Italy-Korea | Joint exercise Steel Storm

[Tim]

---

JOINT EXERCISE STEEL STORM
JANUARY 1998 -- CLASSIFIED

SECTION I. INFORMATION
[Commanders] Brigadier Fabrizio CASTAGNETTI
[Staging Point] Apulia, ITALY
[Date] 01/1998 - 01/1998
[Skill] Mechanized Warfare
[Belligerents]

Italy South Korea

v.​

​

[Casualties and losses]

Dead: 0 Wounded: 0

Dead: 0 Wounded: 0​

SECTION II. STRENGTH
[2.000] Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo"

[500] 15th Chevau-légers Regiment

[60] Puma 6x6
[25] B1 Centauro​

[500] 7th Bersaglieri Regiment

[56] Dardo IFV​

[500] 9th Infantry Regiment

[56] Dardo IFV​

[500] 82nd Infantry Regiment

[56] Dardo IFV​

​

SECTION III. OBJECTIVES
PHASE A. PREPARATION
A01 -- COMPLETED -- PREPARATION OF BARRACKS, TRANSPORT OF KOREANS TO BARI (PORT)
A02 -- COMPLETED -- ASSEMBLING FORCES (7th Bersaglieri Regiment Barracks)
A03 -- ONGOING -- PREPARE WARGAME (PLAN OBJECTIVES AND LOCATION)
PHASE B. WARGAME
B04 -- PENDING -- WORK IN PROGRESS
​

---

Jay​

 

[Jay]

Section II. ROK Strength/Information

8th 'DRAGON OF THE EAST SEA' (8군단 '동해충용부대')

Division Commander: Liet. General Ko Hyunsoo

• 102nd Armored Brigade 'SUNRISE' (102기갑여단 '일출부대')
  • x 10 Officer Personnel
  • Unit Commander: Major Kim Seongmin
  • x 50 Support Personnel
  • x 8 IVECO LMV
  • x 4 K512 Fuel Tanker
    • Small arms: K2 Rifle, K5 sidearm
    • Equipment: Standard Uniform (Granite B), PAGST Headgear, Body-armor, Gloves, Uniforms, Radio, Googles, NBC equipment
    • Training Qualifications: (passed ROK Officer training mission and listed skills, support personnel, capable of coordinated and sustained multinational capacity support
• 2nd Armored Regiment (Tank Regiment)
  • 2nd Armored Regiment Command Squad
    • Personnel x 10
    • Puma 6x6 (2)
  • 2nd Armored Support Company
    • Personnel 50
    • K711 Truck (4)
    • K1 AVR (8)
  • 4th Armored Battalion
    • Personnel (40)
    • K1 Main Battle Tank (10)
  • 5th Armored Battalion
    • Personnel (40)
    • K1 Main Battle Tank (10)
  • 6th Armored Battalion
    • Personnel (40)
    • K1 Main Battle Tank (10)
  • 1st Anti Tank Regiment
    • Personnel (120)
    • KB-1 120mm Centauro (38)
      • Small arms: K2 Rifle, K5 sidearm,
      • Equipment: Standard Uniform (Granite B), PAGST Headgear, Body-armor, Gloves, Uniforms, Radio, Googles, Visors, NBC equipment
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the Korea Army Armored Vehicle Training Course and listed skills, armored skills, regular armored regiment, capable of combined armored/infantry tactics, units equipped, armored vehicles)
• 101st Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment)
  • 101st Command Squad
    • Officers x 10
  • 101st Support Company
    • Personnel (50)
    • K711 Truck (4)
