by Paul LaFontaine, 22 March 2026
This scenario was set in modern Afghanistan. Three players participated and the umpire, AaTeWe, ran the opposing force based on the disposition and actions of the insurgents in the historical battle. I played as one of the company commanders. We were not given the details of the historical situation other than we were in a modern scenario. Player Lewis++ was to be our commander, and player Rebelsqurl was my counterpart as Allied forces were facing an insurgent force.
The players and umpire had physical sets at their locations and the umpire reports were pointers so we could keep the situation on our own maps.
We accomplished our mission of securing the local town with several ups and down in our coordination. Everyone reported enjoying the game.
The Problem
Our problem was a lack of information. We had to clear several zones where insurgents and local forces could be, but we had no picture of the details. We knew we had overwhelming firepower, but timing and surprises were the problems to solve.
Our (Blue) Briefing
most images can click to enlarge
Irregular forces in the area have set up a stronghold in the town of Al-Kassar, overlooking the vital supply route LOC Cupid. From this strongpoint the opposing forces have been launching raids and ambushes on supply convoys and patrols with concerning regularity. They have also been intermittently attacking the local field depot.
Divisional Command has ordered an operation to contain these irregular forces to the towns of Al-Kassar and Mir Adina, as the local geography will allow for an effective encirclement as soon as we control the road exits to the east and west.
For this purpose Divisional command has requested support from another friendly division to the east. That division will provide the forces to occupy the eastern road exit but will only arrive late in the day. Their Operational range is limited to the former township of Lakash.
BATTALION OBJECTIVES:
- SEIZE and HOLD the town of Mir Zakah
- HOLD the western road exit of LOC Cupid
Friendly OOB / Assets
- A Company
4x Infantry Platoon
1x IFV Platoon - B Company
4x Infantry Platoon
1x IFV Platoon - C Company
5x Infantry Platoon
1x Mortar Platoon - SPA section (off map)
- 2x 150 mm Gun
- Variable fixed and rotary wing aircraft available for tasking intermittently.
0830
I was a company commander, Lewis++ had a company and was our coordinating Commander, and Rebelsqurl commanded a company. The artillery assets would be assigned by Lewis++.
My initial thinking as one of the company commanders was that I wanted to coordinate my actions thoroughly with my CIC and my fellow company commander. The only way we could maintain fire superiority was by using our artillery and our infantry fighting vehicles and achieving some level of concentration on the objective. Getting caught in a firefight, or allowing myself to get ambushed or otherwise disadvantaged, would be a terrible outcome because, as coalition forces, we wanted to keep a close eye on casualties.
I was the second company following the lead under the command of Lewis++. The lead company ran into an enemy unit and was in a firefight right away. This was my view of the situation:
This was the Umpire’s view, only shared with us at game end:
0900
Knowing that our lead elements were already in contact with the enemy, I wanted to establish a base of fire from the south that would allow the other company commander to attack into the town with support. I gave orders to move my units south to create that base of fire, keeping the infantry fighting vehicles as the primary means of movement and directing the infantrymen to remain mounted inside them.
I successfully moved south and established a position for a base of fire using the infantry fighting vehicles. The enemy, seeing they were outnumbered, withdrew. Lewis++ with company moved into the town. We were able to move forward successfully without casualties.
0930
Our objective was to the east, the town of Mir-Zakah, and I knew we would have to assault it. It was likely that enemy elements were inside the town. A hill to the southwest of Mir-Zakah provided good observation and strong fields of fire into the town, and I knew it would be to our advantage to seize it. So my next orders were to keep the infantry in their fighting vehicles and move quickly to the top of that hill.
When we reached the top of the hill, we were engaged by fire from the town. There were no casualties, but we exchanged fire in a desultory firefight. The enemy did fire an anti-tank rocket and hit my infantry fighting vehicle, but it was only damaged and there were no casualties. My next step was to call for artillery to clear out the western edge of town.
1000
At 1000 hours, I wanted to make sure that I did not sustain any casualties while the remainder of the force moved up and prepared to assault the town. I also received information through the radio channel that a large firefight was happening to the north. Rebelsqurl was engaged on that front, which would certainly slow the entire operation down. I did not want to lose the advantage of holding this high ground. I requested artillery from the higher level Commander.
While firing from my infantry fighting vehicles into the town, the artillery I had called was approved and it struck the western edge of the town. Several houses were leveled and the enemy firing stopped. The artillery successfully suppressed their attempts to extract casualties on my side.
1030
After having taken anti-tank fire from the town with one of our infantry fighting vehicles was hit, I did not want to press any further and risk losing vehicles. I knew the artillery would have to do the job for now. My battalion commander ordered me to withdraw to coordinate, so I pulled back down the hill and waited for information from our commander so we could coordinate an attack on the town.
After pulling down the hill, the firing from the town stopped, and I was able to consolidate and ensure there were no casualties and no problems with my units. We were still combat-capable and ready to go. I would have to wait on my colleagues who were engaged in a large fight north at Al-Kassar.
1100
Radio chatter indicated that a large group of insurgents was north of the river near the town there, and another group was to our immediate north in a wood line. Our battalion was taking time to get organized and get that situation buttoned up. I maintained my position and pushed a scouting element to the east so I could ensure there were no surprises coming from that direction toward the town.
Thirty-eight fighters were coming down the road, and I had a decision to make. My battalion commander had ordered me to pull back. I was still somewhat forward with my scouting element, and if I pushed forward and attacked the fighters moving west, there was a chance we would become embroiled in a fight that I could not easily extricate myself from while the rest of the battalion was heavily engaged in the north. So I chose to simply observe the 38 fighters, keeping a careful eye for anti-tank assets, which they did not appear to have, and I allowed them to enter the town, knowing that the town had now been reinforced.
