OP Karbala 5 - World at War

Most challenging to play: Iraq [Japanese] against Iran [Allied]. Conditions: Night (reduced visibility). Size: Medium-Large.

Background: January 9, 1987. Basrah, Iraq.

In the early morning of January 9, 1987, Iran launched the first of three offensives in an effort to break Iraqi defenses. The first operation - Karbala-5 - was aimed at Basrah. Iraqi engineers had constructed an elaborate defensive line, the main feature of which was an artificial lake - called "Fish Lake" by the Iranians, and "Al-asmak" by the Iraqis. Iraq's defensive line ran along its Eastern shore, along the Sha'at ol Arab, and behind a series of canals that would extend north and east of Basrah. In some areas, the water was electrified. Extensive minefields, tripwires attached to explosive devices, zigzagging trenches, and obstacles such as barbed wire, completed the defensive system. Behind these defenses, a force including twelve brigades of Iraq's elite Republican Guard, waited for the Iranian offensive. Iran had a large assault force that included the Basij - civilian volunteers with around 40 days of military training - and regular troops from the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard). In attacking this lightly defended point in the Iraqi lines, the Iranians hoped to use the cover of night and numerically superior forces to break the Iraqis.