Join the Battlefront team as we launch Bagration: Soviet
Chris has already told us how much he likes the Czechoslovakian OT-64, if you want something similar but a heck of a lot lighter, in plastic, and cheaper for your wallet then the BTR-60 is exactly what you need.
Check out another video from our archive and find out what a dream this model is to assemble!
Until the release of the T-80 the T-64 was the baddest boy on the block for the Soviets, but whilst the T-80 is newer, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is better, at least that is what the team at the Kharkiv transport machine-building factory No. 75 would have said when they were developing it!
Join Chris as he shows how easy the T-64 is to build.
With Joe Saunders
On the World War III: Team Yankee battlefield the undisputed top predator is the M1 Abrams and its variants. With a front armour value of 18 ranging to 21 and a main gun AT rating of 20 for the 105mm, or 23 for the 120mm, the Abrams hits hard and can soak up massive amounts of punishment. This is made even better by a Hit On rating of 4+ and an amazing remount of 2+. But this battlefield titan is not unstoppable.
The main tactic for Warsaw Pact and Soviet players to take these machines down was always to go with quality over quantity. An M1A1HC for instance costs 18 points compared to a T-64 which costs 4.3 points. This means that the Warsaw Pact can put at least 4 T-64s on the table to every one M1A1HC. This solution however is imperfect for World War III players. Sometimes you want to play a small elite force, or the wallet just won’t let you buy the 20 T-55AMs (and the paint) you would need to begin to equal the points your opponent would spend on 4 M1 Abrams (the basic model). This has traditionally left the gamers who want to play forces of the more communist variety at a loss…until now. With the new core set and the World War III: Soviet book you can get your hands on the T-80. This marvelous tank, while remaining most definitely Soviet in design and application, has what it takes to go toe to toe with the M1 Abrams. Let’s take a closer look.
The Warsaw Pact forces of the 70s and 80s were set on a very specific type of battlefield doctrine that caused the form of their tanks to follow the function of their strategy. This resulted in lighter, smaller, though heavily armed main battle tanks that did not match the size of western behemoths like the M1 or Leopard 2. Part of this was the recognition that the communist forces would maintain the edge in terms of numbers through vast armies of conscript troops. This necessitated simple designs that were faster and cheaper to make and more easily crewed by troops with less training. Moreover, these tanks such as the T-72, were intended for widescale export so they skimped on technology in favour of ease of maintenance as they could be put in service in remote locations ranging from the desert to the artic, far from technical support. The T-80 however was a partial divergence from this trend. Initially, not intended for export, the T-80 was loaded with the current innovations in armoured warfare, while still staying true to the Soviet strategy of having smaller more numerous tanks. The T-80, though it looks superficially like other Soviet tanks of the time, has better armour (supplemented be Explosive Reactive Armour- ERA) and a gas turbine engine that gave it outstanding speed. For armament it had the same autoloaded 125mm gun of its less technical T-64 and T-72 brothers, but it had the option for using the latest generation of gun barrel launched anti-tank missiles.
The T-80 has the stats to contend with the other NATO tanks. The front armour of 20 outclasses all iterations of the M1 except the M1A1HC which only edges it out by 1 point. Because of this, it can definitely take a punch! (The Abrams, only has one point better in side armour too.) The T-80’s side armour has ERA making it side armour 16 against HEAT weapons. This puts it neck in neck with the M1’s Chobham armour which also has a side armour rating of 16 against HEAT weapons (Though passengers can’t ride on tanks with ERA, because they would be blown up when the ERA goes off!)
In terms of mobility both tanks are the same in all respects and both sport advanced stabilizers for 14-inch tactical moves and have a cross of 2+. I imagine that this similarity is due to the fact that both have gas turbine engines and represent the pinnacle of tank automotives for both major super powers in the mid 80s.
This brings us to firepower, which is where these tanks diverge. The M1’s main gun can be a 105mm or 120mm canon depending on the variant and both are very good guns. They have 2 dice of shooting whether they are stationary or not, have a high AT, a range of 40 inches, and 2+ firepower. The 120mm in particular has a whopping AT of 23 due to it having cutting edge, fin stabilized depleted uranium long rod penetrator rounds! But this canon is very much maximized for anti-tank work. On the anti-troop side, the M1 comes in a little light at 5 dice of machine guns. The T-80 is different in the weapons department with a much more diverse armament. The 125mm Soviet gun has a range of 32”, rate of fire of one (whether moving or not) the brutal rating, and is AT 22 and a firepower of 2+. This makes it equally deadly against both infantry and armoured vehicles. The lower rate of fire makes the T-80 maybe slightly less competent in destroying armour… but wait, there is also the barrel launched Sniper missile! This AT 22, fire power 3+, Guided, HEAT weapon can reach out to 48 inches (with a minimum range of 16 inches) actually giving the T-80 a longer reach than the Abrams. Being the pinnacle of anti-tank weapons for the Soviets, this missile has the Tandem Warhead rule. This means that thought the Sniper Missile is a HEAT weapon, armours such as Chobham, Bazooka skirts etc. do not cause a boost in side armour ratings. So, go ahead and shoot an M1A1HC or Leopard 2 in the side armour with this missile and you can have that satisfaction of going straight to the firepower test!
