WWPD: Your Source For All Things Flames of War!

Guards Motorstrelkovy vs Finn Pioneers (Blind Domination)

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

This battle is Game two in our Operation Bagration Campaign. I didn't take a picture of the board but you can consult the bottom of this post to see a map. In this game, Sean attempted to relieve his surrounded forces by counter attacking from Lepel to the recently captured Berezino.

Train Tracks, bridge, and swamps by Battlefront Miniatures
Roads and Creek by JR Miniatures

We rolled for the mission and came up with Blind Domination- we both agree that this is one of our absolute favorite missions. The first three movement steps are pre-planned out for you, and we love how this makes for a really smooth transition from deployment to playing.

Sean's Finn Pioneers

HQ + Panzerfausts
Finn Pioneers + Panzerfaust + Supply Wagon
Finn Pioneers + Panzerfaust
Finn Pioneers + Panzerfaust
3 Captured T-34/85
3 Sturmi
German 10.5cm Battery (Firestorm)

Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy

HQ (all FT)
2 Platoon Motorstrelkovy Company + Komissar
1 Platoon Motorstrelkovy Company + Komissar & Maxim HMG
Motorized Mortar Company
3 SU-152 + Tank Escorts
5x SU-85 + Tank Escorts
Spetsnaz w/ captured halftracks (FV)
3x T-34/85 + Tank Escorts (forestorm) (CT)
5x T-45 + Tank Escorts (Firestorm) (CT)

SETUP AND DEPLOYMENT

The board from the soviet POV.

UNITS IN RESERVE
Sean's Finn Pioneers	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy

DEPLOYMENT SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: Both armies orders are pre-planned through turn 3. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: Both armies orders are pre-planned through turn 3.

TURN 1

Only recon forces arrive on turn 1, but Sean sends the 105 observer up

Spetsnaz moves up the road, contesting 2 1 point objectives.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy

TURN 1 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: Observer moves on. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: Spetsnaz move on.

TURN 2

The battle slowly develops.

Sean brings 105s on immediately to let them get setup (Guns are allowed to move as wheeled vehicles on the turn they arrive in this mission)

On the Soviet right, Sean brings "Center" pioneer platoon.

The trifecta arrives in the Soviet center.

While to their right, SU-85s show up and move into a wood.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy

TURN 2 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: 105s and Pioneers arrive. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: SU-152s and SU-85s get into position.

TURN 3

Now the rest of our force gets to arrive.

On the Soviet left, "Right" Pioneer platoon arrives.

Sturmi arrive in the center.

Left Pioneer platoon with a supply wagon.

T-34/85s bog while trying to cross the raised track.

Center platoon moves forward, poised to control the bridge.

After disengaging from direct fire from the Sturmi, the Spetsnaz come under fire from the 105s.

Soviet T-34s arrive on the left.

The large motorstrelk company arrives on the left.

Assault guns move into covered positions.

Mortars similarly deploy in the center.

SU-85s move into position.

The small Motorstrelkovy company double times through the gap in the woods.

T-34/85s arrive on the extreme right flank.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy

TURN 3 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: The entire army deploys. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: The Motorstrelkovy are all in now!

TURN 4

The fight just got real!

T-34s are having a hard time with the tracks. The one in the center gets on the track, and attempts to free the other- to no avail.

Finns keep advancing!

As the Sturmi reposition, one throws a track.

10.5s range in on the small Motorstrelkovy company, causing the first casualty of the game!

The large, unwiedly blob on the left marches forward. I immediately realize they are too far away from anything important to matter- I blew their deployment.

T-34s push forward. Two cross the tracks,

The small motorstrelkovy and T-34/85s move forward.

The first Finn stand falls to a T-34/85s MGs.

SU-85s pop a Sturmi.

SU-152s knock out a second.

Mortars fire a barrage...

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers Right Pioneers: 1 stand Sturmi: 2 tanks 10.5cm Battery: 1 gun	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy Small Motorstrelkovy: 1 stand

TURN 4 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: Sean goes aggressive and everything that can moves forward. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: The large motorstrelkovy flounders a bit, but the central armor core has success in knocking out 2 Sturmi.

TURN 5

Turn 5

The T-34s YET AGAIN cannot get across the tracks or free themselves. Sean has now rolled something like 6 ones in a row for these guys.

Finally the improvised recovery vehicle rules shine, and 2 tanks make it across thanks to some good ol' fashioned towin' cable!

Left Pioneers move forward aggressively, nabbing another point.

But the reds aren't having that. The T-34s push across the tracks and even through the woods to counter the pioneers! A bloody assault is coming.

Mortars cut into the right pioneer platoon

Fire pinns the pioneers and knocks out 2 stands.

Armor leads the way!

With initial success

Finns counter attack!

And wipe out 3 tanks! The other 2 are forced out of the woods.

Spetsnaz in their German equipment take over and charge in!

Several bloody rounds are fought, leaving only the finn platoon Commander to fight back!

And damned if he doesn't knock the Spetsnaz down to one team (plus the attached mortar observer)

But finally, the assault is victorious- at the cost of 3 tanks and 4 spetsnaz stands

The bloody result.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers Left Pioneers: DESTROYED Sturmi: 2 tanks 10.5cm Battery: 1 gun Right Pioneers: 3 Stands	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy Small Motorstrelkovy: 1 stand Tankovy: 3 tanks Spetsnaz: 4 stands

TURN 5 SUMMARY

Sean's Finn Pioneers: Sean now controls 4 domination points. T-34/85s finally have some success getting across the tracks. Sean continues his aggressive posturing.

Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: I control 4 domination points. Everything advances! A bloody assault is launched on the left flank (which, ultimately has very little in the way of objectives. Both the Spetsnaz and the tankovy are beaten down- but both pass morale to stick around. The Finn unit is entirely destroyed.

TURN 6

The bloodiest fighting has occured in the least important ground so far

T-34s mount the track for easy movement.

In the center, Sean goes for it. Center pioneer platoon moves to capture the 3 pointer objective.

105s range in on the assault guns, but cause no harm.

After a quick assessment, I decide to counter Sean's bold movement with full force.

The Center Pioneers start taking casualties from tank MGs...

And then learn the true power of Volley Fire.

After being crushed in direct fire, the small motorstrelk follows up.

The assault goes back and forth for a bit, but swings in the soviets' favor.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers Left Pioneers: DESTROYED Center Pioneers: 8 Stands Right Pioneers: 3 stand Sturmi: 2 tanks 10.5cm Battery: 1 gun	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy Small Motorstrelkovy: 3 stand Tankovy: 3 tanks Spetsnaz: 4 stands

TURN 6 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: One T-34 remains bogged, but the other 2 ride the rails! Like 2 hobos fightin over a bean. Center pioneers charge forward into the breach! Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy: Effective fire is poured into the center pioneer platoon, knocking them down to a single stand.

TURN 7

It's looking bloody everywhere now

Finally all 3 T-34s are mobile!

Finn Armor is desperate, with everything driving forward!

105s range in on the 2 remaining tanks, bailing one out. They pass morale and stick around, however.

The FInn armor can't score any effective hits.

The small strelkrovy braces as the Right pioneer platoon prepares to launch an assault!

The strelkovy suffers casualties, but stays strong!

The counter attack is brutal.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers Left Pioneers: DESTROYED Center Pioneers: 8 Stands Right Pioneers: 3 stand Sturmi: 2 tanks 10.5cm Battery: 1 gun	Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy Small Motorstrelkovy: 5 stands Tankovy: 3 tanks Spetsnaz: 4 stands

TURN 7 SUMMARY
Sean's Finn Pioneers: Sean has one last attempt- he sends all of his armor in... and whiffs. He assaults the strelkovy with his battered pioneers, but is wiped out leaving the soviets in firm posession of the objectives. Steven's Soviet Guards Motorstrelkovy:

With that, I start holding the 3 from the center bridge. 2 on the wooden bridge, and 3 other 1 pointers giving me 8 domination points. This was a fun game- I'm really liking soviet "infantry" (I mean, really, I have way more armor even in this mechanized list...) vs Finn infantry. It's been a blast!

The after math of this campaign turn. Note the soviets ahve just captured Lepel in the center, even though I haven't marked it just yet.

The next campaign turn is decided. Sean will immediately counter attack from Borizov into Lepel with 105s and Panthers! I will be ready to face him with the same FS troops I've used in the last 2 games.

Generated by WWPD's BatRepper Software.

Review: Battlefront's German 12.8cm K81 Guns (GBX61)

2012-01-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

- by Dirty Jon
These guns are 'UGE! You get everything you need in the package to make a full battery of 4 guns with Command, Staff and 2 Observer teams - just right for your Flames of War German Artillery! I whipped these guys out pretty quick -- sticking with my table-top painting standard.

