Being an FO: Using Artillery in WWIII: Team Yankee

with Scott McCorley

An FO is someone who spots for the artillery unit or battery and their primary role is to guide the rounds on target with the help of a laser range finder that gives a 10 figure grid reference, or with a tested method of map to ground with the help of an artillery protractor and a 8 figure grid reference.

A grid reference allows the FO to give a more accurate target indication when calling in a fire mission. The grids themselves, one grid square is 1000m x 1000m with a 4 figure reference, 6 figure increases it to within 100m x 100m, 8 figure to 10m x 10m, and 10 figure to 1m x 1m which allows for more accurate fire control. Most rounds land between 30 and 90 seconds from firing. This also depends on the rounds used, for example a normal HE round from a M109 155mm can be fired up 15km or an Excalibur round to 40km. So having a FO is mission critical as they can direct the fire support to help suppress or cover the axis of advance. Same can be said for JTAC’s
(Joint Terminal Attack Control) for strike aircraft.

So how does this become relevant in our games of WWIII: Team Yankee? There are many ways our FOs can be used in our games be it to spot or range in on a new viable target location. Having our FOs in cover and in prime position with good line of sight is a must for the continued use of our artillery in subsequent turns. Having an FO twill help with the +1 to range going a long way, especially if your target may be in short or tall terrain or covered by a smoke screen. Remember, any team leader can also spot for your artillery but only the FO has the +1 to range in.

Now let’s move onto the Artillery and what the FO has to work with out in the field.

So using your artillery on the enemy infantry is a good start as it can prepare the way for your own infantry or tanks for an assault, but can also pin enemy infantry down, and is very useful if there are any ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles) in the unit. Now if you are going to use your artillery to help launch an assault this can be tricky as it requires some good judgment on the template and ranging in so that you won’t get that danger close or within 4” of the template with any of your teams.
Key to achieving this is one: by having good line of sight from available team leaders and FOs (remember the +1 as this helps against target in cover) so that you can position that marker where you need it, preferably at the back of the enemy platoon. The goal here is not to kill but to keep they heads down so that your infantry can benefit from the reduced fire while launching an assault. Also if you chose not to lunch an assault you can, with the added effect of repeat bombardments, force the infantry to re-roll their  saves.

As most tanks have a top armour of two it makes it hard to destroy them, and the chance of making them bail quite low so it’s best to leave heavy armour to the dedicated anti- tank units like milians and spandrels. The best use in this case is to go after soft skinned AFVs as their top armour is ether one or zero and if it’s a transport a good chance to take out some pesky infantry as well. Also of the opportunity arise direct fire is also good against AFVs as most SPs artillery (self-propelled guns) have a good AT and FP to destroy them.

So that’s two ways of basic use of artillery and our FO, but here is where things can get interesting.

Other types of arty like the rockets, mortars and special shells, deployment of arty, the use of ranged in markers for certain missions and smoke bombardments is where we’re headed next. First of the different types and how to use them.

Rockets are great for coverage and area suppression of a target being a salvo rather than arty, so a bigger template. This is great for getting large blobs of infantry or AFVs that are too spread out for normal arty to target and hit, even better now with the new weapon system like the British MRLS.
Now once again don’t think you will be able to destroy tanks, as rockets tend to have a low AT rating.

Next up the mortar. Mortars like rockets don’t have the AT rating so don’t expect them to take out tanks or AFVs in droves. Best use for these is to lay down some smoke to ether get your infantry in position for an assault or to cover a flank of your precious tanks from enemy AT fire while they advance. Also don’t forget if they are targeting infantry repeat that bombardment next turn to make them more effective.

Now onto the special shells. While all types of special ammo will require you to pay the extra points, what you want to know is it worth taking. Well yes and no, first let’s talk about the types, most arty like the M109s and the 2S3s give you the option to take thing like copperhead rounds or the reds equivalent. The drawback to these is its either direct fire which requires line of sight or an FO to guide it onto the target. Great for tanks as it has a higher AT than normal and gives you a better chance to do damage to them.

Next up minelets, oh boy do I love these! The best job for mines is choke points- good old choke points. For those of you not military-minded a choke point is where you funnel the enemy into a kill zone so you can wipe them out or manage a larger force by a smaller one. So for example West Germans, Leo 2 Company up against a BMP horde. Just seeing this can give a player nightmares but with the use of minelets you can force your opponent to reposition their units around the mines and giving you the best use of your guns. Best used in conjunction with the terrain as well to achieve that choke-point.

Bomblets operate on the same principal as rockets, great for suppression.

Also don’t forget Smoke bombardments as these are great for covering the advance of your forces especially out in the open.

