Wargame Articles
Israel in Combat VideoPeople are videoing everything and putting it on the web; including combat. Two videos caught my interest. The first is a classic example of propaganda which is often reported and discussed as a hoax. It was actually an attack on a strongpoint manned by IDF (Israel Defense Force) and the SLA (a Lebanese militia created by Israel) on the 18th May 2000. The Israeli army took three wounded and the SLA suffered 7 killed/ wounded (following the British tradition of not keeping track of casualties amongst allies). The video is poor quality, but shows the confusion of modern combat. Try to identify the point where the attackers realize that the defenders have withdrawn, taking their casualties with them. The video then becomes a propaganda exercise. How did the position fall? Look very carefully at the hilltop fortifications. The second example, is from the recent Israeli invasion into Lebanon. Also created as propaganda exercise, it requires reading in between the lines. It bears close scrutiny. It covers a three day battle group raid into Southern Lebanon supported by tanks and artillery. They were advancing East against a hilltop settlement that went from North to South. The strongpoint referred to is the unfinished (and unfortified) house Hizbollah are using. The 'counter-attack' is three Hizbollah moving in from the North. The in depth position that fired on them through out the attack was probably 1 or 2 fighters further East moving from fire position to fire position. The IDF withdraw a few hours into the battle as they were running out of medical supplies and ammunition. Consider the IDF statement that the Hizbollah fighters they killed were wearing uniforms and equipment identical to them. Perhaps there is a simpler explanation. My own view is that the IDF shown in the video has lost its war fighting edge due to decades of peace keeping. They were relearning some hard lessons.
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