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Thursday, February 16, 2023

Back to Palestine!

A fortnight ago, Peter and I met upon the remote plains of Palestine to continue the WWI campaign.  Peter's account of the action can be found at, WW1 Palestine Campaign T4G4.  For completeness, I offer up the tale from the Turkish perspective.

As a brief refresher, Peter is refighting the WW1 campaign in Palestine using his D3 variant of Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames (OHW).  This variant extends the base rules to include some interesting twists including using a D3 die and unit activations.  The unit activation mechanism introduces variability and decision making into the game which enhances play markedly over the original.  Well, in my mind anyway.

In the two preceding contests, the EEF attacked Turkish defenders set in standard OHW scenarios.  This action is no different but Scenario #8 Melee is used a second time.  Peter mixed the terrain up a bit but the ground was familiar.  Orders of Battle were changed up too with the addition of an armored train and a tank.

Anyway, on to a captioned account from the Turkish perspective.
With Turks on the heights with gun and machine gun,
fire into the oasis is not very effective
 as the enemy comes on. 
Turkish reinforcements on the way!
As the EEF advances and deploys,
Turkish support comes under heavy fire.
The hilltop defenders retire slowly off from
their exposed positions on the hill.
The supporting unit of Turks is quickly dispatched.
Armored train arrives with infantry moving along in support.
Unfortunately for the Turks, the supporting infantry
is brought under fire from both gun and rifle. 
The EEF swings around to threaten the heights.
Infantry advancing under cover of the train take a pounding.
They are not under cover!
The EEF continues to advance upon the heights.
The MG on the train fires into the infantry to its front.
Enemy takes casualties but the Turkish infantry refuse to act!
In preparatory fire, the EEF lurks below the crest of the hill.
For the Turks, casualties mount.
Having seen the Turks off on the EEF right,
targets switch to the Turks detraining.
  Casualties are frightful.
A whistle blows.
Over the top! 
As the enemy crests the hill, fire erupts from the Turks.
Many fall.
The enemy emerging from the oasis scatters.
The train mounted MG continues its fire down the tracks.
An explosion is heard as a large, black plume of smoke
 rises from the enemy tank.
The tank stops and the crew bail. 
With armor gone, the enemy are caught in a deadly crossfire.
In a blink of an eye, two units disintegrate. 
Enemy guns take out another Turkish infantry moving up.
With time and resources ebbing, the enemy moves
 out from the cover of the woods and toward the hill.
They succumb to fire.
The MG fire scatters the enemy astride the tracks.
With only the EEF guns left and time expired,
 the battle is over.
Victory to the Turks,
AGAIN!
Turkish commander inspecting the burned-out tank
atop Mount Disappointment.
photo courtesy grid based wargaming.
Wow!

Another exciting game in which the action saw the defending Turks turn back yet another attack.  Three times, now, the EEF has come on in the same way.  Three times the Turks have repelled their attackers.  Will the enemy try a fourth time?  We will see.

In hindsight, the battle hinged on the untimely destruction of the EEF armor.  The Turks were taking a real pounding from enemy guns.  Failed activations hindered Turkish progress.  When the tank exploded from a failed activation, the balance of power shifted to open up the battle and turn the tide.

Great fun and an exciting match.

What comes next and can the EEF reach Damascus? 

52 comments:

  1. A nice report a lovely table and something different, ta.

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    1. Thanks! The report is mine. Everything else is Peter's!

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  2. Great to see events from the Turkish point of view Jon. It was not looking good for them until the tank went up and then things suddenly turned in their favour. C'est la guerre and all that!
    The EEF are up against the clock and frankly I'm not sure of our brave boys will be able to get the better of Johnny Turk now...

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    1. Glad you enjoyed seeing the conflict from the Ankara Times!

      The Turks looked hard-pressed until the tank brewed up. That allowed a reallocation of resources to concentrate on EEF infantry and they were plastered.

      I am not so sure Damascus will be reached.

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  3. Just enough info with the photos. I smiled at the opening remarks, was set for a more, ah, vigorous tone? Good AAR to what looks like a fun game.

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    1. Even though fighting for the Turks, I am a fair and objective journalist.

      Glad you could make sense of the BatRep with captioned photos mostly.

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  4. Armored trains are just a fun nifty thing to have on the table.

    And I was rooting for you the WHOLE TIME. 😀

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    1. My armored train caused little mayhem. The machine gun kept a few of the enemy under fire but that was about it. No heroics with flags waving.

      I knew I could count on your support!

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  5. The lesson is don’t roll a 1 when you have a tank.

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  6. Another nice battle. You do seem to have a good time of it playing against British, whether it be in Palestine or the AWI.

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    1. Thanks! Is it my success against the British or that I often find myself defending?

