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Cathay

2023-03-08T03:31:34Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:68EF:ED21:51E5:9429: /* "Core" */

[[File:Warhammer-the-old-world-grand-cathay-580x334.jpg|thumb|right|580px|Insert Bamboo flute and Erhu music here.]]
{{Topquote|Goddamn <s>Mongorians</s> Hungs! Stop tearing down my shitty warr''!|What the Cathayans have to say roughly 12 times every hour or so}}
{{Topquote|Those in other nations may deny it, but all mortals desire control. To be controlled, that is. Why else would they conjure these northern Gods that obsess in dominating the very creatures that brought them into being?|Yuan Bo, The Jade Dragon, Ruler of the Central Provinces and the Celestial Court}}

'''Cathay''', often '''Grand Cathay''', is the uninspired name for the analogue to [[China]] in the [[Warhammer Fantasy]] universe. That said, it is at least marginally more inspired than their name for the Japan analogue (and only because [[Nippon]] is a better-known name for Japan than Cathay is for China in Europe).

Until 2021, we had next to no information about them beyond token mentions in old novels and rulebooks. This all changed with [https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-iii-faq/ Total War Warhammer 3] finally fleshing out the faction.

==Forge World Sneak Peak==
''[[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos]]'', a book from [[Forge World|Forge World's]] fantasy line, quite surprisingly contains a battle scene where the forces of Cathay are involved. This is the first time Cathay's forces are shown in a major way. A chaos sorcerer dupes a Beastman army into attacking the Tower of Ashshair, a Cathayan watchtower outpost at the edge of the [[Ogre Kingdoms]] which it uses to scry on the Old World. Its defenders included fancy bronze cannon that shoot harpoons, "crow-men", stone "temple dogs", elite warriors with back-banners and "thousand-folded" swords, and "Dragon-blooded Shugengan" who wield elemental magics (fire, water, earth, air and wood). In other words, your usual collection of oriental cliches, [[Derp|mostly Japanese]].

Prior to Total War: Warhammer III (and the faction's impending backport to The Old World), this was the closest thing we got to an official Cathay army list along with the mention of them having elementals under their control in the Vampire Genevieve books.

But then, things get interesting when the Tower's garrison started to get overwhelmed by the [[Beastmen]]'s numbers. The Tower turns the tide by dropping a frikking' [[Warhammer_Magic#Celestial: Wind of Azyr, Lore of the Heavens |Comet of Casandora]] into the horde, then starts sending "strange creatures of living stone" that can swim through the ground and minotaur-suplexing "living statues of onyx" to beat the shit out of the survivors.

==How come all this lore is new?==
Grand Cathay has been listed in Warhammer's Lore since the early days, a location that was referenced on numerous occasions. A vast human Empire standing against chaos on the Eastern End of the primary continent with a role in the history of the world. It is based on a real-life civilization whose history and mythology could easily be mined for inspiration as Medieval France or Early Modern Germany or Norse and Egyptian mythology and the general melange of 20th-century fantasy. The setting could have been easily expanded with new stories and armies by developing Cathay, all without upsetting the stuff which people liked.

But until 2021 Games Workshop did not.

Despite being both vast, wealthy and powerful Cathay was just a background element. A land which was almost exclusively referenced indirectly in regards to other races (Hellstorm Rocket Batteries were based on Cathayan fireworks, Cathay once sent a fleet to Lustria that fought the lizardmen, etc) and with only a few scant scraps of lore to itself. We did not even have as much as a mercenary unit in The Dogs of War.

Exactly why this was the case is up in the air. Maybe the original GW guys were not into Chinese history and mythology. Maybe they could not get worthwhile reference material (a large part of this was pre-internet and what print material you could get on Imperial China in the 1980s was not as good as what we have now). Maybe they had it in a to-do list that just kept growing. Maybe they did not feel that Cathay was particularly relevant to the stories they wanted to tell. Maybe they were afraid of it turning out like the [[Pygmies (Warhammer Fantasy)|Pygmies]]. Maybe it was some combination of these and other elements.

Similar to the world building of Song of Ice and Fire, where the further East on a map a location is the more strange and unknown things get, details about Cathay remained shrouded in mystery and speculation.

[[Awesome|Fortunately, this has now changed.]]

==Final Mentions in Rulebooks==
According to the eight ed BRB, the Kurgans once mounted a massive raid on Cathay's Great Bastion. Which is funny, because Kurgans are basically Chaos-Turko Slavs to the Norscan's Chaos Vikings. [[Derp|Funnily enough, even though TWWH3 is responsible for bringing the fluff to life for the first time, the Kurgans that attack the Great Bastion every 5 turns or so in-game are Norscan (complete with Mammoths), rather than the Turkic Chaos Warriors they're described as in fluff.]]

In the [[End Times|end times]], they are invaded by Chaos and [[skaven]]. Remarkably, the dragon emperor drives out the Skaven and stalemates the forces of chaos, but ultimately loses to [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor's]] massive WAAAGH! The ruins of Cathay become the stage for an endless battle between the orcs and the remaining forces of chaos. Grimgor himself gets teleported away as he had become Incarnate of Beasts, and when the last effort to save the world fails, Cathay is destroyed along with the rest of the planet, revealed in [[Age of Sigmar]] to have been called Mallus. The exact fate of the Dragon Emperor and his family are unknown.

== Old Mentions from Novels ==
In the novel Beasts in Velvet, and the short story Red Thirst there is a Cathayan character named Dien Ch'ing (狄恩青/Di En Qing). He is secretly a Tzeenchian cultist who impersonated a Cathayan ambassador (which he had murdered and taken the name from). He is also a celestial wizard and is capable of using the classic five elemental magic (which are Tzeetch demons who disguised as those elements). From the same novel, it also tells the story of how when the monkey king was but a young prince he was able to trick the 5 elemental demons into fighting one another.

According to the novel '''Guardian of the Forest''', the knight featured in the novel: '''Leofric Carrard''' traveled to Cathay and slew the '''Jade Dragon''' of the '''Emerald River''', and saved the wives of the '''Emperor Zhang-Jimou''' from decapitation by the Executioner Cult of the '''Jade Pearl'''.

In the [[Nagash]]'s novel, it was mentioned that back when Lahmia was not crawling with vampires, they were rich due to its geographic locations that they were able to trade with the Cathayan through seaborne. Notable items like silk were a common trade in Lahmia and were fancied among the Lahmian nobles and its royalties. The Cathayan eat spicy seafood just like in real life, and the Lahmians enjoyed their cuisine during important events.

The Cathayan were brilliant schemers that they made a deal with Neferata's dad '''Lamasheptra''', who was desperate to save his sister Neferem from Nagash by paying them lots of gold every year (or by land, the city of Lahmia if they couldn't pay) in exchange to acquire Cathayan's cutting edge gunpowder weaponry. As a result, the Cathayan not only profit from this, they made a new deal a few years later after Lamasheptra's death with Neferata now in charge, telling her that they had found a new gold mine in one of their provinces, forcing the Lahmian to pay more gold to keep up with the new deal.

Unfortunately for the Cathayan, Neferata had given some of her vampire potion to erase the debt. The man she gave the potion to: '''Prince Xian Ha Feng''', one of the Dragon Emperor's sons sent to negotiate with Lahmia, not only drank the potion but also bought some of it back to Cathay where the vampire corruption soon spread. With enough immortal bloodsuckers (and probably some of [[Ushoran]]'s spies), Xian started a civil war against his father. This angers the Dragon Emperor so much that he ordered them to close their borders with ALL foreigners. The Dragon Emperor apparently died in a freak accident sometime after the civil war according to Ushoran's spies (perhaps has to do with the monkey king? that or is just one of the dragon children since the original dragon daddy is confirmed to be absent during this period) and a new Emperor was enthroned because of this. Under this new Emperor's reign, the trade with the Nekeharan has opened once again because the new Emperor cares little about the [[Nehekhara|Nehekharans]]. Although Prince Xian Ha Feng was never heard of after this, the vampire corruption remains still in Cathay.

Many known vampires had at least travelled to Cathay once. [[Neferata]] had lived there for 7 years in order to infiltrate its bureaucracy and become a ruler of her own once again. However, Cathayan background politics is an "eye-opener" that she was forced to run away again. [[Abhorash]] was noted by Neferata to have probably been to Cathay (probably to study its local martial arts, unsurprisingly). [[Vlad von Carstein|Lord Ankhat]] had assumed the persona of an immortal sorcerer prince there who helped the Dragon Emperor to drive back the [[Norsca|Hungs]] from breaching the great bastion, but was forced to escape after his vampiric nature was found out by a secret society of courtesan (aka mama dragon's spy). [[Genevieve Sandrine du Pointe du Lac Dieudonné|Genevieve]] was said to have become a trader and travelled to Cathay through the Silk Road for a hundred years or so. There she met a '''Master Po''' guy and learned to control her bloodlust as well as martial arts from him. Master Po is said to be important enough that he went to teach Cathayan military officers afterwards.

==[[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total Warhammer 3 AKA: "HOLY SHIT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING SOMETHING FOR CATHAY"]]==
[[File:Total-war-cathay trailer map.png|thumb|400 px|A new challenger appear!]]
[[File:Cathay Warhammer 3.png|right|400px|thumb|Cathay finally arrives on the scene]]
During the announcement of Total Warhammer 3, CA confirmed that Cathay will be one of the 6 playable factions. They'd been working with GW in bringing the faction to life and making them one of the core races in the game. This is also great news for anyone hoping for Cathay in [[Warhammer: The Old World]]. More info pending, but this minor faction is finally getting the fleshing out it deserves. Perhaps the most enticing detail to surface is GW confirming they essentially wrote an entire Cathay army book according to 8th Edition rules, complete with characters and background lore. That's where most of the new info on this page comes from, but it has only come out in drips and drabs from interviews. So far GW has announced no plans to actually release the new army book, but one can hope it's coming. Between Cathay and [[Kislev]], this is all a lore [[grognard]]'s wet dream.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033FWxL22A0 With the Reveal trailer], [https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-3-grand-cathay-faq/ the first CA FAQ] [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/09/14/watch-grand-cathay-come-to-life-in-an-epic-collaboration-for-total-war-warhammer-iii/ and GW discussion on Cathay's design + background] we finally get our first proper looks at Cathay.

Front and centre is [[Miao Ying]], daughter of the Celestial Dragon and his wife, and commander of the Northern Bastion (meaning that when Sayl attacked the wall it was her forces that drove him off). She's a dragon that can take a human form like her parents and its been shown that the Celestial Dragon spends his time in the Celestial city and overseeing Cathay while his children take direct control of different provinces (like a certain [[Emperor of Mankind|golden giant]] and his [[Primarch|kids]]) as her brother Zhao Ming commands the western province and will be the other playable lord.

In the trailer we see rocket batteries, war balloons and those suplexing statues from [[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos|the Tamurkhan book]], in addition to regular human infantry and some lady earth bending. To help establish Cathay's playstyle GW themselves made rules for each unit and for the army (using 8th edition) to aid CA to understand how Cathay should act in-game. [[Rage|Yes there are currently rules for 8th edition Cathay and GW are just sitting on them and not releasing them.]]

An interesting thing to note is that both [[Miao Ying]] and [[Zhao Ming]] seem to be based on the Four Dragons from Chinese mythology, who are four children born to the "King of the Dragons" each of whom were granted their own land in a cardinal direction and are associated with an element. Zhao is The White Iron Dragon and the ruler of the Western province (because metal is an element according to the ancient Chinese) and Miao is the Black Storm Dragon and ruler of the Northern province, both of these line up with the four dragons mythology.

The three other active Dragon children have since been named, while four others have been confirmed to be AWOL and used as juicy plot hooks for any future expansions. Yuan Bo rules the Central Provinces as the Administrator of the Realm, Yin-Yin rules the Eastern Provinces as the Admiral of the Grand Dragon Fleet, and Li Dao rules the Southern Provinces against the raids of the Monkey King and the Beastmen tribes from Ind.

==New Canon Lore==
===History===
So once upon a time, [[The Dragon Emperor]] and his wife lived on the world before the Old Ones came, where it was mostly a frozen wasteland. Eventually, the space hypnotoads came and did their thing, terraforming the planet and creating all of the little races of the Warhammer World. When humans started to show up, The Dragon Emperor learned to take human shape and gathered a few tribes under his banner. When Chaos eventually came, more tribes flocked to him in order to protect their new empire, eventually creating the Great Bastion himself and instilling a section of his magic in order to prevent the Chaos Hordes from breaking into Cathay. Once Cathay started to take shape, The emperor and his wife decided they were happy with the lands they have and decided to settle down to defend them.

The Dragon pair and their kids would eventually rule over the land and teach them the ways of Harmony, to be one with themselves and the land around them and find their natural place in the world. The Dragons aren't tyrants but act more like teachers and wardens to the humans that are beneath them, as they feel they need the humans on their good side to fight Chaos. They've gotten so used to being with humans that they spend most of their time in human form, only going dragon in an emergency. They don't wish to be worshipped as gods, but it usually happens anyway, and the people of Cathay [[Imperial Creed|treat them with such reverence]] that talking shit about them is a good way to get murdered, especially if you're a foreigner.

===Modern times===
Unfortunately for big D, while he seems to have done a decent job of instilling harmony in the people of Cathay, [[Primarch|he hasn't done a good job of it with his kids because they all fucking hate each other.]] There are a confirmed nine children, but four of them are missing who knows where.

Miao Ying the Storm Dragon is the most favoured and powerful of the Dragon kids, which has given her a massive superiority complex. She's been given the north to rule, which also happens to have Daddies very essence tied to it.

Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, is viewed as too experimental with his magic and many fear he is losing his mind due to how much time he spends around the Great Maw, snorting lines of warpstone and actually treating his subjects like human beings. He rules the west, and has the favor of his mother to back him up.

The Dragon of the South is called Li Dao. He is the Fire Dragon and despises Miao Ying as well. He constantly has to deal with invasions from the Southlands from the Monkey King and Naga.

The Dragon of the East is Yin Yin, the Azure Dragon, the only one with an expansionist mindset. She's the one who fought Dark Elves who made their way over the boiling sea. She also tried conquering Araby and once got stranded in Lustria, so Mrs Worldwide.

The Final Dragon we know of is the Jade Dragon, Yuan Bo, who rules the centre of Cathay and spends most of his time hating that he is surrounded by idiots and trying to tell his siblings to listen to Daddy. Evidently, they all spoil for mom and dad's attention and bicker a lot.

There is also the slight problem that Tzeentch cults hold a massive amount of power in the empire and has caused no shortage of problems. It's no help that even humans plot to either gain the favour of the dragons or usurp them.

This all came to a head when the Dragon Emperor and his wife disappeared, leaving the kids alone to watch the place. This resulted in Time of Darkness and Disharmony (Cathay's [[Horus Heresy|version of the Warring States]]), as they fight for the throne while Cathay endures an invasion from the North and South. The Dragon Emperor was also said to be working on his own [[Webway|secret project]], which may or may not help the people of Cathay against Chaos.

Eventually, the Dragon Emperor and his wife came home from their four-century vacation to find their kids fighting, Chaos armies rampaging in their lands and the throne occupied by a god damn monkey.

The Monkey King had used the chaos to take over the country and installed a Clan Eshin Warlord as one of his advisors. Appalled by the idea of Skaven of all things issuing edicts, this finally convinced the other Dragon kids to put aside their differences and fight him, until dad came home and won the war.

===Overview===
So on paper, we have a utopian society of harmony where Dragons and Humans act as one and stand defiant against the forces of Chaos in peace and tranquillity. Once you look closer though, we have a landmass led by spoiled children at each other's throats and only held in line by their parents, along with a fanatical population who are willing to kill any who so much as slightly criticize their rule, and is only held together because of the power and charisma of a single, semi god-like being.

Of other note is the extreme arrogance and pride of Cathay. It is mentioned in new lore and flavor text that the reason why the Ambassador to Altdorf has a crude grasp of Reikspeil is because the Empire is viewed as "barbaric, uncivilized and savage", and therefore it is likely that she never bothered to learn much Reikspeil at all. Cathay continues to be arrogant in its lore, mentioning that the tiny cogs used in the clockwork crossbows of Cathay are "The envy of the world" according to the Cathayans themselves, and that "none other can match"; The Dwarfs would likely disagree.

Basically, Cathay is a jack of all trades, master of none.

In other words, pretty much what the [[Imperium]] would have become if Big E wasn't put on the golden toilet seat, was smart enough to not just ban religion and redirect faith towards something else (ancestor worship), was a slightly better dad and the primarchs hadn't been scattered.

