Siege of Mostar

[Tom Hogan]

NOTE: I made this scenario, because I wanted to design a scenario that is both milsim, and accurate to the environment we live in. It is made with Ghost Town in mind, but could be changed depending on the field. The uniforms lack desert and multicam for a reason, MILSIM. OD and woodland are similar, but you should be able to tell them apart. Besides, in the real conflict everyone looked pretty much the same.


Seige of Mostar, Bosnia:

Background (some from wikipedia, some from onwar.com):

On February 29, 1992, the multi ethnic republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs, and Muslim Slavs lived side by side, passed a referendum for independence -- but not all Bosnian Serbs agreed. Under the guise of protecting the Serb minority in Bosnia, Serbian leaders channeled arms and military support to them.

Serb leaders under Slobodan Milosevic quickly took control of the The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). In response to Milosevic's actions, Bosnian leaders formed the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). Fighting quickly broke out between the JNA and ARBiH. Since the ARBiH was heavily out gunned, they relied on volunteer fighters of the Mujahideen to assist them.
During the armed conflict JNA troops killed thousands of Muslim civilians. Some Mujahideen members also committed crimes against the Serb civilian population.

Between 1992 and 1993, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia, the town of Mostar was subject to an 18 month siege. The JNA first bombed Mostar on April 3, 1992 and over the following week gradually established control over a large part of the town. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Defense Council amassed enough strength by June 12, 1992 to force the JNA out of Mostar. The JNA responded with shelling .

JNA Troops:
-OD BDUs, Russian Camouflage (Pre 1995)
-AK variant suggested, any variant allowed
-Non molle gear recommended, any gear allowed

ARBiH
-Woodland Camouflage
-AK variant suggested, any variant allowed
-Non molle gear recommended, any gear allowed

Bosnian Mujahideen
-Durka garb (can be mixed with woodland for added realism)
-AK variant suggested, any variant allowed
-Non molle gear recommended, any gear allowed

Civilian Role Players
-Civilian clothes
-Pistols and shotguns recommended, any variant allowed
-No gear/ simple web gear recommended

Part One: The Preliminary Attack
The JNA has taken up positions around the town. They are to begin mortar fire immediately.
-Mortar Props (black firing, or non working) will be supplied
-JNA troops must fire the motors a total of twenty times (give or take depending on prop)
-JNA can be medic'd once. Medics can not medic themselves. No JNA respawns
-JNA may not enter the city
-ARBiH and Mujahideen have unlimited respawns, and can be medic'd once. Medics can not medic themselves.
-ARBiH and Mujahideen must stop the JNA from completing the mortar attack
-Civilians are not to be attacked by either side

Part Two: Chaos in the streets
The JNA has successfully broken the cities defenses. They must enter the city, and kill the ARBiH troops in the city. Mujahideen reinforcements are on their way.
-JNA and ARBiH troops must try to kill each other.
-JNA starts right outside the city, ARBiH starts in the city
-Mujahideen start as far from the city as possible
-JNA and ARBiH can be medic'd once. Medics can medic themselves once. No respawns
-Mujahideen can respawn at their starting point away from the city
-Civilians will try to get in the way as much as possible
-Civilians are not the main target... yet

Part Three: The Ethnic Cleansing
The Serbs have Taken over the city. Violence has broken out between all groups
-Civilians are split up into either Muslim, or Serb
-No respawns on any side
-Civilians are split up into either Muslim, or Serb
-Muslim civilians must try to find out the identity of the Serb civilians, and tell the Mujahideen.
-Serb civilians must try to find out the identity of the Muslim civilians, and tell the JNA.
-Civilians only attack if attacked
-Civilians can not collect kill cards
-You must collect a negative kill card if you kill a civilian on the wrong side. Each civillian issued a positive and negative kill card
-ARBiH is not supposed to kill ANY civilians




Kill card values (only for part 3)
Killed Group Point Value for killer

Muslim Civilians 10pts for JNA
Serb Civilians 10pts for Mujahideen
ARBiH troops 5pts for JNA
Serb troops 5pts for ARBiH or Mujahideen
Mujahideen 15pts for JNA
Muslim Civilians -10pts for ARBiH or Mujahideen (SO DON'T DO IT)
Serb Civilians -10pts for JNA or ARBiH (SO DON'T DO IT)

[bag32]

i really like this op, and it is well thought out, to fit into gt. the only problem i can see is the weapon requirements, alot of people have m4's, and many (me included) do not have any ak variants. also, though you are allowing molle gear, it is not recommended, and it shouldnt make a difference, because no game can have so much realism that everyone has the realistic gear.

[Tom Hogan]

Those restrictions are more for people that own many guns, and lots of gear. It would be fine if one came with an m4 and PC.

[bag32]

ah, very good then

[Fritz]

This looks like a pretty nifty Op, but a couple points had me scratching my head. First of all, Wiki is a dubious resource to begin with. My suggestion is to search it on Wiki, scroll to the bottom of the article, and study the resources cited. That's just me nit-picking, though.

