1967: Sword of Israel
Scenario Preview, Part 3
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
July 2022

For a conflict that ended 55 years ago, the historiography of the 1967 Six-Day War still has some glaring omissions in it. There’s good coverage of the diplomatic background, which makes some sense, since there are extensive archival sources in the United States and Western Europe that discuss the back-door machinations between the participants and their supporting major powers.

But as for the fighting itself, there’s not a lot. English-language sources tend to be pretty superficial (sometimes really superficial) and there’s not much in other languages, either, not even the self-glorifying official histories that American and European militaries tend to pump out. Even so, there’s stuff out there, and for the rebuilding of Panzer Grenadier (Modern): 1967 Sword of Israel I set out to find and apply its lessons.

It took a lot of digging, but I think it’s improved the game a great deal. Let’s take a look at more of its scenarios. You can see earlier installments in Part One and Part Two.

Chapter Three
Sinai: Phase Two

A burned-out Egyptian T54 tank.

While the Egyptian front-line troops continued to fight with determination, the top tier of the republic’s leadership crumbled following the destruction of the Egyptian Air Force. President Gamel Abdel Nasser pretended that nothing had gone wrong and feigned belief in the propaganda broadcasts of the radio station “Voice of the Arabs.”  His Vice President, Anwar el-Sadat, drank heavily and lit up his hashish pipe. Field Marshal Amir began to suspect that things were not going well on the ground, either.

Scenario Eleven
Umm Katef: The Infantry Fight
5-6 June 1967
The hilltop fortresses of Umm Katef and nearby Umm Sheham guarded the critical east-west highway from Nitzana to Abu Agheila and the branch road south to Kusseima. At 0815 on 5 June, the IAF and 96 IDF artillery pieces began pummeling the forward outposts of the Umm Katef position. Later that day, Israeli Sherman tanks moved up and began long-range sniping at observation posts and fortified locations along the front. Under the cover of all these attacks, the Israeli 99th Reserve Infantry Brigade dismounted about 12 kilometers from the Egyptian position and began walking through the sand around the northern flank of the position to move into attack position. At 2230, all hell broke loose.

Conclusion
The Israelis attacked down the artificial ridges between the Egyptian trench lines, and signaled with their colored flashlights to help observers and fire support note the progress of each battalion and adjust artillery fire. It took the better part of the night and some tough fighting, but the trench lines were cleared by 0400. Had the IAF not been called off to help against the Jordanians, the task might have been easier, but the massive artillery park Ariel Sharon had amassed to support the attack provided adequate support.

Notes
The Israelis bring a powerful infantry force, but that’s what it is, an infantry force, with enormous artillery support. The Egyptians are set in in three defensive lines, which the Israelis have to clear. They can probably do so, but the clock is ticking on what is pretty much a 1918-era assault.

Scenario Twelve
Umm Katef: The Artillery Fight
5-6 June 1967
At the same time the assault began on the infantry lines, a small group of paratroopers would attack the Egyptian artillery park. Helicopter Squadron No. 124 loaded about 300 Paras, but half of the helicopters became lost in the dark. The remainder, guided by the flashes as the Egyptian artillery fired, located their landing zone and delivered Aluf Mishne Dani Matt’s men. Matt of course attacked with what he had.

Conclusion
The fighting raged brutally, at close range, embroiling the Egyptians in chaos. The surprise of the attack slowly wore off but with the infantry and tanks tied up with their own fights, no relief was forthcoming. However, eventually the Egyptians directed enough firepower at the Israelis to force them to break off. The paratroopers continued to provide distractions by shooting up several truck convoys, some loaded with artillery ammunition that provided an impressive display when they exploded.

Commentary
This is a truly strange scenario: a small force of Israeli paratroopers, depleted but of high morale, with no support at all, take on an Egyptian artillery park. Also with no support at all. The Israelis are out to commit mayhem, the Egyptians, they just want to hang on.

Scenario Thirteen
Umm Katef: The Tank Fight
6 June 1967
While the Egyptian Infantry and artillery were engaged at Umm Katef, the Israelis made a diversionary attack on the tank park to keep the Egyptian “sword” in its sheath. Later, a second force would attempt to destroy the Egyptians by striking from the rear: Natke Nir’s tank battalion had crossed through the “impassable” sand dunes to the north of Umm Katef.

Conclusion
The initial attack by the Centurions bogged down, especially when Egyptian infantry that had been presumed destroyed began filtering into the tank fight, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. However, the arrival of the Shermans and the counterattack by the Reserve Infantry eventually routed the Egyptians who fled into the desert.

