fardh al-qanoon rules 1.0

8/2/2019 Fardh Al-Qanoon Rules 1.0

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Page 2 Fardh al-Qanoon (1.0

Introduction

A. IntroductionFardh al-Qanoon is a simulation o the 2007 coun-

terinsurgency operation in Baghdad, also reerred to

as the Baghdad Security Plan. The simulation takes

place rom February 2007 to November 2007 in

month-long turns as the US-led Coalition and MahdiArmy vie or control o the Iraqi capital.

Players & Objecives

One player represents the Coalition, and another

the Shia Mahdi Army. The Sunnis o Baghdad are

represented in a non-player action that aects the

game.

The Coalitions goal is to secure control o Baghdads

districts and Sunni neighborhoods by November

2007 while minimizing casualties and violence. The

Mahdi Armys goal is to maintain a strong presence

in Baghdad and prevent the Coalition rom securing

the city.

B. How does the game work?

Basic Sequence o Play

Manpower Phase

During the Manpower Phase, the Coalition assigns

units to districts and the Mahdi Army moves Militias.

Sunni Acion Phase

The Sunni actions actions are determined,

Baghdad Phase

The Coalition has an opportunity to reassign units,

the Mahdi Army activates Militias, and players have

the opportunity to engage in combat.

Rese Phase

Changes are determined beore the next round.

ConcepsInelligence

1. Intelligence enables the Coalition to seek out

Militia units hidden amongst the population and

to reassign units in districts during the Baghdad

Phase.

Mahdi Will

2. Will represents the Mahdi Armys ability to con-

trol the Shia Militias operating in Baghdad. The

Mahdi Army requires Will to raise new Militias

and to activate ones that become dispersed.

Secured vs. Unsecured3. Districts and Sunni neighborhood spaces are by

deault Unsecured areas.

4. An area is Secured as soon as the Coalition

meets its the Manpower Requirement and there

are no Active Militias present.

5. An area becomes unsecured immediately once

the Manpower requirement is no longer met or

there are Active Militia units present.

6. Securing a district does not secure Sunni neigh-

borhood spaces within the district. They must be

secured separately.

C. Components

Map

Uni Pools

1. The Coalition unit pool (labeled Coalition FOBs

on the top-let o the map holds units stationed

in large, secure Forward Operating Bases and

not deployed amongst the population.

2. The Mahdi Army unit pool on the top-right o

the map holds unused Militia units that can

be recruited by the Mahdi Army during the

Baghdad Phase.

Disrics

3. The city o Baghdad is divided into 9 named

districts. Each district has a Manpower Require-

ment, a Mahdi Stacking Limit, and a Develop-

ment space, while some districts have one ormore Sunni Neighborhood spaces.

5

MANSOUR 6

Mahdi Stacking LimitManpower

RequirementDistrict Name


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A counter-insurgency simulation by Robert Hossal Page 3

Components

The Green Zone serves as Karkh districts Devel-opment space.

4. Units can be placed in a district or on a Develop-

ment or Sunni space within the district.

5. Thick white lines between

districts along the Tigris River

represent bridge connections.

Sunni neighborhoods

6. Sunni neighborhoods are a distinct area

within a district that require separate orces to

protect. Each Sunni neighborhood has a Man-

power Requirement.

Neighborhoods can

either be in a normal,

Attacked, or Cleared

state.

7. They are considered Attacked ater the rst

successul attack by a Mahdi Army Militia. In At-

tacked state, neighborhoods can be returned to

normal by the Coalition during the Reset Phase.

8. I Sunni neighborhoods are successully attacked

again beore the Coalition returns them to nor-

mal, they become Cleared, which is irreversible

and hurts the Coalitions victory score. Cleared

neighborhoods cannot be secured.

Dice

9. The game is played with two six-sided dice.

Couners10. The game uses a total o 65 counters: Mahdi

Army Militia (14), Coalition BCT (5), Coalition

Battalion (15), Joint Security Station (9), Violence

marker (10), Attacked marker (7), Month (1),

Mahdi Will (1), Relations (1), Coalition Casualties

(1), and Intelligence (1).

