theck343 wrote
I'm looking to build a DFC for the Battle of Khafji to work on fire support, liaison, and communications decisions. Any tips for how to build it? Maps? Terrain models? How much backstory do I need to use? I'd love to assign David Morris' "Storm on the Horizon" as the read-ahead but that might be a bit unrealistic.
Also, how does one realistically simulate the Iraqis? I can dig up Soviet doctrine of the 1970s and do some digging into how the Iraqis fought Iran but at some point I risk just "doing what I would do" instead of "doing what they would do."
I have long believed that the Battle of Khafji is an excellent choice for a
DFC, particularly one of the
"White Castle" variety. It is an interesting engagement of a type (somewhere between a "combat outpost" and a "reconnaissance base") that is rarely studied. It is well documented (at least from one side.) And there are lots of resources for those who want to delve further into the subject once the DFC is over.
As with any other well-documented events, the first pitfall that the developer of a DFC will encounter is the
temptation to provide too much information, particularly before the students engage the first question. One way to deal with this is to provide background information (such as order of battle and available resources) on handouts. Another is to remember that students are always free to ask for additional information.
Whether you use maps or terrain models is entirely a function of the things that you want to emphasize. Thus, if your DFC is about the targeting decisions made by a forward air controller (FAC) or forward observer (FO), you may want to use a sand table and models of enemy vehicles. If, however, you are dealing with decisions concerning the "big picture," then a map may be more suitable.
As far as before class preparation goes, I would keep it "short and sweet." Thus, you might want to provide a short reading on the background of Operation Desert Shield. (The first place I would look for this would be in the first few pages of one of the many books about the Gulf War published by the History Division of MCU.) You might also assign
an audio program or YouTube video that provides the same sort of orientation. (You may have to edit these to remove spoilers.)
As far as the actions by Iraqi forces go, the thing to avoid is to give the students any information that the historical protagonist did not have (or could not reasonably have had.) In other words, the fact that the available sources tell us little about the Iraqi side of the battle is, in fact, a benefit.
As far as substantial reading goes, the best thing to do is to make it available after the DFC, at the moment when the participants are full of questions that they want answers. As they say in show business, "always leave 'em wanting more."
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