Fate of a Nation – The Israelis

We have regular visits from Israeli students at the high school where I teach.  It started as part of a peace corps style program to allow America students to interact with their counterparts overseas.

As part of their enlistment, these 18-year-old volunteers act as ambassadors for Israel and answer questions about life there. For them, it serves as a gap year and after it is done, they complete their enlistment.

The school where I teach tends to graduate a mix of those interested in military careers as well as college or trades, and the question inevitably comes up regarding Israel’s mandatory enlistment requirements.

“Why do you require everyone to enlist in the military?”

And the best answer I heard one of the Israeli students give was this,

“The first war we lose is the last war we’ll ever fight.”

It was that response that led me to research this conflict over the past decade. And while I can’t claim to be an expert in any sense, I am fascinated by the fights that shaped the middle east and Israel in particular.

I never took the full dive into BattleFront’s old version of the Arab-Israeli Wars when they first came out.

The game wasn’t well balanced.  The UAR required such a horde of armor I could never imagine painting them, and the Israelis seemed to win every match I demoed. When they reissued the book the first time, the Israelis took a hit and the game seemed to be an improvement, but issues remained.  The latest release, in my opinion, is different.

Much like its counterpart Nam!, the  reissue makes full use of the strengths of the new rules format.  The flexibility of the force building allows you to patch together any kind of force you could want.

This book is a complete rule set and is a standalone game in itself. The integration of special rules into the cards themselves make for a much more flexible points system.  Some of the old issues with units being pigeonholed as “vets” or “conscripts” are gone.  In its place are some granular weaknesses and strengths built into to different unit stats. Without seeing how they play its hard for me to pass a final judgment on these forces, but the Israelis come armed with a multitude of options for any aspiring commander.

The support options are numerous, and like other Team Yankee style force organizations, it allows a wide variety of mixing and matching.  Dual formations will be more likely, as the scouts, paratroopers, or mech infantry would work well with a tank formation at 100 points.

To the lists!
The Sho’t Tank CompanyList #1 – Sho’t Company

Based on the British Centurions, the Fate of a Nation version has similar stats to that of the Centurions deployed to Vietnam with the ANZAC forces. I believe they intend for this to be “Team Yankee”: early war.  But the jury is out on that one. With the points all standardized it may make for some interesting “what if” scenario games.  I intend to try this out while I get my PAVN forces painted.

The standard Sho’t Platoon clocks in at 9-points per tank, and can come in platoons, or two, three or four tanks. Boasting a Brutal gun, these are workhorses.

The Centurion has better armor than its Egyptian counterpart (13 vs 10 in the front and 6 vs 5 on the side) but is far more expensive. The Israeli assault rating and skill ratings are one better than the Egyptians version, and their AT is better. Eighteen points for the Israelis vs sixteen points for the Egyptians. But, the Israelis pay dearly for this. Egyptian versions of this tank clock in at only 2-points apiece. a difference of seven points.  Their T-34 tanks won’t even dent the front if this beast.  With an AT of 12, the outdated Soviet cast offs are little better than target practice. But, of course, those T-34s are a mere one point apiece.

Their support includes the infantry (shown later) and also the integrated armored artillery

List #2 – Magach Company

These come in two varieties, Magach 2/3 or the Magach 6. Again these are up-gunned or retooled American tanks (M48 and M60 Pattons).

Coming in at a cheaper 7 points per tank (for the AT 16 90mm variety) and 10 points per tank (for the AT 18 105mm variety) their formation is identical to that of the Sho’t company

The Magach 6, ann M60 American Patton is the queen of the desert with its front armor of 15, it can even shrug of a missile hit with a decent die roll. But it will cost you.  The Magach 6 stands at 12-points per tank, making it impossible to field many of them in all but the largest point games. It will most likely be taken as a support platoon for an infantry formation as opposed to running a full Magach 6 Company.  

Tiran 5 Tank Company –

Never one to leave perfectly good hardware lying in the desert, Soviet-made T55’s found their way into Israeli service with a better gun and a new name.

Seven points per tank for these guys, but slow firing makes them a bit cheaper.

Second Tier Tank lists

Shermans and AMX’s oh my!

The AMX tank, a French design, has the benefit of looking cool, and the old autoloader rule is gone. In its place is a ROF of 1 for both stationary and on the move. At AT 14, it’s not much to write home about, but its only 2-points per tank, so running them as support or as a horde is possible.

The Shermans, who started off as an under-pointed glass cannon in the original rules, and were nerfed in the rewrite, are back.  You have to admire the Israelis for keeping these tanks active for well after their intended shelf life.

I recall that putting these together so the turret stayed upright was a challenge. Magnets in the turret and body helped with that issue.

The Isherman and its 105mm gun sit at 4-points per tank, the other variety still has a AT 14 gun with its 75mm. Something that struck me as odd. Even with the best ammo on earth, I never thought I would see a 75 mm clock in that high. At 2-points per tank, it is comparable to the AMX, but with better ROF standing still. The armor is 2 better than the FA 4 of an AMX, but with most tanks out there boasting at least AT 12 or 14, the Sherman’s veteran status is essentially its armor.

The Infantry!

These come in two main varieties, both mechanized. The M3 guys are relatively cheap. A bulked out 10-man platoon with its vehicles clocks in at 11-points, the stripped down version with eight teams is 9-points. A blindcide bazooka can be added for 1 point. (giving each platoon two serviceable AT weapons with HEAT

The M113 variety has a bit more firepower and better vehicles. 13 points for the full platoon and 10 points for the slimmed down platoon. Other than mortars, there are no integrated tank platoons in the formation, you’ll need to take 2 formations or add them on as non-combat platoon support.

The paratroopers

Boasting better courage and skill ratings than their mech counterparts, they cost a bit more per platoon. 14 pts and 11 pts respectively.  These guys are a more self-sufficient force and come with a bit more bells and whistles than their M3 and M113 comrades.

Finally, the Scouts

Essentially a separate recon formation that can be paired with the others for flexibility. In the old books, I never saw these as being worth taking.  In the Team Yankeefied Fate of a Nation, however, they may see the table.  With platoons so cheap, they can help plug holes in formations and provide some speed and tactical flexibility.

There is also plenty of aircraft to be had by the Israelis.

Unlike Team Yankee, where AA seems to have a decided advantage over strike aircraft and helicopters, the Israelis only have one AA truck, and it’s not much to write home about. I see the potential for aircraft to do some real damage in this game.

Conclusions

Once again, Battlefront has come out with an enormously comprehensive book that helps bring old players armies back on the table and provides some encouragement for new players to take the dive.  I can see this leading to potential tournaments for Arab Israeli wars in the near future.  I have already taken a deep dive into Nam and Team Yankee, and my wallet can’t take the hit right now. But if I jump into this in the future, these are the guys to do it with.  A smaller elite force that allows you to buy a lower model count. Many of the balance issues may be fixed. I highly recommend trying it out and grabbing the book.

Cheers!

Tom “Chairborne” Mullane is a writer and founding member of NDNG and has been playing FOW since 2011. If you have any questions or things I missed, please comment below and I will do my best to get you an answer!