11. Violence counters are placed in districts and

Sunni neighborhoods at various points in the

game. The counter can be ipped over to its 2x

Violence state to represent two incidents oviolence or convenience, rather than using two

counters on the yellow Violence side.

Coaliion unis

Comba

12. The Coalitions combat units are Battalions

and BCTs (Brigade Combat Teams). Each has a

Manpower value: 1 or Battalions and 3 or BCTs.

Join Securiy Saions (JSS)

13. Joint Security Station counters have two sides:2x and 3x. When rst built, JSS counters are

placed on the 2x side, which multiplies all

Coalition Manpower points in the district they

are in (including in Sunni neighborhoods within

the district) by 2 , while the 3x side multiplies

Manpower points by 3.

14. There can never be more than one JSS counter

DispersedActive

JSS2x

Battalion

1

BCT

3

2x and 3x sides of a

Joint Security Station

Active and Dispersed

states of a Militia

A Coalition Brigade

Combat Team (BCT)

A Coalition Battalion

JSS

3x

Violence 2xViolence

Will

ClearedAttacke

d

CAS

INTEL

Violence

Attacked

Relations

Intel

CoalitionCasualties

Relations

Mahdi Will

Month

front/back

Game Counters Unit Counters

5

Manpower Requirement

A Development space


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Game Setup

in a district.

Mahdi Army unis

15. The Mahdi Armys units are Militias, which can

be in two states: Active and Dispersed.

16. Active Militias can attack and are vulnerable to

attack by the enemy. These represent groups omen who are actively bearing arms and ready to

ght.

17. Dispersed Militias are hidden among the popu-

lation and represent the latent ability to quickly

organize armed men or combat. Dispersed

Militias are normally sae rom attack, but Intel-

ligence enables the Coalition to raid them.

D. Game Setup

Coaliion Reinorcemens

1. Place the ollowing Coalition units next to the

indicated space on the Month track. When that

months turn begins, place the unit in the Coali-

tion FOBs space.

March: 1 BCT, 1 Battalion

April: 1 BCT, 1 Battalion

May: 1 Battalion

June: 1 BattalionIniial Couner Posiions

2. Omnitrack: 0 Casualties, 3 Intel, 6 Will.

3. Place the Month counter on the February space

o the Month track and the Relations counter on

the -2 space o the Coalition-Sunni Relations

track.

4. Violence counters: 2x Violence in Rusaa,

Violence in Adhimiyah.

5. Mahdi Army: 1 Active Militia in Adhimiyah andSadr City; 2 Dispersed Militias in New Baghdad, 1

Dispersed Militia in Karadah and Rashid.

Oher couners

6. Place all remaining Coalition units in the Coali-

tion FOBs space and all remaining Militias in the

Mahdi Unit Pool. Violence counters and Attacked

counters are placed aside until needed.

E. Manpower PhaseCoaliion

1. The Coalition may move or place any o its units

in the 9 districts or Coalition FOBs space.

2. Units may only be placed on Developmentspaces in Secured districts (reer to Section

B-4). I a district becomes Unsecured during the

round, units on the Development space are not

moved o.

Mahdi Army

3. The Mahdi Army may move each Active

Militia unit either into an unsecured Sunni

neighborhood in the same district, an adjacent

unsecured district (districts across the Tigris river

connected by a bridge are considered adjacent),or an unsecured Sunni neighborhood in an

adjacent unsecured district. Militias may never

be placed in Development spaces.

Militias that have been moved may be rotated

90 degrees on the map to indicate they cannot

move again this round.

4. Dispersed Militias may be moved in the same

manner except it costs 1 Will per unit and they

can move into secure areas.

5. At no point in the game can the number oMilitias in a district exceed the Mahdi Stacking

Limit.

F. Sunni Action Phase1. Sunni action actions are determined by rolling

or the number o events, type o events, and

targets i necessary.

Number o evens

2. Roll one die and subtract 1 or each Sunnineighborhood that has a Cleared counter on it.

The modied result determines the number o

Sunni Actions according to Table 1. I no actions

occur, move on to the Baghdad Phase. Other-

wise, complete the next step or each individual

event.