THE GOOD
Did I say that these were HUGE? They are amazingly big. The cost of materials in this box must be some of the highest of any Battlefront box - the value here is nice. The guns went together in a snap -- very easy to assemble.
Bigger than a Tiger:

THE BAD
There was a ton of flash on these models. I think I set myself up for some disappointment though - I figured that these were all new models and would have very little flash - wrong. Some of the flash lines are in between rivets too - I wasn't cleaning that out, so I just dealt with it. If you are a fanatic about such things (I usually am), then plan to spend some extra time with these. From 2 feet out, don't worry about it.

THE UGLY
Ugly for your opponent! These guys are AT 17 AND can bombard with a staff team! Checking in at 530 points makes these guys very expensive - but there is nothing like carving up tanks on the Eastern Front from 48" away, baby! This battery does double-duty: great AT assets and great arty!
CONCLUSION:
17 out of 20 "WTF? AT17 ?!?!?"s

IN FLAMES OF WAR

Weapon	Mobility	Range	ROF	Anti-Tank	Firepower	Equipment and Notes
12.8cm K81 Gun Firing Bombardments	Immobile	48"/120cm 104"/260cm	1 -	17 4	2+ 3+	Breakthrough Gun

List Dissection: The German Tank Swarm Pt 2

2012-01-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

Continuing on from Tom's first part posted earlier.
Mid War

Mid war is the period for which it is most difficult to assemble a German tank swarm. The mainstay tank of the period, the Panzer three, is pricey, especially in its more useful later variants like the IIIM or IIIN. It is difficult to achieve the critical mass needed with Panzer IIIM/Ns. There are a few other options. You could try taking only the earlier cheaper Panzer IIIs or you could try to maximize light tanks such as the Panzer II or the 38t. For this example, I'm going to use the 38t.

The 38t is pretty much useless against other tanks. By mid war AT 6 is a mere pop gun. However you can get a lot of 38ts which are still really good at machine-gunning infantry, assaulting dug in troops, and blowing up guns. The trick with this list is to increase the number of support tanks to deal with enemy armor, without ending up with too few 38Ts for use against infantry.

A Lot of Tanks

In good news, by Mid War the Germans have a wide selection of awesome anti-tank vehicles. My favorite is the Panzer IV f2. It combines decent armor, FA 5, with a superior AT 11 gun. A Panzer IV f2 standing at long range and cover, properly handled, can destroy an almost infinite number of opposing Shermans or Soviet T-34s. Panzer IVf2s are expensive, though. So I usually take three and a second unit of something else cheaper, like Marders.

I took this list to either guns of August or the Williamsburg muster last year. (I can't remember which.) It performed quite well against infantry lists, but against a Tankovy list of mostly T-34s, my support tanks were simply overwhelmed.

Czech Panzerkompanie
Armoured Company

German Mid-War

Platoon

Qty

Unit

Points

Headquarters

Czech Panzerkompanie HQ

p.31

Panzer 38(t)

120

Combat Platoons

Czech Panzer Platoon

p.31

Panzer 38(t)

240

Czech Panzer Platoon

p.31

Panzer 38(t)

300

Czech Panzer Platoon

p.31

Panzer 38(t)

240

Czech Panzer Platoon

p.31

Panzer 38(t)

180

Weapons Platoon

Mittlere Panzer Platoon(up to 4 IV F1,F2, G)(Heer)

p.34

Panzer IV F₂ or G

435

Divisional Support

Tank-hunter Platoon (PzJag I or Marder)(Heer)

p.86

Marder I

220

Company Points:

1735

Source document: Eastern Front

More Easy Army!

Late War

Late war returns us to more familiar and more effective territory for the German tank swarm. The price to performance ratio of a Panzer IVH to a Panther or Tiger is almost exactly the same as that a Panzer IIC and a Panzer IVD.

In late war natural mainstay tank is the Panzer 4-H. You could also use the Stug or perhaps mix in some Panzer threes. The Panzer 4-H and the Stug are to my mind interchangeable: the Panzer IV sports an extra machine gun and a turret, the Stug has a fixed gun but slightly better armor. Six of one, half-dozen of the other. The important thing is to get a critical mass of AT11 guns, at long-range undercover so that the enemy will need 6s to hit them, if they can see them at all.

StuGs!

In most builds you will end up with around a dozen mainstay tanks. 15 or so is a more desirable number but often hard to squeeze in once you have purchased your support vehicles. I prefer to keep my tanks in large platoons of 4 or five and only Kampfgroup them if I need to reach an even number of platoons. If you attach your headquarters tanks to an already large platoon of five, you get a really beefy assault unit.

In late war the Germans are spoiled for choice of support units. Against the Western Allies, I usually take two Tiger ones. The Tigers main gun can punch through almost any Allied armor. (Except for Churchill variants.) Their top armor of two grants them extra protection against plentiful, nasty Allied artillery. I'm not even sure the Tigers are necessary; you could just take more mainstay tanks instead.

Against Soviets, I prefer the Panther or its variants. Ideally the German tank swarm will stay at range against a foe, and the mainstay tanks will protect the flanks of the snipers. Therefore the Panthers heavier from armor and slightly more powerful gun render it a better choice for destroying Soviet heavies. Sometimes I take two Jägdpanthers. They cost slightly less than three Panthers, and they have a ludicrously powerful gun for destroying IS-2s and the like.

You really want to smoke for this Army. In Late War, the Allies can outnumber you with some pretty good tanks. Smoke blocking line of sight can cut the enemy numbers into smaller segments for you to concentrate fire.

The Late War German tank swarm usually plays more cautiously than its early war or mid war counterpart. It's mainstay tanks have a longer range and there are usually fewer of them in the Army. Infantry anti-tank weapons can be markedly more plentiful than in earlier eras, especially you are facing Americans. Ideally you want to play all of your tanks as long-range snipers, closing with the enemy only when you need flanks shots or enemy ranged antitank capacity has been neutralized. This, of course, is easier said than done.

Panzerkompanie

German Late-War

Platoon

Qty

Unit

Points

Headquarters

Panzerkompanie HQ

p.21

Panzer IV H

190

Combat Platoons

Panzer Platoon

p.21

Panzer IV H

475

Panzer Platoon

p.21

Panzer IV H

475

Divisional Support

Tank-Hunter Platoon

p.50

Jagdpanther

470

Rocket Launcher Battery

p.53

1
1
1
3

Cmd SMG team
Observer Rifle team
Kubelwagen
15cm NW41

125

Company Points:

1735

Source document: Fortress Europe

Yet More Easy Army

Conclusion

The German tank swarm maximizes inexpensive tanks and mixes them with a few heavy hitters. I find them quite enjoyable lists to play; each move you make with such a highly mobile army has a powerful effect on whether you win or lose. Unlike with an infantry Army where you spend a lot of time dug into a hole, you feel in charge of your own battlefield destiny. Unlike with an elite tank army, you have enough numbers to make a few mistakes or suffer some bad luck and still come out on top.

Battlefront's Train Tracks

2012-01-25T17:00:00.003-05:00

For a long time, my battlefields have sorely lacked any sort of rail road tracks. Why is this? Because I am lazy. I hate making terrain, and if I have to go above and beyond to do some custom modeling- forget it. Battlefront's pre-painted train tracks came like mana from heaven, descending triumphantly while a voice boomed "THESE TRACKLESS BOARDS WILL NOT STAND!"

The box itself is much smaller than the picture implies. The foam inside is sturdy, which was great- it means I can keep the box for storing the tracks when not in use. As for the contents, it's pretty straightforward (no pun intended): 8 12" straight track pieces.

Honestly there's not much to say about the pre-paints that the pictures don't already say. The pre-painting is very nice. Up to a high painting standard (especially for pre-paints). The quality of the material is great- flexible yet sturdy. There's truly nothing not to like about the tracks themselves- they look great. For our first game with them I literally ripped the cellophane off the box, pulled them out, admired them for a second, then laid them down before rolling dice 2 minutes later.

Alright I know what you're thinking. Get "straight" to the point. Sorry for the puns, I'm feeling saucy! No curved sections? So the obvious major drawback here is that there is no variety in the set. This is pretty serious considering the rules for laying train tracks absolutely require the ability to curve around certain terrain features. I do like these tracks a lot, but until curved pieces come out they're just terrain.

So to round out the review, I just can't find anything not to like about the tracks themselves. Taken for what they are the tracks are very good and a good value. But the lack of any curved sections, or even a promise that curved sections are to come, is a pretty big detriment to these guys. I do really like the look of them and the price is right, so hopefully curved sections are quick to follow. But in game terms, the main reason I'd want these tracks are to fit my armored train. But They don't really fit that bill with no ability to curve around hills. So, for now I'll say these are great terrain, but not yet a good game option. Once curved sections come out, there won't be any reason for armored train owners not to own these- so hopefully those are on the short to do list!

update 1/26: There are quite a few alternatives to this track that come pre-painted, usually all resin, that have a more robust offering. Until BF release curved sections, it's hard to buy into these when using the Flames of War Rules. I do like them, and I like how sturdy they are, but I think it's worth investigating some places like Armaments in Miniature, and Total System Scenics.

