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S E PT E M B E R 2 0 07

PA GE 70

PA GE 3 0

PA GE 62

HOW ROMMEL
BECAME
THE DESERT
FOX!

LEADERSHIP
LESSONS
FROM GEN.
HAL MOORE

HOW TO
TRAIN THE
IRAQIS
TO WIN

PA GE 33

INTERACTIVE
COMBAT
MISSIONS

PA GE 28

MACARTHURS
INCHON GAMBLE

RALPH PETERS:

ARMCHAIR GENERAL

THE
GREATEST
GENERAL

Counterinsurgency
MYTHS

SAS Scud Busters

in Iraq, 1991

MUST-SEE TV!

Ken Burns
THE WAR

YOU NEVER
HEARD OF

THE SPY
WHO WON
The Six
Day War

GENERAL BILL SLIM

Slim of Burma
fought, and BEAT,
more Japanese
than any Allied
commander

ST R AT EGY
TACT I C S
I N S I G H TS
G A M ES

>>
>>
>>
>>

SEPTEMBER 20 07 | DS EI SPPTLEAMYBUE NR T3I L0

ARMCHAIRGENERAL.COM

VO LU M E I V N O. 4
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN PANTONE 200 CV PANTONE 877 CV

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CONTENTS August / September 07

VOLU M E I V IS S UE 4

COVER STORY
Who was Bill Slim? Perhaps the best general you may never have
heard of! With persistence and courage, he literally snatched victory
from the jaws of defeat. By Frederick Baillergeon

FEATURES
62
Its Never Easy to Train Another Mans Army
The United States ongoing effort to prepare Iraqi Security Forces is
far from the first time a superpower has attempted to train a client
nations army. However, as history shows, it has never been an easy
task. An ACG exclusive! By Robert F. Baumann

70
He Came to Win

4
6
8
10

PUBLISHERS NOTE
EDITORS LETTER
MAILBAG
CRISIS WATCH

28

How pop delusions prevent

effective military operations.
By Ralph Peters

30

Would YOU have risked

losing the Korean War in a
single stroke?

Myths of
Counterinsurgency

12

THE PRESIDIO WALL

Foundations of the
Standing U.S. Military
More military basics all
American citizens should know.
By Caspar Weinberger Jr.

14

Find out how Erwin Rommel became the Desert Fox and Britains
nemesis in the sands of North Africa in 1941. By Bevin Alexander

INTERACTIVE
33 COMBAT!
Combat Engineers in the Battle of the Bulge,
1944
Lead a platoon of U.S. combat engineers in a desperate attempt to
stop Nazi panzers during the German Ardennes offensive!

DISPATCHES
Uncommon Valor, significant
events in history, cool gear
and more!

22

Eager for the Air:

Woman ATA Pilot
The men and women civilian
pilots of Britains Air Transport
Auxiliary literally delivered the
goods during World War II.

26

Test your decision-making skills as you lead British commandos on

a dangerous mission far behind Iraqi lines during the Gulf War.

TIPPING POINTS

78

COMMANDER DOSSIER

80

WEAPON FILES

82

WITNESS TO WAR

Andrew Jackson
American Long Rifle
The Avenger

84

SPY WARS

Eli Cohen
Israels Man in Damascus
was one of historys most
successful spies.
PARTING SHOT

All Quiet on the Western

Front

REVIEWS

Historical outcome and winning Reader Solutions to CDG #20,

May 2007 issue.

86

46 WHAT NEXT GENERAL?

Decision in Burma: The Kohima/Imphal
Campaign, 1944

Historys greatest war inspires five entertaining titles.

88

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

Can YOU overcome a tough Japanese enemy and pave the way for
the reconquest of Burma? Test your mettle in this historical battle!

90

WARGAME REVIEW

92

BOOKSHELF

ON THE COVER: Gen. Bill Slim; Soldiers of the 124th Cavalry Regiment
TRH PICTURES (MAIN IMAGE); NATIONAL ARCHIVES (BACKGROUND IMAGE)

Armchair General (ISSN 1546-055X) is published bimonthly by Armchair General, LLC, 4165 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.,
Suite 255, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362. Periodicals Postage paid at the Thousand Oaks Post Office and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rate is $29.95 for 6 issues (one year). Subscriptions sent outside of U.S. must be prepaid in U.S. funds
with an additional $10 for surface postage and $20 for airmail postage. For Customer Service e-mail us at subscriptions@armchairgeneral.com or call us at (386)246-3456. Canadian Post International Sales Agreement #40852014. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to Armchair General, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32164-0235. Copyright 2007. Armchair General, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of Armchair General, LLC.