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Baghdad Phase

Type o even

3. Roll two dice and add the Coalition-Sunni

Relations modier (the number on the currently-

occupied space on the Coalition-Sunni Relations

track). The result determines the type o action

according to Table 2.

Terroris Atack

4. Roll or target.

5. I the targeted district is unsecured, place two

Violence counters in it. Otherwise, the terrorist

attack ails.

Sunni Violence

6. Roll or target.

7. I the targeted district is unsecured, place a

Violence counter in it. Otherwise, SunniViolence ails.

Cooperae wih Coaliion

8. The Coalition gains 1 point o Intelligence.

Sunni Awakening

9. An Attacked counter can be removed rom

a Sunni neighborhood space, or the Coalition

gains 1 point o Intelligence i no Attacked

counters are on the board.

Even arge10. I the event requires a target, roll two dice to

determine where the action takes place accord-

ing to Table 3.

G. Baghdad Phase

Coaliion reassignmen

1. The Coalition can spend 1 point o Intelligence

per unit to move a unit in a district into or out o

a Sunni neighborhood or Development space.Any number o units in any districts may be

moved within the same district.

2. The Coalition can spend 1 point o Intelligence

per unit to move a unit rom the Coalition FOBs

space into a district or Sunni neighborhood. Up

to 2 units may be moved rom the FOBs space.

Mahdi Acivaion

3. The Mahdi Army may spend 1 Will per unit to ip

a Dispersed Militia in an unsecured area over to

its Active state.

There is no Will cost i there is an incident o

violence in the same district. (Since Sunni neigh-borhoods are considered part o the district they

are in, Dispersed Militias in unsecured Sunni

neighborhoods can be activated or ree i there

is an incident o violence in the district but not

the Sunni neighborhood.)

4. To activate a Dispersed Militia in a secured area,

the Mahdi Army must spend 2 Will and roll a

die (add 1 or each incident o violence in the

district). I the modied result is 1, the Dispersed

Militia is returned to the Mahdi Unit Pool. I

it is at least 5, it becomes Active, otherwise it

remains Dispersed.

Iniiae atacks

5. The Mahdi Army and Coalition can choose to

initiate attacks in districts and Sunni neighbor-

hoods. Players alternate initiating attacks, and

each player can continue to do so until he or she

has no more units available to attack or does

not wish to. The Mahdi Army has the option o

initiating an attack rst.6. I a player has the ability to initiate an attack but

declines, he or she can still choose to initiate

an attack ater the other player does so. I both

players consecutively decline to attack, move on

to Mahdi Recruitment.

7. A player can use his units in attacks initiated

by himsel once per round. Once used, rotate

the unit counters 180 degrees on the map to

indicate they may not participate in combat

initiated by the player again this round. Theseunits can still be used in combat initiated by the

enemy.

Mahdi-iniiaed atacks

8. The Mahdi Army can use Active Militias to attack

Sunni neighborhoods or Coalition units in the

same district or Sunni neighborhood. Attacking

the Coalition results in combat (see Section I to


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Reset Phase

resolve).

Atacking Sunni neighborhoods

9. Sunni neighborhood spaces that do not have a

Cleared counter can be attacked i at least one

Active Militia is present. Each neighborhood can

be attacked once per round.10. I there are no Coalition units present or the Co-

alition chooses not to deend the neighborhood,

roll one die and add 1 or every Militia (Active or

Dispersed) in the space. I the modied result is

greater than or equal to the spaces Manpower

Requirement, the attack succeeds.

I the attack ails, the Active Militias become

Dispersed and move rom the neighborhood

space to the district.

11. I a Sunni neighborhood space has Coalitionunits present and they choose to deend the

neighborhood, the Mahdi Army must engage in

combat with them rst. Ater resolving combat

according to Section I, an attack on the Sunni

neighborhood space succeeds i the Mahdi

Army is not orced out.

