Team Yankee - Delaying Attack!

Last night at the Uni I recieved my usual drubbing in a slightly different style - rather than use the mechanism out of Team Yankee - More Missions to arrive at a scenario, we lifted one straight out of the Leopard supplement and followed it slavishly: Delaying Attack, pp.42-3. Clearly these are well thought out scenarios and it makes losing miserably that much more of an interesting evening...

The situation is that Hauptmann Hahn's Panzer Kompanie of Pz Bataillon 23, 2nd Pz Bde, has to buy time  to slow the Soviet advance by counterattacking and holding the Soviets off both objectives - if the Soviets hold any one objective, its game over!

I laid the table out pretty faithfully to the scenario map:

And forces were prepared, again identical to the published scenario, with the exception that BMP2 models had to sub for BMP1s - more about that anon!

So the Soviets get plenty of T-72s and short range AA defence from the Shilkas, and a pretty large infantry contingent, albeit in BMP1s! How much use 2 HINDs would be was my only concern.

As always, the Bundeswehr don't get much kit for their points, but what they have is superb material! And with the small Luchs platoon, the ability to extend their deployment zone with a spearhead move...

And, to be fair - they only got 2 PAH AT helos too - but my Shilka AA range was 32", whereas that of the Gepards was 40" - there would be nowhere on this 6 x 4 table for my HINDs to hide!

We deployed platoon after platoon, Bryan's West Germans leading...



So the Luchs recce platoon opend up his deployment bubble, but had to steer 16" clear of the obstacle in the open, and 8" clear of the one units could be in cover from. So not quite on the objectives, I had a chance to get there first....

I found my deployment space, a 24" diameter from the table corner, fairly constricting, especially for cover for my Shilkas...With Bryan's Gepards well forward, I also kept my HINDs well back until I figured out what to use them for. For the rest, in my BMP2 user naivetee I thought I'd dismount the Motor Rifle lads and use the BMP1 bronegruppa as a ATGW fire base to cover the approaches to the right hand objective...

I shall pass over Bryan's first move in dignified silence, suffice it to say he advanced his small infantry platoon up to contest the centre objective, then proceeded to demolish my Shilka platoon with long range fire from a platoon of Leopards. My comrade political officer started fiddling with his pistol holster in a rather pointed fashion...

Perhaps still in shock, I somehow came to the conclusion that it was best to lance the boil and send the 2 HINDs directly at the Gepards. One managed to survive the wall of incoming FLAK, but failed to hit the Gepards in return...

With my 3 T-72 companies, I sent two right flanking around behind the covered approach towards the nearest objective, and sent the other forward to take cover behind a line of trees and the lone building, hoping to split Bryan's forces...

The Motor Rifles were sent forward up the centre to also assume a position around the neares obstacle.

I achieved the aim of splitting the German forces, as one platoon of Leopards and the Marders moved to engage the tank company in the tree line...

By this point I'd realised that the BMP1s with their Sagger missiles were all but useless in the stand-off role...

So they were sent forward to support the infantry and attempt to rub out the small Bundeswehr infantry platoon - surely they were capable of that at least?

Now came the crux of the battle - according the victory conditions, holding an objective, all I had to do was start my next move continuing the hold it, and it not being contested by the enemy - so just knock out the 2 Leopards in the vicinity of the objective with my 2 T-72 companies on scene...

How hard could it be - 10 T-72s against a pair of Leopards?

Well, 1 was knocked out! And the other bailed out - so if he failed to bail back in, victory was mine, and the Comrade Political Officer could reholster his pistol!

The tank company on the left flank was also having some success, having learnt the hard way that the only way to take out a Leo2 was from the flank!

Back to the main objective- Whilst the bailed out Leo 2 remained so, it had been joined by the company commander - the objective was disputed, so I had not won the game!

No longer distracted by my flanking move, more Leo2s were arriving on scene, and the inexorable arithmetic of NATO ROF 2 vs Soviet ROF 1 led to my force melting away unable to push the big cats away from the objective... 

Very close at one point, but not close enough! Still, taking out 2 mighty Leopards made it easier to bear!