FOAN 12mil: The Valley of Tears

This week's game at the Uni, planned for some time, was a 12mil / 1:144th scale game of Fate of A Nation, set at the beginning of the 1973 October War (Yom Kippur) when Israel was surprised, during its holiest day of the year, by invasion on all its borders by the Arab World.

This game would focus on the epic stand of the OZ (the Hebrew acronym for courage) 77th Armored Battalion, 7th Armored Bde, commanded by Lt Col. (later Brigadier) Avigdor Kahalani in what would be immortalized as the Valley of Tears... 

Designing a historical scenario to reflect 80 odd Centurion Sho't Kals holding off approx 2,000 T-54s and T-62s is impossible, so I extemporised...

The feeling I wanted to impart was of initially overwhelming Syrian strength being met by dribs and drabs of reserves strengthening a weak but well positioned defence, assisted by total Israeli Air Force supremacy:

Entering into the spirit of things magnificently, Daniel, the Syrian player, published his briefing to the troops on our fB page:

Famously, Kahalani’s message to his Israeli tankers was simpler: if their leaders became casualties, OZ 77 soldiers would continue the fight to save their homes and country.

Both Daniel, and Darren, the Israeli player, were FOAN novices. The advice I gave to Daniel was to get up close and personal with his T-54s and T-62s as quickly as possible, the advice I gave to Darren was to roll well for his air support! 

Daniel at least took my advice to heart...

Launching his armour in a fast and furious pincer attack taking full advantage of Dash movement and 'Follow Me' orders to close up to the Israeli positions fast.

Inevitably there were casualties, but by the second turn it looked pretty bad for the few Israeli tanks on table...

Reinforcements were arriving at the BOOSTER position, but unfortunately the lead Israeli elements were reservists in older M-51 Super Shermans, which frankly weren't all that super by 1973...

Daniel kept his options open, striking at both objectives from both flanks...

He was taking heavy casualties, but applying real pressure to the Israeli northern objective, held by a platoon of Paratroopers, light on Anti Tank weapons. Managing to deal with the leading recon platoon of BRDM-1s themselves, it was the Sho'ts  that had to fend off the T-62s, at a heavy price.

On the southern flank, the IAF now conspicuous by its absence, it was the reservist M-51 Shermans who would have to cope with the horde of T-54s- not a promising prospect...

However they acquitted themselves surprisingly well:

Yet the southern objective remained perilously exposed. Darren resorted to desperate measures: a platoon of Mech Infantry who had just arrived on-scene in their M113 APCs were rapidly dismounted and ordered in to assault the T-54's closest to the objective!

They prevailed! Promptly digging in to secure that objective, and with the Paratroopers confidently in control of the northern objective, the Syrian onslaught was stopped in its tracks. And the Israeli pilots didn't even have to leave their hotel!

An exciting game with both players overcoming their inexperience to fight the battle with historical tactics and right down to the wire: my kind of game! Thanks Gents!

Oh, and Darren, not to rub it in,  but this is what an Israeli A4 Skyhawk looks like...