Hey gang, Fez here with a mini Fez-Froth article about some WW3 – Team Yankee (as it’s now called) goodness.
Always being one to buck the trend (as well as being a hobby butterfly) I have a veritable hobby mountain of projects awaiting their turn on the workstation. Having helped my dad clear some of his model kit stash, I thought it wise to start actually finishing armies for once. It’ll be interesting to see if I can see it through this time!
First in the cue is the oft lamented Eastern Block forces – for me that means Polish!
With all my war games, I find a theme that attracts me, be it a unit, story or play style.
With the Polish it’s the checkerboard symbol that will help stop my T72 hordes from being a olive drab mass, and the standard BF paint scheme including the field applied air recognition tan crosses also helps-I’ve yet to decide if I will add those, as these will be a ‘quick and dirty’ paint slinging exercise.
My initial 100pts focuses on a bulked out T72 formation, with cherry picked support that I think looks the coolest while not being totally rubbish as a force.
T72M Formation -20 Dywizja Pancerna
Battalion HQ – T72M
T72M x 8 + mine plows
T72M x 8 + mine plows*
BMP1 company (9 BMPs)
BRDM scout cars x 2
Shilka x 2
Support
Dana x 3
BMP1 OP
SA-8 Gecko AA x 2
Mil-24 Hind x 2
Air landing infantry (4 stands)
Total -100 points
The large platoons of eight T72s can take a pounding while they Dash into the flank of any heavy Western Armour, and still be able to dish out enough punishment in return to make the sacrifice worth it.
I had toyed with the idea of running smaller platoons to make the most of the 3+ rally, whilst also making the opponent have to split shots and decisions – I decided against this initially as I fear a good round of shooting can just remove the whole platoon at once. The large platoon also wins out when it comes to V2 reserves, as I’ll only need to hold one group of 72’s and the BMPs off the board to make my 40%. I really also like the story element of the armoured outflanking force arriving to swarm the enemy deployment and hold the objective!
Taking Shilkas and Geckos is a little excessive, however I love cannon armed AA, and the Gecko is such a cool model that it deserves to lurk on my board edge, scaring the crap out of anything with wings/rotors. The Shilkas will also help against any out and out Baji infantry swarms from the new oil wars books!
Talking about infantry, another iconic must-have is the Dana. With an OP BMP (or a stationary Hind) this monster ranged 2+ firepower +1 to hit smoke throwing behemoth is going to be my star V2 Milan removal device – ranging in when deployed will help, but repeat bombards hitting vet infantry on 3+, forcing rerolling their saves and killing on 2+ means you can turn defensive positions into no go zones.
The little scout cars are useful to help get your on-board platoon of 72’s into flanking position (every inch counts when you need side shots), and can then be a zooming objective threat/mg defence unit.
Last but not least is the Hind platoon with its airborne infantry. These guys are my sneaky sneaky platoon, often dropped in the flanks behind cover and then run their way somewhere awkward to prevent the enemies reserves from Dashing past, or lurking behind/in terrain least they get RPG’d in the flank. They need bulletproof cover, but their small size means they can hold up in a solitary house, and be a real pain and distraction. The hinds themselves can be winners if your opponent has skimped on (or lost) their AA, jack of all trades with their cannon, missiles and rockets. Plus they’ll look awesome with the Polish decals!
It remains to be seen if all this ‘TheoryFlames’ will play out, but if I can get these painted and on the table, then at least they will be played with!
OPFOR
So, having a valid Soviet force is my first priority, given how many players at the Guildford Games Club and Brighton’s Dice Saloon already have Western forces – but I need me some NATO too!
In my recent Flames of War game against Lee with my Pure Tiger company, I was pleasantly surprised how they have improved with the new rule set. The Blitz and Shoot-and-Scoot combo is a great addition to small, elite heavy tank forces, as well as the increased speed given by dashing – you can blunt one flank and then re-in force the other even more so than before.
And so, despite having British and American tank forces languishing in the Hobby mountain, I decided to make a force for the descendants of my brave Tiger Aces – Bring on the Leopards!
One moment of weakness at Dice Saloon and I had five Leopard II’s. 55 points… Add two Gepards (told you I liked cannon AA) and that’s 60 points and only three years late to the party!
Then I decided to see what Breakthrough Assault wrote about the Leopard book when it released – Click here.
Wow those guys did a great job! I was tempted to really go to town on the painting, but having seen Lee’s magnificent articles, I think I’ll go for a table top ready approach and focus on improving my airbrush camo game – there’s no way I could rival his amazing paint jobs.
So, with 60 points spent, how to fill to the full 100?
Leopard 2 Company Panzer Division 1 – Panzertruppen
HQ Leopard 2
3 x Leopard 2
3 x Leopard 2
Marker Panzergren (3 Marders)
2 x Luch Spah
2 x Luch Spah
2 x Gepards
Support
2 x PAH
99 points
So yeah, it’s a pretty dumb list. I think the T72 horde above would eat this for breakfast… But it has a ton of Leopard 2’s, some Panzer grens, the obscenely large Luch Spah, Gepards and uses the PAH helicopters from the starter set.
It’s lacking in artillery, but at least I can pull the same trick with the reserves as before with one tank platoon and one Armoured Infantry as my reserves/flanking force. Six boxes to make a full army is pretty cool too.
It’s certainly a defensive force, trying to keep distance and use your range and 4+ hit to keep you alive, the copters trying to thin the numbers while waiting for your reserves. Sticking the helicopters and recce on one flank and Four Leopards and Gepards on another should work, but I won’t hold my breath. It’ll be a great looking force, and good for intro games but that’s probably it.
Tune in next month for an update!
Fez
*Photos stolen from Battlefront because they are awesome. Seriously, check out the main pages for some wicked articles!
“The Blitz and Shoot-and-Scoot combo”
can´t you normally only do 1 movement order. not both. or has that change for V2?
Hi, Eddie is talking WWII Tigers at that point in the article. Still only one move order in TY.