Now for the last use arty the ranged in maker and there deployment. As for deploying your big guns, generally you want them somewhere you get great table coverage and out of line of sight to avoid counter battery fire from enemy arty. Unless your goal is to use the arty as a direct fire platform, I’d
advise against it as your arty is very soft skinned and prone to being destroyed if able to be seen. The other one is the deployment of the ranged in marker at the start of deployment for certain missions, if placed well can give you an advantage from the start. Choosing were to place it can be difficult but if placed in a wood in the enemy deployment zone this can then deter infantry and keep them pinned from turn one, it also helps avoid the +1 to range in for the template if it touches short or tall terrain and smoke.

Another is to place it in the most likely axis of advance of the enemy’s route as it can force them to rethink how to move and allow you to set up that all important choke point. So that is some of the uses for arty and FO’s.

Lastly weighing up the cost of arty to things like air support it can become a difficult choice, especially if you are a Soviet or East German player, NATO players might find it a bit easier. At the end of the day it comes down to what role you want them for, be it cheap mortars and rockets for suppression and smoke or arty for range and the direct fire just in case things start to look bad.

I hope you have enjoyed this rollercoaster ride with me today about artillery and FOs I wish you the best of luck in the future, so get out there play some games try new thing with your arty and remember it’s not just to pin infantry and that they are other ways out they that can give you the tactical edge in the fight.

So enjoy and happy spotting.

Aaron’s Oil War British Part I

with Aaron Te Hira-Mathie

The release of the new British book for World War III set my brain whirring as to a unique theme for a miniature of HRM’s finest. I quickly decided that the obvious standby of the black and green camouflage scheme, whilst iconic and well suited to our notional 1985 conflict, was a little too
pedestrian for my tastes. With the standard scheme discarded I started to tax my memory (and images on the internet) for a look that was still ‘British’ but that would tick the box for being a bit unique.

Because the new Challenger Mk.1 MBT and Warrior IFV plastic kits come with the applique armour as optional parts I considered going with an Operation Granby (1991 Gulf War) look, however I heard murmurs around the office that at least one of the other very talented staff members was
considering this option, so I felt that would be duplication… and that just wouldn’t do, however much I liked the idea of an arid theme.

Armed with a thematic concept I considered that the green and yellow ‘BATUS’ (British Army Training Unit Suffield – Canada) would make for an interesting semi-arid camouflage scheme. But for where?

I looked at my bookshelf, and it hit me, Oil War takes place in an arid environment and is part of our hypothetical mid-1980s war. Eureka!
The backstory for my Brits was born, if any of you heard my interview with Simon Berman from The Brush Wielders Union  you’ll know that I like to create a little backstory as this helps me to develop a look and feel for a
painting project.
The backstory that I developed was that this force would be part of a British task force sent to the Middle East as part of the NATO/Western contingent taking part in the battle to halt the Soviet juggernaut using Iran as an invasion corridor in order to seize vital Oil resources, denying them from western forces embattled on the battlefields of Germany.

I decided this army should look ‘battleworn’, showing the signs of taking part in the bitter combat on the Middle East front. I wanted to do a proof of concept model, however the Challenger 1 models had yet to arrive here in
New Zealand, so I substituted a ‘Stillbrew’ equipped Cheiftain MBT in its place. At the same time I had an interesting idea for a Lynx AH.1 helicopter modified for this theatre of combat.

What follows Is a series of step by step photographs (and brief descriptions) detailing how these two models came into being.

Oil War themed British Main Battle Tank:

Step 1:
was putting together a tank that had some obvious wear as well as a ‘lived in’ look. So I cut off a couple of panels from each of the side armour shirts, and added some spare road wheels, Jerrycans and a cloth roll from my spares box.

Step 2: After building the base of the ‘canvas’ I decided that I wanted the vehicle to be liberally draped in ‘Barracuda’ type camouflage nets much like one sees pictures of British military vehicles on field exercises from the era. So I created the basic shapes of the nets with very thin pieces of Miliput modelling putty in various spots of the hull and turret as well as wrapped around the gun tube, being careful to try and avoid blocking optics or access hatches.

Step 3: With the basic shapes and locations of the camouflage nets in place, I then add the ‘leaf’ type texture of the net by brushing the dried Miliput with heavily watered down white glue. Then I cover these parts of the model with model railway ground clutter, and fix this in place by touching the ‘nets’ with a second coat of even more heavily watered down white glue, before leaving it to dry.

Step 4: I homogenised the colour of the model by spraying it with an all-enveloping coat of Vallejo black surface primer. This stage is a good idea as it gives the following paint something to ‘cling’ to as well as cutting down the likelihood of colour variations.

Step 5: Next I sprayed an all over coat of Vallejo Model Air 71.011 (Dark Green RLM83) as the base green for the camouflage pattern.

