CS Middle East: The Crossroads (West Bank, 5 June 1967) -- DAR vs Berto --

[Crossroads]

Update 25 March 2017: With DropBox having made a change any files under Public folder no longer actually are public, but require a separate share, the screenshots no longer work here. I don't know what to do, hopefully there's a quick fix for this or something. Any ideas let me know!   

Update 07 Nov 2017: No easy way out. I do have the 163 screenshots still available, so maybe I'll just add them one turn per time. Edit: I found out I can create then edit shared links that work, so can replace each, one by one. Still utterly peed at you DropBox though! 

Here's the living update status:  All turns updated now!


Time to batten those hatches again! 

With 1.01 UPDATE out the door, and following up my previous DAR with the Campaign Series: Middle East 1948-1985 - Into Africa! (1973), there's now a lull in the development to actually allow me to play the damn game! How nice is that 

CS is quite an easy game to begin with, but one of those that have the depth to continue to challenge for years to come, I will mostly concentrate on playing the game here. So for a little background regarding Campaign Series, have a look at the DAR link above.

This time I am playing two scenarios vs Berto, our lead programmer. Both battles take place during the Six Days War, at West Bank. First scenario will be the aptly named The Crossroads (!), depicting the 5 June 1967 advance of IDF 45th Armored Bde towards Jenin, and the Qabitiya Crossrods. Following up, we'll continue with End Game At Jenin, covering the 6 June 1967 arrival of Jordanian 40th Armored Bde to the area.

First things first. Here's the scenario description for our next clash or arms:




"The Crossroads" by Jason Petho

5 June, 1967

[Jenin, West Bank, Jordan]: [H2H][HIS][CSL]:

The Israeli assault into the northern West Bank began at 5 pm and was spearheaded by the battalions of the 45th Armoured and 9th Infantry Brigades. The mission was to advance into the West Bank, seize Jenin and advance towards the Damia bridge that spans the Jordan River.

Defending the Jenin sector was the Jordanian 25th Infantry Brigade, supported by heavy artillery and elements of the 12th Independent Tank Battalion The first obstacle facing the Israeli's was the dug in positions that held the city of Jenin, with years to prepare, the positions were well entrenched. While the assault went into the evening of June 5th, the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade had travelled through the night to reinforce the beleaguered 25th Infantry Brigade. The ensuing fighting at the Qabitiya Crossroads south of Jenin between the Israeli Shermans and Jordanian Pattons would result in the largest tank battle of the 1967 War.

[ALL][NONE][1.00]

Scenario settings are as follows:

• Length: 45 turns
• Day / Night Sequence: 1-14[d] 15-25[n] 26-45[d]
• Visibility: 1-10[7] 11-11[5] 12-12[4] 13-14[3] 15-25[2] 26-26[3] 27-27[5] 28-32[6] 33-45[7]
• Air Support Available: 11
• Smoke: 10
• Ammo Level: 85%
• Arty Ammo Level: 75%

I will discuss them in a bit. What else? For the purposes of this DAR, I will be playing using both the 2D (boardgame and counters) and 3D (miniature models) view to give an idea how they differ from each other.

Also, I am a great fan of Mods, so will have the following mods enabled:

• MausMan 3D Terrain Graphics
• Alternate 3D Unit Bases
• Arab-Israeli Wars 2D Counters (submod)

Optional Rules:




Scenario description suggested ALL optional rules ON, but since I am quite a 2D fan, I will have the Armor Facing Effects OFF, as Counters do not display facing, at least not at the moment. A facing pip might be in the books for later. In which case I will need to find another excuse not to use the option. I am just not a fan of it, sorry 

[Crossroads]

So, let us jump right in! Here's the battle map we'll be dueling it out for quite a while. 45 turns, on PBEM, right!

This is a snippet of the 3D Extreme Zoom-Out View, with my task force arriving from the north:

[Crossroads]

That's quite some terrain to cover in those 45 turns, so let us bring in the 2D Extreme Zoom-Out View instead, for that battle plan I am sure to regret once the hostilities commence:

[Crossroads]

For the famous Cunning Plan, here's the deal.