==Geography==
[[File:Cathay Map-TOW.jpg|thumb|right|450px|The most accurate map on Cathay since 1990.]]
The country is huge (as in the case with a certain real-world country), much bigger than the Empire and the other western lands. To the north is the <s>Mongolian steppes</s> [[Eastern Steppes]] and regions of chaos, which are held at bay by the huge-ass Great <s>Wall</s> Bastion of <s>China</s> Cathay which prevents the hordes from pillaging. Why the Empire never took this up themselves isn't explained. Probably it's because the Elector Counts could not work together for long enough to get it built.

(IRL China's Great Wall isnt a single, continuous fortifaction, but a massive series of fortresses and successive (it's defence in depth, with fall back positions) walls; whenever possible, they built along and in addition to the highlands of Northern China, so you have mountains and impassable terrain, with fortresses dotted all over, and walls maybe connecting them if there's flat enough land for it. In contrast, Eastern Europe is very flat, with Poland the Ukraine being so relatively flat that the German and Russian Empires realized that in times of war, they needed Poland/Ukraine as a buffer, because anyone could roll straight through them if they tried hard enough. Fantasy Empire is the same, with Kislev being based on Russia, but is used as the Poland/Ukrainian buffer by the Empire)

To the west is the Mountains of Mourn, the [[warpstone]] deserts and the Great Maw. Incidentally, you can blame the Cathayans for the Great Maw’s existence as the Dragon Emperor had his celestial wizards summon the thing to punish the Ogres for eating some of his citizens. Although recently there has been some evidence Tzeentch had a hand in how tits up it went. To the south is a mysterious jungle where the lost city of the old ones is. Eastwards is the sea, with [[Nippon]] and the [[Lost Isles of Elithis]].

===Cities and Provinces===
* '''Northern Provinces''' - Consisting mainly of the Great Bastion and its supplying towns, its other notable aspect is being home to the river that in Cathayan mythos leads to the underworld. Rumoured to be trapped under this river is the lost Spirit Dragon, a child of the Dragon Emperor and the Moon Empress. Ruled by the Storm Dragon, Miao Ying.
**'''Nan-Gau''' – The major city of the north, known as the city of smoke. A 9 walled fortress city linked to the Great Bastion, it has never fallen to any invader. The Lords of Nan-Gau are not as deferent to the Dragons as the ruling classes in other cities. This is because the city is home to countless forges and workshops that furnish the armies of the empire with weapons and provide countless war machines for the defence of the Great Bastion. So, the Lords are powerful, granted more independence than most and have occasionally even dared to challenge Miao Ying, the Dragon nominally in charge. She does quickly exert her power to make them fall in line when needed.
**'''Po-Mei''' - Another manufacturing city in the north and Nan-Gau's main rival. While their rivalry used to be mostly friendly, things flared up when it came down to who would get the credit for inventing Cathay's flying warships. This lead to a political feud that lead to people being maimed, killed and airship prototypes "mysteriously" falling out of the sky. Miao Ying caught wind of this when the supplies for the Bastion started dropping and was NOT happy. So in the middle of an altitude race between the two cities, she caused a massive storm, slapped the two balloons out of the sky and told the cities to play nice or she'll get really angry next time. There seems to have been no blood between the cities since.

* '''The Great Bastion''' - The Great Wall of <s>China</s> Cathay. In history there is a mythic telling of how it was built by the dragons: Every brick fashioned by the Iron Dragon, breathed upon by the Fire Dragon, Blessed by the Emperor. In reality, thousands of people were used to build the wall. It has 10 small fortresses built into it, each a miniature city in scale and population. The Dragon Emperor has tied his very essence to the wall, so if it ever fell he would die too. He almost died when [[Lord_Mazdamundi|a certain hypnotoad]] slapped the plates of the planet around, causing the walls to be royally messed up for a while. Ruled by Miao Ying, showing the level of trust and/or favouritism the Dragon Emperor has for his number one daughter. has the claim of having never failed, but still got ''breached'' a few times by chaos forces.
**'''Dragon Gate ''' – The Centermost gate and the one closest to Po-Mei
**'''Snake Gate ''' – The Westernmost gate and the one closest to Nan-Gau. Due to its proximity to the city it gets constant restocks of weapons and supplies, making it extremely hardy. The part of the Bastion Miao Ying defends the most.
**'''Turtle Gate''' – The Easternmost gate and the one closest to Wei-Jin and the Celestial City.

* '''Imperial Provinces''' - Located just southeast of Northern Provinces. It is a region ruled by Emperor and Empress directly.
** '''Wei-Jin''' - The Capital of Cathay that normal mortals can enter. Oddly despite being the capital, it's the city we know the least about.
*** '''The Celestial City''' - in the clouds above Wei-Jin; Home of the Jade Court. Location of the Wu Zing Compass, through which the Emperor directs the winds of magic to strengthen different areas of the empire in need.

* '''Western Provinces''' – Other than the city of Shang-Yang and the Iron Dragon, there is a place called the Tower of Ashshair, which was featured all the way back in [[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos]], as well as the warpstone desert. In this desert, caravans have to use [[Sigvald|mirrored shields]] to protect from chaos radiation. Also home of the Great Maw.
** '''Shang-Yang''' - It is the largest city in the west, a bustling metropolis full of foreign traders despite its location in the middle of the Warpstone Desert. Sometimes invaded by Ogres, Hobgoblins and Skaven. The door between the Old World and Cathay; Estalians, Tileans and Empire travellers and ambassadors all have permanent quarters within the city. It also draws in cabals of alchemists and hedge wizards, who use the city as a base for their expeditions into the desert. Since it's all unofficial and unsanctioned, a lot of warpstone and other elements get used in ways that aren't exactly the safest. Home of the Iron Dragon.

* '''Central Provinces''' – Breadbasket of empire. Ruled by Yuan Bo. It is reasonably safe. If you want to live in the Warhammer world, this is a pretty good choice. [[Beastmen|Even here though, forests are risky]].
** '''Shang Wu''' - The most important city in Central Cathay. It is the seat of the Jade Dragon, Yuan Bo, who rules Central Cathay. Shang Wu lies where the Great River and other rivers meet and is also where the Broken Road and the Great Road meet, making it an incredibly important trade hub. The city is located near rich farmland.
** '''the Grand Observatory of Xing Po''' - A massive observatory where the kings astromancers are trained, study the heavens and divine the future.

* '''Eastern Provinces''' - The wealthiest region, with numerous major cities and lots of trade. It even has a large high elf population, as well as other races from across the world. Home of Dragon Fleets which guard against [[Dark_Elves_(Warhammer_Fantasy)|those pesky emos]] and Nippon. Ruled and protected by Yin-Yin the Sea Dragon.
** '''Fu-Chow''' - A cosmopolitan sea trade city located in the east. The palace of the Sea Dragon is there. This city is full of ghettos for different races. It's possibly the most metropolitan place in the world, eclipsing even Marienburg and Lothern.
** '''Bei Chai''' – Another eastern city, having a dark reputation for harbouring the cults of Tzeentch. Mention of a Cult of the Painted Skin growing here. Other chaos gods struggle to get a foothold in Cathay mainly due to this lot. Despite several attempts by Yin-Yin to purge the city, Tzeentch Cults somehow keep finding their way back. Why they don't just burn the whole place to ashes at this point is a mystery.

* '''Southern Provinces''' – lots of foothills rolling into the Mountains of Heaven. It contains lots of tribes and is an unruly region due to the Monkey Kings presence. Also, there is the "[[Furry|occasional tiger man village]]”. Home of the Fire Dragon, Li Dao.
**'''Fu-Hung''' - Known as the chanting city. It is the home of the Phoenix Temple, a great structure shaped like a giant vermilion warbird, close to the Mountains of Heaven. Whilst religion dedicated to deities and the Dragons isn't allowed, ancestor worship and veneration of local items of interest are tolerated. Vermillion warbirds are smaller phoenixes native to Cathay and very important in Cathayan culture.

*'''The Mountains of Heaven''' - Whilst technically in Cathay, it is functionally an autonomous region ruled by the Monkey King. The only reason for this is due to the constant threat from the [[Kingdoms_of_Ind|Kingdoms of Ind]] and the Naga from [[Khuresh|the Hinterlands of Khuresh]] which mean any invasion to deal with the Monkey King would result in the weakened army being taken out by Cathay's enemies. So he lives [[Farsight#Farsight_Enclaves|as an autonomous zone where the ruling class wish to destroy him. However, they cannot commit to destroying them without foreign invaders capitalising on the new war]].

==Who Rules Cathay?==

{{Topquote|Oh child, I watched your Emperor and Empress mate, I was there...drinking it in|N'kari, in Total War, reminding the rulers of Cathay they were there during their conception in the grossest way possible}}

The dragon emperor and his wife the moon empress (both of which were around when the Old Ones were alive) are the official rulers of Cathay, and both have equal say in how to run the nation. The Emperor is pretty hands-off, [[The_God-Emperor_of_Mankind|spending his time on some unknowable plan which he hasn't told his children about, because that has never bitten any other Warhammer character directly on the ass cheek]]. His wife likes to go around pretending to be a regular human to check on things, and also root out cults of Tzeentch (other chaos gods don't seem to have gained much sway in Cathay). The emperor has nine children and four are missing. One is strongly hinted to be trapped under a river in the north of Cathay, and another one is hinted to be the one [[Archaon]] ripped apart in older lore. '''Shen-Zoo''', the daughter that was responsible for maintaining the balance of Harmony, had disappeared somewhere in the [[Chaos Wastes]] ([[Sigmar|haven't]] [[Miska the Slaughterer|seen that]] [[Grimnir|before, huh]]), is the focus of Cathayan storyline in TWW3. One is still completely unaccounted for. The five remaining each rule a piece of Cathay.

===[[Miao Ying]]===
The Storm Dragon. She rules the north and [[Rogal Dorn|has the duty of protecting the Great Bastion]]. She's the oldest and is also [[Horus Lupercal|daddy's favourite]]. This makes all her siblings jealous of her. She's known for being [[Lion El'Jonson|cold and aloof]], beyond the normal Dragon Children level, which might be from having to watch thousands of her subjects constantly die due to chaos attacking the Great Bastion every other Tuesday.

===[[Zhao Ming]]===
The Iron Dragon. [[Vulkan|The nice one who likes who smithing and might be going crazy.]] This guy rules the west which borders the warpstone desert. He has a green rock in his hat, right over his forehead. During an interview Andy Hall, lead writer of the [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] series, was asked if this rock was jade or [[warpstone]]. Andy refused to say which one it was. While his siblings are quite aloof towards their human subjects, Zhao is far more friendly and sociable to them and most of the Dragon-blooded trace their ancestry to him, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMwLxglN3E as well as all of the Longma]. Whether he legitimately cares for his subjects or just does it to piss off his siblings is unclear. Zhao also has an interest in alchemy. Fun fact: Real Life Daoist alchemists were interested in cinnabar (which was a frequent ingredient in their attempts to make an elixir of immortality), so Chinese alchemists messing around with poison stuff in ways they shouldn't do has real-life precedent. Also, Zhao's siblings think his mental health has declined, with his friendliness towards humans being considered some of the evidence of this. He's protected by his mother though, being her favourite. So you end up with a guy snorting lines of warpstone, partying with his subjects and getting it on with cute alchemist girls. A true hero of the Cathayan people. Has a friendship with [[Greasus Goldtooth]] on the basis of both of them having gigantic daddy issues.

===[[Li Dao]]===
The Fire Dragon (master of the burning winds and lord of the phoenix) - Male Ruler of the South, described as [[Perturabo|bitter that Miao Ying gets all the attention for defending the north when he has the challenging and thankless task of protecting the empire from Ind and Kuresh]]. Also has to deal with the Monkey King the most out of all the Dragon Siblings, who basically constantly trolls him from Warhammer Nepal. Being stuck as the second best and second favourite behind Miao Ying whilst constantly getting dunked on by some overgrown furry has left him with some [[Rage|unresolved issues]]. How original to make the fire-themed character a hothead (Even though that is literally the canon effect the Wind of Fire tends to channel in its users). According to an Andy Hall interview, he and the Jade Dragon teamed up to stop [[Ku'Gath]] from paying Cathay a little visit.

===[[Yin-Yin]]===
The Sea Dragon, Female Ruler of the East, admiral of the Grand Dragon Fleet. Apparently, she’s more impulsive than the others and has an oddly expansionist outlook. In the past, she led a failed naval invasion of the Southlands and Lustria, so she was in charge during the old lore where Cathay got absolutely destroyed by Lizardmen. She also got wrecked by Araby when she tried invading them. As a result of wasting so many Cathayan lives, she is the least popular of her siblings with both the parents and her brothers and sister. So she has the [[Battle of Phall|navy]] and [[Iron Warriors|tends to waste a lot of Cathayan lives in her battles]]. Plus is a [[Perturabo|jobber who's hated by her siblings and subordinates]]. Guess we can expect her and Miao Ying to re-enact the [[Perturabo#Iron_Cage_Trolling|Iron Cage]] at some point then...

When not being defeated by every other faction, she spends most of her time dealing with the Dark Elves raiding her coasts and Nippon looking angrily at Cathay. [[Fulgrim|A quote in Warhammer 3 states that she wonders if the High Elf Dragonships are named after her, meaning she is either extremely arrogant, really dumb, or deliberately snubbing Ulthuan]].

In older lore, it was a different Dragon Emperor who supposedly led the fleet to the Southlands, but in the CA-written lore, it was retconned to her, while the older name of the Dragon Emperor ended up as one of Xen Huong's titles being misinterpreted in Imperial records.

===[[Yuan Bo]]===
The Jade Dragon. [[Roboute Guilliman|The boring middle child. He rules over central Cathay and is in charge of the main bureaucracy]]. He spends most of his time telling the rest of his siblings to shut up and listen to Daddy, whereupon the rest of his siblings tell him to shut his nerd ass up. He then cries to his parents who pretend to listen, and then send him back down because he's the only one who can be bothered to figure out all this 'administration' business that's needed to run a nation. Despite this, he is still the most 'liked' among the siblings, if only because no one truly hates him in comparison to some of the other sibling relationships. Considering that he prefers paperwork to fighting and rules over the part of Cathay with the least conflict he is likely the least powerful of his siblings, though he's still a dragon and can still whoop the ass of most mortal warriors. He's is quoted on the loading screens of TWW3, and they imply he is some sort of head propagandist in Cathay. Some other quotes attributed to him in WH3 paint him as one of the dragons most ambivalent towards humans, viewing them as expendable resources who yearn to be controlled. He's also stated to be the most magically gifted of the Dragon Siblings.

==Missing Dragons==
===Shen-Zoo===
Known as the 'Bringer of Light and Hope' she ventured into the mountains of Norsca and disappeared. She is younger than Miao Ying, but where this places her in the age range isn't narrowed down as Miao Ying is the oldest child. Cathay in Warhammer 3 gets involved in trying to save Ursun to interrogate the god to find this Dragon.

===The Spirit Dragon===
Currently unnamed, this dragon is rumoured to be trapped under the Dragon River. (Very creative names here). This river leads to the underworld according to Cathayan mythos. She was presumably involved with death rituals even before, considering her name and possible fate. The Warhammer Fantasy RPG mentions in the Doom of Kavzar that tells the Skaven were vomited out from the gigantic maw of the Great Black Dragon that lives coiled inside the earth, which could also possibly be her.

===First Unknown Child===
Possibly the Flamefang, Yien-Ya-Long, a massive serpentine Chaos dragon sworn to Tzeentch. Archaon spent many years hunting and being hunted by this dragon, eventually slaying it and claiming the eye of Sheerian from its body.

===Second Unknown Child===
The only dragon left with no lore hints. Possibly a chance for [[Your_Dudes|your own custom dragon sibling]].

Potentially could be Prince Xian Ha Feng, a supposed son of the Dragon Emperor who was sent to Lamia as an emissary and who Neferata wanted to use to get a foothold in Cathay, but ended up accidentally causing a civil war. Might explain why no one mentions him if he's dead and/or a vampire.

==Other Notable Characters==
These are characters who don't actually rule over any official part of Cathay, but still play an important role in their history and lore.

===Monkey King===
While not one of the official rulers of Cathay, the (currently unnamed) Monkey King rules over the Mountains of Heaven and the Monkey Warriors, the second largest population in Cathay. During the Time of Darkness and Disharmony, he took over the country while the Dragon Emperor was away and his kids were fighting, installing a Clan Eshin Warlord as an advisor. This pissed off the Dragon Kids for obvious reasons, and they unified against him and knocked him back to the Mountains when dad came home. Understandably, the Dragons all hate his guts and the only reason they haven't exterminated him and the rest of his furries is because it would weaken their forces against other, bigger threats to the south.

