First Run with the East Germans

On Saturday I took my Team Yankee 45pt East German list for a run at the club, against Che's Dutch. With my Gaskins still winging their way over from the UK, I swapped them out for two Gophers, who weren't needed anyway as Che didn't bring any air support.

T-72M Tank Battalion - Volksarmee

Battalion HQ - 1 x T-72M

T-72M Company - 4 x T-72M

T-72M Company - 4 x T-72M

BMP1 Motor Rifle Company - Minimum size plus AGS-17 and SA-14 Gremlin

BRDM-2 Scout Platoon - 4 x BRDM-2

SA-13 Gopher Platoon - 2 x SA-13 Gopher

Spandrel Platoon - 3 x Spandrel

Hind Helicopter Company - 2 x Hind

Che's list was based around a YPR-765 platoon backed up by PRATs, PRTLs, Stingers, M113 C&V, and a pair of Leopard 2s. We rolled up No Retreat, with the Dutch defending a village.

The table viewed from the East German end

Che put his Leopard 2s, PRTLs and M113 C&V units in reserve, with his PRATs in Ambush. The infantry held the front objective in the village, with his HQ sitting on the rear objective and the Stingers lurking at the back.

I pushed my infantry through the middle, with one T-72 company on each flank. The PRATs popped out of ambush on my left, but completely missed with their first round of shooting. The Leopards arrived from reserve, and made up for it by killing two T-72s, again on the left.

Turn 2, I decided that I needed to commit the Hinds before the PRTLs arrived from reserve and made air operations impossible.  They made it through the Stingers and bailed out one Leopard, forcing the platoon to run. They then pushed their luck too far and were shot down trying to strafe the PRATs, but for the second time in two games the sacrifice of a unit of Hinds had brought about a huge return by taking out a platoon of Leopard 2s. Meanwhile, the infantry cleared the Dutch pickets out of the first line of houses, and prepared to push on through the rest of the platoon to the objective. Everything appeared to be going according to plan.

Turn 3 saw the PRTLs arrive, who demonstrated how big a threat they are by killing a T-72 with flank shots. The East German infantry set up for another assault, hoping to push on rapidly while the defenders were still pinned, but were driven off by defensive fire. The next turn was huge, as the PRTLs killed yet another T-72 breaking the platoon on the right, the PRATs finished off the last T-72 on the left, while the Dutch infantry rallied and counter-attacked, clearing my infantry out of the village. By the start of turn 5, the East Germans had no offensive capability remaining, having been reduced to the Battalion HQ, Spandrels and Gophers. We called the game at this point as I wouldn't be in a position to be within 8" of an objective by the end of Turn 6 to keep the game going.

The game turned quickly. I was well-placed at the end of Turn 2, had the table position I wanted, had drawn out the Dutch TOW ambush away from my main attack, and through some good fortune had eliminated the Leopards. But the Dutch infantry proved to be tougher than expected, and I possibly should have taken an extra turn or two to set up properly to reduce them before throwing in another assault.

A few thoughts from the game:

• The game confirmed that 45pts plays really well on a 6x4. The model density was good, and we were finished in about 90 minutes.
• 45pts is a very difficult size for 3rd Generation MBTs. They're still scary, but in two-tank platoons  they are incredibly fragile.
• The minimum-sized motor rifles aren't a great assault force, only having four teams with Assault 5+, and everyone else sitting at Assault 6.
• The PRTLs taking out T-72s from the flank was a nasty shock, and they deserved greater respect than I afforded them.
• I really need to take more photos during my games.

The game also served as an opportunity to use some minefield templates that I had made the night before. CDs are the perfect size, so I covered a couple of spare CD-Rs with basing material to match my army, and the hole in the centre covered by the official token.

In other news, the Czechs are now up on Forces, and my list above comes to 38pts. The gain of 7pts through the reduction in motivation stats would be enough for an observer and three DANAs, or a couple more T-72Ms. I am tempted to remain with the East German stats, however, as Rally/Remount 5+ units are going to be so much more difficult to use. More to ponder over the next few days before the lists needs to be locked in.