So far, we have seen that the technical details make the T-80 pretty close to the other NATO MBTS but there is a difference and that boils down to training. As we discussed earlier in the article, the Warsaw Pact doctrine in the 80s was to rely on large numbers of conscript troops and use numbers to overwhelm their adversaries. The values on the T-80’s unit card represent this. The Hit on Number is 3+, Skill is 5+. These numbers are not so favourable compared to the typical NATO ratings. The American tanks for instance are hit on a 4+ and have a skill of 4+. The difference is represented in the points values with the T-80 running at about 7.3 points each where the comparable NATO tanks cost more. Because of this the Warsaw Pact forces will always have a slight edge in numbers because of the decrease in training. The lower Hit On value may also not be such a serious issue. With the armour ratings on the T-80 being up there with the NATO MBTS, you can compensate for the lower hit on number by keeping your opponents to the front and relying on the tank’s considerable manoeuvrability.
There is also another option to adjust for the T-80’s decreased stats… you can go elite. The T-80 Shock Company in the new Team Yankee: Soviet book represents the best Soviet Tankers of the time and this brings both the statistics and points costs into line with most NATO armies. The Hit On number goes to a respectable 4+ and the skill goes to an excellent 3+. (This opens up a lot of new options, but since the T-80 Shock Company is fairly different from other Soviet Formations and will be covered in a separate article.)
So far, we have looked at the statistics, but there is another, real world, consideration with the T-80. By Soviet standards it is worth a lot of points! This means that for a World War III Team Yankee player that is either new to the hobby or who is on a budget, they can get to the 100-point limit fairly quickly by purchasing or painting fewer tanks. 10 T-80s is 79 points. (89 points if you give them missile upgrades.) That is just 2 boxes of models. Previously Soviet players would have to have relied on T-64s which would require at least another whole box with maxed out upgrades to get into the same ballpark points wise. So, if you are new to the game or just getting up to speed with a Soviet force, T-80s are your first choice to get not only modern options to take on NATO players, but also to get a bunch of points on the table with fewer (but seriously cool looking) models.
In this brief tour of the T-80 and how it stacks up to the M1 Abrams we have touched on the similarities and differences between these mighty machines. Now you should have a clear picture of just what the T-80, as a new battlefield predator, can offer the Soviet player in Team Yankee. All that remains is to get your Warsaw Pact Forces together and go forth to destroy the decadent and corrupt capitalists!
With Joe Saunders
I grew up in the 80s. When we played outside we were always pretending to be the Canadian military battling the hordes of Soviet Russia invading from the north. This meant that nameless and faceless Soviet Infantry were always the enemy. Then I was introduced to the movie Red Dawn (I choose to ignore the remake). In this Patrick Swayze movie I got a better look at the infantry of the Soviets (or what they were thought to be like). Now in my mid 40s I find myself reminiscing on that movie and wishing I could take control of those forces. I would like to try my hand against the superior military skills of Charlie Sheen’s ragtag assortment of high school students and the armies of the corrupt American capitalists…. Now, thanks to the new WWIII: Team Yankee book World War III: Soviet I can stop reminiscing, the time has finally come to dive in and take command of the legions of the red banner.
In this article I will take you on a guided tour of the infantry of the Soviet Union (in distinctly game terms) so we can investigate the nuances and capabilities of these cold war bad guys in WWIII: Team Yankee.
The Soviet doctrine for fighting World War III always relied on the idea that numbers would be on their side. The Warsaw Pact was mostly composed of conscript soldiers, equipped with simple yet effective equipment that could operate in rugged conditions. although their strategy also called for aggression. Fast moving penetration into the heart of NATO forces was perceived as the best option to take on the less numerous but better trained foes. This required a large amount of mobility and the Soviets were the first to take the concept of the infantry transport and blur it with armed vehicles to provide them with integrated heavy weapons support. On the ground this took the form of the various BMP Infantry Fighting vehicles (IFVs) and in the air the Hind Gunship (which if you grew up in the 80s… and excuse the Dirty Dancing/Red Dawn comment, will know definitely put Baby in a corner). Because of this, looking at the Soviet infantry of the era will also require a close look at their transportation.