8/10 BP44 Trains

In a recent game

List Dissection: The German Tank Swarm pt I

2012-01-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

By Tom
The German Tank Swarm

The German tank swarm is one of my favorite list builds for Flames of War. It maximizes the natural strengths of medium German tanks: their Veteran rating and their ability to Stormtrooper. When you consider that the enemies will need a 6 to hit German tanks in concealment at range, and that the German tanks can simply stormtrooper in and out of cover two thirds of the time, German tanks have a natural advantage over other nations, even if their armor and armament aren't really any better than their foes.

In this family of list builds I combine a large number of mainstay tanks (well, a large number for Germans anyway) with a few sniper tanks for destroying enemy heavy hitters. The mainstay tanks should achieve superiority by eliminating enemy support units like artillery or antitank guns while the sniper tanks destroy any enemy armor that the mainstay tanks can't deal with. Once the German armor has battlefield superiority, it can begin to destroy enemy infantry that's dug-in, either with its cannon fire or with an assault by a large platoon of tanks. Some smoke is also quite nice with this build, but it's not essential.

German armor varies quite a bit across the course of the war. There are different choices and tanks for each era but the core principle remains the same. Here are sample lists for each of the three eras: early war mid war and late war.

Early War

In early war our mainstay tank is the Panzer IIC. Our support tank is the Panzer IVD. I took a variant of this list through early war nationals last year at Historicon. It only did so-so, but at least it beat the BAR in its one matchup.

My Pz II's vs. Steve's Panhards

I like the Panzer IIc as a mainstay tank over the alternatives because it can be upgraded to a relatively tough front armor of two, it has a decent armament with an AT 5, firepower 5+, rate of fire 3 gun. This is enough to harm most other light tanks, such as the Hotchkiss or poorly armored mediums like the British cruiser tanks. You could also take Panzer ones in Panzer twos mixed together or 38ts. Personally I found the 38ts to be a bit expensive and to take away from the critical mass needed among mainstay tanks. (I think the 38t has a very poor price point in early war; it pays too much for its gun and its armor without really being able to hurt FA 4 or 5 French tanks.) I tried to include around 15 Panzer twos or more if I can squeeze them in the list.

I usually include for Panzer IVDs in two platoons of two. The Panzer IVD occupies a really important place in the early war German arsenal of tanks. It's AT 7 gun with 3+ firepower can decisively hurt the heavier medium tanks or even the heavy tanks like the char B (if you get around the flank) or the Somua. Unlike the Panzer II, whose gun tends to result in a lot of bails the Panzer IV’s gun kills things dead. The Panzer IV’s front armor of three doesn't sound like a lot (especially to a French player) but at range it's actually quite survivable.

In early war there is no cheap smoke for German armor. So I don't even bother. Sometimes I'll take airplanes, not so much because I expect them to kill anything, but because their template forces the enemy to spread out.

Running this Army is pretty straightforward. The Panzer twos engage enemy light armor or infantry. Since the Panzer to has a range of 16 inches on its main gun they would usually have to move before engaging enemy. However they are not especially good at night fighting in the open and in situations when they must move constantly. Ideally I try to move them into cover where in the next round they can fire with their full rate of fire of three. The Panzer IVs engage heavier armor at a distance or, if they absolutely must, close in to take side shots at bigger tanks like the Char B.

When fighting the dreaded British Armored Regiment the role of the tanks are oddly reversed. In these circumstances it is better to engage the lightly armored British cruisers with an overwhelming number of Panzer twos and to engage the Vickers with the Panzer IVs. British 2-pdr guns largely make hash out of the difference in armor between a Panzer II and Panzer IV, but the more lightly armed Vickers have a hard time penetrating the Panzer IVs armor, particularly since the Panzer IVs have range on them.

I would like to note that there are a few things the Panzer IV cannot kill: notably the British Matilda II. there are a few stupid tricks you can use if your opponent brings that kind of monster to the table. The best option is to kill everything else in his list until it breaks. If an invulnerable tank threatens your objective, then you can always feed it Panzer twos until you win elsewhere. However it must be said that if your opponent fields a bunch of Matilda's together without any softer stuff, then you really cannot defeat it. I am not especially worried however, because pure Matilda lists really suck against almost any other force. So in a tournament I'm prepared to take the loss or play for a draw against a really lopsided heavy tank list. It really worries you then take some pioneers or air.

Mittlere Panzerkompanie
Medium Armoured Company

German Early-War

Platoon

Qty

Unit

Points

Headquarters

Mittlere Panzerkompanie HQ

p.69

1
2

Panzerbefehlswagen
Panzer II C (late)

140

Combat Platoons

Panzer II Platoon

p.67

Panzer II C (late)

280

Mittlere Panzer Platoon

p.69

Panzer IV D

300

Mittlere Panzer Platoon

p.69

Panzer IV D

300

Panzer II Platoon

p.67

Panzer II C (late)

280

Weapons Platoons

Panzer II Platoon

p.67

Panzer II C (late)

225

Divisional Support

Air Support

Allied Platoon p.102

7
1

Priority Air Support Ju 87B Stuka
Stuka Schwerpunkt (2 Aircraft Dice)

175

Company Points:

1700

Source document: Blitzkrieg Book

All Hail Easy Army!

Soviet Support: Scouts and Flame Throwers

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

Just a brief photo post here! Some recent soviets done. My Soviet infantry is really starting to fill out!

List Dissection: Panzer Lehr Panzergrenadiers

2012-01-24T07:34:00.001-05:00

INCEPTION

Before the price break, I never considered armored Panzergrenadiers all that great. 7 Stands, expensive, and mechanized? That means you have to try to attack infantry forces with small units. It also means your MG teams are next to useless on the attack! But then, in their wisdom, Battlefront reduced the price of MG teams, making their inclusion a possibility. That, combined with Panzer Lehr's large platoons and integral AT, meant that this list immediately spoke to me.

CONSTRUCTION
With expensive combat platoons, I've decided to only go with 2 core combat platoons to be the brunt of my fighting strength. That's 22 (including the HQ + 2iC) CV teams bristling with MG and AT fire, excellent assault capabilities, and 10 halftracks for mobility/Machine gunnery. I'll take it!

I give my 2iC a panzerfaust (I decide to save the 10 points from my CO.. for now) and 2 full combat units with a panzerfaust upgrade. That's 75+290+290 = 655.

Here- I chose to Panther.

1095 Remaining.
In my mind, the next big question is "To Panther? Or Not to Panther". I rarely take those big cats. I'm a knife fighter by nature- I'd rather be in your deployment zone making you sweat than worrying about protecting my weak side armor. So, for this build, I am going to leave the Panthers at home. I know this is a big decision point, and I may have lost many of you. Suffice it to say, I think Panthers are an okay option for Lehr, but I'm a Panzer IV Man.

In fact, I love Panzer IVs so much, I'm going to go with 8 of the beasts in 2 platoons of 4. Let me say this, however. If I knew I was going to an open late war tournament where I may run into lots of KV-85s, IS-2s, heavy assault guns or the like, I would probably think long and hard about those Panthers. But, as I am a huge proponent of themed tournaments, for the rest of this write up I am going to assume that we're facing Western allies.

335 Remaining.
Alright so we're at 4 platoons, and getting into slim pickings now. At this point, knowing we may have to attack dug in infantry, I'm going to opt for some recon. 3 Pumas, you say? Absolutely. Those things are reliably awesome, and cheap to boot. With a decent gun if they get into a scrape, good mobility, and killer looks I just can't pass them up. That leaves us with 185. My first reaction is to grab some Panzerwerfers, but looking back over the list I notice that not a single platoon of ours is "immobile". If we're forced to defend in Breakthrough or Breakout, we're going to have to leave a lot of stuff off the table.

So, I opt for the cheaper Nebelwerfer option (3 15cm tubes), and beef up my HQ a bit more by adding in the CO panzerfaust, and a tank hunter section with 2 panzerschreck teams.

That brings us to 1745. We have 6 tank hunter teams, 2 panzerschreck teams, 4 panzerfausts, 11 half tracks, 8 Panzer IVs, nebelwerfers, and Pumas. Bring it on!

You have to love Easy Army. Seriously, you have to.

EXECUTION

Those big infantry platoons have some real staying power!

