World War III – Coming fall 2010 to a table near you……

[WargameHub]

World War III – Coming fall 2010 to a table near you……

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The year is 1991. Sudden attacks by former East German special operations units across Germany cripple sections of the power grid on mid-summer's eve. The premise of a failing Soviet Union is shown to be a ruse as the satellite countries rally to invade Western Europe. The world reels as the Soviet war-machine drives into Europe. The free nations take a sharp breathe.......and wait......

For small pockets of NATO resistance the Third World War has already begun. The first true resistance is put up by German, British, and American forces just inside the German border. However by this time it’s too late. Taking advantage of American and NATO distractions the entire world has begun to air its grudges. Now the war has spread to every continent………

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Premise:
- The fall of the Berlin Wall was orchestrated to allow Spetsnaz trained East Germans access to West Germany. Their mission is to destroy power stations, bridges, and other high value targets across Europe.

- The unrest in the Soviet Union was also created to help get NATO’s guard down. In coordination with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (another distraction) forces were preparing for war.

- Knowing the full scale of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons among the major powers no country has deployed them. That leaves the entire world in the midst of conventional warfare.

- Almost every country is at war. South American rebels hit their respective governments while all over Africa countries use the screen of war in Europe to attack their enemies. The UN forces remaining do what they can but are very limited.

- China immediately hit Taiwan while the DMZ of North and South Korea suddenly lights up.

Campaign Organization:
- The campaign will be organized and run by me. However the games themselves can be at any available table in the world and any player is welcome to join.

- Rules will be GHQ Modern.

- Players must use an appropriate TOE for the force they are playing and what should be in the region. (I don’t want to see a massed horde of M1A2 Abrams in 1991). So things like M1A2 and T-80U would be rare to field. I would also prefer to see each person with a combined arms force but not necessary if there are multiple players to a side in each game.

- Potential Start Date: Fall of 2010. This gives anyone who wants to join time to prepare their armies.


Other:
- Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions about this campaign.
- Please let also me know if you are interested in joining.
- More details to follow as the start of war nears……

[dougeagle]

WOW
I had the same idea for gaming a modern day WW3 by using the events of today for the start of one. But it was a thought.
I wish I lived in your area as I would take up the challenge...but, I live in Western Canada...long ways to get there from here.

Keep us posted!!!!

[chrisswim]

I am game, I am ready to play NATO.
US, UK, German, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austia, Canada, etc. in which I am able to provide assets. Mick and Paul [AV8], ya'll in?

I am certainly interested. Gosh, no LeClerc, Leopard 2A6, Challenger 2, AS-90, M109A6, Linebackers, Avengers, are gone. Good thing I have hundreds of M60A3s.....

[jb]

this would be my force.
Check out the plane at the end...
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808411960/video/18909047

[WargameHub]

Dougeagle, my plan is to get players from all over to join in....no commute neccesary All you need is another player.

Once it starts up it's open to all gamers, just submit your results, I will pull it all together with anyone else that's playing and you could effect someone elses next game. Of course I'm betting someone is going to attack while their flanks fall bak (or get wiped out) but that's the nature of war.

The main reason I'm putting this up months before it starts is to draw comments from all of you. If you have any recommendations on how to draw up and report results or any thougths at all please let me know.

Anyone know a good mapping program? I would like to drop a globe into my website and give everone the ability to see where the current battle lines are as we go along.

[chrisswim]

Are strategic weapons a part of the game?
Nuc's, chem, bio? What about bombers: b-52s, B-1, B-2, SR-71? My suggestion it to not include these, and any air power or helo is to support units on the ground, not recon another territory. Then, when forces 'enter' same the hex, they have a battle.

How long are you planning for a stategic turn to take place, a week or two weeks? If a battle does not happen both side back up to where they came from if a meeting engagement. What happens if one side was in prepared position and another attacks, and a battle does not take place with schedules, do both back up none the less?

For map, an idea is to use a risk board [allis & allies or a hex board], so adjacent territory is determined. Fairly simple to follow I would think would be helpful.

How does one keep track and report assets avialable, losses. How verified?

Looking forward to this. Good luck.

[dougeagle]

[quote="WargameHub"]Dougeagle, my plan is to get players from all over to join in....no commute neccesary All you need is another player. [/quote]

Very nice...I may have to get a gaming buddy of mine and have a go at it.

[WargameHub]

chrisswim, great points.

No strategic weapons. The core of it will be ground warfare with combat air support. I have no plans for naval at this time as I don't know of a good modern ruleset.

I'm thinking 2-3 weeks for a strategic turn. I'm fine with the campaign going over the course of an entire year and give everyone a chance to get in.

--If neither side in a location does anyting they will probably just hold postion and dig in. Each turn sitting there they get more or better prepared positions. --(I'm not sure on this answer, will need to think about it more)

I like the hex idea. I may just superimpose that over a globe and see what happens.

Reporting should be easy. It's going to be on the honor system (so play nice). Reporting would be the forces used (with choesion level etc) and what was lost. If you are in supply, i.e. attached to your lines, then you get half (rounded down) of your lost stands back for the next game with that force. If you are not (say the 82nd drops on Moscow) then you do not get any stands back and you would need to get reinfocements by air.

I will end up tracking all the data in either spreadsheets or a database.

[Gridley]

No strategic weapons. The core of it will be ground warfare with combat air support. I have no plans for naval at this time as I don't know of a good modern ruleset.

What about Harpoon?

[WargameHub]

I haven't played any Modern Naval, I'm former U.S.Army and don't like water

I will try to get ahold of a copy and take a look. I'm sure someone is going to want to invade with a Marine force.

[ferret701]

Sounds like a great idea. Its an area of extreme interest to me. I've just uploaded the newest version of the 1989 NATO OOB to my web site -- it contains a ton of useful information. However, it would be a bit behind for 1991. Major changes would be conversion of several US NG Inf Divisions to Mech, the Pershing battalions in Europe converting to MLRS, etc.

http://www.microarmormayhem.com/NATO_OR ... _mod_8.doc

[WargameHub]

Nice, combine that with some of the GHQ ones and that should get everyone pretty close.

One piece I failed to mention was pulling together theatre commanders from the players. So one player would be responsible for deciding if NATO should attack or pull back in a part of Europe.

[dougeagle]

The unrest in the Soviet Union was also created to help get NATO’s guard down. In coordination with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (another distraction) forces were preparing for war.

Would the war in Iraq in 91 be in full swing or would Allied forces be on way to push Iraq out of Kuwait?

If so, then I take it that the defense of West German would rely on secondary defensive units while the main line of defense would be on its way or in Kuwait?

China immediately hit Taiwan while the DMZ of North and South Korea suddenly lights up

Could also have it that Iran moves into Iraq, backed by Indian and Pakistani forces...all wanting a shot at US/Western Allied forces. The Indian Navy could put up some sort of blockade at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, trapping the Navies in there. Just an idea is all.

[av8rmongo]

Why dictate use of GHQ Modern ruleset or any specific ruleset for that matter? Didn't we go through this debate in a WWII campaign plan? Players should be free to use what they are comfortable with and report results back as desired.

Paul

[WargameHub]

I'm setting it up for fall of 1991. So the Gulf War is over, troops have started to be pulled back to their bases. The Iran invading idea is good as Iraq was a weaker target then.


As for the ruleset I find consistent results are hard to come by. Having played a lot of different rules I decided the campaign will be run with just one ruleset for ground warfare (GHQ Modern). This makes it a lot easier to manage a large scale campaign as I can just drop the criteria out there and not have to worry about many of the game quirks.