Tank Aces Rolls Out

 Saturday, 28th May, 2016 at Glasgow Games Group

The Soviets await

  The early morning dew was glistening on the grass in the Belorussian field which harboured a small troop of Soviet T-34 tanks. Sitting atop of one them was Kommissar Boris Prokofiev, his boots hanging over the motto white-washed onto the side; "к победе" He accepts an offered hip flask of throat-numbingly strong vodka from his gunner, Gregor.

 "Thanks, Gregor... Bah, it'll rot my gut before it begins to taste good."

 He complains, but drinks it down regardless. A young corporal approaches, the radio operator of tank 2306. He snaps off a quick salute to the unimpressed political officer.

 "Comrade Kommissar, I was told all Kommissars were recalled by Stavka..."

He blusters out, uncertainly. The man atop the tank chuckles and removes his hat, wiping the red star with his sleeve before returning it to his head.

"Ah, but you see lad, I've got a letter from mummy, so it's okay, right lads?"

He assures the young man, whose face glows bright red from embarrassment as the men around him laugh heartily at the joke. Their laughter is cut off by the return of one of their scouts, out of breath and covered in mud.

"Comrade Kommissar, enemy tanks have been spotted approaching Salihorsk! Command says you're to meet them head on."

He manages to pant out as he takes a swig from an offered canteen.

"Hear that, lads? Uncle Iosef wants us to give those fascist bullies a bloody nose! And I'm going to be the first to do it. Who wants to beat me?"

The Kommissar shouts out to the small cheering men as they clamber into tanks and engines roar into life.

"Za Stalina! Za Rodinu! Urah! Urah!"

Echoes across the clearing as the Tankovy move out to engage the encroaching Germans.

Kommissar Prokofiev in "к победе"

An Intermission - Carronade 2016

Off to Falkirk

 

 And so begins convention season in Scotland. First on the agenda is Carronade, the large wargames show run by Falkirk District Wargames Club. I've been attending Carronade for about a decade now in both Ranger and spectator form. The show takes up two decently sized gymnasium halls, and two general purpose rooms, as well as a large concourse which runs through the downstairs of the venue. This year I was in attendance to run a few demonstration games of Team Yankee. Sadly, as with prior years, I was given a table in the smaller general purpose room, up some stairs and out of the way of the majority of the General Public. Regardless, I set up my table and began the day, ready to show people the way to hold back the Red Tide, or push forward the might of the Soviet Army.

The table, ready to go with the well made Battlefront supplied mat, perfect for demonstration games.

The day begins slowly, but picks up pace

 Starting at 10am, there was a very slow trickle of people through the upper hall, many of which were other attendees running their own game, stall or bring and buy table. It was almost an hour before the day truly got underway and some players came my way for a demonstration. A good friend of mine, Terry, and his son who always show their support at these events by giving the game a go, came up and took on a force each, Terry opting for the Americans, while his son took charge of the Soviets.

T-72s ready to roll

 The Soviets got the initiative and rolled forward into covered positions behind the houses, opting the leave off the Hind for reinforcements later on. This move was answered by the Abrams skirting forward to the corners of the factory objective and firing off some shots, knocking out a T-72 for their troubles. That's where the luck ended for the Americans, as the T-72s returned fire, a poor couple of rolls later and the might M1's were left smouldering wrecks.

Terry sees his luck let him down as the Russians knock off his tanks

To get a feels of the helicopters, they were brought on for a few exchanges, showing their decent anti-tank ability and adaptability to turn them into anti-helicopter weapons. First game down, Soviet win and a happy boy getting one over on his father.

Later Games

 Sadly, for the Russians, this early win was to be their only of the day, as the next game started up and the weight of the American firepower proved too much. The four shots, hitting for the most part on 4+ led to the Russian tanks having a very short life indeed, and even the intervention of the Hind was not enough to keep the Russians in the game.

The Hind engages the Cobra in some anti-helicopter fire, as the T-72s bravely try to hold the objective

The Americans won comfortably, with even a few minor advantages given to the Russian player still counting for nought, as the Abrams rolled the T-72's aside with minimal effort.

Lunch-Time

War is tiring work, every soldier needs fed, and so I did, leaving a useful sign for anyone looking for me:

First contact with other Flames of War Scotland members

 On the Flames of War Scotland group,  you tend to meet everyone who pipes up at one point or another. In this country of barely over 6 million people, we're quite a close group. However, there's been a few guys commenting for a while who I never had the pleasure to meet. I finally got to, this Saturday as I ran them both through a game of Team Yankee. Lloyd Watson and Dave Reekie are quite active within the community, but sadly I had never met either in person, until Saturday. Both showed a varying interest in Team Yankee, with Lloyd already fielding a small Soviet company himself. Sadly for them, they both chose to play the force of the Soviets, and even with small advantages given their way, neither were able to break the back of the Americans.

Lloyd engages with the Americans, to no avail

The day slowly wound down, with every player complimenting the fast, easy and enjoyable play style, and a few compliments about my painting, Team Yankee will be returning to the upcoming conventions in Scotland over the Summer and into Autumn. Stay tuned for more AAR's and comments. But for now, enjoy the remainder of the pictures taken on the day.