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  7. Oh, that's great scenario and battle report!
    Thank you Jonathan!

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    1. You’re welcome, Michal! Glad you liked the battle report.

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  8. The heat, the flies, the dust, the Turks! A splendid little action I like the pictures with captioned narrative approach.

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    1. Thanks, Phil! You would think that following three setbacks the EEF may consider calling the whole campaign off.

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  9. Great report, Jonathan 👍🏼. Very enjoyable, especially when reading the batreps from both sides of the Pacific. Marvellous stuff. ✔️

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    1. Martin, thanks so much! Happy to see you enjoyed both versions of the battle from both sides of the Pacific.

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  10. Great looking game and battle report

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  11. Nicely done and another interesting WW1 encounter 👍

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    1. Thank you! It is an interesting theatre but one I know little about.

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  12. Lovely stuff, Jonathan. We have played a number of games in this theatre over the years and they are always fun. It is particularly attractive to me as two of my great uncles (on my mother’s side) fought in Palestine in the Great War in the British Army.

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    1. Mark, the game and accoutrements are all Peter's doing. Since Peter is an Australian, perhaps, this is one reason this theatre holds special interest to him too. Did your Great Uncles make it back to share their stories of their Great Adventure?

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    2. They certainly did make it back. Both saw service in the Somme, one in the infantry and one as an artillery driver, before going to the East, where their service took them from Cairo to Baghdad. They went on to live full lives, the last one died in the mid-70s. Their story might make an interesting post.

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    3. Mark, I, for one, would really enjoy reading a post of the wartime exploits of your ancestors.

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    4. I have been doing some research this afternoon…

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  13. Seems like the Turks have transferred Mustapha Ataturk to command the forces opposing the EEF, they just keep winning! I must have missed this game on Peters blog...will go back and have a look for it. At least one if not more of my wife's relations were in the NZ Mounted Rifles in this theatre too.

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    1. Yes, the Turks have learned how to properly fight a defensive battle with well-timed counterattacks. Go back and give Peter's account a read-through. I recall reading once upon a time that a hefty chunk of the male population of Australia and New Zealand fought in WWI. Does not surprise me that you and Mark had relatives who fought.

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    2. My memory must be even more age affected than I thought...I HAD already read and commented on Peter's blog. As is our wont in NZ, if we per capita it, New Zealand had the highest proportion of the adult male population serving in WWI, I believe.

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    3. Hang in there, Keith! We are all in this together. When you post frequently and read others’ blogs continuously, losing track is easy.

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  14. Great looking game as always, Jonathan! BTW, this year's Enfilade them is Desert Warfare - From Kadesh to Desert Storm. I can admit that this was my nomination for the theme - seeing how I had a Western Desert Bolt Action game ready to go :)

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    1. Thanks! The game is Peter’s handiwork. One of these years, I ought to make the effort to get back to Enfilade. Probably been nearly twenty years since I last attended. I have several collections that would fit the desert warfare theme.

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  15. Great looking unusual game, well done!
    Best Iain

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  16. Congratulations on the Ottoman win! Looks a talker and taller order for the EEF to get to Damascus.
    Love the sepia style photo of the brewed tank. Very period.
    Chris/Nundanket

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    1. Thanks, Chris! Not so sure the EEF will reach Damascus. We will have to wait and see what Peter has planned for the next phase of the campaign. The sepia image is Peter's handwork. I think he said it was comic book style.

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  17. Lots of fascinating things happening, remote gaming and modified OHW. Certainly provided a great game! I've had OHW in mind again for ancients wargaming with some mods.

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    1. Tony, lots of interesting games. Later this week, Peter has a Samurai battle on deck for us to give a go.

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    2. Very much like the sound of that one!

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    3. A battle report will likely follow especially if the contest ends in victory...

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  18. Peter's games look good and are well thought out. How long did the scenario take to play>?

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    1. Peter makes a good presentation. I always enjoy seeing close-ups of his scratch-built vehicles. I think we finished up in about one-and-a-half to two hours.

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    2. About what I'd expect, and perfect for an online gaming session!

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    3. For me, three hours or less is a good session length for a game. I do go over that threshold regularly, though. Some players enjoy longer sessions. Others prefer shorter sessions. It is a balancing act. The 'other' Peter prefers a shorter gaming session. With his version of OHW and limited unit numbers, we typically come in under two hours.

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    4. I'd agree, 2-3 hours is good for online gaming, especially when spread across different time zones!

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    5. With Peter in Melbourne, we are separated not only by different time zones but different days!

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  19. An excellent sounding game Jonathan…
    Things looked bad for you until that unfortunate incident with the tank…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. It was a great game, Aly! I got a bit lucky and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when Peter’s tank exploded.

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