Building Starter NATO Dutch, ANZAC, and Belgian Forces By John Lee With the launch of WW3 NATO, I thought I would look at how a new player, or someone on a budget, could get a force on the table that would be competitive, or at least hold its own for Dutch, ANZAC, or Belgian nations with some of the new Formations available. For the new player, it opens the door to playing WW3 without needing to buy, assemble or paint too much and get into playing the game quicker.

There is an army deal for the French and a couple of new infantry company deals for the French and Canadians, but not for the rest of the nations in the release.   Starting with the Dutch, we will look at the new Leopard 2A5 Tank Eskadron and build out to 100pts. Before jumping into the Formation, looking at the force diagram, the Dutch have West German allied support options, that can be part of your force without having to field a full allied Formation.

Onto the Formation now, let us look at what Units comprise this Formation: 1 Leopard 2A5 Eskadron HQ 1-3 Leopard 2A5 Peloton 1 Leopard 2A5 Peloton or YPR-765 Pantserinfanterie Peloton 0-1 YPR-765 PRAT Antitank Peloton 0-1 PRTL Panserluchdoel Peleton 0-1 M113 C&V Verkennings Ploeg Let’s look at how we can maximise the Formation with minimal spend:

Five Units for the Formation break. Four Leopard 2A5s as the core assault and anchor for the Formation. The PRATs with upgraded TOW-2s provide AT23 at range for anti-tank work or taking out enemy artillery. One infantry platoon for defending an object or supporting the Leopard 2A5s on attack. M109s provide an artillery template to pin down enemy infantry and mortar teams or light armoured units. Two Units of PRTLs to provide AA cover for the Leopard 2A5s and take out enemy artillery and light armour! To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $334.50:

1 x TGBX18 Leopard 2A5 Zug $50 3 x TGBX07 Gepard Flak Batterie $90 1 x TUBX24 M109 Field Artillery Battery $30 2 x TDBX02 YPR-765 Platoon $140 1 x TDU702 Armoured Infantry Platoon $20 1 x TNASO01 FN MAG Machine-guns $4.50 TOTAL $334.50

We can change this up a bit to get a platoon of Leopard 1s (12pts) as Formation support and a section of M113 C&V Recon (2pts). This would strengthen the Formation taking it to six Units with the recon for the Formation break. To do this, remove all three support options (14pts) and the cost difference would be an additional $20.

Onto the ANZACs now and we now have three new Formations to choose from and I really like the look of the new LAV Trials Cavalry Squadron. The ANZACs also have British allied support options, that can be part of your force without having to field a full allied Formation.

Looking at the Formation itself now, let us look at what Units comprise it: 1 LAV Trials Cavalry Squadron HQ 2-3 LAV Cavalry Troop 0-1 Leopard AS1 Armoured Troop or M1A1 Abrams Armoured Troop 0-1 M125 Mortar Platoon 0-1 M113 Cavalry Assault Troop 0-1 Milan Anti-tank Section Here is a force to put on the table with this Formation:

Seven Units for the Formation break. It’s a rounded Formation with M1A1s anchoring the Formation along with the Infantry. Has AA coverage, recon and an artillery template. Missiles to keep your opponent honest alongside plenty of AT8 firepower to take enemy light and medium vehicles plus infantry teams. Use the Leopard 1s to advance up one of the flanks to get side shots or shoot direct at enemy infantry and mortar teams using their brutal gun! To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $422:

2 x TUBX16 LAV Platoon $100 1 x TUBX18 Abrams Tank Platoon $50 1 x TGBX14 Leopard 1 Platoon $50 2 x TGBX09 M113 Panzermorsar Zug $60 2 x TNBX03 NATO M113 Transports $100 1 x TAU702 Mechanised Platoon $20 1 x TAU704 Milan Section $14 2 x TAU241 M113 Upgrades $28 TOTAL $422

I think it would be awesome to have M1A1s and Challengers in the same force. To do this we would need to remove one M1A1 tank reducing the platoon to three tanks, removing the Leopard 1s and M125s completely, and removing two of RBS-70s to get back 33pts we would need for the Challengers. That means we only need ten M113s instead of sixteen, so would not need the two smaller boxes and we need to get a box of Challengers. That means we save $100 overall if we did that bringing the total cost now to $347.

Finally, we round out the article with the Belgians. They have three Formations to choose from including the Leopard 1 Tank Eskadron which is what we will look at here. As with the previous nations in this article, the Belgians can take West Germans or British allied support options in their force diagram.

The Leopard 1 Tank Eskadron is made up of the following Units: 1 Leopard 1 Tank Eskadron HQ 2-3 Leopard 1 Tank Peleton  0-1 Leopard 1 Tank Peleton or AIFV-B Infanterie Peleton or M113 Infanterie Peleton 0-1 Gepard Pantseruchtdoel Peloton 0-1 Scimitar Verkennings Troep Looking at the Formation and using standard boxes, let’s see what we can put on the table for 100pts whilst optimising what we buy:

Seven Units for the Formation break. We have ten Leopards supported by three Challengers with ROMOR. Recon to provide spearhead along with AA coverage, and two platoons of infantry to defend both objectives if required or one to defend whilst the other attacks supporting the tanks. To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $360:

1 x TBBX03 Scorpion or Scimitar Troop $40 1 x TBBX11 Challenger Armoured Troop $50 1 x TDBX02 YPR-765 Platoon $70 2 x TGBX07 Gepard Flak Batterie $60 1 x TGBX14 Leopard 1 Platoon $50 1 x TNBX03 NATO M113 Transports $50 2 x TBE702 Infantry Platoon $40 TOTAL $360

If you want artillery there are two options. First would be to add a Belgian M109 Battery of four plus an AIFV-B OP for 10pts. To do this we would remove the Scorpion Troop (4pts) and downgrade the Challenger ROMORs (39pts) to standard Challengers (33pts). We would need two boxes of M109s, but we can remove the Scorpion box to cost an additional $20 overall. Second option is to remove the Challenger ROMORs, Scorpions and go with West German support instead. We can add LARS for the salvo template with minelets (7pts) and two flights of four PAH HOT anti-tank helicopters (16pts per flight) for an additional $98!

There you have it – some options to ponder for getting started with one of the new NATO Formations for the best bang of your buck. Enjoy! ~ John