Need Help With Modern Imagi-Nation/Alternate History

[bigjackmac]

All,

Somebody help me! I'm about to start a campaign, but need an idea for another.  Here's the situation: I have a small, freedom loving but war-mongering nation that has expeditionary forces ready to deploy to right wrongs, free the oppressed, etc...  We have conventional forces and special operations types standing by to deploy anywhere in the world (except Cuba and the Balkans, those are already handled), though it should be a relatively small deployment. 

Here's the particulars:

-the time is April/May 1990 (I like to use Imagi-Nations based off of real world events, like my upcoming Balkans campaign based off the breakup of Yugoslavia).  I like my concepts to make sense in the overall (or even particular) scheme of what's going on in the world.

-my country can deploy between 20 and 200 regular and/or special operations troops.

-can be anywhere in the world (minus Cuba and the Balkans), can be made up country or real, but I need at least a rough geographical location.

-I need a roster of the players, i.e., who are the good guys, the bad guys, the indifferents, etc...  Everyone we're likely to run into in the battle area, and the more the merrier.  For example, in my Balkans campaign I'll have 'good guy' militia (the ones that called for help), bad guy regulars, bad guy militia, Yugoslavian conscripts, and Serbian Special Forces).

-I need a raison d'etre: is a minority ethnic group being slaughtered and the world is only watching?  Is a peace loving nation being invaded?  Has an insurgency sprung up?  Have narco-traffickers moved in?  What is the situation that needs rectifying/neutralizing?

Thanks in advance for any help you all may provide, and please let it flow, nothing is too crazy.  We could even head to the Sulfanate of Ifat, just need a reason

V/R,
Jack

[Leman]

I believe the Kingdom of Albion, a small but populous nation, proud of it's commitment to democracy and willing to spill blood to defend/enforce it, should (would?) be willing to send troops into a former African colony, where the president, also a tribal leader, is oppressing both the members of other, less dominant, tribes, and any former white residents who are running successful farms. This really would be an imagi-nation conflict as nothing like this is currently happening.

[fsn]

• To offset the growing military threat in the Arctic, the KA send in special forces, backed by air power to destroy a Communist supply depot guarded by Communist special forces and light armour.
• KA forces move to evacuate KA civillians from the small African country of South Leon. There are rebels armed by the neighbouring Communist regime and a mix of government and mercenary forces mostly armed by the US and Germany. These forces are mostly truck borne but there are a few armoured cars and APCs. The KA forces don't want to get involved, just evacuate the civillians, but will use force if attacked. The KA forces are helicopter landed, and are moving to meet KA armour heading inland.
• KA forces in the Far East are put on alert when the Sino empire seeks to claim the small island of Puke (Pronounced Pew-Kay). KA marines and naval power will seek to repulse a Sino landing force.
• KA's neighbour elects an extremist government. This government wants to annex the southermost province of KA. The neighbour has long neglected its armed forces and uses older equipment and little heavy armour.
• A terrorist organisation highjacks a KA embassy in the Middle East. KA forces can be helicoptered in. Terrorists are mostly lightly armed, but the KA needs to be wary of upsetting the nationalist forces which can bring modern armour and weapons to bear.
• A KA recce flight has been downed by engine failure in a volatile part of the world. The pilots (if they are alive) can gain help from the local militia (light APCs, support weapons) but need to be avoid the rebels (small arms only) and some "volunteers" infiltrated from a third country (AA and AT missiles. Heavy weapons.) The KA aims to retieve its pilots, ensure the aircraft is destroyed and if possible, get evidence of "volunteer" activity.

[Ithoriel]

Albion, a minor nation with loose political ties to Europe is racked with crises.

The former President, Reed-Roofer, has been overthrown in a political coup. The leader of the coup, codenamed "Tarzan" has been ousted in his turn by Major John, who now controls the military forces of Albion.

A province of Albion known, somewhat confusingly, as Alba was once an independent nation and there are those who seek to throw of the oppressive shackles of Albion, to rise ... and be a nation again. They are lead by the redoubtable Alexis Saloman.

With Albion in turmoil Major John has joined the Coalition of the Wilting in a massed assault on the distant nation of Eighttrack in an effort to boost his standing at home.

The bulk of the Albion army and Airforce are stationed in far away Quake, with no hope of a rapid return and Saloman considers that there will never be a more opportune moment to sieze the one thing Alba prizes above life itself .... FREEDOM!

Your forces, Jack, are desperately needed by the freedom loving people of Alba in their struggle against tyranny and oppression ... plus they control over 80% of Albion's oil reserves!