The Monkey King does help defend Southern Cathay alongside Li Dao, and by that I mean he annoys the fuck out of him, though it is implied his warriors also serve as mercenaries for others willing to pay for them. It is also unknown if he and his monkey warrior count as servants of chaos like all beastman, that or the fact it has four arms just like that monkey statue from [[Gotrek & Felix|Vampire Slayer]].

According to an in-game lore quote in Total War: Warhammer 3, the Monkey King is known for 4 depictions in different parts of Cathay that all sound Chaosy. [[Khorne|A Bloodthirsty Gorilla in the north]], [[Slaanesh|A beautiful Baboon with flowing blond hair whose always in heat in the west]], [[Nurgle| a fat Orangutan with boils on his stomach in the east]], and a [[Tzeentch| deceptive Spider Monkey in the south]]. According to Andy Hall, this is propaganda spread by Tzeentch to stop Cathay and the Monkey King from fully uniting. Fun fact, none of these animals live in real-life China.

===Shi-Hong===
Once a peasant living in the shittier parts of Nan-Gau, Shi-Hong had of hobby of making complicated mechanical toys to amuse his friends and family. The Artificer Guild in Nan-Gau thought he showed promise and took him in, where he quite rapidly rose through the ranks to become one of the Masters of the guild. He came up with an idea to ease the amount of strain the Bastion was facing against Chaos, mainly boiling down to "What if we just killed them before they actually got to the walls in sufficient numbers?" He installed mechanical platforms to allow Crane Gunners to snipe more accurately from further away and was credited for the creation of the weaponized airships. He is referred to as "The Blind Master", though whether he was born blind or was blinded in an accident or as an act of sabotage from a rival group is unknown.

== Relations ==
Cathay has always been a very insular and isolationist nation, as such they never really interact too heavily with foreign powers aside from trade unless they feel like they need to. That said caravans and ambassadors have been sent out to other nations of the world, and they have plenty of enemies at their borders, which gives us some clues as to how they view the rest of the world.

*'''Western Human Nations''': According to older lore (which may or may not be decanonised now), Cathay was first discovered by Tilean adventurer Marco Polare (sounds familiar, right?), who managed to establish trade between Cathay and [[Tilea]]. Like pretty much everyone else in the world, they trade with [[Marienburg]]... and that's pretty much it. The Nagash novel dispute the above statement by making [[Nehekhara#Devil.27s_Backbone|Lahmia]], a port city in the Nehekhara east to be their first trade partner in the ancient past (though granted, Lahmia and Nehekara in general had a [[Tomb Kings|teeny]] [[Vampire Counts|tiny]] pair of problems that precluded diplomatic stability). Overall, they think VERY little of the Western human nations, to the point where the Cathayan Ambassador to Altdorf only learned enough Reikspiel to mention how backwards they were.
**'''Empire''': Western Empire is easily the country with which Cathay interacts most, up to the point of having an official ambassador. Still, the distance between two countries essentially means that they are pretty much on their own most of the time.
**'''Bretonnia''': Not counting old Leofric Carrard novels (in which Bretonnian knight simply roamed the world searching for adventures), there is nothing to say about their relations.
**'''Kislev''': Same as Bretonnia, if you don't count [[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total War: WARHAMMER III]].
**'''Ancient Nehekharan''': According to Nagash novel, the Lahmians were the only Nehekharan Cathay has been interacted for the most part. From their trades, the Lahmian gained a lot of goodies from them like silks, spices, candles, incense, tea and firearms (that last one requires the entire city of Lahmia as payment if there were no gold left). Because of this, Lahmian were the foremost [[weeaboo]] nation ever existed in warhammer at that times. Although both gained a lot from the trade, it does not prevent them from scheming against each other, which results in Neferata having enough of their shit, convinced one of their officer into vampirism, resulting the spread of vampirism in great Cathay. The Dragon Emperor (or whoever was in charged at the time) was pissed off of course, and cancelled the trade with Lahmian, only to re-sign the agreement after the said Emperor (once again, might not be the real one if the newest lore were to believe) was killed and replaced by his inheritor. However, we all knew how Lahmia got it ass handed to Alcadizzar and his armies, so no contacts were made after that. Though it was not mentioned if Alcadizzar ever tried to rebuilt Lahmia in order to trade with Cathay, but it doesn't matter since the entirely of Nehekhara were later nuked and its inhabitant replaced with [[Tomb Kings|ancient walking corpses]] by [[Nagash|that shitty manchild lich]]. Those with living fresh of course are smart to leave the walking dead alone, and Cathayans were no exception. Although it would be hilarious if they at least tried to trade something with them for a joke, and [[Khalida]] would be their most likely just because her city Lybaras positioned near the same east coast as Lahmia.
**'''[[Araby]]''': [[Araby]] was one of the targets for [[Yin-Yin|Yin-Yin's]] plan of Cathayan expansion, and, as you know, it ended badly.
**'''[[Kingdoms of Ind]]''': Ind are seen as some sort of threat for Cathay (probably because of the tiger beastmen living there), alongside [[Khuresh]].
*'''Eastern Human Nations''': [[Nippon]] is described as a rival naval nation, which isn't elaborated for now.
*'''Chaos''': Like any other Ordered civilization, Cathay hates [[Chaos]], to the point of building Great Bastion to protect their lands from Daemons and marauders (mostly Hungs and Kurgans). However, unlike most of the world, [[Tzeentch|Blue Weeaboo Bird]] is strongest here, corrupting aristocracy of some cities and creating weird cults. Likely due to the scheming and backstabbing nature of Cathayan politics and Tzeentch's hatred of Cathay's dynasty. Oh, and also you can find [[Beastmen]] there.
*'''Dwarfs''': Both Cathay and Karaz Ankor are too remote and too isolated to have any meaningful collaboration between each other. Honestly Dwarfs may have a bit of respect for Cathay for their ancestor worship and use of similar weapons and tactics
**'''Chaos Dwarfs''': Same as their non-Chaotic kin up to the [[End Times]], when they assisted Chaos in invading Cathay.
*'''Elves''':
**'''High Elves''': Cathay and Asur established trade with each other early, about 1700 years before End Times, but since then not much has changed in relations between these nations. High Elves are also the main minority living in the Eastern ports of the empire. Safe to assume they both like to mention how inferior the other is during get togethers.
**'''Dark Elves''': Druchii (especially Fellheart family) are know to raid the shit out of everything, and Cathay is not an exception, with several cities being destroyed by Black Arcs. They are also easily the main naval danger for Cathayan fleet.
**'''Wood Elves''': Not much info on the Elves themselves, but evidently a group of ancient spirits from [[Athel Loren]] did use the World Roots to colonize a forest known as the Jungles of [[Tzeentch|Chi'an]]. They apparently have an antagonistic relationship with the local Monkey People, and are otherwise only notable [[Drycha|because they're all malevolent like a certain other genocidal tree]].
*'''Vampires''': Cathay has its own version of Vampires which were long a subject of canonicity debates - [[Jade-Blooded]]. And while they were confirmed to exist recently, their lore is so outdated that we can't say for sure how Dragon family feels about them (probably hostile since who in the right mind would be edgy enough to accept dead people that eats the living?).
**Again, if Nagash's novel were to believe, Cathay is big on the no vampire policy due to Neferata's action that caused vampirism to first spread in Cathay. And as for the Jade-Blooded, they might be founded by the descendants of the first Cathayan Vampire whom Neferata had corrupt: '''Prince Xian Ha Feng'''.
***In Neferata and W'soran's novel, it was revealed that at least three of the major vampire: Neferata, Abhorash and Lord Ankhat (aka [[Vlad von Carstein]]). Neferata went there to start a new life after she was cast out of her city. She tried to make herself a new home by infiltrate and seize it's power in politics, but realized she was a noob compare to the Cathayan at court scheme and was chased away (again, the moon Empress might had a hand in this). Abhorash went there to learn its local martial arts, but no mentioned of him causing trouble (then again, he has self restrain and is not a complete arsehole like the rest of the rest of the vampires), not to mentioned his novels was canned so we don't gets to hear about his badass adventures. Ankhat like Neferata also wanted to make himself big in Cathay and thus he studied W'soran's magic scrolls and disguised as a wizard prince to help the Cathayan against the shitty Chaos invaders at the Great Bastions. Again, because of how competent the security in Cathay was, Ankhat was chased out and assume the life of [[pirate|piracy]].
*'''Skaven''': Aside from Ogres, this is the race that interacts (or interacted) with Cathay the most. [[Clan Eshin]] learned ninja technics here (or in Nippon), and Under-Empire has a major presence in Cathay, up to being co-rulers of it alongside Monkey King when Big D disappeared. They also have a sizeable presence in the Warpstone Desert for reasons that should be self evident.
*'''Lizardmen''': Yin-Yin tried to invade [[Southlands]] during her expansion attempts, but failed. While they aren't outright hostile to each other, they aren't fond of one another either. The Dragons largely blame the Old Ones for why the world went to shit, and the Lizards don't considered the Dragon Emperor's shenanigans as part of the Great Plan. They will fight alongside one another if Chaos is pulling shit, though.
*'''Ogre Kingdoms''': Ogres are very linked to Cathay - most of their backstory relies on Big D pulling a comet out of space to prevent them from eating his subjects. Ogres work as mercenaries there (especially in [[Zhao Ming|Zhao Ming's]] army), but generally they aren't interested in Celestial Empire due to their westward migration.
*'''Greenskins''': They mostly don't live in [[Eastern Lands]], and the only time they interacted beyond the occasional WAAAGH is when [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor's]] horde destroyed Cathay in the End Times. The main exception being the Hobgoblin Khanate lead by Hobgobla Khan to the north of Cathay, who occasionally assault the Great Bastion, much like Chaos. Needless to say, they view the Orcs and Goblins like pretty much everyone else does, kill on sight.

== Cathay's Army ==
[[File:Cathay-Warhammer-Fantasy-David-Gallagher.jpg|thumb|right|400px|thumb|Until 2021, this was literally the only image we had, except some White Dwarf conversions.]]
All that we know about Cathay's army comes from their [[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay|army roster]] in Total War Warhammer 3 pre any DLC, so this probably isn't even their entire list. Given that they are coming to [[Warhammer: The Old World]] we'll split them up into Cores, Special and Rare units once we know who goes where.

===Generic Characters===
*'''Dragon-Blooded Shugengan Lord''': These guys are what happens when a member of the Dragon family gets really bored, spots one of their human subjects and decides "Meh, I'd fuck that." They're the highest ranking officials in Cathay aside from the Dragons themselves, being incredible spellcasters and warriors in their own right. They also tend to be arrogant twats and their lesser human nobles hate them out of envy. Sadly since they aren't full blooded Dragons they can't transform but they can use the Lores of Yin and Yang, which are exclusive to Dragons.

*'''Lord Magistrate''': The normal human nobles in Cathay, they are the high ranking generals or lords that run Cathay's cities. They aren't nearly as strong as the Shugengan but they are more numerous. They mainly specialize in commanding armies and directing their troops to perfection after years of practice. Important ones come into battle aboard a Sky Lantern in order to get a view of the battle from the air and to direct troops with flags and to bring out the best in their soldiers.

*'''Alchemists''': The secretive sorcerer cabal in Cathay, they flock to Shang Yang as Zhao Ming is the only dragon who wants to have them around. Guy pretty much runs his own cult of metal benders and only gets away with it because he's mama's favorite. They have grown into a surprisingly powerful cabal that while technically not allowed, still gets hired by generals due to their skill in the Lore of Metal and their potion making in order to assist troops in battle.

*'''Astromancer''': This is the actually accepted group of sorcerers in Cathay who specialize in Lore of Heavens, as it is the Dragon Emperor's favorite. The highest ranking officials spend much of their time assisting Big D with his secret project as often serve as his messengers and advisors. [[Fail|This is also the group who accidentally nuked the Ogres]] but when they aren't doing that they are assisting Cathay's armies with magic and the Wu-Xing War Compass.

==="Core"===
(Or at least our best guess given what we know)
[[File:Jade Warrior.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Your basic Cathayan Grunt, the Jade Warrior]]

*'''Peasant Long Spearman''': Also known as the "Warriors of Wind and Field", [[PDF|the Dragons realized that they have a crap load of people living in Cathay and said "Hey, we can use these guys!"]]. They're only really used for numbers and are not only expected to run, but are often encouraged to so that the better warriors can deal with stuff they can't handle. Small towns who can't afford to have standing regiments of Jade Warriors mostly have these guys as defense.

*'''Peasant Archer''': Evidently the Moon Empress loves ranged weapons and young girls are taught how to use a bow at an early age to honor her. Again, pretty much only used to fill out numbers.

*'''Peasant Horsemen''': Due to the massive size of the country, Peasants often learn how to ride in order to carry information or commercial goods across massive territories. As such, they often fill the role of scouts or flanking harass in Cathayan armies.

*'''Jade Warriors''': These guys are the actual trained soldiers of Cathay. [[Imperial Guard|Their main job is to hold the front line so that the guns and ranged units have a chance to shoot]]. Can be equipped with Swords, Halberds and Crossbows. They mostly serve as the military and police in larger cities who can afford to house large numbers of them

*'''Jade Lancers''': The most common heavy cav in Cathay, they are slower but much tankier than most other knights.

===Others===
*'''Celestial Dragon Guard''': The Elites of the Cathayan Army, raised to a higher standard to the standard rank and file with better weapons and armor. Can be armed with swords, halberds or crossbows.

*'''Monkey Warriors''': The soldiers of the Monkey King. We don't know what they do or how they fight, but we know they exist.

*'''Iron Hail Gunners ''': Ladies with Chinese themed blunderbusses. Don't quite have the range of Empire guns but since they wield old timey shotguns they can rip apart enemy formations at a very close range.

*'''Crane Gunners''': Sniper teams with a long ass gun where one person mans the gun and the other mans a shield and reloads. Whether these guys ripped off the Skaven or vice versa isn't explained. However, considering the Skaven's habit of <strike> stealing </strike> appropriating stuff from other cultures, like Clan Eshin learning how to be ninjas from Nippon, there can be a case for the latter.

*'''Great Longma Riders''': Minor nobles who became nobles by their great-grandpa shtupping a dragon, who ride Dragon Horses. They're the elite cavalry force of Cathay and are usually used to give them aerial dominance and to cover for the war balloons.

*'''Terracotta Sentinels''': The Celestial Dragon Emperor's action figures that come to life to defend Cathay much like the Tomb Kings constructs. Said to [[Wraithguard|contain the souls of ancient warriors]] who fought for the Dragon during the first Chaos Incursion. Stand sentinel around Cathay until invaders comes.

===War Machines/Artillery===
*'''Sky Lantern''': A flying balloon piloted by sniper ladies, it acts as a forward scout for Cathay's armies. Also used by Magistrates to find enemy positions, discover ambushes and to provide motivation to the troops below.

*'''Sky-Junk''': A heavier flying balloon powered by a smaller phoenix, this acts as a mobile flying artillery piece. Armed with a Fire Rain Rocket and multiple bombs they can tear entire battle formations apart.

*'''Grand Cannon''': A cannon that is pulled by oxen making it surprisingly fast, that fires firey globes into the enemy.

*'''Wu-Xing War Compass''': A miniature version of the Celestial Compass which the Dragon Emperor uses to slap magic into various places of Cathay, it greatly boosts the magical capacity of mages riding one or simply its presence on the field.

*'''Fire Rain Rocket''': What inspired the Helstorm rocket battery in lore, it acts functionally the same. Fires multiple rockets at once that, while inaccurate, can cause devastation on the battlefield.

==Gallery==
Originally the only images we've had of Cathay and its people were a single picture in the Warhammer rule books and from a White Dwarf article where they showed off somebody's converted army. Suffice to say the converter did a great job, and the pictures are included below. Later on [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] and [[Total War: Warhammer]] had their own stabs at what Cathay should look like.
<gallery>
Cathay-Page-1.jpg
Cathay-Page-2.jpg
Cathay-Page-3.jpg
Cathay-Page-4.jpg
Cathay-Page-5.jpg
Cathay-Page-6.jpg
File:WFRP 4th-Yabo Chao.png|Yabo Chao, an ambassador from Cathay in [[Altdorf]].
</gallery>

==Links==
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Redi9cZJ5iLVNoQWR2MVBQWms/view Cathay fandex]
*[[Warhammer Army Project/Cathay/8th|Tactica of the above fandex]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5G5v4W7omc Cathay's roster in a nutshell], because [[Fallout|Geedubs...]][[Space Wolves|Geeddubs never changes.]]

