Operation Proud Lion: T2K in Kenya

[Raellus]

Here's the rough draft of the background and setting for my upcoming African T2K campaign. Constructive feedback is welcome.

I attempted to use as much of Frank Frey's unpublished Lions of Twilight project as possible. This was reconstructed from material he posted in the archives and here:

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=2303

The most significant departure from Frey's material is the Tanzanian invasion. I included this to provide the U.S. with a more compelling reason to deploy the 173rd BCT to Kenya, give it more formidable opposition, and generally increase the level of chaos in the region.

I hope you enjoy.

Background

WWIII had a very destabilizing effect on Africa. Foreign aid dried up almost overnight. UN peacekeepers were pulled out of the continent. Humanitarian crises throughout Africa quickly multiplied, and old tribal and political rivalries soon boiled out of control. War and famine visited Africa on a scale seldom seen before.

In early 1997, Kenya, one of the most politically and economically stable African nations, was hard pressed on multiple fronts by a multitude of enemies both foreign and domestic. In the northeast, Somali bandits stepped up the pace of their cross-border raids into Kenyan territory. In the northwest, Sudanese paramilitaries provided financial, material, and technical support to the Junudullah (Sword of Allah), an Islamic fundamentalist insurgency/terrorist group dedicated to the expulsion of Western influences from, and the establishment of a Islamic state, in East Africa. From the west, a Ugandan rebel group calling itself the Lord's Army sought refuge on the Kenyan side of the border, carrying out brutal attacks against Kenyan civilians in the area.

In the south, a revolutionary organization known as PARA (Pan African Revolutionary Army) was surreptitiously supported by the Tanzanian Army.

The Tanzanian Invasion

Soon after the outbreak of WWIII, Tanzania had effectively lost its Chinese patrons. Chinese economic development personnel and military advisors were recalled and Chinese economic aid abruptly ceased. The Soviet Union quickly stepped in to fill the void. The Soviets (and Cubans) already had a network of military advisors in place in neighboring Mozambique and many of these advisors were sent posthaste to Tanzania with assurances of future military and economic aid. The Soviets appealed to Tanzanian pride, assuring them of a position of primacy in East Africa if they took aggressive action against rival Kenya. The Kenyans were preoccupied with various insurgencies and cross border raids, and their formidable military was already stretched thin. The Soviets promised to make the Tanzanian's motley assortment of Soviet and Chinese-made combat aircraft airworthy, and provide experienced combat pilots to fly them against the Kenyan air force. In terms of material support, the Soviets could not offer much since travel to the region was almost impossible. A powerful radar/air control system and several SA-7 man-portable SAMs were brought in from Mozambique. Generous future arms shipments were also promised, once possible. The Tanzanian leadership in Dar es Salaam acquiesced. Together with the Tanzanian army's general staff, the Soviet advisors planned an invasion of southern Kenya, the main strategic objective being the seizure of the fuel refineries and port facilities in Mombasa with the secondary objective of marching on Nairobi and overthrowing the Kenyan government.

On June 21st 1997, the Tanzanian military launched its surprise offensive, codenamed Operation Green Mamba. Initial progress was swift. Tanzania's Soviet and Cuban-piloted MiG-21s establishing local air superiority over the battlefield while Tanzanian-piloted Shenyan J-5s provided close air support for the Tanzanian ground forces. The Tanzanian 1st Tank Brigade and 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade advanced quickly on Mombasa, supported by the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades and a battalion of self-propelled BM-21 Grad rocket launchers. Elements of the Kenyan army and air force fought back valiantly, but were soon brushed aside by the sheer weight of the Tanzanian forces. The Kenyan 1st Armored brigade, rushed into action, was almost completely destroyed in the fighting. Kenyan security forces and PMC personnel guarding the refineries were engaged in firefights with Tanzanian commandos landed by sea.
Within 48 hours, the Tanzanian spearhead was within 10 km of the Mombasa.

NATO Response

With the Persian Gulf refineries largely inoperable due to repeated conventional air and missile strikes, NATO needed facilities to refine Middle Eastern crude. Kenya offered the nearest, most capable refinery facilities. Now, with the Tanzanian invasion, the threat of losing access to the Kenyan refinery facilities became very real. The only local strategic reserve was the newly reactivated 173rd Airborne Brigade, currently being brought up to BCT strength with the attachment of additional units.
Within hours of the Tanzanian surprise attack and subsequent retroactive declaration of war, the president of the U.S. instructed CENTCOM to begin immediate preparations to send the 173rd BCT to Kenya. The hastily planned and prepared operation was named Proud Lion.