As for the Op itself, the civilian role was a bit mystifying during the "Chaos in the Streets" phase. "Get in the way as much as possible." I might need a little clarification on what that may entail.

Confusion aside, I like the scenario. Kudos for the creativity.

[Tom Hogan]

I did my national history day project on the war two years ago, and most of the information on wikipedia turned out to be factual. I just didn't want to have to write out all the background information.

The "get in the way as much as possible" thing is what the role players did at Janus. Basically they went through the hallways of GT giving away positions, and trying to sell their stuff.

[Fritz]

Trying to sell their stuff? Sweet. That actually sounds very cool. Again; kudos.

[Masa]

This sounds really awesome and I want to play it. I have nothing more to say because it looks very well thought out.

[Tom Hogan]

I'm thinking of adding another one or two parts with NATO intervention forces. Those NATO troops would be designated by blue tape and blue hats added to members of ARBiH, they would have to stop the Serbs and Mujahideen from killing civilians (even though they did very little in real life)

[DerFrownmacher]

This scenario has some potential to cause an uproar if younger players' parents found out about it (I got to sell some Serbs out to the Mujahideen, Mommy!) but that's necessary to properly emulate the horror of the real conflict. I like the grit and realism factor of this scenario, though I think a few trial runs of the different games might be needed to help balance it out. I always like games that point out the conflicts the rest of the world has in America's absence (which is a lot), and think this setting could spice up the traditional Iraq/Vietnam/Afghanistan milsim games.

Even though it might not be historically accurate, it's always cool to allow the campaign to change depending on how people do. What if the JNA never broke into the city, since the mortar attack was defeated? Would a small team of sappers breach it for them? Or would the Mujahideen have to venture outside the 'safety' of Mosta to disable a JNA radio station before they call in aircraft to do the job for them? Definately not necessary, I just have a thing for alternate histories and open-ended games.

All in all, I think this is solid groundwork for an event.

[Tom Hogan]

This is what part two would be if the JNA couldn't mortar the city. Part 3B is still in the works.


Part 2 B:
JNA mortar strikes were not able to break Mostar’s defenses.
-JNA have to call in air strikes in order to break the cities defenses
-In order to call in airstrikes, JNA must leave 3 beacons in and around the city, at designated spots
-Beacons will be provided
-JNA must protect the beacons for 10 minutes
-2 minute repawns on all sides
-Mujahideen and ARBiH must bring the beacons 50 ft. outside the city
-JNA can bring the beacons back.
-Civilians must protect their homes by trying to get the beacons away from the city
-Civilians are not armed
-JNA must stop the civilians from doing so, but must only kill them if they touch the beacons.
-Civilians should try to take the beacons away stealthily, so as to not attract JNA attention.

[Fritz]

What's discouraging JNA from killing anyone who gets too close to a beacon? Also, I see a tactic forming for the civilians making this a little frustrating for JNA. Not likely, just something that might be an issue.

JNA have a few guards at a beacon, no more than five or six. About twenty civvies enter the area, surround the beacon without touching it until they have a sufficient meat-wall, then grab it an high-tail it. Congrats, you've lost a beacon. No way for all the hit civvies to get out of the way in time for you to drop everyone involved, and excessive shooting of hit players is always greatly frowned upon. Kinda' forces the JNA into a tight spot against a slight universal airsoft policy exploitation.

Not much in the way of a solution, but it's better than nothing. A point-deduction for Part 3 A for killing non-threatening civvies rather than a general "Don't do it" ruling. It's a sacrifice, but gives more options against a rush-type scenario. You see a crowd of suspicious civvies inching towards your location. You order them to halt. They ignore the order, so you warn/threaten them, perhaps firing warning shots into the ground. They continue, and you're convinced they mean business. Take out a couple in the front to let them know just how unwelcome they are, and perhaps make them rethink their tactic if meat-shield survival seems unlikely. -20 to -40 points may be the cost, depending on how many you take out before they retreat, but you very well may have secured your beacon for the time being.

Again, not sure if it's an effective alternative, but it's what I have on hand. Hope it's helpful.

[Tom Hogan]

Since the JNA don't know who the Serbs are, and who the muslims are, they don't really want to be killing people that could (possibly) be their own nationality. In part 3A, the civilians start to turn against each other, that's when the chaos starts.

[jmb91]

this is supposed to be chaotic. personally, i think this would be great.

[Fritz]

I can see why you wouldn't want to waste people indiscriminately in this particular mission, but still, it renders them all but defenseless in the aforementioned position.

"Oh, look; a larger group of civilians are approaching the beacon. Guess we'd better go and find something else to do."

I would make a point to avoid this at all costs, even if that means modifying more than just a penalty for killing civilians, to appeal to how frustrated players would be on the field, especially if someone were to go full-out rules-Nazi and say that firing upon the meat-shield civvies would be violating their orders, despite the fact that assisting the carriers is equal to touching it themselves.

As an honest critical look, I'm only looking to illuminate areas that may be found to cause problems for players, and not to belittle the scenario in the least. I do like the operation a great deal, and would be thrilled to participate if/when it can be run, but this particular spot concerns me, is all.

Thank you for your time,
-Fritz