A Guide to Israeli Infantry in World War III: Team Yankee

A Guide to Israeli Infantry in World War III: Team Yankee By Garry Wait Welcome Tzair (young one) to the IDF and the infantry Corps. I will be stepping you through the various options you have when you finish at basic training to give you some understanding of where you may end up. I know you must be so keen to join the ranks of the glorious infantrymen such as the famous Golani Brigade or the elite Sayeret, so be patient and I will explain the differences for you.

Reservist First of all, we here in the IDF like to think that unofficially we have three levels of combat soldier. The lowest level is our Reservists, the warriors who have been there and served as conscripts previously and have returned for a few weeks refresher training each year. These units - despite their grey hair and slight paunch at the waist – are every bit as good as the average NATO conscript or US enlistee. They have respectable 4+ Skill, 4+ Morale, 4+ Rally and 4+ Assault. I like to think of them as the “Four Square” backbone of the IDF. They are available and willing to serve in any way needed – as a formation of their own or as part of a tank force providing that greyed out (see what I did there?) slot for mech infantry. Yes, they aren’t as enthusiastic as the cream of the crop and advancing years make them less skilled than the young guns coming in but if you want dependable troops to protect a site, these are your men. Their options are limited in that they can’t get the latest B300 portable antitank weapons but do get the latest MAPATS guided missiles and the newer Dragon 2 which is helpful. With worse eyesight just remember that the ranging in of their company mortars won’t be as fast or as precise as the best of our boys. Still a force to be reckoned with and I’d suggest if you don’t need assault troops, they are perfectly capable of supporting armour or holding the objective you have been tasked with. Definitely troops to put your trust in.

Mech Infantry Next up is the current serving conscripts of the Mech Infantry - the salt of the earth as the Torah would say. These men have improvements on every level of the Reservists except for Assault ratings. So that means Skill 3/ Morale 3/Rally 3/ Assault 4. Almost ideal. Not only are these men enthusiastic and agile for those blitz advances but they have the very best options. Not only do they get the B300 and the same upgrade options as the Reservists get as well as a few new tricks. One of these is the option to upgrade the whole platoon’s Bahdelass (M113A1 APC’s) with Vayzata armour. This homemade spaced armour gives the same protection vs HEAT as the side of the Merkava 2 or the American Bradley – armour 13. Surely a fighting chance even vs the dreaded RPG7 and allows you to ignore the American M72 LAW at ease. Not to be sneezed at! Even better, we here in the IDF and through Israel Militiary Industries have developed the ultimate assault vehicle – the Nagmashot. It’s a further upgrade to the humble options of the M113 but this time using the hulls of cast off Sho’t – or as the Brits call it, the Centurion. Yes, I know it’s been a true workhorse and still in service in a lesser capacity but the Nagmasho’t removes the turret, adds more MG’s than you’d ever want to clean at end of exercise and gives the ultimate in protection for your squad. Try seeing how those terrorists go shooting RPG7 at you and the very worst result is deafened eardrums! I know some of you have been critical of the Nagmashot because it doesn’t have the fancy autocannons that the other NATO countries like. Yes, that’s true, we are a poor country and can’t afford the fancy chain guns or heavy weapons that other countries can afford. But look at our environment – if you want a way to clear a sniper or empty a street of enemy foot, no IFV in the world puts out as much lead poisoning as our Nagmashot. Sure, you can assault and it’s a bit unwieldy in an assault, but honestly, what chance will your average terrorist have when they try to penetrate your Blazer reactive armour?  The laugh is on our enemies then. Because you can be sure that any vehicle that can survive a T55 hit to the front can shrug off most hand-held enemy AT weapons. Try laughing off enemy shots with a Bradely or Marder 2, that’s what your ride is capable of! Even solid shot is unimpressive vs this machine, not only HEAT. Enough said of this beast.

The Paratroopers Now the best of options is the Paratroopers. Yes I know you’re groaning because you’ve heard the stories from your fathers and uncles for how effective our paras are. These troops are easily the equal of any Mech troops and the only troops in the world I’m aware of that are as good in a hand to hand fight are British infantry and Soviet Afgantsy VDV infantry. Everyone else is second best. You could even call this the box of 3’s – Skill, Morale, Rally and Assault are all 3+. Outstanding assault troops with all the goodies noted earlier with one exception – instead of the usual Nagmashot option, the Paras get four Twin Huey’s as their ride of choice. This is known in the US as the UH-1H which gives the ultimate in aerial insertion at no extra cost when swapping out M113. One sneaky option that the Paras have all their own is the RBY-1 or as the average soldier nicknames it, the Rabbi. This is not only a marvel of a light reconnaissance vehicle with six machine gun shots OR as an antitank vehicle with the American Improved TOW missile or the much improved Israeli MAPATS along with four machine gun shots. The RBY-1 is fantastic because not only is it well armed but it’s designed to be mineproof. With top armour 1, it’s far better at surviving a sudden explosive shock under the vehicle – unlike much heavier vehicles like the M163 or M125 which are much more vulnerable to mines. Worth noting that the Rabbi AT platoon has the option for twice as many AT over the M150 available to the other mechanised or reservist forces too. Not only is the RBY-1 well armed but the recon version has the ability to hit in assaults on a 2+ which is the most powerful vehicle in assault ability. On top of that, these Sayeret (special reconnaissance troops) are unique in that they are trained to get OUT of a fight quicker than get into it. The Sayur special rule allows these troops to break off through enemy positions as a successful counterattack. Remember that both Jeep and Rabbi units in a paratrooper formation are also airportable with a CH53 Sea Stallion. Paratroopers are also exciting in that they can have ALL their formation airmobile in this manner – by using heavy or medium mortars as a dismounted option that is airportable and able to be dug in unlike the mechanised options. Paratroopers excel in assault options and also excellent defensive troops. Cream of the crop indeed! This is a quick understanding of the options for the best mechanised infantry in WWIII: Team Yankee. I trust it is helpful in choosing the best force for the job.

~ Garry