CWC The Tide is Turning

This weekend I joined a group of 10 CWC megagamers.  We played out a scenario involving a NATO counterattack in the third week of WW3 set in August/September 1985.  An L shaped table 6ft in width 20ft East - West and 10ft South to North with the Donau and Naab Rivers stretched from Regensberg in the east to Neustadt ad Donau in the west and north from Regensberg to Schwandorf.

NATO forces were tasked with assaulting the south across the Donau and east across the Naab.  Forces crossing the Donau comprised, from west to east, CAST, relocated from Norway in a stunning "coup de main", a West German mixed brigade-sized battlegroup, a US armoured cavalry brigade group and a brigade from 3rd US infantry division.  The US troops were tasked with taking Regensberg.  My French armoured division was tasked with crossing the Naab.  The Warpact opposition included Soviet Motor Rifle and Armoured Regts, an East German armoured Regt, various Soviet airborne units and a ?Hungarian or ?Czech battlegroup.  So, loads of T72s, T-62s, T-55s, M1s, M60s, Leopard Is, AMX-30s and more APCs than you could shake a stick at.

All in all I think we got through 9 or 10 turns in the two days, which was pretty good going for so much kit.  Lots of fun and surprisingly few major disagreements over interpretation of the rules - mainly sorted through letting "the dice decide".

By the end of the second day, NATO had pretty firm bridgeheads, the French across the Naab at Pielenhofen and Duggendorf  and the US infantry and cavalry across the Donau at Regensberg and Bad Abbach.  Unfortunately, they failed to control downtown Regensberg, clear the castle of SAMs at Burglengenfeld or control the railhead at Schwandorf, which were the declared objectives..  The Soviet airborne were even counterattacking across the Donau at Kelheim.

Looking east from Neustadt a.n. Donau.

Looking northeast towards the confluence of the Naab and Donau rivers.

Looking north towards Schwandorf.

The Schwandorf built up area.

The castle at Burglengenfeld.

Looking west from downtown Regensberg.

Similar view from Regensberg.

A fuzzy oblique image of the bridge at Kelheim, and TV mast, taken from a fast moving NATO recon aircraft.

A slightly less shaky image of downtown Kelheim.

The Soviet MR Division dug in around Schwandorf.

Ditto around the castle at Burglengenfeld.

The area destined to be occupied by the French.

Soviet armour dug in on the edge of woods south of Wolfseg.

Regensberg defenders.

Regensberg outer defences to the west of the city.

East Germans on the south bank of the Donau.

Soviet airborne on the south bank of the Donau, across the river from Kelheim.

The western end of the table around Neustdt a. n. Donau, with the ferry at Eining.

Lots more pictures of the action to upload, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.