1130
At 11:30, the situation was largely uneventful because the fight in the north was still being resolved. Lewis++ ordered me to remain in a withdrawn position so we could coordinate. I kept eyes on the town and confirmed that the 38 fighters had entered it.
1200
It was coming up to the noon hour, and I wanted to ensure that we took the town. My concern was that if we spent too much time coordinating, we might leave insurgents and foreign fighters holding the town and fail to achieve our objective. I knew the commander was planning to attack the town, so I ordered a push forward into the southern edge to create pressure there and move into the town if possible.
The northern element under the CIC attacked the northern part of the town as we moved toward the southern edge. In an act of accidental coordination, we ended up attacking the town at the same time, which worked to our benefit.
END OF SCENARIO
Because we attacked the town in a coordinated way, the firepower was too great for the insurgent fighters, and they withdrew, leaving us in possession of the objective and marking the operation as a success.
Thinking over the entire operation, what worked well was that our radio channel carried short, clear communications. That allowed me to understand what was happening in other parts of the battlefield and allowed Lewis++ and Rebelsqurl to understand what was happening in my area. I think we maintained a good balance between the competing challenges of avoiding casualties and moving forward with concentration.
I also think we got somewhat lucky when it came to the coordination of the final assault, and that is something we could have handled with a bit more clarity. We had artillery, mortars, heavy weapons, and the infantry fighting vehicles all converging in the same general space. Those elements can easily fall out of coordination or conflict with each other, which would create problems for our own side. So I would give us a very fortunate thumbs up for the final assault, but that is an area that could certainly be improved in the future.
Historical Outcome (Written by AaTeWe)
The Battle of Quatliam / Operation Halmazag was a multi day engagement from the 31st of October to the 3rd of November, featuring elements of the Bundeswehr Task Force Kunduz, Afghan National Police (ANP), Afghan National Army (ANA) and US 87th Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division in the Char Darrah region of the North eastern Kunduz Province of Afghanistan.
Map key:
LOC Cupid -> LOC Little Pluto
Mir Zakah -> Quatliam
Al-Kassar -> Isa Khel
Mir Adina -> Wardak
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
After an early year filled with losses, especially in April during the “Karfreitags Gefecht” (Good Friday battle) in the suburbs of Isa Khel and the partial success of Operations Taohid I – III as well as losses in Pol-E Chomri region of the Baghlan Province, the German contingent of ISAF in north eastern Afghanistan and ANP were on the defensive in the Kunduz area. The field depot in Kunduz had suffered rocket attacks from the Char Darrah region. The German “Regionalkommando Nord” (regional command north) of 450 soldiers and a few hundred ANP members were tasked with controlling an area of nearly 8000 km² and nearly 1 million inhabitants, until later in the year when the Task force Kunduz was reinforced and the US 87th Regiment was moved northward into the Province.
During a lull in US led operations in the Imam Sahib region, German and Afghan forces elected on an operation in southern Char Darrah as they had received news that the town of Quatliam had recently broken with the Insurgents due to political tensions between the different local ethnic groups. Trying to exploit these tensions, the goal was to remove Quatliam from the insurgent sphere of control and secure the road LOC Kamins connecting Kunduz city to the southern provinces of Afghanistan, which insurgents had targeted with IEDs and ambushes time and time again.
German and Afghan National forces occupied Quatliam without much of a fight and a fleeing movement of about three dozen men toward Wardak. Over the following days German and ANA forces held the town of Quatliam while a battalion of US Mountaineers supported by the ANP were hauled up in the suburbs of Isa Khel keeping flank security. All positions held against repeated waves of insurgent attacks, who brought to bear everything from AKs to MGs and even GMGs and recoilless rifles. The positions remain very static over the course of the operation, but by the end a squabble between local insurgent and mujahideen forces lead to the effective dissolution of Taliban forces in southern Char Darrah, as one force effectively disbanded and the other left, crossing the Kunduz river, hidden in a massive refugee movement in Qandahari. This Operation, coincidentally also the first offensive operation of the Bundeswehr since WW2 effectively removed Taliban influence from southern Char Darrah.
Conclusion
This was terrific fun. My hat is off to AaTeWe, our umpire, for coming up with a unique modern scenario at the battalion and brigade level that allowed us to work through the coordination necessary in a kriegsspiel and learn a bit about history. This is exactly what the Battle Decisions Kriegsspiel idea is all about. AaTeWe handled the game with great skill.
The game being used is Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel from Catastrophe Games.
The hand-drawn map was excellent. Although it was not festooned with the colors and shapes we usually see on computer-generated maps, it had a simplicity and clarity that I really appreciated. It printed neatly on an A4 sheet of paper and allowed for a quick game, yet none of the important detail or nuance was lost. He labeled features clearly and included terrain that drove decision-making, such as the hill to the southwest of the town of Mir-Zakah.
The turns were about ten minutes long. We played for ninety minutes and completed nine full resolutions. That felt about right because we had a radio channel where we could communicate, and the time between turns was spent sending messages back and forth.
My fellow players, Lewis++ and Rebelsqurl, did a nice job of keeping that channel somewhat realistic with short messages, clear communication, and a tone that felt like an actual radio net. The radio channel in a live game is a really neat addition to the gameplay.
Thanks again to AaTeWe for creating and hosting the game, and my fellow players Lewis++ and Rebelsqurl for playing. Hopefully you’ll join us someday for these entertaining and manageably short sessions.
We’ll see you out there.
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