12. I the attack succeeds, the Mahdi Army im-

mediately receives as many points o Will as the

neighborhoods Manpower Requirement and

the Sunni Relations counter is moved back onespace (two spaces i there was no Coalition pres-

ence or the Coalition chose not to ght). Place

a Violence counter and an Attacked counter

on the Sunni space. I an Attacked counter is

already present, ip it over to the Cleared side.

Coaliion-iniiaed atacks

13. Coalition units can attack Active Militia units in

the same district or Sunni neighborhood space.

14. To attack Dispersed Militias (a raid), the Coali-

tion must spend 1 Intelligence per DispersedMilitia present in the area o combat (even i the

Mahdi Army does not use all o its available units

in combat). When a Dispersed Militia is attacked,

all Militia units in the same area may participate

in combat as i they were Active.

When initiating a raid, place a Violence counter

in the area o combat.

15. The Mahdi Army gains a point o Will each time

the Coalition initiates an attack against it.

Mahdi Recruimen

16. The Mahdi Army may take a Militia unit rom

the Mahdi Unit Pool and place it in Sadr City

or a district that has at least one incident oViolence (this includes an incident o violence

in a Sunni neighborhood within the district). It

costs 2 Will to place a Militia, either in Active or

Dispersed state.

17. Up to two new Militia units may be raised in

each eligible district.

18. Active Militias may only be placed in unsecured

districts, while Dispersed Militias may be placed

in secure districts as well. New Militias can never

be placed in Sunni neighborhoods.19. No Recruitment occurs in the November round.

H. Reset Phase

Mahdi Will

1. The Mahdi Army receives 3 points o Will plus 1

point o Will or every incident o Violence on

the map.

Coaliion Inelligence & Developmen

2. The Coalition gains 1 point o Intelligence or

every 2 Manpower points (beore Joint Security

Station multipliers) occupying a secure Sunni

neighborhood or a Development space in a

secure district.

Intel is not gained or occupying a Cleared

Sunni neighborhood.

3. Instead o gaining an Intelligence point or

occupying a Development space in a district, the

Coalition can remove an Attacked counter roma Sunni neighborhood in the district. Cleared

counters may never be removed or ipped to

the Attacked state. Note that this applies or

occupying a Development space only, nota

Sunni neighborhood.

Building a Join Securiy Saion

4. I the Coalition has met the Manpower


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Combat

Requirement o a district, a Joint Security Sta-

tion counter can be placed in it on its 2x side. I

a 2x JSS counter is already present, ip it to its

3x side.

Note that a Joint Security Station can be built

even i there are Active Militia present, so long as

the Manpower Requirement is met.

Remove couners

5. Remove all Violence counters rom districts and

Sunni neighborhoods.

6. The Mahdi Army can choose to return any

number o deployed Militia units to its Unit

Pool and ip any Active Militias over to their

Dispersed state.

Mahdi Atriion

7. I the number o Active Militias is greater than

the Mahdi Armys current Will, Active Militias

must be placed in Dispersed state until the

numbers are equal. The Mahdi Army may choose

which Active Militias become Dispersed.

8. The Mahdi Army rolls a die. I the result is at least

3, a Dispersed Militia in the city (i available)

must be returned to the Mahdi Unit Pool. 1 point

o Will can be spent to prevent returning the

Dispersed Militia.

Nex round

9. I the November round was just completed

or Coalition Casualties are at least 15, the

game ends and victory should be determined.

Otherwise, advance the Month counter one

space, turn any rotated units back to the proper

position, place any Coalition reinorcements in

the Coalition FOBs space, and begin the next

round.

I. CombatResolving comba

1. Combat can only occur between Coalition

units and Active Militias in the same district or

Sunni neighborhood space. The only exception

is when the Coalition is attacking a Dispersed

Militia (a raid), in which case Dispersed Militias

can participate in combat as well.

2. The Coalition rst chooses its units to be used in

combat, then the Mahdi Army chooses its units.

3. Add up the total number o Coalition Manpower

points (taking Joint Security Station multipliers

into account) and total number o Militias in-volved in combat, then consult the appropriate

box on the Combat Results Table.

