Purple Line Blues - 15mm Yom Kippur War Battle Report

IDF Centurions rolling towards the front

We ran another 15mm Yom Kippur War game last night. The scenario pitted opposing armoured columns against each other in a meeting-engagement-type battle. We used Dallas' "Red Storm" rules for the game, with the addition of a sort of "Hen & Chicks" rule for the Syrian tankers. I also continued with my house rule that AFVs could not pass any closer than 4" to another active friendly AFV on the table (I hate when the tanks horde up Flames-Of-War style).

The table at Turn 1 - IDF table edge at the bottom, Syrian at the top

The IDF had five Centurion Sho't Kals and a squad of mechanized infantry in an M113.  The Syrians had nine T-62s and a squad of infantry in a BTR-60.The setting was the Golan Heights, early on the second day of the war. The IDF column was a group of reservists sent forward desperately to reinforce the "Purple Line", which the Syrians had in fact broken through during the night.  On the way to the front the IDF encounters a Syrian column that has made it through, and the battle ensued!

Syrian T-62s

IDF Centurion rolls up the lead T-62 platoon

Conscripts Hugh and Byron played the Syrians, while Jim played the IDF with a little help from me.  Each side had to block the other from escaping, while trying to set some of its own stuff off of the table - a tricky balancing act.  The table was 6' x 4', with the sides approaching from opposing short table edges.

Turret flew off following a particularly well-placed shot...

Burning tanks filled the table right from the first turn.  Jim and I felt pretty good about things in the first couple of turns - we lit up the leading Syrian tank platoon with only one Centurion damaged in return.  As the follow-up Syrians came on, we were thinking a couple of turns of efficient gunnery would sort them out.

Syrian infantry deploy - to their doom...

IDF troopers hop off of their M113

We were kind of wrong...Byron in particular started to hot-roll for the Syrian gunners, and our tanks started to see some serious damage, especially the loss of main guns! By the fifth turn, we were down to one fully-functional Sho't - although we had managed to eliminate the Syrian infantry. 

Centurion with damaged main gun tried to make for the far table edge - it would end badly for the tank...

In the sixth turn Byron managed to blow the main gun off our final tank, and that was that! With no meaningful AT firepower left, the IDF had to pull back, leaving a one destroyed and another immobilized Sho't on the battlefield, and three more without their main armament. The Syrians had lost three T-62s, a BTR-60 and a squad of infantry.  That's what it was like in those first couple of days on the Purple Line in October 1973...

This blurry photo captures the fate of the IDF tankers in the game

Syrian T-62 firing line victorious at the end of the game

It was a lot of fun to play Yom Kippur again, and Dallas' rules work very well for the battle.  I should probably tweak the tanks' stats a touch for next time, but "Red Storm" is great for this setting. Thanks to Hugh, Jim and Bryon for coming out.

Regina 2013 - AAR Number One - Golan Heights, 15mm

Syrian T-62s rumble into action - models by QRF

Note - This post was originally published as a guest post at Analogue Hobbies.  Click here for the original. GB.

Greetings again to the visitors at Analogue Hobbies.  I'm sorry to interrupt the steady stream of entries to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (well, not sorry if it interrupts Ray), but I'm sure many of you have noticed your recent entries to the competition have been slow to appear on the Blog.  That's because I have rocketed out to Regina for a wonderful visit with Curt and Sarah, and we have been gaming our faces off!  Here is the first of a few AARs from the trip - a tank battle set in on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Syrian T-62 company - nearly all QRF models, with a few Old Glory

Those of you who visit the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts pages will have seen the Golan Heights in 1973 appear as one of my not-infrequent "new insane projects" back in the summer of 2012. I have painted a good sized pile of 15mm Syrian and IDF tanks and infantry since then, and it was fun to kick off the gaming here in the centre of God's prairies with a Yom Kippur game.  We used the Bolt Action rules engine for the game, with the platoon-activation modifications our Fawcett group has used previously for 15mm WW2 games.