This is the basic building block of the Soviet Infantry. If your army is composed of tank formations you will usually find that a company of BMP Infantry can be added on as part of the formation. This is handy as infantry is a good option for guarding objectives or fighting where terrain is dense.
The choices for the BMP Company come in 3 varieties, varying by the type of BMP taken. Otherwise the infantry themselves have the same stats and weapon options. Here we see the effect of the conscript army approach to warfare. Courage is 4+ (with 3+ Morale and Rally) and Skill is 5+ (Counterattack 3+) and their Hit On value is 3+. These stats are decidedly lack lustre. They could be worse, but definitely are not top tier. But this brings us to points cost…They are cheap and come in large numbers. 5 stands of troops in 3 Bradley IFVs cost American players 10 points, but 7 Stands of Soviets and 4 BMP- 2s cost the Soviets 8 points. With these troops you can keep numbers on your side.
Weapon options are very flexible with the ability to arm grenade launchers, AA missiles and improved RPGs for unit level upgrades. This allow you to tweak your squads for their purpose in your force. If you want to sit back and guard objectives take a Gremlin AA missile to ward off airstrikes. If you are attacking then go with an AGS-17 grenade launcher, or mix both for flexibility. This brings us to the BMPs themselves. Here you can also choose the vehicle for the task. If you want to keep the cost down, but still have some decent weapon options, the BMP-1 is a good choice. The BMP-2 splits the difference and gives you pretty good options for taking on NATO MBTs, while the BMP-3 gives you weapons that rival some Tanks (thanks to the Sniper missile). Which you choose will depend on the roles you want your infantry to fill, with the BMP-2 probably being the choice of a player looking for a general composition.
If being economical with your points is your objective, the BTR-60 Motor Rifle Company is for you! Let’s face it, sometimes you want to go with the big guns and max your army composition out with tanks (especially the awesome T-80). However, infantry is almost always a necessity for guarding objectives or going where armour can’t. The BTR-60 Motor Rifle Company will not break the bank for points while still fitting the bill.
The stats and weapon options for this unit are the same for BMP mounted troops, but the BTR-60 is armed only with machineguns and very light armour which brings the expense down. Because of this, you can get 7 stands of infantry and 4 BTR-60s for only 5 points. Though the BTR-60 is not likely to go toe to toe with anything other than opposing Infantry, it is a good way to leave room for other unit choices.
Rather than use the value of the BTR-60 Company to slide a few infantry stands into our army, you could go in the other direction and maximize your infantry. 23 points gets you a maxed-out squad complete with all of the heavy weapon options. That’s 25 stands and 16 BTRs per unit! Go ahead and use the BTR-60 Motor Rifle formation and fill up the infantry slots! You can have 76 infantry stands and 49 transport vehicles for 70 points! This would certainly be interesting to play and you would definitely outnumber your opponent, though you may not have enough paint….
Afgantsy Air Assault CompanyThese veterans of the war in Afghanistan have statistics that reflect their hard-earned experience. Though they have the same weapon options and unit sizes as the other Soviet units, they have a Courage of 3+ and a Skill of 4+. Though these stats are not outstanding, they are an improvement over the regular Soviet infantry stats and are still quite reasonable in terms of points. 7 stands will run 4 points. The main difference however is the Afgantsy don’t have transports as a basic option. Instead they are transported by Hind MI-24 Helicopters that are also a black box choice in the formation.
Obviously having helicopter gunships as their transport gives the Afgantsy Air Assault Company a massive boost in firepower. Spiral missiles provide AT ratings of up to 24, and they also bring Gatling guns and a one-shot salvo template weapon to the fight too! This makes this unit about a flexible as you can get for fighting all types of opponents.
In terms of tactics the Afgantsy Air Assault Company adds extreme maneuverability to the Soviet player’s list of options. Because the Hinds can both transport troops and provide devastating firepower, they can deliver the Afganstsy infantry to almost any point on the battlefield (game table) then either fly off on other missions, or stay near their infantry and defend them from armour and other serious threats.
The final infantry option in WWIII: Soviet is a bit different from the others. Where all of the other Infantry options can come with a full formation dedicated to them, the BMP Shock Recon Platoon does not. Instead this unit is a single choice in the T-80 BMP Shock Tank Company, which is the pinnacle of elite troops in the book. For this reason, this platoon has great stats, with a Skill of 3+ and a Hit on number of 4+. As far as Soviet Infantry goes, these guys are the best quality and also very expensive. The same 7 stands and 4 IFVS you would pay 8 points for in regular BMP units costs a lot more. You pay a whopping 15 points with the BMP Shock Recon Platoon!
