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KANIUM SUNDAY 5th OF May 1800 GMT - Righteous Retribution by Nike-Ajax Where: Kanium TS : teamspeak3.i3d.net:10077 World Clock 1800 GMT (Same time as always - now adjusted for European Summer Time: click the time below for your local time) World clock 1800 GMT IMPORTANT NOTICE: This SB session may be recorded with video and sound and uploaded, including to a public youtube channel. IMPORTANT NOTICE II: No political BS thank you. Without breaking immersion, then this is a work of fiction... Everybody is Welcome: you don't have to belong to Kanium. We love playing with you all, the arranger and CO loves you even more if you sign up in advance Operation Righteous Retribution 1'st of June 2020 SB Mission by Nike-Ajax 0. Background Since 1979 an undeclared and studiously ignored state of strife if not war has existed between the Shia muslims led informally by Iran and the Sunni muslims led by Saudi Arabia. The war between Iran and Iraq was in many ways a part of this conflict, but it neither stopped with the end of that war nor died with Saddam Hussein. Rather it has accelerated and found new ways of expressing itself, including using the oilprice as a way to hurt the other part. No one has wanted to acknowledge this new Cold War. But that is of little consolation to the peoples of Yemen, Syria and other places where the two parties have clashed. Nor does anyone really want to focus on the fact that Syria de facto is nothing more than a puppet for the regime in Teheran. Worse - for the opposing side - is the fact that Iraq is a country with a majority of Shia muslims, that for decades was ruled or oppressed by a minority Sunni moslem group under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. With his departure then Iraq have in the last year inevitably moved closer and closer to Iran and 3 months ago, chose to take the full step and together with Syria pronounce the creation of the Greater Islamic Republic which is an amalgation of the three countries. Which have created a very strong country that are far stronger and more populous than any of its neighbours, with even Israel threatened by its combined armies. This unsurprisingly have sent shockwaves not just through the middle east specifically, but the world in general. Saudi Arabia feeling that their very existence is in dire danger, have tried to solidify both their armed forces as well as their alliances. Saudi Arabia however is still faced with the problems that have challenged them for decades: their population is far smaller than the GIR and their army much weaker and smaller. A month ago a wave of terrorists attack rocked the nation of Kuwait culminating in the shocking murder of the ruling Emir of Kuwait along with most of his family: this crime together with the others threw Kuwait into chaos. Kuwait has for many years been the most democratic, religiously accepting and open Arab nation in the Gulf Region and these events were therefore doubly shocking. Several terrorist organizations claimed rsponsibility, without any proof being put forward. Into this chaos stepped the diplomats of the GIR. Information and opinions differ on what happened next, but the results were clear: no matter if Kuwait was being pressured, threatened, bribed or enticed then the outcome was not in any dispute: 14 days ago Kuwait formally joined the GIR, to the great surprise not only of the world but also to many of its Sunni-majority and christian minority citizens. Some of the Kuwaiti units refused to acknowledge the political decision and made their way south to Saudiarabia, as they saw this as a putsch. From Israel over Saudiarabia and to Oman and more, this rang any and all alarm bells not already rung. And countries outside the middleeast and the Gulf were alarmed as well. USA, supported by Saudiarabia among others, called for immediate investigations into the Kuwait situation as well as a strong and robust boycot and trade embargo. As this was blocked in the UN by China and Russia, then an American and Saudi led coalition chose to implement this unilaterally last week. The GIR declared this to be unlawful and Casus Belli and somewhat surprisingly gave the opposing coalition 72 hours to rescind it, which didnt happen. To the very great surprise of most of the world the morning after the dealine ran out the GIR went on the offense. They chose limited but ultimately achievable goals, of which the biggest issue was the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and perhaps the biggest PR move was the taking of the town of Khafji in the North of Saudiarabia after a short but fierce battle. And then the GIR hunkered down and formally sought diplmatic solutions, including a wish to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, making the coalitions position even more difficult. In the meantime Intel indicates that the town of Khafji have been emptied. The fate of the Saudi inhabitants are unknown, but Intel seems dire. The formal and official position of the Coalition is that this is not a war about religion. But rather a move against aggression and a belligerent nation with Imperial ambitions. I. Situation Time 0545 Local Time - just before dawn. Weather Clear sky with no chance of rain, 35 degrees Centigrade and LOS 3600 Km and no chance of precipitation. General. We are at de facto at war, but the enemy has us at a disadvantage. Firstly we do not have an UN resolution to back us up, but far more troubling than this, then we have nowhere near the forces in general and in the AO in particular that we used to win over an inferior enemy in 1991 and again in 2003. We are trying to build up, but the