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 Bandit Country South Armagh 1982 "Sunray Down" Scenario It's the summer of 1988, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) barracks and joint British Army base at Crossmaglen (XMG) village in South Armagh, has come under mortar attack. A British RAF Lynx helicopter that was flying to the base reports that it has been hit by ground fire and the pilot attempts to land before losing communication with Crossmaglen barracks.  On board is the Lt. Colonel and Sergeant Major of the battalion with three crew of the Lynx.  This is "Bandit Country" where the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) hold the initiative in a war that started in 1969.  By the mid 1970s, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the British Army have been forced to abandon using the roads due to IEDs and mines destroying security forces' vehicles and inflicting casualties. As a result, all operations and resupply of police/Army barracks is conducted by helicopters.  Police and Army patrols int...
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 "Bandit Country" South Armagh 1988 Sources: Arthur, Max.  Northern Ireland Soldiers Talking: 1969 To Today .  (London, UK, Sidgwick & Jackson Limited), 1987. pp 271. Bennett, Huw. Uncivil War: The British Army and The Troubles, 1966-1975.  (Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press), 2024. pp 427. Coogan, Tim Pat.  The IRA .  (New York, USA, Palgrave Publishing), 2002, pp. 808. Dunne, David.  Armoured and Heavy Vehicles of the RUC: 1922-2001.  (Hersham, Surrey, UK, Ian Allen Printing LTD), 2007, pp. 160. Harnden, Toby.  Bandit Country:  The IRA and South Armagh.  (London, UK, Hodder and Stoughton), 1999, pp. 404. Morton, Peter, Brigadier.  Emergency Tour 3 Para in South Armagh.  (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, UK, William Kimber & Co), 1989, pp. 240. Taylor, Steven.  Air War Northern Ireland: Britain's Air Arms and the Bandit Country of South Armagh, Operation Banner 1969-2007.  (Barnsley, Yorkshire, ...
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 I ran the Soviet Airborne invasion of Ireland (1982) four times at Little Wars in Chicago last weekend, and made the mistake of running back to back games on Friday and Saturday.  My voice gave out during Saturday's afternoon game.  I tweaked the scenario, and removed the Scorpion tank, and further limited the ammunition for the anti tank gun (Gustav 84mm) and the Panhard AML 90.  The Irish still prevailed on Friday and the Soviet players decided that they would not be able to get to their objective in time.  However, on Saturday things turned out differently.  The Irish player's Gustav rolled poorly and failed to knock out the BPM-1.  Although the Gustav would fire again, it eventually ran out of ammo, and the Irish had to rely on the AML90 until the Army Ranger Wing appeared on turn four with two four man fire teams in Land Rovers armed with Laws rockets.  The Russians received a heavy weapons section (a MMG and a Grenade Launcher teams carried...
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The Soviet Airborne Invasion of Ireland (Revisited) So after a four year hiatus, I brought back my Russian airborne invasion of the Irish Republic "Cold War Gone Hot" scenario at a local convention as I am planning to run the game at "Little Wars" next month.  The map had a couple of changes.  I replaced a field with a pub building and improved the secondary roads.   My research on the Irish military relies upon Adrian J. English's book,  Irish Army Orders of Battle: 1923-2004, and  provides  a breakdown of unit organization, weapons, and the location of forces. (Unfortunately, the book needs to be edited for typos).  Back in 2022, I play-tested the scenario with friends (and the Irish didn't do well) before running the scenario at a wargaming convention that May, and the Irish won all three times!  The rule set used was "Force on Force, Modern Wargaming Rules" (Cold War Goes Hot). In the summer of 1982, Soviet Airborne troops (or VDV: Vozdus...
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