In terms of firepower the BMP Shock Rifle Platoon is the same as the regular BMP motor rifle troops. This still means they have a ton of options for weapons, suitable for many different battlefield roles. On top of this they can have the BMP-3 or BMP-2s for transport and fire support. This unit can have a lot of firepower in a small package, that fights more like a NATO infantry squad!
In terms of tactics the BMP Shock Platoon is pretty limited because it is not a black box choice, so it will only ever be deployed in support of the Shock Tank Company’s equally elite tanks. This means their role will likely be guarding objectives or attacking in dense or urban terrain. In distinctly real-world terms, the high points cost allows for a low model count. Since the rest of the T-80 Shock Rifle Company is similar, with very expensive elite tank units (in the black box choices) this formation and its accompanying infantry is a good option for new players who have not painted a lot of models or who don’t want to break the bank on model kits.
As we have seen the Soviet infantry options in World War III Team Yankee are fairly varied yet highly adaptable with upgrades and transport options to strike hard and tackle different missions. We have also explored the interesting way in which the lower quality, yet more numerous unit sizes embody the unique aspect of how the Soviets planned to fight should the Cold War escalate to World War III. With this new-found knowledge now is the time to gather your forces under the red banner and conquer the corrupt capitalists. Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and those pesky high school students won’t stand a chance against the might of Soviets this time!
One more from the archives, this time Wayne (who has since built many many BMP’s) takes a crack at building one on camera. Join him as he shows off the two versions of this iconic infantry fighting vehicle found on this great little sprue.
Every year members of the New Zealand Studio travel down to sunny(ish) Palmerston North for the worlds longest running Flames Of War / WWIII: Team Yankee tournament. Last year it was a 140 point doubles tournament for WWIII: Team Yankee.
At that point I had been slack and had never painted a WWIII army for myself, so I had to rush to paint one. I only just realised that I haven’t actually taken any decent photos for the army yet, so this live launch seemed like a good opportunity to show it off.
For the tournament I teamed up with Chris who was taking Czechoslovakians. Chris’ boys were so cheap that I ended up taking 105 of the available 140 points. Despite this, Chris still had more painting to do than me.
The core of my list was 15 T-64s with two companies of seven T-64s (one was given missiles) and a Battalion HQ tank. Supporting this were some BRDM-2’s for Spearhead, some Gophers for AA, Storms for some cheap Anti-tank, and Mi-24 Hind helicopters because they look cool.
– Casey
With John Lee
A nice surprise for this release is the T-55AM formation. Now finally the Soviets have access to the T-55 at last. You do not have to rely on allied formations to run the T-55 horde! Not only that, but the Soviet T-55AM is better than the Warsaw Pact T-55AM2. As a Soviet player, I can now run all the different tank options from T-55AM up to the T-80!
What does the T-55AM bring to the table over the T-55AM2? No slow firing in the Soviet variant, main gun with higher AT and an optional gun tube fired missile!
The gun – 32” range AT18 with NO Slow Firing means moving up to 10” and able to fire its main gun on the move with no penalty. So effectively its range is up to 42” if you move and fire. Brutal – hit dug in infantry with it and that infantry is re-rolling its saves! Laser rangefinder – No +1 to hit targets over 16”. Infrared – roll two dice and choose the highest die roll for shooting range at night.
The missile – AT21 with a 16” – 48” range provides an option to take out most vehicles at range. Guided – no +1 to hit over 16”. HEAT – no +1 to armour save for over 16” range.
The armour – FA14 SA9 TA2 with Bazooka Skirts. Most modern tank guns and missiles will go right through the frontal armour but has enough to stave off attacks from other weapons. Side armour is relatively decent and has Bazooka Skirts which means it goes to 10 vs HEAT weapons. Against more modern infantry anti-tank armed units, it is still not going to stop it but against older weapons you have a chance.
The speed – 10” tactical speed means you will keep moving suffering no penalties for moving and firing. 4+ cross check which means you will pass them 50% of the time – so best not to rely on it. 14” terrain dash and 20” cross country dash if you need it – not as fast as the more modern tanks.
The stats – Skill 5+ so blitzing and shooting and scooting are not reliable orders. Remount is a 3+ so easier to get back in. Morale 3+ to stay in the battle. Assaults are 5+ and counterattack on 4+ – so only assault if you really need to! HQ has better stats of course so you want the HQ close by for the assaults.
Before looking at the formation and composing some lists, I want to see what the size and cost of the T-55AM Tank Companies are. Minimum in a company is five tanks for 7pts. Maximum is ten tanks for 16pts. Each tank beyond the minimum is an additional 2pts. The tenth tank is only 1pt extra. So, if you are looking to run a horde army, you gain a point running maximum points. If you want the optional missile its +2pts for the whole company – a bargain when running a large company of them.