Step 6: After the base green dried I added the camouflage pattern using Vallejo Model Air 71.143 (UK Light Stone BS361). In keeping with photographic records the scheme is random, but applied in such a way as to ‘break up’ the shape of the vehicle when viewed from a distance. At this stage I also elected to keep one of the armour skirt sections in the base green to give the impression of a replacement plate having been added but not painted camouflage.

Step 7: After applying the camouflage pattern to the model I highlight the raised details and the edges of the model with an all over drybrush of Vallejo Model Color 70.837 (Pale Sand). While this is a very light colour to highlight the model with, it almost disappears on the finished product, but adds just a hint of definition. It also has the added benefit of slightly fading the two main colours.

Step 8: I start painting the colour of the netting. In this case I went for the brown side out due to the arid nature of the battlefield, so started with a
coat of Vallejo Model Colour 70.921 (English Uniform).

Step 9: Once all of the camouflage net elements are the same colour I liberally coat them with Vallejo Game Color 73.201 (Black Wash) to add some depth to camouflage nets.


Step 10: Once the black wash has completely dried I do a heavy drybrush of Vallejo Model Color 70.921 (English Uniform) so that only the very deepest recesses remain black.

Step 11: The camouflage netting looks fine at this point, however for a little extra definition I lightly drybrush them with Vallejo Model Color 70.873 (US Field Drab), concentrating on the most raised parts of the net texture.

Step 12: Next I paint the tracks and main armament muzzle using Vallejo Model Air 71.251 (NATO Black).


Step 13: I paint the rubberised sections of the front guards with Vallejo Model Color 70.862 (Black Grey).

 

Step 14: To further add to the battleworn appearance of the model I add some chips and scrapes to the camouflage paint. To do this I paint small random shapes in likely high wear areas, such as around the bottom of track skirts, hatches/panels and on some corners, using Vallejo Model Color 70.837 (Pale Sand) on the yellow areas and Vallejo Model Color 70.886 (Green Grey) to simulate the paint wearing down in those spots.

Then I go back and paint spots of Vallejo Model Color 70.822 (German Camo Black Brown) over the previously ‘worn’ paint to simulate the paint wearing down to primer. In order to add some depth to the dark coloured tracks, gun muzzle and rubberised sections, I give these area a light drybrush using Vallejo Model Color 70.866 (Grey Green), concentrating on edges. I also take the opportunity to paint any of the exposed parts of the thermal sleeve surrounding the main gun tube with Vallejo Model Color 70.880 (Khaki Grey).



Step 15: At this point I paint all the smaller details.

  • Optics and Glass: Vallejo Model Color 70.816 (Luftwaffe Uniform)
  •  Cloth Roll/Air Recognition Panel Vallejo Model Color 70.956 (Light Orange)
  • Jerrycans and MG Ammo boxes Vallejo Model Color 70.889 (Olive Brown)
  • Fire Extinguisher bodies and Tail Reflectors Vallejo Model Color 70.957 (Flat Red)
  • Exhaust Pipes Vallejo Model Color 70.822 (German Camo Black), then half covered with Vallejo Model Color 70.826 (German Camo Medium Brown), followed by covering half of the 70.826 with Vallejo Panzer Aces 301 (Light Rust) to make them appear slightly rusty.
  • Commander’s MG Vallejo Model Color 70.863 (Gunmetal Grey)
  • Fire Extinguisher heads Vallejo Model Color 70.865 (Oily Steel)
  • Headlights and Commander’s Spot lamp Vallejo Model Color 70.997 (Silver)

Step 16: I coat the cloth roll, Jerrycans, Thermal Sleeve and MG with Vallejo Game Color 73.201 (Black Wash) After the wash is dry I repaint the Thermal Sleeve, Jerrycans and cloth roll with the same colours as before, making sure to leave the deepest recesses black.

 

Step 17: I spray coat the whole model with a gloss varnish.

 

Step 18: Once the gloss coat has set, I then cover the model with a dark brown enamel wash, in this case Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Dark Brown)

 

Ste p 19: Leaving the enamel wash to dry but not set (Usually 24-48 hours) I then clean most of the enamel off with white spirits using an old brush and cotton buds.

Letting the enamel getting to the mostly dry point, allows you to clean off most surfaces while leaving it deposited in around detail, giving your model shading and delineation. I left the cleaned model to set and dry for 48-72 hours, then gave it a full covering of matte varnish.

 

Step 20: Once the matte varnish dried I then loaded my airbrush with a light dusty colour (in this case Tamiya XF55 Deck Tan – However any light dusty coloured paint will suffice). I then sprayed a very light mist over the entire model to simulate the dust from an arid environment covering everything on the vehicle … be careful with this step, less is most certainly more. With the dusting done, I then concentrated more of this colour on lower portions of the model, to simulate old dust kicked up by the vehicle as it moves.