I have never played this exact list in a tournament, but I've played similar builds. In general, an enemy armored company doesn't scare me all that much. We have enough integral AT with big platoons to hold the line until we can form a nice counter punch. In No Retreat I'd probably start with both Lehr platoons on the board with Panzer IVs in ambush. In a mobile battle vs infantry I've had great success driving boldly forward in the halftracks, overwhelming my opponents. 2 big infantry platoons + 8 Panzer IVs + Pumas is a lot to throw at someone, and it's easy to overload them with targets. Lay down some smoke with werfers to cover you're advance, and now you're really cooking!

I usually keep my halftracks around for a long time (and come V3- I'll keep them even longer!), as the ability to summon 11 halftracks worth of MG fire is enough to discourage infantry units from making counter attacks- or really from doing anything at all besides hiding in their foxholes. Keep them in concealment, and enemy tanks will rarely go after them- especially if it means ignoring those Panzer IVs (German Sherman baby!) Don't be afraid to stay in your halftracks! That extra movement and mobility is huge- you'd be surprised at how survivable they can be when you have other things (like 8 panzer IVs) backing them up! Being impervious to small arms fire is a big deal for infantry platoons.

I've included SS Tigers and 3 Panzer Lehr Panzergrenadier platoons in variant lists- I was happy with the list in both cases. SS Tigers add some back bone over a 2nd platoon of Panzer IVs. The 3rd infantry platoon has been slightly less impressive, since it comes at the cost of some much needed support options.

So, in closing- Lehr is a really great and flexible list that really plays more like US Armored Rifles than any other German list. It's aggressive, capable, and highly mobile. Again, all things that appeal to me.

Make sure to check out some Panzer Lehr Battle Reports!

How have you guys run Panzer Lehr? What has worked for you? To Panther or not to Panther?

Stevograd Progress!

2012-01-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on some Stevograd progress here. 4 new pieces added! The big one is a JR Miniarures terrain piece painted by new WWPD writer Tom. Thanks again Tom! I really liked the way it turned out, and can't wait to get it on the battlefield!

The 3 smaller buildings are part of the Miniature Building Authority Line. I can't find the specific pieces on their site anymore, but I know they used to be part of their 15mm Eastern Front line. They have some big apartment building blocks that look pretty nice, but are priced fairly high. They DO come pre-painted, and the paint job is decent.

Anyhow, less talk more show:

Battlefront's new Desert Buildings Reviewed!

2012-01-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

This is one of those reviews that can afford to be pleasantly short.

The summary is: these buildings are affordable, durable, and "game-able". Oh, and they come pre-painted. This is another example of Battlefront's Battlefield in a Box line coming out with a knockout product.

affordable
The buildings are spread across 2 boxes at $25 US each. The first comes with both of the smaller buildings and the walls. The second box comes with the large building and the well. So you get a good amount of wall sections, 3 buildings, and a well for $50. You'd be hard pressed to get all that unpainted- throw in the prepainting and it's clear that this is a hell of a deal.

durable
Like all of Battlefront's previous buildings, these are a strong, sturdy resin. These are more than adequate to last you many years on the game table. Don't go throwing them at a brick wall when your Afrika Korps gets beaten back to Halfaya though! I will say the roof piece of the long building I got was just slightly warped (see picture below). That's not at all surprising with long, flat pieces of resin. A little time under a hair dryer and it should be easy to straighten right out.

game-able
This is really the most important part in my mind. These buildings are perfect for Flames of War. They're designed around medium bases, removing any ambiguity about how many teams can fit in each building. The roofs are likewise perfect size.

Honorable mention to the well. I've long wanted a well piece for my little Oasis towns, and this guy fits the bill just right!

I don't love the color these come in- it's just a little too grey. I would've preferred a more sand color, but this is clearly a nitpick that I had to reach pretty far for. The grey doesn't look bad against my sand table, and it's definitely nothing a quick drybrush couldn't fix in just a minute or two.

The big building is built very smartly, and it all fits together just right! Very nice.

So in conclusion, these are another knockout in a long list of great Battlefield in a Box terrain. Combine this with Battlefront's very complete line of desert terrain and you can put an entire table worth of terrain together without ever spending any time making terrain! And all that without breaking the bank too hard.

9/10 Camels.

Zvezda Shturmoviks

2012-01-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

I recently picked up 3 Zvezda Shturmoviks from The War Store on the cheap, and painted them almost as soon as they came in! These are plastic 1:144 models that are snap fit (Of course I still used some glue). Putting them together was fairly simple. I did, however, decide to chop off the propeller blades. They were very flimsy and I just knew they wouldn't hold up.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the kit included a sheet of decals. Nothing as fancy as the Battlefront Shturmovik markings, but something's better than nothing at that price! In all I am quite happy with how they turned out, though was just a tiny bit disappointed in the lack of panel details on the wings. But, for the price, I am quite happy with them! hopefully they nab copious amounts of German armor come Version 3!

8 out of 10 red bears.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Ilyushin Il-2 (Cyrillic Илью́шин Ил-2) was a ground-attack aircraft (Shturmovik) in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilian Cessna 172 and the Soviets' own Polikarpov Po-2. It is regarded as the best ground attack aircraft of World War II. It was a prominent aircraft for tank killing with its accuracy in dive bombing and its 37mm guns being able to penetrate tanks' thin back armour.

To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman". Its postwar NATO reporting name was "Bark". The Il-2 aircraft played a crucial role on the Eastern Front, and in Soviet opinion it was the most decisive aircraft in the history of modern land warfare. Joseph Stalin paid the Il-2 a great tribute in his own inimitable manner: when a particular production factory fell behind on its deliveries, Stalin sent an angrily-worded cable to the factory manager, stating "They are as essential to the Red Army as air and bread." [6]
See full article here (Wikipedia, 1/3/2012)

IN FLAMES OF WAR

image courtesy of EasyArmy.

British Honey Stuart Swarm!

2012-01-22T10:12:00.001-05:00

When Hellfire and Back came out, I ordered a boatload of British Stuarts. Unfortunately, so did a lot of people. Battlefront also decided it was time to update the mold, and so there was a severe Stuart Shortage (The great Stuart Shortage of '11). Finally, I scraped together 16 (I tried to get 18 so I could have some captured German ones, but no dice there), and got painting!

My new lighting rig

Ordinarily at this point in a spotlight we would write a review of the model. But since Max recently posted a very in depth modeling guide using the old sculpt and Battlefront is releasing a new model for the Stuart M3 (Which Max will be reviewing and early reports are very good!), I decided any model review was redundant and a little unfair. Suffice it to say these were old sculpts and needed a bit of love, but nothing too extreme.

Painting them was fairly straight forward. The basecoat is vallejo Dark Sand with a drybrush of Vallejo Pale Sand. After that a quick wash on the engine deck and my signature (and divisive!) blackline technique, and I was on to the markings. The markings are fairly ahistorical. I used the tank "flash" markings to help me identify platoons and HQ assets just like I did for my Armoured Regiment. This is totally a game play concession, but I think it looks close enough.

FROM WIKIPEDIA
The British Army was the first to use the Light Tank M3 as the "General Stuart" in combat.^[6] From mid-November 1941 to the end of the year, about 170 Stuarts (in a total force of over 700 tanks) took part in Operation Crusader during the North Africa Campaign, with poor results. Although the high losses suffered by Stuart-equipped units during the operation had more to do with better tactics and training of the Afrika Korps than the apparent superiority of German armoured fighting vehicles used in the North African campaign,^[7] the operation revealed that the M3 had several technical faults. Mentioned in the British complaints were the 37 mm M5 gun and poor internal layout.

The two-man turret crew was a significant weakness, and some British units tried to fight with three-man turret crews. The Stuart also had a limited range, which was a severe problem in the highly mobile desert warfare as units often outpaced their supplies and were stranded when they ran out of fuel. On the positive side, crews liked its relatively high speed and mechanical reliability.^[8]^[9] The high reliability distinguished the Stuart from cruiser tanks of the period, in particular the Crusader, which composed a large portion of the British tank force in Africa up until 1942.
M3 Stuart. (2011, December 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:48, January 7, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M3_Stuart&oldid=467415188

IN FLAMES OF WAR

Name weapon	Mobility range	Front ROF	Side anti-tank	Top Firepower	Equipment and Notes
M# Stuart M6 37mm gun	Fully Tracked 24"	3 2	2 7	1 4+	Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Light Tank. No HE.

The Stuart is of course a favorite of the WWPD crew. It's high speed, and low cost make it an attractive buy for the aggressive, horde-masters, and insane. The British version is a lot less attractive than the US' for 3 reasons: 1) No HE. 2) No stabilizers. 3) small platoons. Still, it's a cute little speed demon that no tanker should be without!