  • 1-101st Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • Puma 6x6 Armored Personnel Vehicle (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 2-101st Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • Puma 6x6 Armored Personnel Vehicle (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 3-101st Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • Puma 6x6 Armored Personnel Vehicle (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 4-101st Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • Puma 6x6 Armored Personnel Vehicle (20)
    • K711 Truck (10)
• 102nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment)
  • 102nd Command Squad
    • Officers x 10
  • 102nd Support Company
    • Personnel (50)
    • K711 Truck (4)
  • 1-102ndt Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 2-102nd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 3-102nd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 4-102nd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
• 103rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment)
  • 103rd Command Squad
    • Officers x 10
  • 103rd Support Company
    • Personnel (50)
    • K711 Truck (4)
  • 1-103rd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 2-103rd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 3-103rd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
  • 4-103rd Infantry Battalion
    • Personnel (100)
    • IVECO LMV (10)
    • K711 Truck (10)
• 100th Engineering Company, 1st Battalion
  • x 40 personnel
  • x 5 K1 AVLB (armored vehicle land bridge)
  • x 4 K1 AVR (repair/recovery vehicle)
  • x 2 Doosan Excavator (civilian grade)
    • Small arms: K2 Rifle, K5 sidearm, Squad Assault Weapon K3
    • Equipment: Standard Uniform (Granite B), PAGST Headgear, Body-armor, Gloves, Uniforms, Radio, Googles, Visors, Riot Shields, Riot equipment, NBC equipment
    • Training Qualifications: (passed the Engineering civil service exam, Army basic training mission and listed skills, combat engineer skills, engineering technical and operational skills, advise and assist capacity, limited combat stress test capabilities)
• 1st Medical Division
  • 1st Army Medical Company, 2nd Company, 1st Battalion
    • x 60 personnel
    • x 5 Iveco VM 90 Ambulance
      • No Small Arms
      • Equipment: Standard Uniform (Granite B), PAGST Headgear, Body-armor, Gloves, Uniforms, Radio, Googles, Visors, Medical Patches
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the Army medical training mission and listed skills, medical skills, advise and assist capacity, general combat stress test certification)
  • 1st Army Medical Company, 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion
    • x 20 personnel
    • x 5 Iveco VM 90 Ambulance
    • Small arms: K2 Rifle, K5 sidearm, Squad Assault Weapon K3,
      • Equipment: Standard Uniform (Granite B), PAGST Headgear, Body-armor, Gloves, Uniforms, Radio, Googles, Visors, NBC equipment
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the ROK Army Medical training mission and listed skills, combat medical skills, medical technical and operational skills, combat stress test certification)