Step 21: To simulate dust that has been more freshly kicked up by the vehicle I loaded my airbrush up with a slightly darker dust colour (in this case Tamiya XF78 Wooden Deck Tan – however any dust colour will suffice). With this application of fresh dust, I concentrate entirely on the lower surfaces of the model.



Step 22: To finish making this Tank look like it is fresh out of action, I select a few obvious run off points around the model, from which I apply a few streaks of Vallejo Environment 73.824 (Streaking Grime) to simulate various types of grime flowing down angled surfaces from light rain. Then I apply a final coat of matte varnish … and job done.

And the finished product:

WWIII Plastic Aeroplanes

One of the things we’ve been most looking forward to with the release of WWIII: Team Yankee is the release of a selection of plastic aircraft to make bringing World War Three to the skies even easier!

After considering the customer feedback on the various aircraft in the WWIII: Team Yankee range, we explored the options available for getting plastic aircraft onto the table. As it turns out, there were a few ways we could get some of the aeroplanes of WWIII onto the table in plastic, and they included a variety of 1:144 scale model kits. To ensure that we weren’t adding a massive skill jump between Battlefront kits and these third party aircraft kits, it was up to Evan to run through each and every manufacturers kit and test out their ease of assembly, suitability to the theme, final look, and finally we settled on three kits to start with.

All three of these kits are manufactured by Academy, with a few additional resin cast pieces from us to make them suitable for combat in the skies above your WWIII: Team Yankee tabletop.

Being the first of the new WWIII: Team Yankee releases, the British are the first force to get their very own plastic aircraft, the Iron Division Harrier Close Air Support Flight. The famous ‘Jump Jet’ used by the British in World War III could swivel its exhaust nozzles down to allow it to take off vertically. As such, it was based out of supermarket car-parks, football fields, or other concealed locations close to the front line to reduce interference from Soviet intercepting aircraft, and to keep the rate of sorties higher than conventional aircraft.

The Harrier Close Air Support Flight is an effective attack aircraft, boasting both the 30mm Aden gun and the BL-755 cluster bombs. The Harrier’s role in destroying lighter vehicles, helicopters, and dropping cluster bombs on infantry is a key support role, made all the more easy to model, paint, and field, with the new plastic kit.

The SU-25 Frogfoot The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot, known to its crew as the Grach (‘Rook’), is the modern-day equivalent of the legendary WWII Il-2 Shturmovik. It’s tough and sturdy, able to sustain multiple hits and still bring its pilot home. Flying low and slow, it can safely attack enemy troops in close proximity to its own. The SU-25 carries an impressive array of weaponry, including air-to-surface missiles and unguided rockets, on its ten under-wing hardpoints, as well as having a twin-barrelled GSh‑30-2 30mm cannon in the nose. The KH-25 Missiles come as a resin cast set of add-on pieces to make modelling your full kitted out Frogfoot easy.

The Tornado is the third plastic kit being made available right off the bat for WWIII: Team Yankee. The Tornado is a two spruce plastic kit, with a plastic cockipit, and a resin MW-1 Submunition Dispenser cast by us to add to the kit. The main role of the Tornado is as an Interdictor Strike (IDS) aircraft. The Tornado is armed with two internally mounted 27mm Mauser BK-27 auto-cannons and two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for self-defence. It can carry a variety of conventional bombs, as well as the MW-1 submunition dispenser that drops a variety of munitions, including the KB44 anti tank bomblet.

We are really excited to get plastic aeroplanes into WWIII: Team Yankee and we know you’ll all enjoy updating your airforce from hefty metal to sleek, lightweight plastic.

Battle Taxis and Battle Buses

with Mark Nisbet

One of the biggest additions to the British WWIII book (in my own humble opinion), is the inclusion of the FV510 Warrior. A massive improvement over the FV432 in a whole whack of ways. With the addition of the Warrior the British army now have the personnel carriers to support their infantry
that the Warsaw Pact, West Germans, French and others have been enjoying for the longest time. So, how would my play style change if I were to field similar (but not identical, due to the points disparity between the two formations) forces?

The Trusty Old Battle Taxi
My go-to force for WWIII ever since the Brits were released; the British Mechanised Infantry force were rock-solid in defence, able to bring a number of Milan Missiles to bear against their opponent, backed up by the effective Carl Gustav recoilless launchers should any Warsaw Pact medium tanks get foolish enough to assault the dug-in positions. But what of the actual 432s themselves? Well, I will be perfectly honest here, my 432s almost never saw the table; the risk of the paper-thin armour, lack of armament (not even having the ability to mount a Milan), led to them being used as quick-dash taxis if needed. I would mount up, dash them as quickly and safely as I could, before dumping the infantry off next turn and getting the 432s as far away (usually off the table) as I could to prevent them being easy targets for enemy APCs/AFVs.

