All,
AKA, the fourth fight in Operation Nachshon
It is 1430 on 7 April 1948, and the remains of the Company are preparing for the inevitable Arab Liberation Army counterattack. Operation Nachson has been a real bastard so far, really racking up the casualties: it began yesterday with an attack by 1st Platoon on an Arab machine gun position that was holding up the advance of the Etzioni Brigade's attack on the Arab village of Al-Qastal. Things got tough when it turned out the Palestinians had a second machine gun covering their flank, which caught 1st Platoon in a crossfire. Despite this, Avi Peled's combat leadership carried the day, though the 1st Platoon leader, Baruch Eitan, was wounded bad enough that he would spend the rest of the war recovering. Early this morning, Avi led a second attack, this time on an old Roman Fort; the attack got off to a rough start when three Jewish soldiers, including 2nd Platoon's leader, Danny Tzur, stepped on landmines. Avi pushed the remainder of the platoon forward, but then he was wounded, with Eli Yadin and Hiram Laskov stepping up to take the objective. And then a few hours ago Haganah High Command tasked the Company to assault into Al-Qastal and take the Arab Liberation Army's headquarters. Dor Peleg, the 3rd Platoon commander, led his troops into the assault, but his plan was probably contained a bit too much tactical finesse. The left-hand assault element, including Dor himself, was torn apart by enemy machine guns, as was the platoon's base of fire; the attack succeeded purely on the personal bravery of Boaz Efrat.
Once Boaz secured the enemy headquarters building, the remainder of the company, now only twelve men, consolidated in preparation for an enemy counterattack. With Avi wounded, his friend and former comrade in the Jewish Brigade, Eliyahu Rabat, has assumed command, promoting himself to Lieutenant. He then put it to the platoon to elect two Sergeants and, in the face of their demonstrated valor, the picks were unanimous: the youngsters, Eli Yadin and Boaz Efrat. Out of respect for his former Jewish Brigade comrade, the machine gunner, Alon Shahak, was recognized as a Corporal.
In any case, the Company reorganized and prepared its defenses, and it wasn't long before lookouts reported Arab troops approaching from the east and northeast.
Overview of the Arab village of Al-Qastal, north is up. Not much to say: The Plaza is at center, the Arab Liberation Army headquarters is at top center, and the food storage facility is at far right. The Jews are defending from the western (left) side of the table, while the Arabs are attacking from the east (right). The map, now with troops: you can see the Company spread across the far left side of the board, with outposts in the center and bottom center left buildings, while the Palestinians are advancing all across the far right side of the map.
The newly promoted Sergeant, the 18-year old Eli Yadin, goes on a rampage! To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
link
There are still Arabs in the northeast, busily fortifying and reinforcing a home between their former headquarters and the food storage facility. Eliyahu responds: "Men, prepare for a counterattack, we must eject the Arabs from Al-Qastal!" Which is the next fight, of course.
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