The battle of Umm Ar Hajjah - AAR |
| The syrians rolled forward like a fearsome steamroller along the entire width of the
battle area. To the south were mainly older T55 tanks, to the north the better T72s.
|
 TF 3/188 was quickly overwhelmed, it had to retreat hastily, and the
remains of the force were destroyed in the open ground. The Merkava-equipped TF 2/188 had concentrated on hill 201. The Syrians advanced warily and had orders to stop near the patch of soft ground on front of the hill, just out of main gun range, and regroup for the final push off the western table edge. The Israelis decided to take the initiative and advanced from their position on the hill. Their fire quickly began to hit and brew up the Syrian T72s. |
 The Syrian main gun fire was totally ineffective, but the AT
missiles from supporting motor rifle units eliminated two platoons of Merkavas, and the
Israeli commander was momentarily shaken by the experience. To add to the humiliation, a
refuelled Hind appeared on the hill to harass the IDF. To the south, on and around the main road, the Syrians had regrouped and started to roll towards the coast. Two virtually intact battalions of T55s were leading the drive. |
The Syrians were feeling jubilant at this point, sure they could exit the battle area.
Until they saw the Israeli reserves appear on the road, a battalion of Merkavas.  The IDF reserves moved into a line blocking the road and fired at the first battalion of T55s, immediately destroying it. Their next salvo decimated and routed the second Syrian tank battalion. The Syrians called in their air force, a napalm strike on the battalion of Merkavas, but it did not cause any damage. |
 As the battle drew to a close only a company of recce elements and half a
battalion of main battle tanks were able to sneak off the area, south of the main road. The battle was a costly victory to the IDF. |
| Back to the scenario |
The IDF had placed the Zelda-heavy TF 3/188 on hill 102, and hoped to knock out
a good number of Syrian tanks with their missiles, then pull back to hill 101.
Unfortunately, the Syrians had pre-planned a missile strike to land on their position, and
two hinds to strike the rear of the Israeli position. The shoulder-launched Israeli AA
missiles were totally useless, neither the AA team nor the self-defensive fire managed to
hit anything.