Work continues on my Nasiriyah scenarios. Amazingly, there are no photos online that I can find for the actual Saddam Hussein Canal bridge where Charlie Company made its stand. Piers on the Ambush Alley forums has been looking, too, as he is putting together a largish game for a convention, and we are coming up empty. There are pictures of the Euphrates bridge, but not the canal bridge. Charlie Company crossed over it and was hit there.
Nasiriyah map, taken from "Fighting Through the Fog of War," Major Karl C. Rohr, Marine Corps Gazette
As for painting information on the units involved, the Iraqi side appear to be the standard mix of local insurgents, scattered groups of Iraqi army survivors and fedayeen, so my standard mix of Middle Eastern insurgents should work just fine. On the US side, there is an amazing mix of equipment and uniforms. The AAVPs are mostly in NATO woodland colors. The Marines are mostly in woodland MOPP gear, given the fear of chemical attack, with sand covers for their helmets. Some body armor is green. Some is sand.
Marines at Nasiriyah
AAVP from Task Force Tarawa
Action in "The Nas"
For Charlie Company, I’ll need 11 AAVPs and about 200 Marines if I do it in 1:1. More than likely, I will break up the action into several different sections, given that I plan to use Force on Force for my rules. I think the initial hit of track C211 and the evacuation of its casualties will be one action. Another will be the initial response of the mortar squad and the subsequent “zeroing in” of return Iraqi fire. The third will be the attempt to move six tracks back toward Ambush Alley. The fourth will be the arrival of the M1-A1s.
I randomly stumbled upon here via TMP. Marine body armor in that time period would be either woodland or what they call “coyote brown.” Nothing flat out green. I think what’s throwing you off is the deuce gear, which at the time was woodland also and could be worn over the IBA. When those got beaten up they looked green.
Thanks for the information, Matt! Much appreciated
Some of us were issued desert covers for our flakes, it was for the old flak vests so it had to be altered and sewn over our IBA. Most Naz marines had to customize and streamline their gear to accommodate more ammo and water than usual