List for Remember December

This week I’m sharing the list I’m planning on taking to Remember December, an upcoming 45pt Team Yankee day at the club. I have decided to take a T-72M battalion from Volksarmee, as a change from the Soviet lists I've been running to date, and as a stepping stone towards running them as Czechs.

I couldn't quite see the reason for the demand on the internet for adding other Warsaw Pact nations to the game, as any new lists were still going to be based around T-72s, T-55s, and BMPs. However, now that they are on their way, the Czechs and Poles are welcome as they provide variety in ratings, and add DANAs and OT-64s to the range of models.

One disappointment with the Volksarmee lists is that you cannot take T-72s with BTRs without running multiple formations, and from the spoilers it looks like the Czech lists will be the same: if you want BTRs or OT-64s, you are limited to T-55s.

Back to Remember December. The basis of this East German list is T-72Ms, backed up by all the BRDMs, and a platoon of infantry in BMP1s. I expect the Czech lists will become available in the next week or so, so I'll have a decision to make then: stay with the Confident Trained East Germans, or see how many points are freed up by moving to Reluctant Trained Czechs, then finding things to fill the gap.

T-72M Tank Battalion - Volksarmee

Battalion HQ - 1 x T-72M

T-72M Company - 4 x T-72M

T-72M Company - 4 x T-72M

BMP1 Motor Rifle Company - Minimum size plus AGS-17 and SA-14 Gremlin

BRDM-2 Scout Platoon - 4 x BRDM-2

SA-9 Gaskin Platoon - 4 x SA-9 Gaskin

Spandrel Platoon - 3 x Spandrel

Hind Helicopter Company - 2 x Hind

Most of the list is painted and ready to go, just needing to paint a platoon of East German infantry, and wait for a box of Gaskins to arrive in the post.

I've arranged to take the list for a run next weekend, so my next post will be a review of how it performed.

New Project - 1938 Czechoslovaks

Early War has always been my favourite period of Flames of War: the wide range of nations involved, their different ideas about how a mechanised war should be fought, and tanks they built to implement those ideas. It has huge variety to it, making it far more flavourful than the other periods. Unfortunately, that is exactly why, according to comments at the Battlefront Open Day earlier this year, Early War won't get the full V4 treatment: it requires too large a range for shops to carry, and probably lacks the broad appeal of Late War. The suggestion was that the period would come out as Osprey publications, as have Vietnam and Fate Of A Nation. This would probably be fine for those of us with existing armies, but I wonder if the availability of models is going to cripple the period.

Back to the point. In the days of V1 when the Early War lists were free PDFs, I wrote up a set for 1938 Fall Grün Czechoslovaks. I can't remember whether the list ever made it onto the FOW website, but in any event I never progressed to the point of assembling an army. That work has been lost to the sands of time and archaic storage media, however Early War Slovak lists were published as part of the Barbarossa digital release, and on that basis I have decided to jump into the project.

I bought the models last year with the intent of taking them to ValleyCon 2018, but that ended up being a Mid War event so they've sat in a box waiting for a reason to start painting them. Normally it's competitions that provide that impetus, but as it's unlikely that we'll see another Early War competition until the period is rereleased, the aim of posting weekly updates to this blog, combined with McZermof having a bunch of Panzer Is and IIs that could do with a run sometime, will be the motivation.

I'm working towards 1100pts based around a LT vz.35 company, and will chip away at them between now and the end of the year. The Slovak list can be used directly with only minor additional restrictions, such as no LT vz.38 tanks (available for service from 1939), and of course no German equipment or allied platoons. Models are available for most things in the list, with the exception of softskin transport and the 3.7cm anti-tank gun.

Obrnený Rota - Barbarossa Digital

Obrnený Rota HQ - 2 x LT vz.35

Obrnený Platoon - 3 x LT vz.35

Obrnený Platoon - 3 x LT vz.35

Armoured Car Platoon - 3 x OA vz.30

Motorizovaná Pechota Platoon - 8 x Rifle/MG teams

Artillery Battery - 4 x 10cm vz.30 howitzer

Anti-aircraft Platoon - 2 x 2cm vz.36 gun

Sporadic Air Support - 1 x Avia B-534

This week I had a go at painting the first tank platoon, using the Battlefront Panzer 35(t). The tank commander is a steel helmeted US figure, being the closest I've found to the Czech tankers' uniform. I'm not totally happy with how they've turned out, and will have another look when I start working on the next batch.