Let us have a look at what comprises the formation:
With the low points for the volume of tanks you can take, you have a number of options for taking two formations of T-55AM or one formation with a secondary formation of say Air Assault Afgansty or BTR-60 infantry or even an allied formation, such as Iranian Chieftains. With V2 of the rules, we can now take black box options as formation support – Shock T-80 Tank Platoon anyone? Of course, you could just stack it with lots of support options, such as the new artillery (BM-27 Hurricanes, TOS-1), full complement of Hinds, Frogfoots – lots of combinations depending on your playstyle and budget.
We will look at various options for 120pts, 100pts and 75pts for running one or more formations. Starting off with 120pts first let us see how this may play out:
Dual T-55AM formations stacked with missile firing tanks, infantry with upgraded RPGs that can stand up to Tanks with AT19 against advanced armour in assaults! Each formation is relatively strong with six units in each, two infantry companies to dig in on both objectives and if required, drive the enemy infantry off theirs. Two artillery templates including the new BM-27 rocket launchers that can launch minelets to wreck the enemy’s backline. Spearhead and AA coverage to go with your 44 tanks. 40 x AT21 missiles with your tanks will cause your opponent headaches. You have some room to modify the list here – remove either some tanks from the companies and or missiles if you want additional AA coverage or another artillery template. You could also make one of the infantry companies smaller and or downgrade all the RPG-7VRs to standard RPG-7s.
Let us see how it looks if we pair the formation with an Air Afgansty formation:
Running with 31 x T-55AMs (10 with missiles) you have seven units in the formation – very durable with AA and spearhead. You get two companies of the best infantry (outside of Shock Motor Rifle Infantry) equipped with the enhanced RPG-7s along with eight Hinds with AT24 missiles! BM-27s to fire salvos and minelets.
How could this formation work with black box units – let us have a look:
Running with 31 x T-55AMs (10 with missiles) you have eight units in the formation – hard to break and has AA and spearhead. You have intrinsic infantry with the formation plus one company of Air Afgansty infantry for assaulting or defending the key objective. Platoon of shock T-80s – hit on 4s – oh yeah!
Want more of the support options for a more surgical strike force – here is an option :
Your T-55AM formation will hold the field with eight in the formation with one infantry company to anchor it. The TOS-1 is there to wreck infantry formations with its brutal salvo and auto firepower. The six hinds with AT24 and six Frogfoots with AT27 are your surgical strike instruments. Use your T-55AMS to bum rush your opponents AA so your air assets can rip apart the enemy armour whilst the TOS-1s suppress enemy infantry.
Looking to 100pts now, we could remove the Frogfoots, swap out the TOS-1 for BM-27s and add some Storms:
The Storms add more AT24 goodness. Storms and Hinds are you surgical instruments for taking on high end tanks. You could also change out the BM-27s for 2S1 Carnations or 2S3 Acacias to add missiles to one of the T-55AM companies to bolster your missile count.
For me, I find that running 10 tank companies are difficult to manoeuvre, so I prefer running them in units of 7-8 tanks. This allows more tweaking of points to get other units I want for my force. Here is an option that suits my playstyle:
This list has two small infantry units, the formation still has eight units, and I can incorporate the new BMP-3 with its firing on the move AT21 missile! 6 x AT24 and 28 x AT21 missiles! As you can see, you can tweak the T-55AM list to suit your playstyle at 100pts and 120pts.
Having played at NukeCon here in Auckland a number of weeks ago, I thought I would see if I could get a T-55AM Tank Battalion list together that I could have taken if it was available then (I took an Iraqi T-72M force – which was fun to play):
Still have 4 x AT24 take on the heavy tanks with back up of 8 x AT21 missiles. Formation is strong with seven units. AA in the form of Shilkas and Gremlin. Smaller infantry unit but has the upgraded RPG-7VR so can hold off tanks in assault. Use the remaining T-55AMs to bum rush the enemy (from reserve if required) or from spearhead.
So, there you have it – this formation gives plenty of options depending on your play style and the points you are playing to. I love all the options you can add from either black box formation support or the support options. The horde rides again!
~John Lee
Like most of the Big Four Of Late War I was super-jazzed with the T-80 arriving in the WWIII: Soviet book, and decided to join in the fun and paint up a new army for the launch (evil glares at Chris for not participating).
Now I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to painting which means I’m normally a slow painter, so I thought I would just this as an opportunity to challenge myself to pump out an army quickly.
Rather than noodling an army list to build my army around I decided to just paint some of the new models that I thought looked cool, points and army composition didn’t really make me decide what to paint.