Victory Conditions:

• Major Defeat: 300
• Minor Defeat: 600
• Minor Victory: 900
• Major Victory: 1200

Objectives, on the other hand, are:

• Qabitya Crossroads: 150
• Qabitya: 100
• Jenin Center: 150
• Jenin South: 150

... for a total of 550 points, still a Major Loss. So seems what it calls for is a major encirclement and destruction of a Jordanian battle force, rather than holding a certain piece of estate at the area.

Who are the players, then? With the rather strict victory conditions in place, I think I will allow myself a peek at the OoB of this battle. While I still prefer to play my battles blind as a bat, more fun that way, I do at the same time put a lot of role playing into it so I am assuming I'd have Intel on the opposition forces at least at a TO&E level, if not of their exact location in the map.

Opening the OoB Editor:




... you will note the old cockades have now been replaced with proper flags. I am, of course, giving the upcoming 1.02 UPDATE beta its first whirl here. There's a few other neat little things coming up, will talk about them as they show up.

But back to West Bank! On the friendly side: M51 Super Shermans, facing the Jordanian M47 and M48 Pattons!

This is what the CS Unit Viewer has to say about them:




  

So while my M51 Shermans and AMX-13s compare slightly favorable at their Hard Target values, look at those Front Armor Strengths: 5 and 9 vs 22 and 38 

(for some reasons the CS Unit Viewer fonts seem to be a bit of on some systems, including my W10 64 bit one).

I will be for a quite a ride here. Cunning Plan, eh. Where's those pencils...

[Crossroads]

I think this calls for a drink. Or three. To be continued! 

[Staggerwing]

It looks like getting the first shots in will be damn important!

What's the difference between the pink and blue range values?

[Crossroads]

It looks like getting the first shots in will be damn important!

What's the difference between the pink and blue range values?

That's right! Will need to use my Recon assets to max! Wish there'd be a few Helos available, having just played a few '82 scenarios I am quite attached to their recon capabilities.

Red vs Hard Targets, Blue vs Soft Targets.

[Crossroads]

Time for that Cunning Plan, then. Reading the scenario description again, well aware Jason tends to put valuable hints there, ...

Here's the scenario description for our next clash or arms:

"The Crossroads" by Jason Petho

5 June, 1967

[Jenin, West Bank, Jordan]: [H2H][HIS][CSL]:

The Israeli assault into the northern West Bank began at 5 pm and was spearheaded by the battalions of the 45th Armoured and 9th Infantry Brigades. The mission was to advance into the West Bank, seize Jenin and advance towards the Damia bridge that spans the Jordan River.

Defending the Jenin sector was the Jordanian 25th Infantry Brigade, supported by heavy artillery and elements of the 12th Independent Tank Battalion The first obstacle facing the Israeli's was the dug in positions that held the city of Jenin, with years to prepare, the positions were well entrenched. While the assault went into the evening of June 5th, the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade had travelled through the night to reinforce the beleaguered 25th Infantry Brigade. The ensuing fighting at the Qabitiya Crossroads south of Jenin between the Israeli Shermans and Jordanian Pattons would result in the largest tank battle of the 1967 War.

[ALL][NONE][1.00]

... I find no solace at all. 45 turns of encountering well-dug-in, high quality Jordanian forces is all I see. As a topping, of course, the "largest tank battle of the 1967 War" with my thinly armored albeit heavily armed 'Ronson Lighters' vs Patton M47s.

