Taking Novi Sobor

Rebel forces last night under the cover of darkness occupied the village of Novi Sobor, with the help of six tanks, and some local militia.

If the rebels can hold Novi Sobor, they will prevent our forces from intervening in the almost weekly attacks and attempts to place the Black Forest region under their control. 

Most seriously is that Novi Sobor occupies the main east west road that enable us to resupply, and deploy our forces in the north and in the Black Forest region.  If the enemy holds Novi Sobor, they will force us to use the much longer coastal roads.

Novo Sobor is in the area of operation of the Chernarus 33rd Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade, which has been the main force in countering rebel operations in south Zagoria since earlier in the year.

As a reminder, changes in command and strategy earlier in the year has left every part of south Zagoria under the control of the army (Chernarus Defense Forces)(CDF), except for the region north of Berezino and the coastal areas.  Those are in the area of operation of the Chernarus navy (Chernarus Naval Forces)(CNF).

Elements of the Chernarus 4th Separate Light Rifle Brigade holds a small arc southeast of Novi Sobor.  Those forces will take an active role in the army's counterattack, expected to take place as soon as tonight.  CNF forces will aid operations with their SU-25 ground interdiction aircraft flying out of their base at Balota.

Moschnyi Island amphibious landing operations

Two scenarios, both of them amphibious landings on Moschnyi Island , the Chernarus owned island in the fictitious Green Sea. Both are unopposed landings.

Both have similar objectives: to land a naval light infantry force supported by two ground interdiction fighters to secure a location, one in Kyslin, one at Musil Heights.

The basic strategic objective is to compress enemy forces and bottle them up on the eastern end of the island, until sufficient forces can be deployed to take over the island.

Only one has a subsidiary objective, to cross open ground and take the heights against an enemy fixed position. The height itself is meaningless, as it contains one log residential building and a barn, except to serve as a platform for an artillery observer.

The Musil Heights scenario is based on a minor operation during the Kursk campaign in WWII, 74 years ago this July, where the Germans could secure a height where they could observe artillery as far as visibility will allow. The Soviets knew what was at stake, and they fought the Germans to a standstill.

In the end the only thing the Soviet accomplished in their preventative counterattacks was to destroy the Germans' offensive capacity in the east for the rest of the war. And in so doing, destroying so much of their own offensive capacity, it would be nearly a year before the Soviets could mount a full assault on German forces again, next time in Bagation in July 1944.

In both scenarios, losses for the Chernarusian are usually heavy, minimum 30 percent. And in both I can play the whole scenarios without getting shot and killed, about half the time.

In other words,a great time.

Kyslin:

Attack on Chernarus Intelligence Assets in Altis

Situation: Your Chernarusian Tier One teams are holding an intelligence asset, recently snatched from Russian rogue military at a safe house in northern Altis. It is 0430 hrs and you just received an anonymous phone call that your location is compromised and that a Russian GRU Spetsnaz team will be on you in a matter of minutes.

Intelligence: You only know of a Russian team coming to your location, but you also know the Russians often hire local emigres, and retired Russian and Chernarusian rebel operatives for additional tasks and security.

Friendly Forces: A six man team, part of team loud is at the guest house providing security while the asset is being interrogated. At the safe house itself, you have your four man team. A long range sniper is nearby.

A friendly militia unit is not too far away, but it is an open question whether they will come to your aid.

A friendly local militia group consisting of two technicals is based in Ioannina, plus you have a B-25 attack aircraft based at Stratis. As long as communications are not cut off or compromised, they should come to your aid.

Operational Orders: Your orders are to get the hell out of Dodge. The package at the guest house is the mission. She must be protected at all costs and delivered to Ioannina as soon as possible.

Spy Craft in Arma 3

Bear in mind I am trying to have as much fun as I can with this game, and at the same time, maintain some semblance of a serious air about it.

Four years ago the president of Chernarus, a former Soviet mobocracy, charged its intelligence service, the ChIS, with going overseas, finding and disrupting as much as possible all rebel international criminal activity. This activity along with financial help from, you know, rogue Russia military commanders, was fueling the insurgency in Chernarus.