Forces involved include

The Army of Albion (The AA) - Regular soldiers, disciplined, well trained and equipped and loyal but seriously understrength due to commitments abroad.
The Territorial Reserve (The Terriers) - a mix of Sunday soldiers and ex-military. good quality second line troops. Likely to be the most numerous troops deployed by the Albion Government.
Republican Albion Flying-Corps (The RAF) - some good quality ground troops but not much by way of aircraft. If it's airworthy it's probably in Quake! Will mount some sorties in second-line aircraft.
Special Arm of Service (The SAS) an elite unit, small in number and currently deployed to Quake but easily returned home and formidable.
The Republican Navy (The RN) - in a snit over the prominence given to the army by Major John, the navy has declared neutrality and interned itself in Canada for the the duration.

The Army of Alba (Also the AA - aren't civil wars confusing!) - mainly ex-Albion military units that have defected as individuals, or en masse.
The Air Force of Alba (The AAF) - some anti-air capacity but no actual planes, though they could fly anything they could capture.
Red Clyde Militant Proletariat (The RCMP) - left-wing militia based in the West of Alba drawn mainly from the working poor and unemployed of a post-industrial metropolis. High morale, poor discipline.
The Army of National Alban Liberation (never known by an acronym for some reason) - largely drawn from the liberal middle-class of the Alban capital. Well armed and equipped but with a tendency to command by committee. All units include a Correctness Commissar.
The Furry Boots Commandos (The FBC) - drawn in the main from Alba's third largest city. The Commando is known for it's distinctive footwear, it's unusual red and white camo scheme and an interest in animal husbandry

Any use as a background?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Small European nation finds itself finally disintegrating due to its population being drawn up of precolonial boundaries.
Forces sent in by UN/NATO to secure key facilities before order breaks down.
The South of the nation look to local neighbours with both hope and fear, as the neighbour mobilises to 'defend its own interests', meanwhile the North wanted to remain independent of its northern neighbour who has traditionally been hostile.


Or:
President of Ruritania dies, the old boy had been in charge for at least the last 35 years, and was so popular that no one had ever considered his successor, who unfortunately died in an air crash a week previously. Various factions now scramble to secure TV/Radio/Server hubs/fuel supplies. Our plucky heroes were on joint manoeuvres with their forces when it all went south. They need to get home through various scenes of increasing unrest!

Or:
A visiting president is caught trying to smuggle political dissidents out of the county in a 'diplomatic bag' actually a bus; our plucky team run through a series of adventures to rescue him and the dissenting individuals before the local secret police have their way!

Or: a fuel crisis is destabilising a country, our boys are called in to run cover for various convoys, untold sinister plot is discovered...

Or:

[bigjackmac]

Holy cow!  I posted my plea for help on three different websites, and you guys are the only ones that have come up with anything.  And not just anything, but a whole slew of campaign and scenario ideas.

The recommendations are too numerous to list, so let me just say thank you to everyone that responded, it's fantastic.  Based on what you guys have thrown my way (and with my realization that I don't want this campaign to be too long, I still have to get to Desert Shield/Desert Storm), here's what I've got:

The small African nation of South Leon (capital Pendrakenville) is shaky.  They were a key US/NATO offset in Africa to USSR/WarPac expansion in Africa, but now that the Wall has fallen no one is much interested, and without Western backing they're withering on the vine.  They have a Marxist neighbor who is a traditional enemy going back to tribal times; but it had been relatively quiet until the 70s when the Soviets moved into the neighbor and the US moved to support South Leon.  The neighbor is doing okay because of natural resources, so despite the fact the Wall has fallen they are still messing with South Leon.  South Leon has a growing Marxist insurgency movement being spurred on and supported by the neighbor, and now South Leon is starting to fall apart.

It's recently come to light that, due to its Allied status during the Cold War, South Leon was provided with certain weapons that are a bit sensitive.  The kind that no one wants to admit were provided, and the kind that need to be retrieved before the wrong guys get their hands on them (or South Leon's military sees the situation as so bad that they think using these weapons on their own folks might be a good idea!).  So Free Cuba sends a company-sized Task Force into South Leon to support them against their insurgency and secure the weapons.  Rough outline for scenarios:

-Cuba  Liberation Expeditionary Force (CLEF) Task Force arrives and begins patrolling in support of the South Leon gov't.  I'm thinking ambush, ambush, they strike an insurgent base camp.  Meanwhile, the CLEF is negotiating with South Leon to identify weapons storage sites and secure/destroy the weapons, but the South Leon gov't is being very cooperative.  The situation continues to deteriorate.
-A CLEF aircraft is shot down and the Task Force runs to perform a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) mission.  Turns out the surface to air missile that shot down the CLEF aircraft either came from, or was shot from, the Marxist neighbor.  If I feel like adding an air component to the campaign, CLEF and Marxist neighbor jets get a little frisky.  Not sure how, but Cuba is not happy with its aircraft being shot down and retaliates against the Marxist neighbor.
-A couple more patrols/ambushes/raids by CLEF against the insurgents.  Then the insurgents blow up a Cuban consular building; they also try to bomb the Cuban Embassy, but it's thwarted.  The Cubans are really not happy now.
-Play out a CLEF patrol near the Marxist neighbor's border, the CLEF comes under arty fire from across the border.
-Play out another CLEF patrol in the heartland of South Leon; the insurgents are now in uniform, with better weapons, and Marxist neighbor advisers.
-Quite unexpectedly, the insurgents attack Pendrakenville, and the Cuban embassy is in the rebel-controlled area.  CLEF troops are dispatched to fight their way to the embassy, locate all Cuban nationals, and evacuate them to a rally point.  CLEF has to defend rally point.  Helos come to pick up civvies, one shot down, air evac ruled out.
-CLEF dispatched to get to downed helo, while CLEF at rally point have to fight their way out (I now realize I don't have much in the way of 15mm civilians...).
-CLEF forces thrown into street fighting in Pendrakenville; the rebels now have armor and artillery (provided by Marxist neighbor, of course).
-South Leon is crumbling; CLEF finally learns the sensitive weapon locations and goes after them, having to fight South Leon gov't forces to do so.
-CLEF commander makes decision: the jig is up, we need to get the hell out of dodge.  CLEF carries out march to the sea, with patrols, breaking through roadblocks, fighting through to encircled elements, etc..., against insurgents, better armed guerrillas, and South Leon gov't troops.
-Maybe head back in one more time to save the South Leon president?

Am I missing anything?  Any other scenario ideas that fit with that campaign, or campaign twists/directions?  Boy, now that I wrote it down it doesn't sound like a short campaign at all     But it does sound like something I want to play

So, a few more questions:
1.  Who's the leader of South Leon?
2.  Who's the leader of the South Leon military?
3.  What's the name of the insurgent group in South Leon?
4.  What's the name of the leader of the insurgent group in South Leon?
5.  What's the name of the Marxist neighbor?
6.  What's the name of the leader in the Marxist neighbor?
7.  What's the name of the leader of the Marxist neighbor's military?

Now we're cooking!!!  If we flesh this out, I promise I'll play it.  C'mon, you've seen me do plenty of campaigns, you know I'm good for it

Thanks again guys, and I look forward to your responses.  And a lot of the other ideas listed in these responses sounds like good campaign ideas in the future.

V/R,
Jack

[Ithoriel]

3.  What's the name of the insurgent group in South Leon?

Marxist Internal National Ideological Brotherhood Initiating Transformational Socialism - aka MINIBITS

4.  What's the name of the leader of the insurgent group in South Leon?

No-one knows - but his codename is "The Teknophil"

5.  What's the name of the Marxist neighbor?

Zunderlandt - clearly once a German colony.

6.  What's the name of the leader in the Marxist neighbor?

Sam Al Ardies, he is known simply as "Big Sam"

[bigjackmac]

You've gone too far with "MINIBITS"!!!

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

No-one knows - but his codename is "The Teknophil"

Cheers - Phil

[bigjackmac]

Come on, no one else has any ideas?  I know you're more creative than that!

I'd love to hear names, thoughts on the outline I provided, and/ore modifications to it.

And Teknofil is definitely the main bad guy.

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Oh well.....

I was a good guy last time, I suppose.

Cheers - Phil

[Ithoriel]

Few more suggestions then, if no one else is stepping up to the plate.

1.  Who's the leader of South Leon? - President Davidson, Though known in diplomatic circles as President his actual title translates more accurately as First Dragon of Leon. The presidential palace is in Centreville , near the arms factories.

2.  Who's the leader of the South Leon military? - There are old hussars and there are bold hussars but there is only one Last Hussar

3.  What's the name of the insurgent group in South Leon? - The Jakamaks

5.  What's the name of the Marxist neighbor? - Fédération Socialiste Nationale de Leon - known as FSN.

6.  What's the name of the leader in the Marxist neighbor? - Lemuel LeFou aka Mad Lemmy

7.  What's the name of the leader of the Marxist neighbor's military? - Formerly a morose religious extremist now known simply as Le Man

[Leman]

KAPOW!Get in! 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Like it! Willing to play thaT!