An American hero dispenses

leadership advice applicable
to the battlefield and the
boardroom.

96

How the armored, lance-wielding mounted knight revolutionized medieval European warfare.

42 YOU COMMAND SOLUTION

Nelson at the Nile, 1798

LEADERSHIP

General Hal Moore

Fighter pilot Harry Brown shares

his story of notching two kills on
Americas Day of Infamy.

HOW THEY FOUGHT

The Mounted Medieval

Knight

36 YOU COMMAND
Scud Busting in Iraq, 1991

COMMAND DECISIONS

MacArthurs Inchon
Gamble, 1950

ARMCHAIR GENERAL

BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN

SEPTEMBER 2007

GAME BUZZ

New World War II Games!

ArmA: Armed Assault and Battlestations: Midway

Europa Universalis III and Forge of Freedom
A Literary History Tour
Recent must-read books provide a wide-ranging tour
of military history.

94

DVD LIBRARY

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

52
Slim of Burma

DEPARTMENTS

Ken Burns Goes to War

Burns documentary The War explores the American experience
during World War II.

www.armchairgeneral.c om

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ScudBusting in Iraq 1991

INTERACTIVE YOU COMMAND

36

ARMCHAIR GENERAL

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Test your decision-making skills leading

British commandos on a dangerous mission
behind Iraqi lines during the Gulf War.

n August 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam

Hussein launched his army into neighboring Kuwait, quickly occupying the
country and ignoring demands by the
international community that he immediately withdraw. Under the leadership of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Saddams opponents created an international Coalition of 34 nations backed
by a United Nations mandate that began a massive buildup
of troops, weapons and equipment in nearby Saudi Arabia.
Codenamed Operation Desert Shield, the
buildup consisted of ground troops from
eight nations, naval forces from 12 countries,
and air assets from four Coalition members.
By January 1991, over 800,000 military personnel were deployed to Saudi Arabia, the
Persian Gulf states and the surrounding waters. Politically, however, the unprecedented
alliance of Western, Middle Eastern and Muslim nations had a potential Achilles heel
and Saddam was desperate to exploit it.
Although the active participation of 13
Arab and Muslim countries in the Coalition
provided an especially potent counter to Saddams propaganda that the military buildup
was a thinly veiled attempt by the West to
dominate the Middle East, long-standing
tensions regarding Western particularly
U.S. support of Israel could have proved to
be the Iraqi dictators trump card. If Israel
could be provoked into attacking Iraq, the
Arab and Muslim members likely would
abandon the effort, and the carefully crafted
Coalition might fall apart.
The weapon Saddam chose to use to provoke an Israeli armed response was the Soviet-designed Scud, a surface-to-surface missile
with a range of 700 kilometers and tipped
with a warhead capable of carrying conven-

tional high explosives or perhaps even chemical or biological agents.

Mounted on mobile transporter-launchers, Saddams Scuds (see sidebar, p. 39) were
dispersed into remote desert launch sites
(nicknamed Scud boxes), making them extremely hard to locate and therefore difficult
for Coalition aircraft to attack. Finding and
destroying the Scuds and their critical command and control units was a vitally important mission that had to be accomplished the
old-fashioned way by sending in ground
troops in the shape of special operations
teams of expertly trained commandos.

YOU ARE IN COMMAND!

Armchair General challenges YOU to
take command of this historical battle.
Heres how to get in on the action:
READ the article carefully. DEVELOP your
own solution to this tactical dilemma.
RECORD your solution on p. 41 or download
the CDG map at armchairgeneral.com/CDG.
SEND to Armchair General by August 31,
2007. Winning Reader Solutions will be
printed in the January 2008 issue.

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ROYAL NAVY CROWN COPYRIGHT

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DAVID PUBINGER/TIME AND LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES

ABOVE: British commandos take a water break during a long-range desert

mission. One commando maintains security with his U.S. M-16A2 rifle at the
ready while his mates quench their
thirst. Arab-style headscarves provide
camouflage and protection from the
ever-present dust and sand.
LEFT: Israeli Defense Forces personnel
assess the damage from an Iraqi missile attack. Saddam had hoped to provoke an Israeli military reaction that
might cause the Muslim members of
the Allied Coalition to withdraw.

CARL SCHULZE/CORBIS

BOTTOM: Much like their predecessors

who ravaged Rommels rear lines during World War II, SAS units patrol the
desert in their heavily armed Land
Rovers, ready to strike enemy targets
like lightning. Speed and stealth are
still the key elements of the attack.

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Politically, the unprecedented alliance of Western,

Middle Eastern and Muslim nations had a potential Achilles
heel and Saddam was desperate to exploit it.

