Act Two at Hizayon vs Human Opponent.

[Jason Petho]

I'm wrapping up a game that I had over at Wargamers Club for Gentlemen. We had played this with me as the Israeli's and the Egyptians were pretty well wiped off the map. So, I figured why not give it a go as the Egyptians and see how I fair. This is a difficult scenario for the Egyptians to win, but it is not impossible.

Here are a few screenshots and thoughts about what I did.

Below is a screenshot of the first turn positions. I am facing a lot of Israeli tanks supported by heavy artillery. Their most likely avenue of approach is going to be along the paved roads, one in the middle and one in the south.

I know that in order for me to win, I need to capture the Israeli strongpoints, hold the east side of the bank and be able to muster a counter attack getting some forces into the Israeli rear.

[Jason Petho]

Here are the positions in the north.

I have ample infantry across the canal already, with mechanized battalions on the west bank. The plan here is to assault the northern positions as quickly as possible to remove the Israeli's having eyes in my rear.

In the meantime, I will also maneuver my mechanized units to start building defences on the west side of the canal, in case the Israeli's cross the canal - which I am fully expecting.

[Jason Petho]

Here is the south. Pretty much I will be doing the same thing in the south, although down here I have a company of tanks to bolster my defences and I have some commando's in the southern desert to attempt to attack the expected Israeli southern tank assault.

[Jason Petho]

Here's an overview of the situation in the north. You can see that the Israeli's are attacking with a couple of tank battalions, at least, in this sector.

I have commando's on the very northern edge of my front and they seem to be holding their own and ready to ambush the most northern attack. To what end, who knows, but it is essential I stall them for as long as possible so I can build my defences behind the canal.

[Jason Petho]

I am positioning myself for the assault on Hizayon. This is my highest priority (as is the fort in the south) before the tanks get here. You can see them already in view. Fortunately, that also means that they are in view of my Saggers. The Saggers and artillery barrages will by my only saving grace against the mass tank assault.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 4 in the north.

I've almost captured Hizayon, which provides me with some relief that I will be able to focus on my defence instead of having the attacks to worry about as well. The Commando's in the north were successful in slowing down the advance, although my opponent has decided to flank my lines.

If you squint well enough, you can see I am sending Saggers to high ground on the west bank of the canal. Doing this will pay great dividends in later on in the game.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 4 in the south.

Soooo many tanks. But I have nearly taken this fort as well, which I am relieved about. I have been focusing most of my artillery on the oncoming tanks. At the moment, between the missiles and artillery, I have destroyed 3xSho't Kal and 9xMagach 5's.

Much to my dismay, I have already lost 23 Sagger teams.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 8 in the north.

Well, I pretty well lost most of my commando's. I'm trying to save the remaining SP's. The only thing saving me up there are the Saggers.

Along Spontani Road is a different matter though! It seems I have wiped out this assault, so I am taking the opportunity to advance with some infantry. It's too risky to bring over my mechanized battalions though, since there are still a lot of tanks in the are that would wipe them out.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 8 in the south.

My commandos in the south are being hunted down, slowly but surely. I have reinforcements coming in to the south of them, so I really need them to live a few more turns.

Otherwise, the tanks have stalled from the shell shock of the Saggers and artillery. While I have lost 47 Sagger teams, I have destroyed 8xSho't Kal's and 27xMagach 5's.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 10 in the north.

Haha... I screwed myself there. Apparently there was a Sho't Kal Battalion on the way along the road! That did a number on my advancing infantry, so I retreated back as fast as I could.

El Firdan is pretty crowded, I will be funneling troops back across the Suez here shortly. If you look carefully, you can see my only tank company (at the moment) has been shifted from the south to here as this is the most dangerous area.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 10 in the south.

Those damn tanks keep coming. My commandos are still alive, but most are reduced significantly. My Sagger team down there has survived another turn, to my disbelief. I have highlighted where the remainder of my Sagger teams are in the south. About half are behind the front ready for any breakthroughs.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 13 in the north

The tanks are getting closer and I'm running out of Saggers. I'm still able to kill tanks though with my tanks and the remaining Saggers and artillery. But it is a slow process. I highlighted the remaining Sagger positions. My infantry are taking a lot of losses so far.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 13 in the south.

Yay! My tank battalion arrives! My commandos performed their task and prevented the Israeli's from overrunning the entry position. The Saggers and artillery have been effective in this sector. the Sho't Kal battalion is suffering. Tank losses so far are: 30xSho't Kal and 40xMagach 5 while I have lost 55xSagger Teams. I'lll be spending the next few turns getting my tanks to the west to the paved road.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 16 overview.

Here is the overall situation at the end of Turn 16.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 16 in the north.

I'm keeping his tanks disrupted, which is good. But they have vast numbers and I take losses every turn.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 16 in the Center.

I am taking part of my infantry here and going to swing the southern Israeli right flank. As I bring my tanks into action, I want to make sure his tanks are worried about my infantry.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 16 in the south

The decimation of the southern Israeli force is coming along perfectly. They are running out of tanks here and they have some infantry I need to deal with. I have started the assault, even my Commando's are still hunting here in the south!

[Jason Petho]

Turn 18 in the south.

The infantry has started to swarm and I have pulled out my tank battalion from cover to start the attack. I am expecting to lose some tanks, but that I won't stop my momentum.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 20 in the north.

The Israeli's are attacking, albeit at a price. They are within 500 metres of the fort and I am hitting them with everything I have up there.

[Jason Petho]

Turn 20 in the south.

On the bright side, my attack is going well. Swarming with infantry and advancing with tanks, hitting the Israeli tanks as I can and leaving the Israeli infantry to be mopped up later. You can see I have mechanized infantry ready in their carriers in the rear to join the fun when I have destroyed the tanks.