{{Regions and areas of the Old World}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:Cathay]]

Team Yankee

2023-03-06T07:22:18Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:68EF:ED21:51E5:9429: /* Unofficial Rules - Alternative Nations and Special Forces */

[[File:Team-Yankee-cover.jpg|250px|right|thumb|FREEDOM, BITCHES!!!]]
''"Sunday, August 4, 1985 the Warsaw Pact thundered across the Iron Curtain. 6 Soviet Armies, backed up by the forces of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany, hammered into the NATO forces guarding the border. The Americans, supported by the armies of West Germany, Britain, and France, are strained to the breaking point at the Soviet Advance. It is 1985, and the Cold War has just gone hot."''

Welcome soldier to Team Yankee, Battlefront Miniatures' alternate history game where World War 3 breaks out on the fields of central Germany. Maybe you're here for the cool tanks, maybe you're here to fight to spread your preferred form of economic system, or maybe you're here to titillate your acronym fetish. Team Yankee is based on the book of the same name by Harold Coyle, the story of Team Yankee follows a unit of the US Army named Team Yankee (of course) as they struggle to hold off those damn commies, with viewpoints from the other armies added in their respective Army rule book.

==The Story==
So, obviously the story of Team Yankee is a bit unrealistic but bear with us, alright? In 1985 the Soviet Union is dealing with mounting internal issues, and with the death of Leonid Brezhnev, the USSR was faced with a choice between Mikhail Gorbachev or another hard line communist. In our world Gorbachev was elected as the Premier of the Soviet Union, which would eventually lead to its collapse, but in the Team Yankee universe an old Stalinist took his place instead.

Believing that after the disastrous war in Afghanistan, the best way to reassure the people of the Union's strength would be a victorious war with the West, and any seized resources could be used to immediately shore up the slumping economy (incidentally, this is probably why there was not a nuclear exchange and the subsequent destruction of the world).

It was in the Persian Gulf that the USSR found its excuse to begin preparing for war. The Iran-Iraq war had been blazing for 4 years and though it was an active warzone, the trade of oil continued mostly unabated. That was until a pair of Iranian jets attacked and sank a Saudi tanker with huge loss of life. The United States began increasing its Naval presence in the Gulf to prevent additional attacks on commercial vessels in international waters. As part of this action, on the 27th of July, the destroyer ''USS Charles Logan'' was patrolling off the Strait of Hormuz when it was rammed by a Soviet cruiser, which was ostensibly there to do the same thing. In the confusion, both ships fired on each other before retiring to their respective ports.

Claiming that this was a blatant attack on a Soviet warship, the Warsaw Pact issued a statement of solidarity and then began to increase troop movements toward the Iron Curtain. In response, the United States began to react in kind, and over 100,000 national guardsmen were federalized as front line combat units started moving to their wartime posts. The Warsaw Pact subsequently invaded West Germany, driving through to part of the Netherlands, but their efforts have met with stiff resistance, and the fortunes of war could soon turn the other way.

==The Game==
Team Yankee is a 15mm (about 1:100 scale) Table Top Wargame, usually played on a standard 6x4 game table. To play Team Yankee, you will need a tape measure (both Inches and Centimeters work), a whole bunch of D6 dice, an army of models, and some friends to play with (that one will probably be the toughest, to be honest).

===Playing the game===

;Example Turn
What follows is a basic layout of a standard turn

'''1. Starting Step''' 
This is where most of the administrative stuff happens. Check the Morale of your formations and units, roll for reserves, rally pinned units, free bogged down tanks, remount bailed out tanks, remove smoke from the previous turn, etc. etc. etc.

'''2. Movement Step''' 
Move your units (duh). The amount a unit can move is dictated by the terrain they have to deal with. The majority of orders are given in this phase as well.

'''3. Shooting Step''' 
No problem cannot be solved through the application of superior fire power. Team Yankee uses abstraction rather than true line of sight, meaning that tanks clearly visible behind slopes may not actually be seen due to terrain height rulings. All shooting and artillery occurs in this phase, with smoke being fired before any other shooting.

'''4. Assault Step''' 
Time to get up close and personal. Units charge into close quarters to beat the enemy to death with their rifle butts or crush them underneath their treads. Infantry teams don’t get saves in close combat so be wary.

===List Building===
Note that all lists are based on historically based equipment at a specific point in time, even if that equipment was unique or incredibly rare.

Army lists in Team Yankee are usually built from a single book or 'codex' which tells you what your country has access to. Each nation has different 'sub lists' but most follow three types: armoured and mechanized infantry. Armoured companies let you bring several platoons of tanks, while mechanized infantry does the same with infantry that can come in your bog-standard metal boxes or a metal box with an autocannon. Some armies have more unique options, but those will be discussed on their respective pages.

NATO armies tend to be cheaper thanks to their smaller sizes, while Pact forces have much more units that are identical across the 4 nations. If you buy an M1 it can only be used for a USA army; paint a T-72 in Soviet green (without national emblems) and it can be used in four armies.

Want a cheaper single army? Buy American (or any other NATO power). Want a cheaper collection and several army lists? Buy Soviet.

'''Force Command''' 
Your force will always have an HQ. Your Force Commander and 2nd in Command (also known as the meatshield) represents you in the game, commanding the battle on foot or some vehicle. If the Force commander dies, your army will begin to panic. Lose too many platoons and you will immediately lose the game. At higher point games, you may have two or more force commanders to mitigate this (as you will probably be forced to utilize multiple formations to fill out the points). For NATO Players, the Force Commander is generally a company commander wielding his company and any company-level support the higher-ups have deemed to send his way. For PACT players, the Force Commander is usually at the Battalion level, which is made up of several companies, to balance out the power differential between the average NATO and Pact units.

HQS usually DO NOT count as platoons for Company, or even Battalion strength. They function as 40k independent characters do, so you would have 4 units on the field whether your company commander joined a platoon or ran around on their own.

'''Combat Platoons''' 
AKA Troops choice: like with 40k, each organization chart will have a minimum requirement of a Company Commander and two platoons of troops, which could be [[Motor Rifle Company|IFV-mounted infantry]] or a unit of [[Huey Rifle Platoon|heliborne infantry]]. This is where your list building starts, with the size of your unit and taking additional weaponry like anti-tank weapons, medium machine guns, or anti-air missiles.

'''Platoon Support''' 
Unlike 40k, platoon support is unique to each company. This is the reason you selected the specific Company: access to unique toys that your other companies or nations can't take. Historically, this would be a platoon from the support company of the battalion: infantry companies might have a mortar platoon, while armoured companies might have a platoon of vehicle-mounted ATGMs. Your platoon support may also have platoons of the alternate unit type: tank companies almost always have the option to take a platoon of infantry, and vice versa.

'''Division Support''' 
These are the rarest systems in your army, and often among the most expensive options. Historically, it would be things like air support, heavy artillery or attached helicopter squadrons. This varies from nation to nation: some countries have platforms that serve [[AMX Roland|crucial support roles but won't win the war for you]] to [[ADATS|snowflake units that provide the teeth to your force]]. These options are open to all company types, and should therefore be used to round out the weaknesses of your list. Additionally, platoons for troops like tanks and infantry might be purchasable here.

'''Allied Support''' 
These are your 'Allies of Convenience', to continue the 40k analogy. Generally, only one allied formation (company, battalion, whatever) is allowed. Generally this would mean NATO Allies for NATO countries, and vice versa for the Warsaw Pact (but not the Middle Eastern powers, who all want to kill each other and are much more uncaring in where they get their gear from). Additionally, smaller factions may have allied units that fall under the same lines as Divisional Support, just with a different flag. For example, Canadians have access to German Leopard 2s and American Abrams' to round out their lack of modern battle tanks.

These units do NOT count as platoons which add to your last stand count, so your army may rout if the last Canadian troops have been picked off even if half of your (American Allied) units are on the table. Like Division Support, this is taken to smooth out the rough edges of your list and might be very interesting if you like the idea of a British-French coalition battlegroup, or are a powergamer who just wants the best companies of each nation.

As a disclaimer to the young teens reading this wiki and calling themselves a military expert, Team Yankee is a HISTORICAL FANTASY game. The models might represent real weapon systems, but the organization of lists ranges from relatively accurate to outright blasphemous. Pretty much all your tanks and artillery fired across kilometres in real life, but only fire up to several hundred meters on the tabletop (mostly for the same reason as in [[Warhammer 40k|that other game]], you don't have an entire football stadium to play in). [[M247 Sergeant York|Prototypes that never made it past the testing phase can be found]], while organizational details have been simplified for gameplay purposes.

For the prospective kommandant who reached this point, consider reading the rulebooks at your FLGS or read on to decide which nation might be for you.

===List Archtypes===

Like any other tabletop game, each army has its own pros and cons leading to very distinct archetypes: just like the real-life counterparts, an infantry company will have a much happier time holding a town than a bunch of tanks. Here are a few of the many variants, found in the tournament scene and casual table:

====Mechanized Infantry====
Kings of the tournament scene, mechanized infantry are THE premium choice for players seeking cost efficiency, holding power or firepower in some cases. Over 90% of all infantry in the game arrives in a motorized tin can of some sort, meaning that these lists have an overabundance of machinegun fire. Some lists might use infantry fighting vehicles such as the [[BMP]] or [[Marder Zug|Marder]], but most are characterized by hordes of cheap infantry in the cheapest transports. Mechanized lists are incredibly split in specialization depending on your faction of choice as well.

In tournaments, the French and British are defined by the sheer amount of Milans they can bring to the field. They may lack in firefighting capability, but their ability to destroy armoured lists are second to none. They can be used in urban operations as well, but excel in open fields where their Milans can chew through tank after tank.

The Soviet, Iranian and Polish lists are the Communist equivalent of the Milan horde; trading the latest in wargear for the latest in childbearing technology. While these troops lack in weapon systems that can engage armour from a distance, they are characterized by sheer numbers coupled with 3+ morale stats allowing them to keep pushing forward when other armies would fall back.

On the other end of the spectrum are the spam lists of Czechs and Iraqis. Characterized by their horrendous morale, and basic weaponry, these lists have little to no offensive capability. [[Imperial Guard|However, their low pointage allows you to bring waves of men to the field that will HOLD the line like no other.]] In an urban setting, these troops can turn all buildings on your side of the field into deathtraps for enemy armour.

Somewhere in the middle are Soviet [[BTR-60|BTR]]/ [[BMP]] and Dutch [[YPR-765]] lists. Typically, these lists would feature armoured elements and focus more on punching through the weak points of the enemy's line with the superior firepower of infantry fighting vehicles complementing a couple of tanks. A jack of all trades list, these forces are capable of defending and can counterattack on a dime when required.

Universally feared by all players and the cheapest unit in any force, the mechanized infantry are the benchmark of every other unit: a platoon only needs to kill 1-3 tanks to make its points back. For tournament players, prepare to build lists that counter infantry. For casual players, expect to see some form of them in every single game.

====Armoured====
The poster boys of the game, Armoured forces rely on the overwhelming superiority of tanks to crush virtually any opposition in its path. These units represent the fastest, heaviest units in the army that are not only capable of taking ground, but holding it. Strong in standard games and deadly in larger tables, Armoured forces would be unmatched if not for their Achilles heel: overpriced units.

Tank units often cost dozens of points for a single platoon, leaving them as niche choices for the average player. In a tournament setting where every point counts and every wasted unit may cost you the game, tanks are treated as specialized units in different lists. Some may use armour as [[Chieftain|firebases]]; [[M1 Abrams|maneuver elements in a hammer and anvil force]], or solely as snipers [[Leopard 2|to destroy armour]]. Regardless of their tournament viability, here are the traditional makeups of armoured lists.

With unparalleled mobility and firepower, armoured lists excel on the attack. This greatly favors offensive nations such as the West Germans or the Soviet Union who can conduct ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics on the tabletop scale: rather than exploiting strategic weaknesses, these lists employ a mix of tank killers like the [[T-64]] and the [[Leopard 2]] to compliment the firepower of support tanks: outdated models that may not beat the latest metal boxes, but could chew through any other vehicle like a masochist on a sanding belt.

Protection against missiles comes in the form of artillery. Other lists may occasionally get away without running artillery, but is not optional in the current meta. Used to protect your tanks from Milan spam or the tank killers of the enemy force, smoke is probably the most important task of the artillery in an armoured list, neutralizing Milans for you to get within their firing range, forcing Chieftains to move or even dividing the force to reduce the amount of return fire.

The strongest armoured lists are anachronisms; with no nation having a single tank that does the job of both a tank killer and support. Hence, they are generally defined as lists that run a substantial amount of armour (two platoons or so) with singular platoons of infantry, artillery, reconnaisance, etc. For a competitive player choosing the path of an iron grave, consider using allies for access to ROF 2 brutal tanks to compliment your AT22 tank killers. If you are a Soviet player, rejoice! Your tanks all-in-one and are countered by any form of missile, tank cannon or bomber. Have fun!

====Cavalry====
Distinct from the armoured and mechanized archetypes, cavalry forces employ fast, mobile vehicles to outmaneuver the enemy while avoiding head-on engagements with the heaviest elements of the enemy list like tanks or infantry. While WILL be employing their own infantry and tank forces, cavalry forces are defined by their reliance on autocannon-armed vehicles to destroy soft-skinned vehicles like APCs, anti-air and artillery.

Generally used for reconnaissance in a combined arms list rather than serving as the frontline troops who fight and die on your behalf, the British are known for having some of the best cavalry units with the Scorpion and Scimitar coming in low, cheap and with both variants having the firepower to take on anything but battle tanks. Hampered by their mediocre moving ROF, their main purpose is to deny spearhead movement to your opponent while threatening their soft skinned vehicles, providing an extremely dangerous (but easily answered) threat that hamper much more expensive units such as infantry and tanks from doing their job on the frontline.

The only true Cavalry lists seen in tournaments are US Marine LAV lists, employing hordes of moving ROF 3 LAVs to outmaneuver, threaten, and destroy soft-skinned vehicles. However, it must be noted that cavalry forces still rely on infantry and armour to actually win the game: your cavalry are force multipliers to neutralize the support elements of your opponent, not the ones who will carry the day on their own.

====Air Assault====
Rarely seen in the tournament scene aside from Soviet VDV lists, Airborne lists employ helicopter infantry and their superior mobility to win battles. Almost universally worthless in a 6x4 game where the marginal infantry buff and loss of fighting transports can be crippling, air assault forces have a niche of larger team games spanning several maps. Whether used to grab vulnerable objectives or serve as firemen where the line is weakest, air assault troops have greatly different roles among the nations that can field them: the USA, Soviet Union and British.

The American air assault list is the archetypical airborne force: lightly equipped, highly trained and absolutely deadly in firefights, these units are barely worth their weight against armour but are almost unparalleled in a firefight. Combining Soviet morale with American firepower, heliborne infantry may not be able to kill a tank to save their life but are best suited to urban warfare or any other setting where dug-in infantry must die.

While the US Huey technically has its M60s, consider them one time use guns that cannot be considered fire support unlike an M113.

Soviet VDV lists are THE most accurate depiction of a proper air assault operation: deploying highly trained, versatile troops in highly dangerous environments while supported with helicopter gunships. The most ‘competitive’ of the three nations, VDV troops are equipped not only to win infantry fights, but also carry the heavy weapons that make infantry what they are: unmovable rocks that take a disproportionate amount of firepower to move, while having the tools to destroy armour that strays too close. While your infantry are few, your transports are terror on rotors: enter the Hind.

A flying tank unmatched by the West until the development of the Apache, the Hind is one of the only gunships with transport capacity. While nerfed by its lack of stationary ROF and 3+ to hit, Hinds have a weapon for any target. See a Merkava? The Hind can kill it. Unprotected artillery? The hind can kill it. Infantry hordes in the open? The hind can fuck them all at the same time.

By playing the VDV, you are committing to a list that combines air assault and air cavalry through the investment of points into gunships. Add on some Frogfoots and the VDV becomes a tournament worthy list that preys on any meta without sufficient anti-air. Not to mention, your blue berets are more than a match for the average foot soldier from the capitalist west...

The British air assault list are a competitive unit that sees fringe play, albeit as a fever dream that would make the Sergeant York wet. Worthless on their own and pathetic in a firefight, the Gordon highlanders see their niche as a Milan horde that happen to ride in helicopters.

