Mitch and Sean are back at it in this first “On the Road” episode for No Dice No Glory. This time they are playing Team Yankee at an event hosted by You Hobby Place in Fredericksburg VA. They speak with some of the players and NDNG writer and event organizer Ed Sales.
by NDNG-Dane and Tom Burgess
Welcome Comrades,
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BRIEFING
The new ‘NAM book provides a lot of options for the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN). In fact, the North Vietnam Forces could have easily have been divided and printed solely as a Communist Forces in Vietnam book. The Politburo has directed that we brief you on our glorious and loyal forces battling the Capitalist foes in the South. We will do so in to four separate briefings so that you may better understand each.
Gamers! This year at the run “Cold Wars” No Dice No Glory will be running two events with the folks from Battlefront.
The event takes place in Lancaster PA at the .
Friday 16 March: Team Yankee
Reserve your spot by emailing me at NDNG_Mitch_R@NoDiceNoGlory.com
See you in Lancaster!
By Ed Sales
Hello there! Today we are going to take a look at what Stripes brings to the Tournament Scene. (Spoiler Alert: It’s a game changer.)
There has been a ton of intrigue about what Stripes would bring to the table after Red Thunder came out. If you play Americans, this book helps immensely when you deal with the Red Scourge in competitive play. If you play a USSR or East Germans, be warned, the lists in this book will give you headaches, but you can learn a lot when you see what your opponent might bring to the table.
Stripes brings a new set of tools for the Americans and NATO Allies to wield, in a way that can be used the same way East Germans wield T55s. The M60, at four points a tank, is not as cheap as the T55, but I’d take those over the T55s. More shots and being hit on fours is a good break away from the Abrams which comes in at twice that amount, though the Abrams has a lot more survivability.
By No-dice-Dane
In November, WWPD published an excellent article by Tom Burgess on “Fight Outnumbered and Win – The U.S. Army in Team Yankee’s Stripes,” which can
Building on that foundation, I would like to start highlighting each element of the Air – Land – Battle, Combined Arms Team. Let’s start by taking a look at the Air Defense umbrella, doctrinally known as Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD).
Avenues of Approach
If the enemy has air superiority, the avenue should provide concealment from the air. Air avenues for attack helicopters airmobile forces and close air support have different characteristics.
Analyzing avenues of approach is as important to the defender as to the attacker. The defender must accurately determine the main approaches to his sector and identify the internal avenues which will permit him to maneuver against the attacker.
A lot of people were excited when Stripes came out and finally allowed a NATO ally to fight alongside the U.S. force. BF quickly came out with modifications to all the force diagrams so everyone could have an Allied Formation even on the Soviet side.
I saw quite a few people on the BF forum misinterpret this change. Many people harkened back to FoW v3 which allowed you to take a Churchill Flamethrower Platoon as part of a U.S. Infantry Company, for example. That is not what this new change allows. If you want another country to fight alongside you, you need to take an entire formation. So, no you can’t simply add a platoon of rock-hard Leo2’s to beef up your force. You would have to take a minimum sized company of five Leo2’s coming out to a whopping 55 points.
By Tom Burgess
This article, about the US Army in Stripes, is a follow up to one I wrote for WWPD.net in late 2017. Though I am much less of an expert on the United States Marine Corps in the mid-1980’s than the US Army, my brother, Brian, and several of my friends served in the USMC during that period. I am grateful for their assistance in writing this article.
First, just let me say that I was both very surprised but extremely pleased that Battlefront added the USMC to Stripes. For almost a decade, Flames of War gamers had to wait on the Marines being available for WW2 games. It is great to see Battlefront add force options from the 2nd Marine Division on the front end for Team Yankee.
By Matt Varnish
Coinciding with the release of Stripes, Battlefront has stipulated that one can be used in any Team Yankee force. While surely some folks can plug in some tactical gaps in their list with an allied formation, we can also put together a historical list for a force that is not out yet, like Canadians!
My good friend Rob is a retired Artillery FOO with the Canadian Army, and he can use Allied Formations to better represent his 4 CMBG force in Team Yankee. While there is a list coming out for them down the pipe (if rumors are to be believed), he can run them right now. Canada bought NATO tanks (Leopard Is and later Leopard IIs) but retained many of the M113-based vehicles. As you can see by the above picture, Rob is eagerly awaiting the LAV box release!!
Rob’s Cdn / West German 64pt force
The recent wildfires in California actually impacted a December Team Yankee tournament hosted by Game Empire in Pasadena, CA. Shipments of the new Stripes book, and new models for the US faction were delayed due to being re-routed around the fires. But, the in-store demo copy gave players enough of a glimpse to see what they might be able to run. A few new units, or upgraded equipment did hit the tables in this tourney.
Kevin and Christian in round 1There were three US faction players (and a fourth player, in his first tourney with a borrowed list and models that did not use any new units or upgrades). Three Warsaw Pact players ended up in a three-way tie for first. The best showing from a US player was Kevin Morris, tied for fourth with Igor Torgeson (British). I, of course, managed to win a free set of dice to help me improve my win/loss ratio in the next tournament and climb out of last place.