Operation Proud Lion

Using CENTCOM's remaining strategic airlift assets, the 1/503 and 2/503 parachute infantry battalions were dispatched immediately, with Saudi-based F-15Cs conducting a prelimary fighter sweep and flying top cover for the vulnerable transports. During the sweep, five Tanzanian MiGs were shot down, all but one from beyond visual range. In an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, one Kenyan F-5 was also shot down by an Eagle-launched Sparrow missile. With the Moi International Airport in Mombasa within Tanzanian MLRS range, it was considered unsafe to land and offload the transports there. Instead, it was decided to drop the two battalions adjacent to the airport by parachute. The 1/503 and 2/503 jumped in the dawn light of the 23rd of June, executing one of WWIII's few combat parachute drops. Both battalions were almost immediately in action, marching from the runways to the sound of the gunfire and squaring off against Soviet and Chinese made MBTs with nothing more than LAWs and Tankbreaker/Javelins. The fighting was confused and intense, but the paratroopers held their own. The 3/503 (motorized) and 4/503 (airmobile), along with the brigade's artillery battalion followed, arriving in Mombasa International Airport by air later in the day without their motor vehicles and aircraft. The 4/503's helicopters were to be delivered the next day by air, once the airport's security had been assured.

By the end of the 23rd, the Tanzanian drive on Mombasa had been blunted. Both sides suffered significant casualties during the battle. Learning that they were fighting American paratroops, the Tanzanian high command balked, and the 1st armored brigade was ordered to break contact and withdraw several kilometers in order to preserve their remaining tanks. Throughout the day, surviving elements of the Kenyan 2nd armored brigade were redeployed from northwest of Nairobi to Mombasa. Elements of the Brigade began to arrive early on the 24th.

On the morning of the 24th, elements of the 228th Aviation Battalion began to arrive at Mombasa International Airport aboard C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft. By the end of the day, the remainder of the 173rd BCT was on the ground in and around Mombasa.

The Sinking of the Belmont

On June 25th, the RO/RO transport ship Belmont was sunk by a submarine-launched SSM off the Horn of Africa, carrying the 3/503rd's vehicles (HUMVEEs, FAVs, 2 and 5-ton trucks, and a company of LAV-75A2 Ridgways) to the bottom of the sea along with it. One the Belmont's naval escorts (an OHP class frigate) was also sunk by a torpedo. The Belmont's remaining USN escorts claimed to have killed the submarine responsible (likely a Soviet SSN commerce raider) although after the war, an Italian Sauro class submarine commander claimed credit for the attack on the Belmont and her escorts. This claim has not been substantiated.

Skyraiders

Meanwhile, the U.S. government moved swiftly to acquire additional air support assets for the BCT. Seven A-1J Skyraiders originally purchased by the Confederate Airforce (a Texas-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at air shows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada) from the government of Chad were awaiting shipment out of Mombasa when the Tanzanian attack occurred. They were procured by the United States government and began operating in support of the 173rd in early July. The Skyraiders were flown by a mix of PMC and Army fixed-wing pilots. Initially , only four were operational. The remaining three were eventually used to replace to combat losses.

Counteroffensive

With air support provided by the 228th's Cobra gunships and A-1J Skyraiders, and armored support in the form of one of the Kenyan Army's armored brigades' Vickers Mk 3s and Panhard AMLs, the paratroopers and their Kenyan allies took to the offensive. By the 25th of July, the Tanzanian army had been pushed back to within several kilometers of the Tanzanian border.

French Involvement

The French government wanted access to the fuel produced by the Kenyan refineries. They offered the American government French-made AFVs originally en route to its African client states in exchange for a share of the fuel produced in Kenya. The U.S., unable to adequately provide replacement vehicles for the 173rd BCT, accepted the offer. The shipment was diverted to Mombasa, arriving in early August, 2007. The 3/503 (motorized) henceforth began operations equipped with Panhard VBLs, VABs, and ERC 90 F4s.

The Aftermath

With the onset of limited nuclear warfare in November of 1997, the situation in Africa became even more dire. Humiliated by the failure of their offensive and feeling betrayed by their Soviet allies, the Tanzanian government and military turned on itself and the country collapsed into a brutal civil war. Scattered Tanzanian army units continued to raid across the Kenyan border. The Ugandan government also collapsed. Former Ugandan army troops joined the Lord's Army in pushing deeper into Kenyan territory. Incursions by Somali bandits increased. Citing the correlation of increased Western presence in Kenyan and East Africa's mounting problems, the Junudullah grew and became bolder in their attacks.

