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Assault on Kussiema - Replay for Testing

February 3, 2019

Tutoring 6

Skill 8

Idea 8

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Last weekend @damon and I played a wargame in Avalon Hill’s The Arab-Israeli Wars, recreating the assault on Kussiema. This was part of the IDF’s initial ground offensive that opened their invasion of the Egyptian Sinai on 30 October 1956. The battle report is below in this project thread.

Long story short, my Egyptians won this game, and pretty handily, too. So much so, in fact, that I was actually a little concerned whether the scenario I had designed was actually balanced.

The Israelis have, predictably, overpowering advantages in mobility and firepower. The will win this battle, ten times out of ten. The trick with asymmetrical wargaming is to design a scenario that challenges the Israelis to win quickly enough, cheaply enough, etc.

Historically this is a good fit as well, as this assault (4th Brigade), originally meant as a supporting flank assault, was abruptly upgraded to the “main” attack when the original main attack (10th Brigade further north) largely failed. So 7th Armored Brigade was chucked in to support 4th in a new combined thrust around the Egyptian southern wing. Standing in their way was this Egyptian outpost at Kussiema. The point is, the Israelis have to win and win fast in order to turn the Um-Katef defenses from the south and thus crack open the larger Egyptian defense in the Abu Agheila region.

So the game has five objective hexes, set on crossroads and road exit points. The Israeli player is challenged with taking at least four of these hexes within ten turns. It may not be clear on the maps, but control of four hexes basically means that the Israelis have opened at least one complete route from their entry zone on the northeast corner of the board, off the western end of the table. Again, to facilitate larger-scale operations against the south and rear flanks of Um Katef.

Now in the game with @damon, he got two of the five. Israeli tanks barely laid eyes on the third objective hex. Did I give the Israelis enough time in this scenario?

So I reset the game and ran it myself, seeing if I can go hell-for-leather with the 7th / 4th Brigades and crack this game in ten turns or less.

The Israelis come on the table swinging. Rather than even coming on the table loaded in their halftracks, they launch an immediate assault on the frontier outpost at Jabel Sabha. Egyptian opportunity fire does do damage and takes out one while Israeli machine gun platoon straight away, but again ... the Israelis are trading safety for speed here. Using the Quick March rule halves their defense against opportunity fire, and the Egyptian national border guards do have Czech 107mm recoilless rifles in there. But the assualt goes in, and the town is starting to fall.

Turn 2 - the Israeli 7th Armored Brigade is now close enough with those loooong-ranged 75mm French AMX-13 guns to engage the Egyptian Archer tank destroyers on that southwestern ridge. Israeli tanks are also calling barrages from their off board 155mm howitzer batteries. Those shells will arrive next turn. Meanwhile, the assault into Jebel Sabha continues.

Turn 3 - in the north, the Israelis have had eyes on the next objective hex (two platoons of M1 Shermans spotting those eastern town hexes of Kussiema) and call in Turn 3 artillery missions that will impact on Turn 4. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery on "Archer Ridge" somewhat scatters due in part to Egyptian smoke screens fired from 82mm mortars). But some are dispersed (pinned),allowing the Israelis to again fire and move forward (Split Move and Fire rules is a big advantage enjoyed by Israeli turreted AFVs).

Turn 4 - Jebel Sabha is finally taken. The difference here is is that while the infantry were left behind to grind down Egyptian resistance in this border town, Israeli tanks and halftracks were swinging around this obstacle to simultaneously attack other objectives at the same time. For instance, 7th Armored has more or less suppressed Archer Ridge and is now threatening Kussiema East from the southeast. First Israeli artillery missions have landed on these hexes and started burning down Egyptian infantry platoons dug in on that crossroads objective hex.

Eastern Kussiema is now badly under threat. Israeli artillery fire is really starting to tell, Archer Ridge is now more or less smoking wreckage, and 7th Armored Brigade is now applying direct fire against the crossroads southern flank.

Turn 6 - The Kussiema crossroads have now fallen, although the Israeli victory (rushed) has not been bloodless at all. The tanks have again bypassed the town once the infantry have caught up and the Egyptians have been sufficiently reduced by heavy firepower, and Israeli infantry assault can carry the victory. The point is to already be on the next phase of your attack, thus cutting down the number of turns required by the overall process. Among the losses have been the Israeli halftrack mortar carriers, a critical loss considering how useful this weapon is as a direct-fire weapon to engage soft targets in town hexes..

Mopping up Kussiema corssroads, Egyptian engineers, 17 pounders and 107mm recoiless rifles have to dealt with. Meanwhile, Israeli 7th Armored Brigade has already opened a

Turn 8: Critical development here, Israelis now have eyes on the ridge screening Kussiema itself. Right away they have eyes on the back two objective hexes for off-board Israeli 155mm batteries, including a line of sight on the Egyptian 25-pounders in the backfield.

Turn 9: Egyptian artillery is toast, victim of Israeli counterbattery fire from 15 miles away. The objective hex on the Nakhle road has been bombarded as well, but the Egyptian rifle platoon holding his hex has rallied after being pinned. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks are positively leveling Kussiema in their attempts to blast their way in. However, thos Czech 107mm recoilless rifles are knocking out occasional AMX 13 platoons or Israeli halftracks,

Tun 10: The Israelis actually DO WIN this game on Turn 10. Artillery again pastes the Egyptian rifle platoon on the Nakhle road, allowing Israeli tanks to occupy it for the objective hex. Meanwhile, another mass tank volley smashes what the Egyptians have in the central town hex of Kussiema (this was a VERY tough hex to crack, as the buildings here are concrete and not wood - adding +5 to the DF of the stack and adding +1 to any attacker's fire check (that +1 is a penalty, not a bonus). It doesn't all go the Israelis' way, though. Up north on the Um Katef road, Israeli tanks and halftracks try to overrun the Egyptian infantry platoon there, but their opportunity close assault actually breaks up this attack before it has a chance to go in. Therefore, the Egyptian 17 pounder batter on the northern bypassed ridge has a chance to take a shot and knock down another platoon of Israeli halftracks. Total Israeli losses are shown at the upper right. Definitely a lot worse, almost 30% of the entire force, but we did show that the Israelis CAN win this game in 10 turns.

So is the game balanced? Eh … technically yes. I mean, I’ve been playing The Arab Israeli Wars on and off for almost 30 years, and I designed this scenario, and I played it once already, and I got some very hot rolls for the Israelis. And even with all those advantages, I barely got the required 4 objective hexes in 10 turns.

So honestly, against players of equal experience, I would probably give the Israelis 12 turns instead of 10. Maybe a few additional IPs for the Egyptians.

But all in all, this is a solid design. Ready for the portfolio! 😀