Team Yankee - T80tastic!

Somewhere on the North German plain..

I threw together a solo game with two aims: to show off my freshly painted British Cold War Team Yankee army, and to put the newly released T-80 Soviet MBTs and BMP-3s through their paces...

Bisected by the autobahn, the area boasts a couple of wooded hills and a small village.

I tried to keep the terrain fairly open and rural, to allow the T-80s some space to roam, similar to their natural habitat of the wide open Russian steppes...

The area would be defended by a BAOR mechanised infantry battlegroup based around Gibraltar rifle company of the 1st Royal Wessex Rangers (1RWR), a fictional regiment from the 1970's series Spearhead:

The GIBRALTAR Battlegroup - based around 2 mechanised infantry platoons and Chieftain MBT troop, but with lots of Gunner support and all the trimmings for a total of 87 points.

Callsign 21ALFA - GPMG and loader, and 2 riflemen.

The core of the anti armour battle - a MILAN MR ATGW firing post. The RWR Battlegroup has 12 such posts - 2 each with the rifle platoons, and a dedicated section of 4 posts, and 4 under armour MCTs.

The first line of Gunner Support - Abbot Light Guns of the Royal Horse Artillery

And the big boys - M109 155mm Guns of 40 Field Regt. RA - The Lowland Gunners!

2 x Tracked Rapier provided the MR AD coverage - sadly ill deployed however...

And allegedly the core of the defense - a troop of Chieftains from 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - the Welsh Cavalry...

A flight of 4x RAF Harrier GR3 tactical strike fast air, armed with anti tank cluster bombs.

The Royal Wessex would be facing an assortment of armour and motor rifles from the the Third Shock Army. The initial wave would consist of 107 points of a BMP-2 Motor Rifle Bn of 3 small companies, tipped with a recon screen of BMP-3s, secured with company of 8 x T-80U, and with 44 points of artillery and aviation in support: 

I was very excited to try out my shiny new T-80Us and BMP-3s!

The Red God of War represented by a HAIL battery, 3 x 2S3 ACACIA 152mm, and 6 x CARNATION - with the observer well posted on the ridge in the background...

Frontal Aviation was represented by 6 x SU25 FROGFOOT

and MR AD was provided by 2 x GECKO SPAD systems.

Once the Motor Rifle battalion had suppressed the bulk of the ATGW defences, the second wave would be committed - a T-64 Tank Bn of 2 companies, with integral medium sized Motor Rifle company to police up an lingering defences.

The scenario was a straight forward attack-defense game with the Soviets rolling for reserves from move 3 - but a successful roll would bring on the entire second wave. Three objectives were placed in the defenders zone, one of which would be removed after both sides had deployed.

The 1RWR BG commander felt that the Soviet courses open were confined to an attack through the deciduous wooded heights on the near side of the table - least likely - or an attack over the open ground on the far side of the table, using the cover of the autobahn central partition to inhibit ATGW fire from the wooded heights. 

Accordingly the limited Sapper assets were expended with a deep minefield sealing off the far end of the wooded heights, and the Scimitar troop used to extend the deployment areas and afford the MCT troop quick access to the heights to defend the heights if required, or otherwise fire across into the flank of any attack developing down the autobahn. 

Pre planned Artillery strikes were plotted along the far side of the Autobahn central partition covering likely Soviet firing positions.

One of the two Infantry platoons was deployed between the rear of the woods and the village to underpin the defence of the wood and hold the objective close to the village.

The armour and second infantry platoon, beefed up with the additional 4 Milan firing posts, were set up covering the most likely Soviet approach down the autobahn, extending toward the centre somewhat to cover both objectives in this area.

All in all, the Commander of the Gibraltar BG felt he had covered all eventualities and made his position as secure as...well, maybe not The Rock of Gibraltar, but pretty tough...He was even more relieved when the far left hand objective, sitting right on the autobahn, disappeared!

For his part the Soviet commander did not spend too much time on the niceties of a detailed combat appreciation - time was pressing and the follow on echelons needed his deployment space NOW!

The BMP-3s extend the deployment area almost to the autobahn...

Frontal Aviation arrive on time, in force...and knock out 1 of the 3 Chieftains!

However the RAF is not to be outdone...

despite losing all 4 Harriers to SPAA, they break up the advancing armour formation with their cluster munitions...The Milan teams also do some damage, bailing out 3 T-80s.

The 155mm guns of 40 Field Regiment are also pretty effective... but the surviving T-80s take out another Chieftain with ease!

The loss of two thirds of the NATO armour is a shock!

In my haste to lay on a game, I hadn't really studied the T-80's stats, and hadn't hoisted on board the fact they are virtually immune to a Chieftain's 120mm gun! This was going to be a quick game...

Things were going better for the brave defenders on the secondary front - Milan MCTs and Scimitars played havoc with the nearest Motor Rifle company...

A second FROGFOOT strike - yes I had deployed Tracked Rapier out of range - destroyed the third and final Chieftain...

To the point that the only effective anti-tank defence against the thick skinned T-80s were the 155mm guns of the Royal Artillery...

And they couldn't intervene - Danger Close! - when combat deteriorated to a close range knife fight..

The doughty Royal Wessex Rangers repulsed the Soviet Motor Rifle assault, but with so much heavy armour milling about it was clearly time to relocate to their fallback positions...