Jump to content

MOUT and urban counterinsurgency (and CM)


Recommended Posts

  • 4 weeks later...

Not urban, but how about a little reelpolitik to go with your COIN?Interesting case study here, from a part of the world where I've spent time about how (counter)insurgency can be made to pay, handsomely. Dynamics by no means limited to Myanmar.

In game terms, perhaps we could mash up @MOS:96B2P 's ingenious works with Settlers of Catan to create a nice little post-SHTF warlord game, lol. Oh, so you won't trade coal for sheep eh? Let me explain Largest Army to you.... 

Strategic Violence During Democratization (For Fun and Profit)

Prior to democratization, the Myanmar military government peacefully colluded with ethnic rebel groups to split the profits from jade mining and smuggling—a sector worth roughly half of Myanmar’s GDP. But fearing that the new civilian government would assume control of jade-mining areas and the associated rents, the military has ginned up unrest in mining townships to deter the development of an alternative authority.

Shortly after 2011, the Thein Sein government announced its intention to tax the previously sheltered [Army run SOEs] UMEHL and MEC, which have substantial interests in the jade sector. At the same time, the... NLD, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, de facto prime minister) included strong language about increasing government revenues from the jade sector and cracking down on smuggling.

...Military families (commanders’ wives often serve as owners of record) and their companies made over $1 billion from their official jade sales in 2013 and 2014. This figure represents a lower bound, as most jade is smuggled out of the country, thus avoiding the heavily taxed emporiums.... more than 50 to 80 percent of jade is smuggled from Myanmar into China... less than 10 percent of total jade sales in 2011 was taxed by the central government.

The military elites not only have large stakes in major mining operations, they also run a lucrative racket in Kachin State.... military officers demand 20 percent of the value of any stone found by small-scale, artisanal miners. Moreover, the Tatmadaw receives payments from concessionaires, who both pay for soldiers to guard their compounds and distribute bribes to clear any roadblocks along their smuggling routes.

Proceeds from illegal jade exports not only benefit military elites and their cronies, but also provide an important source of income for the Kachin Independence Army (kia). The KIA, the armed wing of the KIO, consistently has been one of the largest and most active insurgent groups in Myanmar since its formation in 1961.... the group boasts membership of close to ten thousand troops and occupies territory in Kachin State as well as in northern Shan State. Funding for the KIA also comes from a variety of other sources: because it has lost control of jade-mining areas, it has relied more heavily on illegal logging and timber sales.

The military has allegedly hampered increased civilian oversight by timing attacks to disrupt visits by ministers or international observers. 

In an area still occupied by a historically rebellious ethnic army, the civilian government cannot easily discern whether violence reflects renewed separatist activity or military provocation. As such, the military can exploit unrest in this region—even of its own making—to convince an uncertain civilian government to cede authority to the generals in administering lucrative and “disputed” territory.

“Ceasefire capitalism”—the period of relative peace in Kachin State that enabled the exploitation of the region’s natural resources—enriched military elites and KIA/KIO leaders but did little to benefit the rest of the population. This generated resentment among the rank and file.... And after these lower-ranking officers seized power, they adopted a more confrontational stance vis-à-vis the Tatmadaw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, LongLeftFlank said:

Settlers of Catan to create a nice little post-SHTF warlord game,

ethnic rebel groups to split the profits from jade mining and smuggling

more than 50 to 80 percent of jade is smuggled 

pay for soldiers to guard their compounds and distribute bribes to clear any roadblocks along their smuggling routes.

Proceeds from illegal jade exports .........................provide an important source of income for the Kachin Independence Army (kia).

Funding for the KIA also comes from a variety of other sources

The military has allegedly hampered increased civilian oversight by timing attacks to disrupt visits by ministers or international observers. 

“Ceasefire capitalism”

Thanks for the PDF file.  Interesting stuff. 

On a very large wooded/jungle map, something like the TOC map.  Supply trucks (representing valuable natural resources) appear as reinforcements in certain villages, across the map.  These villages produce / gather the resource.  Said trucks would appear up to seven times (7 reinforcement groups) in the appropriate villages.  Each truck could be a RedFor destroy unit objective worth Victory Points.  Different types of resources worth different VPs.  Example: Jade truck worth 25VPs lumber worth 10VPs.  The more valuable the resource / village the better guarded by OpFor. 

The player starts with a small insurgent force at a base camp in the woods / jungle.  His goal is to control the province by controlling all the villages that produce the valuable resources.  He captures his first small village and the BluFor supply trucks in the village.  As long as he holds the village he will gain future supply trucks on future reinforcement turns.  Since the trucks are destroy unit objectives he must smuggle them across the border (evading government, troops & rival war lords) to an exit zone across said border.

Some of the bigger more valuable villages contain a trigger that would release additional forces to the player's control.  These forces would become available across the border in the neighboring country.  They would represent (reward) the player's military success (if he succeeds) in controlling the villages.  As the player commands a bigger force he is able to go after bigger villages until he is warlord of the province.  Throw in triggers, timers, AI groups etc........... Maybe spies used as refugees that must be dealt with......., maybe a modern Canadian led UN force in the area ............... :D  :lol:.       

         

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 8 months later...

OT, but our old friend JasonC got completely owned last month on BGG by one Electric Joe, another Supah Genius© (ex USN staff officer) with the same disdainful and assertion-dense posting style. Jason weaved and shifted the goalposts for a while but eventually gave up. Hoist on his own petard.

It's a what-if discussion regarding a Japanese invasion of Hawaii (after US carriers are sunk at Pearl).

*Please* don't start discussing that topic here though (go over there), this is just flagged for nostalgic amusement, as so many of us here have been stomped on harshly by Jason over the last 20 years. That said, I've learned a lot from him and still follow him quietly on BGG.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2325042/gaming-strategic-effects-catching-carriers-pearl/page/3

'Japan versus the U.S. in late 1941 is the geo-strategic equivalent of an episode of "Jackass."' Lol! The snark king is dead, long live the snark!

Edited by LongLeftFlank
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 years later...

Interesting overview of key dynamics in MOUT. Could easily be expanded into a book.

https://mwi.usma.edu/defending-the-city-an-overview-of-defensive-tactics-from-the-modern-history-of-urban-warfare/

The density, construction, and complexity of man-made physical terrain in urban areas allows soldiers to rapidly use or shape the environment to further strengthen a defense plan. These plans should seek to break apart an attacking formation, separate mounted from dismounted forces, limit the attacker’s ability to maneuver, degrade military technologies like intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and aerial strike capabilities, maximize surprise, and either defeat the attackers in detail or buy time for other tactical, operational, and strategic actions.

  • Building Strongpoints
  • Rubbling Buildings
  • Concrete Barriers
  • Interior Building Heavy Weapon Systems Positions
  • Wood, Tin, Tarpaulins or Cloth Sheet Coverings
  • Caches
  • Rapidly Emplaced Hasty Obstacles
  • Hit-and-Run, Antiarmor Ambushes
  • Snipers
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm sure this is linked somewhere earlier in this old thread, but in case it's not a short bit of bedtime reading from 1998 😆:

https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/MCWP 3-35.3.pdf

Includes some interesting comments at the end on Russian performance in places like Chechnya, some of which (like logistics) echo more recent performance.

Apologies if I'm repeating earlier stuff...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...