4. The rst number on the Combat Results Table

represents the minimum roll on one die required

or all o the Mahdi Armys Active Militias (or all

Militias, i the attack is a raid) to be orced out

o the area o combat.

Active Militias orced out o a district must

retreat to an adjacent unsecured district in

Dispersed state, or return to the Mahdi UnitPool i they cannot. Units cannot retreat into

an unsecured district i they would exceed the

Mahdi Stacking Limit.

Militias orced out o a Sunni neighborhood and

Dispersed Militias orced out o an area ater a

raid return to the Mahdi Unit Pool.

5. The second number on the Combat Results

Table represents the minimum roll on one die

required or a Coalition Casualty to be incurred.

6. A dash () on the Combat Results Table indi-cates no possibility.

7. The Mahdi Army player rolls the die to deter-

mine i his Militias are orced out, while the

Coalition player rolls the die to determine i he

incurs a Casualty point.

ManpowerPoints

Number of MilitiasCombatResults

2/51/61/1/ 3/4

2/52/61/61/ 4/4

3/43/52/61/6 5/3

5/34/43/61/6 6/2

6/35/44/52/6 6/2

/26/35/42/5 /11-2

3-5

6-8

9-11

12-14

>14

4321> 4

2/6

Minimum roll to orce Militias

out o area o combat Minimum roll or 1

Coalition Casualty


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Victory

Special rules

8. The ollowing modiers apply ater taking Joint

Security Station multipliers into account:

For combat taking place in Sadr City, shit up

1 row on the Combat Results Table or the

required dice rolls.During a raid combat, the Coalition gains a +3

Manpower modier.

J. Victory1. There are three possible results: Coalition Vic-

tory, Qualied Coalition Victory, and Mahdi Army

Victory.

Deermining he resul

2. The Coalition receives 4 Victory Points or everysecured district and 1 point or every Sunni

neighborhood that has not been Cleared. It

loses 1 point i at least 2 Sunni neighborhoods

have been Cleared.

3. The Mahdi Army receives as many points o Will

as there are Coalition Casualties.

4. Subtract the Mahdi Armys total Will rom the

Coalitions Victory Points to determine the Net

Score.

Coaliion Vicory

5. I the Coalition has at least 35 Victory Points

and the Net Score is at least 20, it achieves a ull

victory.

Baghdad is secured and the Mahdi Army has

been sufciently weakened to allow the Coali-

tions control over the city to last. The population

is condent that their saety and security is best

assured by the government.

Qualifed Coaliion Vicory6. I the Coalition has at least 35 Victory Points but

the Net Score is less than 20, it achieves a quali-

ed victory.

The city is secured, but the Mahdi Army retains

its strength and inuence. The immediate mis-

sion has been achieved, but the population is

unsure o its long-term prospects.

Mahdi Army Vicory

7. I the Coalition has ewer than 35 points Victory

Points, the Mahdi Army achieves victory.

Despite its progress, the Coalition has ailed

to secure sufcient control o the city and the

Mahdi Army remains an important player inBaghdad. The population does not eel that the

government can adequately protect it rom

violence.

K. Example of PlayThe example of play covers the February round, and

some of the March Manpower Phase.

The game begins in February with the Manpower

Phase. The Coalition has 3 BCTs and 11 Battalions

to place, or a total o 20 Manpower Points. The rstpriority is to establish Joint Security Stations so that

securing districts and Sunni neighborhoods will

be easier. Since Mansour has two Sunni neighbor-

hoods, the Coalition moves to secure it rst and

places a BCT and 3 Battalions in the district. Since

there are no Active Militias there, Mansour is now

Secured.

Karkh district only requires 4 Manpower to secure,

so the Coalition places a BCT and Battalion there

as well. Another BCT and 3 Battalions are placedin Karadah, while the remaining 4 Battalions

are placed in the Sunni neighborhood space in

Adhimiyah, which is vulnerable to attack by 2 Active

Militias.

The Mahdi Army moves the Active Militia rom Sadr

City to the unsecured Sunni space in unsecured

New Baghdad, where it is guaranteed a successul

attack. The Dispersed Militias in Rashid and Karadah

are both moved to the Sunni space in Rashid (at a

total cost o 2 Will), which oers a more attractiveand rewarding target than the Sunni space in

Karadah.