====Air Cavalry/Leafblower====
Air Cavalry lists, unlike their real-life equivilants, are forces that spam airpower to win battles. Combining strike aircraft with helicopter gunships, these lists aim to destroy air-defence units before destroying the enemy force piece by piece. While most nations have access to bombers and ATGM helicopters, only the USA, Soviets and French have access to true leafblower lists; given their access to gunships like the [[MI-24 Hind]], [[Cobra|Cobra]], and [[Gazelle Helicopter|Gazelle]].

Prospective commanders should note that these are all-in lists with over 40 points being funnelled into airborne units and are easily countered by tournament metas. Essentially, you are praying that your opponent does not aim to counter your lists; given that Air Cavalry aims to outrace a platoon of dedicated air killers like [[SA-8 Gecko|SA-8 Geckos]] or [[Tracked Rapier|Rapier]]. Uncounterable for the casual player who does not plan ahead, and easily beaten by tournament players who do their homework. They may fufil your ride of the valkyrie fantasies, but will lead to games which end faster than your opponent's patience.

Not recommended if you wish to stay friends with your opponents. Acceptable (but weak) if you want to win games.

====Combined Arms====
Like most tabletop games, Team Yankee favours players who can mix and match each of the previous components; diluting the strength of each troop type and compensating with the power of diversity (yay!). As implied by the previous articles, building a spam list of infantry or tanks might be acceptable in a multiplayer game but will lead to your quick and laughable defeat in a competitive 1v1 game. Without artillery, your infantry and tanks can’t attack without taking a million casualties. Without cavalry, your tanks risk being flanked and blown up. Without infantry, your tanks and cavalry will not take objectives.

The overwhelming majority of competitive lists feature an infantry or armoured company with support elements to cover all angles. While an infantry list might see itself playing the defensive under ideal circumstances, the counterblow from a tank platoon coming from reserves can decisively swing games in your favour. Similarly, armoured lists require smoke to cover the advance of your tanks or mounted infantry. Experienced players may dabble in ‘all-in’ lists, but you, prospective general, will find the best results when your lists have no clear weakness.

Want to muddy the mixture? Consider taking combat troops as allies with your ‘chosen’ nation providing nothing more than combat (and moral) support.

Mandatory:
2-6 Combat Troops (2 platoons of tanks or infantry, 1 platoon of infantry/tanks)
1-2 Artillery (for smoke and pinning)
1-4 Recon (for spearheading and/or denying spearheads)
1-2 Air Defence (Multirole air defence acceptable below 26 points, dedicated air defence required above 30 points)

Optional:
1-2 Air support (used as suicide units)
1-1 Armoured ATGM carriers (overlaps with combat troops)

==The Forces of WW3==
With the new Ally rules, take the following with a pinch of salt. Using the combat units of an ally faction as the bulk of your force while keeping your 'actual' faction for its support choices is a totally legal (if cheesy) option. The scores are strictly in relation to one another; and does not account for terrain, list building and other stuff.

The Breakdown Scores:
5: Auto-include for competitive lists.
4: Good for the purpose, if overshadowed by other factions.
3: Not terrible, but needs a good reason to be included.
2: Not recommended due to inefficiency.
1: Overshadowed by other options in the same force organisation.
-: Role filled by Allied units within the force organisation. Minor nations only.

===NATO===
{{topquote|The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm [...] [t]hey are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area. They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty|The North Atlantic Treaty}}

The free world takes their freedom seriously, and armies operate very differently from one another. Entries for similar units (M113 mortars) will have different roles when used in another nation, while most countries have their own unique units which may similar versions but nothing completely identical. NATO is generally more beginner friendly, but varies between nations when it comes to cost and budgeting.

====United States of America====
{{topquote|I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.|General Jack D. Ripper}}

Difficulty: 1/5 (excellent for beginners!)

They may not have shown up on time for the last two world wars, but they sure have brought some firepower into this one. The principal founder of NATO and its strongest military power, the United States moved immediately to bring its full strategic might to bear against the seemingly-endless masses charging west from behind the Iron Curtain.

Three of the U.S.A.'s armed forces feature in this game, primarily their Army; the United States Army is one of the most technologically advanced forces on the Battlefield. An all-volunteer force, the average US Soldier is backed up by some of the most advanced weapon systems rumbling into war with them (including the first ever METUL BOX). Particularly the principal tank of the US forces in Europe, the M1 Abrams is arguably the most influential main battle tank of the 80s, influencing almost every other tank design in the Western world.

''Stripes'' covers most frontline combat units in the US Armed Forces, from an Amphibious Assault Unit to an Airborne Infantry Company. Their units may not be the best in the world, but you have so many options in your list that you should have a counter for anything your opponent brings up. This versatility makes them the only faction to rival the Soviets, matching their cost efficiency with incredibly flexible listbuilding.

For players concerned with historical accuracy, remember to toss out the Yorks, RDF/LTs and the Hueys (except for Marine Airborne)!

Defining Units: [[M1 Abrams]], [[M163 VADS]]

;Strengths
*Most versatile faction in the game, with options to fill almost all roles.
*Ideal for Armored and combined arms playstyles, with the flexibility to attack or defend.
*Decently easy to learn, and is rather straightforward.
*Ability to upgrade entire force to carry AT23 TOW2s
*Capitalism

;Weaknesses
*Second most expensive faction in-game.
*Poor cost efficiency compared to other NATO equivalents.
*The TOW tax quickly adds up.
*Capitalism.
*Can't point out the enemy on a map.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Solid and cost-efficient. 4/5
Transports: The best 'free' transports in the game. 3/5
Tanks: All the flavors of M1s. 4/5
Anti-Tank: No longer cost efficient, but packing serious heat. 4/5
Recon: Decent Army options, Good Marine options. 3/5
Artillery: Decent, if expensive mortars. 3/5
Aircraft: Best helicopters, mediocre aircraft. 4/5
Anti-Air: Overpriced. Where's the air force?? 2/5

{{US Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Great Britain====
{{topquote|Why do you suppose we went into it?" "To strengthen the brotherhood of free western nations." "Oh really, we went in to screw the French by splitting them off from the Germans.|Yes, Minister}}

Difficulty: 2/5 (Good for beginners and vets!)

Steadfast, courageous, and absolutely devoted to their time-honoured traditions of tea, crumpets, and silly hats, the British Armed Forces became a founding member of NATO after World War II, in which they earned great fame for their many triumphs over impossible odds. Two major commands, British Army of the Rhine and Royal Air Force Germany, were dedicated to stand guard against the threat of Soviet invasion and have dutifully done so for 40 years. The British military is well-known for its discipline, professionalism, and for actually showing up on time for world wars (not like those louts across the pond).

Thanks to a little disagreement on the far side of the Atlantic in 1982 (not to mention the decades long troubles in Northern Ireland), the British military is one of only a few in NATO with combat veterans in its ranks going into the fight. They may not have the numbers or superpower status that they did in the glory days of the Empire, but as Argentina could tell you, they can still fight with the best of them. When the Warsaw Pact barged westward and brought war to Europe for the third time in a century, the British forces in West Germany stubbornly refused to give ground, forcing their enemy to bypass them rather than sacrifice the entire invasion's timetable. The rules for these tea-chugging bastards are found in “Iron Maiden” and updated rules can be found in "WW3: British".

The Brits lack the cutting-edge advanced technology of the other NATO forces (Advanced Stabilisers, Thermal Imaging except on the Challenger) but compensate with sheer firepower and ridiculously well-armoured tanks. Thanks to their Assault 3+ Infantry and abundance of units which benefit from staying still and taking potshots like the Chieftain and Milan, the British excel on the defence; sipping tea and destroying anything which strolls into their fields of fire. Should the enemy fix bayonets, you have assault 3+ on most infantry and vehicles, a lynchpin that makes the entrenched British rifleman one of the most resilient units in the game.

Also there is one other slight thing to mention with regard to the British during this time period: they are Troubled, the good Friday agreement which ended (or at least paused) The Troubles would not be signed for another 13 years (1998). What does that mean for team Yankee? well likely nothing but in real life you could bet your ass the Soviets would love to pour gasoline on that little fire to try and distract the Brits, so if we ever get a partisan list or something, maybe keep an eye open for that.

Defining Units: [[Chieftain]], [[Milan Section (Mechanized)|Milan Section]]

;Strengths
*One of the strongest factions on the defensive.
*Best infantry in the game with plentiful ATGMs on human (and armored) platforms.
*Ideal for defensive or infantry players.
*Has the almost invincible, if overcosted, Challenger.

;Weaknesses
*Lacks units that can effectively fight while on the move.
*Seriously struggles to damage heavy MBTs.
*Vulnerable to smoke and rushes; units rely on staying still to deliver the most firepower.
*Commonly seen as the seal clubber's favorite due to superior infantry stats and milan spam, which makes new players ragequit.
*Everything, absolutely ''everything'' stops for tea at four o'clock.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Excellent defence and long ranged AT, poor offensive abilities. 4/5
Transports: Average APCs and IFVs alike. 3/5
Tanks: Expensive, armoured monsters with deadly firepower but incapable of mobile warfare. 4/5
Anti-Tank: Excellent options for dealing with previous generation tanks, struggles against 20+ armour. 3/5
Recon: Dangerous but squishy. 3/5
Artillery: Good mid-low caliber pieces. 4/5
Aircraft: Best bomber, overcosted helicopters. 3/5
Anti-Air: Excellent Rapier, ludicrously good Marksman, mediocre Spartan Blowpipe. 4/5

{{British Forces in Team Yankee}}

====West Germany====
{{topquote|Well that certainly doesn't apply to the Germans..." "No no, they went in to cleanse themselves of genocide and apply for readmission to the human race.|Yes, Minister}}

Difficulty: 4/5 (Challenging listbuilding.)

Following the complete destruction of Nazi Germany in 1945, about half of the country was occupied by the British, French and Americans, who merged their three occupation zones to form the Federal Republic of Germany. From its capital in Bonn, West Germany's leaders have focused their efforts on redeeming (West) German standing in the world through a restored representative democracy, a careful and conservative foreign and defense policy, and some truly outstanding cars, wurst and beer. And thanks to their longstanding membership in the NATO alliance, (half of) Germany gets to be the ''good guys'' this time!

West Germany was the first featured expansion in "Team Yankee," centering around the Bundeswehr's Heer, one of two current successors to the legendary German Army of the past. With their homeland invaded for a second time by their enemy from two previous world wars, the West Germans are intensely motivated and have all the tenacity, discipline and professionalism of their fathers and grandfathers. Their former countrymen, the East Germans, are among the leading forces of the Warsaw Pact, making the war especially personal as both German armies do their utmost to see that their cause triumphs. The West Germans are literally battling in their own streets, homes and fields, while the East Germans are leaping at their chance to forge a unified, socialist Germany. The Rules for the West Germans can be found in "West German", which replaced Leopard and Panzertruppen.

The West Germans have continued the famous German tradition of quality over quantity and then some: their units rank among the very best (and most expensive) in the entire game. The perfect example is the Leopard 2, a monument to armoured superiority that costs eleven points per tank, as opposed to a mere four per tank for the East Germans' T-72M. One exception is the Leopard 1; your budget tank at 3 points. In addition to Thermal Imaging, they field devastating units like the Gepard Flakpanzer and the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber, which can make their points back over several times in the hands of an effective commander. A well-balanced army capable of different playstyles, but ultimately held back by its inability to sustain losses. Expect to be outnumbered 2-1 against NATO, or 3-1 or even 4-1 against PACT forces.

Defining Units: [[Leopard 2]], [[Marder II Zug]]

;Strengths
*Strongest armoured units in the game.
*Soviet-equivalent morale.
*Ideal for aggressive or challenge-seeking players.
*Hard-hitting units that can punish your opponent's mistakes very harshly.

;Weaknesses
*Small units with some of the game's most expensive models.
*Poorly suited to attrition tactics.
*Ex-Nazis.
*Forgot their cold-weather gear AGAIN.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Effective, but few and expensive. 2/5
Transports: Strongest transport in the game, but no built-in missile. 4/5
Tanks: Overcosted Leopard 2s, decent Leopard 1s. 2/5
Anti-Tank: ATGMs expensive and few. Role filled by Leopard 2s. 1/5
Recon: Cheap and dangerous. 3/5
Artillery: Solid NATO artillery. 4/5
Aircraft: Good bomber, overcosted helicopters. 2/5
Anti-Air: Versatile, competitive options. 4/5

{{West German Forces in Team Yankee}}

====France====
{{Topquote|Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.|Jed Babben}}

Difficulty: 3/5 (Beginner unfriendly, many glass cannons.)

The gall of those cultureless, crass Americans! We hate all of them! Our king bankrupted us to save them in their "Revolutionary War," and now they make memes of us on the internet!

Despite the many dank memes and jokes about French military incompetence on the internet today, France has a long, long history of kicking ass with one of the largest and most powerful armed forces in human history. It may seem funny to mock them now, but nobody was laughing as Napoleon stomped one opponent after another into the dust, and millions of French soldiers held the line against the Kaiser's armies in the Great War, whereas the Americans couldn't be bothered to show up until 1917. France also <s>let the Germans take everything</s> was one of the major Allied powers in World War II, and French soldiers repeatedly making last stands against the Germans bought badly-needed time for the British evacuations at Dunkirk, saving not only <s>those stupid English</s> their British allies from getting overrun by the Nazis, but maybe also the world.

As explained in "Free Nations," France sort-of left NATO under Charles de Gaulle, a... very complicated man whose egomania could well have one-upped Douglas MacArthur if they hadn't been kept on totally separate sides of the planet. To summarize, de Gaulle fought nails and teeth (and all the rest too) to keep ''his'' France independent: politically, economically and militarily. This lead to France having its own military industry and designs and also lead to it leaving-but-not-really-leaving NATO and expelling all non-French military forces stationed on French soil. Secret agreements were made, however, and France retained the right to declare its re-integration into the NATO military alliance if it saw fit to do so; i.e. in case of WW3/something grave enough that would threaten France directly. The reasons for de Gaulle's stubbornness are multiple but the two main ones were that he wanted no part in what he fully expected to be "League of Nations II: Incompetence Boogaloo" or being pressured into sending his soldiers into conflicts where France had neither cause to nor interest in participating. Early in the events of "Team Yankee", seeing that a major war in Europe was on the horizon for the third time in a single century, France officially rejoined NATO in full. The Communist hordes will not find us such easy prey <s>as the Germans did</s> as they may expect, ''mon ami''.

As of 1985, France is one of the few NATO nations with genuine combat experience after World War II, alongside the United Kingdom and the United States, and it has the third-largest number of atomic weapons in the world - a distant third behind USA and the USSR, mind you, but third-largest nonetheless. The French ORBAT is unlike any of the major military powers, with their early Cold War history covering the first and second Indochinese (Vietnam) wars and their different mission needs. The post-WWII/Indochine French army has a doctrine that can be summarized in one sentence: "Engage the enemy on your own terms; never his!". Lacking a tank capable of trading blows with any modern platform and near-universal <s>cowardice in the ranks</s> 5+ morale among French personnel, a French commander must rely on maneuver and a terrifying abundance of gun platforms with Brutal to cripple an enemy's force before taking significant damage. In fact, among the NATO nations, the French were the only ones to eventually adopt autoloaders for their main battle tanks (starting only with the Leclerc, though), but they also tend to come from the 'speed is armour' school of tank design, which made them a bit glassy both in and out of the game. While similar to the Canadians in their lists naturally countering BMP and infantry spam, they lack the moosemen's balls and require a different playstyle to excel. They do have Milan spam if that's your thing though (you powergaming ''bâtard'').

Defining Units: [[AMX-10 RC]], [[Gazelle Helicopter|Gazelle 20mm]]

;Strengths
*Strong firepower on even the lightest units
*Milan AT spam on par with the Brits.
*Ideal for aggressive or experienced players.

;Weaknesses
*Tissue-thin armour made from stale baguettes.
*<s>Cowards</s> Unreliable (seriously, do NOT expect Morale 5+ troops to stay in the fight.)
*Smell like bad cheese.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Good firepower but unreliable morale. 3/5
Transports: You get what you pay for: very solid. 4/5
Tanks: Incapable of tanking damage for the army. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Milan spam just got stronger. 5/5
Recon: Deadliest 'recon' units in the game. 5/5
Artillery: Lacking in utility arty. 2/5
Aircraft: Fragile but VERY deadly when played well. 4/5
Anti-Air: Respectable, but expensive. 3/5

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
A Quick Note About the Morale Thing
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
Almost universally in Team Yankee, the French have ''shit'' morale, and this is a little weird at first glance. After all, the "ha ha, France = surrender monkeys" meme is about as nuanced and accurate as a company of Soviet motor rifles - especially by 1985. The French army has more actual recent combat experience than nearly any other playable nation, and previous morale crises have only improved the ''Armée de Terre'''s ability to deal with such issues. So, what gives?

