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Greetings from Baghdad . . . where it is 110 degrees - but it's a dry heat!

I was summoned away in February to come out here, which interupted my modest contribution to the CHS -- some map research for AK Brown, and dabbling in the US OOB (hypothetical invasion of Japan) and the Japanese OOB (Indian National Army).

I'm delighted to see the progress made on CHS. Is there a cumulative list of all the changes made to date?

I can't play while I'm out here, but I can fight vicariously through your AAR's . . . and you have no idea how much a few months in central Iraq makes one appreciate a good ocean campaign!

P.S. AlaskanWarrior, thanks for asking about Skagway/Juneau and Whittier . . . and AK, thanks for remembering the answers!

ORIGINAL: Blackhorse

I can't play while I'm out here, but I can fight vicariously through your AAR's . . . and you have no idea how much a few months in central Iraq makes one appreciate a good ocean campaign!

And many other things, no doubt! Be safe!

Thanks for your service, Blackhorse. Be safe.

Regards,

- Erik

Good to hear from you Blackhorse. Keep safe.

Andrew

Terminus, Erik, Andrew thank you all for your concern. Oddly enough, I am quite safe. Although my namesake unit (where I served in the Fulda Gap in the early 1980s) is here in country, I am now a civilian . . . and we are treated like fragile porcelain, bubble-wrapped and coddled (in heavily armored and guarded convoys) when we venture out of the International Zone to work with our Iraqi colleagues.

I'm overseeing the US Government's efforts to help the Iraqis reconstruct their transportation infrastructure. WitP is right -- logistics and infrastructure are the key! Saddam's unsuccesful war against Iran in the 1980s cost Iraq the use of their best seaport (Basra). Now we're trying to help the Iraqis develop two smaller and "less natural" ports into world class facilities. In WitP terms the combined Umm Qasr and Khor Az Zubayr (they are only a few kilometres apart) might be a 3(3).

Baghdad airport is functioning again, though not anywhere near capacity -- only one of three terminals is in use. It's large, and was a mixed use facility -- military fighters were based here during the 1991 war. The thick concrete bunkers are still here -- each of them with a single hole (some patched, some not) where a precision weapon neatly drilled In WitP terms Baghdad is probably a 4(9) . . . but stay away! a single 100+ B-17 raid could shut it down! (Now that would make the evening news)

I really enjoy working with the Iraqi Republic Railroad. The IRR is a professional organization, with a high esprit de corps, that just wants to run trains. And they do. When the insurgents blow a section of track, the IRR fixes it in 2-4 hours. The main line is all old, single track, but they make do. When they finish installing a modern train control system next year, the IRR will have the most efficient rail system in the region. Working with an Italian-Dutch-Czech consortium, the IRR has developed a plan for a "Great Crescent Route" from the Persian Gulf along the Euphrates River to the Syria Med ports. This will eventually allow traffic between Europe and the Gulf to bypass the Suez canal. . .

But back to CHS. I'm dismayed (but not surprised) that my US OOB additions for the European divisions slated to participate in the invasions of Japan didn't make the cut. The divisions from Europe would have been part of the March, 1946 invasion. If the game ends in March, there's not much sense adding them. And I had almost finished my research into the air units slated to shift to the Pacific . . . 700 Lincolns and Lancasters, over 1,500 B-24s . . . all before the end of '45.

My real hope is that CHS will eventually include my OOB for the (Japanese) Indian National Army. It's only 4 brigades and they are named, not numbered. C'mon, what true grognard could resist sending the Gandhi brigade into combat? [:)]

ORIGINAL: Blackhorse

But back to CHS. I'm dismayed (but not surprised) that my US OOB additions for the European divisions slated to participate in the invasions of Japan didn't make the cut. The divisions from Europe would have been part of the March, 1946 invasion. If the game ends in March, there's not much sense adding them. And I had almost finished my research into the air units slated to shift to the Pacific . . . 700 Lincolns and Lancasters, over 1,500 B-24s . . . all before the end of '45.

Well, there's still room for an Operation Downfall scenario with all the extra stuff that could be stuffed in there; I'd still like to see jet vs. jet air combat.

Good to hear from you BlackHorse.

You have to realize, you WERE the Allied land OOB part of the CHS team! so you have to come back and fix it. [:D]

We did include a portion of the Lancasters and a few extra units for late war entry such as Tiger Force but much of it fell through for lack of an Allied land OOB person.

Mike

ORIGINAL: Lemurs!

Good to hear from you BlackHorse.

You have to realize, you WERE the Allied land OOB part of the CHS team! so you have to come back and fix it. [:D]

We did include a portion of the Lancasters and a few extra units for late war entry such as Tiger Force but much of it fell through for lack of an Allied land OOB person.

Mike

Mike,

Check your email.....

Brad

Seeing as how I couldn't find anywhere else to post this...[:)]

The CHS team is probably already aware of this, but the Ki-44 Tojo planetop isn't to scale with the rest of the modified (i.e. smaller) fighter planetops.

ORIGINAL: Blackhorse
I'm overseeing the US Government's efforts to help the Iraqis reconstruct their transportation infrastructure. WitP is right -- logistics and infrastructure are the key! Saddam's unsuccesful war against Iran in the 1980s cost Iraq the use of their best seaport (Basra). Now we're trying to help the Iraqis develop two smaller and "less natural" ports into world class facilities. In WitP terms the combined Umm Qasr and Khor Az Zubayr (they are only a few kilometres apart) might be a 3(3).

Baghdad airport is functioning again, though not anywhere near capacity -- only one of three terminals is in use. It's large, and was a mixed use facility -- military fighters were based here during the 1991 war. The thick concrete bunkers are still here -- each of them with a single hole (some patched, some not) where a precision weapon neatly drilled In WitP terms Baghdad is probably a 4(9) . . . but stay away! a single 100+ B-17 raid could shut it down! (Now that would make the evening news)

Hey, it still applies - and very bizarre yet interesting and somewhat helpful to see these facilities described in WitP terms. Keep us posted, getting direct unfiltered reports here is difficult apart from blogs. Do you have a blog?

Regards,

- Erik

ORIGINAL: Lemurs!

Good to hear from you BlackHorse.

You have to realize, you WERE the Allied land OOB part of the CHS team! so you have to come back and fix it. [:D]

We did include a portion of the Lancasters and a few extra units for late war entry such as Tiger Force but much of it fell through for lack of an Allied land OOB person.

Mike

I had all that power and responsibility . . . and I walked away! [:(] If only I had known!

Since I had completed the Downfall land OOB, I'll dig it up and repost it in the Allied TO&E/OOB thread.

ORIGINAL: Blackhorse


Greetings from Baghdad . . . where it is 110 degrees - but it's a dry heat!

I was summoned away in February to come out here, which interupted my modest contribution to the CHS -- some map research for AK Brown, and dabbling in the US OOB (hypothetical invasion of Japan) and the Japanese OOB (Indian National Army).

I'm delighted to see the progress made on CHS. Is there a cumulative list of all the changes made to date?

I can't play while I'm out here, but I can fight vicariously through your AAR's . . . and you have no idea how much a few months in central Iraq makes one appreciate a good ocean campaign!

P.S. AlaskanWarrior, thanks for asking about Skagway/Juneau and Whittier . . . and AK, thanks for remembering the answers!

Thanks, and keep it safe over there...