The Crossroads -- 6/5/67 - DAR (no Crossroads)

[berto]

TURN #12

At map's east edge, Shermans charge up the hill. The Jordanian Amoured 61 B at hex 46,33 opportunity fire, destroying one Sherman and disrupting the rest (red circle).

[berto]

TURN #12

The payback.

Crossroads calls up an APC, which takes aim, shoots, and scores 2 SP hits, forcing a retreat (to red circle):



Shermans show up in force. Another shot, another retreat.

Then a troop of Shermans at hex 45,33 (turquoise circle) blast the Armoured 61 B, scoring another SP hit, and forcing still one more retreat (to red circle):



A short while later, a troop of Pattons at hex 43,36 (magenta circle) revenge the Armoured 61 B, opportunity firing at the Shermans at hex 45,34 (red circle), scoring 1 SP hit, and disrupting them:



On my right flank, at the cost of 5 infantry SP losses (between the airstrike and the ground fighting), the Jordanians destroyed two more Shermans. All things considered, not too bad.

[berto]

TURN #12

Crossroads lays down smoke at various points north of Jenin.

Israeli infantry inches forward. In the crossfire, substantial casualties both sides.

Then Israeli infantry at hex 34,30 (green circle) assault the Jordanians at hex 34,31 (yellow circle). The Israelis are repulsed with heavy losses!

[berto]

TURN #12

At Kafr Dan, Crossroads is bold enough to send his RCLR jeeps and mobile AA guns up the ridge. Jordanian infantry at hex 18,23 (magenta circle) opportunity fire at, and destroy, an RCLR jeep (red circle):



The 1st Platoon (magenta circle) gets lucky again, reducing and disrupting some Israeli mobile APC-mounted AA guns:



The Jordanian defenders at Kafr Dan have redeemed themselves somewhat. Long overdue!

[berto]

TURN #12

The situation at the end of Turn 12, first Side A (Israeli) phase:



I have toggle ON (turquoise) highlight of my disrupted units. There's just the single troop of Pattons. Contrast that with all of the many disrupted Israelis (magenta circles).

The Jordanian super hero defenders at the village east of Jenin (turquoise circle): Somehow they manage to survive. Incredible!

On my far right, I am in reasonably good shape. I have two units (green circles), RCLRs and tanks, poised to direct fire at the advancing Shermans next phase. The 12th Independent Tank Regiment will soon join the fray. With his initial overwhelming advantage -- ~ 3:1 ratio of Israeli Shermans to Jordanian Pattons -- Crossroads should have steamrollered me by now. To my relief, that hasn't happened. The thin gray line continues to hold.

The scene at Kafr Dan:



Otherwise, no other Israelis that I can see, anywhere. The Shermans that Crossroads pulled back from his center a couple of turns ago: where have they gone? To surprise attack my far left maybe?

The current Victory Dialog:



Wow! Crossroads sinks deeper and deeper into the VP hole. He has lost 17 Shermans (to 10 of my Pattons), and 17 RCLR jeeps (to just 2 of my own).

I begin to think the unthinkable: Is it possible the Israelis will advance no further than Jenin?

On the other hand, don't get cocky, Berto. [:-] Night approaches, and we are only a bit more than 1/4 of the way into the scenario. Overnight, I am expecting major reinforcements. Will Crossroads be getting some too?

[berto]

Something's been troubling me.

The Israeli Shermans at map's east edge (magenta circle below).



Where did they go?

Given the sequence of events in the previous posts, I can't figure out how I've lost track of them. Is it possible the Shermans somehow slipped southwestward through a gap in my LOS (yellow circle)? Anything is possible. I'll need to use my recce assets in the area to scout their whereabouts this coming phase. If those Shermans were to break out into my rear areas, I'm in for some trouble, especially with night coming soon. Still, I do have those armoured reserves at the Qabitiya Crossroads (turquoise circle). I'll scramble them if I need to.

[berto]

TURN #12

More good fortune:



Jordanian RCLRs at hex 43,34 (green circle) direct fire at Shermans at hex 44,33 (red circle), destroying one (?) tank. The Shermans opportunity fire back, destroying one RCLR jeep.

The Jordanian Armoured HQ Squadron (12th Independent Tank Regiment) at hex 43,36 (turquoise circle) direct fires twice at the Shermans at hex 45,34 (magenta circle), forcing disruptions (and maybe also killing one tank? I don't recall).