The core of my force are some T-80s. I figure 10 should be enough to cover me for most situations. Next up are some BMP-3 Scouts, again because they are new plastic and look super cool.
One of my favourite new units in the book is the TOS-1. I have been badgering Wayne, Phil, Chris, Evan, and Pete to make the TOS-1 since the start of our WWIII journey, so now that we have it I thought it would be rude not to paint some. As well as looking cool, game-wise I think it will be a good choice to have available to my Soviets since I tend to run tank heavy armies and struggle to deal with infantry. Their Brutal bombardment will certainly help with that.
Lastly, I’m painting a platoon of 2S6 Tunguska AA tanks, mainly due to rule of cool, I just think they look awesome.
Plugging this into Forces it comes out to an inconvenient 101 points, so I’d probably have to drop a BMP-3 if I were to take it to a tournament.
Amongst the Big Four Of Late War we have been discussing playing big boy games of 150 points using the more modern equipment that has started appearing (T-80s, M1A1 Abrams, Challenger I’s, Leopard 2’s etc). Luckily I can make this a 150 point list just by making them Heroes and adding the Mi-24 Hinds that I have already painted, a few infantry stands, and a pair of Gophers for a bit more AA. The TOS-1s are probably a suboptimal option given that none of the guys are going to go particularly infantry heavy for these games, but sometimes you don’t always get given the tools that you need to do a job and just have to make do with what you have available.
As far as the fast paint challenge has gone, I’m about 3 weeks in and I’ve managed to finish the T-80s apart from the tracks and the rest of the army is not far behind. With another week I think I’ll have the army completely finished. The army is definitely not painted as well as I would usually paint, but I’m pretty happy with it, and I think looking at effort vs reward it’s pretty good. I’m just looking forward to putting it on the table for a few games.
– Casey
With Chris Allen
The WWIII: Soviet book is bringing all sorts of new toys and ways to play a Soviet force to the table. The most dramatic change and divergent force is without a doubt the T-80 Shock Tank Company. Formed from the 26th Guards Training Tank Division utilizing the most advanced equipment with the T-80U, BMP-3 and Tunguska, along with the most experienced officers and top second year conscripts the Shock Battalion is a whole different situation for NATO forces.
The Company is largely organized the way any Soviet Battalion would be, holding a support company of infantry, and platoon artillery, anti-air and reconnaissance support
Organization – tank platoons in a coy. But where you would normally have 2-3 companies of tanks, here you find 2-3 platoons of tanks.
So the core of the formation is the T-80 tank. This newly introduced monster is a beast. Sporting front armour of 20 the T-80 can take a beating. M1 Abrams or M60 Pattons an issue? Not any more. Milans a problem? Not really for the T-80, as at best you’re bailed on a 1. The Side armour of 10 keeps autocannons at bay and with ERA you count as side armour 16 against HEAT weapons so if Carl Gustavs are a problem for you, they also can only bail if you roll a 1. The tank isn’t invincible as AT-23 has become a lot more prevalent but it’s a pretty tough nut to crack for most weapons.
Besides being the most armoured, the T-80 is also the fastest Soviet tank with a tactical move of 14” like the T-64 due to advanced stabilizers but sports a 2+ cross check making it ridiculously maneuverable on the battlefield. The same exceptional 125mm 2A46 gun with a AT of 22 is present but where the change sits is it can also take the AT-11 Sniper missile which unlike its predecessors has an AT of 22 and can fire on the move out to 48”, giving it a threat range of 62 inches before blitzing. Again, it’s a beast.
But where the shock T-80 becomes truly scary isn’t it’s armour or the gun, not even it’s mobility. The difference is the crew. Not being hit is the best armour, and this tank is harder to hit. At 4+ to hit the Shock tank platoon is a real tough nut to crack, fighting at range and against defensive fire. Add in cover and suddenly you’re sporting a near uncrackable tank that’s hit on 5’s while moving rapidly across the field. But there’s more, the crew also have 3+ skill and 4+ assault, meaning blitzes and other movement orders become likely rather than the exception and assaults get results. The T-80 is the Marshal Lynch (American football reference) of the Soviet Force, it’s beast mode.
Some people say with great power comes great responsibility, but I often find the more relevant consideration is cost. The Shock T-80 is 9 points a piece, for either the HQ or the platoons which consist of 2 or 3 tanks making platoons between 18 and 27 points a piece before you add on options like missiles or mine clearing ploughs.
With an HQ tank and two platoons you use up a minimum of 45 points in a force which comprises only 5 tanks. More likely you’ll want at least one platoon with 3 tanks so your base force will commonly comprise around 50-60 points of T-80s.
