From Moves#15 ISRAELI AIR STRIKES The most effective force in the Mideast is unquestionable the Israeli Air Force. It has had complete domination of the skies since 1956. Its pilots and ground crews are unsurpassed there. Only great quantities of SAMs can effectively reduce its dominance. Sinai was designed and developed with 1967 as the main scenario. In 1967 the Israeli ground forces were so far superior to the Arab ground forces that we didn't pay that much attention to the air forces. As is mentioned in my comment on the Air Strike rule, the air support of ground attacks was built into the combat strength of the Arab units (they were lowered). This was by far the simplest way to handle it, and it worked fine in the SAMless 1967 sky. The air interdiction of Arab ground movement could not be factored-in as to be realistic. The Israeli Player had to have the ability to pin a few chosen units, but he obviously couldn't pin all Arab units. The designer made a reasonable judgement as to how much pinning the Israelis could do, assuming they were simultaneously aiding ground attacks. Where I now feel he went a bit wrong was in giving each air strike marker the ability to add three to the cost of leaving a hex. Three was a bad choice because it requires the Israeli Player to either underkill or overkill, i.e., he has the choice of adding enough to the cost of leaving a hex to slow down, but not stop an Arab mechanized unit from leaving a hex, or using two markers and wasting part of the effectiveness because he is adding a higher number of Movement Points to the cost of leaving a hex then he actually needs to pin the unit. I probably should have mentioned all this to the designer (Jim Dunnigan) who is generally a reasonable fellow and would probably have let me give the Israelis three times as many markers each worth only one Movement Point exit penalty. But the '67 historical scenario worked so well that I wasn't sufficiently bothered by all this to mention it. 1973 is another matter. For one thing, the SAMs make the skies much more messy and the solution arrived at is as simple and as neat as possible. But it is not as accurate as possible. The proximity of a SAM unit increases the defense of Arab movement ability. The rationale is that the Israelis weren't flying air support missions under the SAM umbrellas. Unfortunately for the accuracy and neatness of the SAM rules, this was not the case. The Israelis lost a great many Skyhawks because they were flying those missions under the SAM umbrellas. They received heavy losses, but accepted them to accomplish their goals. It therefore seems to me that in the game the Israeli Player should be able to negate the effect of the SAMs on the Defense Strength of a particular hex-full of Arabs as long as he risks losing the planes he does it with. He can't, however, interdict, Arab movement. Accordingly: Proposed New Airstrike Rule 1) The Israeli Player has three times as many air strike markers as he is given in the Scenario rules. (As the counter sheet doesn't provide this many, the player must mark the back of counters used only in 1956 scenarios.) 2) When used to pin Arab units, each marker adds one (only) to the cost of leaving that hex. 3) When used to attack a SAM unit use the procedure given in the rules folder. Use groups of three markers to represent the equivalent of one (old) marker. If the attack is unsuccessful, a group of three is eliminated. 4) Airstrike markers may be placed on hexes inside the SAM umbrellas. They may be placed there only to reduce or nullify the SAMS aid to Arab defense, not to add to the cost of leaving a hex. 5) At the beginning of an Israeli Combat Phase, after resolving any air attacks on SAM units, the Israeli Player may place any number of airstrike markers on any hexes under a SAM umbrella that his ground units will attack on that Combat Phase. Each air strike marker present in a hex while it is attacked will reduce the defense multiple of the Arab units in the hex by one level. Example: One air strike marker will reduce Defense Strengths that would otherwise be quadrupled to being only tripled, two markers present in a hex being attacked will reduce Defense Strengths that would otherwise be quadrupled to being only doubled. Air strike markers only negate the defense advantage of the SAM. They can never reduce a Defense Strength below what it would be if the SAM weren't there. 6) Air strike markers placed under a SAM umbrella to reduce the SAM's aid to Arab defense may be attacked by the Arab Player, before the effect of each such air strike marker on Defense Strength is calculated. This is done as each such marker is placed. If the air strike marker is eliminated, it does not affect the attack. Attacks against these air strike markers are made at an Attack Superiority of 1 (one). A result of "retreat" will eliminate the air strike marker. Each air strike marker may only be attacked once a Game-Turn. The Arab Player receives one (only) Victory Point for each marker eliminated by any means. 7) A given air strike marker may only be used once on a given Game-Turn. Air strike markers used to reduce Defense Strength are removed (not eliminated) as combat against their hex is resolved. 