Now, the asset was a new university graduate who took her first job as a translator for an unidentified NGO in Altis. Her folks and friends were so proud the day she took off for Altis to meet her new boss and co-workers.

Upon arrival, her new employers took her passport and trundled her off to a building somewhere in eastern Altis to begin her work translating.

When she realized she was working for the rebels, she tried every way could could to escape, to no avail. Her constant escape attempts caught the attention of a local criminal gang, friendly to the ChIS, who told the ChIS about her.

A decision was made to do a smash and grab, get her to the safe house, gain as much intelligence out of her as they could, then smuggle her out by cargo ship, through Pyrgos, which is a rebel stronghold. (I haven't put together the snatch scenario or the smuggling scenario yet, but it will be fun, I s'pect)

Now, the B-25 bomber is a dedicated attack aircraft brought to Altis to provide some light fire support. The plane is based in Stratis, about 120 kilometers south.

All the airfields/airports are monitored by criminal gangs, including the Chernarusian gang anyway. Stratis is occupied by NATO forces friendly to the Chernarusians and the only airfield available to them.

A 76 year old bird will get the attention of enemy forces in Altis, but in Stratis, with the cooperation of forces there, can be hidden from view, as an indicator that the ChIS operates in the region.

As for the sniper. He is armed with a .406 bolt action Cheytac rifle. As powerful as the rifle is, the shooter maybe gets one or two shots off before the Russians grid him and eliminate him. I have run the scenario about seven times and of those I heard his shots in two. He is like a speedbump in the scenario.

Of the seven, or so times I have run the scenario, I successfully got the asset out and to safety three times, the other four having been shot and killed.

In other words, a great scenario.

Depiction of Pogroms in Arma 3

A few pogrom wargame scenarios exist in FPS games.

In Call of Duty Modern Warfare, the SAS team is sent to a village in Azerbaijan to stop civilians from being killed. In another scenario, Price is sent to recover an informant while aiding a Russian team in stopping attacks on civilians by rocket artillery.

I call those Tears of the Sun scenarios. Attacking a numerically superior force even the tactically superior forces and suffering losses is hard.

One of the best scenes in the film Tears of the Sun was when the SEAL team decides to enter a Fulani held village where attacks on civilians are ongoing.

Of course the team team suffers no losses and the bad guys are all wiped out.

The way it should be, always.

In Arma 3, stopping a pogrom is not as easy. I have written three scenarios for Arma 3 where Chernarus military are called on to at least investigate civilian attacks. I have at least one, recently concluded, that attempts to do just that -- stop executions of civilians.

In the former instance, a CDF armored task force is sent into Grishino after the CDF was warned that "they are killing everyone." The main mission is not to stop that attacks; they already have taken place. But to evacuate any civilians who want to leave and to record the locations of any mass graves.

The CDF team is not outgunned, but they are tasked with attacking a fixed location then clearing Grishino from a numerically superior force, including tanks. Then the task is to hold the town against three mixed infantry counterattacks before being ordered to withdraw.

In the latter, a six man Chernarus naval spetsnaz team is tasked with preventing another pogrom in the southeastern Altis town of Selakano.

Supporting forces include one B-25 bomber, maintained by the Chernarus Intelligence Service (ChIS), and a small band of locals guerrillas. Another supporting unit are two ChIS snipers armed with M-200 bolt action rifles, who have been monitoring developments in town, and are the reason why the Chernarus special forces team is there.

Several tasks await the team, the first being to stop the execution of four civilians in a courtyard of a residence, which is usually done by the snipers. The second task is to eliminate the commander. Third is to free six civilian hostages who are presumed to be the next to be shot.

The last is to clear the town of all enemy presence.

I tried in several run through to successfully complete the scenario and have failed everytime. Except tonight. I didn't record the game, but I will the next time.

CDF denies covering up massacres in the north

A Chernarus Ministry of Defense spokesman died charges that the Chernarus Defense Forces are covering up pogroms in northern towns Tuesday.

An unidentified Russian blogger in his Living Journal blog post said that a recent operation in Grishino by the CDF found mass graves nearby, but the CDF are trying to cover up for the perpetrators. 

Guerrilla groups sympathetic to the government have been accused in the past of committing violent acts against unarmed civilians in the northern territory held by rebels forces. Part of that territory includes Grishino.

