with Garry Wait
As many of you will know, the new British book for World War III : Team Yankee brings many fascinating and exciting new units.
Today I’d like to discuss one of the most radical changes of all – the Fox.
Firstly, there is a very exciting turning point happening in the game. One thing not many people have picked up on is the Fox. Yes, it’s a new reconnaissance vehicle for the British Army. But what people haven’t noticed is that this is NOT a regular British Army vehicle. The vehicle was run entirely in combat roles by Territorial Army units. This is reflected in the Fox’s statistics with Skill 4+ and Morale 5+ reflecting “Part Time” Army personnel. For the first time, you can see the difference between NATO full time professional troops and their reservist counterparts. Personally I can’t wait to see how National Guard and Army Reserve can be covered for US Army and USMC…
Of course, you get all of the advantages of a Scimitar with the same good armour front and side, same gun and night fighting gear but with road mobility and one point cheaper for four vehicles.
As a cost effective scout vehicle, the Fox hits hard.
With AT10 and coaxial machine gun like the Scimitar, you enjoy the same hard hitting ability on the same front armour 2, side armour 1 but with top armour 0 reflecting the increased vulnerability of the four wheel chassis over the tracked Scimitar.
Where the stats really change is mobility. Like the real vehicle, the Fox has same tactical move of 6”/15cm (or 10”/25cm with Sneak and Peek, due to the commander also being loader and radio operator) while the cross country dash drops to 12”/30cm and terrain dash drops to 20”/50cm and (compared to Scimitar on 20”/50cm and 28”/70cm).
Where the Fox really shines is Road Dash of 48”/120cm compared to Scimitar 36”/90cm. With huge road networks in western Europe, this road dash is a fantastic improvement and really helps with the improved points level. There is no reason you should be going offroad as the road mobility
makes this vehicle so invaluable.
The Fox is designed first and foremost as a reconnaissance asset and should be used as such. As I’ve heard from many current and former armoured reconnaissance crews, if you have to fight enemy for information with your (lightly armed and armoured) vehicle, then you’ve already lost.
One fun fact about the Fox is that small numbers were used for airmobile support of British airborne forces. You can do this by choosing the support box option as noted above and use in support of an Airmobile Formation. Historically the Fox could even be parachuted into an operational area, giving the British Army a lightweight and fast support vehicle for their light airmobile forces.
The Fox fulfils its role nicely and provides an excellent new tool for the discerning British Commander. Consider using a troop as a support option for your new Challenger or Warrior formations, leading the way and finding the best road routes for the heavier and slower tracked assets of the BAOR.
As the eyes and ears of the Regular Army, let your TA legends show how it’s really done. And best of all, do it in style in a fantastic new vehicle.