Wednesday 9 November 2022

Sinai 1967 - a Megablitz game revisited

Last month's Friday game saw seven of us gather to play through the 1967 Sinai campaign with my 6mm toys and Megablitz rules.  I'd actually run this game back in 2000 and it was good to have two of the original players - John and Martin - present this time.  We were joined by Lloyd, Russell, Simon and Pete for an excellent day of pushing toys around, punctuated by a splendid lunch.

As well as the original toys, I still had my orbats and notes from 2000 so it didn't matter much that I ran out of time to do more research.  We started from the point at which the Israeli Air Force was returning from administering a decisive kicking to their Egyptian foes.  The action took place on three parallel tables, each 12x3 feet, covering the area from the Israeli border to the canal.  The action broadly followed the historical campaign.  In brief, following some unpleasantness in the north, the Israelis made good progress along the coast road.  Further south, an Egyptian armoured division caused some worrying moments with a spirited flank attack.  Eventually the Israelis got a firm grip of the situation and bottled up the surviving Egyptian armour in Sinai.

Thanks to Russell, Pete and Martin for allowing me the use of their photos.  I don't pretend they are in chronological order but should at least give the feel of the game.  For those of you as yet uninitiated in the mysteries of Megablitz, most stands represent battalion sized units.

The toys are a mix of GHQ, Heroics & Ros and Scotia.  I had treated myself to some new IAF aircraft but all the other toys were present for the original game.

An Israeli column rushes along the coast road.  The nearest stand is a logistic unit.
Fighting just west of the border.

Heading west at speed!  Some of the Israeli toys date from the late 1970s.


The IAF puts in an appearance.
Unpleasantness near the Giddi Pass.  Two Israeli brigades in action, supported by IAF Magisters.
A scary looking Egyptian armoured task force.
Another scary looking Egyptian armoured division.

Literally, heading them off at the pass!

A senior general flies to the front

My new Fouga Magisters in action

Some recommended reading.  I've had this since the '80s.
A relatively new book - very good.
A classic!
Another new book with newer orbats and nice maps.

3 comments:

Pete. said...

A fantastic game Tim- thanks for putting it on.

Cheers,

Pete.

Neil Patterson said...

Excellent! I have been slowly building the armies for 1967 specifically for Megablitz, but in 1:87.
Progress in converting IDF, Egyptian and Jordanian vehicles can be seen on my blog:

http://aufklarungsabteilung.blogspot.com/

I started with your orbats but have expanded to include the Jordanian and Syrian fronts. In the course of this, I have obtained a lot more detail for the orbats. The intention is to publish them in the Journal of the new revived SOTCW.
Neil

Brad DeSantis said...

Books and toys never get old Tim! A wonderful and massive game indeed, well done!