Maple Leaves On Wheels!

Maple Leaves On Wheels! By Livio Tonazzo The new book World War III: Born contains many new features and some completely new Formations for all the nations featured in the book. Canada is no exception and can count on two very fascinating (light) armoured Formations. These are Cougar Armored Squadron and Coyote Armored Squadron. These are two very similar Formations which however differ from the armored vehicle used, as the name suggests. Light armoured Formations are especially interesting in World War III: Team Yankee. There are many reasons: these Formations are usually very cheap and allow you to spend many points on the best Units and supports, they are numerous and easy to hide, and they are also excellent for destroying enemy troop transports (on which the Warsaw Pact relies). For all these reasons it is not surprising that these two Formations have captured the attention and have deserved this article!

The two Formations of Cougar and Coyote Armored Car are perfectly the same and differ only in the platoons of Armored Troops which can consist of one armoured vehicle or the other. As compulsory choices, i.e. those in the black box, there are of course Cougar/Coyote Armored Squadron HQ and two Cougar/Coyote Armored Troops. This means that you can have a very skimpy Formation for less than 10 points, a negligible cost. However, be careful that if such a Formation can make sense as a second Formation to support the first, taking the field with only 8-9 armoured cars to act as the only Formation almost certainly means losing the game due to a break in the Formation. To the compulsory Units of Cougar/Coyote Armored Troop, it is possible to add two more for a total of four Units plus the HQ. Already with five Units, the Formation has a much greater solidity while the cost in points is still modest, given that it does not exceed 15 points. I personally think it's a good idea to always flesh out Formations, if possible, even if I field more than one.

That's not all however, the Formation can be further strengthened: we are not even halfway through all the possible choices. There is the possibility of having an infantry Unit within the Formation that can be embarked on M113 or Grizzly. What changes is not only the transport but also the composition of the platoon which is "heavier" as regards the M113 Mechanized Platoon. In fact, the Unit is composed, depending on whether it is at full strength or not, of 2-3 C2 SAW team with M72 anti-tank, 2-3 Carl Gustav, 1 M19 60mm mortar team, 1 C5 GPMG team (HMG) and 3-4 M113.

The Grizzly Mechanized Platoon instead consists of 3-5 C2 SAW team with M72 anti-tank, 1 Carl Gustav, 1 M19 60mm mortar team, 1 C5 GPMG team (HMG) and 3-4 Grizzlies. In essence, the normal infantry increases but the anti-tank is reduced, But what's the Grizzly APV? The Cougar! However, both platoons can replace all Carl Gustavs with the new Eryx missiles which are particularly devastating. Despite having a Firepower of 4+ they have an anti-tank value of 24 and the Tandem Warhead that ignores the ERA (explosive reactive armor). The range is still 16” but this opportunity is interesting.

Personally, between the two options I would prefer the M113 Mechanized Platoon because the anti-tank is always needed, but the Grizzly Mechanized Platoon has a few more infantrymen who are more effective in assault as well as the fact that the Grizzly matches the (wheeled) context better. Even the eye wants its part! In addition to infantry, you can choose up to three recon slots made up of Coyote Recce Patrol or Lynx Recce Patrol. In fact, we must not forget that the Cougar / Coyote Armored Troop are not Scouts nor do they have the Spearhead rule so you will have to look elsewhere if you want to gain extra mobility during deployment. The Coyote Rece Patrol consists of 2 Coyotes whose characteristics we will discuss later, while the Lynx Recce Patrol consists (unsurprisingly) of two Lynx. The Lynx is nothing new and every British player knows it. Despite having superior armor to the Coyote it is armed only with a .50cal AA Mg which makes it a less than optimal choice given the very limited effectiveness against… well, almost everything. For a matter of aesthetic coherence but also of gameplay, I think the choice of the Coyotes seems preferable to me.

Dulcis in fundo (sorry but I'm Italian, I need to use Latin somewhere) the anti-tank slot which is only one even if there are two choices. The first is the evergreen M150 TOW that I think all players know, be they NATO or WARPACT. It is a simple M113 on which a TOW missile is installed, another great classic with 21 anti-tank. The other option is the ILTIS TOW anti-tank section which mounts the same weapon but on the Canadian ILTIS jeep. Given the points cost of a point or so per model, this platoon is always a good choice as it adds some anti-tank with little effort. In addition, the Unit is in Formation, giving greater solidity to the Force. Personally, I think the choice of the M150s is preferable as they offer greater solidity not only for their armour (ILTIS is an unarmored tank team with SAVE 4+) but also because the M150 Unit can be made up of three models while the ILTIS Unit only from two.

