Battle of Ctesiphon

22/11/15

To be written - however see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ctesiphon_(1915)

Map and BBB Order of Battle, BBWW2B coming soon

Turkish Deployment

The Turks deploy first and move second.  b

The 112th and 113th Regiments are deployed in the forward trench line south west of the Water Redoubt.

The 114th Regiment is deployed within 9" of Ctesiphon

The 38th Division's Artillery is deployed within 9" of the forward trench line south west of the Water Redoubt.

The 142nd Regiment is deployed in the forward trench line north east of the Water Redoubt.

The 3rd and 141st Regiments are deployed in front of (south east) the second trench line within 9". They may not be deployed within the trench line.

The 45th Divisional Artillery is within 9" of the forward trench line north east of the Water Redoubt.

The 7th and 9th Regiments are deployed in the second trench line.

The 51st Divisional Artillery is within 9" of the second trench line.

Divisional HQs may be within 6" of any subordinate unit

The Iraqi cavalry is a reinforcement on turn 4. It enters on the north east edge up to 12" from point C

All infantry touching a trench line is dug in (2L shift). All gun batteries are also dug in (2L shift).

Empire Deployment

The Empire moves first. All Empire forces advance onto the table.

Column C enters turn 1 up to 12" north east of point E

The on table elements of the Navy enter at point E turn one, they are supported by the barge guns off table

Column B enters within 9" of point D on turn 2.

Column A enters turn 3 between 18" and 30" north east of point E.

The Flying column enters turn 3 up to 24" from point D on the north east table edge.

Terrain

The table is 6ft x 4ft if playing 6" = 1km

The open terrain is scrubby desert.

Red lines are roads, if paying BBWW2B these have no game effect, except to allow the armoured car to traverse otherwise impenetrable terrain.

The blue line is the Tigris river. It is too wide to cross. It is navigable only between points E and F (further up is blocked by boats sunk by the Turks). It has high banks which precludes boats on the river engaging other units unless they are touching the river bank and visa versa. OPs on boats can spot from masts over the bank. The OP spots as if on a level 1 hill (i.e. 24" range, except in the mist)

Brown dashed lines are trench lines. They are extensive and count as an obstacle.

There are barbed wire entanglements in front of the first line of trenches (only) and around VP. These are 4" from the Trenches. A unit touching the wire may cross if a full move is rolled. It is moved so as to be touching the other side. Once a unit crosses that section of wire is relegated to being a normal obstacle.

The brown circle is the location of the Water Redoubt. It is just a marker with no game effect.

VP (Vital Point) is a circle of trenches on a low hill. It may only accommodate one unit. It is impassable to artillery and mounted cavalry. There are some special rules associated with this location (see below).

Grey squares are villages however these do break LOS. OPs in the villages (but not normal units) are considered elevated for spotting.

The green area is a palm grove and is considered difficult terrain.

The brown areas are low hills. They are elevated enough to extend LOS to 24" but not elevated enough to see over villages or trees.

Aircraft

The RFC has a couple of aircraft available. Its not clear if these are Farmans or new BE2c. Historically they were used for recce, but they were equipped to drop light bombs and could have done so in the battle. On a roll of 11-12 (2d6) the Empire get one bombing aircraft.

Special Rules

The game is 12 turns long.

For turns 1-3 it is misty and visibility is restricted to 6". Turns 5-6 are perfect, 24" visibility from hills and 12" visibility on the flat. From turn 7 onwards mirage conditions prevail. LOS on the flat is 6". LOS from elevation is still 24".

A unit fully occupying VP has no flanks for any reason, so, for example it can fire with full effect in any direction with all its stands (BBB only). For BBWW2B it may fire twice for full effect though it must fire the two "shots" through different sides of the base.

Maximum IDF range of the field guns and the Turkish howitzer is 36". The 4.7" naval guns have a 48" range measured from point E

Victory Conditions

There are four victory locations and one victory condition. The victory locations are: The bridge at point A, point B, VP and the Water Redoubt. The victory condition is for the Empire to get an infantry or cavalry unit north west (i.e. the other side) of the second trench line.

To win the Empire need three locations and/or conditions. For the Turks to win they must deprive the Empire of any locations and conditions. Any other result is a draw.

Victory is assessed after the final turn of the game

Only infantry, cavalry and camelry units count for victory conditions

To capture the bridge the British must have an unit touching it

To capture point B there must be a British unit within 9" of it and no Turkish units within 9".

To capture VP and the Water Redoubt the British must have units touching the location and the Turks must not have units touching it. The VP is considered to be the entire area on the hill. The water Redoubt is considered to be a point.

For an Empire unit to count as the other side of the second trench line it must be wholly across the line and off the rise.

References

The Campaign In Mesopotamia Vol I 1914-1918, F J Moberly: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.227118

Critical Study of the Campaign in Mesopotamia up to April 1917: Part II - Maps: https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023193665.0x000001