AKA, the fifth and final fight in Operation Nachshon
It is 1530 on 7 April 1948, and the Company is preparing a counterattack. It's been quite an eventful couple of days: Operation Nachshon began yesterday with an attack by 1st Platoon on an Arab machine gun position that was holding up the advance of the Etzioni Brigade's attack on the Arab village of Al-Qastal. Things got tough when it turned out the Palestinians had a second machine gun covering their flank, which caught 1st Platoon in a crossfire. Despite this, Avi Peled's combat leadership carried the day, though the 1st Platoon leader, Baruch Eitan, was wounded bad enough that he would spend the rest of the war recovering. Early this morning, Avi led a second attack, this time on an old Roman Fort; the attack got off to a rough start when three Jewish soldiers, including 2nd Platoon's leader, Danny Tzur, stepped on landmines. Avi pushed the remainder of the platoon forward, but then he was wounded, with Eli Yadin and Hiram Laskov stepping up to take the objective. And then a few hours ago Haganah High Command tasked the Company to assault into Al-Qastal and take the Arab Liberation Army's headquarters. Dor Peleg, the 3rd Platoon commander, led his troops into the assault, but his plan was probably contained a bit too much tactical finesse. The left-hand assault element, including Dor himself, was torn apart by enemy machine guns, as was the platoon's base of fire; the attack succeeded purely on the personal bravery of Boaz Efrat.
Eliyahu Rabat assumed command of the Company and organized a defense, west of the Arab Liberation Army's headquarters building. The enemy came in strength, but they were channelized by the narrow village streets and the Jews were able to bludgeon them with small arms fire. With practically the entire enemy force suppressed by Jewish fire, Sergeant Eli Yadin charged into close combat and practically single-handedly broke the back of the Arab counterattack, personally killing four enemy soldiers and capturing another four.
But the enemy is holding onto a position in the northeast, and Lt Rabat has determined it is up to his men to eject the Arabs from the east end of the village.
Lt Eliyahu Rabat, age 31, former Sergeant of the Jewish Brigade, Sten
Elijah Davidoff, age 49, a refugee from Czechoslovakia, MP-40
Asaf Horowitz, age 19, a village youngster, Mauser
Dagan Narkiss, age 17, a village youngster, Mauser
Sgt Eli Yadin, age 18, a village youngster, Sten
Sgt Boaz Efrat, age 20, a village youngster, MP-40
Cpl Alon Shahak, age 35, former Jewish Brigade Corporal and Palmach member returned home, MG-34
Aaron Chaplin, age 44, a refugee from Belgium, Sten
Avigdor Galil, age 18, village youngster, Mauser (shot in bicep during Battle of Mar Gush)
Aram Mofaz, age 18, a village youngster, MP-40
Guy Rabin, age 40, village metalsmith, Springfield 03
The Palestinians. They'll start with a certain number of troops on the table (I don't know how many yet, that's up to the blinds system I use from Joe Legan's "Platoon Forward"), and they may or may not get reinforcements, depending on how the fight is going.
I guess this is what happens when your Company Commander and all three Platoon Commanders are recuperating from their wounds...
Time to fight!
The Palestinians fired four times with 1K 1S and never missed!
Damn, it's like they can't miss!
While the Jews have really taken a good kick in the teeth, they are slowly whittling the Arab resistance away, man by man.
For you 5Core players out there wondering how Aram got to fire twice, the first was Guard fire and the second was his actual action/reaction.
Which is not welcome news for me...
This is only possible as Alon finally did some decent work with the MG-34, killing and suppressing the Palestinians remaining at the strongpoint so that no could react fire to Aram's movements. I'm sure if but a single rifleman had the ability to react fire Aram would have been gunned down...
Dammit, I can't seem to get anything going!!!
At this point the Jews have Alon and Boaz (center) in the fight, Asaf (top center) and Aram (far left) knocked down.
The three Arabs on the roof of the strongpoint are all knocked down, thus they cannot be brought back into the fight except by the Sniper, who is currently suppressed. He self rallied, but then Alon's sustained rifle fire pinned him down again.
