Welcome to Red Dawn 4, Battle for hill 3234. our last full scenario we will be hosting, this, our final month of paintball on Mt. Diablo.

We've classified this scenario as an Intermediate event. If you are a veteran of such events, you'll appreciate its level of authenticity and execution. For those of you that are new to such events, you may want to thoroughly read and review every aspect of this event before deciding to join in on the fun. Because of the nature of the event, new rental players may find it a little more challenging than our normal recreational games, but I still encourage you to attend.

Most of our veteran and regular players who have participated in our previous large scenario events know we base our scenarios around historical events. Hill 1338, battle for Zvornik, Battle for New Orleans and Battle of the Bulge come to mind.

Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle fought by the Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan in January 1988 against the much larger Afghan rebel force. As the operation went on, Soviet commanders wanted to secure the entire section of the road from Gardez to Khost. One of the most important point was the nameless hill designated by its height 3234m, which was assigned to the 9th company of the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment led by Colonel Valery Vostrotin. The company was landed on the hilltop on January 7th, 1988, tasked with creating and holding a hilltop strong point from which to observe and control a long section of the road beneath and thus secure it for the safe passage of convoys.

Shortly after landing, the airborne troopers, who were well trained and experienced in the Afghan campaign, started to take up positions which covered both the road and the passages uphill. Just as they have dug in, the mujahideen began their attack at 1530 hrs. First they fired with all possible weapons including recoilless guns and RPG. After few salvos, Soviet artillery began making reply, with commander of the first platoon, Lt. Victor Gagarin, directing fire through radio. When rebel fire slackened, it was clear that this was the beginning of an infantry assault.

The airborne troopers were attacked by a coordinated and well-armed force of about 500 mujahideen. Attacks were made from two directions, indicating that the assailants may have been assisted by rebels trained in Pakistan. During the ensuing battle the Soviet unit was in constant communication with headquarters and received everything the leadership of 40th Army had to offer in terms of artillery support, ammunition, reinforcements, and armor support.

The first attack at 1530 on January 7th was followed by 11 more attacks until just before dawn on January 8th, when the mujahideen withdrew leaving Hill 3234 still in the hands of the Soviet paratroopers. The exhausted and mostly wounded Soviets were nearly out of ammunition after the final attack and may not have been able to withstand a further assault.

As the Soviet commander of the 9th para, will you be able hold the hill until reinforcements arrive. Or will history change and see the Mujahideen take the hill and one last vistory before the Soviets pull out from Afghanistan?

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We hope you enjoy this scenario. One reason our scenarios are so much fun for most people that participate in them, is, unlike most scenarios which are based on fantasy and extended role playing, we take our scenarios from historical events and add a "What If". In turn we hope you get to understand and learn a little history and appreciate mans place in it.

It was a pleasure hosting our historical scenarios for your pleasure these past 23 years. I thank you for your support

Michael
Venture Games / Tactical Ir