Shredding Peace: Operation Shredder, the Raid on Samu, November 1966.

“We neither believe in nor acknowledge the usefulness of the frenzied activity of the organized [guerrilla] bodies that…interfere with Arab planning, weakens Arab unity, provides the enemy with the pretext for aggression and initiative, and is leading us into a conflict whose timing and preparation is not propitious…”---Jordan’s King Hussein, October 4, 1965.

For nearly two years the Palestinian Fatah organization in the West Bank conducted cross border raids into the Israel that became increasingly deadly and violent. These resulted in nearly 100 Israeli dead and injured as well as extensive property damage, including private Israeli homes. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol authorized a retaliatory raid, dubbed Operation Shredder, into the southwest corner of the West Bank against the town of Samu’ and several other villages south of the city of Hebron. The raid was carried out by the Israeli 35th Paratrooper Brigade, supported by tanks, armored halftracks, aircraft and artillery. It was the largest invasion of Jordanian territory to that point, and meant to convey a strong message that Israel’s restraint in the face of these attacks was at an end.

Unfortunately, Jordan’s King Hussein, ruler of the West Bank, was the sole Arab leader seeking a path of moderation with the Jewish State. For nearly three years the King had been meeting secretly with Golda Meir, the Israeli Foreign Minister, in an effort to forestall another war in the region and to find some path to peace. US President Johnson had helped facilitate these meetings, and supported King Hussein with these initiatives. The Israeli strike at Samu’ was fraught with peril, both militarily and politically. Can you do better?

Each copy of Shredding Peace is composed of the following:

Two 11 by 17 inch hex map sheets with game charts and tables. 91 un-mounted, double-sided counters 8 pages of rules

Infantry (Airborne, Headquarter) and Heavy Weapons are all Companies of about 100 to 120 men. Tank and the armored car units represent 2 vehicles, and each halftrack represents 4 vehicles. A hex on the map is about three quarters of a mile across. Each turn represents one half hour of time. The game uses a standard deck of playing cards and a ten sided die for play.

Shredding Peace is designed by Paul Rohrbaugh and features graphics by Dariusz Buraczewski.