Hi all it's Neil here and welcome back to my WW3: Team Yankee series. This is going to be Part 1 of my look at the new US book. In this post I will look at the various formations available to US players. This isn't going to be a deep look into competitiveness of the various options rather it will be a newer player's look at the options. If you are also a newer player to WW3 Team Yankee I would suggest to read this Introduction post first. This is going to be quite a long post due how much is in the new book so I hope you feel like sticking with it and get to the end.
In the new book the US forces access to 15 formations with 5 Tank companies, 5 infantry companies and 5 light vehicles/cavalry formations. The US forces are split into three groups the Armoured Divisions which have average courage and skill of 4+ with 9 formations, the 9th "High Tech" Motorised division who get a skill of 3+ with 3 formations while the Marines get a boosted courage of 3+ with 3 formations but all are share the same hit on a 4+. The US can bring a lot of cutting edge tech to the battlefield whether it is tanks, IFVs, helicopters etc as well as some tried and tested but older equipment that can date back to Vietnam or older. For looking at the formations as the majority are for the Armoured Divisions, I will be assuming that they have these soft stats unless I mention that they are from one of the other groupings.
Tank Formations
The first set of formations I'm going to look at are the Tank formations, starting off with the newly added in the book, M1A1 Armoured Combat Team. This formation is based around the M1A1 Abrams which is a great tank bringing front armour 19 paired with a RoF 2, anti-tank 23 gun making it very deadly to any other tank on the battlefield and able to absorb lots of punishment in return. It can also be upgraded to the M1A1HC version that boosts that great front armour further to 21. Due to this power of the individual tank it is very expensive in points and even more so for the HC version, so you wouldn't have much space in a 100 point list to bring much support for them. For the formation you get a the HQ with 1-2 tanks then 2-3 M1A1 tank units of 2-4 tanks which can be optionally supported by 2 scout sections either in the M113 or the new M3 Bradley, 1 M901 ITV Anti-tank unit, 1 M106 heavy mortar unit and a mech infantry platoon mounted in either M113s or M2 Bradley. This is a good selection of units with the ability to bring a large amount of anti-tank firepower. This formation suffers a bit from the cost of its core units for its feasibility to use in games as the bare minimum will cost 70 points which doesn't leave much room to give them support.
The next formation is nearly identical with the only difference being that it is based around the M1 Abrams tank, which is the original version of the Abrams. The M1 has slightly lower armour of 18 which is still respectable and a less powerful gun with anti-tank 20 when compared to the M1A1 but is also quite a bit cheaper. This version can be uparmoured to the IPM1 similar to the M1A1HC upgrade, boosting its armour to 19. The M1 is still a good tank and actually due to lower cost than the M1A1 is more suitable for bringing the formation in a list, as the bare minimum is now less than 50 points.
Next up is the M60 Patton Armoured Combat team. The M60 Patton is older equipment, bringing a front armour of 15 which is pretty vulnerable to other tanks and ATGMS but it does mount the same gun as the M1 Abrams. The M60 is cheaper than the M1 with two M60s being the same cost as a single M1, meaning you can bring twice as many guns to the table. The make up of the formation is similar to the M1 formation, with the HQ of 1-2 M60s with 2-3 M60 units of 2-4 tanks supported optionally by 2 M113 Scout units, 1 M901 ITV anti-tank unit, 1 M106 Heavy Mortar unit and 1 M113 Mech platoon. This formation can be used to bring some cheaper armour in your force with the minimum being 20 points but due to the M60's relative fragility for tanks means it would need to be used carefully.
The Marine Corp also has a M60 formation, the M60 Patton Tank Company. The Marine M60 trades some of the special rules that the above formation has for the improved courage so it is the same cost per tank as the Armoured Division's M60. The loss of the equipment rules makes it less useful at long range if it moved due to having the Accurate rule which only negates the extra +1 to hit at long rage when stationary. The Marine formation has some different units to the Armoured Division one, with the HQ having the standard 1-2 M60s with the core being 2-3 M60 units of 2-5 tanks being supported optionally by 1 HMMWV Scout units, 1 HMMWV TOW Anti-tank unit, 1 Rifle Platoon and 1 LAV unit. The Marine formation is pretty similar in its use to the Armoured Division one being fragile for tanks but with good firepower.