Commentary
The Israelis start their attack with a battalion of Centurions plus some support, against a purely tank-based Egyptian force from the Sinai Field Army’s “Sword,” the 4th Tank Division. Both sides will ger reinforcements, including a bunch of Israeli Shermans and a mob of infantry, and a dribble fo Egyptian infantry. This is the kind of scenario that gets played a lot.

Scenario Fourteen
Rearguard Action
6 June 1967
By the morning of June 6th, approximately 24 hours after the start of the war, the will of Field Marshal Abd el Hakim Amir, commander of the Sinai Field Army, had been broken. Breaking out of a nearly catatonic funk, he issued simultaneous orders to every unit down to the brigade level to retreat across the Suez Canal. This became a rout in many instances as units dropped their equipment and ran or drove for the safety of the canal in a confused mass. However, some better-led units began an orderly withdrawal, fighting rearguard actions as required against the oncoming Israelis. In the late afternoon that day, the lead elements of the IDF’s Shadmi and 7th Armored Brigades encountered the remnants of Egyptian armored units trying to delay their advance. 

Conclusion
The Egyptians successfully held off many of the probing attacks. However, the IDF leadership was able to run significant forces past the fleeing Egyptians and get them into blocking positions at many key chokepoints, allowing the Israelis to eliminate a large portion of the Sinai Field Army.

Commentary
The Egyptians are in trouble, with a mob of Centurions on their tail plus supporting recon elements. The Egyptians have a strong force, though its morale isn’t of the best, and they don’t much care about their own casualties as long as they can keep the enemy contained. That makes for a pretty simple Egyptian strategy: inflict as much damage as possible, while the Israelis have to keep coming at you.

Scenario Fifteen
West of Jebel Libni
7 June 1967
In the morning, elements of the so-far untested 60th Armored Brigade and the tired and somewhat depleted Tank Battalion 82 of 7th Armored Brigade would lead the advance down the road between Jebel Libni and Bir Gifgafa. Egyptian tanks dug in along a wadi across the road had bravely fended off the Shadmi Armored Brigade the previous day. IAF airstrikes would open the battle. 

Conclusion
The Egyptian tankers fought well; the light AMX13 tanks could do little damage to the Egyptian tanks but gradually the Israeli Centurions overcame the Egyptians one by one. The Egyptian tanks for the most part did little to maneuver, seeking to shoot it out with the Israelis from their initial positions. The Egyptian infantry, meanwhile, fled relatively quickly and left the armor unsupported.

Commentary
As usual, the Israelis have just about all of the advantages on their side – they would do a fine job of portraying themselves as the underdogs in this war, but this was simply not true. The Egyptians are seemingly in a tough situation, but the Israelis need to accomplish a great deal in order to win, which gives the Egyptians a good chance for a victory here.

Scenario Sixteen
Bir el-Hamma
7 June 1967
By the time Field Marshal Amir recovered from his breakdown and began trying to bring order to the chaos he had induced into the Sinai Field Army, most of his large units had already disintegrated. The marshal ordered what few intact units remained to fight rearguard actions against the rampaging Israeli armor to allow his shattered divisions to recover. In front of Bir el-Hamma, an Egyptian mechanized battalion awaited the Israeli Tank Battalion 82.

Conclusion
The Israelis initially attempted to rush past the Egyptian positions and avoid a prolonged fight. The Centurions and infantry ran straight through the Egyptian gauntlet, firing as they went. That left hilltop positions with dug-in infantry and anti-tank guns across their rear, forcing a company of tanks with supporting infantry top turn back to suppress them before the advance could resume. As usual, the Egyptians fought hard in their prepared positions, and it took some hours for the Israelis to secure the area.

Notes
This isn’t a very big scenario, but it does demand a lot of the Israeli player: to whom much has been given, much is expected. The Egyptians are dug in, which is how they fight best, and the Israelis have to somehow get past them – there’s not much in the way of Egyptian armor, but in the world of Panzer Grenadier (Modern), infantry isn’t helpless against enemy tanks.

You can order 1967: Sword of Israel (Playbook edition) right here.
Please allow an extra three weeks for delivery.

1967 Package
      1967: Sword of Israel (Playbook)
      IDF: Israel Defense Forces
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You can experience the 1967 Package right here.
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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and NASA Journalist in Space finalist, he has published a great many books, games and articles on historical subjects; people are saying that some of them are actually good. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children, and his new puppy. He misses his Iron Dog, Leopold.

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