By Kreighton Long
Following up last weeks article covering how the Germans may end up looking in Third Edition, I set my sniper scope sights on the Soviet Union.
Most of the Army Special Rules remain the same from Second Edition. Veteran players will see the return of The Great Patriotic War, Not One Step Back!, and Massed Batteries.
MIA – PACT Airborne Forces
When Battlefront published RED DAWN and the Airborne Assault Missions Pack 18 months ago, I found one casual comment disturbing. Page 46 says “WARSAW PACT armies (Czechoslovakian, East German, and Polish) lacked dedicated airborne infantry (as opposed to airborne raiding troops) …”
This is a distinction without a difference, and a dismissal. I intend to correct the record and give some ideas how these MIA units can be incorporated into the game in casual play.
I’m going to follow the sequence in WARSAW PACT in this discussion but start with a unit found in all PACT armies.
By Richard Steer
A common discussion on various online groups for Flames of War is the unpopularity of Late-War Soviet forces. The Soviet lists do have their weakness, yet players have had success with them here in New Zealand. We have seen tournaments won by Hero Motor Rifle Battalions and Engineer-Sapper Battalions, so there are definitely ways to make them work.
The release of Berlin: Soviet provided me with a good excuse to try them for myself. The challenge I set myself was to build a competitive Soviet force and run it at our club’s 2023 Late-War tournament.
By Jim Naughton
Four years and forty days ago (approximately) Battlefront continued its Mid-War Journey by introducing Enemy at the Gates and Iron Cross, bringing the Eastern Front to life in Version Four. A few short months later these books were complemented by Red Banner and Ghost Panzers. It would take two further years to see Finns, Rumanians, and Hungarians as BF focused on its Late War Journey.
Accompanying those four books were two Firestorm Campaigns. Our group played both campaigns and continued to play East Front Flames of War up to the release of Fortress Europe. It was a good run.
The newest release from Battlefront combines eight smaller books – four for the primary antagonists, 3 allies, and one for German paratroopers. The German paratroopers’ separate book is consolidated into the Ghost Panzers chapter, giving the new book seven chapters. Others will give you an overview of the big volume or focus on the Axis forces. My task is to highlight the Soviets – what’s changed, and what stayed the same. One thing absent from the compilation is the rules on City Fighting and Airborne Assault found in the originals.
By Troy A Hill
One of the joys and pitfalls of moving into a new area, and joining a new gaming group is that many of the local players in the new area already have their army builds done. When I lived in Southern California, there were a mix of players and armies. In my regular gaming group, no one was playing British, so I picked it up to compliment my US and my German Armies.
But, when I returned to North East Indiana in the States, and looked up the local crew, the most popular nation to play in the new local gaming group is… yep, British of one flavour or another.
What was I to do? Americans are the vanilla “easy mode” according to the Juggernauts. In my 15mm WWII wargaming days, I began with Americans and soon tired of them. Germans are definitely challenging. And with my grandmothers coming from lineages of Kaiser and Sigsbee surnames on one side, and Bechtel on the other side of the family, the German army seems like a good fit for me. So far, though, my interest in all things German seems limited to the DAK.
Well, when I played Warhammer Fantasy, I loved the horde armies of the goblins. Guess I should look at… The Soviets?
By Tom Gall
With the new Bagration Germans lists, I’ve been quite eager to put them to the test on the tabletop. Here in Minnesota as the various quarantine rules have been loosening up, in-store gaming is starting to happen in various places. Walker brought his British against my Germans, for a game at D6 Games in Rochester Mn.
By Preston Jacob
Komerades! The long-awaited Soviet entrance to late war is finally here! With the upcoming release of the Bagration Soviet book. Soviet players are finally getting their first late-war book outside of Fortress Europe.
This covers the campaign in the east during 1944 as the Soviet army pushed the Germans back towards the west, taking back the land and territories claimed by the Wehrmacht from 1941 to 1943. As everyone knows, there was a serious big gun arms race between Germany and the Soviet Union, and we finally get to see some of the big guns seen in the Eastern front make their debut in this book, along with some command cards to upgrade them!
I’m sure players are excited for all the units and formations in the book, but I know I always look forward to the command cards as they open up more options for units and lists. Without further adieu, let’s get started!
By Mitch Reed
For those of you who have felt that we here at NDNG were fanboys for , this article will show you how wrong you are. I hate this book and I plan to tell you why in detail. Something to keep in mind as you read on, I do not play Soviets in , but I have played against them for over a decade now.
Over the last year, as Late War was being upgraded to V4 standards, I did not think very much about the Soviet lists I may face, since everything was based on D-Day or models from your Mid War collection. Now the Soviet Bagration book is here and I plead with the Soviet readers to skip this book.
By Tom Burgess
One aspect of playing World War Three Team Yankee that many people enjoy is list building. Trying to design the most perfect list to take on all opponents in all mission is almost a hobby withing itself. However commanders through history rarely ever get to “design” their force.
Instead, Commanders are generally are assigned units to accomplish a specified task. As much fun as it is to design a force and test it, it also can be very enjoyable to see how well you can do with a set force challenged to contest with specific historical conditions.
We are talking about playing historical scenarios rather than playing generated missions with designed forces.
