Tuesday 28 July 2015

Flames of War World War III - Team Yankee

Hello All

Welcome to an exclusive sneak peak at the new Flames of War era. Back in February JP talked about Cold War Gone Hot as the new period for Flames of War this year, well it seems details are starting to come out and we have a name for this exciting new period. It's called Team Yankee.
Flames of War World War Three is based on the novel by Harold Coyle of the same name.

Here is a picture of the art work for the book's cover.
If we can take anything from this, the game should be action packed! All of us at Breakthrough Assault are really looking forward to this new period.

More details coming soon.

Ben

43 comments:

  1. Aargh, this could be the straw that breaks the camels back and gets me in to FoW. Happy memories of playing the computer game on the Amiga (showing my age).

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  2. I must say the cover art at least is suitably over the top. I've been promising myself not to start any more FoW armies. But I guess it's unavoidable now, I really need to get myself some "modern" Soviets

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  3. I hope that this won't play just like MW or LW WWII with hordes of Soviet conscript tanks with hen & chicks against veteran US tanks expert at firing on the move. I have already played that type of game one time too many in a WWII setting. If I'm forced to field three times the amount of tanks than my opponent, I'm simply not interested.

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    1. From the little I know tactically it plays nothing like WW2. The Soviets aren't an untrained horde.

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    2. Well the period certainly has my interest then! Soviet motorized infantry with some tank support could be quite refreshing to play. Of course it will all depend on how much interest there is locally, but my guess is that it wouldn't be hard to at least get someone to play the "Good Guys"

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  4. Cold War Gone Hot is not my cup of tea but I hope it will be enjoyed by those with an interest.

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  5. Do you guys have an idea of the scale? I'm hoping it's 6mm, but think they will probably stick with 15mm.

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    1. I would think it would be 15mm, it's what they are know for.

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  6. So is the first book called Team Yankee? or the whole period?

    It would be weird if the whole period was named after such a specifically American thing.

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    1. I believe the whole period is named Team Yankee but don't hold me to that.

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    2. Team Yankee is a 1983 novel that the game will be based off of

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  7. Weird choice. But we'll see what happens. Not that it makes any great difference.

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    1. It might just be the first book, but thats the impression I got. But then it does say WW3 in the title

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    2. Not a weird choice at all as long as many of us know about Team yankee book, in fact I think is a big hook to many.
      i´ll figure it will keep the Nam schedule (Ia drang, Tropical ligthing,tour of duty...)as more armies and lists enter in play.
      Starting with Yanks/Germans aganist Soviets as in the book, for example

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  8. Great news indeed. And there are so many options for armies too.
    I want a Soviet Airborne and Naval Infantry, probably followed by a Bundeswerhr force!

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    1. I want Soviet Paras who have Hovercraft transports!

      I think I will do Soviets first then either British or Germans next year as per JP's state of the nation report. Love Chieftain/Challenger I or Leopard II's it's win win on that front!

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    2. I just re-read "Red Army" too, so I'm all hopped up on WW3 goodness. Maybe I need to mix it up a bit with some reserve German Territorialheer units with older M48s etc

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  9. Maybe I could build the ORMO from Twilight 2000's The Free City of Krakow. :D :D

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  10. I'll see your HINDS and raise you A-10s.....

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    1. Ill see your A-10 and raise you Su-25.....

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  11. I'm excited. My 8 year old son will probably get Brits when they come out and I'll do Soviets.

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  12. Great book from "back in the day" Odd thing about Harold Coyle and his Military fiction, He always uses fictitious names for his units. The 11th Airborne division at Ft. Bragg, Who could that be....And the title of the book "Team Yankee, A team is a Company with both Infantry and Armor platoons and so is the equivalent to saying "Yankee Company" and they actually tend to run A through E. No big deal, just a curiosity with Mr. Coyle's work and I'm guessing He was a little cheaper than Mr. Clancy! Either way I'm in. BTW anyone remember the GDW hex map Team Yankee game?

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    1. The author of Team Yankee was and probably still is a long time Flames of War player...so.. too easy. There used to be several WWII scenarios up on the BF sight written by them. And yes I remember the game, but never played it.

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    2. Major Harold Coyle, US Army Armor Officer has written a number of armored force books to include 1 about a war in the Gulf, a war with Mexico and a War in the United States fighting a National Guard force, Blue on Blue any one.

