Saturday 15 December 2018

Cold War on the Edge of Europe : Cold War Commander

We have had a small European Cold War project running in the background and managed to get two small forces on the battlefield last weekend. Early days so not part of a larger campaign or with any specific historical context. But a small Soviet strike force has broken across the border, a strong British tank force has been sent to counter this aggressive action.
 A squad of Soviet T62’s push across into the security zone
With them are Soviet mobile artillery 2s1’s
In the distance BMP’s carry infantry towards the small village and more T62’s fan our on the right flank
But the advance has not gone unnoticed and British Centurions have already gained the high ground
It seems too easy for them to pick of the Russian tanks which appear slightly outdated !
Worse still for the Soviet commander on the ground a cloud of dust heralds the arrival of a Squadron of Chieftain Mk5’s whilst they come under fire they seem impervious to the Soviet tanks !!
Using the town as cover the Soviets on the right flank push forward towards the copse on the small hill
Following up the Chieftains are British infantry but they are foolishly out in the open and the Soviets call in an artillery strike
Out in the open the infantry are decimated in front of their commanders eyes 😱
Overview of the battlefield, smoke can be seen rising from isolated Soviet tanks which are burning 
Centurions in the Wood continue to exchange fire with the Soviet tanks in the fields below them
Period shot
The Soviets have now made it to the edge of the woods
But they are soon picked off by the Chieftains now in the village
The remaining T62’s duel with British AT rocket launchers but generally get the worst of it
Having been pinned down the Soviet infantry rushes forward into the village
Whilst Soviet long range Spandrel ATGW takes on the centurions at long range
The BMP’s redeploy to support the tanks assaulting through the woods.

At this point the British failed a rally test, due to the lucky strike form their artillery they had already reached their break point. It was pretty much a draw  as the Soviets didn’t have an answer to the british heavy tanks. This was pretty much a test game as we haven’t played much Cold War Commander we got a few things wrong and didn’t really utilise the long range forces correctly, the challenge seems to be using long range weapons but this is tough when line of sight is blocked. I have ordered a few more bits to supplement this little Soviet force and I will then have enough to take on my Americans !

15 comments:

  1. Matt, you have so many cool collections and great scenery. Sometimes I wonder how you store it all.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan........storage storage storage 😢 anyway the benefit of these little chaps is they don’t take up much space. You’ll also be well acquainted with my approach to flexibility especially with terrain.

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  2. A good opening to Cold War Gone Hot gaming. The scale makes town / village objectives look right, look forward to more.

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    1. Thanks Norm my Soviet re-enforcements are under the Christmas tree.🌲

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    2. I recently got a copy of The Third World War - by Sir General John Hackett. This is 1980 vintage and I was fascinated the first time around and hope it holds the same qualities some 40 years on. Hackett had superb insight into the militaristic / political reality of the moment. recommend, as is the follow on book ...Untold Stories.

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    3. I have the Hackett book which I picked up a while ago just need to get round to reading it 🙂

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  3. Very apted, it's bloody cold here. It's been over thirty years since I played a cold war game and still remember being pinned by damned Swingfires.

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    1. I seem to remember I was hiding them in a wood? Nice game Matt!

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  4. Interesting. I want to,get a game of CWC in as well sometime ..

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    1. Not every bodies cup of tea but we have enjoyed the rules a lot with WW2 😀

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  5. Great stuff, Matt! Thanks for posting, and I'm looking forward to more of same. I really need to get one of those background paintings like you have, it really works wonders in bringing the table to life.

    V/R,
    Jack

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    1. Thanks...Painting is looking a bit tired now so I should try and do another one 🤔

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