8) Except where specifically contradicted in these rules, all rules in the rules folder apply exactly as written. ARAB AIR FORCES In 1973 the Arabs had a couple of air forces of their own. They weren't nearly as effective as the Israeli Air Force and a third of them were kept in reserve - usually in underground bunkers. Also, the number of sorties they flew per plane per day was probably about a third or less of the sorties the Israelis flew. But nonetheless, they did have planes in the air supporting their own attacks against the Israelis. When in the air they had a tendency to be shot down by the Israelis (and their own missiles - an Israeli problem too) and probably succeded more in making the Israeli planes chase them, (and thus diverting Israeli planes from attacking Arab ground units) than in actually affecting Israeli ground units. Proposed Arab Air Strike Rule 1) Egypt and Syria each get four air strike markers. These could be drawn on the back of 1956 or 1967 counters. Note that Jordan has a very small air force, and doesn't get any markers. 2) Arab air strike markers may not be used to add Movement Points to the cost of Israeli units leaving a hex, as the Arab air force never had the air superiority needed to effectively interdict enemy movement. 3) Arab air strike markers may be used to aid an attack by Arab ground units against an Israeli held hex. Each air strike marker on a hex during an Arab attack on that hex will add two to the total Attack Strength of the attacking units. 4) As each Arab air strike marker is placed on the map, the Israeli Player has the option to immediately intercept it. The Israeli Player may use one (only) of his air strike marker to intercept the Arab Marker. He immediately rolls the die. A one, two, or a three means the Arab air strike is eliminated, and will not affect any combat. A roll of four or five will have no effect. A roll of six means the Israeli marker is eliminated. 5) If the Arab air strike marker was placed either inside pre-1967 Israel, or more than five hexes from a supplied unit of its own nationality, the Israeli Player may make successive interceptions of it until he eliminates it, instead of the one try restrictions given above in rule 4. 6) Except where specifically detailed, Arab air strike markers function like Israeli air strike markers, e.g., when one is eliminated, the Israeli Player gains a victory point. Arab airstrikes should only be used in conjunction with the Proposed Israeli Air Strike Rule. AIR POWER POSTSCRIPT These rules are a product of some discussion with other people around SPI, some relatively hard data, and some fudging - in other words the standard design process. They could have been made still more realistic, but at the usual expense of making them much more complex. Warning; they have not been playtested very much, but they should work rather well. In any case, they will add interest to the air aspect of the game. CEASEFIRE REVISION The ceasefire is often a little to easy to get once requested. The ceasefire rule in Sinai was the last to be worked out, and was done when no one involved had time to think about it. Also, an optional rule about violating the ceasefire once it was declared was somehow lost between this typewriter and the printer. What I would suggest is that only a roll of "one" or "two" be used to get the U.N. to declare the ceasefire (instead of one, two, or three). The Player who requested the ceasefire would then immediately get two Movement Phases. Following these, the non-requesting Player would get a full Player Turn, after which the game is over. I think this will be a good way to simulate violation of the ceasefire for a day. Even if you don't use the violation half of this suggestion, you really should use the die roll modification. SINAI AND GENEVA At the Geneva talks Israel agreed in principle to a withdrawal from at least some of the occupied territories. One of Israel's main assertions was that her pre-1967 borders were not readily defendable. She could not afford either the financial or psychological strain of mobilizing all her forces whenever the Arabs massed a sizable portion of their forces at the borders. The Israelis argued that the occupied territories provided a buffer zone that kepts the Arabs out of Israel proper. One of the more interesting, informative, and maybe even relevant things you can do with Sinai is to test this assertion. Play a game using the 1973 rules, except that you should use the pre-1967 borders. Set up the Egyptian first wave of reinforcements in the middle of the Sinai and the second wave along the Suez, Sinai side. Set up the Syrian first wave of reinforcements along the 1973 fort line, which doesn't exist, by the way (neither do any of the 1973 fortified settlements or the Bar Lev Line). Use all the special first Game-Turn rules except the one that lowers the strength of the fortified settlements (the Israelis won't make that mistake again). See what can happen. OR... Try the same thing, but with everybody mobilized and all reinforcements already arrived. Let each Player set up his units wherever he wants in the proper countries. Arab Player first. See what can happen this way. OR... Play negotiator. Argue with your opponent until you agree on borders and whether or not there should be any demilitarized zones. Then decide what mobilization level for each Player to start at. Then let the Arabs attack. NB submitted by John Kula (kula@telus.net) on behalf of the Strategy Gaming Society (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/~sgs), originally collected by Andrew Webber (gbm@wwwebbers.com)