This game comes in the form of a series of .jpgs and documents, and is a hex-based tabletop wargame. You will need to print the map and units (counters) before you can play the game.

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To play against live opponents get the Vassal Module of this game! Click here for more information on VASSAL.

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Difficult Domination
Armchair General Exclusive Bonus Game Designer Notes
By Mark H. Walker
Artwork by Nicolas Eskubi

Download the game. Errata.
Download the VASSAL module (thanks to Bill Ask for creating this module).

Introduction

The muted clank of metal tread over drive sprockets filled the cool air, lending an odd, machine-like edge to the desolate desert. The midnight-blue sky and buff sand looked as it had for months; some compared it to Nevada, others southern California, but this night was unlike the others. This night the Bradley’s, Abrams, HMMWV’s, and soldiers of the United States’ 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) churned the sand of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Part of a multi-national Coalition bent on ousting Iraq’s dictator, the 3rd ID was the tip of an arrow shot at the heart of Iraq ?the streets of Baghdad.

It was an arrow, however, long in the making. Fourteen months before the Coalition invaded, President Bush had declared Iraq part of his "Axis of Evil". In the interim, The United States and Great Britain had lobbied the United Nations to support a war to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Frustrated with the UN’s lack of support, President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and their allies decided to take matters into their own hands, and that decision lead to the clanking treads on the night of March 20th, 2003.

The war actually started at 5:34 AM on March 19th when Coalition B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles struck Baghdad. The following night Coalition airplanes began the attack in earnest, hitting targets in western Iraq and softening up Hussein’s defenses in the south. Iraq retaliated in kind, launching cruise missile attacks against Coalition forces in northern Kuwait.

Yet there would be no lengthy air campaign in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld knew an Iraqi Army weakened by both Desert Storm and 12 years of embargo would be no match for the Coalition’s Abrams and Challengers. Coalition planners also worried that a prolonged air campaign would allow Hussein to practice a "scorched earth" policy, destroying the very oil wells that the country would need to rebuild their economy after the war. Hence, the ground and air campaign started nearly simultaneously. The goal was simple: capture Baghdad; kill or capture Saddam Hussein.

The original Coalition strategy directed armored spearheads to thrust into Iraqi from Turkey and Kuwait. The Turkish parliament, however, refused to allow U.S. ground troops to stage on their soil, so the northern front would be initially handled by Kurd militia supported by Coalition Special Forces and aircraft.

The main Coalition attack sprang from Kuwait. The 3rd ID struck northwest across the southern Iraqi desert, and then hung a right into Nasiriyah on the Euphrates river. Forget, however, any vision of thousands of foot soldiers shuffling through the sands toward the Euphrates. No one shuffles in the 3rd ID. The division is stuffed with five mechanized infantry battalions, four armor battalions, supporting artillery and arms, and a cavalry squadron to find the enemy. The infantry rides in Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) ?an armored personnel carrier whose 25mm chain gun and TOW anti-tank missiles pack more punch than most World War II heavy tanks. The tanks are M1A2 Abrams. Arguably the best tank in the world, the Abrams can pick off an Iraqi BMP-1 IFV lurking 100 football fields distant or shoot straight through a sand dune and blow the turret off of a Republican Guard T-72 tank.

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