Boaz continues to press forward (center, with Aram knocked down at left) as Alon (off camera to bottom center) cracks away with Avigdor's Mauser. The Sniper attempts to self rally but fails and runs away, thus ending this bloodiest of fights for the Company so far in the War of Independence.
Holy guacamole, that was a real ass-whooper, leaving me shaken and despondent ;) I can't believe how poorly that went, how good Arab rifle fire was, particularly reactive fire. Practically every time I ran someone out they got gunned down by someone rolling 1K 1S! Remember, the Bren was out of action pretty much from the start, rallying only very near the end, and all he really did was knock down Aram. But those eight riflemen took their damn toll!
And if you're looking to get at me about the tactical plan and the continued running Jewish troops out into the street, here's a few thoughts to consider (I'm looking at you, Rod and Kyote):
1. The Company Commander and all three Platoon Commanders were not present during this fight, so tactical leadership suffered. I created the plan based on this and to reflect it (that doesn't mean I thought it would go this poorly!).
2. The Jews were expecting their machine gun team to have a field day in the opening bursts on the Arab strongpoint, and all three men fired (an MG-34, an MP-40, and a Mauser), but all that fire only managed to knock down one man!
3. The charging into the streets by the left and right assault elements was planned to coincide with, and dependent upon, the MG team's suppressive effects. That is, Eliyahu and Eli (the leaders of the assault elements) couldn't know the MG team didn't accomplish its mission until it was too late. You guys can say 'but you as the player knew it didn't work,' and that's true, but that's not how I play my solo games. I try (as much as possible, and I certainly make mistakes and/or cheat ;) ) to put myself into the little guys' shoes, not allowing them to act on info they don't have. I try...
4. I will always have a flair for the dramatic in my wargames; if you've seen any of the ~300 batreps I've posted in the past three and a half years, you know my tabletop commanders would rather close assault an enemy strongpoint rather than wait for support weapons/vehicles to be brought up. That's just my kind of fun ;)
So again the mission was accomplished, but the Company has been bled dry. The Arab Liberation Army soldiers lost seven men (the Sniper got away; I may have to bring him back, work him into the storyline), but the Jews were ravaged:
-Asaf Horowitz, the 19-year old village youngster, was killed by the Sniper.
-Aaron Chaplin, the Belgian refugee, was shot in the pelvis and almost bled to death. He was evacuated to the hospital in Tel Aviv, but suffered complications from the wound until his death in 1967, just after Jerusalem fell to his former comrades in the Six-DayWar.
-Elijah Davidoff, the Czech refugee, was shot through his right arm. The round passed through his chest and exited via his left arm, causing severe internal damage. He was evacuated to Tel Aviv, the war over for him.
-Guy Rabin, the village metalsmith, was shot in the upper back, but should make a full recovery and is expected to return to duty in about five weeks.
-Dagan Narkiss, a 18-year old village youngster, was shot in the thigh. Nothing life threatening, he should be back in a couple weeks.
-Eliyahu Rabat, the acting Company Commander, wept for days when he discovered the consequences of his assault on the enemy strongpoint in Al-Qastal. He was knocked to the ground by an Arab bullet that struck his Sten gun, destroying it, then had a Palestinian jump on his back and stab him. Luckily, Aram Mofaz shot his assailant. Eliyahu is okay, should return to duty in a few days.
-Eli Yadin, the brave young Sergeant, now sports an interesting scar. He was shot in the left forearm, the round passing straight through. The medics have patched it up, he never left the Company.
-Avigdor Galil, an 18-year old village youngster, had a bullet crease his neck. Alon Shahak thought he was dead for all the blood, but Avidgor was able to staunch the bleeding with a handkerchief until the fight was over, passing in and out of consciousness several times. Once the medics patched him up he was fine, didn't even need to leave the Company.
It would have been shorter to list the men of the Company still in action (including those last two): Eli Yadin, Daniel Eisentkot (who missed the fight while escorting prisoners to the rear), Boaz Efrat, Alon Shahak, Avigdor Galil, and Aram Mofaz. Six men. Due to the tremendous amount of casualties taken, Yitzhak Rabin ordered the Company out of the line in order to rest and recuperate; Operation Nachshon was over for the men of the Company.