Force Assembly | R.O.K.S. Dokdo Task Force

• [1] Dokdo Amphibious Assualt Ship
  • R.O.K.S. Dokdo
    • x 330 personnel
      • Ship capabilities:
        • Systems: SMART-L air search radar, MW08 surface search radar, AN/SPS-95K navigation radar, TACAN, VAMPIR-MB optronic sight
        • Electronic warfare: ESM/ECM:SLQ-200(v)5K SONATA, Chaff launcher
        • Armaments: Two Goalkeeper CIWS, One RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
        • Helicopters: [10] UH-60V Black Hawk
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the ROK Navy training, and specialized training for Dokdo assault ship)
• [1] Ulsan-Class Frigate Medical Battalion
  • R.O.K.S. Ulsan
    • x 168 sailors (16 officers)
      • Ship capabilities:
        • Systems: Signaal DA-08 air surveillance radar AN/SPS-10C navigation radar, ST-1802 fire control radar, Signaal PHS-32 hull-mounted sonar, TB-261K towed sonar,
        • Electronic system: ULQ-11K ESM/ECM suite, 2 x Mark 36 SRBOC 6-tubed chaff/flare launcher, 2 x 15-tube SLQ-261 torpedo acoustic countermeasures
        • Aramanets: 8 × Harpoon (2 quadruple launchers) anti-ship missile, 6 × 324 mm (12.8 in) Blue Shark torpedo (2 triple tubes), 2 × Otobreda 76 mm (3 in)/62 cal. gun
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the ROK Navy training, and specialized training for Ulsan-class frigate)
• [2] Gwanggaeto the Great-class Destroyer
  • R.O.K.S. Gwanggaeto the Great
    • x 286 personnel
      • Ship capabilities:
        • Systems: Signaal DA-08 air surveillance radar AN/SPS-10C navigation radar, ST-1802 fire control radar, Signaal PHS-32 hull-mounted sonar, TB-261K towed sonar,
        • Electronic system: ULQ-11K ESM/ECM suite, 2 x Mark 36 SRBOC 6-tubed chaff/flare launcher, 2 x 15-tube SLQ-261 torpedo acoustic countermeasures
        • Aramanets: 8 × Harpoon (2 quadruple launchers) anti-ship missile, 6 × 324 mm (12.8 in) Blue Shark torpedo (2 triple tubes), 2 × Otobreda 76 mm (3 in)/62 cal. gun
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the ROK Navy training, and specialized training for Gwanggaeto the Great-class Destroyer)
  • R.O.K.S. Shin Goon
    • x 286 personnel
      • Ship capabilities:
        • Systems: AN/SPS-49(V) 2D air search radar, Signaal MW 08 surface search radar, Daewoo SPS-95k navigation radar, 2 × Signaal STIR 180 Fire control radars, ATLAS DSQS-21BZ Hull mounted sonar
        • Electronic system: SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy, ARGOSystems AR 700 and APECS 2 ECM, 4 × CSEE DAGAIE MK 2 Chaff Launchers
        • Aramanets: 1 × OTO Melara 127 mm (5 inch)/54 gun, 2 × Signaal 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS, 8 × Harpoon missile in quad canisters, 1 × Mk 48 Mod 2 VLS with 16 RIM-7P Sea Sparrow missiles, 2 × triple torpedo tubes for Mark 46 torpedo
        • Helicopter: [2] KA-31
      • Training Qualifications: (passed the ROK Navy training, and specialized training for Gwanggaeto the Great-class Destroyer)

Equipment Transport | R.O.K.S. Mingukcha (MSC Flaminia | Cargo/Bulk Carrier)

SECTION III. Current Information/Status

Transport Route: PM-PL-PK-OK-OJ-NK-MJ-LK-KM-JM-JN
Return Route: JN-JM-KM-LK-MJ-NK-OJ-OK-PK-PL-PM
Port of Origin: Busan Naval Base
All ships fully armed, equipment fully secured. All ships fully equipment with food, fuel, and supplies necessary for the trip to Italy and back. Ships would stay in international waters away from most fishing areas. The fleet will issue a NATVEX for its route, and fully known to any passing naval vessels, however, unless a ship is tracking the fleet, they will not have a pinpoint location of the fleet as the NATVEX would only cover the path and not the active location. The fleet would also be known if any fleets are active in the zones of transit. The contents of the fleet are secure and unknown. Fleet has departed Busan.

Total Troop Quantity: 1,630 Personnel

 

[Tim]

---

The Logistic Regiment of Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo" had sent equipment from Bari, their headquarters to Altamura, where the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment was based. This equipment consisted of tents for housing, food, hygiene and other accommodations for the extra soldiers that were staying. The 7th Regiment had been preparing all these facilities for a week when the Korean's arrived, and the full base would be able to house 3,800 soldiers, more than the 3,630 which would be present for the exercise.

Terminal Crociere at Bari had been prepared for the arrival of the Korean ship and upon their arrival the commander would be welcomed by the Italian Commander, Brigadier Fabrizio Castagnetti. "It is an honour to have you here General Ko." the Brigadier said after saluting the Lieutenant General. A small escort of the Logistic Regiment would escort the Korean division and all their equipment to Altamura. The Korean commander would be invited to travel in a car with the Italian commander.​

---

Jay​

 

[Jay]