Strengths: Larger units (by comparison), for less points, plenty of Milan support
Weaknesses: Paper-thin armour, no Milan mount for dual-role ability.

The New, Hot Battle Bus 
BMP-2, Marder, AMX-10P; Now the Warrior joins the ranks of decently armed IFVs. The effective 30mm Rarden gun gives the Warrior a fantastic amount of offensive power, combined with the anti- helicopter ability to keep pesky Hinds at bay.

That’s the armament, but how is the armour? The regular Warrior is 5/3/1; a cut above the other IFVs in the bracket, and will remain one of the better armoured IFVs until the Yankees get the Bradley, and the Soviets get the BMP-3. But wait, ‘regular’? What do you mean ‘regular’? Well, the Warrior did come with an applique armour package, placing spaced armour round the sides. What is this going to do for the Warrior?

[Insert box-out for Applique Armour Rule]
Yes, you read that right, against HEAT weapons Applique Armour gives the Warrior Front and Side Armour of 13! That essentially makes the Warrior almost immune to BMP-1s, RPG-18s, and gives them a fighting chance against RPG-7s. The Applique Armour does come at a premium though, so
your already small Formation will get even smaller.

Strengths: 30mm Gun with anti-helicopter makes it a threat to most enemy forces, armour is effective against small arms, and infantry-carried anti-tank weapons

Weaknesses: A Warrior unit costs as much as much as an FV432 Formation once fully upgraded!
[Insert FV432 Mechanised Company Formation diagram?]

Formation Comparisons
A very quick look at how many points a Formation of each will cost on the table. I’m going to consider 100pt forces, as this points value is regarded as being the standard.

FV432 Formation
FV432 Mechanised Company
FV432 Mechanised Company HQ – 1x SLR rifle team, 1x FV432, Add up to two GPMG SF teams – 3pts
FV432 Mechanised Platoon – 4x GPMG team with 66mm anti-tank, 3x Carl Gustav anti-tank team, 1x
2" mortar team, 5x FV432, 2x Milan missile teams – 9pts
FV432 Mechanised Platoon – 4x GPMG team with 66mm anti-tank, 3x Carl Gustav anti-tank team, 1x
2" mortar team, 5x FV432, 2x Milan missile teams – 9pts
FV432 Mechanised Platoon – 4x GPMG team with 66mm anti-tank, 3x Carl Gustav anti-tank team, 1x
2" mortar team, 5x FV432, 2x Milan missile teams – 9pts
FV432 Mortar Platoon – 4x FV432 mortar carrier – 2pts
Spartan Mobile Milan Section – 4x Spartan MCT – 4pts
FV432 Milan Section – 4x Milan missile team, 2x FV432 – 4pts
Abbot Field Battery – 4x Abbot – 6pts
Chieftain Armoured Troop -3x Chieftain – 18
Medium Recce Squadron
Spartan Recce Squadron HQ – 2x Spartan – 1pt
Scimitar Recce Troop – 4x Scimitar – 4pts
Scorpion Recce Troop – 4x Scorpion – 4pts
Striker Guided Weapons Troop – 4x Striker – 10pts
Support
FV432 – 1x FV432 FOO – 1pt
Tracked Rapier SAM Section – 4x Tracked Rapier – 6pts
Harrier Close Support Flight – 4x Harrier – 10pts

An absolutely rock-solid formation with three large infantry units, and a whack of anti-tank support. I’ve had so many successes with this force in the past, with the majority of Warsaw Pact forces being  unable to deal with the sheer amount of anti-tank assets spewing forth from the dug-in Tommies.

And as a little extra, having the Recce Squadron in support to spearhead forth and deal with enemy scouts and artillery.

Warrior Mechanised Company
Warrior Mechanised Company HQ – 1x SLR rifle team, 1x Warrior – 1pt
Warrior Mechanised Platoon – 4x GPMG team with 66mm anti-tank, 3x Carl Gustav anti-tank team,
1x 2" mortar team, 5x Warrior, 2x Milan missile teams – 20pts
Warrior Mechanised Platoon – 4x GPMG team with 66mm anti-tank, 3x Carl Gustav anti-tank team,
1x 2" mortar team, 5x Warrior, 2x Milan missile teams – 20pts
Warrior Milan Section – 4x Milan missile team, 2x Warrior – 7pts
Abbot Field Battery – 4x Abbot – 6pts
Medium Recce Squadron
Spartan Recce Squadron HQ – 2x Spartan – 1pt
Scimitar Recce Troop – 4x Scimitar – 4pts
Scorpion Recce Troop – 4x Scorpion – 4pts
Striker Guided Weapons Troop – 4x Striker – 10pts
Support
FV432 – 1x FV432 FOO – 1pt
Chieftain Marksman AA Section – 3x Chieftain Marksman – 6pts
MLRS Medium Rocket battery – 3x MLRS, + minelets – 10pts
Harrier Close Support Flight – 4x Harrier – 10pts

