The Ground Corps of the ZAHAL were divided into three commands: Northern, covering the borders with Lebanon and Syria, Central, the border with Jordan and the occupied city of Gaza, and Southern, covering the Sinai and the Suez Canal front. Each Command had an Artillery Brigade and other assets under its command. The Artillery Brigades were designed as the controlling formation for any non-divisional or non-brigade artillery. The organization of all artillery battalions was along the same lines, with a headquarters company, and three firing batteries, each of four weapons. The weapons which were used by the battalions assigned to the artillery brigades were: Towed Weapons: The towed 160mm mortar, the M 114 155mm howitzer, the Model 50 155mm howitzer, the M68 155mm howitzer, the Soviet M-46 130mm gun, and the Soviet D-30 122mm. howitzer. SP Weapons: The Soviet BM-24 MRL, the M 107 175mm gun, the SP 160mm mortar, the M- 109 155 howitzer, and the L-33 155mm howitzer. There is some question as to whether or not the 105mm howitzer, either in the towed or the SP version, was used in the 1973. Some accounts claim that there are several batteries of SP 105mm howitzers present on the Golan Heights at the start of the war. Artillery Battalion All Elements Regular to Veteran, Morale 9 Artillery Battalion, with Headquarters Battery, with 1 command stand 1 FO stand 2 jeeps 1 staff radio halftrack 3 Artillery Batteries, each with 1 command stand 1 support bazooka stand 1 towing vehicle 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 ammo vehicle 1 towed weapon or 3 Artillery Batteries, each with 1 bazooka support stand 1 SP weapon 1 medium ammo truck The Israeli Engineer Corps expanded on a vast scale after the 1967 War. To hold the newly occupied areas, especially in the Sinai and on the Golan, the Engineer Corps found itself building new bases, fortifications, and roads. To provide the men and machines needed for these missions, the Engineer Corps organized special Engineer Battalions with the following organization: Separate Engineer Battalion, with: Headquarters, with: 1 command stand and 1 jeep 3 Companies, each with: 1 command stand 2 engineer stands 1 medium truck with trailer 1 medium dump truck 1 Heavy Equipment Company, with: 1 command stand 1 jeep 1 Sherman tank dozer 1 heavy earthmover In addition to the need to build roads and fortifications, the Engineer Corps was given a new mission - the crossing of a wide body of water. Prior to 1967, this was not seen as a problem that would be faced by the ZAHAL. After 1967, any attack eastward would require the crossing of the River Jordan, while any attack west into Egypt would require the crossing of the Suez Canal. The Israeli solution to this problem was to set up an engineering park in the Sinai, which was equipped with the following in CD terms: Engineer Field Park, with: 3 assault boat trailers, each with two boats 6 Gilowa amphibians 5 Unifloat rafts 1 roller bridge Notes 1. The assault boats function as per the engineering rules. 2. The Gilowa amphibians function in the following manner Once in the water they can carry two personnel stands per turn, and make a round trip across the canal. If carrying vehicles, each Gilowa can carry two jeeps, one truck, or one APC, but may only cross in one direction per turn due to the extra time needed to load and unload the vehicles. Two of the Gilowa's may be lashed together during a turn to create a heavy ferry if neither vehicle moves. A heavy ferry can carry a tank or a SP gun or howitzer subject again to the limitation on making only one trip per turn. Gilowa's are considered as soft vehicles, and are destroyed if they take three hits. 3. The Unifloat rafts were pre-constructed ferries that could be towed to the location that they were needed. Each Unifloat raft can be towed by one tank, and travels at 10" per full advance turn. It takes one turn to launch the raft, after which each raft can make a one way trip each turn, and carry four infantry stands, or four jeeps, or two APCs or medium trucks, or one tank or SP gun/howitzer Each unifloat raft is considered as a light armored vehicle. Four hits on a Unifloat raft cuts its capacity by half, while a total of eight hits can sink it or prevent it from sailing. If three Unifloat rafts are linked together, they can form a bridge across the Canal. It takes one turn and engineer stand to link two floats together While no more than two Unifloat rafts can be linked together in a turn, the bridge can be constructed in as little as two turns once the rafts are launched and in the water The Unifloat bridge can be used by either 4 tanks or SP guns, or 8 other vehicles per turn. If any of the rafts making up the bridge is damaged with 4 or more hit points, the capacity of the bridge is halved. If any Unifloat raft is sunk, the bridge is broken. 4. The roller bridge was a preconstructed floating bridge designed to be pulled to the canal and then pushed in. It took one day to be built by a separate engineer battalion anywhere behind the Israeli front lines along one of the Lateral roads. Once built, the bridge can only be moved in a straight line directly towards the canal. In game terms the bridge is 4" long, and needs to be towed by no less than four tanks at a full advance rate of 10" per turn. It can not turn once it starts its advance. Historically, this was the reason that the Israelis had to open the Tirtur Road, as it was the only route in the area along which the bridge could be moved. Once the bridge arrives at the canal, it takes the services of three engineer stands and the four tanks four hours to emplace the bridge. Once the bridge is emplaced, it can handle vehicles at the cross country rate, and can not be damaged by artillery fire. The last unit to be mentioned is the Southern Command's Recon Battalion, which is often referred to as Sayeret Shaked. This was picked battalion of troops that could be used as Southern Command needed. The Ha Sinai Task Force was part of the battalion, and is said to have consisted of Arabic speaking Israelis who were equipped with Egyptian uniforms and vehicles. Southern Command Recon Battalion Elite, Morale 11 Headquarters, with: 1 command stand and 1 jeep 2 Companies, each with: 1 command stand 1 jeep 2 parachute infantry stands 2 M3 halftracks 2 recon jeeps with AAMG 1 jeep with 106mm RR Ha Sinai Task Force, with: Headquarters, with 1 command stand 1 jeep Tank Company, with 2 PT-76 light tanks APC Company, with 2 recon infantry stands 2 BTR-50's APC The Israeli Defense Forces Yom Kippur War Introduction Air Corps (Hel Avrir) Ground Corps Parachute and Infantry Corps Divisions Commands Bar Lev Line and the Purple Line Israeli Order of Battle Appendix 3: CD Israeli Data Charts for 1973 Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly # 13 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com