The Korean Units would disembark at their port of arrival, working with local port authorities as they unloaded equipment from their transport vessels. Disembarked in stages, column of K1 tanks would exit the Dokdo as their crews made sure that they were properly maintained, cleaned the interiors, and added special tracks to the wheeling to not damage the roads while they drove across the Italian roads to their staging area. They would be escorted by the Italian regional police and armed forces as their convoys moved ahead and arrived at their destination. Meanwhile, on the ships, the crew would restock their supplies while a temporary liberty would be granted to allow some sailors to take pictures and buy gifts for the Lunar New Year coming soon. The ships would depart back to Busan upon completion of their restock of provisions. The Korean troops began to move out of their vessels and onto trucks and other vehicles, Liet. General Ko who was the Divisional Commander joined the exercise in an observer role, would be introduced to the Italian Commander. Alongside the Liet. General were Major Kim Seongmin, Captain Kim Imtak, and Captain Lim Sajeon. He would return the salute as his subordinates stood at attention. "Hello Brigadier Castagnetti, it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Whilst the Korean Officer was not fluent in English, he had a basic command over it. Captain Lim Sajeon would provide most of the translations if the conversation got too technical, being a graduate of UMass Amherst in the United States, the Captain could speak English with a great degree of fluency. They would join the Italian commander.

Tim

 

[Tim]

---

After greeting the Korean Commander and getting in the vehicle with him and the translator and some other people he spoke with him. "General, our forces will be heading to a base outside of Altamura from where we will be operating these two weeks. A large triangular area has been cleared and we will do multiple exercises here, starting with the war game. When we get to the base we will look at the map and set up the objectives. After the wargame we will also have time to develop an exercises to work on international cooperation, having units of our armies working together towards a common goal and seeing how that works, especially with a language barrier."

He listened to see if the Korean had anything to add as the convoy kept driving towards the base of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment with the camp set up for both armies.

Upon arrival the commanders of both armies and all units would be assembled into a command tent with a large table with a map of the area on it.

(Press map for link)​

"It's a pleasure meeting you all here. You can see that we have a large area of more than 250 square kilometers at our disposal. For the wargame we could set up two base camps and a number of objectives, depending on the scenario this could be both going for the same objectives, one side having to defend some objectives from the enemy, or other plans, so feel free to make any suggestions you want to make," Next to the map were two sets of a dozen flags, Korean and Italian each, for the units. There were also a dozen of black flags which could be used to denote objectives or other locations.

---

< Jay >

 

[Jay]

The Korean Commander would listen to his Italian counterpart while his translator provided simultaneous translations as best as he could. "Thank you for the update Brigadier General. He looked at the triangular ao and other papers handed to him on the operation area. I think the terrain is optimal to test the armored capacity of our forces to conduct joint-operations. I think he war-game would work well in this terrain." As their conversation continued, they would continue on their journey to the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment base with the camp set up for both armies.

The ROK Army units would assembly in their designated tents, while senior officers and junior NCOs would work to organize their men while the units senior officers entered the tents with their Italian counterparts. Brining out some ideas for entering the AO, and capturing important towns and the forests near them.

Wider Tactical Consideration

Captain Lim Sajeon [8th Division Command Unit]: "Thank you all for coming. Based on the initial area of operations outlined to us, we have identified two major points of importance. The red circles represent areas of importance to capture/defend for either repel or push forward into the forestry that covers the main route. Any attempt to maneuver along the sidelines leaves armored units exposed to side-shots form guided missiles and anti-tank weapons. As such, we believe a coordinated ground offensive with infantry units supported by heavy vehicles clear out the red circles. Close-support from mortars would provide a smokescreen along the pink lines, allowing units to move from the towns to the green forgery and benefit from its cover. Armored units will move up slowly through the battlefield with smoke cover to provide fire support.

This is our initial proposal to enter the area of operation. From here, we believe we can achieve the goals and objectives outlined by our Italian counterparts. Most importantly, these points are the beginning for entering units into the operation zone. If our forces can move quickly, we can neutralize these areas and hold them to allow eased mobility for our troops. If I can move to OB-1, the red bottom left circle, I can discuss our micro-tactical proposal.


