Oil War reconsidered

BY Andrew Gilham

In Phoenix number two, there appeared an article entitled 'Oil War -
Strategy & Tactics' by David Bolton, which sets out the author's
'Optimum' Arab deployment for scenarios 1 and 2 of the game. I would
like to take issue with Mr Bolton's set-up and suggest an alternative
deployment of my own.

My major complaint is that the Persian Gulf region of Saudi Arabia is
virtually defence less, inviting a US invasion there. A landing at Ra's
Tanura can only be attacked by ten ground strength points, while a
landing at the airbase on hex 1728 can only be attacked by eleven
strength points; similarly, Riyadh can be attacked by only ten. However,
these counter-attacks cannot be executed simultaneously. If the US
player attacks these bases and gives them air cover, the Arab player
with optimum luck can only remove one landing, and in the process will
leave large areas of Saudi Arabia unprotected, allowing devastating turn
2 airdrops.

There are many invasion gambits here; I do not favour attacking Riyadh,
as it is relative ly distant from ports and oil facilities. Perhaps the
best is to attack Ra's Tanura and Az Zahran in conjunction with hex
1728, viz

In the air transport phase, these landings are made:

hex 1419 IS 10, US 7
hex 1520 US 7
hex 1728 IS 10

In the movement phase:

US 7 moves from 1419 to 1420
US 7 moves from 1520 to 1521
IS F4's move to 1419, 1521 (the SAM is neutralised, rule 7.51) 1420, 1420
USN A6 and F6 move to 2024
USN A7 moves to 1728

Vigorous Arab air attacks can eliminate any stack of air units the US
can put together on turn one, hence the spread-out deployment of
US/lsraeli air units. The US F4 can move onto Az Zahran once the SAM is
neutralised by the airlanding brigade. (Rule 7.51 states that "(SAM
sites) are neutralised when occupied"). In the event of any unit being
retreated in the Az Zahran area, hex 1520 is vacant. Thus all the
airlanding units will survive.

The riskiest landing is on hex 1728. The IS 10 can be surrounded by the
Saudis (and maybe by the Qatar unit, if it survives the air attack by
the A6 and F4). Also, the Arabs can amass 28 air strength points to
attack the A7 and F4 on 1728, normally enough to destroy them. If the
Arab does this, the Israeli unit has an overall chance of survival of
68%. The main effect is to divert the main Arab strength from the
principal landing area ( Ra's Tanura - Az Zahran). If you think it is
worth it, do it.

On the following turn, reinforcements will be brought in at all three
captured airbases, and Bahrain will be captured by an air landing
brigade. The US breakout into Saudi Arabia will be almost immediate, and
the complete capture of Saudi Arabia and south ern Kuwait is virtually
certain.

Enough ! Here is my plan to save the shiekhs:

Saudi Arabia 0326 one SA4
             0828 one SA F5
             1324 one SA 167
             1420 one SA 4
             1425 one SA 6 (mech)
             1728 one SA Ltng
Kuwait       0711 one KW Ltng
             0813 one KW 1
             0914 one KW 7 (arm),
                  one KW 1
Iraq         0508 one IQ 3
             0606 one IQ 3
                  one IQ 4 (mech)
             0607 two IQ 4 (mech),
                  one SU7, one M21
Iran         0805 two IN 8 (mech)
             0806 two IN 7 (arm)
             0807 one IN 7 (arm)
             1306 one IN 7 (arm)
             1712 one IN 6, two F5's
             1303 two IN F4's
Qatar        1922 one QT 1
Bahrain      1721 one BH 1

This set-up allows a vigorous defence of the Ra's Tanura/Az Zahran area,
using Mr Bolton's upgraded Kuwaiti armour. The set up of the Saudi and
Qatar units allows landings in the Qatar area to be surrounded with
ease. The units on 1420 and Riyadh deprive the US player of these
airbases for bringing on of reinforcements until turn three. The
deployment of the Qatar unit means that if the US lands in Qatar he must
go out of his way to destroy it with his ground units. Of course, he can
use air to hit it, but there is some risk attached.

Essentially, this set-up uses the Kuwaiti forces to defend northern
Saudi Arabia, while using the Saudis' own meagre forces to protect
southern Saudi Arabia. Contrary to Mr Bolton's suggestion, no sane US
player will ever attempt invading Kuwait against a competant Arab. He is
trapped between the powerful Iranians and the suddenly up gunned
Kuwaitis, and will surely be surrounded and destroyed. At the very
least, his units will be forced to stack high on their airbases, thus
preventing reinforcements from appearing. He is beyond the A6/A7 range
line, giving the Arab air superiority (for a few turns at least).
Invading Kuwait (or Iran for that matter) is a good way to lose