The big question I find people have difficulty with is answering the question “what are my T-80s here to do?” In fairness this question is often hard for many Soviet players to answer with their tanks. But if you’re spending half or more of your points on a handful of tanks you should probably have an answer for this question. With this list I feel like the answer is much clearer than with others, it’s there to bully people. The T-80U as described is a beast, but with only ROF 1 and AT 22 it isn’t going to gun down your opponents army, and in a gunfight at range with the more modern tanks you can expect a bun fight to ensue. So if not gunning down other big tanks what makes you want to take the Shock T-80U?
The T-80U is amazing at getting stuck in and staying there. The sumo wrestler of WWIII it can push people around and off of objectives while absorbing fire like almost no other tank can, and all for a very reasonable price. -see earlier “the T-80U is a beast”.
The Shock T-80U can get you through minefields, either by just driving clear through them with their skill of 3+ or by removing them with mine ploughs, reliably entering them the previous turn. Arguably there usually isn’t much in the army coming through after the T-80Us in a Shock Company so commonly you can save the points on ploughs and only take them if you’re going to guide through the Shock Infantry company. This alleviates one of the key problems Soviet forces have, being cut off in the offense. This opens up literal avenues that were formerly closed or at best uncomfortable.
After breaching, the T-80s are amazing at assaulting people off of objectives (not necessarily killing people but removing them from objectives). It’s not their 4+ assault that makes them great, but rather their durability. With 4+ to hit and ERA they are immune to most infantry AT assets and with a 3+ morale and 2+ cross, you’re racing killing off your opponent vs them breaking away. Because of this, the T-80U platoon with an HQ tank is a game winning group of tanks on the table and their ability for speed and violence cannot be overlooked. For these reasons, missions with early win conditions and defenders having reserves, or even deep reserves are this list’s wheelhouse.
So with roughly half of a 100 point list invested in a few tanks to start the game, this doesn’t leave a lot of points for support, or more important the only thing that properly takes and holds ground, Infantry. But this list does have a really cool option for them.
The Shock Tank Company comes with some very special support for your T-80s, highly trained infantry with the same skill and assault capability, the BMP Shock Motor Rifle Company. Possibly the most interesting inclusion in WWII: Soviets is the Shock Battalion infantry coy, if only because they can only be taken in a Shock T-80 company. They are not a black box choice but are a formation option for the T-80 Shock company and so bring you not only staying power but the ability to take and hold ground, in this regard, I’d say heavy on the former, less so on the later.
The T-80 Coy is not a subtle build, it’s not here to sit and wait, it’s purpose is to break lines, to push deep and turn the enemy, to make them run, and then run them down. Purpose built to support this is their infantry. While not as numerous as a standard infantry company you get in a word, ‘enough’. With an option for either a platoon sized element or company minus group, the shock infantry brings a ton of flexibility to the force.
The unit is equipped with the BMP-3s as the Shock Infantry’s transports, and these are a threat from the get go. While they can be downgraded to BMP-2s the BMP-3 gives them the mobility, firepower and survivability the unit needs. They can be placed aggressively in most missions and flaunt their ability to other players. In games where you may have the meeting engagement rules the BMP-3 can still move and fire its missile, making it the perfect piece to standoff against other missile systems, either you go first and fire first or they go first and don’t fire at all. With the 3+ skill they can also reliably use movement orders like blitz and shoot and scoot letting them be a constant thorn in the side of opponents. Simply put, these transports let you dictate the tempo and the opening of an engagement even more so than the T-80s do alone. Holding a flank or simply threatening tanks side armour from across the table these vehicles give your T-80s freedom of movement and force players to hold back.
The infantry are what you’d expect, hard chargers. 4+ to hit infantry with 3+ skill, 4+ assault and AK-74s, they’ll start and finish the party in the trench lines. They are also armed with the new RPG-7VR, with AT 19 and FP 2+, this makes them a threat to any tank on the field of battle, being able to penetrate even the side armour of Chobham vehicles. Even the mighty M1A1 HCs and Challenger tanks have to respect this unit.
Against a pinned unit they can reliably get into assaults (smoke definitely helps) and once in they are hard to dislodge. What the Shock infantry can’t do is hold ground for long. Yes they are harder to hit, but they are much less numerous and can’t sit and take a beating for very long. They are meant to take an objective and win, or to assist the tanks in doing so, taking infantry out of buildings or covering their flanks as you advance.