The Manpower phase is over and the Sunni Action

Phase begins. A 4 is rolled, which Table 1 indicates

is 2 Sunni actions. Two dice are rolled or the rst

event, summing up to 6. Because the Relations

Counter is at the -2 position, the modied result is

4, which Table 2 indicates is a Terrorist Attack. Two


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Example of Play

dice are rolled or a target, giving the result o 5:

Kadhimiyah. The Coalition has not secured it yet, so

a Violence counter is placed in the district on its

2x side to represent the attack and the atermath

reprisal violence. The second Sunni event roll results

in 9; with the -2 Relations modier it is 7, which

Table 2 indicates as Nothing happens.

With all Sunni actions resolved, the Baghdad Phase

begins with Coalition Reassignment. Because the

Coalition secured the Sunni space in Adhimiyah, the

Mahdi Armys Active Militia in the district could not

move in. The Coalition could spend Intelligence to

move some units out o the Sunni space so that they

could attack the Active Militia, but the Coalition opts

to ocus on security rather than combat.

The Coalition does not reassign any units, so Mahdi

Activation begins. The Mahdi Army spends 2 Will toactivate the 2 Dispersed Militias in Rashids Sunni

space, enabling them to attack later in the phase.

Opting not to activate any other Dispersed Militias,

the Mahdi Army moves on to initiate attacks. Each

player alternates initiating an attack, beginning with

the Mahdi Army, who decides to start with an easy

target: the New Baghdad Sunni space.

A successul attack requires rolling the Sunni spaces

Manpower Requirement or higher on one die. A +1

modier is added or each Militia taking part in theattack, so even on a roll o 1, the Mahdi Armys result

would meet the Sunni spaces Manpower Require-

ment value o 2. An Attacked and Violence

counter are placed on the Sunni space, and 2 Will is

added on the Omnitrack. Because the Coalition did

not even have a presence in the space, the Relations

counter would be moved back 2 spaces, although

in this case it can only move back 1 space beore

reaching its lowest level.

The Coalition would have the option o initiating

an attack now, but none o its units are in the same

area as a Mahdi Militia, so the initiative returns to

the Mahdi Army, who chooses to attempt an attack

in Rashids Sunni space using both its Active Militias.

The Mahdi Army rolls a 2, but has a +1 modier or

each Active Militia, giving a modied result o 4,

which just meets the spaces Manpower Require-

ment value. The attack succeeds, and an Attacked

counter and Violence counter are placed in the

space while the Mahdi Army gains 4 Will (or a

current total o 8). The Relations counter cannot be

moved and urther back than it already is.

Once again, the Coalition has nowhere it can initiate

an attack, and neither does the Mahdi Army. Since

the two players attacks are skipped consecutively,

play moves on to Mahdi Recruitment. The presence

o Violence counters allows the Mahdi Army to

raise new Militias in Adhimiyah, Kadhimiyah, New

Baghdad, Rusaa, and Rashid (in addition to Sadr

City, where Militias can always be raised). The Mahdi

Army decides to raise 2 Militias in Rashid, one each

in Active and Dispersed states, or a total cost o

4 Will. This placement allows the Mahdi Army to

go or a second attack against the Sunni space in

Rashid next month, permanently clearing it. TheDispersed Militia gives the option o sneaking into

Sunni spaces in Mansour or Karadah, orcing the

Coalition to spend its manpower securing the Sunni

population.

The Mahdi Army has 4 Will let, but expects to gain

10 during the Reset Phase, so he raises 2 more Dis-

persed Militias in Kadhimiyah, giving him the option

o sneaking into Sunni spaces in Adhimiyah, Karkh,

or Mansour. With Recruitment over, the Reset Phase

begins. The Mahdi Army receives 3 points o Will as

always, plus 7 additional points or the 7 incidents o

Violence represented on the map. While the Mahdi

Army is gaining a lot o Will at this early stage o

the game, it has to be careul about spending it too

quickly, as it will have ewer chances to gain Will

later as the Coalition increases its control o the city.

