The Third World War p2 [GDW]

11. The US plays “Recognize the Centrist Government”, the USSR plays “Intervene”

Coalition forces (they had the US flag on their uniforms, mind you) capture Teheran and install a center-right government. The Iranian Revolutionary regime comforts themselves with the fact that Soviet units now have the green light from the Supreme Soviet to cross the border and engage the American war machine. STAVKA, however, analyses the situation and chooses not to provoke a full-scale war until they are ready. They instead choose to wait with crossing the border until the reinforcements from the Southern Military Districts are ready to render assistance. Very unexpected! “General Mobilization” thus cannot be played by either side! The US-allied kurds block the mountain passes north of Tabriz, the last outpost of the Moscow-allied regime. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard receives orders to hold the ports around Bandar-e Anzali to the north of Teheran open and take up positions to do this.

12. No cards can be played since there is no “US-Soviet conflict”
The Iranian Revolutionary regime frantically appeals to Moscow for aid, but receive only a brusque “please wait” for an answer. The Iranian airforce once again manages to abort a US air strike, this time at Tabriz. The American war machine smells victory in the air, however, and the 24. Mechanized Division is moving at full speed towards Tabriz, the last stronghold of the Islamic government. Behind them, American and Israeli forces secure the inner regions of Iran. Syrian forces have suffered such severe losses that they withdraw from the war.

The air strikes toward Tabriz continue. Almost all the forces controlled by the Islamic government have been eliminated by now. The US-led coalition has the air space around Western Asia and the Persian Gulf in an iron grip.

13. No cards can be played
US air strike eliminate the last of the government forces in north-western Iran. The Iranian communist and Tudeh forces are now but a memory. The 24. Mechanized Division occupy Tabriz. The Iranian centrist government is now in control of all major Iranian urban areas. After an “exchange” between Iranian units on differing sides of the civil war, the kurds have to leave one of the mountain passes which quickly is secured by a Soviet motorised rifle division.

14. No cards are played, but the Warsaw pact receives seven category G mechanised divisions (5-6-4)! Saudi F-5s eliminate a Soviet airborne regiment trying to capture a port near the Persian Gulf, but suddenly the Soviet plan becomes clear: keep the port in Bandar-e Anzail open so that Soviet reinforcements can be shipped in from Baku across the Caspian Sea, thus completely circumventing the coalition forces in the mountain passes near Tabriz. A full Soviet Army also crosses the border from Afghanistan and eliminate a Marine Corps regiment at Chan-Bahar.

The WP receives seven category G divisions and has a choice of having them as mechanised or mountain divisions. Since they have secured the harbor at Bandar-e Anzali, they can bypass the mountain passes at the USSR/Iranian border (which are full of americans, kurds and other unsavory types anyway) so they take them mechanised. At the same time, a Soviet army is preparing to squash the 5. Marine Corps Regiment and “wash their boots in the Persian Gulf.”