Centurion Sh'ot MBT - model by Peter Pig

In the 1973 surprise attack on the Golan Heights a small number of IDF tank battalions, spread thin along the "purple line" at the frontier, held out heroically - and at very high cost - against several Syrian divisions.  Many Syrian units broke through holes in the IDF lines during the first two days and tried to find their way to the bridges over  the Jordan River. If they had succeeded, it would have been game over in the north for the IDF. This scenario imagined an action involving of one of those units - a company of Syrian T-62s approaching the "customs house", a very old bridge and collection of buildings that straddled the previous border with Palestine.

Table on the first turn - Syrian platoon enters along the road

Historically the Syrian spearheads approached this location, met some resistance, and turned back - night was approaching and they were not sure what defences were in place. If only they had known at the time there was practically none, the 1973 war might have turned out differently. So this scenario is a "what-if" of sorts - what if the Syrians were more aggressive?

Centurion arriving as a reinforcement

The table was 6'x4', with the Syrian force - a company of 13 T-62 MBTs - entering at one edge, and having ten turns to get at least two tanks across the old bridge representing the crossing of the Jordan river (I think the actual bridge was a Bailey-type bridge, but I found the stone piece evocative of the age of the place in question).

Traffic jam on the advance - the tank in the foreground is Old Glory

Another picture of the Old Glory tanks - one has already been dealt with by IDF gunners

Opposing this tide of armour was a small force of IDF tankers composed of reservists coming up into the fighting - two Centurion Sh'ots behind some improvised defences, and three more arriving from off the table during the game. The old buildings represented an orchard and farm area near the "customs house". The IDF mission was to stop the Syrians at all costs - if they could knock out or disable eight of the Syrian tanks, it would halt the attack. But would they last?

T-62 platoon struggles forward under fire, but at least they took out one of the Centurions (at top)

Curt took the IDF side and I plated the Syrians. The Syrians started with one 3-tank platoon already coming down the road, and would arrive in platoon-sized batches over the first three turns, while Curt would receive another Centurion on each turn starting with the first until all five were on the table.

IDF Centurions await the Syrians

I tried to split the difference between moving and firing, thinking I could put enough fire on the IDF to to knock them out AND overrun them. I mean, I had a 13 to 5 advantage, right? No such luck! Soon T-62s were burning on the road, causing a traffic jam and causing the tanks to detour. The Bolt Action rules model the movement of tracked vehicles very well, limiting the turns of the vehicles.  You need to think ahead a bit - sure you can turn and move, but will your flank be exposed? Will you be able to move again from where you end up? When you are trying to get 13 tanks moving, this is a challenge.

Syrian T-62 settles in for some cover to duel with the Sh'ots

As more T-62s arrived the battle heated up.  The Syrians managed to knock out one of the Sh'ots.  For good measure Curt parked one reinforcing Sh'ot on the bridge over the river, and moved the other Centurions forward aggressively.  Tank shells criss-crossed the battlefield as both sides blazed away.

The fate of most Syrian tanks on the Golan Heights in 1973

IDF tanks under heavy fire - one knocked out

I had one platoon which managed to stay relatively pin-free, and they cause some trouble for the IDF - immobilizing a second Sh'ot and putting some heavy pins on a third. It was the opening I had hoped for.  But I was not able to get the other tanks moving consistently - I had one fellow zipping down the flank, but he got tagged by the Sh'ot on the bridge.

Curt's last line of defence

Ultimately the IDF knocked out the eight T-62s needed in order to halt the attack by the ninth turn, but it was a close-run engagement, with the IDF having lost two MBTs themselves. My early decision to try and engage hurt me in the end - we should have been running up that road for all we were worth, losses be dammed!

More burning and immobilized T-62s

The game was a blast - I love a table filled with burning tanks, and the Golan Heights in 1973 is a setting that obliges that preference for sure!

Table at the end of the game

Following the battle we sortied for lunch in Regina and then re-set the table for our second game - the Sudan in 1884. Now let me see if I can find all of those entries from Ray here on Curt's computer and delete them...

