modern

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Featured Ruleset


Featured Workbench Article

I Once Knew a Girl Called Maria...

Lonewolf dcc Fezian explains step-by-step how he painted Hasslefree's Maria adventurer.


Featured Profile Article

Those Blasted Trees

How do you depict "shattered forest" on the tabletop?


Current Poll


Featured Book Review


Featured Movie Review


794 hits since 24 Jan 2016
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

Weasel24 Jan 2016 5:18 p.m. PST

link

A tough fight, large Iraqi forces, a few troops holding back ambush forces for an extended period of time, a running battle over extended time.

Looks like it might make a good mini campaign as well.

Thoughts?

jekinder624 Jan 2016 6:25 p.m. PST

About 5 years ago I played a game based on this battle at ORIGINS hosted by Peter Panzeri using his "Ranger Rules".

Weasel24 Jan 2016 7:43 p.m. PST

The entire battle or was it a snapshot of a particular part?

Tgunner25 Jan 2016 5:32 a.m. PST

I would agree. After all, it's where Ambush Alley games got their name!

But you want some good resources beyond the wiki. Here's a few.

Start here!

link

It's an excellent book that really gets you in the nitty gritty of An Nasiriyah and takes you through the major actions. The author interviewed a number of veterans and reconstructed a very solid narrative on the action. Again, this is where Ambush Alley games got their name- from the infamous Ambush Alley in An Nasiriyah!

Here is an article written by some company level officers from 1-2 Marines about the action. Call it an up-close summary of the action:

link

Here is an official, but somewhat drier, account of the action from the USMC.

PDF link

It zooms out and gives you a more traditional, operational, look at the action. Some nice maps and order of battle information too.

Here's Ambush Alley's scenario book on the action for their Force on Force game. Four out of the ten Marine scenarios are set in An Nasiriyah giving you a nice selection of prewritten scenarios that cover some of the major actions at the squad/fireteam level. Highly recommended!

There are cheaper copies here…

link

Last but not least is the official US Army account of the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company, Jessica Lynch's outfit. This unit's misadventures forced the Marine battle plan to move from covering and masking An Nasiriyah to attack and clear. That makes it a critical action for any campaign on An Nasiriyah. Not terribly game-able IMO because your basically collecting unarmored HUMVEES, deuce-and-a-halfs, tow trucks, and other not sexy support/logistical vehicles. But I have seen parts of this action played at some of the HMGS cons though.

Finally here's the Army's official history on Operation Iraqi Freedom (who's chief writer was my battalion CO during Desert Storm! Colonel Greg Fontenot).

PDF link

p. 115-123 covers the short battle at the Tallil air base which was just south of An Nasiriyah and was a prologue to the main battle.

p. 154-159 gives a briefer account of the ordeal suffered by the 507th Maintenance Company.

As an aside: many of the exploits initially assigned to Jessica Lynch seem to describe PFC Patrick Miller's experiences. Miller was in a truck near Lynch's HUMVEE and at one point tried to assist any survivors in Lynch's HUMVEE (everyone but her was dead of dying). Miller apparently engaged Iraqi troops from Lynch's location and then moved on for some distance in a running firefight. He was captured further down the road from Lynch's HUMVEE. It is estimated that Miller killed as many as 9 Fedayeen fighters/Iraqi soldiers and knocked out an Iraqi mortar position. He won the Silver Star for his actions.

link

Or Sergeant Donald Walters…

link
link
link

Sounds like fodder for a 5 Men scenario.

Have fun checking out this interesting action.

Weasel25 Jan 2016 8:10 a.m. PST

Lots of stuff, thanks! I'll be doing some reading today!

Martian Root Canal25 Jan 2016 8:44 a.m. PST

It's the first scenario board I built for Ambush Alley.

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.