Turns out, much like a few other terms for various Battlefront franchises, "Morale" is a slight misnomer. To be precise, the poor roll value that the French have isn't to represent that they are somehow more cowardly (the parallel 3+ Courage roll indicates as much), but rather to integrate French doctrine into the game, since most nation-specific special rules have been removed in order to streamline the rules. You see, in older FoW versions there used to be a dozen different special rules indicating unique attributes that would modify the two base values for specific traits. Courage, Rally, Assault and Counterattack are all new, and were created so as to whittle down the truly obscene rules clutter that was starting to really drag down games of FoW.

But that still doesn't answer the question ''"Why are my goddamn frogs running away so much?"''. The answer is simple: <s>the chemicals in the water turned them gay</s> they're being ordered to retreat: the French just don't stick around for a slugging match they fully know they simply can't win! If the French learned anything from the various wars of the 20th century, it's that they have to be able to give ground for time and that they absolutely do not have the ability to engage in attritional slogs and trade casualties for the same. As they quickly realized going solo meant they would never be able to field armor in the same volumes the Soviets could, the French army doctrine evolved into a very mobile and elastic thing that put their entire emphasis on high mobility with lighter motorized units, creating a 1985 doctrine of maneuver warfare with lightly armoured units. [[skub|The more callous say they just mixed Guderian's ''blitzkrieg'' with Model's ''schild und schwert'']], however nobody can deny they are very efficient at what they do best: hit hard, fast and overwhelmingly where the enemy doesn't expect it then redeploy before they can strike back.

This is well-represented in-game by the French having good skill but poor morale scores. This is also why the Czechoslovaks, despite being far less motivated than the French in every respect, have a better Morale rating despite literally having worse morale. Such a broad and encompassing term as Morale isn't restricted to the one stat that shares its name, and is technically the collective sum of all the stats on the left half of the base section since it was broken into those three in the first place.
</div>
</div>
{{French Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Canada====
{{topquote|I know a lot of you are going through separation anxiety... but there's nothing I can do about getting a Tim Hortons in Kabul.|Col. Al Howard (FYI, they did eventually get a Tim Hortons in a trailer)}}

Difficulty: 3/5 (Limited unit variety, technical playstyle.)

[[Imperial Guard|Cadians!]] Wait. Not quite. Though, they too have an amazing, cost-effective and plentiful tank option. As for their place in Team Yankee, the Canadians took one look at the current infantry spam meta, and they decided that they hated it. Where the US brought their meanest guns and the West Germans brought their biggest machines, the ''4th CMBG'' showed up to the fight with a [[Leopard 1#Canada|tree grinder]], intending to reenact that scene from Fargo.

While you're fairly limited in what you can take, the options Canada does have can be both versatile and extraordinary. Between a nearly-universal +3 skill roll and an abundance of options for laying down smoke, you can acquire the firing positions you require while denying the enemy any of their own. Agility is essential to Canadian lists, using evasion rather than armour in a naturally offensive force. In essence, the Canucks seem at their best in vehicles and on the move, shadowing the enemy line until it has been withered beneath a barrage of precise and overwhelming fire.

The Canadians apologize for borrowing American and German units, such as aircraft and heavy tank platoons.

<s>Defining Units</s> ''Standard List in BMP/T-55 Meta'': [[ADATS]] and as many [[Leopard 1#Canada|Leopard C1's]] as you can take

;Strengths
*Units tend to be agile, multi-purpose or hard-hitting. Sometimes, all three.
*Ideal for offensive and maneuver-minded players.
*Actually pretty good at fighting.

;Weaknesses
*Glass cannons whose vehicles can cost a pretty pound of points.
*The Americans don't like you for some reason.
*Apologize every time they shoot at anybody.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. 3/5
Transports: It's cheap, it's free! 3/5
Tanks: Best generation-two tanks, and you can take a LOT of them. 4/5
Anti-Tank: Enough TOW platforms to do damage, plus the spillover from AA. 3/5
Recon: Sneaky, but not much else. 2/5
Artillery: Some mortars, some howitzers. Nothing special. 3/5
Aircraft: Grounded by lack of parts. -/5
Anti-Air: Your primary AA platform also cracks open heavy tanks... for a price. 4/5

{{Canadian Forces in Team Yankee}}

====The Netherlands====
''"Lucas, get out of the lingerie!"''

Difficulty: 2/5 (Versatile units with some drawbacks. Beginner viable.)

The Netherlands! A country so friendly and fun to visit that when World War III finally kicked off in August 1985, the Warsaw Pact drove a spear right through West Germany and brought the party to them. High on weed and hookah, the Dutch wade blindly into battle with a combination of dated equipment from the early 60s and the cutting edge of modern weaponry.

Clearly influenced by the Wehrmacht of yesteryear, the Royal Netherlands Army boasts one of the toughest mechanized lists around. With the holy trifecta of Leopard 2s, IFVs and Carl Gustavs, Dutch lists have few weaknesses, with numbers and the ability to deal with armour from just about any range and IFV hordes.

They are less advanced than their alcoholic West German brothers (infrared), but are considerably cheaper.

The Dutch share many similarities with the Americans and the West Germans, playing as a middle ground between the two. Much of their equipment is West German in origin, from the terribly pricy Leopard 2 (with a 1 point discount, no less) to the terrifyingly effective Pantserluchtdoel PRTL, or "Dutch Gepard". Your units have training similar to the Americans rather than the underequipped West Germans.

The strength of the Dutch lies in their mechanized forces. While their tanks are mediocre compared to other NATO nations, they are unique in their ability to pump out infantry fighting vehicles while carrying full-sized platoons with some very scary firepower, unlike their French and German counterparts. The West Germans have also granted support units to your Dutch band of (definitely straight) brothers.

Defining Units: [[Leopard 2]], [[YPR-765]]

;Strengths
*Able to spam IFVs with infantry to boot.
*Ideal for mechanized players or jacks of all trades.

;Weaknesses
*Long ranged anti-tank capability only from Leopard 2s.
*Jack-of-all-trades faction without any overpowered units.
*Drug peddlers.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: decent, but made deadly by virtue of their transports. 4/5
Transports: It's cheap, and also the best NATO IFV. 4/5
Tanks: Not great, but you don't have any other AT options. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Expensive, fragile and mediocre. 2/5
Recon: Does the job, but nothing more. 3/5
Artillery: Below-average, but still passable. 3/5
Aircraft: Our pilots are still in rehab. -/5
Anti-Air: Weaker than the West Germans, but still very strong. 4/5

{{Dutch Forces in Team Yankee}}

====ANZAC====
''"Oi! Mate! Get off the fekkin' gun and stab the bloody cunt!"''

Difficulty: 4/5 (Beginner unfriendly. Vet recommended.)

Legendary for their daring, elan and professionalism, the armed forces of Australia have a long record of making somebody ''very'' sorry that they picked a fight with the Empire. Or with Australia. Or that there was a fight going on, and the Australians heard about it and showed up. Where Canada runs in circles around the enemy and France runs away from the enemy, the Aussies and Kiwis run ''at'' the enemy. By all accounts they really shouldn't be present, they aren't even officially part of NATO (due to that whole "North Atlantic" thing), yet here they are in 1980's Germany. Down-under magic? Down-under magic. The Queen calling for aid? Or maybe has something to do with the complicated system of alliances in the pacific that were thrown around very early on in the cold war. The Aussies and Kiwis both had actually signed a treaty referred to as the ANZUS with the US in the 50's guaranteeing defensive cooperation if any hostilities were launched against them or a number of allied states, hence their military presence in Vietnam and now, in Germany. (Though historically ANZUS was falling apart at the time due to New Zealand's Nuclear-Free stance putting it at odds with the United States).

Your PACT players are going to be wondering: "Wait, aren't ''we'' supposed to be ones who're invading?". This will occur just as several packs of foul-mouthed Bogans roll around the corner, firing on the move and charging into melee from their tanks to show the Gopniks how it’s really done. Keep in mind, this is during an era whereby that shit should '''not''' fly. But looking at their stats, that's specifically what they're here to do. Skilled, courageous, all while packing lots of tools designed for staring the dirty communist in the eyes as you kill him. Your infantry may not be amazing, but your scorpions and leopards can literally roll over the communists with assault 3+. The Australians may not actually be in NATO at all, but having decided to show up anyway, they're polite, they're efficient, and they have a plan to kill everyone they meet.

The ANZACS have British support units such as the Tracked Rapier and Harrier, thanks to their plea deal with the crown.

Defining Units: [[CVRT#Kiwi Variant|Scorpion]], [[AT Land Rover]]

;Strengths
*'Tank' units are nearly unmatched in close quarters, and set to win damn near ''every'' melee they enter.
*Ideal for you melee junkies out there.

;Weaknesses
*Suffers from yet another serious lack of organic support.
*Units are few as is, but a lack of variety can seriously limit flexibility.
*Can't handle cold.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Average NATO infantry, but essential in any list. 3/5
Transports: It's free I guess.... 3/5
Tanks: Your tanks can shred light armor on the move while running infantry over. 4/5
Anti-Tank: Good against light armor, terrible against high-end tanks. 3/5
Recon: Kiwis go ''hard''. 2/5
Artillery: Mortars only, but the Brits can help you out! 2/5
Aircraft: They haven't discovered aviation yet. -/5
Anti-Air: It's bad. It's REALLY bad. 1/5

{{ANZAC Forces in Team Yankee}}

===Warsaw Pact===
{{topquote|The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

'''''Working Men of All Countries, Unite!''
'''|Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto}}

Unlike NATO, standardization was enforced in the Warsaw Pact at most levels of the military. From the caliber of firearms to the strategies used by commanders, each country only made the slightest of adjustments. Expect little variation in equipment compared to NATO. Tactics do vary of course, but always rely on numerical superiority to win the day. Most Pact nations have inferior equipment to the Soviet Union which was historically accurate: Soviet Union entries can generally be used for your own faction. The playstyles vary more on your army list than individual factions: an infantry list is going to play very similarly, whether there are Russians or Poles in their ranks. For budget players without care for bling and army decals, consider leaving all units in the standard Russian green and they can be Russians, Czechs or Russians disguised as <s>Ukrainians</s> Poles.

====Soviet Union====
-''What should a Soviet soldier do if he finds himself in an immediate vicinity of a nuclear explosion?''

-''Stretch out his arms and hold his assault rifle in such a way that no molten metal get on state-issued boots.''

- Soviet army joke

Difficulty: 3.5/5 (Tough to learn, easier to master.)

Massive, heavily armed, and with a record of Nazi-stomping in World War II that makes the whole Western front pale in comparison, the Soviet Armed Forces were a force to be reckoned with through the entire Cold War. Far outnumbering their adversaries and their own voluntold allies, the Soviet military possessed enough tanks, artillery, aircraft, automatic rifles and machine guns to make all of NATO's vaunted quality-over-quantity ideas count for absolutely nothing in a real war. Rules for the Soviet Hordes can be found in the Team Yankee Rulebook, “Red Thunder”, and, most recently, the "Soviet" book.

In addition to the mechanized forces of the Red Army, Red Thunder gives you the rules for running an Air Assault Battalion from the VDV. They have a totally different list from other PACT factions and were the best infantry that the PACT can buy.

With the release of the new book, the Soviets gained access to the T-80 Shock Company formation. This elite formation is closer to a NATO force than other WarPac formations. Platoons of 2-3 tanks hit on 4+ with 3+ skill break the traditional horde structure and come with a hefty points cost to boot. They can also take a platoon of 2-3 recon BMP-3s with the same stats AND a company of BMP-3 mechanised infantry (with the option to downgrade to shock BMP-2s). Expensive as hell with the usual low ROF of Soviet armour, expect to be heavily outnumbered.

As a Soviet player, you are the proud owner of the most advanced army among REDFOR, rivalled only by the US (in games without allies, that is). Point for point, few armies can equal your ability to bring reliable firepower. Near universal 3+ Remount and Morale ensures that your glorious Communists will (probably) never falter against the Capitalist pigs. While their 3+ to hit ensures that they suffer losses at a far greater rate, the USSR has viable units in almost every archetype. Whether it's a tank battalion, an air assault list, artillery spam or half of a motor rifle brigade, the USSR is cost-effective enough to make most archetypes work. An ideal army for the experienced or the powergamer, although you must be prepared to counter your low skill ratings.

Defining Units: [[Motor Rifle Company]], [[2S1 Carnation|2S1 Gvozdika]]

;Strengths
*Cheap, cost-effective units for all roles but tanks. Excellent morale.
*Ideal for veterans to Flames Of War, horde and powergamers.
*Communism.

;Weaknesses
*Reliant on effective combined arms tactics.
*Units will lose 1-on-1 confrontations against most NATO counterparts.
*Communism.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Cheap and insanely cost-efficient. 5/5
Transports: Meta defined by BMP parking lots. 5/5
Tanks: Cheap but mediocre. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Cheap, but tiny unit sizes. 2/5
Recon: Acceptable, but not amazing. 3/5
Artillery: Unreliable, weakest PACT artillery. 2/5
Aircraft: Good; only competitor to the US. 4/5
Anti-Air: Cheap but deadly. 5/5

{{Soviet Forces in Team Yankee}}

====East Germany====
''"For the protection of the workers' and the peasants' power" ''
-Motto of the Volksarmee

Difficulty: 4.5/5 (Weak units and weak list. Vets only.)

After getting stomped into oblivion by the Soviets during World War II, half of Germany has been rebuilt in the Soviet image. Founded in the mid-1950s, the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic, known as the Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army), [[Mordian Iron Guard|combine Prussian heritage, iconic German military discipline, and Soviet mass-unit doctrine]] to forge one of the most formidable enemies NATO will ever face on the battlefield. Even though they must make do with downgraded Soviet export equipment, they fight with a tenacity that rivals that of their forefathers. NATO military officers have consistently rated the NVA as the best force in the Warsaw Pact based on its discipline, thoroughness of training, and the leadership ability of its commissioned officers. Following Soviet tradition, the Volksarmee lends the names of various Communist heroes to regimental-sized units and above, such as Panzerregiment 23 "Julian Marchlewski", one of the three armored regiments of the 9th Panzer Division. Rules for the East Germans are found in “Volksarmee.”

As the Volksarmee you stare enviously at USSR-Sempai and employ 30-year-old tanks with such reckless ambition that an Imperial Guardsman would question your value for human life. Your soldiers are as zealous as your Soviet counterparts and have more skill than <s>the illiterate peasants in the Red Army</s> your honored Soviet allies. The downside you might ask? You are using whatever even the ''Soviet Union'' thinks is too unsafe for their soldiers, using all the hand me downs with gusto. The majority of the Volksarmee gets the T-55AM2, which is great at exploding, and the first-rate armored regiments get the T-72M, which is also great at exploding but shoots better. You may be (mostly) bringing tanks from the mid-50s, but you can bring 30 of them for a little less than the cost of 2 West German tanks. Hell, even if you fight against the Soviets, you will outnumber them more than 2 to 1 (Even with both of you bringing T-72s). If you want the discount of non-Soviet PACT nations without the lopsided characteristics of the Poles or the Czechs, the National People's Army stands ready to invade capitalist-occupied West Germany at your order.

Defining Units: [[Motor_Rifle_Company#Mot-Schützen Kompanie|Motorschützen]], [[T55AM2]]

;Strengths
*Second cheapest units in the game, with rather decent stat lines.
*Ideal for horde players with too much money, or tactical geniuses.
*Sweet spot between the elite Poles and the conscript Czechs.
*Communist Prussians

;Weaknesses
*Units outmatched by most NATO equivalents; West Germany has much, ''much'' better Panzers.
*Players must rely on superior planning to win games due to the VAST technological gap.

The Breakdown
Infantry: Soviet numbers with low-end NATO stats. 3/5
Transports: Like the Soviets, but slightly worse. 3/5
Tanks: Useless in head-on engagements, good as flanking units. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Tanks do it better than these pieces of crap. 1/5
Recon: On par with Soviet Recce (AKA pretty bad). 3/5
Artillery: NATO skill and Soviet arty? Pretty good! 4/5
Aircraft: Decent air force. 3/5
Anti-Air: Cheap but lacks high-end anti-air missiles. 3/5

{{East German Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Poland====
''"When the Red Army makes a mess, why do we always have to clean it up?"''