Soviet medium mortars

2012-01-21T10:17:00.001-05:00

With the release of Red Bear, and the changes made to medium mortars in Version 3 (now having a direct fire stat), I quickly tore open my blister of soviet medium mortars (generously donated by Dale from Panzerwerks Studio) and got to painting! There's not a whole lot to say about these guys- I have no idea what "era" the figures are. I know people are very particular about that, but I found them to be easy to paint and quite like the end result. It was easy to knock these guys out in just a few hours. Hoping they'll be a solid, and inexpensive option to support my red infantry for the Motherland!

FROM WIKIPEDIA
The 82-pm-41(Russian: 82-Полевой Миномёт-41), M-41 or the 82-mm mortar Model 1941 (Russian: 82-мм миномет обр. 1941 г.) was a Soviet 82 millimeter calibre mortar developed during the Second World War as an infantry battalionmortar, and which begun production in 1941.^[1] It was differed from Model 1937 by the presence of a removable wheel base, by the arched construction base plate (as in 107-mm and 120-mm mortars), and also a different two-legged construction. Wheels were slipped over the semi-axis of the bipod feet and removed during firing.^[2] Design improvements were subordinated to the technological possibilities of production and directed toward the reduction in the weight of mortar, labour expenses of its production and improvement in the manoeuvrability characteristics
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=82-PM-41&oldid=436064817

IN FLAMES OF WAR

Weapon	Mobility	Range	ROF	Anti-Tank	Firepower	Equipment and Notes
82-BM-41 Mortar Firing Bombardments	Man-packed	24"/60cm 40"/100cm	2 -	2 2	3+ 6

Soviet Motorstrelkovy vs Finn Pioneers (Big Push)

2012-01-20T07:30:00.001-05:00

Sean and I decided it was high time we played some Firestorm Bagration. Ultimately we expect it to take years to play through, but decided the payoff would be worth it!

We also decided we'd allow Sean's Finns to play a central role in the campaign- with German Firestorm troops being allowed to act as integral platoons (and not considered allies).

With that said, we kicked off the campaign and my soviets won the initiative! I immediately knew I had to attack Berezino- success there would mean Bykhov, Orsha, and Mogilev were all knocked out of supply.

Berezino is forested, and we decided to truly play up the terrain aspects of the campaign, and so went with heavy forests.

The mission wound up being The Big Push, which we found very appropriate.

Steven's Motorstrelkovy

HQ + 2iC + Battalion Komissar
Motorstrelkovy Company (2x Platoons) + Komissar
Motorstrelkovy Company (1x Platoon) + Komissar + Maxim HMG
Medium Mortar Battery
5x SU-85 + Tank Escorts
3x SU-152s + Tank Escorts
Spetsnaz w/ 3 captured halftracks
3x T-34/85 + Tank escorts (firestorm troops)
5x T-34 + Tank escorts (firestorm troops)

Sean's Finn Pioneers

HQ + Panzerfausts
Pioneer Platoon + Panzerfaust + supply wagon
Pioneer Platoon + Panzerfaust
Pioneer Platoon + Panzerfaust
3 T-34/85
3 Sturmi
Armored Panzergrenadiers (firestorm troops)
5 mine fields
6 trenches
6 barbed wire
2 AT obstacles
2 pak 40 pillboxes

SETUP AND DEPLOYMENT

Berezino

Finn pioneers on the Soviet left.

Sturmi deploy in a wood, covering the fortifications.

Motorstrelkovy waits for the bombardment to begin.

Assault guns, tanks, and spetsnaz are ready to attack.

The soviet left.

The deafening bombardment begins. 1 Sturmi is knocked out.

2 Pioneer stands from the left platoon are wiped out.

And 2 from the center platoon as well.

Just as the guns let up, the motorstrelkovy and spetsnaz infiltrate deep into enemy positions

UNITS IN RESERVE
Steven's Motorstrelkovy	Sean's Finn Pioneers Pre-game losses do not affect morale later

DEPLOYMENT SUMMARY

Steven's Motorstrelkovy: The large motorstrelk + spetsnaz + assault guns + T-34s deploy on the right flank. Motorstrelk and spetsnaz infiltrate deep into the forest. On the left flank, the rest of the armor and small motorstrelk deploy ready to capture the hill and push into the woods below.

Sean's Finn Pioneers: One pioneer platoon deploys forward in the center. Sturmi and another pioneer platoon deploy on the soviet Left.

TURN 1

The left flank moves out.

Tanks begin crossing the ford. The rest of the bridges have been mined, so this is the best crossing point available.

The motorstrelkovy were able to get right up to the mines in their infiltration move, and so attempt to clear them this turn.

Miraculously, both minefields are removed, and no one is killed! The unit is pinned, however, as several mines are set off.

T-34s crest the hill.

The soviets failed to remember a pak 40 bunker was covering the ford, and 2 assault guns are left burning.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: 2 SU-152s	Sean's Finn Pioneers

TURN 1 SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy: Large motorstrelk removes the mines on the right. Tanks begin crossing the ford. Everything advances on the left. Sean's Finn Pioneers: All of the troops keep their heads down, but the pak 40 bunkers knocks out 2 SU-152s.

TURN 2

Top of 2!

Comrade Komissar Isabellesky oversees the soviet operations.

The large motorstrelkovy moves up to the wire

The rest of the armor pushes across the ford.

All of the armor on the left crests the hill, and fires on the Sturmi- scoring one hit and a bail!

After remounting, Sean pulls the 2 sturmi back.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: 2 SU-152s	Sean's Finn Pioneers

TURN 2 SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy: Everything moves forward! Sean's Finn Pioneers: Everyone stays put, except for the Sturmis who pull back slightly.

TURN 3

Turn 3

One wire obstacle is removed, while another is crushed by a T-34!

Motorstrelkovy prepares to assault the pak 40 pillbox.

Armor pours through the gap in terrain.

On the left, motorstrelkovy moves up to the minefield.

The pak 40 pillbox is knocked out, and the soviet infantry surges forward!

The first Finn reserves arrive.

MGs tear into the motorstrelkovy.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: 2 SU-152s Large Motorstrelkovy: 4 stands	Sean's Finn Pioneers

TURN 3 SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy: Breakthrough on the right! Infantry surged forward, and knocks out the pak 40 bunker. Infantry prepares to clear the way on the left. Sean's Finn Pioneers: T-34/85s arrive from reserve, ready to help shut down the soviet breakthrough! Pioneers leave the trench line to move into the woods on the Soviet left flank.

TURN 4

Breakthrough achieved on the right flank!

T-34s immediately crash into the pioneers' position.

The pioneers suffer heavy casualties in the initial charge.

But the remaining soldiers bravely counter attack!

Leaving one burning T-34 and one bailed!

This spooks the T-34s who quickly fall back, leaving two burning tanks!

The motorstrelkovy then moves in to mop up after the tanks.

The soviets consolidate their position on the right flank, and contest the objective.

Captured T-34s swarm, with shots tearing into the remaining T-34s.

2 more T-34s burn, with another bailed. The remaining tank passes motivation and fights on!

Sturmi move out from the woods, ready to assist if need be.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: 2 SU-152s Large Motorstrelkovy: 7 stands T-34s: 4 tanks Small Motorstrelkovy: 2 stands	Sean's Finn Pioneers Center Pioneers: DESTROYED Left Pioneers: 1 stand

TURN 4 SUMMARY

Steven's Motorstrelkovy: The right flank explodes with action as tanks then infantry slam into the pioneers, wiping them out! The right flank is then consolidated as strelkovy swarms into the enemy trenches!

On the soviet left flank (and not pictured) the Motor strelkovy attempts to clear the minefield, but is met with disastrous results! 2 dead stands and the minefield remains!

Sean's Finn Pioneers: Sean's T-34 85s aggressively counter attack, nearly wiping out the soviet T-34s! Sturmi moves out of the woods as the soviet Left flank is at a dead stop.

TURN 5

We're in the thick of the fighting now!

Infantry on the right flank consolidate their gains as the lone SU-152 drives forward desperately trying to stop the T-34/85s

In the center, a force from the large motorstrelkovy company wipes out the pak 40 bunker, and subsequently launches a breakthrough assault on the Finn pioneers!

The assault goes back and forth and is extremely bloody.

The company komissar and Battalion commander eventually find themselves on the front line!

The Finn company commander is the last stand!

The soviets suffer heavy casualties, but are victorious!

The small motorstrelkovy platoon manages to get most of their teams across the wire. The large motorstrelkovy very nearly breaks, but the Komissar takes matters into his own hands, and keeps the troops "motivated".

T-34/85s surround the remnants of the large Motorstrelkovy company.

Sturmis pull back.

Captured T-34s knock out the last assault gun.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: DESTROYED Large Motorstrelkovy: 11 stands T-34s: 4 tanks Small Motorstrelkovy: 2 stands	Sean's Finn Pioneers HQ: DESTROYED Left Pioneers: DESTROYED Center Pioneers: DESTROYED

TURN 5 SUMMARY

Steven's Motorstrelkovy: The large motorstrelkovy shifts momentum to their left, with a small force contesting the right objective. This force wipes out the pak 40 bunker and then crashes into the finn Pioneers- barely eking out a victory and knocking out the Finn company commander!

