City of Blood: The Battle of Khorramshahr, September-October, 1980

“Iran has bared its hostile designs against the Arab nation and its pan-Arab revolutionary movement” –Saddam Hussein, April 1980. When the conflict between Iraq and Iran erupted into full scale war with Iraq’s invasion in late September 1980, the control of the Shatt al-Arab was a major goal for Saddam Hussein’s forces. Key to an Iraqi victory was capturing the crucial Iranian port and oil refinery center at Abadan just a few miles east of the city of Khorramshahr. Due to the earlier clashes along the border, that included artillery and air strikes as well as commando raids, much of the Khorramshahr’s populace fled earlier, and those that remained were being hastily evacuated by the Iranian government once full-scale war broke out. The Iraqis believed they would find the city abandoned or only lightly defended, and gave orders for their forces deployed further north to strike deep into Iran to secure their objectives and win a quick victory. However, the Ayatollah declared that the forces of the “godless Baathists” were to be resisted everywhere, and so units of the Iranian Army, including elements of the newly formed Pasdaran and Basiji militia, were rushed to defend Khorramshahr. What ensued was one of the most protracted and bloody city fights since the end of the Second World War. Can you do as well or better than your historical counterparts? Combat units are mostly battalions or their equivalent sized battle groups. Each day turn of the game represents 4 days of time with each turn’s Operations Phase representing two days. Each hex is approximately 100 meters across. —description from the publisher