Ramadi (Iraq) - WIP map 50% complete

[LongLeftFlank]

For those who are interested, below are a couple of screenies from my work-in-progress map of central Ramadi, capital of Anbar Province, Iraq. This city of 400,000 is tucked between the Euphrates and the Habbaniyah canal and lies along the main highway (Rte 10) and railway to Syria.

From 2004-2007, the Anbar Government Center, held by a reinforced company of Marines (2/4, 2/5, 1/5, 3/7 and 3/8 Marines), was besieged continuously by a mix of well-armed Al Qaeda Iraq (Zarqawi, AQIZ) and local Sunni fighters, backed (at first) by local tribal sheikhs and therefore by the populace.

Marine commanders in Anbar were instructed to avoid another Fallujah offensive (clearing that city but largely destroying it). However, they were also determined to actively contest insurgent control of what the latter had proclaimed capital of the "Islamic State of Iraq". This was to be done from the outside in: (1) controlling entry points (2) establishing a web of defensible "combat outposts" (COPs) within the city proper (3) sweeping adjoining neighborhoods for insurgents (4) persuading tribal leaders to go on the government payroll and turn on their fanatical and brutal Al Qaeda allies. While long in doubt, this strategy eventually worked.

In the intervening 3-1/2 years though, the people of Ramadi payed a terrible price, caught between AQIZ's indiscriminate bombings and executions of suspected "apostates" and US and Iraqi Army (IA) forces saturating threat zones with firepower to minimize their own casualties. Over time, some neighborhoods in hot zones sustained Fallujah-scale damage to buildings and infrastructure (although other areas remained largely unscathed).

Marines on the heavily sandbagged rooftops of the GC and other COPs endured nonstop harassing fire, day and night. US patrols sweeping nearby houses for insurgents and weapons invariably took fire from snipers, ambushes and IEDs (many of the latter planted by unemployed locals, paid US$30 a "pop").

As elsewhere in Iraq, the most hazardous missions of all were the "Dagger runs" of troops and supplies up and down the city's main boulevard, Route 10 (MSR Michigan). IEDs, sometimes coordinated with an ambush of the victim and/or the quick reaction forces, became the number one source of Coalition casualties. While "soft" vehicles were progressively uparmoured, even heavy tanks and IFVs were not immune and several were destroyed.

[ June 15, 2008, 04:13 AM: Message edited by: LongLeftFlank ]

[LongLeftFlank]

NW corner of the map, looking SE toward the GC from the Al Qadir al Gilani mosque (destroyed by the US in late 2006 after a Sufi group made it a sniper nest).

[LongLeftFlank]

Opposite view - NW from the apartment blocks just east of the GC. The shophouse strip of Route Michigan (westbound) and the Hotel Rasheed (an insurgent favourite) are visible.

[LongLeftFlank]

So now you see why I argued so strenuously for sandbags or some form of building strongpoint (to no avail). While in RL, the Marines on the GC rooftop and the watch towers were pretty well protected (bunker equivalent), in the game they're probably going to have to sit inside the 3rd floor or be easy meat for snipers.

My other peeve is that I can't build a proper minaret (i.e. a slender structure that fits no more than 2-3 guys, not an entire platoon). This is a key strategic element in Middle East MOUT and is sorely needed.

Razor wire would be nice too-- in reality, the GC was surrounded by the original cement wall, plus wire and a HESCO barrier. I may cave and retexture the marsh tile at some point.

[LongLeftFlank]

Most of Ramadi is pooltable flat, being next to the Euphrates. Does anyone know of a mod that replaces the mountains in the background with rural flatlands? Otherwise, I may work one up myself.

[ June 15, 2008, 04:17 AM: Message edited by: LongLeftFlank ]

[birdstrike]

looks good

If walls on roofs aren't sufficient cover, perhaps you could raise the buildings which are considered to have fortified roofs one floor and use only very few windows on the highest one, to simulate that better?

[LongLeftFlank]

Yes, that's what I did. In actual fact, the GC has only 2 stories, not 3, although the sturdy, high-ceilinged building is as tall as the 4 story apartments next door. It's very solidly built, far more so than the poured concrete buildings that make up most of the rest of Ramadi.

I'd never noticed that number of windows on a building wall affected the cover value. Is this true?

[birdstrike]

Unless my mind has been playing tricks on me, yes, more windows means more possibilities to shoot and getting shot.

Windows are treated as "no wall present", so they provide no cover whatsoever.

Try shooting a few guys in a 5 window building and in a building with only 1 window and you should notice quite a difference.

And those big "shop windows" are almost suicidal .

[John Kettler]

LongLeftFlank,

If that's a work in progress, then I can hardly wait to see the finished product! Must've put beau coup hours into just the map work!