Though World War Three Team Yankee is set in a fictional World War Three setting, Battlefront has done a great job including “historical” scenarios from this hypothetical war in their World War Three Team Yankee books.
By Tom Burgess
My good friend Charles Christy and I recently played our first WW3 “Team Yankee” version 2 game. Because the new rule book already had the new stats and points for the Challenger in it, Charles was able to sneak in three Challengers into his list.
Mission and Forces
I went with an attack stance for my Soviets and Charles chose to maneuver. We rolled up Counterattack for the mission with him defending. The battlefield has a small urban center surrounded by some hills and woods.
I was running a typical single formation Motorized Rifle Battalion (MRB) with one BMP-1 company and one BMP-2 company. I had some decent support to include a T-72 Tank Company.
Charles had two formations, a FV432 mounted Mech Infantry company and a Recce Troop. He notable had a unit of eight VF432 Mortar Carriers and unit of eight Abbots to make the most out of the new WW3 TY2 artillery rules. And of course he had those lovely three Challenger tanks.
Deployment
Charles chose to defend with his FV432 Mech Co protecting objective in his deployment area.
He used spearhead moves to flex out to the objective in the neural quarter, but due to the new WW3 TY2 spearhead rules, he was much more limited in his ability to move as far as he would have liked.
Counterattack only gives the attacker a tiny deployment area, which can be a big problem for large Soviet formations like mine. I used my BRDM-2 scouts to push my deployment zone off to my left, effectively doubling the area I could deploy in.
Charles’ Challengers, due to their very high point cost went into his reserve pool as did an AAA unit he would not be needing.
My plan was to heavily weight my left and concentrate on the objective in the neutral quarter. My T-72s would “follow in support” and swing even wider to left rear board corner. I knew Charles’ Challengers would come there behind my main effort. I needed to leave the T-72s hanging back to take the initial hit and tie those Challangers up. My infantry wound swing through the urban area and demonstrate against Charles’ FV432 Mech Co to keep them pinned in place.
Turn 1
Why do I always take two artillery units with my Soviets, two chances to lay down smoke? After the 2S1 Carnations failed to range in a smoke screen (with Forward Observer assistance!) my BM-21 Hail rocket launchers put in a nice smoke screen that ties in a large building with nearby woods to mask the approach of my main effort.
I caused no damage to Charles in Turn 1. I’m not even sure I took a shot. The first turn for my Soviets is always about positioning and getting in close.
Because my main force was so well screened by smoke and terrain, Charles really did not have much to shoot at, expect for artillery on my infantry. He continued to swing his Recce Troop out to his right to get into good over-watch positions where he could hit my T-72s.
Charles also deployed his ambush (four Milan Teams) and relocated them forward into the large building where they would have a target rich environment next turn.
Turn 2
In turn two, I continue my swing to the left with my BMPs, who with support from advancing infantry with RPGs make short work of Charles’ Scorpions.
My infantry continue to push in the center and Charles suddenly realizes that his Milan teams are about to be assaults before they even fire.
Fortunately for Charles, he only lost one Milan team to the Soviet infantry assault as he broke off immediate after the initial Soviet melee.
Charles’ Challengers come in on turn, right behind my T-72s as expected. Note the Sthurms waiting off to the right in the below image, knowing that the T-72s are bait that Charles’ Challengers cannot ignore.
Charles’ Challengers knock out two T-72s and long range fires from his Swingfires kill and bail a T-72 as well.
Turn 3
In turn three, my T-72s moved to flank and destroy two Challengers. Knowing exactly where the Challengers were going to come in at. I left the T-72s in the corner so that no matter what, the surviving T-72s would be able to maneuver for flank shots. Really Charles’ reserves needed to wait a bit longer and let his Swingfires get a turn or two more of shooting at the T-72s.
Turn 4
My infantry pushed through the large building and took the FV432 Mortar Carriers under RPG fire while my BMP-1s moved to flank Charles’ rear “gunline.”
The BMP-2s run rampant on what is left of Charles’ Recce Troop. Note how far Charles’ forces are now away from the objective in the neutral quarter.
With just three T-72s left, then last Challenger is knocked out.
By the end of turn four, it is clear that the only way Charles can keep the game going is to assault with his Mech Infantry company against my Soviet infantry in the center urban area. With way too many BMPs, ZSU-23/4 and BRDM-2s rolling around the area, this simply is not a viable option he concedes at the bottom of turn four.
Tough game for the British. The new Challenger is a beautiful and scary beast, but it’s not going to stand up to AT22 flank shots. It’s ROF of 1 on the move to me makes it far less intimating than a M1IP or Leo 2.
The new artillery rules had a big impact. When Charles ranged in on my infantry, I totally cleared the impact area. In most cases I was able to rally and move forward, but when I did not rally I did not hesitate to fall back. Fortunately, I only had to do this once, and it was with my “demonstrating” infantry on my right who I could afford to have fall back.
This game was not the best test of all the new kit the British have now in WW3 TY2, but as best as I can tell, the Soviet player really does not need to change tactics to face the British under the new rules and the new list. As always, maximize smoke to screen your advance and get in close as quick as possible.
In the end of the day it was a good game and I’m sure Charles will be scheming on how to use the other new British items against me in or next game.
