Russo Iranian War
Gaming War in the
Caspian Sea
by
Chris Covert
I have been doing some internet research on this
fascinating subject, trying
to relate it to SPMBT. Some pretty interesting things have been
discovered.
Reading reports as far back as 1999, including some 'hobby' sites, I
have
extrapolated the composition of about half of the surface combatants/ships and a
tiny part of the support/combatants in the Caspian Flotilla.
Combat Ships
Class | Type | Displacement | Gunnery | Missiles | Aviation | Quantity |
Tartarstan | FFG | 1930 tons | 1X76mm Autocannon | SS-N-25 | 1-2 KA-27 | 2 |
Tarantul I | Corvette | 540 tons | 1X76mm Autocannon | SS-N-22 | None | 1 |
Tarantul II | Corvette | 540 tons | 1X76mm Autocannon | SS-N-22 | None | 1 |
Buyan | Corvette | 550 tons | 1X100mm Autocannon | SA-N-18 | None | 1 |
Turya | Patrol/Torpedo | 250 tons | 2X57mm Autocannon | 4 Torpedo Tubes | None | 3 |
Pormornik | ACV | 514 tons | 2X30mm Autocannon | SA-N-5 | None | 2 |
Lida | Anti-Mine | 131 tons | 2X30mm Autocannon | SA-N-7 | None | 1 |
Sonya | Anti-Mine | 460 tons | 2X30mm Autocannon | None | None | 3 |
Sorum* | Patrol Tug | 1650 tons | 2X30mm Autocannon | None | None | 2 |
*The Sorum is a Border Guards vessel, so it is not certain if this
ship
would
be included in the Caspian Flotilla combat ship count.
Non-Combat Naval Vessels
Class
Type
Displ.
Gunnery Missiles
Aviation Quan
Katun
Tug
930
tons None
None
None
2
Biya Buoy tender
723 tons
None None
None
1
T-43 EW/Montior 580
tons
None None
None
1
Available Aviation:
Astrakhahn Naval Avation:
These are the listed types known to be based with the Caspian Flotilla
KA-25 AEW Helos
Unknown
quantity
BE12 Amphibious Aicraft Unknown Quantity
There are the most likely Combat Aircraft based in Ashrakhan, based on
general
quantities in the Russian Naval Aviation Inventory:
SU-24 Ground Strike
TU-22M Patrol/Naval Strike
SU-25M Navalized Ground Interdiction
AN-32 Troop Transport
209th PVO Regiment (Astrakhan)
24 MiG-23s, 16 SU-27s
Additional Combat Aircraft are located in the air base in Kaspiysk
The Caspian Flotilla is primarily a littoral force. Given the
composition
of their naval division, the Russian Navy could mount an amphibious
strike,
albeit of only short distances and limited power. In SPMBT
against a prepared
defense, Russian Marines fare poorly with only the firepower available
to
them, naval gunfire. The list of combatants show that only five
single 76mm guns
can be used
to support naval operations if the Caspian Flotilla sortees ALL
of their
heavy
combatants at once.
Troop transport is also problematic for the Russians. Naval
infantry could be
used in an amphibious attack if they were dropped by parachute, but the
losses
could be very high given the lack of firepower they need to press an
advantage.
Since Russian Naval infantry are known to be armored, they would need
to bring
those vehicles with them to gain any advantage and the Caspian Flotilla
has
little in the way of dedicated transport to move more than a simple
naval infantry company,
leaving out the armored vehicles, and even then they would be forced to
use
unarmed
combatants pressed into service as transports, not a pleasant
thought for
any site commander, to be sure
To counter Iranian armor, the Russians would need to use gun ships to
supress
tanks and to provide observation platforms to search for and eliminate
tanks. But
inbound, those helos would be vulnerable to anit-aircraft missiles and
tube AA
artillery, so a SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense ) flight would
be required as well.
Spotting for a shore landing is a problem. Whole platoons can be
mowed down
by Iranian infantry if they are not found and suppressed by naval
gunfire, so
introduction of the Shmel RPV is a useful element to any Russian naval
infantry assault scenario.
In SPMBT, the most critical element in a Russian amphibious assault game
is to
find the bad guys where they ain't first, to get eyes on target where
they are.
In order to
do that, the Russian side needs to launch an initial SEAD strike,
smooth up
the middle to draw fire from SAMs. Next come the Shmels directed
at specific
spots on the beach to locate Iranian infantry.
In order to fire naval gunnery, the Russian player MUST put the command
element in some sort of ship transport. Otherwise once the
initial pregame spotting
is done, there is no way to order an artillery strike without forcing
troops
on the ground first without any artillery preparation.
Once the spotting is done and gunfire is layed, use heliborne sappers
go to
the areas the Shmels locate that are relatively clear of Iranian
infantry.
Make certain those sappers have the RPO rocket launcher, a marvelous
piece of
Russian ordnance which will rob their enemy of any idea of further
shooting.
Subsequent RPV missions should then start finding where the enemy is,
and that
is when the aerial bombardment commences. My favorite is the
TU-22, and TU-22Ms 12 to 24 big
bombs in one pass ( Oh baby! ). I stock up on these fellas, no fewer
than 12
to 16 aircaft total. Additional aircraft is the COIN SU-24 bomber, but
the
TU-22s are my favorite.
Meantime, the attack helos, preferably the KA-52s, can begin to
probe and
locate Iranian armor, destroying those it can, calling in Su-25Ts where
it
can't, and ordering RPVs for more spotting missions.
As the sappers recover morale, start moving them in as widely as
possible
diverging routes inland. Buy Mi17s with both 12.7mm guns and
rockets. Let
naval gunfire do a lot of the hitting, use the helo transports to mop
up
support
elements like SAMs and ATGM teams. Also use the Mi17s to search
for even more
targets for the SU-24s.
Once your sappers have penetrated about 2 km inland, bring in the
para-naval
infantry, but only after surveying drop zones with helos and/or RPVs.
By turn 20 of an assault game, the jig is usually up for the defenders,
as
paratroops are on the ground and advancing to their objective, and naval
gunfire, and bombers are shifted to deal with infantry inland.
Assault OOB
12,000 points
2x Transport shops
3 helo sapper platoons
4 Airborne Naval Infantry Companies
4-6 KA-52s
3 Shmel RPVs
12-16 TU22s
8 SU-25Ts
4 SU-27 SEADs
2 parachute Spetsnaz platoons
3 76mm naval guns
Iranians
5,000 points.