berto
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Joined: 3/13/2002
From: metro Chicago, Illinois, USA
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TURN #2
In the turn-opening artillery salvo (off-board artillery, apparently), Crossroads hit the 1st Mech Rifle Battalion HQ holed up at Tel Shams, scoring 1 SP hit, and a disruption. When I say "holed up", I mean exactly that. That objective hex is surrounded by cliffs, all sides. For the Battalion HQ, and Lt Col Alef, there is no escape! (A check of the Unit Handbook for those units indicates, by 'Cliff 0', that neither can cross cliff hexsides.)
Other Israeli artillery fire scored another SP hit or two, and more than one retreat. Israeli artillery will be a constant threat throughout this scenario, it seems.
With the artillery done, as expected Crossroads blasted away at my front-line infantry, 5 armoured rifle infantry SPs lost.
Here is the Strength Dialog at the end of the Israeli phase:
Unexpectedly, and much to my relief, Crossroads remained focused on the Tel Shams front and didn't bother with Saasa Ridge at all. It looks like any exposed anti-tank assets -- outside of field fortifications, out in the open -- will flee to safer ground unmolested. If I were Crossroads (and omniscient  ), I would bypass Tel Shams, line up my Sho't Kals at the base of Saasa Ridge, and try to pick off any exposed Syrian AT units on display -- secure in the knowledge that, for the RCLRs at least, whose hard target range doesn't extend out very far, they can give a lot more than they get.
But maybe, as more and more Sho't Kals show up (see the Israeli reinforcements at map's south edge, screenshot following), Crossroads might still think to do that.
After Crossroads' Side A (Israeli) move (Side A is the scenario's first side), the situation at the middle of Turn 2:
One Syrian casualty in the Side A Israeli phase: that B-11 107mm RCLR (red circle). They will be missed.
That other RCLR unit, the B-10 82mm RCLR AT section that inflicted so much damage in Turn 1 (green circle) -- quite fortunately, it survived, no SPs were lost, albeit now it is disrupted. It too is rather exposed -- in rough terrain only. Rather than move it forward to a more sheltering IP or trench hex, and even in its current disrupted state, where it fires at half strength, I will risk leaving it be, to fire up to five times at the Sho't Kals downslope (yellow circle). If I am lucky, those Sho't Kals to the north have no saved APs for opportunity fire, and I get in the full five shots. For that RCLR, I have toggled on Visibility to/from that hex (orange hex highlights). As you can see, they do have a field of fire directed towards those northerly Sho't Kals. Fortunately, they remain invisible to all of those Israeli tanks to the west and southwest (note the absence of Visibility orange hex highlights in those directions).
The Syrian T-12 AT Gun in the bunker at hex 24,19 (turquoise circle) was disrupted last phase, but good for them, they have quickly undisrupted. They have two full, clear shots at the lead Israeli tanks two hexes to the west. Let's see if they can take out those tanks!
Oh, and what happened to the M1 minefields to the south of Tel Shams? Where did they go? Nowhere. After my pull-back last phase, those minefields are now out of my LOS. I know from the Israeli Side A playback that a stack of Sho't Kals now lurks hidden, somewhere to the south of Tel Shams. Will they, and others, attempt to cross those minefields and attack from the south?
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Printable Version
High Water Mark - 10/12/73 - AAR (no Crossroads) - 
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