Micro-tactical proposal to capture OB-1

"Our proposal here is to use armored vehicles on the flanks of the small hoteliers and resorts. Troops will be able to clear these largely open areas quickly, while the hotel will require a larger number of troops to clear room by room. Using armored units to spearhead here would be dangerous, as the open area while an advantage for encircling and overwhelming defenders is a liability for armored vehicles. Leaving them exposed to unguided rocket propelled grenade launchers or other anti-tank weapons. We propose a growingly consolidated assault, with three battalions converging on Le Murici, and gradually consolidating into one force. at Villa de Sol. Smoke screens deployed after clearing the hotel will allow two units to move into the forestry where armored units can provide fire support. A company of tanks will move leftwards to suppress any incoming fire from the tree-line further.

Do you have any comments or suggestions Tim?"

 

[Tim]

---

"In regards to the town, they have all been cleared but we have not been granted permission to enter any building so all units will be stationed outside. However around the town this still means that units can be anywhere around or behind buildings. I appreciate your insight, clearing the way to the forest town by town would be the best way, as the defending force would have small units in every town and a small unit in the forest. The majority of the force will however be stationed north of the forest."

He placed a few of the flags with goals on the map, with red being the defending units, blue the attacking units and black the objectives . "The forces in Guarlamanna can be attacked from inside the forest, or left alone. Same goes for the forces in Parisi, however this will leave the attacking forces' rear possibly exposed."

"From inside the forest to the proposed main objective there are a number of routes that can be taken to the final objective, going over the road will increase manoeuvrability of the armoured units but will leave them exposed, going over the farmlands and through the forest decreases speed and manoeuvrability but will increase cover and the element of surprise. To do this we could make a few optional objectives, giving the attacking force the choice to take either objective 3A, 3B, etc.. Something else to discuss, who will be the attacking force and who the defending force for the first round? Other than that I believe this gives us a solid outline to get started. Please let me know if you have any additions, comments or questions."

---

Jay

 

[Jay]

"This sounds good to us. I think we can begin assembling the units and divide them towards their objectives. Thank you for the clarifications, I think we can simulate just moving through the area as capturing the buildings. I think your plan looks fine, it incorporated what I had envisioned. We will require a slower timeline to clear the forests, and of course, ensuring that our vehicles aren't overwhelmed in the open, whilst using the tree-line to our advantage and not theirs. How do you think the forces should be divided?"

Tim

 

[Tim]

---

"Our forces consist of 3 units in infantry fighting vehicles and one in armoured personnel carriers, the Korean forces consist of one heavy brigade with tanks and 3 infantry units. My proposal would be having the Korean tank regiment, two Italian IFV regiments, and one Korean infantry regiment attacking. The defending units would then be one Italian IFV regiment and one Italian APC regiment which includes an anti-tank company and two Korean infantry regiments, meaning the attacking force is better armoured, so the defending forces will need to put in real effort to slow down or stop the incoming tanks with their anti-tank weaponry, having only 25 B1 centauro's versus all tanks and Korean KB-1's. The defending forces of course have the benefit of already having cover. Any comments or questions? Otherwise we will distribute the units and decide which headquarters is the Battlegroup headquarters."

---

Jay

 

[Jay]

"This sounds appropriate to us. I think we should begin moving the troops and reorganizing the units accordingly. The way you divided the troops sounds good...hmmm...Let's get started then." The Koreans would examine the map and take a closer look as they observed the terrain and very dense force which would be difficult to both capture or defend. Still, they would upon receiving their battlegroup make the necessary arrangements.

Tim

 

[Tim]

---

One of the Lieutenants who had been listening along and had sticky notes with the eight major units on them, and for the Italian's also the total troop and unit size. He would distribute them to the Brigadier's liking and would show it to both Commanders "Please let me know if any of the figures were wrong, these were taken from the data as provided by you but some interpretation error might have been made. As you can see both forces have a medical company. Once someone's MILES unit has been hit and they hear the beep they lay down and the Medical Company can evacuate them. They bear the red cross and are unarmed so they will not be attacked, and also not wearing a MILES system for this reason. Both armies will start of with a tent, the defending force behind the final objective and the attacking force at their starting point, from here potential stationary commanding units can communicate with their units in the field. Once we have determined the starting location for all units we can get them moving."