When asked about the commander of the unit involved in the most recent operation, the Chernarusian 33rd Mountain Motorized Rifle brigade, the spokesman, Captain Pavel Mednichenko said that brigade commanders aren't allowed to publicly comment on combat operations.

Captain Mednichenko said that further inquiries should be directed to the MoD's NGO liaison.

Chernarus MoD denies giving out cell phones to volunteers

Scandal in Chernarus as the Chernarus ministry of defense denied it had anything to do with MOD affiliated military contractors giving burner phones to members of an NGO.

An unidentified spokesman for the MOD said today that primary means of fresh intelligence for the Chernarus military has been reports from visitors returning from visiting their relatives in the north, not from calls from individuals with burner phones.

Some NGOs claim giving burner phones to their members endangers their lives, and have demanded the practice be stopped immediately.

Black Forest intelligence agent recovery operation

The latest, full video of an operation, this time an intelligence agent recovery operation in Chernarus' Black Forest region. Includes a play by play description embedded in the video:

Orders for the Liberation of Grishino

The intelligence section at 33rd Separate Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade headquarters received a panicked burner cell phone call from a young woman identifying herself as part of the IDAP mission in Grishino. The only thing the duty officer was able to get from the caller was, Everyone is being shot.

We know from past intelligence that the rebels have selected a new commander, so it is probable the new commander is conducting some ethnic cleansing.

The brigade commander wants to mount an operation to see what is going on.

Rebel forces consist of elements of the 77th Separate Mixed Rifle Brigade, and a total about a battalion in combat power has been deployed in and around Grishino. Aircraft overflights show that T-55 tanks are in Grishino, along with their standard technicals platoons as flank guards. The town is very well defended and deployed in some depth. Forces are a mix of the professional troops we normally encounter and some local militia. The enemys rapid reaction forces strength is unknown, but chances are they are very strong as well.

Your base combat team consists of 2 BTR rifle squads and a tank section. Two light rifle squads from the 4th Separate Light Rifle Brigade are available to assist in your probe. Air support is available, but off net.

Your base combat order is to take Grishino and hold it until you are ordered to withdraw. Other tasks will be required as the operation develops. Good luck, and all the best.

South Zagoria rebels claim civilians died in artillery attack

Rebel AAA truck burns in the distance

(CNN) Chernarus News Network

Zagoria Rebel Radio claimed that an undisclosed number of civilians were killed in Chernarusian artillery shelling in the town of Krasnostav Saturday evening.

According to the report the artillery attack was an "unprovoked as a terror attack against peaceful residents of Krasnostav."

Amphibious raids by Chernarusian naval infantry forces have been common in South Zagoria since last winter. Although the Chernarusian Defense Ministry will not talk about operations in South Zagoria, it has been confirmed through unofficial sources within the Chernarus Naval Forces staff, that Chernarusian naval infantry did conduct an operation Saturday evening near Krasnostav, and that artillery was involved.

The sources also said that the Chernarusian unit involved did not suffer casualties, and that no civilians were either killed or wounded in Saturday's operation.  No rebel casualty counts were claimed by the Chernarusians, but they were said to be light.

Rebel materiel damage was said to be heavy.

A canonical list of Chernarus Defense Forces maneuver brigades

A total of 13 Chernarus Defense Forces maneuver brigades are currently deployed throughout Chernarus.  These units are in varying states of readiness and composition.

Like CDF army corps, Chernarus army brigades are often task organized.  One brigade may have as many as five battalions and as few as three, pending on the mission, and those units will have a non standard mix of rifle and tank battalions.  Oftentimes if a brigade which are deployed away from the front will have as few as two battalions.

Another ten maneuver brigades exist to provide replacements and reinforcements.  These brigades form the Chernarus army strategic reserve in the case of a general war.