In the opposite view, is there a glitch in the image? I see what appear to be two buildings with no back walls at all. Also, no I know why there are no minarets visible. How odd they weren't modeled for a Middle East setting!

Regards,

John Kettler

[LongLeftFlank]

Good eye, John.

1. What's unique about this map (AFAIK) is that it attempts to render a real urban battlefield in total detail -- i.e. the Google Earth streetplan was only the beginning. Within the limits of the editor, the building details themselves are as photorealistic as I can make them, using several hundred screenshots lifted from Youtube videos and other sources.

No disrespect to the many talented map designers on this board, but I've found that most of the urban maps bear little to no resemblance to real Middle Eastern cities -- in general the buildings are too tall (the cities look like Miami Beach), too homogeneous, and the streets are far too wide. And there aren't nearly enough high walls.

Ramadi seems to be a "typical" city, founded in ancient times as a trading town in the farmlands along the Euphrates, then expanded as an Ottoman administrative centre and then home to some basic industries (e.g. the glass factory) using sand + cheap labour + cheap hydropower from the river/canal. Land isn't expensive, so there's little reason to build expensive multistory structures (>3 stories) unless you're a hotel or an oil-funded government ministry.

2. The "missing" walls you noted are either deliberately deleted to create open shopfronts, garage bays, watchtowers on pilings, or buildings under construction, or else an artifact of the game engine wherein it will not "see" another wall through a deleted wall beyond a certain distance.

[Rokossovski]

I'm looking forward to seeing (and battling on) your vision of the City. Very nice work, and evidently well thought-out.

[LongLeftFlank]

Many thanks, Comrade Marshal.

OK, here's the latest from Ramadi -- a couple of moojies atop a heap of gravel on a construction site keyhole down the notorious "RPG Alley" opposite the Government Center main ECP (Entry Control Point).

... And another Humvee gets brewed up just yards away from the safety of the GC compound

[LongLeftFlank]

Latest dispatches from Ramadi...

With Al Qaeda largely expelled from the city by late 2006, Iraqi police commandos freely patrol the souk (market) in the city center, which is thriving once again.

Also included is a closeup from the market stalls. I modded the ATM, the manhole cover and a couple of the 6 different trash bins (where's that rolling eyes smiley when you need it? :-/ ) to represent stuff for sale underneath the "awnings" (bus shelters) and in the open storefronts.

I would love to be able to show some clothing, carpets and other textiles hanging up or spread out on the ground but there's no objects that can be modded to allow this. They give us six different kinds of park benches but no tables.

[handihoc]

Wow, those last two pics are amazing.

[M1A1TC]

Yeah, awesome work LongLeftFlank. Please release this map ASAP BTW, are you using my Iraqi Police mod? Is it pretty close to real life? Also, I see that you used my HESCO mod. Are you happy with it or do I need to change anything? I was thinking about making them lighter

[LongLeftFlank]

I am indeed using your mods, which are excellent. Since Iraqi Army and police units did a fair chunk of the street fighting in Ramadi (with US advisers and fire support) -- their performance varied from dismal to quite capable -- your IP blues will see some action. And if you feel up to modding up some IA First Division "jundi" sometime, I'd love it!

Development of the map (about 2km by 0.7 km of densely packed residential, business and government buildings bisected by a major roadway, Route Michigan) is proceeding apace, so long as I can spend a portion of my 3 hour daily bus commute working on it on my laptop. The map will probably be done by September (insh'allah) and I can then do some test scenarios to ensure moving through (occupied) buildings isn't too easy.

As I've said many times, terrain is the "third player" in this game, especially in MOUT. If you don't use it right, you get burned.

I am trying to make the map as authentic and varied as possible within the limitations of the editor. Each cluster of city blocks is slightly different in layout; the map will also feature gardens, 2 mosque complexes, the Souk, garages, parklands, construction sites and even an Islamic cemetery. Not sure how I'm going to mod the headstones yet -- probably use another trash bin or two... BFC had a major trash bin and park bench fetish when they did the original terrain set :-b.

In case anyone at BFC is listening, after the lack of sandbagged buildings, I find the most significant missing feature to be gates (doors) in walls. Virtually all homes in the Third World have high stone walls around them for security and privacy, and the city is basically a maze of courtyards requiring specialized "sneak and peek" tactics to enter and clear. I either have to build them with no gaps at all, sealing them off entirely from outside, or leave huge vehicle-sized gaps. Lack of a "T" or "Y" shaped wall segment junction is also a pain in the ass, but I can work around that.

Thanks for your encouragement.

[M1A1TC]

Could you email me photos or links to IA First Division "jundi" uniforms?

[tc237]

LongLeft,

Your map is looking great! Can't wait to see it.

You are 100% correct about the walled homes with heavy doors and gates.

Every home is really a castle there.

