Force on Force: Libyan Civil War

I can't really explain why I have a soft spot for the Libyan Civil War.  The Libyans aren't fierce fighters.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Accounts of the Libyan Civil War portray them as fighting largely during the day, and content to exchange artillery in a low-risk, low-reward fashion.  But damn, if they don't know a thing or two about building a technical (a pick-up truck with a machine gun or other crew-served weapon mounted in the bed).  Here's a photo of a Libyan rebel technical sporting a helicopter pod rocket launcher built in some dude's garage:



And here's video of some other dude making rockets in his garage:

And here's a relatively optimistic documentary from VICE that portrays the rebels as freedom fighters:

In any event, here's the Libyan Civil War battles I've played in Force on Force:

Outskirts of Zawiya
The game is set in the early stages of the civil war, before NATO air power came into play, during the pro-Gaddafi forces' offensive to retake Zawiya, on or about 4 March 2011.  The Gaddafi regime forces are tasked with pushing through the board and capturing an anti-Gaddafi leader at the objective building at the far end of the map.  Anti-Gaddafi forces must protect their leader and inflict as much damage on the regime forces as possible.

Regime Forces:  A reinforced combat reconnaissance patrol, composed of one motorized rifle platoon (3 x BTR-80 with three 7-man infantry squads), 2 x T-55, and one technical with a single-barrel 23mm antiaircraft gun, is making an initial push into the outskirts of one of the axes of advance into Zawiya.  The elite (by Libyan standards) Khamis Brigade troops are Troop Quality 8, Morale 10.

Anti-Gaddafi Forces:  The anti-regime forces have five 6-8 man squads at each of their Hot Spots, four technicals (pickups with machine guns mounted in the back - two with DShK, two with PKM), and two static DShK emplacements.  Troop Quality 6, Morale 10.

This was a great time and a great way to get into Force on Force.  Read the whole thing.

Zawiya City Center, 8 March 2011
As a follow-up to my previous game covering the Libyan government forces' counteroffensive to retake Zawiya, I played a game involving the 8 March 2011 government push into the city center of Zawiya.  Both sides would get victory points for enemy losses, but decisive victory points for controlling the city center at the end of the game.

A hard fought contest, and one of my favorite Force on Force games ever played.  Read the whole thing.

Final Assault on Zawiya, 10 March 2011

This battle follows up two previous games I've played in the Libyan Civil War's opening in March of 2011.  In Outskirts of Zawiya, a reinforced platoon of Ghaddafi's loyalist forces rolled toward the rebelling city and mopped up resistance.  In Zawiya City Center, 8 March 2011, the army and rebels fought to a standstill over a contested patch of the cityscape.

In this battle, Ghaddafi's elite Khamis Brigade, along with some regulars from other units, make a push to consolidate control over the rebellious city.  A platoon of government infantry with BMP-1s in support advances into the heart of the contested urban area with several dozen insurgents in opposition.

I've been wanting to run a campaign in the Libyan Civil War for a while, hope that I get the chance to do that soon.