Building a French Starter Force with WWIII: NATO Forces

Building a French Starter Force with WWIII: NATO 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 French force on the table that would be competitive, or at least hold its own with new equipment such as the Leclerc and VBL. 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.

So, if we look at what we get in the excellent value army deal (Leclerc Tank Company), that will help us decide what  Formations to run. The army deal contains the following:

1 x Complete A5 Rulebook 1 x “Start Here” booklet 3 x Leclerc 6 x AMX-30 or AuF1 1 x AMX-10P 2 x Gazelle HOT or 20mm Helicopters with rare earth magnets and flight stands 2 x Decal Sheets 7 x Unit Cards

The bonus here is that the rulebook is included in the box – so the new player makes a saving right away. Now if we look at what  Formations are in the French section of the WW3 NATO book, we can see what we can maximise from what we get in the army deal. There are a few Formations we can build to maximise what we get in the box. The four Formations we will look at are the Leclerc Escadron Blinde, AMX-30 Escadron Blinde, AMX-10P Compagne De Chasseurs, and VBL Escadron Declairage. We will look at options for 100pts.

Before diving into the Formations, let’s look at the brand-new shiny kit in the army deal for this release – the Leclerc! This has been a long-awaited release in plastic. This is a cool-looking model. It has 3+ skill and remount – so great for movement orders and getting back into your tank! 5+ morale in line with the rest of the French force. 3+ Courage to follow me. 4+ for assaults and counterattacking. Hit on 4s with FA22 SA8 TA2 armour. Tactical speed of 14” with a handy 20” terrain dash, and 32” cross country or road dash. 2+ cross check, to move in and out of difficult terrain with ease.

It’s armed with a 120mm gun with AT23 and both a 12.7mm MG and 7.62mm AAMG. The main gun has ROF 2 (stationary or moving) with Advanced Stabiliser – so you will be firing and moving up to 14” with no penalty! The gun also has a laser rangefinder and armour has Chobham making it a great assault monster as well. Thermal imaging rounds out the abilities of this tank. As you can see, as well as looking cool, it has a great gun and armour and has some useful stats.

Onto the Formation now, let us look at what Units comprise this Formation: 1 Leclerc Escadron Blinde HQ 1-2 Leclerc Peleton Blinde 0-1 Leclerc Peleton Blinde or AMX-30 Peleton Blinde 0-1 AMX-10P Section De Chasseurs or Leclerc Peleton Blinde Based on the Formation and what we get in the army deal, we will be able to use everything in the deal and grab a few other boxes to fit:

Four Units for the Formation break. On paper this is a bit fragile but is anchored by the infantry platoon and the Leclercs are a tough beast, so well handled, can hang in there. AA coverage provided with Mesphito’s providing long-range sniping ability freeing up the Leclercs to go on the rampage. An artillery template provided by the AuF1 with their autoloader to ensure hitting enemy teams is easier. The 20mm Gazelles are fantastic value with their gunslinger rule making them deadly to your opponent’s AA, artillery and helicopter Units. To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $318:

1 x TFR712 Infantry Platoon $20 1 x TFRAB02 Leclerc Tank Company $110 1 x TFBX02 AMX-10P Platoon $50 1 x TFBX04 VAB Mesphito Anti-tank Platoon $60 1 x TFBX07 AMX-13 DCA AA Vehicles $46 1 x TFBX08 Gazelle HOT Helicopter Flight $32 TOTAL $318

Next is the AMX-30 Escadron Blinde Formation which is comprised of the following Units: 1 AMX-30 Escadron Blinde HQ 2-3 AMX-30 Peleton Blinde 0-1 AMX-10P Section De Chasseurs or AMX-30 Peleton Blinde A maxed-out AMX-30 tank list for 100pts could look like this:

Maxed out the Formation break with five Units. Seventeen tanks to mix it up with your opponent and bum-rush them spearheaded by the VBP patrol. Two Leclercs to provide cover and or use to assault enemy infantry teams. AA coverage and one artillery template with the autoloader goodness. 20mm Gazelles to round out the force to take out AA, artillery, helicopters etc. To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $378:

1 x TFR120 VBL Patrol $20 1 x TFR712 Infantry Platoon $20 1 x TFRAB02 Leclerc Tank Company $110 2 x TFBX01 AMX-30 Tank Platoon $100 1 x TFBX02 AMX-10P Platoon $50 1 x TFBX07 AMX-13 DCA AA Vehicles $46 1 x TFBX08 Gazelle HOT Helicopter Flight $32 TOTAL $378

Next up is the infantry-based Formation – AMX-10P Compagne De Chasseurs which is made up of the following Units: 1 AMX-10P Compagne De Chasseurs HQ 2-3 AMX-10P Section De Chasseurs 0-1 Leclerc Peleton Blinde or AMX-30 Peleton Blinde or AMX-10P Section De Chasseurs Here is a list that would maximise what we use in the army deal:

Four Units for the Formation break. Not an easy Formation to break with two platoons of infantry and three Leclerc tanks. Infantry to either defend both objectives or support the Leclercs on attack. Two artillery templates with autoloader – your opponent should be quaking in their boots if they have infantry, mortars, and lots of light vehicles. AA coverage and the versatile 20mm Gazelles to round out the force. To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $323:

2 x TFR712 Infantry Platoon $40 1 x TFRAB02 Leclerc Tank Company $110 2 x TFBX02 AMX-10P Platoon $100 1 x TFBX07 AMX-13 DCA AA Vehicles $46 1 x TFBX08 Gazelle HOT Helicopter Flight $32 TOTAL $328

We could change out one of the AMX AuF1 batteries for a platoon of three AMX-30 tanks if we need and spend the extra point on replacing an LRAC with an Eryx in the second infantry platoon for no additional cost.

Finally, we look at one of the newest and coolest Formations added to the book - VBL Escadron Declairage. I love recon-style Formations and we can support them with the contents of the army deal easily. This Formation is comprised of the following Units: 1 VBL Escadron Declairage HQ 3-9 VBL Patrouille Declairage 0-1 VBL Groupe De Antichar Milan Maximising what we get in the army deal, this is a potential list for 100pts:

Five Units for the Formation break. It’s probably a bit brittle with two VBLs in each patrol but with plenty of support options for the force and some good management on using the VBL patrols, the Formation should be sticky enough. Leclercs and AMX-30s provide the mobile firepower with an infantry platoon to defend an objective or support the Leclercs if needed. AA coverage, artillery template with autoloader, and 20mm Gazelles round out the force. To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $318:

3 x TFR120 VBL Patrol $60 1 x TFR712 Infantry Platoon $20 1 x TFRAB02 Leclerc Tank Company $110 1 x TFBX02 AMX-10P Platoon $50 1 x TFBX07 AMX-13 DCA AA Vehicles $46 1 x TFBX08 Gazelle HOT Helicopter Flight $32 TOTAL $318

We could change this force by strengthening the Formation in one of two ways. First, we could remove one Leclerc for -19pts, change the 20mm Gazelles to HOT 2 Gazelles for +14pts, upgrade one LRAC team to APILAS for +1pt and add two more VBL patrols for +4pts for an additional cost of $20. Second, we could remove the AMX-30 tank platoon for -8pts and add FOUR more VBL patrols for +8pts costing an additional $40!

There you have it – some options to ponder for getting started with different Formations with the new army deal. Enjoy! ~ John