VAB Mephisto
"Les pompiers du champ de bataille sont la!"
- – The French nicknamed the MEPHISTO 'the battlefield's firemen', due to being held in reserve to be sent at the 'hottest' point once contact was made.
If there is one thing the Burgers, the Limeys, the Krauts and the Baguettes have in common, is that when they get their hands on a good design they tend to make umphteen variants of it. Soul brother to the M113 and the FV 430, the French 'VAB' ('Vehicule de l'Avant Blindé', or 'vanguard armored vehicle') has seen multiple declinaisons and usages. The MEPHISTO variant is an ATGM-carrier variant meant to be a mobile, fast-reaction counter to any enemy armor breakthrough.
In Team Yankee[edit | edit source]
One of the few French vehicles that actually has a true AT weapon.
You'll undoubtedly have brought your fair share of French Milans (and probably a smattering of APILASs), which can kill most tanks well, some of the newer stuff won’t bat an eye at getting hit by a Milan(read: anything with frontal armour 19). This is where that AT23 comes in very handy. See below.
Mephistos have the obvious advantage of speed over infantry Milans, allowing for quick repositioning to adapt to unexpected enemy tank formations, but have a poor cross rating of 5+ so position them by walls and hills, not forests if it can be helped. Scout is a nice rule to have giving you Hit on 6+ at all times whether you move or not, if you position them for concealment correctly.
Bonjour T-80.
The T-80 and the latest generation of MBT with composite/ERA front armour 20 Have given the Mephisto an important role. Combined with your Milans and AMX30 you should be able to keep those tanks humble. The French can take 2 platoons of Mephisto as support and 8x AT23 with Hammerhead for 16 points is nothing to sneeze at. Factor in some mirage cluster bombs, gazelle HOT and some APILAS you are one of the best equipped NATO army to deal with T80 and co. (Aside from maybe Hummvee TOW2 spam). Your chance of destroying a T80’s FA20 is low, but when their return fire hits on 6s and each VAB is just 2 points, a single dead T80 pays for the platoons cost.
The Mephisto a situational unit. Poorly optimised vs BMPs or t55 spam, your list needs some AMX30, 10RC or Milans while the Mephisto hunts the high value targets like Merkava, M1A1, Challenger, T80, Leo2a5. Ironically, most of these are fielded by nations allied to France.
IRL[edit | edit source]
Not much to add here. With the French army's focus on mobility it is unsurprising they embraced the IFV concept, and the VAB has proven its worth in the conflicts it participated in. As an anecdote, MEPHISTO is an acronym for 'Module Élévateur Panoramique Hot Installé Sur Tourelle Orientable', or 'retractable, turret-mounted, panoramic HOT-launcher'.
| French Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | AMX-30 |
| Transports: | AMX-10P- VAB |
| Troops: | Section d'infanterie/Chasseurs - Milan Section Antichar |
| Artillery: | AMX Auf1 |
| Anti-Aircraft: | AMX-13 DCA - AMX Roland |
| Tank Hunters: | VAB Mephisto |
| Recon: | AMX-10 RC - AMX-10P VOA |
| Aircraft: | Gazelle HOT - Gazelle 20mm - Mirage 5 |