After two crushing losses i was allowed to pick the mission played. Both of us have played countless Flames of War games but we are very new to Team Yankee. He also got to pick which of our previous lists I played.
I picked Free-For-All so in the story context this was the first battle the US forces met prepared. Our lists were:
T-72 Tank Battalion
HQ
HQ – T-72 5
FORMATION UNITS 45
Tank Coy – 4x T-72 17
Tank Coy – 3x T-72 12
BMP-2 Motor Rifle – 4xAk-74, 3xRPG-7, 4xBMP-2 8
BMP-2 Recon Plt – 4xBMP-2 6
SA-13 Gopher SAM Plt – 2x SA-13 2
SUPPORT UNITS 10
MI-24 Hind – 4x Hind 10
M1 Abrams Armored Combat Team
HQ
HQ – M1 Abrams 8
FORMATION UNITS 32
Tank plt – 2x M1 Abrams 16
Tank plt – 2x M1 Abrams 16
SUPPORT UNITS 20
2x M163 Vulcan 3
2x AH-1 Cobra 7
2x A-10 Warthog 10
Set-up was pretty straight forward, the Warsaw pact made two assault groups to go for either objective and the Hinds were ready to support either one, while the infantry covered one of the NATO objectives to prevent a sneak attack.
The Soviets divide their forces into two simultaneous attacks
The small Warsaw Pact units were vulnerable to concentrated fire and the US forces gained the upper hand on the southern flank were their forces were slightly stronger. The A-10 made two appearances and there is little to stop maverick missiles if the Air defenses fail.
On the northern flank however the Warsaw pact overwhelmed the US defenses and won the game.
The field was littered with burning tanks and downed aircraft. The Warsaw Pact had lost their formation commander, a T-72 coy and all the BMP-2 from the Motor Rifle Coy as well as two Hinds.
Yet it was the Hinds that were the stars of the battle. They had managed to take out three M1 Abrams by the end and survived a hailstorm of flak from the Vulcans. I earned great respect for these tough flying fortresses.
The US give as good as they get but cannot stop both attacks.
Our best game so far and only a marginal victory for the Warsaw Pact forces.
Gandri, if you have the chance, add some Pictures aswell to get a feel for the game 🙂
Nice writeup. I might have to try a 4 x Hind unit at some point. I’ve been bringing two, and as soon as the first one bites it, the remaining one loses a lot of its efficiency…
A valiant attempt to cover Hanover. Hopefully more of the British Commanders will focus on our objective, leaving your US forces to cover the Fulda Gap.