PETHO CARTOGRAPHY

Iraqs Scud missiles

proved a deadlier threat
than the vaunted Iraqi
army. The Scuds mobile
launchers and especially their command
and control installations
became prime targets
for Coalition special operations units in the
weeks leading up to the
ground war.

rmchair General now takes you back

to a January 1991 mission in which
you will play the role of British Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Tommy Tompkins,* commanding A Squadron, 22
Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment. Your task
is to take out a Scud command and control
unit hidden in Iraqs desert. A few days ago,
Saddam began launching Scuds at Israel.
While these terror weapons have not yet
caused extensive damage, Israeli patience is
wearing thin. Unless special operations teams
like your SAS squadron can find and destroy
the Scuds, Saddams continued rain of these
missiles onto Israeli targets could provoke a
counterattack by Israel, an action that could
shatter the Coalition.
Regimental Sergeant Major Tompkins,
prepare for your mission!

IN THE SCUD BOX

Despite the impressive-sounding
squadron in your units title, your outfit is
actually only platoon-sized, composed of
just 26 commandos. Its small enough to

* For security reasons to protect his true identity

the RSM will be known by the pseudonym
Tommy Tompkins.

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ARMCHAIR GENERAL

BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN

avoid easy detection,

but sufficiently powerful to accomplish your
mission of tracking
down and destroying
Iraqi Scud missiles and
their vital command
and control centers.
Your men are exceedingly motivated
and superbly trained
professionals, heirs to
the outstanding combat legacy of SAS
founder, Major David Stirling, whose desert
raiders ravaged General Erwin Rommels
vulnerable German supply lines in North
Africa in 1942. (See You Command, Raid
on Rommel, July 2007 ACG.)
The successful tactics Stirling employed in
that earlier conflict are perfectly suited to your
present mission. He inserted small, highly
mobile, Jeep-mounted commando units far
behind enemy lines to conduct lightningstrike raids on vulnerable Axis rear echelon
positions. The main difference is that now, in
1991, Stirlings World War II-era Jeeps have
been replaced by sturdy Land Rovers. But like
the Jeeps, the Rovers are adaptable for rapid
movement over the desert.
Each of your six 4x4 Model 110 Land
Rovers is manned by a crew of four commandos: a team commander, a driver, a gunner, and a fourth member who alternates
driver and gunner duties with the principal
operators. Half of the Rovers mount three
7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Guns
(GPMGs): one on the dash in front of the
commander, one on the drivers side, and a
third on a rear-deck pedestal. The other
three Rovers have the commanders and drivers GPMGs as well, but each of these also

mounts another weapon on its rear-deck

pedestal: one vehicle has an M-2 .50-caliber
heavy machine gun, one has an M-19 rapidfire grenade launcher, and the third has a Milan anti-tank guided missile.
The GPMGs effective combat range is
500 meters. The M-2 can devastate unarmored vehicles and personnel at 1,000 meters. The rapid-fire grenade launcher fires 40
mm high explosive and armor-piercing
grenades 1,000-1,500 meters. Lastly, the Milan wire-guided missile can penetrate the armor of any Iraqi tank up to 1,500 meters.
In addition to the Rover-mounted
weapons, each of your commandos is armed
with an M-203. The single-shot grenade
launcher mounted under the barrel of this
American M-16A2 5.56 mm assault rifle
fires 40 mm high explosive rounds (effective
range of 200 meters), as well as illumination
rounds to light up the battlefield when necessary. All commandos also carry Browning
9 mm semi-automatic pistols, fragmentation grenades, and 66 mm and 84 mm Light
Anti-tank Weapons (LAWs, disposable, single-shot, shoulder-fired weapons similar to
World War II bazookas). And just in case the
Iraqi air force conducts a rare sortie over
your position, each crew carries a Stinger
heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile.
Your unit also has a vehicular pack mule
in addition to its Land Rovers. This MercedesBenz Unimog cargo truck carries tons of
equipment, including spare ammunition, all
necessary supplies, claymore anti-personnel
mines, plastic explosives for demolition work,
and one 51 mm mortar.
Your desert mobility is further enhanced
by four 125 cc motorbikes lashed to the sides
of several of the Rovers for use as needed. The
bikes are particularly effective in assisting
with route reconnaissance since their small
silhouettes and low dust signatures make
them difficult for the enemy to spot.
STIRLING TACTICS:
SPEED AND STEALTH
Your commandos are exceptionally well
armed for a unit half the size of a regular
infantry platoon, and their ability to bring
torrents of fire onto an unsuspecting enemy
is formidable. Yet your main weapons are
speed and stealth none of your vehicles
are armored in any way. Thus, small-arms
fire delivered through a surprise Iraqi at-

