Fictional Galmae crossing on the Miru River (fictional names on real river-and-hill ground)

Ashen Wind

About 10 decisions, 10 minutes. Make the call as the commander, then compare with the call doctrine recommends.

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Ashen Wind

2026-10-17 · Fictional Galmae crossing on the Miru River (fictional names on real river-and-hill ground) · Fictional exercises · Fictional situation

Your role

You are the senior company commander (A Company) of a fictional mechanised infantry battalion, next in line to command the battalion if contact with its commander is lost. This is a fictional situation; it deals with the decisions of the side responding to a nuclear weapon, never the side using one.

Higher commander's intent

Hold the Galmae bridgehead so the follow-on brigade passes through to Solgogae within the required time, and preserve the battalion's combat power under nuclear threat.

Situation

Enemy: a fictional Grey mechanised battalion north of Suri-bong. Grey is assessed to hold long-range rockets, short-range missiles and low-yield warheads, and has signalled pre-emptive use. Friendly: a reinforced mechanised infantry battalion (three companies, a tank platoon attached) holds a bridgehead north of the Galmae crossing on the Miru River. The follow-on brigade waits in the Maehwa area; the adjacent battalion, in brigade reserve, is in an assembly area to the south-east. Civil: an evacuation column is using the south bypass.

Mission

The battalion holds the Galmae bridgehead through the morning of D+7 and secures the follow-on brigade's passage to Solgogae.

One-page print version

Sources

FM 8-9, NATO Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations, Part I ch. 3 (effects of nuclear explosions) — US Department of the Army (FAS mirror) (PD_US_GOV)
FM 8-9, Part I ch. 7 (fallout, shelter, decontamination, performance categories) — US Department of the Army (FAS mirror) (PD_US_GOV)
FM 8-9, list of tables (7:10 rule, table 7-III; weapon effects, table 3-I) — US Department of the Army (FAS mirror) (PD_US_GOV)
FM 3-7, NBC Field Handbook, ch. 4 (simplified fallout prediction, Zone I/II) — summary — GlobalSecurity.org (PD_US_GOV)
FM 3-7, NBC Field Handbook, ch. 1 (NBC warning and reporting system) — The Black Vault (PD_US_GOV)
FM 3-11, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations (10 April 2025; replaces the 23 May 2019 edition) — Headquarters, Department of the Army (APD FM index) (PD_US_GOV)
ATP 3-21.8, Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad (January 2024, incl. Change 1, June 2025), appendix E (Battle Drill 14, React to Nuclear Attack - Platoon, 07-PLT-D9483) — US Department of the Army (PD_US_GOV)
Radiological emergency responders module (7:10 rule of thumb) — Florida Department of Health (UNKNOWN)
AWR-923-W course material (limits of the 7:10 rule) — DHS Center for Domestic Preparedness (PD_US_GOV)
Nuclear effects summary table (Glasstone & Dolan-derived secondary table, 1 kt / 20 kt air burst) — arXiv 0801.1694 (COPYRIGHTED)
Initial radiation dose vs distance (DTIC ADA080040) — Defense Technical Information Center (PD_US_GOV)
Train, Harden, Sustain: Maintaining the Army's Lethality in the Nuclear Shadow (2024) — War on the Rocks (COPYRIGHTED)
Australian Army Journal no. 127 (Dec 1959), dispersion in atomic warfare — Australian Army Research Centre (CROWN)
SIPRI Yearbook 2023, ch. 7 (World nuclear forces), sec. VIII — background for the fictional adversary's generic traits — SIPRI (COPYRIGHTED)
BRSL podcast S1E3 transcript (games that exclude nuclear use) — Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (COPYRIGHTED)
FMFM 11-18 / FM 3-3-1, Nuclear Contamination Avoidance (9 Sep 1994) — index entry — GlobalSecurity.org (PD_US_GOV)