My Non-British Army of the Rhine

Starting my second Army for Team Yankee, as my Soviets need a NATO opponent, I chose the British Army (again, as with other periods, my anglo-philia breaks through). I first opted for the West Germans, but as I know three other Bundeswehr players already and the Americans are just not competitive at the moment, the Brits it should be.

But having a faible for the non-English parts of the British Isles, especially Ireland, it will be a Non-British Army of the Rhine based around the Irish Guards. And would could resist flying Scotsmen in Lynx Helicopters?

First up are the FV 432s, which will carry the 1st Platoon of the Irish Guards into battle. I really like how the green/black grey camouflage scheme helps the vehicles to blend in with the terrain at a distance. Should work even better when placed in wooded areas of the table.

The models are Battlefront's amazing plastic kit. Although assembly is a bit fiddly, the outcome is pretty nice. You also have the options build Swingfire ATGMs and Mortar Carriers with this kit, so I am sure, that I will have to build at least two more packs of them. But beware, the British decals are not the best quality and tend to tear very easily. 

I placed a tank commander on top of every vehicle, as it is important to me to emphasize, that it is real people, who are fighting, not just metal machines.

I also added a command vehicle with extra radios and stowage made by Armies Army. The model is full resin/metal and has slightly bigger dimensions than its BF cousins, but as it will be fielded as a transport for the company commander, this is alright.

Now, let's turn to the big guns. Although I will mainly focus on infantry with this force, I could not resist to buy some Chieftain MBTs. The BF plastic tanks look awesome and are quite an useful asset in the game. With two AT 22 shots (one when moving) and Front Armour 16 (17 with Stillbrew package) at 6/7 points, they are rather cheap MBTs and a must-have.

Although the Iron Maiden army book portays the chieftains as the 17th/21st Lancers, my guys are from the Royal Irish Hussars, who were part of the same division, and therefore sticking to the non-English theme.

I intend to use them either as integral and divisional support for the Irish Guards or as a small Armoured Company formation on its own, depanding on the scenario.

That's it for now, but there is some more stuff coming up, as I flesh up my Soviets and have also been working on some terrain and my Lion Rampant forces for the Burgundian Wars. So get excited!