And here are all the Formation slots exhausted: three mandatory (HQ + 2), and seven optional for a total of ten... It is a nice substantial Formation that can also act as the only Formation if needed.

Cougar or Coyote?

Let's start with the basics: the Cougar has six wheels while the Coyote has eight. It may seem like a fun start but the two vehicles are similar and could be a bit confusing for players who are not exactly experts in military vehicles. I wanted to write Canadians after military vehicles but that would only be partially right. Both Cougar and Coyote are built in Canada (and that would make them Canadian) but they are based on two foreign vehicles: the Swiss Mowag Piranha and the LAV-25. However, both are different from the vehicles from which they derive, the Cougar has only six wheels instead of eight and the weapon system is that of the Scorpion while the Coyote is not amphibious.

But let's proceed in order and start from what these two vehicles have in common. First of all the crew, given that both vehicles were originally conceived for reconnaissance, ended up equipping armoured regiments not equipped with Leopard 1 tanks. Canadian training is particularly effective as it follows the British one, consequently, the value of Is Hit On is equal to Careful 4+ which makes these vehicles difficult to hit. The skill is excellent, equal to 3+, while the values of Assault 5+ and Counterattack 4+ are worse as they are not exactly assault vehicles... on the contrary! Courage as well as Morale and Remount are average 4+. This is good training, fit for need. The other factor that Cougar and Coyote have in common are the Armor values which are equal to 1 for Front and Side and 0 for Top. Overall, therefore, the protection is largely insufficient and offers a fair amount of protection only against .50" rounds, while any more thought-out weapon will easily penetrate the defences of these vehicles.

The commonalities essentially end here because both the movement and weapon values are different. In fact, the Cougar has a Tactical value of 10" as per standard and a Road Dash of 48" rotated as a bravo and these values are also common to the Coyote. But off-road, in Cross-Country Dash and Terrain Dash the Coyote's two additional wheels give it a small advantage over the Cougar quantified in an extra 2″. While the Cougar can move 10” in Terrain Dash and 18” in Cross-Country Dash, the Coyote can move up to 12 and 20”, respectively. Net of this difference, all in all negligible, the greatest advantage of the Coyote concerns the Cross value. While the Cougar has a Cross value of 5+ which effectively precludes it from any terrain requiring a Cross Check, the Coyote can count on a much more reliable 4+ which allows it some mobility, especially if combined with the Cross Here order.

The differences become much more marked when it comes to the weapon system. In fact, the Coyote mounts the same cannon as the British Scorpion, a low-pressure 76mm L23 which guarantees it an anti-tank value of 14 and a Firepower of 2+. The ammunition is HEAT, but smoke grenades are also supplied. Compared to the Scorpion, it is that it does not have the Sneak and Peek rule which limits tactical movement to 6”. This is an important advantage. On the other hand, there is the Slow Firing rule which limits this deadly weapon a bit. Being able to move 10” and shoot, even if with the penalty, is an important advantage. It is precisely the weapon system that perhaps leads me to prefer the Cougar to the Coyote. In fact, the Coyote has the same weapon system as the LAV, i.e. an M242 25mm gun. It is an excellent rapid-fire weapon having ROF 3 both stationary and on the move. Despite the more than decent anti-tank value of 8, able to easily pierce the armour of BMPs, it suffers from a Firepower equal to 5+. In fact, he risks not being decisive and giving the opponent the opportunity to get back into the game. On the other hand, if used in combination with infantry ready to assault Bailed vehicles, it can be very deadly.

As a final note, the Cougar is amphibious but only has Infrared, while the Coyote is not amphibious but has Thermal Imaging. Having reached the end of this short article, it can be said that overall, these are two successful vehicles inserted within two sufficiently substantial Formations that allow the Force to be given good solidity even on their own. I am convinced that they will be seen on the gaming tables!

~ Livio