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  13. The sneak peak is literally just the cover of the book? Well I guess it's good to see, I was hoping for some more information on how it played, armies being released. That sort of thing.

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  14. Excited - going into this in a big way! Would love to do a BAOR force...

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  15. Oh boy this is the one I trained for (US Army 1978 to 98) This one may get me....)

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    1. UK BAOR 74 to 86, with UNFCYP as well as NI, this leaves some spine shiver, but I reckon on a Eastern German force in Russian T62 or T64's, v the Western German stuff, role on my Leopards, the Boiled and Roasted arrive in Scorpion/Scimitars, roll on. Plus General Hackett's 1984 book to reread again...

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  16. The only thing I think I'll miss is the Apaches, unless they decide to put them in anyways (They were not in the inventory until '86). Whatever. I like Cobras too and the 20mm was easier to maintain anyways :p.

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  17. amazing, just finished the book for 20th time. one of the best reads ever !!. cant wait for this one.

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  18. I'm a noob to FoW and miniature wargames in general, but this is the game I've been waiting for. Hope it comes sooner rather than later.

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  19. I hope we'll a lot more than just armoured combat, in future releases. Since they are using "Team Yankee" as a basis, they have within the world of General Sir John Winthrop Hackett's "The Third World War: The Untold Story" by extension as one is set within another.

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  20. looking forward by looking back?

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  21. I am really excited by ‘Team Yankee’, it reminds me of many enjoyable hours playing World in Conflict on the PC (now I need to try again to learn how to play Wargame: Red Dragon…. gah that game is difficult).

    What I would love to see is a nice big range, I particularly would like to see the NVA (Nationale Volksarmee) of East Germany, as that would be a fun force to collect. I do have some worries though:

    1) The Nuclear question. I think there are various scenarios we can consider, and I think it was a truism that conventional warfare would occur before escalation to nuclear. I think the idea was that continental forces could hold out for 72hrs in the event of a Soviet assault, so maybe all of our games will be occurring in those 72hrs? Another possibility is that we accept a reluctance of both sides to actually ‘push ze button’ (anyone seen that Yes, Prime Minister episode? Where the PM slowly rules out possible locations where he would press the button? Hilarious, but apt as well). After all, it is feasible that neither side would use the weapons. Also, we could potentially have battles fought in the midst of irradiated zones…. after all, I think both sides developed CBRN defence, and most vehicles were sealed or prepared for that as well(?)

    2) The storyline. It’s all too easily for Cold War alternative scenarios to seem like propaganda, or to buy into propaganda. Take for example the Team Yankee story (a summary of which I have read on Wikipedia, so don’t take me as an expert), I note that the Soviets launch the war (evil empire, boo!) from a position of economic weakness; and promptly suffer lots in conventional conflicts with the West as their forces mutiny or fail to push the attack. The forces of the West fight hard and well, and suffer no serious defeats and/or accidents or other miscommunications. I fear that the scenario will be the same, where angelic gung-ho forces of democracy and freedom (rolls eyes) can DO-NO-WRONG whilst the evil forces of the communist totalitarian dictatorships hate what they’re doing and lack the will to fight. (As an added thing, note the front cover of Team Yankee……. glorious Abrams charging and destroying everything in their path! Woot, yeah! :( )

    Of course, I don’t speak as someone who was alive in that time (heh, I was born just as the Soviet Union fell) but as a historian I tend to take these things with a pinch of salt. And I would like my wargames to do so too…. especially as I’m most interested in collecting Warsaw Pact, I don’t want to be fielding stuff with flaws built in them that come from an ideologically skewed perspective. I look forward to seeing what they do with it in any case. Just colour me optimistically cautious.

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    1. Unless Battlefront suddenly sees the light we will have another Conscript Horde of Soviet hen and chick tackling dummies. This has been their approach all through WW2, and AIW I doubt it changes now. Can you say "Ideologically skewed perspective" even about WWII.

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    2. I have a feeling you will be presenly surprised eric.

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  22. There is only one problem with this game that Beasts of War has pointed out... the end game is going to be nuclear holocost

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  23. The book (both Team Yankee and The Third World War) does have a nuclear release but I won't spoil the ending for you.

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  24. World War 2 ended with a nuclear release. Few games include it.

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  25. World War 2 ended with a nuclear release. Few games include it.

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