Battle of Abu Ageila (1956) AAR - PBEM

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Middle East: AAR: Battle of Abu Ageila (1956): I was playing the defending Egyptians against an attacking Israeli force.

Here is the southern village of El Qusaimi. My overall defensive plan was to consolidate all of my troops at the primary defences where I have bunkers and trenches. So this village was abandoned... The Israeli's seemed to be surprised by the lack of defences here. I did leave a handful of armoured cars in the hills behind the village so I can see when he is passing through.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 30. Here is the basic defensive plan, with infantry along the perimeter building improved positions until I am attacked, with the hopes of building them in depth. Many of these are border guard units with a morale of 3. Essentially cannon fodder outside of bunkers.

Many of these units are fixed, so I have to defend around them. The artillery, for example, is all fixed in place.

You can see in the northeast of the map where the Israeli's had tried to probe before it became dark. They are probing the northwest defences, somewhere in the dark, hence why you see all the artillery plotted there.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 41. Zoom in of the eastern flank. There is a blocked entrance where the Israeli's are trying to pour through. So far the defences are holding up. I have some Archers on the ridge that are taking a toll on the Shermans in the valley bottom.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 41 - Here is an overview of the initial assault. The Shermans are standing back and taking shots at my dug in infantry. The Israeli infantry has meandered around the flank and are attacking from the north. With all the artillery there, I'm not worried by the company sized attack.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 47: The Northern attack was beaten off, but the Israeli's are making some progress in the east. The troops from Turn 12 have finally shown up in the south and now I'm doing what I can to form a defensive line and hold them back. I am moving troops around in hopes of stemming the attack.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 47. Here is a 3D shot of the eastern breach. I am plotting all of my artillery here and it is taking its toll on the Israeli's. The bunker positions on the ridge are my saving grace though. Without them, the line would have fallen.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 56. Some good news!! I had some units released in the northwest! They include some T-34's, bren carriers and a battalion worth of infantry. They are moments away from joining the front line!

[Jason Petho]

Turn 56. Here's a 3D of the previous shot. You can see the reinforcements arriving on scene. I will plug the hole in the east and start my attack south to recover some ground and put a stop to his attack.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 58 - Breach is secured with a devastating blow to the Israeli's. I am going to secure Hill 311.0 on my way south.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 59. Maneuvering to assault Hill 311.0 I saw a company of Shermans on my flank, I have to be weary of that as they have a longer range than my T-34's so will have to ambush them with my Archers.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 62. Getting in a shooting match with the Israeli's at 250metres is suicide, but I am pushing anyway. I have the numbers and the artillery is keeping them disrupted. The majority of my losses will come in the last 10 turns.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 65. It's so bloody! I'm slowly taking him out, but losing farm too many infantry in the process. I see him on the eastern flank attempting to advance into the area, but he's too far away, so I don't have to pull back and I can focus on cleaning up this mess in the south. You can see those bloody Shermans in the south.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 66. Making more of a dent, but still losing dozens of men on each turn. Regardless, I'm persistent!

[Jason Petho]

Turn 70. Last turn.. you can see the attack formulating in the east and the remnants in the south making a beeline for safety. I stripped the defences in order to make the attack south with only a mobile company in reserve (border company in landrovers)

[Jason Petho]

The end of the story. The Israeli's learned some valuable lessons on this attack. I know they would play differently and the outcome would be terrible for the Egyptians!

[Big Ivan]

Very nice AAR Jason!![&o]

I liked the various different looks in 2D & 3D you presented during the battle.

Hard fight for both sides too.