Operation Nachshon continued for another week, succeeding in temporarily opening the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, allowing several convoys to reach the Jewish Quarter. But it wasn't enough, and Arab forces soon blocked the road again, this time further east on some dominating heights near the village of Bab El-Wad. In Al-Qastal, the village changed hands multiple times, and the Arab Liberation Army local commander, Abd Al-Qadr Al-Husayni, was killed. The Palestinians retook the village in order to recover Al-Husayni's body, but then withdrew for several days in order to grieve their fallen commander. Following this the Arabs returned to Al-Qastal in force; the Jews withdrew from the village without a fight, but leveled every structure before leaving.
The re-closing of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road was a pressing issue, and once again Haganah leadership began drawing up plans for another offensive to re-open the road, christened Operation Harel. As part of this process, and in the process of better organizing the Jewish forces, on 16 April 1948 a new unit was created, the 10th Brigade, AKA, the "Harel Brigade." The Harel Brigade was comprised of four Palmach Battalions and commanded by Yitzhak Rabin. The Company made quite a name for itself in the Battle for Mar Gush and in Operation Nachshon, and so when the Harel Brigade was formed, Yitzhak Rabin himself asked Avi Peled if he would join them. Of course Avi agreed, and so that day Avi's men became part of Company D, 4th Battalion. And the men became a part of Company D because part of becoming a 'real' infantry unit was understanding their numbers placed them at the platoon level, not the company level; this also meant that some of the promotions were going to have to be walked back, in order to conform to the brigade's table of organization. That is, the men became 1st Platoon, Company D, 4th Battalion, 10th ("Harel") Brigade, and "Captain" Avi Peled would soon become Lieutenant Avi Peled.
As part of Operation Harel, the Harel Brigade, of course, would be leading the way. It was set to begin that same day, 16 April 1948, but of course 1st Plt, D Co, 1st Bn was not ready due to casualties. Their Company commander, Rafael Eitan, sat them out of the beginning of the operation to convalesce and absorb some replacements. But very soon Avi would be leading 1st Platoon into action as part of Operation Harel.
V/R,
Jack
Holy guacamole, that was a real ass-whooper, leaving me shaken and despondent ;) I can't believe how poorly that went, how good Arab rifle fire was, particularly reactive fire. Practically every time I ran someone out they got gunned down by someone rolling 1K 1S! Remember, the Bren was out of action pretty much from the start, rallying only very near the end, and all he really did was knock down Aram. But those eight riflemen took their damn toll!
And if you're looking to get at me about the tactical plan and the continued running Jewish troops out into the street, here's a few thoughts to consider (I'm looking at you, Rod and Kyote):
1. The Company Commander and all three Platoon Commanders were not present during this fight, so tactical leadership suffered. I created the plan based on this and to reflect it (that doesn't mean I thought it would go this poorly!).
2. The Jews were expecting their machine gun team to have a field day in the opening bursts on the Arab strongpoint, and all three men fired (an MG-34, an MP-40, and a Mauser), but all that fire only managed to knock down one man!
3. The charging into the streets by the left and right assault elements was planned to coincide with, and dependent upon, the MG team's suppressive effects. That is, Eliyahu and Eli (the leaders of the assault elements) couldn't know the MG team didn't accomplish its mission until it was too late. You guys can say 'but you as the player knew it didn't work,' and that's true, but that's not how I play my solo games. I try (as much as possible, and I certainly make mistakes and/or cheat ;) ) to put myself into the little guys' shoes, not allowing them to act on info they don't have. I try...
4. I will always have a flair for the dramatic in my wargames; if you've seen any of the ~300 batreps I've posted in the past three and a half years, you know my tabletop commanders would rather close assault an enemy strongpoint rather than wait for support weapons/vehicles to be brought up. That's just my kind of fun ;)
So again the mission was accomplished, but the Company has been bled dry. The Arab Liberation Army soldiers lost seven men (the Sniper got away; I may have to bring him back, work him into the storyline), but the Jews were ravaged:
-Asaf Horowitz, the 19-year old village youngster, was killed by the Sniper.
