Team Yankee - a 2 move game!

Team Yankee is deservedly getting a name as a fast, furious and bloody game - but I was still amazed to finish a game in 2 moves!

I'm close to finishing my Team Yankee West German army, and decided the time had come to pitch table ready elements of the 5th Panzer Divison's 6th Panzer Brigade into combat! 

The 5th Panzer Division formed part of NATO's Central Army Group West German III Corps, headquartered in Diez in Southern Germany. As such it was a prime candidate to backstop the US V Corps in the Fulda gap sector...

Accordingly, the table was laid out to represent the east-west stretch of Autobahn on the outskirts of Butzback, towards which the Soviet 8th Guards Army was rampaging...

The lead 6th Panzer Brigade's Battlegroup was made up of 113 points: two Leopard 2 platoons, a PanzerGrenadier platoon, an M109G battery, a flight of 4 PAHs and a Roland SAM battery.

I'm particularly impressed with the PAH models - they are very hand compared to the huge HIND models, but I was hoping they'd pack just as much of a punch!



The ROLAND SAMs were accompanied by 2 Fliegerfaust teams armed with REDEYE MAPAD SAMs.



The combat team would be attempting to slow down the lead elements of that advancing 79th Guards Tank Division, 163 points worth, centered around three 7 strong tank platoons.

Having broken through and clear of the intial Fulda defences, the 79th Guards Tanks were enjoying strong Frontal Aviation support - a flight of 4 FROGFOOT FGA, and 6 HINDs.

The Guards were still operating in pretty hilly and wooded country densely populated particularly around the approaches to the Butzback connurbation.
 

However there were at least 3 clear lines of approach - the autobahn itself was nice and clear, if a little obvious...

A northerly route to the industrial zone offered good covered good covered lines of approach along the rail line or along a secondary road...

Whilst an approach to the more picturesque southern outskirts also offered some cover, albeit the stream required a cross check.

The 6th Panzer's forward Battlegroup opted to centre its defence around the autobahn, relying on the mobility of its Leopards and Marders to redeploy if necessary. The infantry platoon was debussed with its 2 MILAN firing posts under cover in the woods, with a good clear field of fire out to the clear areas in the table centre. A Leopard platoon was deployed to each side of them, so that at least 8 shots could be sent down any part of the central area...

The artillery battery was deployed in the southern outskirts of the town, so that if any direct firing was involved, in extremis, they might at least enjoy some cover.

The Soviets chose the southern approach, their forward deployment eased by the use of the Recce company's Spearhead move...

To attempt to whittle down the Leopard platoon facing this onslaught, the Soviets rather boldly called in an airstrike from the FROGFOOT flight...

Events proved its wasn't so much bold as foolish, as the ROLANDs and REDEYEs shot down the entire flight before they had a chance to launch...

However, a SPANDREL ATGW volley fired from the infantry company's BMPs, set up in the woods crowning the southern ridge managed to take out a Leopard. The remaining 2 MBTs of the platoon promptly turned tail and 'retired'...

The West Germans formation commander responded to this disaster by drawing on his battlegroup's reknowned mobility...

The left flanking Leopard platoon sped forward around and to the right to form the right angle of an 'L' kill sack, in conjuction with the MILANs, to envelop the Soviet column...

Unfortunately in the process of orchestrating that manoeuver the formation commander was distracted from conning his driver, with embarrassing results...

However the initiative was maintained with the timely intervention of the gallant Heeresflieger who took advantage of the preoccupation of the Soviet air defenders with actually getting into range without too many of them bogging down...

to launch a pretty successful missile strike on the advancing T-72s...

Two Soviet Tank companies remained, however, and continued to close on the objective, managing to knock out a Leopard 2 at long range..

However the return volley of 120mm sabot rounds was devastating...

And removed the survivors of another Soviet tank company off the table...

With the PAH helos circling for yet another strike...

The Soviet formation commander decided to pull in his horns and find an easier route around, rather than through, the doughty defenders of Butzbach...