BLUFOR (ATTACKING) [KR] 102nd ARMORED BRIGADE HQ (COMMAND; 60 personnel; 8 Iveco LMV; 4 K512 Tanker) [KR] 2nd Armored Regiment (Tank Regiment; 300 personnel; 2 Puma 6x6; 4 K711 Truck; 8 K1 AVR; 30 K1 MBT; 38 KB-1 120mm Centauro) [IT] 7th Bersaglieri Regiment (500 Personnel; 56 Dardo IFV) [IT] 9th Infantry Regiment (500 Personnel; 56 Dardo IFV) [KR] 102nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment; 460 Personnel; 44 K711 Truck; 40 Iveco LMV) [KR] 1st Army Medical Company, 2nd Company, 1st Battalion (60 personnel; 5 LMV)

REDFOR (DEFENDING) [IT] 15th Chevau-légers Regiment (HQ COY = COMMAND; 500 personnel; 60 Puma 6x6; 25 B1 Centauro) [IT] 82nd Infantry Regiment (500 personnel; 56 Dardo IFV) [KR] 103rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment; 460 Personnel; 44 K711 Truck; 40 Iveco LMV) [KR] 101st Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Mechanized Regiment; 460 Personnel; 44 K711 Truck; 50 Puma 6x6) [KR] 1st Army Medical Company, 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion (60 personnel; 5 LMV)

Meanwhile in the fields the soldiers had all been informed to prepare their equipment with the MILES system and assemble their units.

---

Jay
Let's start with adding all units to the map in their starting position (so 6 pins for BLUFOR, 5 for REDFOR) , we can then eventually split them up and keep track of the units/weapons in the description (you can look at mine as an example). If you split them up you have the same amount of units but spread across 2 pins

 

[Tim]

---

After getting a confirmation and having the map fully updated the Italian commander gave the order to the units to move to their assigned position on the map. All units were now fully armed with the MILES system and ready to go underway. A team of Italian commanders not associated with any of the units were present as referees and they had communication lines between both command tents.

The Italian commander who would be commanding the defending force greeted his Korean counterpart one more time. "I look forward to seeing what we can do out on the battlefield." he said before getting into one of his units Puma 6x6 to be transported to the headquarters tent on the other side of the battlefield. The Korean's would be moved to a different tent where they also had a map. One of the referees walked with them and placed two markers on the two towns. "Reconnaissance has confirmed wheeled military presence in these two locations. Your objective is to capture La Cavallerizza, an important supply line for the defending forces."

---

Jay

 

[Jay]

The Korean commander who would be commanding the offensive force would reciprocate his best wishes and hopes for the exercises to his Italian counterpart. As the Italian commander left in one of his units Puma 6x6 to be transported to the headquarters tent on the other side of the battlefield. Listening to the briefing, he would begin to think how ti dislodge the forces at La Cavallerizza.

Blue Force Operational Plan​

The BLUFOR TASK FORCE Commander, Commander Kim Pyeokjin would survey his forces, analyzing his strengths, weaknesses, and terrain. He would order the 102nd Mechanized Infantry to set up a communications center to allow eased communications, and secure communications between units up front and to the command in the rear. He would decide to keep a large portion of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment in reserve during this portion of the operation, the Dardos were crucial assets to lose in close-quarter combat where they would be ineffective. He would also keep a portion 2nd Armored Regiment in reserve, satisfied he was able to get the K1 tanks and KB-1 Anti-Tank Destroyer.

He would need more information to know what troops were deployed to the front. The Italians had their own tank destroyers, possibly lurking nearby taking shots at exposed tanks in the open terrain of the fields. The Koreans would use their time to arrange their troops, issue commands, but before conducting any operation, use their turn to conduct intelligence on the objective to see what units were stationed there.