Maintaining a reserve o Will allows the Mahdi Army

to attempt to shatter the security established by the

Coalition late in the game.

The Coalition gains no Intelligence since its units are

not occupying any Development spaces, and the 4Manpower points in Adhimiyahs Sunni space do not

generate the 2 points o Intelligence they normally

would because the district is not secured. Since the

Manpower Requirements o Mansour, Karkh, and

Karadah have all been met (regardless o whether

they are secured or not), Joint Security Stations can

be built in each. JSS counters are placed on their


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Game Tips

2x side.

All Violence counters are removed rom the map.

The Mahdi Army does not choose to remove any

Militias or switch any Active Militias into Dispersed

state. The Mahdi Armys 10 points o Will allow it

to have up to 10 Active Militia on the board, and

it only has 5, so no Active Militias are orced to be

Dispersed. Lastly, the Mahdi Army rolls a die or

attrition, resulting in a 4. A Dispersed Militia must

be returned to the Mahdi Unit Pool, but the Mahdi

Army opts to pay 1 Will to avoid that.

The Month counter is advanced to March, and the

Coalitions 1 BCT and 1 Battalion reinorcements are

added to the Coalition FOBs space. The Manpower

Phase begins with the Coalition once more.

With its 2x Manpower multipliers granted by JSS

counters in Mansour, Karkh, and Karadah, the Coali-

tion can aord to move units while still keeping the

districts secure. It decides to secure Rashid next,

which has a Manpower Requirement o 8. BCTs rom

Mansour and Karadah and the BCT reinorcement

in the FOBs space are moved to Rashid, establishing

9 points o Manpower. The district is not secure,

however, because an Active Militia is present. I that

Militia were not there, the district would be secure

even though there are two Active Militias in the

Sunni space, since they are only operating in theSunni neighborhood.

An example o comba

For this example, there are two Active Militia, 1 BCT,

and 3 Battalions in Karadah with no JSS counter.

The Coalition has the initiative and decides to

attack. The Mahdi Army gains 1 point o Will every

time the Coalition initiates combat against it.

Since the Coalition chooses its units rst, it decides

to use all o its available units as part o the attack,which means it wont be able to launch another

attack in Karadah or the rest o the round. Its total

Manpower is 6. I the Mahdi Army committed 1

Active Militia to the ght, the Coalition would have

a guaranteed chance o ejecting all Active Militias

rom the district with its minimum required roll o

1, so there is no point in not choosing to use both

units.

The appropriate box on the Combat Results Table

is consulted, with required minimum rolls o 3 and

6 to eject the Mahdi Army and inict a Coalition

Casualty, respectively. The Mahdi Army rolls or the

rst number, resulting in a 4. The Coalition rolls or

the second, resulting in a 6. Both Active Militias

must become Dispersed and move into an adjacentunsecured district without exceeding the Mahdi

Stacking Limit, or else return to the Unit Pool, but

the Mahdi Army at least inicted a point o Casualty

upon the Coalition, which contributes to their end

game score.

L. Game Tips

Coaliion

The game is generally chaotic in the rst ewmonths and then ollowed by shorter, less combat-

oriented rounds near the end. The Coalition must

decide on a balance between using its resources to

ght the Mahdi Army, protect Sunnis rom sectarian

violence, and establish security in general. Focusing

on the Mahdi Army early generally makes it more

difcult to secure districts later, since so much ocus

is put on ghting rather than patrolling, gathering

intelligence, and establishing Joint Security Stations

Ignoring the Sunni communitys needs makes

negative actions like terrorist attacks and Sunni-

initiated sectarian violence more likely. These can be

mitigated i districts are secured, but it also means

positive developments like Sunni cooperation with

the Coalition are less likely to occur, and suppres-

sion o the Sunni community means ewer possible

actions during the Sunni phase.

The Coalition must establish as many Joint Security

Stations as early as it can, since the orce multiplier

eect allows it to use its orces more eectively.

