Modern War #31 Combat Veteran

Russia’s Next Moves: A Modular Analysis: The Russian interventions in Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, and Syria have sent shock waves through the US military high command. Here is our analysis of what it all means.

Other Articles: 

•Iran-Iraq Air War - 1980-1988: In September 1980, Iraq launched a surprise attack against Iran instigating the nearly decade long Iran-Iraq War. During the conflict airpower would play an important, but limited role.

•Combat Veteran - Infantry Tactics and Weapons in Vietnam: During the Vietnam War, US Army and Marine Corps infantry were the essential elements of the US effort in the conflict. The lessons learned in Vietnam would be influential in later American conflicts.

•Nanotechnology and the Military - What Does the Future Have in Store?: The burgeoning world of nanotechnology offers a multitude of innovations for militaries around the world. The advances in nanotechnology may alter the way war is fought in the future.

Combat Veteran is a simple two-player tactical combat system that simulates the dynamics of infantry combat at the individual (man-to-man) level. This game features two particular historic scenarios as the introduction to the wider system: Firefight at the Rice Paddy Angle (Vietnam in Mekong region, 1967), and Firefight at Combat Outpost Keating  (Afghanistan in the Nuristan Province, 2009). Both firefights involved about a platoon of US infantry against a numerically superior enemy force. The US and Viet Cong game soldier game pieces represent specific, individual men of their respective units, whereas Taliban soldier game pieces represent three to six men. Each hex represents about 40 meters of actual terrain (almost half a football field from hex corner to hex corner), and the entire map area is roughly the same acreage as Hyde Park in London. Each weapon game piece represents one specific type of named weapon and its standard loadout. For example, the M60 weapon game piece represents one M60 machinegun, at least a 150 rounds of ammunition, and presumably a spare barrel (and even an asbestos glove), etc.

Components: One 22" x 34" map on one sheet & 280 counters