West German Starter Force: Panzeraufklärungs Kompanie

A smile crept across Hauptmann Müller’s lips as he watched the lead elements of a column of Soviet tanks emerging from behind a tree line to his front right and deploy. Like an arrow that had been loosed, they headed unerringly for the village field where his company’s tanks had been, a field now smothered in bright, angry flashes and smoke. Had he not taken the initiative and moved his tanks from it, Müller had little doubt theenemy’s well orchestrated assault would have blown through them without pausing.

“Well, my friends, you are about to be treated to a truly nasty surprise,” Müller muttered as he waited a bit longer to demonstrate in a most brutal fashion that Leopard was more than a name someone long ago had thought would be appropriate for a modern killing machine. It was a state of mind, one no different than his tank’s namesake. The Leopard was a cunning beast that stalked its prey, patiently biding its time until that one golden opportunity presented itself. Only then did it spring, felling its hapless victim in a wild, violent frenzy of claws and fangs.

When the lead Soviet tanks reached a line on the ground that only existed in Müller’s mind, he keyed his radio mike. “Achtung Panzer! This is Müller. FIRE!”

With a single, sharp crack that echoed back to another era, the ten Leopards belonging to Müller’s company unleashed a devastating volley that turned the Soviet tank battalion’s parade ground maneuvering into utter chaos. Like a stunned beast, the commanders of those tanks that were not hit in the first volley traversed their turrets to their left and right, frantically trying to spot where their assaulters were. Some spotted Müller’s new position right off. Few of those who did had any opportunity to do anything about it other than slew their main guns around, an act that made it easy for Müller’s gunners to decide which enemy tanks to engage next.

For his part, Müller had little need to give any further orders to his company. Just as his commander had given him a mission and the freedom to carry it out, Müller was able to allow his tank commanders to go about their duties. It was, in the mind of the young panzer company commander, exactly what his ancestors had had in mind when they coined the phrase auftragstaktik (mission tactics).

This Starter Force Contains:

• 3x Leopard 2A5 Tanks
• 2x Leopard 2 Tanks
• 4x Marder 2 Scouts
• 3x M109A3G 155mm Self-propelled guns
• 1x M113 OP
• 2x PAH Helicopters
• 2x Tornado Aircraft
• 4x Flight Stands
• 8x Rare Earth Magnets
• 1x Complete A5 Rulebook
• 1x West German “Start Here” Booklet
• 4x Decal Sheets
• 12x Unit Cards