Batrep : Battlegroup NorthAG Soviets vs British 500 pts

November 6, 2020 | Tom Gall | Gaming

By Tom Gall

is the Plastic Soldier companies WWIII what if set of rules. It brings the Battlegroup style of rules to the early/mid-1980s which for those fans of the period can be welcome competition for Battlefronts Team Yankee.

While Covid is still running around here in Minnesota, we’re lucky that cases are generally in check, so in-store gaming is something we can do masked. D6 Games in Rochester Mn is my frequent haunt and with time around the tabletop, I’ve been catching up with gaming I’ve been wanting to do since things shut down in March.

A number of friends who are fans of Team Yankee have wanted to give NorthAG as try. This batrep is the result of one of those games. It’s a 500pt affair on a 6×4 table in 15mm reusing much of our Team Yankee hardware. The lists are at the bottom of the article.

For the British setup had each for starting from the opposite far corner. We had 18″ to deploy our forward assets, in the case of the Brits, an observer for some off board 81mm mortars, a milan stand dug in, two scimitars, two scorpions, and then a platoon of infantry. This part of my force represents the forward units on the line and the recce looking to probe.

You’ll notice the one familiar Team Yankee objective marker in the field. Two objectives are located just off in the distance, one by the memorial in the town square and the second is the blue van parked in the parking lot in the center top of the image. A fourth objective is hidden in the upper left corner of the picture beyond the McPizza King.

With NorthAG the scenario in the book has players placing one objective per table quarter. Objectives in no-mans land that are taken result in two counters being taken while an objective placed in a setup zone that is taken is will result in three counters being taken. (A counter being taken is a bad thing generally, as most of the tokens have numbers that count against the battle rating of your force, when you have more in counters than your battle rating, you lose the game, the morale of your force is broken.)

The British were thinking they’d push forward with their recon, working the right flank and quick capturing both of the objectives in town. On the left flank, there is a reasonable opportunity to push forward, using the cover to get up to the McPizza King.  The risk is that the Russians push hard and catch the recon before they have help arrive.

In this recon photo from the opposite side of the board you can just barely make out the 4th objective. Do you see it in the road right by the apartment building parking lot?

The Soviets push forward into the apartment complex with their initial patrol. Off in the distance you might just be able to make out a BRDM-2 making for town. Pretty obvious for the get go the apartment complex will be well held.

The British kick forward their platoon of infantry, hoping through the bushes to keep under cover. They aren’t attacking fire yet. Small arms is way way out of range but artillery could certainly try and drop in. Note the counter by the dug in Milan stand. Artillery landed causing him to pin. That team stays pinned for most of the game given their arcs of fire turn out to be great down the road, but that’s not where the Soviets are coming from.

The British scorpions and scimitars push for the town, two objectives in sight and likely will be taken with little effort. Now it becomes a matter of holding until the vanguard forces can start to arrive on Turn 3.

Turn 3 rolls around and the Chieftains arrive. The British patrol has made it to the McPizza King and the armored recce has likewise made it into town taking their two objectives, things are going well. We can see off in the distance the Soviet infantry is staying in the area of the apartment blocks and a lone BTR-60 has taken the objective in the road. I take a counter, morale holds, and no special events are drawn.

I manage to call some off board artillery (81mm mortars) and they are able to pin down some of the Soviet infantry out in the parking lot.

The Soviet vanguard force shows up,  10 T-62. Five travel towards the Soviet right flank and 5 towards the left flank. One can spread out in this game! Their early fire managed to easily take out one of the British scouts. Minimal armor won’t stop tank rounds. I take a counter. Not the result we need or want!

The other members of the British recon are starting to feel equally nervous, off board artillery starts to land in the area and causes a pinning against the recon (the red marker) but otherwise nothing interesting happens. Those tanks on the hill are about to become a major problem.

The other 5 T-62s are hiding, trying to pack in. The green dice represent pinned Soviet infantry from the prior bombardment. The Chieftains have a choice, splitting their attention isn’t an option, given the fewer numbers, it’s either left or right, not both. At range, this is a game the Chieftains can win, as they have advanced optics that give them a +1 when shooting.

Unfortunately at this distance generally it’s a 5 or a 6 hit. Should a round hit a T-62 it’s front armor is rated a 4, while the 120L55 gun of the Chieftain is rated a 7 at 40-50″ and a 6 at 50-70″. We take those values to the armor penetration table, cross reference, and we see that at the closer of the two ranges using 2d6, the British player will need to roll above a 4 to knock out the T-62. At the further range above a 5. No surprise the Chieftain is well armed to take on T-62s. How about the other way around?

The frontal armor on a Chieftain is a 7 or an 8 if it’s a still brew upgrade. The T-62 sports a 115mmU5TS gun which at 40-50″ has a 4 penetration and at 50-70″ a 3. Cross referencing again on the armor penetration table the Soviet player will need above a 9 at the closer range on 2D6 and above a 10 at the longer distance. Get closer comrade!

