Fight for the Bridges: Team Yankee 6mm (with experimental rules modifications)

Don't get me wrong: Battlefront's Team Yankee is a great game and we've had a lot of fun with it. But there are some aspects that could be, from my perspective, improved. In the ongoing quest to find my perfect set of company-level modern rules, I reworked the game with a bit of homebrewing and we play tested some of these ideas just the other day.

What were the rules modifications?

The two most important things I'm looking for in a wargame at the moment are, firstly, meaningful decision making with limited knowledge in an uncertain tactical situation; and secondly enough interactivity of gameplay that keeps both players involved to the greatest extent throughout the game.

• To create the uncertain tactical situation I wrote a system of numbered counters, or blinds, with spotting distances that took into account movement rates and concealment. I decided against allowing players to have dummies because gamers are all too old for that.
• To improve the game's interactiveness (which isn't a word apparently, though 'interactivity' is), I borrowed most of the action-reaction system from Ambush Alley's Force on Force platoon-level modern combat rules. Players still took turns to move and fire with their units, but the 'non-initiative' player's units could react to their opponent's actions.

Further rules modifications included units and formations being 'not in Good Spirits' at half-strength, infantry not being allowed to dig in during the game (trenches being terrain features deployed with units instead), artillery held off-board but still able to be hit in counter-battery fire and air strikes, and the removal of the entire Movement Orders section of the rules (they are mostly substituted by units able to react and fire at any point in their movement).

The Battle

Me and a mate play-tested the rules modifications in an 80 point meeting engagement, with his US Marines and my National Volksarmee attempting to seize objectives at table edges on opposite ends of two roads crossing a wide and impassable north-south oriented river. We each started with two blinds on the board with the rest arriving on standard Team Yankee Reserve rolls each turn. I took up position on two treed hills overlooking both bridges while my opponent charged his counters boldly toward the bridges.

The lead two units were reconnaissance jeeps. I brought out three BRDM-2s on a hill overlooking both bridges and three T-55AM2 on another hill overlooking only the southern bridge. The Marine jeep team on the southern bridge, confronted with armour unsurprisingly ran off the road and hid behind an embankment, frantically raidioing for support. At the northern bridge, 'Team Hasselhoff', the Marine jeep unit on the northern autobahn bridge raced across, while savaging the BRDM-2s with .50 cal and 40mm fire (I had foolishly deployed AT-5 Spandrel-armed vehicles, hoping to get shots off at Marine armour).

While a a trio of Marine M60s came to the rescue of the battered Marine jeeps at the southern bridge, Team Hasselhoff's rush was stopped by the arrival of a BMP-1 recon platoon. Team Hasselhoff was able to take out a BMP with the 40mm but, seeing the road to the objective blocked and with more Communist forces approaching, decided to pull back across the river. While two jeeps high-tailed it for their own side, one chose to hold and cover the retreat. This heroism cost the jeep crew their lives, but ensured the escape of their comrades. Before they went down they managed to destroy a second BMP before being raked with MG fire from the third (which promptly withdrew from the battle itself). Team Hasselhoff had destroyed or driven off three BRDM-2 Spandrels and three recon BMP-1s at the cost of one jeep.

Team Hasselhoff runs into East German armoured recon but give the enemy a bloody nose (BMP-1s from CinC miniatures, roads from Wargame Print via Wargames Vault).

One of the jeep crews fights a courageous rearguard action to allow his teammates to escape.

By now, two Marine M60s (having lost one to a T-55AM2) had crossed the bridge and found themselves isolated in a small village, exchanging fire with an additional two platoons of T-55AM2s that appeared on another hill, and a Motorschutzen platoon on the nearest hill. After a desperate fight, during which they destroyed about five of the enemy tanks and two BMPs, they lost a second M60. The remaining crew, outnumbered, surrounded and with enemy infantry advancing toward them, abandoned their tank, dropping a thermite grenade down the hatch, and then found a good house to hide in.

T-55AM2s destroy an M60 while it crosses the bridge (GHQ miniatures).

Marine M60s advance across the southern bridge while recon jeep crews hunker down and call in artillery strikes (GHQ miniatures, 3D printed German buildings).

The M60s get cut off on the opposite bank and fight for their lives (M60s are GHQ, the buildings Scotia Grendel).

North of the bridges, the river bifurcated into smaller, fordable waterways amongst forested hills. This is where I decided to make full use of my hidden movement blinds by pushing up a T-72M company and a second Motorschutzen platoon. As the T-72Ms crossed the first river however, I realised I'd made a mistake leading with the T-72Ms in close terrain, especially with the 'action-reaction' rule changes I'd made and my units' tendency to fail reaction tests. One T-72M was destroyed by an anti-tank missile as it crossed the river. Suddenly about 50 Marines came charging through the trees on all sides firing SMAWs and destroying or capturing the remaining five T-72Ms in a close assault. The supporting Motorschutzen platoon attempted to counterattack but was bloodily beaten off, pursued and annihilated by the unstoppable Marines.

Marines assault the T-72Ms (GHQ miniatures, Battlefront Ranged In marker).

The Marines cross the river and smash the enemy infantry counterattack (GHQ infantry and CinC BMP-1s).

The battle looked pretty bad for my East Germans - I'd lost six T-72Ms and a lot of motorised infantry for basically no hits in return, and several T-55AM2s, BRDMs and BMPs in return for a few M60s and jeeps. I still had something up my sleeve: a few more tanks and an open autobahn bridge. I rushed a trio of T-72Ms across the bridge toward the objective: if I could grab it I could win the game and force the Marines to fall back. However, the advance was stopped cold by accurate man-portable AT missile fire.

At the same time, several enemy helicopters unexpectedly landed a full Marine platoon behind my lines directly on the southern road objective. It would be game over next turn if I couldn't turn my remaining Motorschutzen around and break the Marines. I hit them with everything I had: an artillery bombardment, tank fire, and a ferocious and victorious assault by my remaining Motorschutzen platoon. My T-55AM2s failed their cross checks and could only offer fire support. Despite everything I threw at them, enough Marines survived to hold the objective and win the game.

Marines land by helicopter behind NVA lines to capture the objective...

... despite an immediate response and successful assault from nearby NVA Motorschutzen.

Bitter homebrew: Thoughts on the rules modifications

Overall the homebrew modifications to the Team Yankee rules and borrowings from other wargames worked well enough and gave a fun, believable and challenging game. Reaction fire made every turn deadly and decisive and felt pretty realistic, though evidently needs work with regard to assaults, somehow avoiding confusing reaction-chains, and possibly being a bit fairer on lower-skilled WARPAC who are already easy to hit (It might have been just bad luck, but my NVA failed probably every reaction test they took and were hit hard by enemy fire even in their own turn).

Movement using blinds worked better than the action-reaction system and created the uncertain tactical situation I wanted to see. Next time though I will simplify spotting distances and restrict movement to a standard (probably 10") regardless of actual unit movement.

The offboard artillery and counter-battery fire got very limited testing and the infantry Digging In rules didn't make an appearance because of the nature of the battle. Things to focus on next time.