Difficulty: 4.25/5 (Mix of decent units but nothing to write home about, with a cost that suggests more. Vets only.)

Coming from a background of militarism, Poland has had a fairly shitty history in the 20th century. They've been stuck in wars since the Great War (despite not being a nation), and Poland has become a plaything for the powers of Europe. Poland was the first country the Nazis occupied (as opposed to annexing), and thanks to the Soviets "liberating" them 40 years ago, by 1985 the original Polish government has been waiting to return home for nearly half a century. Yay. There's some division on that, however, as the Polish People's Army was first organized in 1943 and fought well on the Eastern Front against the Germans before establishing themselves as Poland's official armed forces for the next 40-plus years. Florian Siwicki, the Minister of Defence under the Polish People's Republic in 1985, first joined up in 1942 and has thus shot at (West) Germans before.

The Polish People's Republic has one of the largest and strongest armies in Eastern Europe short of the Soviets (complete with their own 6th Airborne Division and a specialized amphibious landing division), and possesses its own arms industry, manufacturing more cheap tanks and guns than anybody except the USSR. Their foreign customers include the East Germans (a lot of those commie Panzers are, ironically, from a Polish factory) and those fun guys in North Korea. They've kept the old Polish national anthem, and, bizarrely for a Soviet bloc state, the Polish People's Army provided chaplains to its troops throughout its existence. The Polish People's Army is large, well-armed, and well-trained; going into World War III, they can dish out and take plenty as the Warsaw Pact and NATO have a frank exchange of ideas over the fate of Europe and the world.

In Team Yankee, the Poles are troops with 4+ skill, 3+ courage and 3+ rally, giving them the determination of Soviets with the skill of the NVA. Second only to the Afgantsy VDV veterans, the Poles are some of the best-trained forces of the Warsaw Pact. Despite costing almost as much as the Soviets, they have even less equipment than the East Germans with the same downgrades by PACT forces, except for a handful of special units to even the balance. Boasting the best trained motorized infantry of the PACT armies, Polish battlegroups rely on the superiority of their infantry to win the day, while vehicles serve in support roles.

Defining Units: [[Motor_Rifle_Company|Zmotory Kompania]], [[T-72M]], [[T-72B]]

;Strengths
*Reliable units unlikely to get pinned or bailed.
*Best PACT infantry at firefighting and attacking.
*Ideal for players who want a horde of morale-resistant units.

;Weaknesses
*Poor anti-tank capability.
*2nd tier equipment with near-Soviet costs.
*Will carjack your vehicle wrecks.

Infantry: The best PACT infantry in firefights, at a cost... 3/5
Transports: Like the Soviets, but slightly worse. Few BMP-2s. 3/5
Tanks: Good at flanking, bad at tanking/killing tanks. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Your tanks do the job better than these things. 1/5
Recon: Cheap but bad. 3/5
Artillery: It kills, it's reliable! 4/5
Aircraft: Passable. 3/5
Anti-Air: Pretty solid, actually. 4/5

{{Polish Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Czechoslovakia====
''"To be honest, I'd rather fight for NATO. please don't kill us"''

Difficulty: 5/5 (For hardened vets only.)

Ah, yes, Czechoslovakia, the Reluctant Conscript of the Warsaw Pact. Lied to and annexed by the Nazis, then brutally occupied for years, then "liberated" and forced to join the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact. What fun! A year ago, someone wrote (rather accurately) that the NVA were the enthusiastic conscripts taking the equipment that the Soviets were afraid of using. Now, imagine these same conscripts, but terrified of death and shivering in their boots. As of October 20, the German goblin hordes have been dethroned by the Czechs! Second-line, underequipped, cowering Slavs being shoved into battle by the Soviets and marching in hordes that would make the Chinese blush (seriously, you'll outnumber the damn East Germans in most scenarios.)

The Czechs take the hordes concept to the next level, with their armies outnumbering the other PACT armies. As the least willing participants of the conflict, virtually all their stats are 5+ apart from 4+ skill and 4+ morale. They might have the least trustworthy men in the game, but their discounts allow you to bring enough 125mm cannons and RPGs that a pinned/bailed unit won't save your opponent from the wall of firepower you can produce. The Czechs favour two playstyles: an aggressive list with enough T-72Ms to ignore losses or a defensive list that literally buries your side of the table with men.

Defining Units: [[T-72M]], [[Dana SpGH]]

;Strengths
*Units are 20-33% cheaper than Soviet counterparts.
*4+ skill for aggressive tank pushes and artillery spammers.
*Ideal for horde players and rich blokes.

;Weaknesses
*Least reliable units in the game, vulnerable to pinning and morale shock. They ''really'' don't want to be there.
*Units without support are almost guaranteed to lose any engagements.
*Constantly hungover.

Infantry: You get a horde...but they won't listen to your orders. 2/5
Transports: Like the Poles, with untrained crews. 2/5
Tanks: THE cheapest tank hordes in the game. Good for alpha strikes. 4/5
Anti-Tank: No missiles that can reliably beat heavy tanks, but your T-72s fill the gap. 1/5
Recon: Cheap but bad. 3/5
Artillery: Cheaper, but just as deadly! 4/5
Aircraft: Passable. 3/5
Anti-Air: Cheaper and scarier. 4/5

{{Czech Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Cuba====
-'' Hasta la victoria Siempre; always until victory !''

- Ernesto "CHE" Guevara

Cuba is a rather interesting subject when it comes to the Cold War. In 1959, Castro and his forces overthrew the Batista government and established a Communist government right in America's backyard. 2 years later, the US tried and failed to topple the government through the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Then we get the missile crisis where Russia began stationing Nukes on Cuban Soil. And lets not forget the countless assassination attempts on Castro's life. In most cases, this is where the story ends, a foot note in history. Not Cuba. Throughout the Cold War (and even today) Cuba was something of an abnormality. For starters Cuba had a tendency to get involved in foreign conflicts, offering medical and military aid. In 1973 they joined the Yom Kippur War against Israel, and so far as they're concerned (both in 1985 and 2022) that war never actually ended. Cuban forces were very prominent in Africa, and even fought directly against the South African Defense Forces in Angola. This is turn meant that compared to their Communist Allies, Cuba had a substantial amount of military experience. Despite this and their close ties to the Soviet Bloc, Cuba never officially joined the Warsaw Pact, probably because they didn't want to so visibly poke the superpower next door. Despite this, Cuba was something of a well-regarded ally for the Soviets.

Do you remember when East Germany was the goblin hoards of the communist forces? I miss those days. The Cubans are what you want to play if the Czechs aren't cheap enough and the Iraqis aren't skilled enough. Armed with weaponry straight from the Arab-Israeli wars of the 1960s and 70s, they fight bravely (if suicidally) for the liberation of American working peoples. To help them in their quest, they have the skill and motivation of the East Germans, making pulling off movement orders and using artillery less incredibly frustrating thanks to their combat experience in Angola. Their best tank is the base model T-62, roughly equivalent to East German T-55AM2s, and their worst is the SU-100, a vintage WW2 tank destroyer with absolutely no redeeming qualities in this era, other than that it costs less than a point per tank. If you like large amounts of subpar equipment, lots of painting, and killing communists, Cubans are just the army for you!

Cuba is present in the new Red Dawn book as a Warsaw Pact force. The justification for Cuba's presence is twofold. The first is that as a Communist nation right next to the US, Cuba would have been seen as an asset during any invasion of the Americas. The second is due to their presence in the movie as something of a Rear-Guard force and leader of the Spanish speaking allies.

Defining Units: [[SU-100]]

;Strengths
*
*
*

;Weaknesses
*
*
*

Infantry:
Transports:
Tanks:
Anti-Tank:
Recon:
Artillery:
Aircraft:
Anti-Air:

{{Cuban Forces in Team Yankee}}

===Middle Eastern Powers===
{{topquote|The whole melodrama of the Middle East would be improved if amnesia were as common here as it is in melodramatic plots.|P. J. O'Rourke}}
What's that, the folks in Europe are shooting each other again? The War To End All Wars ended up getting another sequel?! Time for a renewed surge of violence in the Middle East!

Apart from Turkey, which did join NATO, nobody anywhere near the Middle East (except maybe the various Soviet "Stans" depending on where exactly your draw the middle east's borders) ever actually joined NATO or the Warsaw Pact. Both of those coalitions made overtures to the various nations in that region, partly because they knew the other was going to, and partly because some of those Middle Eastern countries are absolutely loaded with oil. Iran, Iraq, and Israel are the three major players as World War III in Europe inevitably spreads into the Middle East, and the one thing they agree on is they all hate each other with pretty much equal intensity.

In 1985, Iran is a theocratic Islamic republic that was westernizing until a few years ago when they decided to tell America to get rekd. Their neighbor is Iraq, a one party authoritarian dictatorship enjoying the benefits of America's new "Fuck Iran" policy. The two have been at war since 1980, and to pour gas on the fire they follow different branches of Islam.

Meanwhile on the coast, Israel is at war with... well pretty much everyone. The Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, pitting Israel against Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and [[What|Cuba because why the fuck not]]. Officially most of these countries are still technically at war with Israel in 1985, although the fighting is mostly confined to Lebanon.

When WWIII winds its way into the desert, it finds two wars in full swing and a mess of complex backroom deals for arms and oil. The easiest case to understand is Israel. Israel in the 80's is the west's BFF, but they're regarded as a loose cannon for their tendency to [[That Guy|start shit and assassinator people]] seemingly just to remind the world that they exist. They're also known for not throwing ANYTHING away; in a serious fight their reservists would be using WW2 vintage hardware if they had to.

The Soviets best friend in the region is Iran, although this loyalty is only skin deep. The Ayatollah is no communist, he simply hates the decadent, heretical westerners. Right up until 1978 the Iranians had been getting the best hardware the west was willing to sell them. America wanted to make Iran a big fortress of freedom keeping the Soviets away from all the oil, but the revolution threw those plans out the window.

Iraq for their part had never really been anyone's friend. The Ba'athist party came to power in 1967 basically because the army was really mad at Israel. The Soviets were willing to sell them weapons but not the best stuff. But after Iran flipped off America, the CIA and the Saudis got really interested in propping up Iraq as an angry puppet against Iran.

Which brings us to the most notable non-participants in WWIII, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. The Saudis in 1985 are disgustingly rich, chummy with NATO but not vocal about it, and very vocal about hating Israel but talk is cheap. Meanwhile, Egypt in the 80's is under the leadership of a reformer who is less interested in war and more interested in using the Suez as an economic engine to rebuild Egypt (of course, even if Egypt were to not take sides in WW3, the Suez is just too strategically important to ignore...). Then there's Turkey. Turkey joined NATO in 1952, so it would very much be in this fight, and with it's location keeping the Black Sea fleet in the Black Sea and not causing trouble in the mediterranean, they very quickly be a front the Soviet would open to uncork that fleet and let it cause some real chaos, yet the Turk's lack an army list. . .yet.

In summary, the Middle East of the 80's is a mess of ambiguous allegiances colored by both extremely old and very new animosities. But in practical gameplay terms what it means is the opportunity to wield PACT hordes with the support of the latest western airbrrrrrrt (Iraq), or field older NATO tanks at Soviet discount prices (Iran), or shred <strike>goyim</strike> BMP and Milan spam with equal efficiently (Israel).

====Israel====
{{topquote|Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses: He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil.|Golda Meir}}

Difficulty: 3/5 (Effective against other Oil War armies, struggles against v2 armies)

Forged by near-constant war since State of Israel declared its independence in 1948 (instantly starting a war as its enraged Muslim neighbors all attacked), the Israel Defence Forces stand as one of most effective armies in 20th-century history. They are an army of Jews, sworn to act as the sword and shield of the long-dreamt-of Jewish homeland, and they are both well-trained, battle-hardened, and fiercely motivated. The IDF have lived with a "backs to the wall" mentality since the beginning; they know that losing once in the wrong time and wrong place could well mean losing Israel. But they also know that they're safer being feared; eighteen years before Team Yankee, Israel fought the Six Day War against all its neighbors and won, virtually obliterating the Egyptian and Jordanian air forces while taking the Sinai, and six years later held their gains in the Yom Kippur War.

Driven by constant pressure and the endless threat of danger and defeat, the IDF has been extremely innovative and adaptable with their equipment right from the start. They deliberately use literally ''anything'' they can get their hands on, with an array of weaponry ranging from World War II-vintage Sten SMG's, Soviet-made Shilkas captured from their not-so-friendly Muslim neighbors, purchased American tanks and a handful of home-grown items. While the WW2 tech has been passed to the reservists by now, Team Yankee's IDF options largely ignore this ramshackle history beyond a few looted wagons, which is a shame because M50 "Super Shermans" would be fun to use. You could, if you really wanted, use "Flames of War" and "Fate of a Nation" units to put together an IDF reservist force, but that would require extra work. The IDF in any format are well-trained and well-motivated. No matter what they're driving, flying or shooting, they are skilled and brave, making them a formidable enemy to anyone who goes up against them.

Israeli battlegroups have one of the deadliest anti-infantry arsenals with napalm bombers, tanks with Brutal and ROF 2 on the move, and infantry that could outfight the Americans' legendary 82nd Airborne. Anti-armour is a clear weakness, you only have a handful of units able to punch through previous generation tanks and nothing capable of hurting the latest tanks from the front. IDF units have nearly identical stats to the West Germans: 3+ stats across the board, except for 4+ assault and courage.

The Israelis may take allied NATO formations in their battlegroups.

Defining Units:
[[Merkava]], [[Pereh]]

;Strengths
*Deadliest anti-infantry weapons currently in the game.
*Infantry platoons which can beat tanks, and excel at firefights.
*Ideal for combined arms players with some experience.
*The closest thing IRL has to Cadians.

;Weaknesses
*Extremely few units which can penetrate 3rd generation tanks.
*Mediocre anti-air arsenal.
*Literally everyone else expects you to stab them in the back at some point.
*Terrified of shellfish.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Good at firefighting with strong stats but not much else. 3/5
Transports: The metal box of the free world...again. 3/5
Tanks: Great fire support, terrible tank killer. 3/5
Anti-Tank: Seriously lacks tools to deal with heavy tanks. 2/5
Recon: Mediocre, but cheap. 3/5
Artillery: 3+ skill, and you have an artillery piece for every mission. 4/5
Aircraft: Slightly weaker anti-armour, excellent anti-infantry. 4/5
Anti-Air: Solid SPAAGs, but suffers against NATO aircraft. 3/5

{{Israeli Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Iraq/Syria====
''Why are we on the same side as Israel?...and why are those Abrams giving me Déjà vu?"''

Difficulty: 4/5 (The challenge of a WARPAC list, made easier with NATO allies)

Universally feared in the Middle East as the strongest conventional military force in numbers and technology, the Iraqi Armed Forces boast a mix of Western and Soviet equipment and the largest military in the region. Despite being bested by the Israelis during the Six-Days War, the 80s Iraqis were a very respectable force in the context of a head-on conventional war. By 1990, they were the 4th largest army in the world with over 900,000 troops in the military with one of the largest tank fleets in the Middle East, though take that statement with a grain of salt about their effectiveness since by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War 1991 they had the second largest army in Iraq]. That being said, this all took place well after 1985, when back in 1979, despite Iraq being in the Soviet sphere of influence, the US gave some material support to Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war. You can make an argument for Iraq being on either NATO's or PACT's side in this conflict.

Iraqi lists are 'constructed' at the Division level, meaning that you have access to support units that would usually be found at the company level in other armies. While you do have a few French units, your combat troops have Soviet equipment and can be expected to perform like poorly trained PACT troops. Iraqis have 4+ stats across the board, except for 5+ assault and 5+ skill. They also operate at the company level like other PACT armies.

Uniquely for a faction with as much soviet gear as they do, Iraqis may take NATO allied formations in their battlegroups, if you've ever fantasized about a functional Iraqi-US coalition force. In game terms, this lets you have cheap conscript horde working alongside the best of the West. If you want a tarpit of conscripts protecting objectives while your Leopard 2s or Merkavas tear things up, this is the faction for you. You also have the USAF providing air cover with Warthogs and Harriers.

The Syrians are an official modification to the Iraqi list, losing the AMX AuF1, VCR/TH, AMX Roland, AMX-10P, US air support and all NATO allies. In exchange, they get access to the SU-25 and PACT allied formations.