With the tanks and the infantry sorted you have the usual suspects for formation support, artillery, reconnaissance and air defence assets but with two notable changes. First off the 2S6 Tunguska air defence system that provides you with a swiss army knife of support. The Tunguska has both missiles and 30mm cannons making it highly effective at providing anti-air support and as a counter to light armoured vehicles with it’s ROF 7 cannons. Players will have to think about the cost though as for the same price of 4 Tunguska you can take 8 Shilkas to provide more pockets of air defence on the table to your expensive tanks. Secondly the only reconnaissance option in the formation is the BMP-3 Shock Recon platoon. At 3 points a piece the recce cars are expensive, they bring a lot with all the same skill and to hit benefits as the rest of the Shock Battalion, but to save points taking divisional support options can get you BMP Recon Platoons of any variety.
There are a lot of options for support and T-80 Shock Battalion has far too few points to spend on all of them! Out of them all the one thing I always look for to support my T-80s is smoke. With so few tanks (albeit awesome tanks) I look to minimize my opponents ability to affect them. Smoke is huge, it’ll cover your breaching minefields, taking objectives or just cover a flank as you engage targets. Taking artillery has the added benefit of being exceptional against infantry in buildings, something that this list struggles with due to having so little infantry.
After smoke, I find that some air is always a big help. Hinds are an amazing option to bring a large number of shots for a very reasonable price. With their high AT and ability to relocate anywhere on the table they are a near perfect counter to enemy armour or a first choice to arrive from reserve. Lastly if you haven’t taken the Shock Motor Rifle Company, you may want to take a support company of infantry. This gives you a dramatic amount of options but as they are support they don’t help your formation stay on the table. A full company of Afghantsy are an excellent stand in, or you could swap in a mid size BMP-3 company for nearly the same points as the Shock company, trading skill for firepower and numbers. However you do it, you want to take at least a little infantry.
One last consideration should be tanks. But I already took the best tanks the Soviet army can provide, why do I need more tanks? Shots and distractions. It’s easy for someone to focus on your T-80s but something like a company of 10 T-55AM2s can distract an opponent from your T-80s and provide you with a lot more shots to help you disrupt your opponent while your T-80s do their work. Are they necessary? Nope. But more tanks are often fun tanks.
The Shock Battalion is a force that wants to attack, it was conceived, designed and built to attack. With that said, it can’t win a war of attrition, there just isn’t enough there to last. This list is about winning fast and going home. Let it do what it was made to do. Players using the more missions packages should really consider carefully any time they look at options other than Attack. The main reason for this is reserves, the Shock battalion hates reserves. With an elite Soviet force you have very little comparatively on the table and a huge number of points invested in ROF 1 tanks and any reduction in that makes victory that much more difficult. The Attack vs Defend missions are the perfect situation for this list, normally granting the attacker a solid position to press against a smaller footprint of enemy on the table. Speed and violence is what this list uses to win, setting that up in the pre game fight is key.
Remember you have a heavily armoured, hard to hit tank, that can bypass mines regularly. It’s pretty much the road map of how to win with these.
The T-80Us of the Shock company make for an amazingly different but fun force on the table but they can also be added to other forces as a support choice. In all honesty, this is how I like using the T-80U shock platoon, as support. This makes a box of T-80s or the two player starter ideal for any Soviet player, even one not thinking of fielding a T-80 force. What the Shock T-80 platoon brings to play for normal Soviet lists that nothing else does is reliable breaching. Often Soviet players can be derailed by minefields in missions, being fairly unreliable to remove them, tanks and infantry commonly are shot up or die in the minefields. With the speed of the T-80U they can get to the minefields ahead of the assault force, with 3+ skill T-80s can reliably enter minefields without taking damage. they can use their FA 20 to withstand the fire thrown at them and remove the minefields opening the gap assumed closed by most NATO players.
The Shock T-80U platoon with missiles also pairs amazingly well with a platoon of Hinds to make a perfect reserve force. Why the missiles? They extend your range so coming in from reserve you’re pretty much guaranteed to be in range and a threat from the get go. By keeping these in reserve you have the time and space to hunt down high AT threats and air defence assets making the arrival of your reserve that much more successful.
As a Soviet player, let’s face the fact that we are all about to buy T-80s if we haven’t already.
It looks cool, it’s a beast on the table and it scares NATO players. With that out of the way, realize that WWIII:Soviets is bringing us a bunch of great ways to play these beasts. The Shock T-80U as either a formation or as support choice is a blast to play and is going to bring a whole new threat to a battlefield near you. The Shock Tank Platoon is the All Blacks of Soviet tanks, a huge machine specializing in pushing people around. In a game about objectives, It’s an offensive powerhouse and winning machine.
With the original launch of Team Yankee we managed to pry Phil away from his keyboard long enough to share his secrets on how to built this great little tank. If we were being cheeky we would say if Phil can build it, then anyone can…