A Couple More Syrian T-62s

More Syrian T-62s ready to roll out

I continue to fall further and further behind in Curt C's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (it's all I can do to cling to 10th place) but I can at least make some more progress towards my "par" goal.  Here are another two Syrian T-62s.  These castings are from QRF, and bases are from Warbases out of Scotland.

The antennas are cut from floral wire

My Syrian forces now boast 13 T-62s - a healthy company of Soviet-supplied armour and more than enough to fill an average gaming table with flaming tank wrecks. 

There is still more armour to go on the to-do/wish list for my Golan Heights Project (IShermans, PT-76s, more T-55s, etc.) but I am pretty happy with where this collection is at, and I look forward to rolling out another game sometime in the winter.

IDF and Syrian Infantry Support Weapons - 15mm

15mm support weapon teams

Another one of my Analogue Hobbies Challenge submissions - a series of infantry support weapon teams for the Syrian Army and IDF, additions to my Golan Heights Project.  The main story on the Golan in 1973 was a tank battle, but as always the plucky and unsung infantry played a key part, and support weapons will help round that out. These figures are all 15mm models from Peter Pig, with the exception of the Sagger Missiles, which are from Command Decision.

For the Syrians, two heavy (105/108mm) recoilless rifles, an 81mm mortar team and two Sagger AT missile teams.

Syrian 81mm mortar team

More likely to see action against the Israeli counter attack...

Heavy recoilless rifles, ready to defend Syria 

Figures from Peter Pig

The Sagger missile teams really help "make" the period for me.  This was one of the early times in which these weapons were used, and took the IDF by surprise.  The missiles were wire guided, and had to be steered on target by an operator.  Accomplishing this under combat conditions (artillery fire, smoke, bullets flying and amid the broken terrain) took intrepid soldiers to say the least.

The missiles are Command Decision, while the troops are Peter Pig

The Command Decision infantry figures were total turd plops, so I used Peter Pig instead

For the IDF, two .50 cal HMG teams and an 81mm mortar team.  As with my other IDF infantry, these models have Peter Pig "head swaps" - US WW2 helmet troops on to the bodies of models from the Peter Pig "professionals" - to try and match the period look of the IDF.

.50 cals to help pin Syrians...

Ready for the desperate defence of a road block, or the customs house

These weapon teams will round out the infantry for my Golan Heights collection. Now - more vehicles...stay tuned...

Another Batch of Syrian T-62s - 15mm

Syrian armour, ready to roll

Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge continues to roll along, and my initial charge from the blocks, fuelled by a lovely holiday vacation, has faded.  But I can still show off some more entries/progress.

These are QRF castings - a pain in the @ss to build, but worth it in the end

After a Samurai and then an initial batch of colonial stuff from Sudan, my entries switched over to more stuff for my Golan Heights Project. Up first are some more Syrian tanks.  Because you can never have enough Syrian tanks!

Ready to tangle with the IDF...just need to watch out for the Syrian air force...

These three T-62s are from QRF miniatures.  As with my other QRF products, these had a lot of problems - lots and lots of flash, lots of tags, flimsy MGs, bent track assemblies, mould lines - on and on.  But even with these problems, the QRF models are much nicer and more realistic-looking than the Command Decision T-62s.

This platoon brings me up to 11 T-62s for the Syrians.  Just a couple more of those, and I think that will be plenty - a full company of tanks!

"Why so Syrian?"

"Want to invade the Golan? Come at me, bro!"

Last Thursday, Greg ran an awesome Golan Heights/Yom Kippur War game at my place. The scenario was a desperate stand by outnumbered Israelis against an overwhelming number of (as it turns out, quite hapless) Syrians. Conscript Frederick took command of the Israelis while Conscript Mike F. and I commanded the Syrian force. Greg ran the charts and Conscript Brian... "kibbitzed".

 

Here's the situation. The Israeli "Purple Line" is across the ridges at centre. There's a tank ditch and wire/mines across its front, with some burning Syrian tanks left over from the last assault. We've just set out the Syrians there for the photo - they enter from the near table edge. Our objective is to break through the Purple Line with all we can, and exit the table at top of photo.

