Firestorm: Stripes

This is part of a local tournament I played in, and the mission was Bridgehead again with me on the defense. This time round, I'm facing off against my old nemesis in the local club. Mutterlieber butts heads with Alexei once again, but this time at Russian room temperature.

Deployed:

HQ – Leopard 1
HQ – SLR rifle team(allied)
2x FV432 Mech Platoon
3 Leopard 2(ambush)
4 LARS w/ minelets

Reserve:

3 Leopard 1
2x2 Luchs
6 Gepards + 2 Redeye teams
4 FV432 Mortar Carrier

My opponent's roster:

HQ T-64
2x3 T-64
Medium BMP-2 infantry
2 Gecko
2 Storm
4 Gaskin
6 Acacia - Krasnopol
BMP-2 OP

Allied East Germans
HQ T-72M
2x3 T-72M
4 Gaskin

His infantry immediately dismount and form the spearhead of his main thrust on the left backed up by half of his MBTs and the Storms. The remaining half move into cover in the center as a firebase, while the BMPs don't move at all. Unfortunately my LARS are exposed(as much my mistake as the constraints of my DZ) and I lose most of them right off the bat. The infantry platoon on the left takes a pounding but loses only a single MG team.

The Leo 2s reveal themselves and take cover behind thin walls while my Gepards and Redeyes arrived from reserve right away. My Leo 1 CO blitzes out to spot for the LARS to drop minelets on the BMPs(an unwise decision as it turns out because my opponent had no intention of moving the BMPs). I focus my actual shooting on the easier to kill T-72Ms first. One unit is immediately deleted(leaving the East German CO by himself) while the other loses a tank with another bailed. The Gepards remove the Storms but side shots only bail a T-64. FV432s and Gepards harass the infantry but only kill a single team

His infantry rally easily and disarms the only relevant minefield while continuing the advance. His tanks on remount and those on the left flank move to draw a bead on the Gepards. My infantry casualties continue creeping up while 2 Gepards go up in flames, but more importantly the strelkovy are positioning to assault my infantry. Meanwhile on the other side of the table the T-64s try to adjust to deal with the Leo 2s and get stuck. However I lose 2 of them to snake eyes on 2+ saves. This more or less sets the tone for what I thought would be a tank duel. My CO also gets popped

My Leo 1s arrive and start picking off BMP-2s. Milans and the Leopard 2 take out the East German CO and a T-64 in the center. The Gepards with nowhere to go try to knock out the enemy infantry but only take out a single team due to shite firepower checks

The damage from the continuous Krasnopol bombardment continues to increase while the enemy infantry form up to storm my line. My exposed Gepards continue to get hammered as well. In the center the remaining T-64s crunch on something in the snow, leaving only a single one active. The sole remaining Leo 2 doesn't do much other than draw his attention.

The first Luchs patrol arrives. I send them on an attempt to assassinate the OP calling in the Krasnopols, which fails. The Leo 1s on the other hand are able to make use of the distraction provided by the Leo 2 to charge straight across the table. Before the T-64s can turn to face the new threat the Leo 1s run into their sides and knock out them out, taking their CO with them.

His infantry finally get stuck in while the T-64s and 72s chew up the assortment of LARS, FV432s and Gepards in the way. The British platoon on the receiving end breaks and now the enemy is on the doorstep. On the other end of the table, a lucky shot from a BMP finally sends off the last Leo 2.

My hand is now forced. The other platoon charges out of their foxholes to drive the Soviet footsloggers away. The Leo 1s go on a rampage in the enemy rear, deflowering the Acacias. By throwing all my light vehicles including my Gepards at the enemy infantry I finally eliminate them and send the BMP gunline away in the process

In the end, the Leo 1s weren't fast enough to help the PBIs keeping the Soviets away. Their tanks stay out of line of sight of my remaining Milans and pound the new wave of men. Even with the encouragement of their CO they still rout, leaving the game solely in the hands(or treads) of the Leo 1s. Before I can get them close enough to make a difference however, they get knocked out with boxcars from the T-72s.

With that I throw in the towel as I have nothing left to stop the MBTs with. This was an extremely close game though; bailing 2 T-64s would have caused the entire REDFOR to quit the table.

Hauptmann Mutterlieber's singed face smarted with the cold even more than usual. The fire suppression system of his Leopard 1 had worked well enough to allow him and his crew to dismount safely. On the other hand, defeat stung more deeply than the light shrapnel cuts he had sustained.

'Arschlochen' was still silhouetted by the smouldering hulks of ruined tanks. As Mutterlieber led the survivors of his command away towards safety, he tried to console himself with the fact that the engagement had cost the Soviets as dearly as his own Kampfgruppe. It did little to make him feel better.