The one remaining RCLR jeep (green circle) returns fire, killing one (?) Sherman (red circle), and forcing a retreat (to magenta circle).

At the cost of one RCLR jeep, I have destroyed three of Crossroads' Shermans this phase. My ambush tactics are quite effective here.

But not everything goes well:



I tried moving a Light Truck unit out of harm's way. The intended destination: hex 31,38 (yellow circle). But I made the mistake of not directing the trucks' movement myself, instead letting the A/I plot the route. Unfortunately, rather than go uphill and over difficult terrain, the trucks took the "easy" route downhill, to the IP hex 35,32 (red circle). Where before they could proceed on their way, one of the Israeli infantry units at any of the green circled hexes (I don't recall which one) blasted the trucks. Ouch! A rare misstep for me. I have been taking extreme care to stay out of Israeli LOS. Here, I got careless. Strike one Light Truck unit! [:(]

[berto]

TURN #12

At Jenin, I direct fire at the Israeli attackers, but with little effect, maybe another disruption or two, no kills.

I cautiously reinforce my flanks, being careful -- as much as possible -- to stay out of Israeli LOS.

After my Side B (Jordanian) move (Side B is this scenario's second side), the situation at the end of Turn 12:



Trying to stay out of Israeli LOS -- but not always succeeding. I moved forward one Jordanian infantry platoon to the promontory at hex 31,33 (red circle), whereupon some Israeli Shermans (green circle) -- aha! there they are! -- came into view, and opportunity fired at the advancing Jordanians, disrupting them. That's the problem here. There are positions I'd like to hold, but they are elevated, putting them in the LOS of the enemy, and especially his long-range RCLRs and tanks. It's a puzzle.

On the right, I searched for those "missing" Israeli Shermans. Not finding any, I don't see at all where they could have slipped through my recce net.

On the right, Crossroads remains stymied.

The two yellow circled Jordanian units. They have done quite well, miraculously well even. But for sure they are goners. I don't expect them to survive the next Israeli phase.

The magenta circled Israelis -- disrupted, every one of them.

I target all of my artillery fire around my defensive soft spot just west and northwest of Jenin.

The line continues to hold. Where it might not, I still have my reserves (turquoise circles) to plug any gaps.

The Big Picture:



My left and center left: With the exception of one brief firefight southwest of Kafr Dan (no casualties, but forcing an Israeli retreat), things are quiet. Maybe too quiet.

Total Points continue to move in my favor. With the destruction of three more Shermans this phase, Crossroads by now has lost all of 20 tanks to my 10. Barring total surprise, it's growing harder and harder to foresee where and how he might break through.

[berto]

Jenin, in 3D:

[berto]

The Sherman Killing Fields:

[berto]

It's important to note:



Visibilities, from the .scn file:

---

0 0 0 0 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]

---

It's growing darker, Visibility is fading, night fast approaches.

This is changing the character of the fight. For one thing, the advantage that Crossroads enjoys in longer range weaponry, the greater lethality at longer ranges -- this advantage decreases. On the other hand, the risk of his slipping tanks through my recce net increases.

Who will benefit more from night? We shall see, even if more dimly.

[berto]

TURN #13

Crossroads' Revenge.

Israeli Shermans at hex 43,33 (turquoise circle) direct fire at the Jordanian RCLR jeeps at hex 43,34 (red circle), eliminating them:



An Israeli unknown (most likely Shermans) at hex 45,34 (turquoise circle) direct fire at Jordanian Pattons at hex 43,36 (red circle), destroying them also. Strike two Pattons:



Israeli M3 Mk. A APCs charge up the hill. Jordanian Pattons at hex 47,37 (turquoise circle) opportunity fire at the halftracks, eliminating them (red circle):



Were those halftracks opportunity fire bait? Probably. Israeli Shermans advance, direct fire at the distracted Pattons, causing their reduction and retreat. Then, the Shermans finish them off (red circle). Strike three more Pattons:



A short while later, Crossroads bags the armoured infantry platoon at hex 44,37 (magenta circle) also.

And with that, my far right collapses.

[berto]

TURN #13

At Jenin, generally ineffective Israeli artillery fire.

Crossroads sends in his tanks (green circles; at the rightmost green circle, the tanks there subsequently withdrew).

