WW3 - Monday 23 February

[steven]

Its 1984.

The Falklands War didnt happen in 1982. Mrs Thatcher was not returned as PM in 1983. The Soviet Union didnt learn from the experience of a small, declining colonial power sending forces 7000 miles to retake a small group of islands without air superiority.

The Labour Party led by Prime Minster Michael Foot has been elected on a promise to decomision the Polaris ballistic missle system, remove US nuclear weapons from the UK and reduce the convential forces.

The European Countries of NATO also experience a surge in support for left leaning political parties, and NATO starts to strain.

The Soviet Union watches. With declining domestic living standards and increasing restlessness amongst the states of the Warsaw Pact, the Marshalls see 1984 as the zenith of their power.

It is time to act.

June 10th 1984 ......

Despite marshorka, the russian ability to conceal, western intelligence picks up an increase in radio traffic and troop movements. Is it an exercise or something more sinister?

June 12th 1984 .....

NATO moves onto a war footing and the USA launches REFORGER - the reinforcement of continetal Europe.

June 13th 1984 ......

The Warsaw Pact attacks across the West / East German border, through Czechoslavkia and into neutral Austria. Heavy fighting takes place with the advancing 23 Soviet tank divisions fighting against 11 NATO ones. As expected the attack makes the greatest progress in Northern Germany where the terrain and weaker British / Belgian / Dutch and German forces give ground.

June 16th 1984 ......

A Soviet OMG (Operational Manuover Group) knifes through the shattered 1st Belgian Corps. Its orders are simple - drive for Frankfurt. Taking hits from West German Alpha jets and BM105 helicopters the group continues a relentless drive, leaving causualties behind. By the time dawn breaks on June 16th its down to a mixed armour force of 40 armoured vehicles - mostly tanks but supported by mechanised infantry, close support artillery and SPAA.

NATO responds to try and hold the assualt.

Major Tarquin De'Frontenberry known as Damon must deploy a small blocking force of NATO troops at a river crossing.

What will happen?

We shall see on Monday!

[steven]

The Soviet force is driving hell for leather and they aint taking prisoners!

[steven]

British Army Lynx's have ambushed the column and picked a few tanks off with one loss of their own. NATO screening forces are falling back to the stop point. Where is Damon?

[steven]

"We just couldnt stop them! Soviet armour punching for Hannover. We'd better scrape together another blocking force before T80's are competing for space with the trams on the Kropche Strasse!"
Major "Matt"Ponytale of Blue and Royals

Matt and Steven were in command of the BAOR force covering the important river crossing.
2 x Challengers
1 Platoon of mechanised infantry in FV432 with Carl Gustav (essentially a Bazooka) plus 1 Milan ATGW (Anti Tank Guided Weapon)
1 FV438 - an FV432 infantry carrier equiped with the elderly yet powerful Swingfire ATGW
1 Scimiat light tank - combat debut!

Peter, Ove and Mike were the Soviet players. Their orders were simple - drive up the long table, cross the bridge and exit off the table edge that leads to Hannover.

They had 9 tanks - 3 x T80 with reactive armour and 6 x T64B without reactive armour.
Plus 2 infantry platoons mounted in BTR70s
1 x SAU122 - a self propelled artillery vechicle operating in a direct fire role
1 X BMD1 - air portable recon vehicle - looks like a small BMP1 MCV
1 x BRDM2 which was acting as Battle Group HQ

The game progressed with the Scimitar quickly being KOed. British infantry ambushed the Soviet infantry carriers at close range with Carl G and Law66. Good kills BUT the Challengers were not getting kills, the FV438 failed a couple of times to launch a missle.

The British were quickly all destroyed and it was a total victory for Peter, Mike and Ove.

They had sustained losses but 3 tanks knocked out was not enough.

So, 6 tanks with infantry riding on them, are driving hard for Hannover!

Can Damon stop them in 2 weeks when we revisit this??
1

[mike]

Yep, the Challenger's gunners took a while to get their eye in but when the did they started killing the T64s with far too much efficiency for comfort
(really big guns that treated our armour as paper)

Add that to the fact that our initial shots were just bouncing off of the Challenger's armour and it was all looking a bit hairy there for a while

However, with four times as many guns firing back at them, the NATO tanks quickly lost their advantage
When our third volley knocked out one of them and sent the other badly mauled and running for it's life, there was really nothing left to stop the glorious Soviet advance

Nothing now stands in the way of the advance International Socialism and the inevitable collapse of the decedent, imperialists Western powers

Today Hannover
Tomorrow Germany
Next week the world

[mfranklin666]

Attachments:

1. The Red Peril Advances
2. The Defenders of Democracy

Attachments:

[steven]

Superb pcitures Matt

Mike - i love your comments!

Good game chaps!

Now next Monday i have another eye clinic with surgery required so, if this causes pain then i probably wont come along and do the battleships game but i will post next monday to say if i am coming along or not.