The First Russo-Iranian Campaign Game Campaign Basis The First War had several underlying notions which made them work. This first like the second was about local politics and the drive by Iranian Mullahs to spread their influence even across CIS lines. The first notion is that Iran was surreptitiously involved in moving military supplies through the Casucusus and into the CIS and that despite negotiations and pleas from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Iran was planning to expand its efforts even further. This campaign places the Russian Federation into a fine position. Having only recently recovered from its painful transition from its communist system into one more market oriented, the military was beginning to rebuild it self. Recruits were being attracted to the military and they were of relatively high quality. Additionally, Russians were now deploying its T-90 MBT lavished with Sniper ATGMs and thermal imagers, the BMP-3, and other advanced combat vehicles. The troops consisted of 18 maneuver divisions organized into five armies, further operating under the command of the Transcaucus Front. The front itself was a thoroughly modern military organization loaded with artillery, SSMs, a fully manned air assault division, and an air assault brigade. Each army had an attack helo regiment attached consisting of 54 MI-24F Hinds. Additional helo assets were kept at front and was a full lift regiment of 60 MI-8 assault landing helos. The artillery count for all GHQ artillery assets were: 300 tubes, and 90+ MRLs, half being the deadly 240mm BM-27 Uragan. Each army had an engineer brigade consisting primarily of mechanical bridging and river crossing means, and each army had an ESM regiment, consisting of jammer, and radiation locating teams. The divisional makeup was not favorable to the Russians, Of the 18 maneuver divisions, only three were at full strength, the rest being category three, with one mobilization only division. The primary differences amoungst the motorized rifle divisions was the Category 3 divisions had T-72s as its MBT and the MRDs had two BTR regiments, and its artillery regiments were towed pieces. The only tank division was fully equipped along brigade lines with each maneuver battalion having a 2S9 mobile mortar battalion attached, and each battalion of tanks and infantry having a company of the other attached. The other strength of the category 2 and higher units was the battalion headquarters. Each HQ had the following attached: One reconnaissance platoon, one line engineer platoon, one Tunguska combo SAM-gun vehicle, and one security element. Regimental headquarters were similarly made up. Additionally, unlike past Soviet/Russian TOEs, every tank regiment has an additional infantry battalion attached. The other category 3 units were made up along the old soviet lines. The Iranians were in similar condition as the Russians, at least in its ground forces. The main force facing the Russians was the Iranian 4th Army, of three Corps, one armor division, two mechanized divisions, and nine infantry divisions, three of which were militia, and three reserve. The line mechanized divisions were equipped with BMP-1 (Sagger), M-60, and M-113 w/TOW. The Iranian army for the campaign was organized into brigades with three tank and one infantry battalion or vice versa for every brigade. Additionally, each division had an engineer battalion and an artillery regiment of approximately 54 tubes/MRLs. The platoons were five vehicle each, with the same pattern copied even on the leg infantry units. Additionally, the map yielded one battalion of militia, its primarily, albeit only heavy weapon being the 81mm mortar. There was a battalion every 10 square miles available to the Iranians. The GHQ assets were less generous, Only the Iranian 6th Armor Corps had the following one artillery battalion, on MRL battalion, on engineer battalion, and AH battalion of AH-1 Cobras. The other corps were equipped with at least a battalion of artillery and an engineer battalion. Air took a secondary role in the campaign initially, as there were very few rules to accuratly represent air operations. The Russians originally had 3 mixed air divisions with the latest combat aircraft, the main one being the MiG-29, used in this campaign in the deep strike interdiction mission and in air superiority. Along with these units were some support units such as AEW plane (IL-76 Mainstay), tankers (IL-76). reconnaissence (MiG-21R). As the campaign developed and Russian air doctrine was better understood, this expanded into the 10th Tactical air Army with other ground units such as SAM units and airfield security units. Another of the underlying assumptions of this campaign was that Iran had managed to convince the British labour government that it was going to behave, and could it please buy Tornados? The introduction of Panavia Tornado was an event designed to shift air power closer to Iran's side. Its air force, consisted of a single air wing with 250 combat aircraft, 45 of which were the Tornados, the remaining being F5Es, and F4 Phantoms, MiG-21s amd Shen Yangs. The terrain was an interesting choice for Russia wars had mainly been fought across her western plains, and only in a few instances had the Russian Army fought in such forebidding terrain as the southern Causcusus. The map was drawn with the assumption that everywhere there was mountainous terrain except along hexes along waterways and the Caspian sea. There were a few towns most of them in Russia. Maps of this area were difficult to come by. It was later learned that there were several towns in the area, and that the area was slightly better populated than previously thought. The Russian Army had little experience before 1980 in mountain warfare although she had and used about 15 mountain infantry divisiions in the Great Patriotic War. In Afghanistan, Russian command became aware of the importance of such military basics as counter intelligence, electronic intelligence and the use of air borrne and air portable units, deep strike and interdiction missions and how the helicopter's unique abilities could be applied in this war. Afghabistanb was from the start an invasion of a nation which has known invaders from time immeorial, but which had not known aid from the outside in resisting these invaders. Afghanistan for the Russians became a test of wills, one which they were destined to lose despite the absolute superiority of their technical military means because of the ujniversal condemnation of it. The war in Iran would have eventually become the very quagmire from which they would extract themxzelves which albeit high losses in men materiel and moral. As indicated elsewhere in this document, more than 75 percent of the Russian deployment in the southern borders were category III units which would take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months to bring up to strength. The originalt reployment had the five armies deployed evenly spaced, with two, the 1st Amry and the 45th Army at ket points on the front.