Campaign Series Middle East - 2.30 UPDATE

Jason Petho · July 06, 2023, 09:16:08 AM

Another session with Middle East. There was some difficulties getting Twitch loaded, so be patient with that. It doesn't impact the YouTube session apart from my babbles. I restarted the machine and all was fine afterwards. Regardless, I played the Teaching Set scenarios, Hot Seat! With a couple hours, I was able to get through them all pretty quickly as they are only 6 turns each. They are great for learning how the system works and how the weapons become more deadly as the decades pass. They are best against a human opponent, PBEM, Hot Seat or LAN.

Jason Petho · July 13, 2023, 12:54:24 AM

Back to the Sinai with lots and lots and lots of tanks. I started playing Advantage Jiradi, which is an Israeli armoured brigade advancing along a single road into numerous defensive lines set by the Egyptians. A challenge? Oh yes, yes indeed. Some valuable lessons with thanks and infantry in half-tracks were explained, especially how to use them in assaults.

Jason Petho · July 20, 2023, 01:03:48 AM

Here we are along the coast of the northern Sinai. Some fantastic examples of how to assault with armoured vehicles. Like a knife through butter we are tearing through the lines. But then, out of nowhere, night fell. That changes the rest of the scenario. A fascinating turn of events indeed!

Jason Petho · July 27, 2023, 12:35:00 AM

We played through the end of the scenario working through the Jiradi Pass. That was a close one, darkness made a world of difference. It was an interesting scenario and the last 5 turns had me wondering if I was going to be able to move the division off the map. This gave me a lot of ideas for when I script the scenario and realized how challenging this would be against a human player. Fascinating indeed!

Jason Petho · August 03, 2023, 09:19:32 AM

And into Lebanon we go as we attempt to clear the route towards the Beirut airport along the coast. As the Israeli's, we have two mechanized brigades worth of goodies to play with. The primary challenge for the scenario will be learning how to operate heavily mechanized forces in the mountainous and forested terrain, dotted with villages throughout the area. The secondary challenge is to see how I can script the AI to make it a worth opponent, so I am taking notes as I advance.

Jason Petho · August 10, 2023, 01:13:42 AM

Campaign Series Middle East: Back to Lebanon. How fun is this! The terrain is just brutal and there are Syrians and PLO everywhere. I even managed to find some T-62's in the mix. The assaults are making progress, albeit methodically. Some actions are better than others, but I am about to perform a combat assault in the rear with an Israeli infantry company, we shall see how that goes - or doesn't. This is a fun scenario thus far and I could see it being quite challenging versus a human PBEM. Scripting will be an interesting challenge too!

Jason Petho · August 17, 2023, 01:20:52 AM

Campaign Series Middle East: The night assault is going better this session, although I'm still taking some bad losses. As I advance into the weeds along the Umm Katef position, I am running into positions where I am losing tanks to anti-tank guns and recoilless rifles. Due to the limitations in movement and vast array of trenches, the tanks need to get up close and personal, especially as I am using them with assaulting the trenches with Engineers. A very effective tactic indeed. Also assault with a combination of loaded halftracks and tanks - in open terrain.

Jason Petho · August 24, 2023, 09:34:22 AM

Campaign Series Middle East: Talk about a blast! Figuratively and literally. There's a ton of violence, and the grind is slow, but it is a heck of a fun fight. The Israeli's are making progress in the east, taking over villages and clearing woods. There is exceptionally heavy fighting along the coast, as the Syrians and PLO troops seem to be making the stand along the coast. It is giving me a lot of interesting ideas on how I will be scripting these type of scenarios that are heavily focused on mechanized units.

Jason Petho · August 31, 2023, 06:09:24 AM

The west absolutely brutal, the fighting is close and deadly. The east is going a little smoother as I am running into lighter resistance, but even that lighter resistance is turning out to offer some unique challenges. I continue to learn a lot as I play this, especially in seeing how the Legacy AI will defend and how strong it can be. It gives me a plethora of ideas to make the Scripted AI a living hell. Muhahahaha.

Jason Petho · September 03, 2023, 01:16:22 PM

Campaign Series Middle East: I haven't played by email this with the new version, so here is the first attempt. John had asked if I wanted to play and sent me the first turn. He is playing as the Muslim Brotherhood and attempting to capture the Israeli settlement of Etzion. I have my work cut out for me as he definitely outnumbers me in troops, although the quality and positioning of my troops is superior. This is the entire PBEM game.

Jason Petho · September 06, 2023, 12:11:00 PM

Advancing into the refugee camps in southern Gaza. The area is defended by Egyptian and Palestinian volunteers. The first handful of turns have been nail biting, but I am making progress while I capture positions. It is a challenging scenario so far, even with a defending legacy AI. It is a methodical attack, but I keep finding surprises. I am curious to see if there will be additional movement but is giving me some ideas how to script the Egyptian AI.

Jason Petho · September 28, 2023, 12:15:21 PM

Campaign Series Middle East: We are attacking the positions at Umm Katef in 1967. It's a night scenario, the whole thing, which makes this battle quite interesting. I have a good idea where the defences are but I have no idea what they consist of and holy, trying to advance and clear these positions is leaving opportunity for a bunch of valuable lessons. I made it to about half way through the scenario, the first battalion taking heavy casualties in its assaults. But, there is progress.

Jason Petho · October 05, 2023, 09:19:22 AM

Campaign Series Middle East: Back into Lebanon we go! There have been some excellent small unit tactics on display in this session of the scenario. I showed the importance of utilizing all your weapons platforms, in conjunction with artillery, especially as it pertains to assaulting defended and dug in positions. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the amount of anti-aircraft and types - SA-7's included - and had suffered some pretty horrendous helicopter losses. Ah well, can't win them all!

Jason Petho · October 12, 2023, 01:49:21 AM

The last few turns were full of small tactical engagements. Overwhelming the Syrians and PLO troops along the coast brought the overwhelming victory. Battle in the hills with small contingents of troops turned out to be the most fun in this scenario as it was always interesting to see what the best force mix would be ideal in various situations. There are lots of valuable lessons in this session.

Jason Petho · October 19, 2023, 01:30:45 AM

Here we go, advancing along the Suez Canal with a goal of defeating a large Egyptian force. Fortunately, we have a lot of parachutists in mechanized vehicles with plenty of supporting units including tanks and artillery. There are a lot of reinforcements on the way. The advance has been steading with some basic tactical lessons on combined ground arms and using them efficiently. The desert is a wonderful place for armour.