Sean's Finn Pioneers: Sean is left with Sturmi and T-34/85s, keeping both objectives alive. T-34/85s finish off the last of the soviet assault guns.

TURN 6

The fight is now a desperate scrap. Finns await reserves, but the Soviets are at a dead stop.

Finally, Komissar Isabelle decides losses from mines are acceptable, and the soviet armor crosses into the woods. Only 1 SU-85 is destroyed.

Finn Pioneers arrive from reserve, and race at the double through the trees to reach the front!

Sturmi moves into the woods, but one throws a track!

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy Assault Guns: DESTROYED Large Motorstrelkovy: 12 stands T-34s: 4 tanks Small Motorstrelkovy: 2 stands	Sean's Finn Pioneers HQ: DESTROYED Left Pioneers: DESTROYED Center Pioneers: DESTROYED

TURN 6 SUMMARY
Steven's Motorstrelkovy: Armor crashes through the woods and minefields and wire on the left flank! Sean's Finn Pioneers: reserves arrive as Sean braces for the last chance the Soviets have to capture the objective. On the Soviet right, T-34/85s open up with their main guns, knocking out another stand and continuously focing the remnants of the large strelkovy company to check morale!

TURN 7

This will be the last turn, one way or another.

All of the soviet armor moves to the edge of the woods, and opens fire on the stugs- scoring 1 lucky hit and forcing a bail result.

Motorstrelkovy assault the Sturmi, and wipe them out! With that, Sean's company is below half strength with no company commander, and the game goes to the soviets.

This was truly an enjoyable game, and a fun start to our campaign! With that, Berezino is captured and the Panzergrenadier firestorm troops (who never even saw the table!) are destroyed. Orsha, Mogilev, and Bykhov are now all cut off from supply.

Generated by WWPD's BatRepper Software.

Goum and Doom

2012-01-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

Monte Cassino and the Race for Rome

Now that the 7th Annual FOW Tournament at Ft Lee Virginia has ended, I thought I'd post a follow-up article on my Goums' performance. You can read my musings on list creation here.

Here I am in a bathrobe. Fear me.

Ron Bingham's Ft. Lee Tourneys are always a bit different than your standard tourney fare. This tournament had two rounds, with doubles partners. The theme was the Italy breakout, and only armies that fought in Italy in early 44 could participate. In addition, each side, Axis and Allies, had a general who could dole out support units each round to the different tables. Usually this constituted a standard platoon of some kind -- tanks, engineers, whatever -- but each side also got some impressive 1-shot artillery options. The Germans got Anzio Annie. The Allies got a ludicrously powerful B-27 carpet bombing. The generals could assign one of these to each table.

Roger brought US Armored Rifles. His list consisted of two full platoons of ARs, 2 half-track mortars and a battery of 3 Priests. I brought two platoons of Goums with Combat Attached Weapons Platoon and 4 M10s.

Game One

For our first game, Roger and I fought Bob and Bill on a table representing the Rapido River crossing. We used the I-95 Domination scenario. For those of you who haven't played it, Domination consists of a series of objectives, each worth a certain number of points. The side that controls a threshold of points wins. On this board, the higher point objectives ran down the middle of the table, marking the river crossings. There were also some smaller objectives on the highlands and the town. All tank teams started the game in reserve, but would enter on turn one.

Bob and Bill brought forces from the Hermann Goering Division -- one tank force and one Panzergrenadier force. IIRC, the Panzer force had about 10 Pz IVs and PzIIIs, with some AA half-tracks. The Panzergrenadier force consisted of three platoons, a few attached HMGs, and some Nebelwerfers. Against such a tank-heavy force, Roger and I decided to intersperse our forces, so that the ARs could provide the Goums with some Anti-tank. One pairing threatened the town and the bridge, the other the river ford. We had the first turn and made a quick advance towards both crossings.

The Rapido table.

Then the German tanks entered. One group of Panzers threatened the ARs out in the open by the river ford. This flank quickly locked down into a stalemate. The others gave support to the PzGs in the town. Rogers ARs moved up into the buildings, and the Germans assaulted their position. The ARs drove back the German infantry, and the Germans then spent a few turns blasting the depleted platoon with cannon fire. Roger brought his artillery out of reserve and I began making pot-shots at the Germans with my M10s.

The German General, Herr von Stevissimo, deployed a unit of Brummbars on the German side, rendering their tank superiority complete. Our own General Bill granted us another unit of M10s, which I used to try to counter the German push on the town.

The game ended in a draw, with the Germans heavily pressing the Goums and M10s on the bridge. If the game had gone on longer, they would surely have made their armored superiority tell, but we hung on by our teeth.

My Goums didn't do much this game. Mostly they sat in their holes, holding ground. Only in the last few turns did they move into the town and assault some Germans. I deployed my HMGs on entirely the wrong flank, where they utterly lacked targets. Roger's ARs were the kings of the match, holding that building for a statistically improbable number of turns.

Game Two

After a lunch break and a tour of Anzio Annie, we returned for the second round.

Dr Freud says that is a big gun.

Since the Goums are Mountaineers, Ron assigned us to the Cassino board. As you can see, the ruined monastery occupies a huge hill surrounded by open terrain. To make things even more fun, those cliffs were impassible terrain, except for the draws, which were very difficult. There were also some additional rules regarding the draws, which no one understood but Ron and caused all sorts of confusion. The scenario was No Retreat. The Allies had to attack the mountain, of course.

Our opponents this round were Matt and Ken, who brought a mix of Grenadiers and Panzergrenadiers.

Now, as one might imagine, this scenario would normally favor the Germans quite heavily . So our general assigned us the B-17 carpet bombing. The rules for the bombing were insane. It automatically ranged in from LoS of our Battalion commander. Any team under the really big pie plate was automatically hit, and died unless it rolled a 1/3 save. Good grief! The pie plate would scatter at least 1d6 inches, but if the bombers took AA hits, it would scatter more. Successful AA would increase the save of any teams hit.

Both sides knew the template was coming and tried to plan for it. The Germans placed a couple of platoons forward on the sides of the mountain, along with two 88s. They kept some PaK 38s in ambush. I convinced Roger that our best move would be for the ARs to roar forward in their transports and MG the crap out of the 88s. Meanwhile, my Goums would charge the cliff face. If we could pin (or pin and smoke as it turned out) the 88s, then the pie plate of mega-death wouldn't scatter and we could wipe out most of the defenders.

This is the Cassino table.

That's more or less what happened. We pinned the 88s and vaporized about two German platoons of infantry. In retaliation the Germans sprang their ambush and killed a few half-tracks, pinning the ARs. My Goums charged the cliff unopposed, and began the slow process of trying to mountaineer up the face. The German reinforcement Panzers began working their way up to the Abbey.

At this stage, Roger experienced some problems unpinning his ARs. While they were delayed, I led the way towards the objective with my M10s. A protracted battle with the German Panzers ensued.

On the other flank, my Goums made it up the cliff, but only after facing harassment from a unit of Stugs that swept along the far flank. Roger's ARs engaged some of the remnant forces around the objective.

Time ended the scenario, with the Germans still holding on, so it was a German victory.

Frankly, I think Roger and I did about was well as we could have hoped, given the scenario and terrain. Again, the Goums mostly just supported the ARs. Fearless was really great, and saved my platoons more than once. Mountaineer is a nice little perk rule, but I wouldn't go out of my way to use it.

Conclusion

So, thanks to all for two close games and a fun tournament. Thanks to Roger for partnering.

7th Annual FOW Day at Ft Lee: Race For Rome!

2012-01-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Ron Bingham who organized the whole event! He does a big themed event once per year and they're always great fun.

The 7th FoW day at Fort Lee, VA was fought on Saturday 14 Jan 2012. As in the past six Battle Barn sponsored tournaments this was a two round themed game day held at the US Army Women’s Museum. This year’s theme was “The Race for Rome; Italy, Jan-Jul 1944.” All troops types, weapons and AFVs must have been available and used in Italy Jan-Jul 44 and there were limits put on certain types of Companies that could be played (Tiger Co, SS and US Rangers, Nesei for example) and to be the BEST GENERAL you must be the high score on the side which won the most victories for the day, (German team with high points but Germans lost more battles in the tournament becomes the 2nd place winner) There was awards for the Best Panted Army (Voted by players and museum visitors) Best Infantrymen (won the most INF Assaults) and Best Tanker (Tanks killed the most enemy AFV’s)

Ron giving the Pre-battle briefing

There was a few changes to the games format this year: for the first time we held a 1000pt doubles tournament. The two 1000pt teams must have fought side by side in Italy. I also two non-playing slots to be a Army Commanding General both sides. Each Army Commander was allocated 6 special reserve Units (SSU) to be issued as reserves during the heat of battle, the option to change up two armies battlefield before each round began and 1 re-roll morale option per team during the tournament. The SSU were Air Support, Tiger Plt, Sherman Plt, 105s SPs, Brumbar’s. Panther Turret, both a German and US Pio/ENG Plt , a bombardment form the 280mm Anzio Annie and a B-26 Carpet bombing strike. LTG Bill served as the Allied Commander and Generaloberst von Mac took charge of the Germans

B-26 Carpet Bombing strike & template on Monte Cassino

Brumbars one of the Germans Commanding Generls Speical Support Unit(SS)

I had allowed 16 team slots and 14 of were filled with 28 players and 2 Army Commanders for a total of 30 gamers…becoming the largest of our tournaments so far.