In other events this week, I had another 45pt game of Team Yankee with Scott. This was using More Missions, on a 6x4 table. I ran Afgantsy for the first time, defending in Bridgehead against West German Panzergrenadiers, and was pretty happy with how they went.

Air Assault Battalion - Red Thunder

Battalion HQ

Air Assault Company - minimum size plus AGS-17 and AT-4

Air Assault Company - minimum size plus SA-14 and AT-4

Hind Assault Helicopter Company - 2 x Hind

Hind Assault Helicopter Company - 2 x Hind

BMP-1 Scout Platoon - 3 x BMP-1

T-64 Company - 3 x T-64

Shilka AA Platoon - 2 x Shilka

Scott elected to attack at dawn, making the most of his tech advantage. Being required to put everything that wasn't Afgantsy in reserve, I had to play a waiting game until the cavalry arrived. It was going well for him until I realised that even with radar, night limited the range of his AA umbrella to 24", allowing me to Spiral his Leopards with relative impunity, killing one and causing the second to flee. I lost the Hinds the following turn, but it was a good trade. The Panzergrenadiers pressed on and made a good fist of it, clearing out my right hand Afgantsy company and closing in on the objectives, but then my reserves arrived and the West Germans ran out of steam.

The game itself played much better than the same number of points on a 4x4 from three weeks ago. The table wasn't overloaded with models, and Scott wasn't forced to charge a wall of ATGMs and RPGs. There were Marines on the table next door, and even with the number of LAVs and Hummers involved, it looked good.

This coming week, I'll be back to painting more Soviets. It's now only eight weeks until Remember December, so in my next post I'll outline the list I'm proposing to take, and provide a BRDM update...

Czechoslovakian Hinds

The plan for this week had been to paint BRDMs and two Hinds, but in the end it became painting one Hind, then repainting a second one because I decided I didn't like the colours I'd previously chosen for the scheme. More on that in a bit.

Here is the finished product.

These Hinds are a 1/100 Aoshima kit, which is a reboxing of a Revell Mi-24D.

I'm using them for my Czechs, as the differences between this and the Battlefront Hinds I've been using for my Soviets are enough that they don't sit nicely together. Apart from its slightly larger size, most notable is the difference in armament, with the missiles being AT-2 vs AT-6, and the rocket pods being B8V20 vs UB-32.

The Aoshima kit is okay, it certainly looks like a Hind, but as a gaming piece the Battlefront one is far superior. While the BF kit certainly has its flaws, it has fewer pieces, has been thoughtfully designed, has nicer detail, and goes together well. An example of the difference in detail is in the photos below, of the main rotor hub. The Battlefront kit is in green on the left, while the Aoshima is the black one on the right. Then again, I'm not totally sure that the assembly of the Aoshima 's rotors is quite correct. I followed the kit instructions to the letter, but I'm pretty sure the blades are upside down.

The reference for the colour scheme came from an Eduard kit, whose instruction sheet is on their website. Unfortunately, the only colour references are to Gunze paints, so I had to guess at the Vallejo equivalents. And this is where the repainting that I mentioned earlier comes in: I had previously painted one of these kits and estimated that the closest colours were 885 Pastel Green and 823 Luftwaffe Camouflage Green. I've since changed my mind and am now going with 886 Green Grey and 830 German Fieldgrey. The 886 is probably a bit dark, which is mildly annoying as the new bottle of this colour I have is a much darker shade than my previous one.

It just didn't feel right.

Both of these are 886 Green Grey, yet very different shades

This is also an opportunity to show how I'm storing and transporting my Soviet Hinds. It's a Tactix storage box from Bunnings that I attacked with a multitool and lined with strategically cut pieces of foam to allow it to carry four Hinds and my two SU-22s. The rotors attach to magnets glued to the lid. I'll do the same thing for the Czechs.

Helicopter transport. Hind quarters.

So still no BRDMs, but this coming week I think I'll take a break from the moderns and head back to 1938.