The Korean 10 K1 and 12 KB-1 would be given orders once all was determined to be appropriate for their deployment to head to the trig-point to provide cover support as the 102nd would seize the objective. The 7th Bersaglieri would be given the task of seizing a secondary zone, however, they would only be at 25% combat strength as the majority of the 7th and 2nd were tasked with guarding BLUFOR's command base, communications, and medical base. The Korean Commander would be cautious against his Italian counterparts, but, the 7th would be useful in providing insight on how Italian units operated. The BLUFOR Command Sector was lively as the Italians provided input on the operational plan, troop movements, and monitored REDFOR communications.

The Korean Commander deemed it would be better to concentrate his forces on OBJ Alpha rather than diver to other areas, still, the 2nd and 7th in reserve would allow him to maneuver a force against any encirclement or pincer by the Italians. Highly motorized, the 102nd would be optimal for seizing the objective, but, the 2nd forward force and 7th forward force would firs need to take OBJ Bravo and SUP Alpha before the 102nd could proceed forward.

BLUFOR Deployment
[IT] 7th Bersaglieri Regiment
500 Personnel; 56 Dardo IFV (125 Personnel and 14 Dardo deployed)
[KR] 102nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment
460 Personnel; 44 K711 Truck; 40 Iveco LMV
[KR] 2nd Armored Regiment
300 personnel; 2 Puma 6x6; 4 K711 Truck; 8 K1 AVR; 30 K1 MBT; 38 KB-1 120mm Centauro
(10 K1 MBT and 12 KB-1 deployed)

Action: BLUFOR conducts intelligence on Objective I and is ready to move its troops into position

 

[Tim]

BLUFOR

---

The 7th Bersaglieri Regiment was given orders to deploy 14 Dardo IFV's. All but one packed with 9 soldiers, the last with 8 for a total of 125 soldiers. A commander, gunner and driver in each plus 6 infantry troops.
All 14 Dardo's drove towards the town about thirty meters away from the road as to use the nature next to it for cover. About 400 meters from the town the commander of the Company ordered two of the Dardo's to send in their 6 infantrymen to gather intelligence.



The 12 men, split up in 3 teams of 4 all approached the town with their rifles ready. As they approached the town one of the soldiers saw an Iveco LMV with a group of soldiers near one of the entrance roads and he reported back to the Company Commander. The Company Commander radio'd to the Blufor commander. "WHEELED INFANTRY near objective BRAVO. STRENGHT UNKNOWN. Send in IFV's or foot infantry?"

REDFOR

---

The Commander of Redfor was Brigadier Fabrizio CASTAGNETTI. As part of the wargame they were informed that enemy presence was detected in the south. All units in the southern sector (103rd and 82nd) were placed on extra high alert and ordered to report any suspicious activity. With the lack of any further information all remaining units were told to remain alert and on stand by.

---

Jay

 

[Jay]

The Units guarding the objectives in the South would be monitoring and sending our small fireteams to scout and report back to their unit commanders. However, without long-range or secured transmissions, they would be only able to do so for a small perimeter. Still, troops would take up their defensive positions as they anticipated the arrival of the enemy force. Following through the high alert status by Brigadier Castagnetti, the Koreans apart of the 103rd battalion would wait for their enemy to arrive. Meanwhile, the BLUFOR reconnaissance would already be breaching the perimeter

The Blue Force Commanders would inform the Italian reconnaissance units to keep gathering intelligence, doing so on foot with the IFV to be used only in the event of fighting. They wanted a bigger picture as the 102nd Mechanized Battalion was speeding ahead to their location. Once the 102nd was in position, the 7th was ordered to storm their objective and neutralize all hostilities within before 102nd launched their attack.