blocking of the strait of Hormuz with a combination of mines, Anti-shipping missiles and the use of directfire weapons and airplanes of the GIR, have for now meant that our progress with regards to build-up is slow. Combined with this the Iran are using all their political assets to block any action in the international political bodies including the UN and EU. Iran has formally allied and integrated with the Shia dominated Iraq, and the undeclared war that has been going on between the Sunni led by Saudi arabia vs. the Shia led by Iran since 1979, has just gone hot. In a replay of Desert Storm then the war so far has mostly been in the form of a Sitzkrieg, but a week ago Iran crossed the Saudi border and after a short but furious engagement took the city of Khafji, where they dug in. Saudiarabia has formally asked all their allies to help, including USA. We need a political victory as much if not more than we need a military one. Not only to send a message to GIR but also to bolster our Coalition and send a message to the international community. Therefore it has been decided that the Coalition will retake the town of Khafji: a move that will signal not only our resolve, and ability to strike back but also if successfull bring memories of Desert Storm and it is hoped help solidify international support for the Coalition and against the GIR. Our Taskforce Vengeance, as part of the Saudi/US/Kuwaiti Battlegroup Nemesis, have been tasked with this mission. Our forces are limited as we need to hold back potential attacks elsewhere, but its the opinion of HQ that our superior training, weapons and leadership will act as a substantial force multiplier. We have been tasked with first seizing OBJ RETRIBUTION to our East, and then defend it against Enemy counterattacks expected to come from the North and South. The Enemy have strong defences and sizeable forces to the South, but from HUMINT and SIGINT, then its expected that their orders are to hold off any attack from the South at all costs. In line with this then another Taskforce (TF PAYBACK) will make a feint towards them to force them to remain in place. Do NOT however push too far south as this is expected to run a risk of them all turning north and joining in the expected Counterattacks. Our best estimate is that you should try and stay North of Northing 13, and not seek engagement towards the South. The GIR outnumber us by a considerable margin. But on a positive side, then we are up against second rate equipment. But they are manned by veterans, their ordnance are modern and their weapons have already killed a number of Coalition soldiers, so do NOT underestimate them. Taskforce Vengeance have been assembled to seize OBJ RETRIBUTION and destroy the Enemy to our East. We expect some of the units in the rear of the enemies defenceline to our south will turn North and together with Reinforcements from the North will counterattack and try to drive us out of Khafji. Do not let them be successfull. It is the estimate of HQ that our forces are strong enough to punch through them initially, however we need to use care in how we use our ammo as we need to be able to fend off the expected ENY counterattacks We on our Saudi soil, however the Saudis are beyond enraged not just by the invasion, but also by the rumours of the fate of the inhabitants of Khafji and perhaps also by the political implications that they lost this town again to an attacker. The words from his Royal Highness were: "We expect you to make Khafji a mausoleum to the memory of our dead people. Leave no one alive and show no restraint beyond what your humanity dictates your" Thus you are cleared to use all weapons at your disposal with extreme prejudice in all of the AO, including FIRES in the Urban areas. Enemy Forces. The Enemy to our overall front is a Battalion sized(+) combined GIR Force. From Intel, then this seems to be at least two full Companies of T72B1, a propable Company of Chieftain Mk. V´s and a full company of BMP-2, with additional support and recon troops including Light Scorpion tanks, and likely further reinforcements - estimated to be at least another COY of MECHINF and possibly a Company of mixed GIR Armor that can be used in the Enemys Counterattack. The Enemy is on the defence and have constructed heavy defences to the South oriented South and Southwest, however we do not expect any Obstacles or minefields in your attack vector and direction, confidence about that is HIGH. But we do however expect them to be aggressive and in a combat stance, and some of them possibly dug in. We expect the ENY to reinforce from the North (Reference Maptrace). From when your attack strikes, then our estimated ETA on the ENY reinforcements/QRF from the North are approximately 60 minutes minutes from when they are alerted. Confidence about that is MEDIUM. We also expect them to reorient the northernmost positioned forces in the defence to the South towards you. But from INTEL would expect their SOP would be to wait for their QRF before making their move towards North. We thus anticipate a coordinated ENY counter attack from the North and South within the time frame described above. HQ have promised that other opearations will deny the ENY of any further reinforcements from the North beyond what is described above. Confindence about that is HIGH. The remaining ENY Forces to the South are planned to be attacked in a followup Operation. From SIGINT, then we know that the ENY have access to Artillery in substantial but unknown amounts. Friendly Forces. We have temporary local and limited air superiority, but are limited to 3 strike planes. This is primarily due to strong local Air defence, as the