1967: Sword of Israel
Scenario Preview, Part 6
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
July 2022

Panzer Grenadier (Modern): 1967 Sword of Israel is three games in one, as the Israelis fight with the Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians in the Six-Day War. Of those three enemies, the Jordanians are easily the best able to match up with the Israelis. The Royal Jordanian Army is relatively well-trained, as Mid-Eastern armies of the time went, and equipped with American-made weaponry including the same M48 Patton tanks as the Israelis wield, and the M113 armored personnel carrier, which the Israelis do not yet have.

The Israelis still pretty handily won the West Bank segment of the war. Let’s look at how they managed that. You can see the previous installments in Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five.

Chapter Six
Jerusalem, Day Two

Israeli planning for what became the Six-Day War centered on defeating Egypt in the Sinai; the Israelis even offered concessions to Jordan to keep her out of the war. That made the campaign around Jerusalem and in the West Bank decidedly ad hoc, and it might have actually failed if not for the flailing of the United Arab Command. Jordanian war plans were put on hold to follow orders from Cairo that had no bearing on reality.

That didn’t make the fighting on the ground any easier for the IDF.

Scenario Twenty-Seven
Surprises at Tel Zahara
6 June 1967
Sgan Aluf Zvika Dahav’s IDF task force, based on Tank Battalion 95 and Reconnaissance Company 41, had suffered numerous terrain-related breakdowns as they moved northwest toward their objective, Tel-el Ful on the road to Mt. Scopus. He was reduced to four tanks, a dozen armored cars, as many jeeps, and parts of two companies of halftrack-mounted infantry. Dahav decided to wait for more of his force to recover and move up, meanwhile setting an ambush along the Ramallah-Jerusalem highway.

Conclusion
The Israelis easily mopped up the initial Jordanian column, but the first platoon of Jordanian tanks to arrive began to tear them apart. The Israelis lost two of their tanks and six halftracks in short order, with a number of infantrymen killed or wounded. The deaths of two tank commanders hit in their cupolas eventually unnerved the first Jordanian tank platoon and it withdrew. Before the second wave of tanks could do more harm to the surviving Israelis, the lead tank was destroyed by a hit on its external fuel tank, causing another crew to bail out in panic and flee. Shortly thereafter, the IAF arrived and began bombing and strafing the exposed Jordanians. They broke and ran, suffering more casualties in the process.

Notes
This is one of the rare scenarios in which the burden of action is on the Arab (in this case Jordanian) player. The Jordanians come on in waves, and not until their tanks arrive do they really have the force to take the ground and inflict the casualties they need to win. The Israelis counter with jeeps and armored cars that pack a surprising anti-tank punch.

Scenario Twenty-Eight
Ammunition Hill
6 June 1967
Despite the 16th Etzioni Jerusalem Infantry Brigade’s familiarity with the area around Jerusalem, Uzi Narkiss decided to employ the unfamiliar but highly-regarded 55th Parachute Brigade to seize the Jordanian-held hills and fortifications dominating northern Jerusalem and the approach to Mt. Scopus. The paratroopers would go forward at night, with no artillery or air support. The Jordanians had been preparing for this attack since 1956. 

Conclusion
The Israelis swept the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood southwest of Ammunition Hill fairly easily, but ran into serious difficulties taking Ammunition Hill itself. By 0715 their attack petered out with most of their units rendered combat-ineffective. It took the timely arrival of elements of the 10th Armored Brigade an hour later to finish the conquest and secure Mitvar Hill behind it to open the road to Mt Scopus.

Notes
Against anyone else, the Jordanians would easily hold this hill: they have excellent morale and a strong position. But they’re facing Israeli paratroopers, with their insane morale (no longer shared by the entire IDF including the cooks), and despite the stated intent to go forward without artillery support, they do have a little.

Scenario Twenty-Nine
Hide and Seek
6 June 1967
As the fight for Ammunition Hill kicked off, Battalion 71 started its attack from somewhat to the southeast trying to force its way into the American Colony and then on to seize the Wadi el-Joz. The Israelis employed spotlights to blind the defenders and a new weapon, a guided missile, to destroy or suppress some of the Jordanian bunkers.

Conclusion
Aided by the suppressive tank, mortar, artillery, and guided missile fire, Israeli engineers quickly blasted a hole in the wire and minefields fronting the Jordanian positions. Poorly-aimed Jordanian artillery fire killed their own spotter, limiting further assistance. From that point on, the house-to-house clearing of Jordanians proceeded at a steady pace through the American Colony and into the Wadi el-Joz. By 0800, the Israelis had established a firm hold on the area.

Notes
The scenario starts with two boards in play, but only one of them sees much action as the missile-armed Israeli paratroopers are advancing against extremely well-prepared Jordanian positions. There aren’t many Jordanians to meet the onslaught, but they can cling to their hilltop and make the Israelis come to them.

Scenario Thirty
Toward the Old City
6 June 1967
The third prong of Uzi Narkiss’ attack to secure the northern flank of Jerusalem and open the way to Mt. Scopus started poorly. Lack of good maps or familiarity with the terrain – in Jerusalem, of all places – and moving under cover of darkness, would prove very challenging for Battalion 28 of the 55th Parachute Brigade.

Conclusion
The IDF paratroopers got lost, fought through several Jordanian strongpoints that bravely resisted to the last man, and lost nearly half their force as casualties. But eventually they achieved their objective of clearing the houses and bunkers along the route to the Rockefeller Museum on the northeast corner of the city wall. The road to Mt. Scopus was open.

Notes
The Jordanians have a strong, well-fortified position, excellent morale and reasonable leadership (as the Royal Jordanian Army goes). The Israelis have . . .  paratroopers trying to break into Jerusalem. Plus a missile unit. This one’s an infantry fight, without many tanks involved, a rarity in this scenario set.

Scenario Thirty-One
Abu Tor
6 June 1967
Abu Tor represented the final high ground the Israelis needed to secure Jerusalem against Jordanian reinforcements. The defenders were again well entrenched, fronted by wire and minefields, and ready to fight. The 16th Etzioni Jerusalem Infantry Brigade of the IDF had been planning and dreaming of this attack for a long time.

Conclusion
Sgan Aluf Michael Peika’s IDF troops executed an uninspired frontal assault. The Jordanians responded immediately, pasting them with 25-pounder rounds and sniper fire from Mt Zion. Seeing his men falter, Peikas joined the attack only to be killed in a close-quarters shootout with several Jordanian soldiers. Throughout the afternoon the grind went on, with the Israelis slowly capturing one blockhouse after another and then the small defensive perimeter on the hill to the rear. The entire hilltop was captured near nightfall, but at the cost of 15 Israelis and about 50 Jordanians killed.

Notes
The Jordanians aren’t nearly as tough this time, but they do once again hold a well-prepared position and at least they’re not facing Israeli paratroopers. Neither side has much artillery behind them; theyu infantry are going to have to fight it out.

And that wraps Part Six. Next time, we fight for the rest of the West Bank.

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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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