Fate of a Nation: SYRIA

Syria has been in the news quite a bit in the last few years, an area known for conflict and unrest continues to cover the front pages of newspapers. This isn’t about all the modern issues plaguing that area, today we look at Syrian forces from almost 50 years ago. In 1967, three Syrian divisions moved into an area known as the Purple Line. This line on a map served as the ceasefire line after the nations of Syria, Egypt and Jordan were defeated in 1967. Israel captured the entire region of the Golan Heights, a place where my dad actually deployed to on two separate occasions in the 1990’s. This ‘border’ is the official divisional line between Syria and Israel and is still monitored by the UN to ensure stability in the region.

You would have seen many wrecks like this one after this coordinated attack in 1973

The Syrian forces available to you are pretty straightforward in the Fate of the Nations book, known mainly as a mechanized force. There is a decent balance of armor options at different points levels with a good amount of Support elements to round out your lists.

The HQ tank of the Syrian T-62 Tank Battalion comes at a cost of 5 points and offers the 115mm gun with a whopping AT 19 @ 2+ FP with 32″ range, but does suffer the Slow Firing special rule. You must add +1 To Hit when moving, so you better be sure about your movement, intended target and strategy when employing this tank on the table.

Without having to take you through every single breakdown of the tanks found in each of the choices for forces. We’ll look at some of the key support elements that can be found for Syria and a few of these are pretty nice units to push around the table. Tank battalions are really the best option for this nation in my opinion, you have three to choose from and each will be based mostly on points level I think. T-62 take the lead, the T-54 and the ‘light’ T-34 battalion builds don’t interest me much. I think if you are into armor, you are going to want the big T-62.

You have a ton of support options when it comes to running the Syrian Army, all the standard choices are featured. Nothing new or different in here, mostly catering to the player that wants it all! Jordanian players certainly won’t have the type of options available to Syrian commanders! The sheer volume of artillery options are staggering and if you spread your points around, you’ll be able to cause a lot of damage based on the way you can customize your lists. This will be especially true if you decide to go with a less expensive armored or infantry based list.

The SU-100 Anti Tank Company. Love it. It’s a staple left over from the Soviets and is still impressive, even though it is a ‘Slow Firing’ main gun. The range is standard at 32 inches and still packs a pretty good AT of 15 with a 2+ FP. You field up to six of these for 7-points or a mere three for 4-points.

One point per plane, a pretty good deal when running with the Mig-17. Especially when you can field up to six of them. They’re great at going up against helo units with the 37mm gun. Or you can use the 500 Lb bomb option on ground targets, and force your opponents to use their AA assets, use deliberate movement and cover to remain out of the way of these fast-moving ‘classics’ from the 50’s. Even though they weren’t provided to Syria until later in their operational history, air is still effective against most opposing units on the table.

Artillery options include both the 122 and the 152. Three gun batteries of each are either 2 or 4-pts respectively. I’d suggest you spend the extra points and get the 152mm battery. If you go for a battery of six, they’re only 8-points. Both are AT 3 on bombardment, but the 152 has a better FP, as well as AT of 11 on Direct Fire, with an AUTO FB. I believe the 2+ FP on bombardment is worth the extra points.

Mechanised BTR-60 Company. The infantry weighs in at 14-points for a full company of 19 AK-47 rifle teams, with the Blindicide, PKM LMG, and lots of BTR-60s. Plus, they’ve got the option for heavy support weapons (via an additional card).

Have a few points to spread around? The ZSU-57-2 don’t have RADAR but they are still a great deterrent and will deny some airspace from your opponent. Four of them cost a mear 2-points. They have decent armor in this category, and they are relatively well priced for what you get. Dedicated AA is going to be in almost all modern day lists from the  Fate of a Nation book. Or spend the points on the Shilkas (four of them for 6-points). They only have armour of 1 all around, with Radar. Their ROF is greater than the ZSU-57-2s, but has less AT and a worse Firepower rating. If you can live without the Radar and with a lower ROF, the 57-2 seem like a better deal.

Sorry about the watermarks, but the models are still nicely painted and the usual paint schemes can be found in the book.

Simple color pallet and camo will have your Syrian forces going crazy for the heat of the desert!

Call your friends, get ready for some Middle Eastern madness!

Spray tan and bushy mustaches are strictly optional.