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Billy Yank and the War That Never Was

Billy Yank and the War That Never Was
with Andrew Haught

I've been working on lots of armies lately, this one in particular has been a pet project of mine for some time, but it has not gotten the love it deserved. So with the release of Stripes I decided to do something different.  I created my own background story around my army and from there I hope to create a narrative to play towards in my games and add to my battle reports.  My story focus on a fictitious drafted poet named, William (Billy) L Wulf. Fair warning, I am no Shakespeare, but here is a quick excerpt from my Forces storyline:

William Wulf, Billy to his friends, leaned on his M113. The light from his cigarette glowed bright in the twilight as Billy inhaled deeply.  A member of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Mech Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Billy has made it sort of a ritual to smoke out among their transports, reflecting on the day. 

Even in the dark Billy could just make out the Silhouette of a M60 tank, some of the men are already calling this tank outdated, Billy can understand the sentiment. Its amour is inadequate and the tank itself is old, outdated.

But this M60 in particular was one that saved his life, though surrounded by darkness Billy still saw the flames in his mind’s eye, licking the side of his face, the tank that was about to machine-gun him and his squad laid in burning hulks all around him. Like Billy, the T-72 was surprised to find the old M60 hiding in the bushes, its metal made a terrible wrenching noise as the 105mm gun found a weak point in its side armour, popping off its turret, as if it was a lid to a jar, landing within inches of Billy’s head, burning brightly. Sometimes being outdated doesn’t matter, in war, sometimes a bullet just needs to be a bullet.

Billy Yank and the War That Never Was

With this US force I am updating and re-inventing my force in a way. I want to be able to use some of the new Tanks and equipment available, while keeping true to my infantry company loaded with M901 ITV! 

 So here is my army list:
M113 Mech Combat Team Points

M113 Mech Combat Team HQ  

1

Full M113 Mech Platoon 

7

Full M113 Mech Platoon  7
M901 ITV Anti-Tank Platoon  3
M901 ITV Anti-Tank Platoon  3
M901 ITV Anti-Tank Platoon  3
M901 ITV Anti-Tank Platoon  3
M60 Patton Armored Combat Team  
Full M60 Patton Armoured Combat Team HQ   8
Full M60 Patton Tank Platoon  16
Full M60 Patton Tank Platoon  16
M901 ITV Anti-Tank Platoon  3

M113 Scout Section 2 Points

2
Support Units  
Full M48 Chaparral SAM platoon  8
Full A10 Warthog Flight 20

I plan to be over protective with my armour, while I use my infantry to anchor my force, when defending I plan on my Infantry digging in around the objectives and to lend dragon support when needed. I will have a total of 10 ITV, these will seek cover and create as many lines of fire as they can.

Billy Yank and the War That Never Was

At half the points of Abram tank, Patton tanks fill the armour component of my list. The Patton units are my ambush/flanking units. The tanks will be ever moving and seeking shoots of opportunity rather than the normal all out attacks that I would do with my Abrams, leaving my ITV to cover them.

Well time to get back to working on some tanks! I still have loads of work to do for my army.

~Andrew


Last Updated On Thursday, December 7, 2017