So be it. Here's the plan, then:

 (1) On the right flank, the 53rd Sufa Tank Bn of 45th 'Barak' Arm'd Bde, together with their Mech Inf Bn, shall swing to the very edge of the map, to flank Jenin from Southeast. A move that hopefully will by-pass most of the determined defence.
 (2) On the left flank, the 91st Inf Bn (mot), with the support of Mixed Arm'd Recon Coy of 45th Arm'd Bde will then act as the hammer, closing in from the North.
 (3) To have my intentions hidden, a forward coy of the 91st Inf Bn shall move in to swing via West, as a diversion attack. Especially in the early turns, I will heavily support them with my artillery, to make as much of racket there that these meager forces can.
(?) Then, with Jenin hopefully encircled and mopped up, I will see what forces I have left.




Supporting this all, my artillery park at the northern edge of the map have prepared Improved Positions, and will be available to support all task forces.

Checking the Air Support Dialog, I observe I've got 10 flights of Ouragans covering my attack.




With an attack strength of 20 vs Hard Targets and 40 vs Soft Targets, I will need to ensure I can hit hostiles in the open for them to have an effect. Too bad all the A-4 Skyhawks are deployed to Sinai it seems, Skyhawks pack a 50 strength vs Hard and 100 strength vs Soft for comparison.

[Crossroads]

IDF Turn #1 - 3D Zoom-Out View

NOTE: From here on, I'll hide the screenshots in Spoiler tags, for easier reading 

And we're off. With the plan in place, now it's all about implementing it!

On the left, you will observe the diversionary little Coy Task Force of the 91st Inf Bn dismounting from their trucks, and moving forward. Modern 1967 OoB already has support elements at Coy level, so what you see there is three rifle platoons, an engineer platoon, 60mm Mortar section, and a RCLR jeep section I generously provided them with. South of them, according to my plan, my Artillery Bn is finding their range for a diversionary salvo I will keep there for the time being.

In the middle, you will see the main force of the 91st dashing to the east of the main RR line, to dismount and advance on the main highway towards Jenin. The Arm'd Recon Coy has moved in to support their advance.

Finally, the 48th Arm'd Bde, fully mechanised, is dashing towards the eastern edge of the large mapboard available to this scenario. If there's room for maneuvering, why not use it!

: show

For the visuals, as a reminder, I am playing with MausMan's 3D Terrain Mod and Alternate 3D Bases Mod (no insignia in them) in place.

[Crossroads]

IDF Turn #1 - 2D Zoom-In View

One more big screenie, before moving to smaller, more tactical views of tactical platoon combat the game engine so well captures.

For the visuals, I've got the Arab-Israeli Wars Counter Submod activated, for that classic boardgame feel.

Stats in the counter are, from Top left to Bottom right: Strength, Morale, Assault, Defense. I am playing with Extreme Fog-of-War in use, so any hostile counters I will meet will at best just display their Strength to me.

What we have here is the 2D Zoom-In View, my favorite, with both the Hex Grid ON and Elevation Contours ON for the additional clarity. Thermometers ON too, displaying Available Action Points for each unit.

As you will observe, most of the terrain is covered with Scrub, which does not provide any Terrain Effect Modifier (TEM, from now) for combat resolvement. It does provide a small Concealment value, which is appreciated. The Orchard does offer some TEM advantage as well, while Hammada does not. Rough patches however provide a 0.8 TEM advantage, while prevent vehicles from entering, so if I'd be on defence I'd be sure to have them used for defensive cover. Villages and Towns (0.7) and Cities (0.6) provide handy hamlets to stop the IDF advance, so they especially need to be approached with caution. More of the terrain effects a bit later.

: show

The 2D boardgame view is designed to be as informative as possible, as the cardboardgame maps tend to be. The idea is that you'd easily recognize the terrain in each of the hexes, while hopefully everything would blend in nicely together, for that classic feel.

The game is very easy to mod, so hopefully we'll see some 2D mods in place soon as well in addition to MausMan's most excellent 3D mod!