Currently three army corps commands control the brigades.  The list details the corps number and their approximate deployment:

Chernarus 1st Army Corps (South Zagoria)
4th Separate Light Mountain Rifle Brigade  (Chernarus, west Chernarus, Sumava)
9th Separate Light Rifle Brigade
43rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade
1st Separate Tank Brigade

Chernarus 2nd Army Corps (Bekatov/Leskovets)
7th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Bn, Leskovets)
11th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade 
17th Separate Light Rifle Brigade (Beketov, 1st and 2nd Bns)
3rd Separate Tank Brigade (Korsac, 2nd BN Northwestern Chernarus, 3rd BN Northwestern Chernarus)

43rd Mountain Rifle Corps
13th Separate Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Bn, Werferlingen), (2nd Bn, Gunkizli), 3rd Bn, East Werferlingen)
33rd Separate Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Bn, Ruha),(2nd Bn, Cham)(3rd Bn, Hellanmaa)
24th Separate Light Mountain Rifle Brigade (1st Bn, Summa), (2nd Bn, Livonia), (3rd Bn, Gabreta) 
10th Separate Tank Brigade (3rd Bn North Zagoria, 4th Bn North Zagoria, 5th Bn, Rosche)

2nd Separate Naval Infantry Brigade 
1st Battalion (Virolahti)
2nd Battalion (Altis)

Separate Mechanized Cavalry Regiments

17th Separate Mechanized Cavalry Regiment (1st Bn Leskovets, 2nd Bn Sumava, 3rd Bn Ruha)

19th Separate Mountain Mechanized Cavalry Regiment (1st Bn South Chernarus, 2nd Bn North Zagoria)

20th Separate Mechanized Cavalry Regiment (Zagorsk, 2nd Bn Cham, 3rd Bn Northwestern Chernarus )

Separate Air Assault Battalions

47th Separate Air Assault Battalion

48th Separate Air Assault Battalion

49th Separate Air Assault Battalion

Chernarus Defense Forces (CDF) Light Rifle Brigade

A Chernarusian Light Rifle Brigade consists of four to five light rifle battalions with a total of 528 effectives per battalion.

Every light rifle company has a heavy weapons platoon with four each DShk 12.7mm machine guns with an infantry mount, and four each DShk 12,7mm machine guns with an antiaircraft mount.  Four SPG-9s round out the heavy weapons platoon.  Transport for the heavy weapons unit is normally through the battalion's support company transport vehicles, but all weapons can be transported manually short distances.

Every light rifle battalion has an attached recon company with a total of four UAZs and  30 effectives. The unit also has an antitank company which includes two UAZs, two DShK UAZs, eight SPG-9 UAZs and four AT-13 UAZs.

An artillery regiment with 12 122mm towed artillery, 6 BM-21s and 82mm mortars, and an engineer company is held at brigade HQs.  The engineer unit has a bridging unit and a sapper platoon.

One battalion, typically the 3rd battalion, is trained in parachute and airmobile operations.

Chernarusian flag officers typically will cross attach tank and motorized rifle units with light rifle units.

Chernarus Naval Land Forces TO&E

The Chernarus Navy (CNF) maintains two naval infantry brigades, the 2nd and the 3rd Naval Infantry Brigades.

The 2nd Naval Infantry Brigade consists of  two heavy (BTR-60)  battalions organized similarly to Chernarus Defense Forces (CDF) motorized rifle battalions.  Two battalions are light and organized similarly to CDF light rifle battalions.  The 2nd NIBde has one round out category 3 heavy battalion, which can be mobilized in emergencies.

One light battalion is trained in parachute, air mobile  as well as sea landing operations.

The 3nd Naval Infantry Brigade also consists of two heavy battalions, and three light battalions.  Similar to the 2nd NIBde, the 3rd NIBde, one battalion is trained in parachute, air mobile and sea landings.

The two brigades are assigned to geographical commands with the 2nd deployed in eastern Chernarus and in southern Napf.  The 3nd NIBde is the CNF reserve and is deployed near Miroslavl.

The CNF does not have amphibious ships that can be used to land heavy equipment, and so naval commanders must have a port, and rely on commercial freighters to transport and deploy their heavy battalions.

Since the brigades do not have an organic tank unit, antitank operations are conducted by the CNF's naval aviation regiment, or by attached CDF tank units.  Brigades do not have any organic heavy artillery, and so must rely on naval guns from the three frigates in the navy's inventory.  All naval infantry commanders down to the  company level trained extensively on spotting naval artillery.