FOAN - The road to Damascus

Our Fate of a Nation games tend to stick to a routine reflecting the better known tank battles of the Arab Israeli Wars: The Valley of Tears, Chinese Farm, Quinetra or the Mitla Pass. So I was very grateful when Daniel came up with something completely different...

We set the table up as faithfully as possible to where the battle took place. We probably didn't show sufficient crops and orchards, but desert terrain changes radically from day to day according to rainfall...

Daniel as the Israeli player deployed first with a well balanced force, leaving the 40% reserves demanded by the Team Yankee Flanks Out! scenario spread amongst all arms.

Whereas I as the Iraqi player put as many tanks on table as I could manage!

My reasoning was that I would have to overwhelm the on table Israeli forces as quickly as possible before the Israeli Air Force could make its appearance on turn three.

If I waited for my reserves I would just be defeated in detail...

But if both my on table tank companies stormed forwards at once, all guns blazing, we might just reach the objective before the Israelis could get organised...

Turns out it didn't take long for them to get organised, and my on table T-54s were soon on the losing end of a crossfire...

The first Israeli airstrike didn't do too much harm - just one bail out...

But by the time the second one showed up my forces were already in disarray from being caught by Sho't  fire from the front and Isherman  fire from the flank...

My one consolation is that our T-54's trusty Dushka AAMGs had brought down one of the Skyhawks!

But now the Israeli reinforcements were arriving!

But so where mine, and the Motor Rifles were hastily despatched to cover the flank approach to the home objectives.

And the third, final tank company arrived - which was just as well since the original two were down to two survivors each!

I sent them deep flanking in a desperate push for the objective, trying to make use of the scant cover.

Meanwhile my Motor Rifles were receiving lots of unwanted attention from Arty and the flanking Israeli armour, whilst the Israel mech infantry made a lightening strike run for their near objective!

The third tank company managed to brew up two Shot's, but were nowhere near the objective when the mission time elapsed. At the cost of two Skyhawks and three Sho'ts, this was a convincing win for Daniel and the Israeli all arms approach!