Saudis have already lost some Helicopters in the area, and we given the force correlation are unwilling to risk more at this time. We have forces to our SOUTH (Taskforce Payback) that will push forward and North and support our attack. But as this is ONLY a Feint, then they will NOT support you directly in your attack nor are they expected to attrit the ENY, but rather only seek to fix the ENY defenders in place so they will not counterattack you in full force. Our Taskforce consists of 3 x tank platoons of M1A2(SEP) Abrams as well as 2 x mechanized infantry platoon of M2A2 (ODS) Bradleys, along with a tactical reserve of 1 PLT of M1A2 (SEP) and a 1 PLT of M2A2 (ODS). We also have 4 x 6 Tubes of 155mm SP howitzers, which have a full range of rounds (except FASCAM), One (1) MLRS Strike package and 6 x 120 mm SP mortars with its own supply truck (with the howitzers being further back, so off-map), as well as support assets from HQ Company (repair, 2 x supply and medical). Our dismounted infantry from B COY is equipped with 4 x Anti-Tank teams (FGM-148 Javelin). Each MECHINF platoon in A COY thus has 4x Anti-Tank teams, the rest being issued with 3 x AT4 and riflegrenades plus a medicteam, and are all considered Elite. Rules of Engagement. NOTHING IN THESE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT LIMITS YOUR RIGHT TO TAKE APPROPIATE ACTION TO DEFEND YOURSELF AND YOUR UNIT. A. You have the right to use force to proactively engage any and all ENY targets of opportunity. B. You are cleared to fire first on all hostile targets or targets with deemed hostile intent, including armed civilians. C. The force should be used under the circumstances and proportional to the threat. D. We are at war. Destruction of civilian property has been cleared by the local authorities if CO deems that there is a military value and goal in said destruction, including FIRES in urban areas. E. All Laws of War are to be observed. II. Mission Taskforce Vengeance is to destroy enemy defenders between PL NEMESIS and PL VENDETTA, and to seize OBJ RETRIBUTION. And then quickly and on the TF CO´s Orders and initiative consolidate and prepare to repulse ENY Counterattacks from North and South. III. Execution Concept of the Operation: Taskforce Vengeance with 2 PLTs in tactical reserve and supported by a feint attack from the South executed by TF Payback (Reference Maptrace), will attack from the WEST and towards EAST, setting an attack by fire from PL NEMESIS towards PL VENDETTA, while trying to avoid pulling ENY forces from the South into combat if possible. Having done this they will use own assets to clear OBJ RETRIBUTION of the Enemy, and then quickly transition into a defensive posture oriented North and South to Hold the OBJ. This will open the area for further offensive operations, disrupt the Enemys defences in the area and achieve our overall political goals in this stage. Do not risk the integrity of your command by attacking the main Enemy defenceline to the South UNLESS the TF CO is positive that this can achieved successfully and without compromising the integrity of his command. Commanders Intent Purpose - The purpose of this operation is to attack, and then clear the Enemy forces and defeat their will to fight in this AO, while finally defending the gained ground against expected ENY counterattacks. Key Tasks 1. Attack from vicinity PL NEMESIS towards OBJ RETRIBUTION destroying the ENY as you go. 2. Clear the ENY from OBJ RETRIBUTION and seize it. 3. Defend OBJ RETRIBUTION from expected ENY counterattacks from SOUTH and NORTH End State Friendly Friendly forces postured on or in vicinity of PL VENDETTA and OBJ RETRIBUTION; consolidated and prepared and able to continue operations towards the SOUTH. Enemy Enemy forces defeated or destroyed between PL NEMESIS and PL VENDETTA, unable to support Enemy forces in the Northern and Southern part of the AO. Terrain All tactically commanding terrain features in friendly hands and cleared of enemy forces. Civilian Not relevant as all LOCAL inhabitants are estimated to be gone Fires We have 4 x 6 Tubes of self-propelled 155 mm howitzers that will directly support this operations, from outside of the AO (offmap). Additionally there have been allocated One (1) MLRS Strike and Six (6) 120 mm self-propelled Mortars for use, with integral ammo supply trucks. And finally our Air assets will provide 10 CAS strikes. 6 x Tubes of 120mm organic fires under TF CO control (P-1) 4 x 6 x Tubes of 155 mm off-map fires under TF CO control 1 x MLRS Strike 10 x CAS sorties were awarded during this targeting cycle of the ATO Aviation Nil IV. Sustainment Supply TF will carry forward 2 x resupply vehicles, P-1have 2 x supply vehicle allocated to them specifically. No resupply possible beyond that . Maintenance TF will carry forward 1x combat repair team (CRT) Medical TF will carry forward 1x foward aid station (FAS) V. Command And Signal Succession of Command Hotel-66 TF Commander Hotel-65 TF XO Alpha-11 1 PLT LDR/A Alpha-21 2 PLT LDR/A Bravo-11 1 PLT LDR/B

Apart from the T-72 of course...but hey, so many tanks have been designed since WW2. As SB covers roughly the 1970s-today, and with the inclusion of the T-55 even back to the 1950s, which tank would you like to see in it and why? My pick...the C H I E F T A I N Ever since I read "Chieftains" by Bob Forrest-Webb I am in love with it. For me it´s the sexiest Cold War tank. It looks the way a MBT has to, especially with Stillbrew and TOGS. The British did IMO a fabulous job with it. It might be underpowered, but hey, it weight 55tons and had a 120mm gun-back in 1967! I´d love to command, drive and gun one in SB-and replay "Chieftains" with it.