I recently got a game of A Fistful of TOWs 3 with Glenn and Jason. This report will be reasonably short on the text as I'm writing a few days after the event. We played the game on a ping pong table (about 9x5) running across the width. Glenn had a USMC armoured task force while I fielded two Swedish armoured battalions. We were going up against a Jason's Soviets consisting of a T-80B armoured regiment and a BMP-2 motorised regiment.
We're all still learning the game and have struggled previously to get the terrain mix right (open ground tends to favour the long range NATO MBTs while close terrain can let the Soviet numbers get in close and do huge damage). Thankfully this game we seem to have found the right balance. The game felt right, with Jason concerned about exposing his T-80s over the open ground while NATO found it difficult to get shots on well placed Soviet battalions. In the end the Soviets prevailed, the BMP-2s encircling and then bypassing a Swedish mechanised infantry battalion on the NATO right to take one of their objective roads. Soviet artillery demolished our sole M1A1 company and the Swedish S-tanks got annihilated when they left cover to chase the Soviets in the late game. The game was called after the NATO armour evaporated (probably around turn 7). Lesson learnt - outside of cover S-tanks are rubbish. Low armour, a 105mm gun and lack of stabilisation make them difficult to use against 80s-era Soviet armour unless camping the woods on overwatch! Overall a fun day. :)
We're all still learning the game and have struggled previously to get the terrain mix right (open ground tends to favour the long range NATO MBTs while close terrain can let the Soviet numbers get in close and do huge damage). Thankfully this game we seem to have found the right balance. The game felt right, with Jason concerned about exposing his T-80s over the open ground while NATO found it difficult to get shots on well placed Soviet battalions. In the end the Soviets prevailed, the BMP-2s encircling and then bypassing a Swedish mechanised infantry battalion on the NATO right to take one of their objective roads. Soviet artillery demolished our sole M1A1 company and the Swedish S-tanks got annihilated when they left cover to chase the Soviets in the late game. The game was called after the NATO armour evaporated (probably around turn 7). Lesson learnt - outside of cover S-tanks are rubbish. Low armour, a 105mm gun and lack of stabilisation make them difficult to use against 80s-era Soviet armour unless camping the woods on overwatch! Overall a fun day. :)
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| Swedish APCs prepare to drop off infantry in the ruined town |
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| S-tanks! Their doom would be leaving this forest... |
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| Marine recon scouts the main road. Glenn forgot his LAVs so Luchs had to stand in... |
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| So... many... BMPs |
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| T-80Bs |
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| They get how many tanks??? |
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| USMC M-60 Pattons support Swedish infantry occupying the woods,,, |
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| And also support the infantry in the town |
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| M1A1s had a great position on the hill. TOW2 armed humvees lurk far left. |
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| NATO's most powerful unit on the field was supressed and eventually crushed by concentrated Soviet artillery |
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| T-80s advancing |
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| Soviet infantry threaten the Swedes. The Swedes held a firm position and were basically untouchable in these woods... so Jason just drove around. Once the M60s were gone the BMPs had a clear run to the objective. |
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| M60s held in the centre with Swedish infantry until BRDMs used a hill to slowly missile the company to death |
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| Jason used the hedges effectively to hide his T-80s from NATO's superior range |
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| Not many T-80s left on the left after TOW humvees tore apart nearly a battalion in one turn. Guided missiles are deadly if given an opportunity! |
Nice report and great looking models and table.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Very cool batrep. Might have to look into these rules.
ReplyDeleteThanks gentleman. FFT3 is pretty nice, I'd like to do WW2 using it one day.
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