The last tank formation belongs to the 9th "High Tech" Motorised and features a very different tank as its mainstay. This is the RDF/LT, which is a "What If" vehicle as it never entered service in the real world. The RDF/LT is a light tank so only has front armour 4 meaning that it is vulnerable to autocannons as well as tank cannons and ATGMs. Its main gun is a RoF 2 (1 when moving) anti-tank 19 weapon making it table to take out other light vehicles without a save as well as threatening the older MBTs. The big strength of the RDF/LT is the Hammerhead rule, which allows it to shoot and remain Gone to Ground allowing you to sit at 6+ to hit in terrain so long as you don't need to move. This low armour makes it cheaper than a M60, with 2 RDF/LTs for the same cost as an M60. The Combined Arms (Heavy) Company is the formation in which this tank is the core unit for and it has a HQ of 1-2 RDF/LTs with a core of 2-3 RDF/LT units of 2-4 tanks with optional supports of 1 Light Motor infantry unit and 1 9th Motor HMMWV Scout unit. The formation can be used to give some cheap armoured support in their list though it is less well suited for maneuvering or attacking than the Abrams and M60s.
For the tank formations the M1 formation looks to be the best all-rounder and a good balance in cost against firepower, though the RDF/LT could add some teeth to a lighter force especially if ambushing. The M60 formations look like they would be more suitable for experienced players who can work around their lower armour to bring their greater number of guns to bear. The new M1A1 unfortunately appears to be to expensive for being a formation even though it has the most individually powerful tanks.
Infantry Formations
The second set of formations to have a look at are the Infantry formations. The first up is the M113 Mech Combat Team, which has at its core the M113 Mech Platoon. These platoons are able to bring a mix of anti-infantry fire power as well as several Dragon missiles with anti-tank 18 allowing them the threaten vehicles and the flanks of tanks. These infantry ride around in the M113, which is a reasonable APC with front armour 3 armed with a .50 cal machine gun so it is able to deal with infantry while being immune to small arms. These make excellent defensive units able to secure objectives and hold flanks while the tanks do tank-y things. For the formations the HQ is a single M16 rifle team in a M113 with a core of 2-3 of the M113 Mech units with options for 1 tank units of either M1A1s, M1s or M60s, 1 M106 Heavy Mortar unit, 2 units of either M113 Scouts or M3 Bradley Scouts and 4 M901 ITV Anti-tank units. This spread of units is pretty well suited to defensive operations with lots of light units packing strong missiles.
Next us is the M2 Bradley Mech Combat Team, which is pretty similar to the M113 in make up. The M2 Bradley Mech platoon brings the same infantry but this time mounted in the M2 Bradley. The M2 Bradley has the same armour as the M113 but a significant boost in firepower. It is packing a 25 mm Bushmaster gun with RoF 3, anti-tank 8 and a TOW-2 missile with anti-tank 23 allowing it to take on any target the happens to come into view. It also has the option to be upgraded to the M2A2 version gaining front armour 5 and Applique Armour, which boosts it armour to 13 against weapons with the HEAT rule like missiles. The M2 Bradley does significantly boost the firepower of the Mech platoon compared to the M113 version but it does also double the points (and a little more) for this extra power. The Bradley is a bit of a glass cannon, able to deal lots of damage but not able to take it in return so again it is good on the defensive where you can hide it and not have to move to get the most out of the missiles. For the formation choices, it has the HQ with 1 M16 rifle team and a M2 Bradley then the core of 2-3 M2 Bradley Mech platoons. The optional units are 1 tank platoon of either M1A1s or M1s, 1 M106 Heavy Mortar unit and 2 M3 Bradley Scout units. The options in this formation are slightly less than the M113 and you can only take the newer vehicles but they do all pack a good punch, and similar to the M113 I feel they are better as defensive force where you can sit in your positions and let your enemy come to your missiles.
The last infantry formation for the Armoured Divisions set is the UH-1 Huey Infantry Combat Team, which is a helicopter mounted airborne infantry formation. The core unit is the UH-1 Huey Rifle platoon, which are larger than the Mech platoons but come with less missiles as standard (though you can add an extra missile infantry base to increase the number) mounted in UH-1 Hueys. The infantry are good at dealing with other infantry but will have trouble against vehicles at range. The UH-1 Huey that they ride is a helicopter so it gets unlimited movement allowing them to exploit gaps left my opponents but they should be landed out of line of sight and away from the enemy forces as it is very fragile when dropping or picking up its passengers. It is kind of armed with a pair of M60 machine guns in the doors but they can only be fired when they land (as this helicopter shouldn't go anywhere close to an enemy gun). The formation has an M16 rifle team as the HQ who rides with one of the 2-3 UH-1 Huey Rifle platoons that are the core of the formations. These are supported by options for 1 HMMWV Scout unit, 1 HMMWV-TOW anti-tank unit and 2 M551 Sheridan tank units. The formation is quite a light one and could be used to add some potentially faster infantry to support an aggressive force, but it would require care (and luck) to get them where you need them, when you need them.
