Team Yankee - Hasty Attack at Eiterfeld - Part Deux

As we left the first part of this Batrep; Team Yankee - Hasty attack at Eiterfeld - Part I it was just coming to NATO's Third Move, and the position of the US Mech team holding the line at Fulda was looking critical.



Admittedly the US Commander had resisted the temptation to spring his M1 Abrams ambush too early, and still had this nasty surpise up his sleeve - but the Soviet Motor Rifle in their BMP2s had crossed the valley like greased penguin poo and were threatening to overwhelm the objectives...

It seemed like it all hung on the US recieving reinforcements, and getting them in the right place - with Scattered Delayed Reserves these could turn up anywhere on the NATO table edge...

So there was good news and bad news - a platoon did turn up in reserves, but right out on the flank in the town of Eiterfeld itself! And unfortunately, though Bradley models were used, these were just to represent the much slower M113 - would they be able to race to the area around the objectives quickly enough to make a difference?

The US commander had no choice but to deploy the ambush, which thanks to the mobility of the Abrams, was able to get forward and contest both objectives - unfortunately at the cost of splitting the platoon...2 headed for the enemy armour...

The remainder to dispute the objective already held by the Soviet Motor Rifles...

Whilst the M1s were able to thin the ranks of massed T-72s,



they were less effective against the Soviet Infantry, so in another first, the surviving Cobras brassed up the Motor Rifles with their Chain guns, whittling them down sufficient to pin them - both objectives were now back in play!

However the Soviet Turn 4 was equally lucky, with an airstrike arriving on scene...

And reinforcement of yet another T-72 company arriving on scene...



The Soviet Frontal Aviation had no hesitation in targeting the Abrams..

As did a volley of Hind ATGW missiles...



With all those missiles flying around, some had to hit - and so it was that all 4 Abrams were knocked out in that single fateful turn!

The US fourth turn seemed like deja vu - once again the objectives were in Soviet hands and if they weren't evicted this go it was game over! With everything depending on the reserve roll, and the location of any reserves, yet again a platoon did arrive - but in the wrong place - Eiterfeld again!

So the only forces capable of coming to the aid of the beleaguered dismounts in the woods near the objectives were the remaining Cobras, and a fortuitious airstrike arriving on scene...

The A-10s concentrated their Maverick missiles on the T-72s, and the Cobras cannoned the infantry again...

Once again the Cobras did their part, rendering the Soviet infantry pinned and thus unable to claim their objective...

But the A-10s, though managing to knock out 2 T-72s, left enough surviving for the Soviets to claim that objective at the start of their move 5 - Game Over, Soviet win!

As I hope I've managed to convey, it was a really exciting game, seemingly with the NATO forces on the back foot every move, but hanging in their by the skin of their teeth until they were inevitably swamped. To be fair, they could have been much luckier with their reinforcement rolls, particularly the locations - 'scattered' doesn't begin to cover it!