And that's it. Turn sent to Berto. I am traveling to my brothers for the Christmas, so I may or may not have time for just one move before the holiday seasons. But all good things are worth a little wait right 

[Crossroads]

What we have here is the 2D Zoom-In View, my favorite, with Hex Grid OFF, but Elevation Contours ON for the additional clarity. As you will observe, most of the terrain is covered with Scrub, which does not provide any Terrain Effect Modifier (TEM, from now) for combat resolvement. It does provide a small Concealment value, which is appreciated. The Orchard does offer some TEM advantage as well, while Hammada does not. Rough patches however provide a 0.8 TEM advantage, while prevent vehicles from entering, so if I'd be on defence I'd be sure to have them used for defensive cover. Villages and Towns (0.7) and Cities (0.6) provide handy hamlets to stop the IDF advance, so they especially need to be approached with caution.

Here's a quick guide to Terrain in this mapboard:




On Left:

• City: TEM 0.6; Concealment -3; Morale +3
• Suburb: TEM 0.7; Concealment -3; Morale +2
• Village: TEM 0.6; Concealment -3; Morale +2

Center;

• Vineyard: TEM 1.0; Concealment -1; Morale +0
• Orchard: TEM 0.9; Concealment -1; Morale +0
• Cacti: TEM 1.0; Concealment -2; Morale +0

On Right:

• Scrub: TEM 1.0; Concealment -1; Morale +0
• Hammada: TEM 1.0; Concealment -0; Morale -1
• Rough: TEM 0.8; Concealment -2; Morale +3

To compare, Clear terrain values are TEM 1.0; Concealment 0; and Morale -1. Morale has an effect in various situations, most importantly when calculating Assault results with Extreme Assault in place, and when calculating whether a unit recovers from Disruption.

Certain Hex Side terrains have an effect as well, more of that later, when I encounter them. For instance Low Stone Walls are quite typical here, and they provide a TEM effect of 0.8 and a +2 Concealment modifier.

[Crossroads]

To compare the 2D and 3D views then, here's the approach to Jenin in both views:

3D, for that pleasant aerial look of the city:

: show

2D, for a detailed look at each hex and what advantages and disadvantages they may contain. This time, Hex Grid ON, Elevation Contours OFF:

: show

Why choose, when you can have both! 

[Crossroads]

IDF Turn #2 - 3D Zoom-Out View

Christmas happily behind us, I receive Berto's move.

Having sorted out the game plan as above, this turn quickly zooms by. The plan, of course was

(1) On the right flank, the 53rd Sufa Tank Bn of 45th 'Barak' Arm'd Bde, together with their Mech Inf Bn, shall swing to the very edge of the map, to flank Jenin from Southeast. A move that hopefully will by-pass most of the determined defence.
 (2) On the left flank, the 91st Inf Bn (mot), with the support of Mixed Arm'd Recon Coy of 45th Arm'd Bde will then act as the hammer, closing in from the North.
 (3) To have my intentions hidden, a forward coy of the 91st Inf Bn shall move in to swing via West, as a diversion attack. Especially in the early turns, I will heavily support them with my artillery, to make as much of racket there that these meager forces can.
 (?) Then, with Jenin hopefully encircled and mopped up, I will see what forces I have left.

Not much to report for now. My forward units close in on Jenin, meeting no resistance or Opportunity Fire from the Jordanian Armed Forces. The single decision I have to make, now that the 91st Infantry Bn (mot) has swung in from left flank to center, is whether to already disembark them now and have them continue on foot towards the main highway to Jenin?

An opportunistic artillery barrage could wreak havoc here. I know that's what I would do as well, with Indirect Fire By Map Optional Rule ON, to plot them on the main advance routes in hope for quick kills. Having said that, I leave them embarked, so that during the next turn they could advance as far as south as possible with their Action Points Saved for Unloading, disembarking closer to Jenin at the end of Turn #3.

On the right flank, the elements of the  of mechanized 45th 'Barak' Arm'd Bde have reached the map edge, and are swinging south. I will lead with my cheap Jeep recon assets, and mass my M51's so that they can blast off any single resistance they meet. Massing without getting stuck in traffic jams is often an issue, but not here as the map allows for relatively easy tracked advantage through Scrubs, mostly.