Tim

 

[Tim]

BLUFOR

---

With orders to keep gathering intelligence the teams all entered the city, using bushes, buildings and sheds as cover as they saw the amount of troops that were present. They saw the troops getting defensive from the south, noticing that their eastern flank was weakly defended. They also saw that there were no real armoured vehicles, only a number of trucks and cars. With this information they radio messaged the commander. "South heavily defended with infantry. North-Eastern flank weak. No armoured vehicles spotted."

With this information and the order to storm the objective the commander ordered four Dardo's with full crew (3 crew + 6 infantry each) to flank the city, driving around it while out of range so they could attack the forces from behind. The rest of the forces (10 Dardo's, 30 crew, 47 infantry total) would be ordered to attack frontally.

These ten Dardo's would spread out along the flank and drive towards the city all from different angles. Their gunners would have access to a 25mm automatic gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, which would be the mainly used weapon. As they got in range of the city, about 100 meters from the edge they saw the first troops and would start shooting their machinegun at any defensive lines set up by vehicles or infantry that they could see as they continued to slowly drive forward, the drivers carefully looking if he saw any anti-tank weaponry. Meanwhile the flanking group continued driving around the city, using the road to the east so they could very quickly travel towards the city.

The twelve soldiers already in the city were given orders to attack if possible. Seeing as they were in the middle of the hive they waited for the main attack to get further underway before joining the fighting.


Black = attack force, blue = flank

REDFOR

---

With no further information the commander wasn't sure where to send reinforcements, and if they were even needed so he decided to await any information regarding an attack.

---

Jay

 

[Jay]

The BLUEFOR attack would alert the REDFOR force of the assault. While they would be taken by surprise, their defensive positions gave them an advantage over the forces attacking on a frontal assault without using the cover of the town effectively. Across the open plain, Korean riflemen with panzerfausts would fire a number of anti-tank rounds into the charging vehicles. As they got closer, some IFVs would sustain enough damage to signal the vehicle out of action by the sensors. As they got closer, the danger to the rifleman increased and their ability to fire anti-tank rockets was limited.

The REDFOR vehicles would be practically useless against armored vehicles with their main gun being a heavy machine gun. Instead, they were used to close off roads and delay enemy infantry. As well as provide fire support against infantry units without support from an IFV. The communications center at the town relayed information back to their commander of the attack, and that it was IFVs, Infantry, no heavy vehicles.

The BLUEFOR flanking maneuver would be successful, whether the BLUEFOR could capitalize on it enough to create a breakthrough or if they would get bogged down would determine how the flow of the town battle would go.

---

Tim

 

[Tim]

BLUFOR

---

The vehicles were gunning into the infantry and getting quite a few soldiers out of action, but it wasn't enough as one of their vehicles was already destroyed by a Panzerfaust. As they kept attacking the flanking group would arrive, and would drive through the town, clearing out any enemy presence with their machineguns and sending out their full infantry to check around all the buildings. As they kept going they arrived at the back of the main defence line. With this the REDFOR had lost all their cover and all infantry were sent in, covered by the machineguns, to attack the defensive force, using pieces of cover they could find.

REDFOR

---

REDFOR HQ had been alerted by the 103rd regiment of the attack. Knowing the enemy was mechanized they sent in a company of 100 men with 12 Dardo IFV's from the 82nd Regiment as backup to form a defensive line on the east of the forest, assuming the attackers would be going around it through the east. The part of the 103rd regiment in the other town would be told to remain there, but to get extra cover against the mechanized vehicles.

Jay

 

[Jay]

With the wind that had blown up from the firing of machine guns and smoke that simulated out of rocket launchers bellowed int hw town as REDFOR stalled and kept the BLUEFOR advanced at bay. It was almost as if time had stopped for many months as the fighting continued, no doubt once the dust settled it would feel like seconds. The lack of effective armored fighting vehicles meant that REDFOR would do their best with their anti-tank weapons to neutralize the Italian Dardo's. With their vehicles destroyed, the REDFOR would mostly be delaying the BLUEFOR using skirmishing tactics. They would use whatever cover they had, prioritizing destroying the IFVs were able.

Tim