The M551 Sheridan is a bit of unique tank in the US book, it is the only non-core tank unit and the only missile firing tank as well. The Sheridan has a front armour of 4 so is not suited for a straight up tank-on-tank fight but it does pack a good punch with ties 152 mm gun which can fire as a RoF 1, anti-tank 21 gun with Brutal and HEAT (making it good vs infantry and vehicles) or alternatively it can fire the Shillelagh missile with anti-tank 22. The Sheridan is a similar the the Bradley, and to use its effectively it needs to attack from concealment and pick its battles to survive on the battlefield.
The Light Motor Infantry Company is part of the 9th "High Tech" Motorised division, so get the better skill value for the units in the formation. This formation has its HQ of 1 M16 rifle team with a HMMWV, the core of 2-3 Light Motor Infantry platoons with support options for 1 RDF/LT Assault Gun unit, 1 HMMWV Fire Support unit and 1 9th Motor HMMWV Scout unit. The Light Motor Infantry platoon are large units of infantry but still have a reasonable number of missile armed teams mixed in to give them decent punch as well as staying power. They come mounted in the HMMWV transport, which is an armour 0 vehicle with a machine gun able to carry a single team each. This means you get a lot of HMMWVs on the table top, which while extremely vulnerable, can be useful for roving around to pin enemy infantry with machine gun fire.
The US Marines also bring an infantry formation to the table in their Marine Rifle Company. The Marine Rifle Platoon is the largest you can get with the ability to add heavy weapons to supplement the basic teams, who are more suited to anti-infantry roles. These units are also the only who have a choice of transport in the AAVP7 transport and the UH-1 Huey allowing for a flexible formation without having to fully commit one way or the other. The AAVP7 is the largest transport able to transport half of the full platoon in a single vehicle and comes armed with a 40 mm grenade launcher for use against infantry or very light vehicles. The AAVP7 has the same front armour of 3 as the M113 and Bradley as well as being amphibious (fitting for a Marine transport). The UH-1 Huey is the same as the one above. The US Marines also bring the improved courage making them more reliable in pushing forward while under fire. The core of the formation is 2-3 of these platoons with a HQ M16 rifle team with options for supporting them with a Marine M60 tank unit, a LAV unit, 2 HMMWV-TOW anti-tank unit and a HMMWV Machine-Gun unit.
The Infantry formations all look to favour more defensive play, with significant firepower with stationary and only having average assault stat encourages a stand-off style. The M2 Bradley Mech Combat Team is the one that catches by eye as it's transports are able to use their missiles to help the infantry to stop tanks and their autocannons to deal with enemy IFVs and infantry.
Cavalry Formations
The third broad grouping of formations is Cavalry, these tend to focus on lighter vehicles and movement to bring their firepower to where the enemy is weakest while avoiding their heavier guns. These appear to be embraced most the US, though other NATO nations do have their own similar formations (and I'd guess the Warsaw Pact nations might too), from my current knowledge. There are three Cavalry formations for the Armoured Division and then one formation for each of the "High Tech" Division and the US Marines that aren't strictly cavalry formation but are equipped with lighter vehicles and focus on mobility to survive. The first cavalry formation is the HMMWV Cavalry Troop whom are mounted in the HMMWV and the lightest of the formations. The HQ is a pair of HMMWV with M2 50 cal machine gun while the rest of the formation is 3-6 HMMWV Scout Sections which are 3-4 HMMWVs with a mix of 50 cal machine guns, 40 mm grenade launchers and TOW missiles. These units are cheap, fragile with flexible firepower able to deal with tanks when stationary and when moving they can still do work against infantry. The Scout sections haev the Scout and Spearhead special rules meaning they can use Scout to remain Gone to Ground when moving to get into good ambushing positions as well as using Spearhead to push forward in deployment and expand your deployment zone.
The next cavalry formation is the M113 Armoured Cavalry Troop, which comes with a HQ of 2 M113 scouts with 50 cal machine guns while the core is made up of 2-6 M113 Scout sections and 1-3 Tank units of either M60 Pattons or M1 Abrams. The M113 Scout Section are a M113 Scout with 50 cal machine gun paired with a M901 ITV with TOW (or TOW 2) missile. The scout sections also get the same Scout and Spearhead rules as the HMMWV sections. This pairing keeps them cheap but they do lack focus and numbers so are an awkward unit. Supporting the core units are the options for a M106 Cavalry Mortar platoon, a M109 Field Artillery Battery, a UH-1 Huey Rifle Platoon and either a AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter platoon or a AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter platoon, giving a wide variety of options within the formation itself. This formation looks to be a good one for smaller points costs as it allows the bringing of lots of units including tanks, helicopters and artillery without investing heavily into any one thing.
