Description

Suez '73: The Battle of Chinese Farm: October 15-22, 1973, is a game about the battle that took place the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces, as part of the Yom Kippur War.

It was fought in the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Great Bitter Lake and just east of the Suez Canal, near an Egyptian agricultural research station. The farm was using specialized Japanese-made machinery that had Kanji characters on them, so Israeli military maps labeled the area as 'Chinese Farm'.[1][2] The battle began when the IDF launched Operation Abiray-Lev ("Stouthearted Men"), attempting to establish a corridor to the canal and allow bridges to be laid for a crossing. Accordingly, the Israelis attacked Egyptian forces in and around the Chinese Farm.

Determined Egyptian resistance made progress extremely slow for the Israelis, who suffered heavy losses. The Israelis were repeatedly reinforced with armor but were unable to make much headway, only managing to seize an important crossroad on the second day. Suffering from a lack of infantry, the Israelis brought up paratroopers during the night of October 16/17. They were tasked with clearing anti-tank defenses for the armor, but they became pinned down by heavy Egyptian fire. The paratroopers drew Egyptian attention long enough for the Israelis to move bridging equipment to the canal undetected. Armored forces later extricated the paratroopers.

The Egyptians attempted to restore their defenses to their initial dispositions with an armored attack on October 17. It initially succeeded, but was pushed back by Israeli counterattacks in an armored battle lasting the entire day. Seriously depleted by the continuous fighting, the Egyptians relinquished control of the routes to the canal, opening them up to the Israelis. The battle is remembered as one of the most costly and brutal battles of the war.

Game Scale:
Game Turn: 12 hours
Hex: .9 miles / 1.5 kilometers
Units: Company to Brigade

Game Inventory:
One 22 x 27" full color map
Two dual-side printed countersheet (480 1/2" counters)
One 16-page Suez '73 rulebook
One 12-page Suez '73 Historical Notes & Scenario Booklet
Two dual-side printed CRT/TEC players aid cards
One single-side printed Turn Record/Israeli Unit Composition players aid card
One single-side printed Egyptian Unit Composition players aid card
One single-side printed Israeli Order of Battle/Reinforcement schedule players aid card
One single-side printed Egyptian Order of Battle/Reinforcement schedule players aid card
One 6-sided die

Solitaire Playability: High
Complexity Level: Medium
Players: 2 or more
Playing Time: 4-15 hours