Okay, so maybe I haven’t done a complete comparison of the two forces, but I have slipped in some of the newer kit in the book to give them a run-out. As you can see the main formation for the Warrior Company is a lot smaller than the FV432 Formation (and I didn’t even give them the Uparmoured option!). Only two platoons of infantry, the mortars and MCTs are gone, as well as the anchors that were the Chieftains.

What else could I possibly do to the Warrior List to improve it?

  • Drop the Recce Squadron, integrating the Scimitar Troop directly into the Warrior Formation and
    use the other points to round out the formation
  • Drop the Harriers or MLRS to bulk up the Warrior Formation.
    To sum up; would I field the Warrior Company? Damn right I would, the new pretty models, the effectiveness of the IFVs and of course the old ‘rule of cool’ over function all factoring into my choice here. Can’t wait to get them on the table and give Ivan a right good going-over.

The Fox Armoured Car

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.

Time to Get a Chally… Or Three

with Phil Yates, Battlefront NZ

My current British army is based around a Chieftain squadron with a full 14 uparmoured Stillbrew Chieftains, some Swingfire missiles, a couple of Scorpions, a platoon of infantry and a little support. It’s a good little force, and I’m quite happy with its performance. However, my Chieftains have been usurped as the biggest tanks on the battlefield! The Challenger is even bigger!

I know it’s a weird reason to want a new tank, but really any reason will do, and I do want them. At present I’m not looking to totally replace my Chieftains, but I’m quite excited about the idea of adding a troop of three Challengers to my force.

The Challenger is essentially an uparmoured and re-engined Chieftain, so the interesting question is what will I do with them once I have them? The interesting differences are increased frontal armour and increased dash speed. While even my uparmoured Chieftains are still unfortunately vulnerable to Soviet 125mm and NATO 120mm guns, the Challenger shrugs them off with ease. That makes it ideal for holding a flank or occupying an exposed position securing the centre of my line. They still need to worry about being flanked or hit with massive missiles like the A10’s Maverick, but those problems can be mitigated, and meanwhile they can sit there using their big guns at long range without having to worry much about return fire.

Since the kit comes with two variants, I have a choice between the basic model and the version uparmoured with the ROMOR kit as seen in Operation Desert Storm (for those who are curious like me, ROMOR stands for Royal Ordnance Military Operational Requirement, rather prosaic really). I’m really torn here. I like the ROMOR kit because it’s such an ugly bodge –- a big box of extra armour to protect the really thin nose that doctrine said would never be exposed because they’d always be fighting hull down, but at the same time I’m also drawn to the (relatively) clean lines of the basic model. In the end, I think the decision for me comes down to the basic model already having an armour rating of 20 which is enough in most situations, so I’ll save the extra two points a tank.

At nearly twice the price of my Chieftains, the Challengers are going to be interesting to squeeze in to the force. I’m inclined to swap out one Chieftain troop for a Challenger troop from Formation Support, and either play games with a few more points or cut back elsewhere in the force. With Challengers in my force, another exciting new kit, the Warrior armoured personnel carrier, starts to attract my attention. The Warrior would be a straight one-for one swap for my FV432 armoured personnel carriers. The Warrior is faster, better armoured, and most importantly, has the same 30mm gun as the Scimitar light tank. The upgrade doubles the cost of the platoon, reducing my tank strength by a Chieftain, but having the infantry more able to look after themselves with the Warriors to deal with light enemy armour and their Milan missiles for medium armour, it might be worth it. I think I’d have to try them out to see how the extra capability works for me, but that won’t stop me from adding a platoon to my force.

Hmmm, my painting list is starting to grow, especially with the Chieftain Marksman AA tank coming out as well. It’s a Chieftain hull with a honking big AA turret on top, and with my bigger is better theme, I can’t resist it! I’m not sure whether my force needs the Marksman (although now that i think about it, I recall getting slaughtered by Soviet helicopters), but three AA tanks for the cost of a Chieftain sounds good – I’m definitely going to have to play bigger points games, otherwise I won’t have enough Chieftains to actually kill the enemy!

