Saddam Moves South 2023

Saddam Moves South (SMS) is an operational level two player wargame covering a hypothetical Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia in 1990. The assumption here is that after the Iraqi army overran Kuwait in the first week of August 1990, Saddam Hussein continued the offensive to grab the vital oilfields of Saudi Arabia. In response, the United States leads a coalition of states to stop the Iraqis and then retake lost territories.

The game system is based on that of Desert One War, which models ground, air and amphibious operations. For the Coalition, the central game system is Air Transport Points (ATP) which represent strategic airlift capability. The assumption is that the scenarios cover the opening stage of an intervention, before the US can mobilize full-scale sealift. Therefore, airlift will become the primary means for moving units into the theater and providing logistical support.

The Iraqis are closer to their lines of communications, but their ability to conduct sustained offensives is restricted by planning and logistical considerations, modeled in the game by making the capture of certain objectives a prerequisite for sustaining their offensive. Another factor is that the decisive mobile campaign which the Coalition conducted in 1991 was in part the result of extensive preparation of the theater of operations via logistical buildup, intelligence and in-theater training during the period August 1990 to January 1991. The campaign in the game models the situation where the Coalition must build up in the face of a continuing Iraqi offensive.

Published in Strategy & Tactics magazine #339 Mar-Apr 2023

Game Scale: Game Turn: 3-10 days Hex: 21.75 miles / 35 kilometers Units: Group to Division

Game Inventory: One 22 x 34" full color map One dual-side printed countersheet (228 9/16" counters - with 4 blank counters included) One 16-page rulebook

Solitaire Playability: High Complexity Level: Medium Players: 2 or more Playing Time: 4-15 hours

Note: Players will need to provide one 6-sided die for game play.