To kick off this year’s previews of the games that you’ll be able to see at the Joy of Six 2017, I will put you in the very capable hands of the South London Warlords who will be travelling up to Sunny Sheffield to stage their Cold War themed game.

‘Neustadt Crossing, August 1985

The last war in Europe had resulted in the continent to be, once again, split into two vast armed camps as the ideologies of Capitalism and Communism faced off across the Iron Curtain. The two powerful, constantly alert and trained defensive blocs plus the terrible spectre of nuclear weapons were supposed to keep the peace by being such a deterrent the other side to prevent further war. Unfortunately, just like in 1914, there were major flaws in that idea, all that was needed was one spark at the wrong time or someone in a position of power with just the right amount of influence and a vested interest and the fighting would start all over again.

 

Tensions had been running high ever since the Yugoslav state had started to fragment after the sudden death of Tito with US and Soviet ‘peacekeepers’ nearly coming to blows on more than one occasion. Inside the Soviet high command there was a cabal that was convinced that the time was coming where NATO’s increasing technological advantage would start to really counter the Warsaw Pacts overwhelming advantage in numbers and maybe it would be best to strike, if they were to, sooner rather than later. Both sides started to ramp up their respective mobilisations and when a US Marine detachment and a combined Soviet and Yugoslav force traded fire in Slovenia it was just the excuse the Soviets needed and the tanks started to roll.

Three days into the war and the Warsaw Pact forces have managed to make some great advances even though NATO forces tried valiantly to stop the seemingly never ending tide of military hardware pouring across the Inner German Border. In the NORTHAG sector a Soviet force has been tasked to secure the road and rail crossings near Neustadt.

Soviet briefing:

Comrade commander. You have been chosen to secure the crossing sites at Neustadt. We need to take the road and railway bridges to enable the next echelon to pass through to keep the momentum of the advance going. The enemy facing you is estimated to be a British company sized force that is probably the exhausted remnant of the Brigade formation that has been fighting the Division constantly since the start of operations. Although we have suffered some losses up until now you have a sufficient force for this mission, good Artillery and Air support will be given. Failure is not an option.

NATO briefing:

Listen in. Since the balloon went up the Sovs have been pushing us back all along the line and things are getting very sticky. Your Battlegroup is to take over the line of the river at Neustadt to deny the enemy the crossings there. Unfortunately, as you are the final Brigade reserve there isn’t much else in the way of help that we can give you, the Teeny-Weeny Airline and RAF are on call and the Jerries have a local Territorial unit in the area plus a platoon of those Jagdpanzers so that is something at least. Good luck.

This game is being fought using the GHQ Micro-Armour rules, all models and figures are GHQ 1/285th and the terrain has been made by Daren with the buildings from Timecast.

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