How to use Egyptian Pontoon Ferrys?

[Boisforas]

Boisforas here, how does one set up the Egyptian pontoon ferrys so troops can cross over the canal in ME scenario, :Off to Giddi?" How do they load, unload & become usable to movement? Eric

[Crossroads]

Hello Eric,

As a narrow waterway the Suez Canal does not allow for shallow water for loading and unloading, there are Marsh hexes for that purpose. Both pontoon ferries and units can enter / exit Marshes.

[Boisforas]

Hello Eric,

As a narrow waterway the Suez Canal does not allow for shallow water for loading and unloading, there are Marsh hexes for that purpose. Both pontoon ferries and units can enter / exit Marshes.

Hello Kat,
  But how do those ferries work? I can move them up & down the canal but how do I make thejm ready for troops to move on & off them/ Do I have to move them to a marsh hex/ Eric

[Crossroads]

Yes, move them to marsh for loading / unloading.

[Boisforas]

Yes, move them to marsh for loading / unloading.

Now Im really confused: the ferries only work in marsh hexes? Why include them in the unit mix if all they do is bridge marshes. Didnt the Egyptians hose down the sand walls on the Israeli side of the canal so they could use the ferries? How am I supposed to get the Egyptian armor included in this scenario across the canal? What am I missing here? Eric

[Jason Petho]

Yes, move them to marsh for loading / unloading.

Now Im really confused: the ferries only work in marsh hexes? Why include them in the unit mix if all they do is bridge marshes. Didnt the Egyptians hose down the sand walls on the Israeli side of the canal so they could use the ferries? How am I supposed to get the Egyptian armor included in this scenario across the canal? What am I missing here? Eric

The ferries need a water type hex to move through, a water type hex that can also include land units is a marsh.

You can load the land units from a marsh on one of side of the canal, then cross to the other side and unload in another marsh type hex.

You can do the same thing with shallow water hexes.

Keep in mind, to move vehicles into a marsh hex, you will need to follow along a road/trail.

Jason Petho

[Boisforas]

Yes, move them to marsh for loading / unloading.

Now Im really confused: the ferries only work in marsh hexes? Why include them in the unit mix if all they do is bridge marshes. Didnt the Egyptians hose down the sand walls on the Israeli side of the canal so they could use the ferries? How am I supposed to get the Egyptian armor included in this scenario across the canal? What am I missing here? Eric

The ferries need a water type hex to move through, a water type hex that can also include land units is a marsh.

You can load the land units from a marsh on one of side of the canal, then cross to the other side and unload in another marsh type hex.

You can do the same thing with shallow water hexes.

Keep in mind, to move vehicles into a marsh hex, you will need to follow along a road/trail.

Jason Petho

Thanks to Kat & Jason for schooling me in the ways of the pontoon ferries. Now to put that to good use! Eric

[Dan Caviness]

Hello Eric:

I'm assuming with Egyptians?

Dan

[Herr Straße Laufer]

Hello Eric:

I'm assuming with Egyptians?

Dan

Dan, that is funny!
Problem for the designer of the scenario is that he did not know how to reproduce what the Egyptians did.
The Egyptians brought in pumps and hosed the sand berms down, creating shallows from which to construct their bridges and run ferries.
The Suez does not have shallows which is what the designer kept. Creating the artificial/man made shallows would have made sense. Adding marshes is what was done.

Maybe a new feature for the engineers would be to create shallows near deep water? (j)
If I only had a hose, water, and a pump?  



HSL

[Jason Petho]

Problem for the designer of the scenario is that he did not know how to reproduce what the Egyptians did.
The Egyptians brought in pumps and hosed the sand berms down, creating shallows from which to construct their bridges and run ferries.
The Suez does not have shallows which is what the designer kept. Creating the artificial/man made shallows would have made sense. Adding marshes is what was done.

Yes, the Egyptians hosed the sand berms down, creating paths for their vehicles to cross through the berms.

Shallows, on the other hand, were not created (at least not 250 metres worth), so the illusion of maintaining the Suez Canal's width was kept by using the marshes.

Jason Petho