-Aaron Chaplin, the Belgian refugee, was shot in the pelvis and almost bled to death. He was evacuated to the hospital in Tel Aviv, but suffered complications from the wound until his death in 1967, just after Jerusalem fell to his former comrades in the Six-DayWar.
-Elijah Davidoff, the Czech refugee, was shot through his right arm. The round passed through his chest and exited via his left arm, causing severe internal damage. He was evacuated to Tel Aviv, the war over for him.
-Guy Rabin, the village metalsmith, was shot in the upper back, but should make a full recovery and is expected to return to duty in about five weeks.
-Dagan Narkiss, a 18-year old village youngster, was shot in the thigh. Nothing life threatening, he should be back in a couple weeks.
-Eliyahu Rabat, the acting Company Commander, wept for days when he discovered the consequences of his assault on the enemy strongpoint in Al-Qastal. He was knocked to the ground by an Arab bullet that struck his Sten gun, destroying it, then had a Palestinian jump on his back and stab him. Luckily, Aram Mofaz shot his assailant. Eliyahu is okay, should return to duty in a few days.
-Eli Yadin, the brave young Sergeant, now sports an interesting scar. He was shot in the left forearm, the round passing straight through. The medics have patched it up, he never left the Company.
-Avigdor Galil, an 18-year old village youngster, had a bullet crease his neck. Alon Shahak thought he was dead for all the blood, but Avidgor was able to staunch the bleeding with a handkerchief until the fight was over, passing in and out of consciousness several times. Once the medics patched him up he was fine, didn't even need to leave the Company.
It would have been shorter to list the men of the Company still in action (including those last two): Eli Yadin, Daniel Eisentkot (who missed the fight while escorting prisoners to the rear), Boaz Efrat, Alon Shahak, Avigdor Galil, and Aram Mofaz. Six men. Due to the tremendous amount of casualties taken, Yitzhak Rabin ordered the Company out of the line in order to rest and recuperate; Operation Nachshon was over for the men of the Company.
Operation Nachshon continued for another week, succeeding in temporarily opening the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, allowing several convoys to reach the Jewish Quarter. But it wasn't enough, and Arab forces soon blocked the road again, this time further east on some dominating heights near the village of Bab El-Wad. In Al-Qastal, the village changed hands multiple times, and the Arab Liberation Army local commander, Abd Al-Qadr Al-Husayni, was killed. The Palestinians retook the village in order to recover Al-Husayni's body, but then withdrew for several days in order to grieve their fallen commander. Following this the Arabs returned to Al-Qastal in force; the Jews withdrew from the village without a fight, but leveled every structure before leaving.
The re-closing of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road was a pressing issue, and once again Haganah leadership began drawing up plans for another offensive to re-open the road, christened Operation Harel. As part of this process, and in the process of better organizing the Jewish forces, on 16 April 1948 a new unit was created, the 10th Brigade, AKA, the "Harel Brigade." The Harel Brigade was comprised of four Palmach Battalions and commanded by Yitzhak Rabin. The Company made quite a name for itself in the Battle for Mar Gush and in Operation Nachshon, and so when the Harel Brigade was formed, Yitzhak Rabin himself asked Avi Peled if he would join them. Of course Avi agreed, and so that day Avi's men became part of Company D, 4th Battalion. And the men became a part of Company D because part of becoming a 'real' infantry unit was understanding their numbers placed them at the platoon level, not the company level; this also meant that some of the promotions were going to have to be walked back, in order to conform to the brigade's table of organization. That is, the men became 1st Platoon, Company D, 4th Battalion, 10th ("Harel") Brigade, and "Captain" Avi Peled would soon become Lieutenant Avi Peled.
As part of Operation Harel, the Harel Brigade, of course, would be leading the way. It was set to begin that same day, 16 April 1948, but of course 1st Plt, D Co, 1st Bn was not ready due to casualties. Their Company commander, Rafael Eitan, sat them out of the beginning of the operation to convalesce and absorb some replacements. But very soon Avi would be leading 1st Platoon into action as part of Operation Harel.
V/R,
Jack