On the left flank, my little diversionary force continues their advance towards Kafr Dan, just outside the visible map here. Hope there's a welcoming party there, not much of a diversion if they're alone there is it!

Finally, decided to plot my Artillery assets at Jenin itself. In hope for those easy kills of units in soft transports.

: show

Over to Berto!

[Crossroads]

IDF Turn #3 - 2D Zoom-Out View

An uneventful turn; no sign of Jordanian forces anywhere in the map. I switched back to 2D boardgame view to observe the terrain elements better. Lots of Scrub around with slight hills for most part, resulting in restricted LOS all around.

I hope I can keep the elements of the 48th Bde hidden for a couple of more turns at least. The tracked task group is quite mobile in this type of terrain, I hope I can have them arrive in force, unexpected.

Meanwhile, the 91st Bn has now disembarked from their trucks and will close in at Jenin on foot, while their diversion has not met anyone as of yet. Next turn I will close in at Kafr Dan, I hope it is garrisoned so the Jordanian side would first observe my troops at a completely different location as where my main push is.

I have two batteries available, one loading their tubes. I plot more indirect, unobserved artillery fire at Karf Dan and at Jenin, in hope one of the shells would meet a target there. Who knows?

: show

I will revise the overall plan it as the first shots get fired, and I get a better idea as what's going on.

For now, the 48th Armd Bde led by their 53rd Tank Bn will move down, with the just arrived 74th Tank Bn to join them in the flanking move. Their third Tank Bn, 71st, is not due to arrive for a few turns, so when it does I will likely just have them driving flat out down the highway, to support the 91st Inf Bn in their assault to Jenin directly from North.

This is it. Over to Berto

[Crossroads]

IDF Turn #4 - 2D Extreme Zoom-Out View

My turn #4 continues to see my MPs mostly busy, controlling traffic into their destinated routes of advance. For now I'll switch to reporting on Bde level until the tactical battles start to hit on.

During the enemy replay, the first shells begin to randomly hit the main highway I am advancing upon. A hex with two full platoons from 9th Inf Bde is hit, but as I've not stacked over the 12 Strength Point level anywhere for a unit density penalty my luck holds. No casualties. My blind artillery barrages cause no hostile casualties either.

Contact! My diversion in the form of Company Task Force A (TFA) towards Kafr Dan finds the town indeed garrisoned. There's a HMG platoon in an improved position I bump into. Good news, this will keep my opponent guessing. I plot artillery towards the unit.

The 9th Inf Bde and its forward elements now have a visual on Jenin. There's trenches, bunkers and a pillbox spotted, albeit no sighting of any Jordanian units yet. I will start my next turn with LOS continuing to the city, and this will no doubt reveal the first hostiles there.

Time to quickly check the overall map one more time. This scenario does not play for 45 turns without a reason. Jenin is just the first obstacle to conquer, with other objectives deep in Jordanian area.

I will have a long left flank to protect, so with the map helping I decide to designate another Company Task Force (TFB) to recon another road towards south.

A third Company Task Force will stay in the vicinity of my HQ and Artillery positions as a reserve (TFR), just in case. These will be designated from the last elements of 9th Inf Bde to arrive as reinforcements, during the next two turns.

The 45th Arm'd Bde continues their flanking move, hugging the right most edge of the map. I wonder how long can they remain unseen. I am not too optimistic, but then again by now I have all the Sherman M51s in the front, so I should have quite a firepower to blast the route open there. Speed is the key to encircle Jenin and to hit the Jordanian soft (?) underbelly from south.

Need to be careful the keep the formations together, to not receive a Command & Control penalty with units straying too far from their organic HQs.

For the 9th Inf Bde, I've got the forementioned 91st Bn leading the advance, with 92nd now behind them, traveling south via the north-south railroad line. 93rd, arriving next, will designate the two new taskforces, TFB and TFR, and with their remaining company, take over the task of TFA of 91st in the flank. This would have the 91st and 92nd at the front, and 93rd at the long flank.

: show

That's it, back to Berto!