Without JSS counters, the Coalition has a total o 30Manpower points by June; ully-developed 3x JSS

counters make that worth 90 points.

Ater building several Joint Security Stations, the

Coalition has the exibility to go on oensive

operations and clear Militias out o the districts it

seeks to secure. Raiding Dispersed Militias returns

them to the Mahdi Unit Pool, but Intelligence is hard


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Game Tips

to gather in the rst ew rounds o the game. Near

the middle and end, the Coalition can gather sub-

stantial amounts o Intelligence and easily raid any

Dispersed Militias that attempt to inltrate secured

areas and break district security.

Successully attacking Active Militias results in

them retreating to adjacent unsecured districts in

Dispersed state, which is important to keep in mind

as you get into oensive operations. Clearing a

district without securing adjacent areas rst gives

the Mahdi Army the opportunity to sneak into your

assumed sae areas.

As the game progresses, the Mahdi Army will ideally

be orced back into Adhimiyah or New Baghdad,

and then Sadr City. While it is possible to win

without securing Sadr City, not doing so will make

the margin o victory much thinner. On the otherhand, combat is more difcult in Sadr City, and it

is possible to suer severe casualties i the Mahdi

Army resists.

In terms o combat, large engagements are always

worse or the Coalition. Casualties become ar

more likely with each additional Militia involved

in combat, so it is always preerable to keep the

Mahdi Army spread out until the end o the game,

where they will hopeully be holed up in Sadr City or

another Shia-heavy area.Mahdi Army

The Coalitions lack o momentum makes the early

months o the operation crucial or the Mahdi Army.

There are basically two choices or a Mahdi player:

strive or ull victory (a difcult task), or settle or

denying the Coalition a ull victory.

For the rst ew months, the Mahdi Army has the

opportunity to attack and clear Sunni neighbor-

hoods, establishing a large reserve o Will and

hurting the Coalitions endgame score. Losing

Militias may seem trivial at rst given the large

amount o Will, but it is important to preserve some

capacity or the latter part o the game.

As the Coalition spreads throughout the city and

establishes Joint Security Stations, it will become

harder and harder to move units and raise new

Militias. Violence will decrease, meaning less new

Will generated or the Mahdi Army. Knowing when

to abandon a district is important, as is exploiting

opportunities to distract the Coalition by inltrating

secure areas with Dispersed Militias.

At some point, which may come at a dierent time

in every game, the Mahdi Army will have to choose

what endgame scenario to pursue: Mahdi victory

or denying the Coalition ull victory. Deciding at

the right time allows you to use your resources

accordingly; risking your Will or an outright victory

will likely mean not having enough to deny the

Coalition ull victory i you ail.

Massing orces is crucial, because even i the

Coalition masses orces to match yours, combat is

more difcult or them with each additional Militia.

When acing one Militia, or example, the Coalitions

chances in combat deteriorate only slightly romhaving a 12 Manpower orce to a 2 Manpower orce.

Additional Militias severely increase the danger o

casualties and improve the Mahdi Armys chances o

remaining in an area.

The best way to avoid the endgame stalemate in

Sadr City is to dictate where the Coalition must send

its orces. Distract their attention with inltrations,

hal-hearted attacks on Sunni spaces, and moving

into seemingly-sae areas. Joint Security Stations

oer the Coalition a signicant Manpower bonus,granting them the momentum to roll back your

presence district by district. Forcing the Coalition to

respond to your presence in rear and sae districts

will stall their advance, giving you more time to

solidiy your orces or a last stand. Maintaining a

hold over just 2 districts by the end o November is

enough to snatch complete victory over the Coali-

tion.


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Page 12 Fardh al-Qanoon

Charts & Tables

Sunni Violence

Nothing happens

Cooperate withCoalition

Terrorist Attack

Sunni Awakening

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2, 3

11, 12

Karkh

Kadhimiyah

Sadr City

Adhimiyah

Rusaa

New Baghdad

Rashid

Mansour

Karadah

Table 1 Table 3

Table 2

3, 4

1, 2 1

14

4321 >4

fardh al-qanoon rules 1.0

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