JTS - Squad Battles: Modern War - Ambush Alley

I have a strange relationship with John Tiller's games: when I'm considering what to play I think of the UI and often decide that I don't have the mental energy to wrestle with it.  However, when I do play one of them, I always end up really enjoying the game.

This afternoon I spent some time with Squad Battles: Modern War.  If you're interested in an excellent collection of recent era company to battalion level actions from Iraq and Afghanistan, this is it.  While not as graphically sophisticated as Combat Mission Shock Force, the game play is excellent and deep.

Today I played the scenario representing the Marine's advance through An Nasiriyah along Ambush Alley.  This battle is very well documented in two excellent books, Marines in the Garden of Eden and Ambush Alley. 

While I don't feel I handled Charlie Company that well today (and I never did push through to the Saddam Canal bridge), I did manage a minor victory.  Not bad considering I haven't touched this game for almost a year!