The second bit of recce goes up flames. The objective by the blue store won’t be able to be held. British counter fire is slightly constrained due to the  available fire lanes and bad shooting or inability to pick out a target. A tank out in the open firing is an auto spot, however if the target is obstructed, you have to make a die roll to see the target before lobbing off a round.

The Chieftains are looking to be defensive and thus not push forward aggressively, unfortunately the recon on the British right flank would rather they move up and support their friends ASAP. The fellows in the Chieftains think they’ll engage at longer range, but again hits aren’t materializing.

One of the BDRM-2s and a T-62 manage to take out the remaining British recon, more counters for me, taking one for each lost vehicle as well as for the loss of the objective.

The T-62s on the Soviet right flank fire into the McPizza King. Large HE rounds don’t agree with the British patrol, and they take some losses. Again more counters being drawn.

The T-62s are getting a bit more daring as they push the attack forward. Soviet confidence is high, tho the infantry in and by the apartment block isn’t too keen on pressing forward as they’ve taken artillery a couple of times and have a few pinned stands. The Soviet play decided to keep them pinned and not take any counters to unpin.

More of the main forces start to show up. BMP1s with infantry and a Shilka to protect against helicopters and strike aircraft. Thus far the skies continue to be quiet. Note to Soviet player, SPREAD OUT.

The Soviets managed to bring down a positively deadly and effective bombardment with their 120mm mortars. Between the losses from the T-62 fire and artillery and the pins, this platoon is not a happy camper and are thinking they should probably retire those the dice say they’ll stick around a bit longer.

The British send over a Chieftain to put pressure on the town square. Long range fire agains the T-62s still isn’t going too well. Even with the better optics, long-range tank duels are difficult when you’re not able to hit.

Finally off in the distance up on the hill a T-62 goes up in flames. To the right of the Chieftain is mechanized infantry the main column of the British force, moving quick to dismount and push into town.

Unfortunately this is the side of the table with the real situation. The British patrol that had pushed forward is in really tough straights and had cause a number of battle counters to be drawn. Having to draw more to then unpin them and hope they don’t get pinned again hasn’t gone well. Unfortunately the state of British moral at this point is getting desperate.

The drawn counters thus far almost exceed the force battle rating. Hard to know what the Soviet morale is like at this point, they’ve take a few counters too. Since what is drawn isn’t shared it’s a source of in game drama to wonder just how close things really are.

The final and telling picture of the game. A T-62 takes out a Chieftain at about 20-30″ but on drawing a counter for the loss, it pushes the British over the top now having more in counters then their battle rating, they retire from the field.

A Soviet victory, with T-62s no less!

In summary NorthAG continues to impress. It’s great to be able to reuse 15mm Team Yankee hardware. I am working very hard on my 10mm forces and 10mm terrain. Switching to a new scale is painful but I think it’ll add even more to the game by making the table feel so much bigger.

Soviet List

499 pts

66 BR

Forward Screen

  • BRDM-2 Patrol (2) 24 pts  BR 2-c
  • Armoured Recon Platrol 1 Inf team + BTR-60  18 pts  BR 2-c
  • Dismounted Motor Rife Platoon 3 Inf 3 Antitank teams 30 pts 6-c
  • Forward Observer Officer 12 pts BR 2-c
  • sMG Dug out 1 Inf Weapons PKM team 9 pts 1-c

Main Force

Vanguard Unit

  • Tank Company 10 T-62 180pts 20-c

Main Column

  • Motor Rife Platoon 3Inf 3 Anti-tank teams 3 BTR-60 + 1 Spiggot team 58 pts BR 10-c
  • Motor Rife Platoon 3Inf 3 Anti-tank teams 3 BMP-1s + 1 PKM weapons team 84 pts BR 10-c
  • Battlegroup Commander – Senior officer BMP1K 24pts BR 4-c
  • Air Def Tank – Shilka – 12pts BR 1-c
  • 120mm Motar battery (off table) – 48 pts, BR 0

British List

499 pts

43 BR

Forward Screen

  • Dismounted Inf Platoon 7 Inf Fire teams 50 pts BR 7-p
  • Reece Tank Patrol 2 Scorpions 34 pts BR 2-p
  • Recce Tank Patrol 2 Scimitar lt tanks 34 pts 2-p
  • ATGM Dugout Inf Weapons Milan Team 28 pts BR 1-p
  • Forward Observer 12 pts 2-p

Main Force

Vanguard Unit

  • Chieftain Troop 4 Mk9 Chieftains 172 ptrs BR 12-p

Main Column

  • Battlegroup Commander Infantry Team 1 FV432 22 pts 4-p
  • Mechanised Inf Platoon 7 inf teams sGPMG Weaspons Team 4 FV432s  73 pts BR 12-p
  • 81mm Motar Battery (6 off board) 48 pts BR 0
  • Surface to Air Missile Launcher Tracked Rapier 16 pts 1-p

Additional Fire Support

  • 2 Counter-battery Fire Mission (4+) 10pts