House-to-house fighting, cross fire and assaults. The last of which, at hex 35,31 (turquoise circle), forces the Jordanians to retreat (to the magenta circle):

[berto]

TURN #13

Southwest of Kafr Dan, Israeli infantry press forward.

Jordanian RCLR jeeps at hex 17,23 (turquoise circle) opportunity fire, scoring one SP hit and causing a disruption (magenta circle).

The Jordanian 1st Platoon at hex 18,23 (green circle) opportunity fires, also scoring one SP hit and forcing a retreat (red circle).



After the early fights, where Crossroads pretty much pushed me around as he pleased, here my resistance now stiffens.

[berto]

TURN #13

The situation at the end of Turn 13, first Side A (Israeli) phase:

The Jordanian super hero defenders at the village east of Jenin (turquoise circle): Somehow they manage to survive. Incredible!

From incredible to legendary. And still they hold out! [&o]

A bit farther south, at the village at hex 40,32 (red circle), a Jordanian infantry platoon is hit, is forced to retreat, and is hit again. An entire platoon evaporates, just like that!

Southwest of Jenin, an Israeli infantry platoon (magenta circle) surges up the hill. The Jordanian RCLR jeeps (green circle) & co. are ready to throw them right back down again.

On my far right, the situation is rather worrisome. Within that large yellow circle are ten or more Israeli tank squadrons (albeit many of them reduced strength) looking to ... what? In support of the effort around Jenin, attack due west? Or perhaps head south and southwest, hoping to break out into my rear area?

Yes, I don't have much in the way of defense around Hill 361. Apart from a couple of Patton squadrons, I only have weakling recce units in the vicinity.

But for Crossroads, it's a slow going, uphill climb. More importantly, I am expecting reinforcements to arrive at map's southeast corner beginning five turns from now. If Crossroads heads south by southwest, at the point of possible breakout, by then I will have forces to surprise attack him on his left flank.

So should I worry too much about the prospect of an Israeli breakout? Maybe not. But in the darkness of imminent night, who knows what might happen?

The current Victory Dialog:



With the unanswered loss of five Pattons this phase, my Point Loss advantage has shrunk, from -175 now to -129. Crossroads is clawing his way out of a deep Point Loss hole, but let's see next phase how much I can push him back into it.

[berto]

TURN #13

Following the drubbing I received in Crossroads' Side A first phase, I fought back, but my counterfire was nearly everywhere ineffective.

After my Side B (Jordanian) move (Side B is this scenario's second side), the situation at the end of Turn 13:



Tactical retreats here and there, some line straightening, nothing dramatic.

There is a gap in my defenses around Hill 273 (yellow circle). To plug the gap, I am committing my infantry reserve (units highlighted in turquoise to the south and west).

On the right, my defenses are exceedingly thin. I move what Pattons I have remaining into ambush position.

The Big Picture:



On the far right, the recce units around Hill 361 deploy farther back. Their purpose is not to fight, rather to be on the lookout for any Israeli armoured breakout.

To the south, I have committed my armoured reserve (turquoise circle). Their orders are to race to Hill 361 as fast as they can.

Below Kafr Dan, I scored my one and only SP hit this phase (with zero losses on my side). The Total Points deficit now stands at -135.

[budd]

Good stuff Berto. If he sees the gap up that hill he's gotta push, is that armor he had in the center in those stacks in Jenin? or did you lose track of them.

[berto]

I am puzzled why Crossroads attacked Jenin frontally and didn't try to outflank it from both the east and the west. I believe he still has the remainder of his armour in support of the Jenin direct assault (and has not sent them on a wide flanking maneuver west of Kafr Dan). Yes, if he sees that gap around Hill 273, he might decide to exploit it. Before committing my last armoured reserves (just two tank squadrons), I considered sending them towards the center, to Hill 273. But finally I reasoned that his breaking out on my far right is the greater worry. I don't want Shermans running about at night surprise attacking my rear area transports, artillery, and HQs!

[Jason Petho]

Excellent question.

Historically, the Israeli's went up the western flank through the hills and by passed Jenin altogether, eventually ending up cutting off the town at the "crossroads".

Maybe he's a sucker for punishment?

Jason Petho

[budd]

how far west did the Israel's go to flank? Looking at the map east of Jenin looks easier, the west looks like a lot of defensible terrain. Of course looking at the graveyard to the east that Berto made, maybe not.