Also, I'm working on a 1st AD in OIF mod, the M1A1 is 90% complete (1-37AR, 2-37AR). You may be able to use it.

If I'm not mistaken, 1st Bde, 1st AD operated in Ramadi in 2006.

So as not to hijack this thread, here is a link to screenshots I posted at Wargamer.com during the BFC board downtime.

http://www.wargamer.com/forums/fb.ashx?m=301487

I'll start a thread here later when I'm better organized.

[LongLeftFlank]

Could you email me photos or links to IA First Division "jundi" uniforms?

Simple enough, just do a Google image search on "jundi" (which is basically Arabic for a regular "GI Joe" or "grunt") and that should give you everything you need. Not a hardship duty, since a lot of the images that come up are pinups of hot Middle Eastern-looking chicas. No wonder they keep them wrapped in cloth over there ;-)

Examples (of jundi, not chicas)

myson1lt.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html. This shows camos very similar to US styles... probably issued earlier in the war.

http://fightin6thmarines.vox.com/library/posts/tags/jundi/ showing a more distinctive pattern and webgear.

Also, note that in 2004-2006 (and even to some extent today), a lot of jundi wear balaclavas for fear of insurgent reprisals. But it seems the majority do not.

Finally, has anybody read "Street Fight in Iraq: What It's Really Like Over There" (Valor in Combat Series) by Patrick Tracy? I gather he served in Ramadi and much of his book covers his time there. But before buying it, I'd like to get an impression of how useful it is as source material for game design.

[Paper Tiger]

Hi LLF

great looking map. I'm just curious, what sort of frames per second are you getting with such a large detailed urban map. I made a very detailed map for the finale of my campaign which was just about 500mx500m and it JUST ran at about 8-12fps at best, sometimes lower.

[LongLeftFlank]

Showani commandos of the Iraqi Army First Brigade cautiously enter the courtyard of the Fatemat Mosque, a known insurgent hideout overlooking the deadliest stretch of Route Michigan.

[M1A1TC]

How close to completion is this?

[LongLeftFlank]

Good question. I hope the map will be completed by early September. My densely populated 1km x 500m map is now about 80% complete (i.e. with buildings, doors that work, foliage and doodads). The remaining 20% is bare, but a lot of it is parklands, industrial estate and the cemetery so it should go somewhat quicker.

I've been playtesting the terrain using various insurgent, US Army (Marine stand-ins) and Iraqi army/police troops (in your excellent mods), but I haven't gotten much into the scenario design yet. I don't know the timeframe for doing these, and I may look to share the workload with others.

My general vision for the campaign is that it will give a sense of the tactical problems faced by both sides in Central Ramadi during the period of heaviest fighting (11/2004 - 3/2006), during which Route Michigan (which runs the length of the map) was declared "the most dangerous road in the world". Over time, the map itself will change too as buildings get progressively shot up or reduced to rubble by IEDs or JDAMs.

The Anbar Government Center was occupied by a reinforced Marine Company arty, air and sometimes armour on call, plus 1-3 platoons of Iraqi auxiliaries, although all these forces won't all be shown in all scenarios.

This is not a classic CMSF main force action, or the assault on Fallujah (somebody else is welcome to tackle that one). Typical actions involve 20-50 mujahideen in stealthy, dispersed teams trying to trap and bleed a guntruck-supported Marine or Iraqi Army platoon, while another Marine platoon deploys as a QRF to try to trap the trappers. In CMSF parlance, these are Tiny scenarios, playable in a single sitting. The winner will usually be the one who makes better use of the cityscape.

The US forces basically have 3 types of missions:

1. Defend the Government Center while avoiding excessive casualties to the troops there (I can't say minimal since we can't sandbag CMSF buildings -- let's just pretend not all the guys who get hit are actually maimed or dead). Aggressive foot patrols outside the walls may also be required to prevent the moojies from taking up good overwatch positions at close range and lobbing RPGs into the courtyard.

2. Usually at night, occupy a designated section of the map (a city block or building complex) for a period of time, eliminating ("capturing") any insurgent spies there, then withdraw before the local insurgent cells close in. If the operating platoon gets tied down, a QRF will deploy from the GC to support them.

3. Run "Boxcar" or "Dagger" supply convoys down IED-infested Route Michigan. If a column by some chance should lose a vehicle and get held up, deploy a QRF from the GC.

The insurgents for their part are mainly interested in inflicting American casualties. They will need to stay very stealthy because US firepower is intense and accurate while their own is largely (with occasional exceptions) very poor.

[LongLeftFlank]

September 2006. Paratroopers of the 1/506th call on supporting Bradleys of 1/6th Mech to add a few more corpses to the cemetery.

[purpheart23]

Any more word on when your map/scenario will be done LLF? I've been anticipating this one for a good while.