I do think I’ll manage to resist the last two new plastic kits, the Fox armoured car and the MLRS rocket launcher. I’m tempted to get them to make into objectives, but they don’t really fit in the theme of my force. I already have a pair of Scorpions for reconnaissance, so the Fox, although cute, isn’t really needed, despite being a touch cheaper for four. The MLRS is pretty awesome for shutting down infantry with its big Salvo template and each launcher counting as two weapons, but I prefer to focus a little more, so my tanks don’t actually have any artillery support — although thinking about it, two MLRS for the price of another Chieftain might actually be a good idea…

WWIII: British Spotlight

with Wayne Turner, Battlefront NZ

Inside our new British book for World War III: Team Yankee you will find a lot that is familiar for those with the original British book, Iron Maiden. However, we have added a whole lot more including new equipment like Challenger tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, their units and formations, as well as new support and new background.

Formations
World War III: British gives you seven different Formations to field in your Force.

Challenger Armoured Squadron
The first Formation you will encounter is the Challenger Armoured Squadron. This allows to field 2 to 4 Challenger Armoured Troops, with either a Swingfire or Warrior anti-tank unit, a Warrior or FV432 Mechanised Platoon, an Abbot Field Battery, and a Scorpion Recce Troop.

The Challenger was introduced in 1983, and was being introduced to the British Armoured Regiments stationed in West Germany, first with the 1st Armoured Division. It was fundamentally a super-Chieftain, with an improved engine and transmission, improved armour incorporating Chobham composite armour plates, and the TOGS thermal imaging system.
We have also included the option for ROMOR armour, which consisted of explosive reactive armour added to the front hull armour, and Chobham composite skirts in place of the bazooka skirts. This is an armoured package that was developed to apply to the Challenger in times of war to give the tank further protection.

The Challenger still has the powerful 120mm L11 gun like the Chieftain, with its long range and excellent armour penetration.

The new Challenger Plastic model comes with all the parts to either the Challenger or the Challenger (ROMOR).

Warrior Mechanised Company
The second Formation in the book is the Warrior Mechanised Company. The formation contains 2 to 3 Warrior Mechanised Platoons, a Warrior Milan Section or Warrior Anti-tank Section, a Spartan Mobile Milan Section, a FV432 Mortar Platoon, a Abbot Field Battery, and either a Challenger Armoured Troop or Chieftain Armoured Troop.

The mechanised infantry are armed with up to 4 GPMG teams and 3 Carl Gustav anti-tank teams, a 2” Mortar team, and 4 Warriors. Each GPMG and Carl Gustav team is additionally armed with 66mm (LAW) anti-tank weapon. This makes the Mechanised Platoon as good sized unit with plenty of firepower.
The Warrior was also used to carry the battalions Milan anti-tank guided missile teams. These two units either allow you to field the Warrior as a transport of the Milan missiles, or with the Milan mounted on the Warriors to be fired from the vehicle. The Warrior Anti-tank Section has the additional armour of the Up armoured version of the IFV as the Milan mounts were introduced with the additional armour package.

Chieftain Armoured Squadron
The Chieftain Armoured Squadron has a similar organisation to the Challenger squadron, but only has the Swingfire as its anti-tank option. Despite its age the Chieftain is still a formidable tank, and with its Stillbrew armour upgrade is well-protected from many Soviet weapons. The Swingfire Guided Weapons Troop provides the squadron additional anti-tank firepower with its long range and high anti-tank rating.

FV432 Mechanised Company
The bulk of the British mechanised infantry are still mounted in the reliable FV432 armoured personnel carrier. The infantry is organised the same as the Warrior Mechanised Company above.

Like their Warrior mounted comrades they have their own mortar support with the 81mm mortar carrying FV432 APC. These provide them with immediate artillery support.

The FV432 Milan Section adds more Milan missile teams to provide additional anti-tank firepower. The Milan is a very effective medium range anti-tank guided missile with a range up to 36”/90cm and an HEAT anti-tank of 21.

For more Milan missiles they can also field the Spartan MCT Mobile Milan Section. This mounts a two tube Milan missile launcher on a small Spartan APC.

The Abbot Field Battery lends even more in-formation artillery support. These little self-propelled guns mount a 105mm gun on a FV432 chassis providing more punch than the mortar and a handy direct fire anti-tank capability.

Lynx Airmobile Company
The Lynx Airmobile Company provides the British player with a highly mobile formation that can be dropped anywhere on a table to seize an objective or key terrain at short notice.
The formation comes with two Lynx Airmobile Platoons and a Lynx Milan Platoon for anti-tank support. The Lynx Airmobile Platoons have the same composition as the Mechanised Platoon, replacing the armoured transports with Lynx Transport Helicopters.

Medium Recce Squadron
The Medium Recce Squadrons use various Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) or CVR(T) vehicles, including the Scimitar, Scorpion, Striker, and Spartan APC. These light vehicles are idea for probing the enemy’s positions. You can use the Spearhead ability of the Scorpion and Scimitar to infiltrate your main attacking force forward. With the 30mm Rarden of the Scimitar or the 76mm gun of the Scorpion they have enough firepower, or smoke in the case of the Scorpion, to extract themselves for any sticky situation they encounter.

