The Battle of Qabatiya Junction

5 & 6/6/67

v1.4

On the 5th June the Israelis launched an attack into the northern portion of the the West Bank, at that time part of Jordan. Their forces pushed south to link up with the attacks on Jerusalem.

British WW2 era map of the battlefield from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/palestine/

Map and Order of Battle

Israeli Deployment

Battalions of the 45th Armoured Brigade enter the board within 9" of corner A at the rate of one battalion per turn from turn 1. The ordering is up to the commanding player. The HQ, Recce and logistics can enter on any turn from one to four

Battalions of the 9th Reserve Infantry Brigade enter the table within 9" of corner A at the rate of one battalion per turn from turn 5. The ordering is up to the commanding player. The HQ, Recce and logistics can enter on any turn from five onwards.

All elements of the 37th Armoured Brigade enter the table within 9" of corner A on turn 6

Jordanian Deployment

The 19th Infantry Battalion starts within 9" of Burqin. It is entrenched (2L cover)

The 20th Infantry Battalion starts within 9" of Jenin. It is entrenched (2L cover)

The 21st Infantry Battalion starts within 9" of Qabatiya . It is entrenched (2L cover)

The 33rd Commando Battalion is a reinforcement. Starting turn 5 roll each turn for its arrival. On a 5-6 (d6) it arrives between points G and B. It may not arrive in the ZOC on any Israeli unit. if entry is impossible it will enter the following turn. (Historically the commandos had been on an abortive raid into Israel over night, the stand represents returning Egyptian units.)

A Company of the 12th Tank Regiment is a reinforcement entering the battle on turn three between points F and G

B Company of the 12th Tank Regiment starts within 9" of X touching a road or track

C Company of the 12th Tank Regiment starts touching the road between Qabatiya and Az Zababika

The GHQ Artillery Battery starts on or north of road BE, touching a road or track

The 2nd Tank Regiment enters the battle on Turn 8 within 9" of Road E.

The 4th Tank Regiment enters the battle Turn 5 along road D

Elements of the 1st Mechanised Battalion are deployed in the rough ground or scrub within 9" of Tilfit.

The remainder of the 1st Mechanised Battalion will arrive at point D on a roll of 5-6 (d6). Start rolling at the start of the Jordanian move phase, every turn that there is an Israeli unit within 9" of Tilfit or Az Zababika, but not within 9" of point D. (Historically the battalion did not deploy but the Israelis were cognisant of the threat and deployed accordingly)

Terrain

The table is 6ft x 4ft if playing at 6" = 1km. North is towards the top of the page.

The solid red lines are roads, they have no game effect other than to obviate the terrain penalties when passing through difficult terrain. In such cases they are treated as defiles. It is up to the moving player whether to use the road or not.

The dashed red lines are tracks. If used by the by the players they are treated as defiles. Note that tracks have some terrain movement penalties.

The dashed brown lines are level 2 ridgelines. Note that the LOS enhancement gained by touching the ridgeline is not obstructed by either the olive groves or scrub.

The brown areas are rock and steep, rough ground. If you prefer to play with hills rather than ridgelines the brown areas, and the green areas upon them, roughly correspond to level 2 hills.

The dark green areas are olive groves.

The light green areas are low scrub.

The grey squares are town centre BUA

The grey circle marks the location of the village of Tilfit. It is too small to have any game effect.

Aircraft

The Israelis had air supremacy over the battlefield

Give the Israeli player 4 counters before the start of the game.

Each turn the Israeli player rolls 1d6. On a 5 they get one ground attack aircraft, on a 6 they get two ground attack aircraft. By spending a counter the Israeli player may add one to the dice roll. The counter is spent before the roll is made. More than one counter can be spent per turn.

Special Rules

The game is 16 turns long, The Jordanians deploy first, the Israelis move first.

Turns 1-4 are night time.

Victory Conditions

To win the Israelis must hold point D, Jenin and achieve one or more of the other victory conditions: destroy the Long Tom Battery and/or hold point X.

To hold point X, point D or Jenin there must be at least one Israeli, large base unit within 9" at the end of the game and no Jordanian units.

Destroying the Long Tom Battery meets the victory condition as does ensuring it is south of road BE at the end of the game.

References

37th Brigade: http://idf-armor.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/idf-37th-armored-brigade-ream-37.html

45th Brigade: http://idf-armor.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/idf-45th-brigade-1967-six-days-war-in.html

Arab Israeli Wars, Chaim Herzog

Jordanian Order of Battle 1967: http://balagan.info/jordanian-order-of-battle-in-the-1967-arab-israeli-war

Jordan in the 1967 War Samir A. Mutawi

M47 and M48 Patton Tanks, Steven Zaloga and Jim Laurier

Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria, Simon Dunstan