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Just as Stirlings did in 1942, your tactics focus

on keeping your commandos undetected until they can deliver
a lightning-fast raid on an isolated enemy unit.

tack could devastate your men if they are

caught unprepared in the open. Your tactics, more than your substantial firepower,
will likely determine whether your mission
succeeds or fails.
Just as Stirlings did in 1942, your tactics
focus on keeping your commandos undetected until they can deliver a lightning-fast
raid on an isolated enemy unit. Scrim
(camouflage nets) currently protects the vehicles from prying eyes while your men wait
in their LUP (lying up point) hide positions,
relaxing, checking equipment and preparing
for tonights mission.
As you glance around at your commandos, you cant help but smile. They are one
tough lot they all look as if they are spoiling
for a fight. Most, like you, sport scraggly
beards on faces burnt brown by the desert
sun or, in the case of the unlucky fair-complexioned lads, faces that are bright red with
patches of skin peeling from noses and foreheads. But whatever their appearance, youd
trust them with your life. As far as youre concerned, there are no better Soldiers on earth.
TARGET FOR TONIGHT
Gingerly sipping a hot cup of tea your
driver has thoughtfully brewed, you begin
to go over the mission in your mind. Time
is passing and you must decide on a tactical
course of action. Scouts have already located the target, an Iraqi Scud missile command and control center situated on an
isolated patch of desert about two hours
drive away. (See CDG map on p. 41.) The
compound consists of a larger main concrete building, topped by the all-important
communications antenna, and three smaller wooden temporary structures that appear to be troop barracks and supply storage. A 10-foot-high chain-link fence encloses the four buildings. Several hundred
meters outside that, another chain-link
fence surrounds the compound. A hardpacked gravel road runs north to south
through the camp, and unguarded but
locked gates are located at the four points
where the road cuts through the fences.
Based on the scouts report, you consider this a soft target. They secretly observed
the compound for several hours yesterday
and counted only a dozen Iraqi soldiers
moving about, and these appeared to be signal branch personnel, not front-line troops.

Saddams Scud Missiles

Scud (its NATO code name) refers
to a series of tactical surface-to-surface
missiles developed by the Soviet Union
during the Cold War and whose early
design (circa 1957) was based on Nazi
Germanys World War II V-2 rocket.
Extensively modified over the decades,
Scuds in various versions were exported
by the U.S.S.R. to a number of thirdworld countries. Subsequently, some recipients created their own versions of
the weapon by modifying the original
Soviet design. Popular usage by the media today often applies the name Scud
to any ballistic missile whose country of
origin is not the United States or some
other Western nation.
Saddams missiles in 1991 were
Iraqi modifications of the Scud-D
model, known as the Al Hussein.
They were just over 11 meters long and
slightly less than a meter in diameter
with a range of 700 kilometers. The
warhead could contain either a large
conventional high explosive charge,
sub-munition bomblets (40 to 100

smaller explosives for cratering airfields or anti-personnel use), or a fuelair mixture with an effect similar to
napalm. Since the original Soviet version was designed to pack a nuclear
warhead, it was feared that Iraqi Scuds
might be capable of delivering nuclear,
chemical or biological warheads.
Although accuracy was not the
Scuds greatest asset it proved incapable of hitting point targets its relatively small size made it highly mobile
when mounted on a wheeled transporter-launcher vehicle. By dispersing
his Scud missiles into desert hiding
places, Saddam made their destruction
by Coalition airpower extremely difficult, if not impossible. The alternative
was to send special operations units
into the Scud boxes (vast areas
where the Scuds were kept and from
which they were fired) far behind
Iraqi lines to locate and destroy the
missiles and their command and control units before their use could provoke an Israeli counterattack.

This photograph, taken from an F-14A Tomcat aircraft using the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System, shows an Iraqi Scud missile site during Operation Desert Storm.
The blackened earth at the center marks the spot from which a missile was fired.

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Whichever plan we go with, our main

objective is to knock out the communications antenna.
Without it, the Iraqis cant direct the Scuds.