The squadron also contains a Striker Guided Weapons Troop. This troop takes the very effective Swingfire anti-tank guided missile and mounts it on the light weight CRV(T) chassis.

Infantry is provided to the squadron by the Spartan Support Troop which mounts 4 GPMG teams with 66mm anti-tank weapons in 4 Spartan CRV(T) based APCs.

Wheeled recce Squadron
The new Fox armoured car is a reconnaissance vehicle based on many of the design principals as the CRV(T), but obviously wheeled rather than tracked.
The Wheeled Recce Squadron has 2 to 5 Fox Recce Troops and a Spartan Support Troop.

The fox is lightly armoured, but is armed with the excellent 30mm Rarden gun.
Support Units
The British have a good selection of support units that include artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, and aircraft.

The M109 Field Battery lets you field 2 to 8 hard hitting M109 self-propelled 155mm howitzers.

The new MLRS Medium Rocket Battery provides a powerful salvo rocket weapon. To represent the saturation that this devastating weapon system can lay down on its target area each MLRS counts as two weapons when firing a bombardment. They can also fire Minelets to seed a minefield on the tabletop.

To guide these and other British artillery systems on to their targets you can take a FV432 FOO. This specialist observer improves your chances of Ranging In.

Another new Unit is the Chieftain Marksman AA Battery. This was an anti-aircraft turret developed by the British company Marconi as an export weapon that could be fitted a variety of main battle tanks. We have the British adopting the Marksman to fit to the Chieftain. The Marksman turret is armed with a pair of 35mm guns, the same weapons as the West German Gepard. It also as a similar radar system for tracking aircraft targets.

The British also have the Spartan Blowpipe SAM Section that mounts the Blowpipe surface to air missile in a Spartan APC for protection and mobility. For longer range and more destructive force the Tracked Rapier SAM Section mounts the long range Rapier surface to air missile on tracked carrier.

To destroy tanks from the air the British also employ the TOW Lynx HELARM Flight. The Lynx HELARM is armed with the American TOW anti-tank guided missile with an HEAT anti-tank rating of 21. The Lynx HELARM uses the Hunter-killer rule that allows it to use terrain for concealment and remain Gone to Ground unless it shoots.

The final support unit is the Harrier Close Air Support Flight. The Harrier can take off from very short runways, allowing them to operate from car parks and highways. This translates into them turning up on a 3+ rather than a 4+ when your role for Strike Aircraft as they can be stationed closer to the front line. They are armed with cluster bombs, giving them a Salvo template for their bombardment, and a 30mm Aden gun.

Changes
A major change from Iron Maiden is that you can now take a Combat Unit from a Black Box as a Support Unit for your Force. Of course this is only if you haven’t already got one of these units in your Force already in one of your Formations (see page 79 of World War III: Team Yankee)

Models
We already have a lot of excellent mode  ls in the World War III: British range: the plastic Chieftain tank, FV432/Swingfire, Lynx helicopter, Scimitar/Scorpion, and Spartan/Striker; and the metal and resin Abbot, Tracked Rapier, Mechanised Company, Mechanised Platoon, and Milan Group.

Added to all those great models we have also replaced the metal and resin M109 SP Howitzer and Harrier with plastic kits.

More completely new plastic models include the Challenger tank with options to make the Challenger (ROMOR), the Warrior transport with options to make the Uparmoured and Milan anti-tank options, the M270 MLRS rocket launcher, and the FOX armoured car!

The release of World War III: British will also see the release of a metal and resin Marksman turret that combines with Chieftain plastic kit to make the Chieftain Marksman.

Other Content
The book is packed full of additional background for World War III, the development of the Challenger, and a brief history of the British in the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War.

We have expanded our history of World War III to include the exploits of the 1st Armoured Division during the opening weeks of the campaign as the fight to hold the advance of the Soviet 35th Guards Motor Rifle and 7th Guards Armoured Divisions.

We also include three British World War III scenarios and a multi-player mega-game scenario to end the scenarios played as a campaign.

There is plenty inside World War III: British to interest existing players and those new to the British and the world of World War III: Team Yankee. Enjoy!

WWIII: British Launch Coming Soon…

The WWIII: British Live Launch will be kicking off on Friday 14! You can expect to see articles from the WWIII: Team Yankee community celebrating the launch of the first book of the new WWIII: Team Yankee. New unit showcases, hobbying articles, battle reports, as well as the usual historical content, photographs and community content.

Until then, check out some of the earlier content from our many previous launches- there’s plenty of great content to check out!