FoWarriors being briefed (Tom wearing his French Goumier outfit)

3 of the Battlefields

The Allies included US Armor and Regular Infantry, US Armor Co, British Inf w/Churchill support, Free Polish , Special Service Forces (US/Canadian SSF) and French Goumiers

US Ar INF and British Shermans

US INF in city fight (Cassino Town)

US/Canadian SSF attack Mt Cassino

Polish TD

Fr Goumiers

The Germans defended Italy with PzGrenadiers, Panzer Co, Herman Gorring Div, Grenadier INF, Fallschimerjagers and Mountain Jagers.

SP's support HGD (passing USA OBJ)

Luftwaffe 88 support FJs on top of Mt Cassino

German AAA

26th PzGrn Div 10.5cm battery

All seven terrain tables were designed to represent battlefield in central Italy and were heavy on terrain and special “Italian Campaign 1944 rules”
1) Cassino Town city fight (Not one step back)
2) Monte Cassino Abby (Modified No Retreat)
3) Hell on the Rapido (Modified Meeting Engagement w/ Domination points)
4) Italian Village (Dust Up)
5) Counter attack on the Anzio Beachhead(Modified No Retreat)
6) Italian Hills (Frontline Domination)
7) Italian Tobacco Factory (Cauldron)

Cassino Town board RD 1

Ifantry fight in Cassino Town

Monte Cassino board RD 1

88s defend the Abby on top of Mt Cassino

Hell on the Rapido board RD 1(game played in a thunder storm w/night rules and a flooded torrent of a river)

SSF and British Churchills near the Hell on the Rapido RD 2

Italian Village RD 1

Panzers attack Italian Village RD 2

Anzio Beachhead RD 1

Burning Polish AFVs on Anzio Beachhead RD 2

Italian Hills Board RD 1

Burning Shermans in the Italian Hills RD 2

Tabacco Factory RD 2

US Bz team defends an OBJ in the Tabacco Factory RD 2

Also in the past we have a special event during the lunch break, last year we had a German and Russian re-enactor give a presentation on Leningrad. This year the Ordnance Museum gave a guided tour of the infamous and one and only “Anzio Annie: K5 railway gun now located at FT Lee. ( Ihope to add photos of anzio annie laster in the week)

The scenarios proved to all to be very tough as no team finished in less than 2 hours. A time limit of 2.5 hours was in place for both rounds. In the 1st round the Germans won two games and the allied three. The last two ended in a draw. The 2nd round the tides turned greatly for the Allies as they won six out of the seven games and drove into Rome for victory! The only bright for the Germans is they held and won both battles for the Abby on top of Monte Cassino despite being Carpet Bombed in both rounds!

Best Winning Generals were James and Jeff (Free Polish Corps)

James and Jeff on the Tabacco Factory board RD 1

Best Losing Generals were Ken and Matt ( PzGrenadiers/Pz Co)

Ken and Matt (seated) on the Mt Cassino board RD 2

Best Painted Army Tom (French Goumiers w/ hand crafted Algerian smocks)

Tom wearing his Algerian smock

Best Infantrymen Luke and Eric (US Armor Inf) winning 9 assaults vs. INF or Armor
Best Tankers Adman and Doug (26th PzGren) killed 12 allied tanks

The Battle Barn appreciates all the help given by our group members for the work they did in preparing for the event. Also a BIG Thanks is given to the I-95 guys and Central Maryland Gamers for each designed a scenario and provided a battlefield, the Italian Hills and Tobacco Factory. And last to the FoWarriors who drove from as far as Baltimore, Wash DC, North Carolina and Norfolk and I cant forget my Richmond area pals. Thanks Guys….and I hope to see you next year for:

“Barbarossa; Attack on a Sleeping Bear! Jul-Oct 1941” that is if BF releases the EW Russia book? I will announce the finalized 2013 game theme in October.

Ron

Top Five (Plus One) Early War Tanks

2012-01-18T19:35:00.000-05:00

6) The Machine-Gun Box: Honorable Mention goes to anything wheeled or tracked that mounts a machine-gun. Extra kudos if it has TA 1. German Panzer Is, British Mark VIs, even half-tracks and armored cars. Light vehicles are so cheap and assault so well, that they put the Blitz into Blitzkreig. Pity EW infantry when a Panzer I costs less than 40 points.

5) The Hotchkiss: All the Hotchkiss variants share the same advantages. They are very cheap and very tough. FA 3 offers significant protection in EW. These tough little nuggets can hold objectives, discourage assaults, or machine-gun infantry. They can even occasionally kill tanks.

4) The Somua: A Somua’s heavy front armor protects it at range against most German opponents of AT 6 or less. Its own gun can make hash of light tanks in return. Against an unprepared opponent, a force of SOMUAs can grind up the middle of the table, pausing to blast infantry out of their holes or destroy opposing vehicles. Unfortunately, against a foe with a heavier gun, the disadvantages of French One-Man Turrets become readily apparent.

3) Panzer IV D: Words cannot express my love for this tank. It fulfills a really important role for the Germans, able to reliably crack open the tough French armor. With At 7, only the very heaviest tanks can survive its fire. With a FP 3+, things it shoots stay dead. (I hate those annoying EW bails.) Still, at 150 points it's darn pricey – a specialty tank, not a mainstay.

2) A13 Cruiser: The 6 pounder is a really awesome gun in EW. Combined with Tally Ho! for rapid–fire, the British Cruiser tanks can kill any German vehicle. With the price change, their glory days may have passed, but they are still formidable opponents.

1) Panzer II C: The Panzer II is an inexpensive workhorse tank, with a fairly average AT 5, FP 5+ gun. Upgraded to FA2, it is quite survivable and with RoF 3, it can win gun duels with most light opponents. It's cheap enough to take in mass quantities for assaults and flanking swarms.

WoT Map Analysis: Ensk

2012-01-18T07:57:00.000-05:00

Each map in World of Tanks has some optimal places for tanks to go. No strategy is perfect and often times player skill rules, but a good strategy followed by a platoon can often times swing things in your favor. This series will hopefully lay out some ground work and give ideas on how best to tackle a map by analyzing the standard game play for each map.

Our fourth map that we will cover is Ensk. A mixture of city outskirts and suburban areas, bisected by railroad tracks. Plan your tactics to take advantage of defensive choke points and cover open areas with your vehicles. Artillery is great for deterring enemy breakthroughs, but remains almost defenseless when exposed to enemy vehicles attacking from cover.

Ensk is the first major city fight board of this series but does feature quite a few open areas and lanes that are not common the the other city maps. With any close quarters battle, thick armor trumps mobility as there is little room to maneuver and camping of corners is king. Because of this, the map layout becomes fairly standard with little deviation and quite often comes down to the team with the most patient players who lure unsuspecting tanks into their lair.

Routes in the open on this map consist of 3 major avenues that are well traveled by the mediums and scouts that are on the teams. The Red line is the furthest out in the "Woods" along the 9 and 0 columns provide the most maneuverability but less concealing terrain, a quick path most scouts take. A nice balance of maneuverability and some city cover features in the 7 and 8 columns, using the Green line through the "Lumber Camp." Typically a favorite of most mediums as it provides the best of both worlds and access to any of the other paths by simply breaking down a wall. The other major area, the 6 column, represented by the Blue lines in this section of the board is the "Train Tracks." This is where TDs with long sight lines can target tanks moving from side to side right as they spawn in, a favorite for a quick kill or two and potential ability to take out SPGs in the opening seconds to the match, a complete game changer if successfully done.

The main part of the city will see the most action with the heavies attempting to out duel each other while TDs lay-in-wait to hit the unsuspecting tank that rolls its way. The two main city blocks of G 2 and 3, and E 2 and 3, represented in the Red squares, are the main heavy tank camp sites. Tanks will primarily filter into these two city blocks and duke it out until one side prevails by either being out played and gunned, mistakes, or flanking actions. The Blue lines alone the streets show potential flanking movements, but also show the dangers of the TD lanes of fire with the typical TD camp spots shown in Orange triangles. Travel through these areas should be done cautiously and knowing full well that a tank may have you in their sights without you ever knowing it until you are already bailed out.