The final formation is the M3 Bradley Armoured Cavalry Troop, which is similar in make up to the M113 Cavalry formation. The HQ has a series of options, with one of the following a M3 Bradley, a M3A2 Bradley, M1, IPM1, M1A1 and M1A1HC, allowing to either keep it cheap with a Bradley or to give the commander a bit more firepower and survive-ability in one of the Abrams tank options. For its core there are 2-6 M3 Bradley Scout sections, with 2 M3 Bradleys or M3A2 Bradleys as well as 1-3 tank units of the same types that the HQ can take. As with all previous scout sections the M3 Bradleys get the Scout and Spearhead rules to assist their role. This then has the same support choices as the M113 formation with that mix of artillery, infantry and helicopters. This switch from the M113 Scout sections to the M3 Bradley really helps this formation, as now both vehicles in the scout section can use their TOW-2 missiles to deal with tanks as well as having their bushmaster autocannons for light vehicle and infantry killing.
Moving on the "not-really-cavalry-but-close-enough" formations from the "High Tech" Division and the Marines now, we start with the Light Attack Company. This is the "High Tech" division formation so comes with the improved Skill 3+ and uses the HMMWV for its units. The HQ comes with 2 HMMWVs with either 50 cal machine guns or a M134 minigun for buckets of dice, to go with the core units of 2-3 Light Attack Platoons of 4 HMMWVs with 50 cal machine guns, miniguns and 40 mm grenade launchers as well as 1-2 Fire Support Platoons which are 2-4 HMMWVs sporting TOW/TOW-2 missiles for some anti-armour punch. These can be backed up by a unit of RDF/LT Assault Guns, 1 Light Motor Infantry platoon and a 9th Motor Scout Section (which is equipped the same as the cavalry scout section but with the 3+ Skill). The formation has a similar glass cannon role to the HMMWV Cavalry formation but the units are more focused and the better skill will help in this role. The HMMWV Light Attack and Fire Support platoons only receive the Scout rules meaning they're less aggressive at the beginning of the game but are still able to relocate while staying Gone to Ground.
The last cavalry-ish formation is the US Marine LAV Company. The formation gets a pair of LAV-25s equipped with the same 25 mm gun as the Bradleys, giving them good anti-light vehicle. The core is formed of 2-3 LAV Platoons with 2-4 LAV-25s. The LAV has front armour 1 along with the Scout and Spearhead rules, which means they can get aggressive like a good marine and bring some friendly rifle platoons for example along with them. The formation can also have a LAV-AT anti-tank section, which is the same LAV with the autocannon swapped for a TOW/TOW-2 missile for anti-tank duties and a LAV-M Mortar section which swaps the gun for a mortar.
The cavalry and cavalry-ish formations are in general glass hammers, able to dish out a decent amount of punishment but unable to take much in return. They seem favour aggressive play with Spearhead letting them get up in the enemies faces from deployment, and bring some friendly units up with them. The M3 Bradley Cavalry Troop and the LAV company look to be the best of the cavalry formation choices with good variety of firepower and able to maneuver to do that classic cavalry thing.
The new US book has a large variety of formations to choose from when building your force being able to accommodate most play styles from the newest Tanks to light infantry and everything in between. The formations that look best to me would be the M1 Abrams formation for a good survivable tanks with decent firepower for playing aggressively and the M2 Bradley with all its missiles and autocannons for defensive play. The Combined Arms (Heavy) formation also looks to be a good choice especially as a secondary formation to add some anti-lighter vehicle to deal with the larger Soviet units. The cavalry formations are interesting with their mix of light vehicles, tanks, artillery, helicopters, and airmobile infantry allowing for a full combined arms force in the formation helping with sticking around to win the battle.
I hope that this quite long post has been useful for anyone looking into Team Yankee see what the new US book has to offer. This has been a look through the eyes of a new player so might miss some nuances and things that come from more knowledge and experience. Look out for Part 2 in a couple of weeks where I'll be looking at the support options available to bolster these formations in a list.
See you around for more Team Yankee content (hopefully every Thursday) and if you want to see what I'm getting upto hobby-wise head over to my Instagram.
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