From GregB: 15mm Arab-Israeli War Infantry & Armour (68 points)

Greg rocks on with more figures and vehicles for his Arab-Israeli War collection.

From Greg:

More Arab-Israeli war stuff for this submission. I finished off nearly all of my Khurasan IDF infantry, based individually for games like "Chain of Command". There is another FN-MAG LMG (with a prone gunner - I hate prone figures), five troops with Uzi SMGs (two of them on square bases to represent NCOs), and the balance with FN-FAL rifles. 

There are two jeeps mounting heavy recoilless rifles. These potent AT weapons were key tools for IDF troops mounting improvised defences against surprise Syrian columns on the Golan Heights. They also provide a healthy AT punch to recon troops. 

There are some pieces of Arab armour - two Syrian SU-100 tank destroyers. I experimented with a slightly new Syrian camo scheme, including some grey to go with the green and yellow. SU-100s equipped the organic AT units of Arab mechanized divisions and infantry divisions. These would have played a role trying to hold back the IDF counter-invasion into Syria after the IDF (barely) stopped the initial Syrian assault on to the Golan Heights. These Battlefront castings were real beauties, a dream to work with.

The T-55 is a Khurasan casting. I purchased a pack of these when they were first released. Over all, I give it high marks. It assembles relatively easy, and the accessories (cupola hatches, cupola MG) are very clean castings. The MG is particularly solid, and this is welcome, compared my experience with QRF cupola MGs (the QRF ones are thin crap). You have the option of building it as a T-54 or T-55, and portraying the tank without the extra fuel drums on the rear, but still with empty mounting brackets - an interesting detail. The only small criticism I would make is that some of the hull detail is inconsistent - most of the lines are clean, but the indents on the fuel tanks are very soft and disappear with a coat of paint, meaning you need to paint them back on. The other issue with this tank is the size of the model - it is a lot smaller than the Peter Pig's T-55 - I don't think they would mix well. I have yet to compare it to Battlefront's T-55. 

This is painted in Egyptian colours, a test model, for use in gaming both 1967 and 1973. There are another 10 to follow, and I'll need even more after that...


Awesome stuff Greg. I quite like the new camo scheme with the grey mixed in - very cool - and those jeeps are very cute (bad term I know). 

This fine collection of infantry and armour will give Greg 68 points. Great job mon ami!

From GregB: 15mm Yom Kippur Israeli M51s & Tiran-5 (26 points)

Greg cracks off another fine entry with this great foursome of Israeli armour from the Yom Kippur War.

From Greg:

This submission includes four 15mm Israeli Defence Force tanks - three M51 Shermans and one Tiran-5. The models are all from Old Glory, with a few additional bits (the crew, the .30cal MGs) from Peter Pig.

The M51 Sherman - "ISherman" - is one of my favourite tanks.  I like up-gunned and up-armoured vehicles - everything from late model Panzer IIIs and IVs to things like the current Russian T-90.  The M51 fits this bill, taking a tank designed for WW2 and somehow stuffing a high-velocity 105mm gun into the turret.  The gun looks so large you would think some "horizontally sensitive" Space Marine came up with it.  The end-of-days-size muzzle brake really caps off the look, making giving a menacing air and cool silhouette to a tank that otherwise had a target-practice vibe to it.

These vehicles served in the 1967 Six-Days War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  The Centurion rightfully gets most of the glory when it comes to IDF tanks from those periods, but the role of the M51 cannot be overlooked. On the Golan Heights in 1973 it was IDF reservists in M51s that kicked off the critical Isreali counterattack against the Syrian penetrations across the 'Purple Line'.  They were part of the counter-invasion into Syrian, and played major roles in actions such as the ambush of the Iraqi armoured division which had been sent against the Israeli salient on the road to Damascus.

I have more M51s coming - this time from Battlefront.  I was very, very excited to see Battlefront release a line of Arab-Israeli war figures and models, but one thing I find so damn frustrating with Battlefront is how their concept of the word "released" does not seem to involve the notion of "physically available in stores for purchase" without a one or two month (or more) delay. Stay tuned! 

The Tiran-5 is a captured T-55 put into IDF service.  The IDF came into a large stock of captured Arab gear after their decisive win in 1967, including many T-55 tanks.  The IDF gave them a new gun, and maybe a new engine (although I'm not totally sure about that).  They equipped some reserve armoured formations in the IDF. I haven't come across a lot of information about where/when they served, but I believe they saw action in the Sinai in 1973, and equipped some "allied" formations and militias during Israel's incursion into Lebanon.  This particular Tiran figure was a test model, so it's a little lonely - I will need to add a few more to equip a couple of platoons for some T-55 vs. T-55 games in the Sinai!

