Earning a gift

So, it turns out the War Thunder is the first out of the gate for this season's tank gifting, er, sorta.

Between 19 - 21 December, all I have to do is login, win a battle and put this low rank premium Light Tank in my garage. The fine details are here http://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?showtopic=285627

Although I could just buy it now with the small cache of Golden Eagles I have saved up, winning it would feel so much better. Besides, I have a plan for my premium currency and unfortunately, it doesn't involve anything British.

Now, to begin my German themed gameplay in Ground Forces. As you can see from the screenshot above, I haven't progressed very far down in the tech tree. And, with having only a low ranked premium asset to assist with Silver Lions and research points, I will have to rely on using a few boosters to speed up my progress.

Sticking with Arcade mode to maximize my gameplay, I selected my three tanks to be used during the two planned rounds I intended to play.

First up, Poland, with a three point capture and hold scenario. For this round, I got a pretty good team, well focused and determined not to give up ground taken. For another nice change, I lived to see the end of the battle too!

The second battle series wasn't nearly as favorable as the first. It's funny how that pendulum can swing.

Jungle, with another three point capture.After getting my first two tanks shot out from underneath me, the ingame physics decided to pull a little prank on me....

....I slid right of the short wooded bridge on my way to capture a point. I thought it was too warm to have icy road conditions....

Despite all of that and the defeat that followed shortly after, through the use of Silver Lions and research booster, I was able to unlock and purchase one of the next tanks in the German line.

Going forward now, my battle choices with have my newly acquired, rank II Pz IV F1 as an available option.