Syrian assets included three platoons of T-62s - two of three vehicles each and one with two, three BTRs with an infantry section in each, and a ZSU-23-4 AAA vehicle that would come in handy later. Oh, and three fire missions from a SAF MiG-21.

The Israelis deployed two Centurions on the Line with one coming in reserve, two M113 APCs with an infantry section in each, plus a bazooka team. Frederick deployed these mostly across the Purple Line.

M113s were held back a bit for tactical flexibility.

IDF infantry - amazing work from Greg. Head swaps on 15mm figures!!!

This guy would end up as "man of the match" for the Syrians.

T-62s look excellent.

The game begins - we race a platoon of tanks up on the left flank, aiming for the gap where the Centurion hasn't yet reached its position.

Greg had some very cool resin "dust cloud" markers we used with the vehicles.

On the other side of the table, we simultaneously assaulted with the other tank platoons, followed up by the BTRs. We made it across the mines and tank ditch without too much difficulty (accumulating one pin in the process), and the platoon commander successfully raised our air support on his radio. All seemed well until...

...the air force showed up! The rules require a "Scottish check" when air assets arrive. If you roll a "1" then the pilot is confused and "blue on blue" is the result - your opponent picks the target of the airstrike and it is resolved against your own troops! Of course, that's what happened, and the MiG attacked our own tank platoon, doing three Pins and halting their advance.

"Woohoo! Take that, IDF!"

"What do you mean, those were 'our tanks'?"

Of course, in the following turn, the Syrian commander called for air support again. Of course, another "1", and this time Frederick targeted the platoon on the left flank, which were duly suppressed with three Pins.

MiG streaks away from another "successful mission" while Centurion at left races up to take its hull down position.

The ZSU-23-4 was ordered to open up on the MiG and did a couple of hits, which lessened the effectiveness of the attack on our tanks somewhat.

Meanwhile, a lone BTR had snuck through the carnage on the right flank and made a charge into the Israeli backfield.

The tank platoon that was initially attacked by our own aircraft is so suppressed it cannot move, even with the commander screaming at them from his nearby BTR.

The tanks on the left are similarly swamped in Pin markers.

The commander called desperately for one last air support mission. Of course, this culminated in the third successive roll of "1" and the MiG swung around for one last run at his comrades in the T-62s...

Fortunately the ZSU-23-4 crew in the background were paying attention and lit up the MiG with AAA fire, shooting it down in flames before it could attack their tanker comrades. Does this count as a "kill"?

The Purple Line is intact. Two tank platoons out of action - the first destroyed or immobilized, the second loaded with so many Pins that they cannot activate. Burning BTR at top right as well.

The commander's BTR was destroyed crossing the minefield and the command section bailed out - seen surrounded by Pin markers at centre right.

Tucked up safe and sound on the Purple Line!

The lone BTR to make it near the objective line was destroyed by fire from an IDF bazooka crew and the M113s.

All in all a rather sad outing for the Syrians but nonetheless a fun game! We used the Bolt Action rules with a similar activation mechanic to that we used in our 15mm WW2 outing - the Syrian tanks activated as a platoon of 2 or 3 vehicles while the Israeli Centurions activated individually. This simulates the relative inexperience and lack of tactical flexibility of the Syrians and to an extent offsets their numerical advantage. However, it makes it that much worse when the Pins start to accumulate, since they affect the entire platoon's activation instead of just one vehicle's. The "own goal" airstrikes effectively halted the entire Syrian advance with 6 well-placed Pins. Since the Syrians were rated as "Inexperienced" that meant a Morale check of 5 or less on 2d6 just to activate - and that's before the other "incidental" Pins from shooting and minefield crossing were added. We were looking at having to roll snake-eyes or perhaps a "3" just to take an action. perhaps there is room there to add a mechanic allowing the owning player to exchange a vehicle from the platoon as a casualty in order to remove some Pins. Or maybe the commander should just be sure to roll better on the air support checks???    

thanks to Greg for bringing over his gorgeous toys and to the guys for playing!