The Iraqis carried only AK-47 assault rifles,

although it is likely that a light machine gun
or two and possibly some rocket propelled
grenades are available in the buildings. Your
scouts saw no heavy weapons such as antiaircraft guns, anti-tank guns or mortars.
You have developed some preliminary
ideas about how to proceed, but you want
your commandos input before you make a
final decision. Since your entire unit consists
of noncommissioned officers, decision
making tends to be more collaborative than
it is in other units commanded by officers.
Of course, you are a regimental sergeant
major RSM to your men so the final
decision is yours. But commando operations depend in large measure on individual
initiative and bold action in the heat of
combat with little command supervision;
therefore, it is wise to build consensus before deciding on a tactical course of action.
All right, lads, you announce, lets have
the Rover commanders and Unimog commander over here with me.
The men quickly gather around, and you
begin. You all know our target for tonight is
the Scud communications center we scouted
yesterday. Ive come up with three possible
plans to take it out, and I want your opinions
on each. Dont be shy.
Not bloody likely, the Welshman, Taff,
replies. Laughter from the others indicates
his frank assessment is a shared one. They
wont hold back if they think your scheme
is bollocks.
Whichever plan we go with, our main
objective is to knock out the communications antenna. Without it, the Iraqis cant direct the Scuds. That means we have to get
close enough to blow it with plastic explosive demolition charges. I dont want the antenna left in any shape that would allow the
Iraqis to re-erect it and re-establish comms
after weve withdrawn.
Blowing things up is our specialty, RSM,
chimes in Dick, a former boxer from Manchester. Any idea how were supposed to get
close enough to do that?
COURSE OF ACTION ONE:
ATTACK ON FOOT
Our first possible course of action is to
go in on foot, capitalizing on stealth. We
park the vehicles about two kilometers from
the outer perimeter fence and leave four men
40

ARMCHAIR GENERAL

BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN

on guard there. We infiltrate through both

lines of fences in three groups two will set
up interlocking bases of fire to the southeast
and southwest of the compound, while the
third moves to the main building and plants
the demolition charges on the antenna.
Once the charges are set, we exfiltrate the
same way we went in and then rendezvous
with the vehicles and haul ass.
RSM, interrupts Gunner, a former
Royal artilleryman who joined the SAS for
the action, this sneaky-Pete stuff is all well
and good, but if we go in on foot, we leave
our heaviest weapons behind on the Rovers.
I dont fancy giving up all that firepower.
Well, you continue, our scouts didnt
see anything in the compound that might necessitate overwhelming firepower, but listen
to this next course of action.
COURSE OF ACTION TWO:
TWO-PRONG MOUNTED ATTACK
Our second choice relies on speed, not
stealth. We go in while mounted, splitting
the Rovers into two three-vehicle groups
one heavy with the M-2, M-19 and Milan
as a base of fire; and one light in the GPMG
Rovers. We bust through the fences, with the
heavy group coming in from the west and
setting up a base of fire, and the light group
moving in from the east and going to the
main building. The demo team in the light
group wires the antenna for destruction,
while the heavy group covers them. When
the charges are set, we all drive out the same
way we drove in.
I dont know, RSM, Taff interjects.
Wed be announcing our presence right
from the start of the attack. That would immediately alert the Iraqis, and with only
one base of fire, we might not succeed in
keeping the garrisons heads down. I prefer
the stealth approach in your first course of
action.
Dont take a vote just yet, you reply.Listen to the third option.

groups two for fire support and one to carry the demo team. The two fire support
groups, which include the M-2, M-19 and
Milan Rovers plus one of the GPMG Rovers,
will assault the compound via the road one
from the north and one from the south. The
third group, comprising two GPMG Rovers
with the demo team aboard, moves in from
the east and heads directly for the main
building. Once the demo team sets the
charges, that group moves out, covered by
the two fire support groups. The latter will
withdraw when the demo lads clear the exterior fence on their way out.
Well, Dick muses, Im not sure if that
plan will confuse the Iraqis, but it sure as
hell confuses me.
We all know you are easily confused,
Dick, Gunner quips. No need to state the
obvious for our benefit, lad.
Dick shoots him a dagger-like glance, but
continues, What I mean is, why make this
overly complicated? Three groups, two of
which are meant to be firing for all theyre
worth? And all three are supposed to hit the
compound at the exact same time? Sounds
too bloody convoluted for my tastes. I like
the second plan best drive in, kill all the
buggers, blow up their bloody antenna and
then get the hell out!
With that, all eyes turn to you. Taff then
asks, Well, RSM, how do you want to do
this?
Regimental Sergeant Major Tompkins,
what are your orders?
Andrew Hershey, PhD, designs World War II
tactical-level wargames for Heat of Battle Games.
He contributes regularly to the TDG section of the
USMC Gazette and is a three-time winner of its
design contests.

COURSE OF ACTION THREE:

THREE-PRONG MOUNTED ATTACK
The third course of action is to attack
the compound while mounted, striking
from three different directions at once. This
will confuse and disorient the Iraqis, and
their defense will fragment. In this plan, we
divide the Rovers into three two-vehicle

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