Wonderful work Greg! I'm looking forward to seeing these during one of our on-the-road gaming weekends soon. (Something with a hot desert theme might be the perfect antidote for us right now.)

These four tanks will give Greg 26 points including the commanders and nice basework.

Guest Post AAR - Battle At Customs House - Yom Kippur War

IDF on the Golan in 1973 - nowhere to fall back to now...

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. 

View of the table - the Syrian entry is at the top of the photo, and the river section in the bottom is meant to represent the Jordan river

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. 

Syrian T-62s advance - these particular models are from Old Glory

IDF Centurions hold the line - the one on the right has taken damage already

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. 

The effects of IDF gunnery - one T-62 out, a second immobilized

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?

Syrian reinforcements arrive - these are QRF models 

Centurion Sh'ot arrives to bolster the defence - model by Peter Pig

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 bridge, but I found the stone piece evocative of the age of the place in question).  

Pin markers accumulate on a Centurion

Syrian mass builds - but it just doesn't move fast enough

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?

Syrians detour around the wreck on the road

Centurion Sh'ot knocked out of action

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. 

Curt positions a last defence on the bridge, just in case

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.   

Syrians struggle to advance

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. 

One gutsy Syrian crew makes a charge - but is taken 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. 

 The table is filled with wrecked tanks - my kind of game!

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! 

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!

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...

Modern Spearhead: 1:285 Yom Kippur War

Syrian T55s at the 1973 'Purple Line' along the Golan Heights.

Greg and I had a couple great games playing 'Modern Spearhead' last weekend. The scenario was set during the opening days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War on the Golan Heights, with an Iraqi T55 tank brigade attempting to force its way past an Israeli defensive line armed with modified Super Shermans. Greg took the Israelis and I commanded the Iraqis.  

Shot-up T55s on the main road to the Israeli positions.

The Israelis were set up on a ridge in hull-down positions while the Iraqis entered on the board with 3 tank battalions. The Israelis were rock-hard but heavily outnumbered while the Iraqis were relatively green but had mass in their favour. 

Iraqi tanks cresting the final hills and seeing the Israeli Shermans in the valley.

Spearhead has a great mechanic that compels players to draw their orders on a map which has to be strictly adhered to. Orders can be changed but the speed and effectiveness of any adjustments are determined by an abstraction of doctrine, morale and training. I knew the Iraqis would be fairly inflexible in their command & control so I knew my initial orders had to be fairly simple and straightforward. I decided to assault with two tank battalions, one over the central hill and the other along the highway, while shielding the third in a valley as a breakthrough unit.

As I advanced Greg pounded my formations pretty darn hard but they managed to 'hold their bottle' and ground forward. Greg decided to stay in his original positions in order to dish-out some more pain. As suspected, I took another turn of accurate tank fire but my T55s finally reached a good range-band for their main guns and so I opened fire. The limitations of the Sherman's armour began to tell as platoon after platoon was silenced from the weight of fire.  In the end the Israelis were compelled to withdraw the remnants of their force as the Iraqis drove forward with their fresh battalion. By the scenario's parameters it turned out to be a solid Iraqi victory.

Many, many tanks burning after the final exchange of fire...

Greg and I chatted about the game, coming to the conclusion that the critical decision was probably him staying in place too long instead of 'shooting and scooting'. We decided to have another go at the scenario with the Israelis using several fallback positions so they would not be so easily overrun and so they could use their superior long range armament. For simplicity sake I kept to my original plan and again attacked with two battalions while keeping one in reserve. This time it was a very close game as the Israelis made the Iraqi armour pay for each position. I managed to get away with some critical morale rolls while Greg's luck dimmed during a few crunch moments of tank-to-tank direct fire. The climax came when the Israelis fell back into the last valley with the pursuing Iraqis hot on their heels. The final exchange of fire saw the last of the Shermans destroyed while the crippled force of T55s managed to creep off the field to a marginal victory. 

 

The final (fiery) position of the Israeli command.

Spearhead is a such a great system and it was a pleasure getting to play with Greg's beautiful collection of miniatures and terrain. I'm actually tempted to paint up a small force for myself as I think the guys back home would enjoy the period and the change of pace.