By mid-2000, the 173rd has been operating in Kenya for three years. They have not received replacement personnel since early 1998. Shipments of ammunition and spare parts have also all but ceased. Only a handful of the BCT's fixed wing and rotary aircraft are operational at any given time. Very little fuel is being produced at the refinery. Most of the brigade's ground vehicles have been converted to run on alcohol, saving what little gasoline is available for its aircraft. Elements of the 173rd BCT are scattered around the country, with Brigade HQ relocated to Nairobi. The BCT is combating a host of enemies, most of which can be broadly categorized as marauders. Fighting alongside the Americans are the remains of the once formidable Kenyan army, the British Army's Africa training cadre (including an SAS mobility group in the north), a few French military "advisors", and multi-national PMC personnel (mostly Israeli) formerly employed guarding the refineries (this duty has been taken over by the USN and USCG).

Operations 1997-2000

Throughout the remainder of 1997, the Herd's infantry battalions remained concentrated around the strategically important cities of Mombasa and Nairobi. Although the Tanzanian offensive had been blunted and thrown back, the remnants of the Tanzanian military (including rogue forces of Tanzanian origin) still retained the capacity to threaten southern Kenya. Operations focused on destroying the remnants of the invasion force remaining in the frontier region. An operational shift occurred after the escalation of the nuclear phase of the war in the autumn of 1997. Shipments of replacement personnel and equipment, ammunition, supplies, and spare parts from CENTCOM and CONUS slowed to a trickle. The forces in and around the strategically important refinery and port facilities in Mombasa braced for a nuclear attack which fortunately never came.

With the continuation of drought conditions throughout East Africa, the food situation for the Herd, as well as Kenya's urban population, soon became critical. Kenya's western highlands, one of the Africa's most productive agricultural regions, became a area of strategic importance. At the same time, incursions by LRA and renegade Ugandan military units in the region increased as the situation in Uganda spiraled out of control. Farms and farming villages were overrun, crops plundered or ruined, and atrocities against civilians committed on an alarming scale. The Kenyan infantry brigades assigned to the region were hard pressed to stem the flow of Ugandan marauders. Scattered reports of disgruntled Kenyan troops deserting from their units and joining the Ugandan marauders began to reach Nairobi. The 1/503 and 2/503 parachute infantry battalions were sent to western Kenya to stabilize the situation and secure the valuable food producing regions.

As of July 2000, the 1/503 remained in western Kenya, along with elements of the 2/503. Other elements of the 2/503 formed ad-hoc task forces that were deployed to trouble spots in the north of the country, as circumstances dictated. Along with most of the Brigade Combat Team's remaining operational aircraft, the 4/503 (airmobile) were based around Nairobi and operated mostly in the central highlands. A Troop, 1/91st Cavalry and the 3/503 (light motorized), using French-made AFVs, operated out of Mombasa and were tasked with keeping the Mombasa to Nairobi highway open. Throughout Kenya, the 173rd BCT operated alongside loyal Kenyan military forces which, for the most part, displayed professionalism and fighting spirit.

Recondo School

In early 1998, with the 173rd BCT isolated from the rest of the U.S. armed forces and its constituent infantry battalions widely spread around the country and responsible for large and environmentally diverse areas of operation, it quickly became apparent that the Brigade's authorized reconnaissance unit, A Troop, 1/91st Cavalry, could not be everywhere at once. In order to locate and monitor the various hostile forces* operating in their respective areas of operation, each battalion needed a dedicated, long-range reconnaissance unit of its own.

*Most of these hostile forces operated as relatively small, mobile bands, using classic guerilla tactics.

The Brigade's commander, a late-war Vietnam veteran and former Ranger, decided to create a training course for long range reconnaissance patrollers modeled on the Vietnam War-era U.S. Army Recondo school. The course would focus on long range patrolling and scouting skills, tracking, field-craft, and SERE.

The cadre for the school was formed by a small group of experienced Special Forces soldiers familiar with Kenya and its people. A diverse group of men was assembled to lend local and topical knowledge and expertise to the course. This group included a Rhodesian expatriate and former Selous Scout with extensive experience in long range patrolling in the African bush and an Israeli citizen and ex-Sayeret Maktal commando who "retired" to Kenya after a stint as an independent security consultant at the refinery facilities in Mombasa. Several Kenyan soldiers, game wardens, and indigenous, semi-nomadic hunters were also brought in to share their experience with the students (and instructors) and the British SAS mobility troop operating against Somali bandits and Junudullah insurgents in the northeast of the country routinely rotated personnel (often convalescing wounded) through the course as "guest instructors".

Graduates of the Recondo school formed long range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) platoons in each of the Brigade's airborne infantry battalions. Additional allied personnel cycled through the school in small batches and returned to their parent line companies in order to share their newly acquired patrolling skills.