Defining Units: [[T-62M|T-62]], [[Motor Rifle Company]]

;Strengths
*Large unit sizes with a point cost between East Germans and Czechs.
*Access to NATO tools like the AMX-AuF1 and the Gazelle HOT.
*Ideal for WARPAC commanders dabbling in NATO equipment and allies.

;Weaknesses
*Almost all support units at the divisional level.
*[[Planetary Defense Force|Units have the morale of WARPAC troops and the training of Russian conscripts.]]
*Addicted to nerve agents.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Tanned Pact troops with Ruskie training videos. 3/5
Transports: Many mediocre options for versatility. 3/5
Tanks: Inferior to Pact tanks, in training and tech. 2/5
Anti-Tank: Very fragile, but you can beat 3rd-gen tanks. 3/5
Recon: Cheap scout that can't kill anything. 2/5
Artillery: High-tech, average cost, low skill. 2/5
Aircraft: Nothing overpowered, but you have a solution for every problem. 4/5
Anti-Air: Plenty of options for the perfect AA net! 5/5

{{Iraqi Forces in Team Yankee}}

====Iran====
{{topquote|Throw away your prayer chain and buy yourself a gun. For prayer chains keep you in stillness while guns silence the enemies of Islam.|Ayatollah Khamenei}}

Difficulty: 4/5 (Excels in the hands of veterans, unfriendly to beginners.)

Formerly an American ally of convenience, and already at war with Iraq before World War III started in August 1985, the Islamic Republic of Iran has wound up as a de-facto ally of the atheistic Warsaw Pact. The underdogs of the Middle East, the Iranian military lack the generations of combat experience of the Israelis or the raw numbers of the Iraqis but compensate through sheer fanaticism. By the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranian military was only able to repel invading Iraqi forces thanks to foreign equipment and local militias slowing the initial Iraq advance.

Iranian armies featured iconic Soviet platforms but typically used Western vehicles - without the latest upgrades, of course. It’s strange to see Iran side with the Soviet Union in this scenario, if only because they were one of the major backers of the Mujahideen in the Soviet-Afghan War. But politics can make for strange bedfellows indeed, and this fiercely religious state's alliance with the explicitly atheist USSR and its client states in Eastern Europe is far from the only unusual partnership of the 20th century.

The Iranians play with NATO vehicles using PACT doctrine (holdovers from the last regime, when the Americans propped up Iran as a buffer state against the Soviet Union), operating M113s and Chieftains as the backbone of their force. The Americans and British are obviously no longer supplying spare parts, but the Iranians manage somehow, running their bizarre mishmash of NATO and WarPac machines and weapons, some of which are still in service today. Statwise, the Iranians are more fanatical than Soviets with 3+ across the board, but with 5+ assault and skill. Your illiterate hajis won't understand orders but are guaranteed to outlast nearly any foe on the battlefield in a contest of attrition.

Iranian armies operate at the platoon level much like NATO's forces except for the Basij, and may take allied formations from the Warsaw Pact despite the communist hatred of all things religious. If you like NATO tanks, painting desert camo and <s>unironically saying Allahu Akbar </s> getting placed on FBI watchlists, boy do I have the army for you.

Defining Units:
[[Chieftain]], [[Basij Infantry Company]]

;Strengths
*Insanely cheap platoons that let you bring several companies easily.
*High morale means units can practically disregard pinning/bails/losses.
*Beige.
*Literal jihadists.

;Weaknesses
*Extremely squishy armour formations capped at 3 tank platoons.
*Atrocious anti-armour capability.
*I hope you like painting beige.
*Literal jihadists.

The Breakdown:
Infantry: Good balance between infantry spam and mediocre infantry. 4/5
Transports: Average transports with quite a bit of choice. 3/5
Tanks: Soviet tanks and outdated Chieftains. 2/5
Anti-Tank: Your strongest AT platoons can't penetrate an M1IP. 1/5
Recon: Passable: not bad, but not great. 3/5
Artillery: A calibre for every target and every list. 4/5
Aircraft: Passable anti-tank, lacks a bomber. 3/5
Anti-Air: Nearly identical to PACT anti-air. 4/5

{{Iranian Forces in Team Yankee}}

===Asian Powers===
You may have noticed that this may be a 'world war' but there is one notable part of the world currently left out of the fighting: Asia, and by Asia we mean China, and to a much lesser degree Japan and Korea. Korea is an easy one: that is a situation that would almost 100% pop off in a world war three situation. In our world Russian reduiced aid to North Korea in 1985 under Mikhail Gorbachev, but in Team Yankee we got a military Hawk which is what set all this off. So this is a fight the USSR would be stoking if for no other reason then the USSR would love to draw US troops away from Europe and really put America's claim of being able to fight "Two-and-a-half wars" to the test. North Korea with heavy support from the USSR would also likely go for it. Japan meanwhile is still technically barred from waging offensive wars, but in 1960 they signed a defensive treaty in place with the USA that also is the legal justification for US military bases. So in a WW3 situation, USSR declares war on Europe, NATO triggers so America is at war, then the "''Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan''" triggers and Japan is also at war with the USSR, and presumable North Korea in the aforementioned situation where the USSR start's that up. So USA, Japan and South Korea VS the USSR and North Korea. There you go battlefront just wrote the plot of an entire expansion for you.

And now to address the Dragon in the room: China. China is. . .complicated. They are 100% a communist power and had this game been set during the late 50-60's China would be in this fight as well on the USSR side since the USSR helped the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in one of the Cold War's first proxy conflicts with the USA supporting the Nationalist who would later be reduced to Taiwan. But the two nations would drift apart and by the time of Team Yankee the two communists governments are very much split. Now a days China is seen as a super power and by 1985 it's very much a regional "Big Dog" just starting to flex it's international muscles in ways that it's still doing to this day. The big question of course is if WW3 started between the USSR and NATO: would China get involved?

That is very hard to predict. You could say they join, reluctantly, with the Russians to prevent the USA from taking all of North Korea and putting a unfriendly power on there border. You could also say that the USA could preemptively strike China expecting them to join a war and wanting to get a cheap shot before there ready, which would make them join Russia that way. You could make the argument they would join the American/NATO side in order to get territory grabs from the USSR and resolve some territorial disputes while there distracted. You could also arge the same from the other side, join the USSR to get territory protected by the USA that they claim (COUGH-Taiwan-COUGH) You even could even reasonably expect them to simply do the opposite of whatever India does, (Which would also mean it end up on the same side as Pakistan). Really it's a crap shoot with them. And despite how logical it is for Asian action in this WW3 alternate history Battlefront is using, it's an open question they even show up at all given how touchy the CCP is about depictions of China and how tense things are between China and the west.

===African Powers===

Though it might have been called the 'Cold War' it was anything but in the patchwork of states formed in the wake of colonial rule across the continent of Africa. Africa was a key front in the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union as both sought to woo newly-independent African nations to support one side or the other.

First thing to note is that Cuba is a surprisingly active player in Africa sending troops to at least 17 African nations and three insurgencies, in fact introducing Cuba as a Faction in an African expansion rather then a Silly "Red Dawn" movie themed expansion would make more sense, wolverines be darned.

As far as native African powers there are a couple of note: first is the Union of South Africa. They were and a major military power in Sub-Saharan Africa and were a state built upon Apartheid, a system where the black majority were disempowered and disenfranchised by the ruling white minority, the global opposition to this system of government saw South Africa develop a siege mentality of standing alone against a sea of foes within and without. With its fellow state of Rhodesia consigned to the dustbin of history by 1985 after its own long and bloody war, South Africa was in a tight spot by 1985 as it clashed with African and allied Cuban forces in Angola. To this end South Africa had invested heavily in its armed forces, including the indigenous Olifant Tank (An upgrade of the Centurion) and the Eland and Ratel-90 armoured cars. As stated they were a bit political isolated, but in WW3 there fighting Cubans so gosh darn it, there USA's going to back them!

From there though there are not a lot of good options. There different nations but Rwanda,Uganda,Tanzania,Burundi,Zaire (That last one no longer exist and is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) are militarily a bit interchangeable. Very few African nations make there own patterns of military equipment, and some times what they have they don't have a lot of. Rwanda for example has T55's. . 34 of them in fact. Additionally for the scale Team Yankee works at you really want vehicles to be unique to set the faction's apart. Who cares if the Ethiopian version of the Ak has a light on it, you won't notice that in the model. In fact you could probably cobble a list for most African nations out of existing gear and adjust the various skill values depending on what you thought was fair for that nation.

===Unofficial Rules - Alternative Nations and Special Forces===

Unlike the Swedish, who will undoubtedly get their own rules in years to come, you can follow the link below to play as one of the following nations: Spain (which actually joined NATO in 1982), Greece (joined NATO in 1952), Ireland, Yugoslavia, Albania, Denmark, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Portugal, Mexico, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, and Cuba.

You can also find unofficial rules for US Army Rangers, British Royal Marines, ANZAC SAS, Polish Spec Forces, Canadian Airborne, Iranian Spec Forces, East German Paratroops, Czech Airborne, French Foreign Legion, Soviet Naval Infantry, Iraqi and Syrian Republic Guard, Israeli Commandos and West German and Dutch Marines. You can even play now as Terrorists/ Guerrillas!

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344587741_TEAM_YANKEE_UNOFFICIAL_RULES_COMPENDIUM_-_NATIONAL_AND_SPECIAL_FORCES_RULES

Also it's not been done ''yet'' (and probably in bad taste to do so just yet, not to mention [[Skub|you'll get arguments as to how good the balance is]]) but you could easily cobble together a pair of army lists to represent the Ukraine and Russian in there ongoing War given that most of the vehicles involved are already stated. The only thing you'd have to figure out would be how the hell to represent drones and it be a relatively easy project.

===The Neutral Powers===

(Only mentioned at the BF open so far, but don’t let that get your hopes down)

====Sweden====
Maintaining a policy of armed neutrality (leave us alone, we have guns) since 1814, Sweden never joined NATO despite its neighbors Denmark and Norway being among the first to sign up. The idea being that if ww3 ended up in an atomic fireball, Sweden be at the bottom of the target list and have a better then average chance of making it through, Finland had the same tactic BTW and went so far as to make literally every building a bunker to live through it.. However, it is extremely likely that in the event of a war, the Swedes would have broken their long-standing neutrality to support their Scandinavian comrades against the Communist threat to their way of coffee breaks every 2 hours.

This actually happens in Sir John Hackett's novel ''The Third World War: The Untold Story'', which Harold Coyle's ''Team Yankee'' is set within- the Swedes don't take kindly to the Soviet Air Force repeatedly invading their airspace to bomb Norway, and Sweden becomes a de facto NATO ally when they attack the Soviet bombers and the Soviets retaliate. So far that hasn't been made canon in Team Yankee: The Tabletop Game, but Battlefront Miniatures could change that at any time.

The Swedish military of 1985 was armed with some of the most distinctive weapons of the Cold War thanks to their homegrown defence industry. Designs, like the Stridsvagn 103 (or 'S' tank) and the Saab 35 'Draken' and 37 'Viggen' were strange even for the time. The Draken was of the first aircraft to successfully implement a delta-wing configuration and Viggen the canard delta layout; the design used in modern interceptor aircraft like the Rafale and the Typhoon fighter jets.

Sweden's infantrymen of the 80's had access to an excellent selection small arms, pragmatically picked from the best designs Europe had to offer. Their basic kit includes Glock pistols and a domestic clones of the H&K G3 and the FN FNC rifles, supported with 84mm Carl-Gustafs and a bewilderingly diverse inventory of machine guns. Their latest homegrown gadgetry at the time of Team Yankee is the then-prototype m/94 Strix, a 120mm mortar round with anti-tank heat-seeking terminal guidance; essentially a poor man's copperhead but in some sense a better overall system.

As with other Scandinavian armies, their forces were rather small. This meant that their funding per soldier was almost equal to other Western European nations, giving them a small force of well-trained and equipped troops that constantly stink of pickled herring.

Defining Units:
[[Strv 103]]

;Strengths
*Free shipping for orders above $50.
*Excellent cars and fishes.

;Weaknesses
*Has [[Munchkin|min-maxed tanks]]
*Screwdriver sold separately.

The Breakdown:

{{Swedish Forces in Team Yankee}}

==FAQ/General Bulletin==
*There are three kinds of teams: Tank Teams, Infantry Teams, and Aircraft Teams
**Tank Teams include every type of ground based vehicle, not just literal tanks. It is further broken down into Armoured, Unarmoured, and Transport types
**Infantry Teams include all units made up of men fighting on foot
**Aircraft Teams are comprised of Strike Aircraft and Helicopters

*For most units moving will lead to worse shooting (or not being able to shoot at all)
*Tactical Speed allows you to shoot after moving
*Dash speed prohibits shooting and the maximum distance depends on the unit and the terrain
*Tank Teams must roll higher than their Cross value when moving into or through terrain or immediately end their movement
*Movement can be enhanced using various orders based on Skill or Motivation
*Friendly Tank and Infantry Teams can move through each other
*Tank Teams can never move through other Tank Teams (except wrecks)

*Units are hit based on their own Is Hit On value and not the shooting team's skill
**A unit's Is Hit On value is modified by Concealment, Smoke, and other factors
**Remaining in place and not shooting will make your units Gone To Ground
**Units that are Gone to Ground and also Concealed are even harder to hit
*Infantry, aircraft, and soft skinned vehicles that are hit must make a saving throw or be destroyed
**If the infantry unit is in Bullet Proof Cover the shooting team must also pass a Fire Power test
**Armored vehicles take the armor value (AV) on the card, add a d6, and compare it to the shooting weapon's anti-tank (AT) value
***If the total is less than the shooting weapon's AT then the target fails their Armour Save (if the weapon's AT exceeding your AV by 6 or more you will automatically fail)
***If the total is the same as the shooting weapon's AT then the target also fails but the shot does limited damage
***Failing an Armour Save does not mean automatic destruction. If the shooting unit then fails a Firepower roll the target stays alive (but is possibly Bailed Out)
***The hull and turret are considered separately. Roll a d6 if both are exposed. On a 4+ the turret (if there is one) is hit instead of the hull
****This only matters if the shooting unit is flanking the target (behind a line drawn across the front of the hull or turret)
*Long Range shooting carries a penalty to hit and AT (but this is often negated by rules for Laser Range Finders or Guided Missile technology)

*You will find the rules on the back of cards, but just in case you're simply browsing, here are what they all mean
**Brutal: Forces infantry units to reroll saves against this weapon
**Laser Rangefinder: Negates penalty of shooting at longer range
**Advanced Stabilizer: Increases the units maximum Tactical Speed
**Stabilizer: Increases the units maximum Tactical Speed, but adds a penalty to shooting when moving beyond the standard Tactical Speed
**Dedicated AA: Allows you to use full ROF against air units instead of just one die
**HEAT: Negates Firepower penalty for Long Range
**Guided: Negates hit penalty for Long Range
**Thermal Imaging: Allows unit to ignore smoke, friendly or foe

==Books==
<gallery>
File:Team-Yankee-cover.jpg|Da Big Rulebook
File:Iron Maiden Cover.jpg|Iron Maiden
File:Leopard Cover.jpg|Leopard
File:Panzertruppen Cover.jpg|Panzertruppen: sort of an addendum to Leopard
File:Volksarmee Cover.jpg|Volksarmee
File:FW909.jpg|Red Thunder
File:Stripes cover.jpg|Stripes
File:Freenationscover.jpg|Free Nations
File:Czech book.jpg|Czechoslovak Peoples Army
File:Polish book.jpg|Polish Peoples Army
File:Oilwar.jpg|Oil War
File:WWIII-BRITISH-cover.jpg|British Book II
</gallery>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:McPizza_King.jpg|Ramirez! Defend the <s>Burgertown</s> McPizza King!
File:Lynx & Btr-60s.jpg|''Gott im Himmel'' there's hundreds of them!
File:Marinecorps AAVP7.jpg|ONE TWO THREE FOUR, I LOVE THE MARINE CORPS!
File:CheiftainvsT64.jpg|Take that you dastardly Russians!
File:Afgantsy Choppers.jpg|Like a swarm of angry hornets.
File:Cheiftain on the road.jpg|Yes, the might of Great Britain has arrived.
File:New Bradley Mini.jpg|
File:Desert Bradley.jpg|

</gallery>

==External Links==
[http://www.team-yankee.com/ The Official Team Yankee website]

[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwatpGKP655UI1CjcmKQrcY5uiO_HHB7/ A somewhat outdated starter guide]

[[Category:Wargames]]
[[Category:Battlefont Miniatures]]
[[Category:Team Yankee]]
[[Category:Flames Of War]]