With any city map, SPG effectiveness will be limited based upon the location that the SPG commanders would locate to. Typical placements include the corners of the map and occasional areas along the back most boundaries. Taking educational guesses as to tank movements and being quick on the trigger will make the difference between hitting the target and hitting a wall. Most easy to hit targets will be the mediums and the paths they typically run, but the occasional heavy may present itself in the city and these shots cannot be passed up. As one of the easier city maps to play and SPG in, it creates a good practice field to figure out how to line up to be able to hit targets with heavy building cover.

Effectively plan around this analysis, use the route to your advantage to best take on what tanks to expect in each area, and always support where areas are lightly defended but be ready to reenforce as needed. With a good platoon at your side, and now knowing this map better, you should be able to bait tanks into a city block where they may find themselves surrounded and sent home packing.

Top Five Mid War Tanks

2012-01-17T19:37:00.002-05:00

5) The Churchill: Probably the FoW fan-favorite MW Allied tank, the Churchill is much sturdier than a Sherman with a comparable gun. In an environment that favors German tanks so heavily, British players can rejoice in a behemoth of their own. Still, the Churchill suffers from the usual problems of Infantry tanks: it's slow and it's expensive.

4) The T-34: The T-34 sports good armor and a decent AT 9 gun, but its real strengths lie in its numbers and its mobility. As a fast tank with wide tracks, it can close quickly with the enemy for assaults or close range fire. But at either Conscript or Trained, don’t expect it to live for very long.

3) The Tiger: The early Tiger is largely invulnerable to MW allied AT weaponry. Its AT 13 main gun will cut through any allied armor like a fist through cheese whiz. On the other hand, it is ludicrously expensive and prone to breakdowns. Plus, you’ll never be able to take them in quantities to defend against infantry assaults.

2) The Stuart: Statistically, the Stuart is a bit of poo. Weak armor and a weak gun: why take one? Because sometimes all you need is a tank, and the Stuart is cheap and fast. Its AT 7 pop gun can still hurt most German tanks on the side armor, it can machine-gun infantry, and blast guns out of their holes. And it assaults just as well as a Panther. TA 1 is TA 1.

1) The Panzer IV F2: The Panzer IV F2 sports a really excellent AT 11 gun, but it does not pay the price premium that later models pay for FA 6. As a sniper tank, it is almost unsurpassed. Keep them at distance and kill any number of Shermans you want.

PSC Panzer IV F2

2012-01-17T07:26:00.001-05:00

I'd been sitting on a box of Plastic Soldier Company Panzer IVs for quite a while, and finally sat down to knock them out just before Christmas!

Assembly Review
These guys are fairly par for the course with Plastic Soldier company. A bit more complicated than a Battlefront resin/metal model. There are a lot more fiddly pieces to deal with- that is, unless you're counting the dreadful schurtzen assembly for the Battlefront Panzer IV H. The Panzer IVs were an improvement over the T-34s I'd assembled previously, but still required a significant investment in time to clip the pieces, clean up flash, and assemble them. I have to point out that the tracks on the Panzer IVs went together FAR easier than the T-34s. But, they're still in two pieces and it's difficult to get them to line up perfectly. Overall, however, this was no more or less difficult than any other plastic kit.

The sprue includes options for short barrels, long barrels, and schurtzen giving ultimate flexibility!

Like Jon in his review of the sd kfz 251/D, I assembled and spray coated the tanks in 4 pieces. Hull, tracks, and turret.

Overall the assembly was an improvement over theT-34s, but still falls a bit short of a Battlefront model (excluding the schurtzen- seriously don't remind me of that stuff!) with regards to ease. As a side note, though I did not include the schutzen on these models, they are cast as a single piece (hangers and all) so adding them to your tank is a simple task- far easier than the complicated and fragile Battlefront version!
Assembly: 7/10 Schurtzen

PAINTING
Since I already have 14 Panzer IV Hs for my late/late-mid Germans, I decided to paint these guys up circa 1942 on the Eastern Front. The detail on the tanks is somewhere between Zvezda and Battlefront- pronounced enough to not get lost, but not exaggerated like Battlefront and other metal/resin casts. I wasn't sure about the paint scheme I settled on, but after seeing it on the table I quite like it! I'll probably add 10 Mk III Specials in the same scheme to complete the company.

From Wikipedia
Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor—that function was performed by the lighter Panzer III. However, with the flaws of pre-war doctrine becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role of its increasingly obsolete cousin. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun, amongst others.

Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany, and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed manufacture.

Side by Side Comparison

Left to right: Battlefront panzer IV E. PSC Panzer IV F2. Battlefront Panzer IV F2.

Conclusion
This is a very good kit. I am quite happy with the end result. The assembly is an improvement over their previous offerings, and the end results speak for themselves. The price is certainly right as well. For gamers on a budget who don't mind a little assembly, you can't go wrong!

not sure which barrel is correct- but boy those are wildly different lengths!

In Flames of War

Name weapon	Mobility range	Front ROF	Side anti-tank	Top Firepower	Equipment and Notes
Panzer IV F2/G 7.5cm KwK40 gun	Standard Tank 32"	5 2	3 11	1 3+	Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Protected Ammo

Top Five Late War Medium Tanks

2012-01-16T16:00:00.002-05:00

5) The Cromwell: Ok, so it’s basically a Sherman – FA 6, AT 10, FP 3+ gun but it is a light tank, so it moves 16” at a time. Cromwells are great at concentrating force and flanking the enemy for side shots. Depending on the list you chose, you can buy it at C/T, C/V, F/V, or (my favorite) R/V. Plus, it has that beautifully ugly British look. Giant rivets! Boxy turret! Like Dalek with treads. Exterminate!

4) The Firefly: By Late War, the Sherman 75 had become a bit of crap. Both the US and the British tried upgrading the main gun. The British 17 pdr armed "Firefly" was the best of these variants. With AT 13, it can kill just about any German tank. On the downside, you can only take them in mixed platoons, and, meh, it's still a Sherman hull.

3) Panther: The Panther was officially classed as a Medium Tank, despite its size. Its front armor renders it largely invulnerable to allied tanks, and its AT 14 main gun will punch through almost any armor. Against many opponents, the Panther isn’t just better, it’s superior. It only ranks as #3 though, because of its high point cost and a number of minor annoyances – weak side armor, merely normal top armor, and lack of Protected Ammo.

2) T-34/85: The upgraded Soviet medium boasts a bit thicker armor (7 FA) and a much heavier gun (AT 12) than its mainstay counterpart. Granted, it suffers from Hen and Chicks, but you can buy it cheaply and in ludicrous quantities. Tank escorts make it even better.

1) Panzer IVH: The Panzer IVH almost perfectly balances cost and effectiveness. At just about every level, it surpasses its Allied counterpart, the Sherman. They have the same FA, but the Panzer IV sports a notably better gun (AT 11). It has shürtzen to protect against bazooka fire, Protected Ammo to remount after being bailed, and best of all, like all German tanks, it can Stormtrooper. Only its SA is inferior to the Sherman. Who cares?

What do you guys think? What tanks were left off the list? How would you order them?

List Dissection: US 3rd Armored Division Tanks

2012-01-16T07:24:00.004-05:00

As part of a new series of articles, I've decided I would try my hand at explaining my own personal process for making an army list. I intend to start with a focus on lists I've either done well with or won with in a tournament. The format may change over time, but for now I envision 3 major sections: 1) INCEPTION (BRREEEOOOWWW)- whereby I will talk about the over all attractive qualities about the list and what drew me to it. 2) CONSTRUCTION: Here I will build a list. I will talk about why I chose what I chose. 3) EXECUTION: Here is where I will reflect on the choices made, how things performed, and how I would change the list in the future.

INCEPTION
I like US armor. I've often heard US armor described as a "knife fighting" list and this appeals to me greatly. There's a few things I love in Flames of War: mobility, aggression, quantity. The US list gets me all of those things, and probably does all 3 better than any other list in the game except maybe the BAR in Early War. Plus, it's full of Detroit's Finest!

So with all that being said, I knew I wanted to do 3rd Armored. I prefer trained for allied armor as I want quantity, not quality. Especially with how I play US armor- in your face as fast as possible. I want to have more for you to choose to shoot at, and I want my return fire to be torrential. So, with those things in mind, let's take a crack at building the list! For this, I will build to a typical late war points value of 1750.

76s and flanking Shermans make quick work of stugs

CONSTRUCTION
(all points values from Turning Tide)
1750 remaining: No better place to start than the HQ! The 2 HQ Shermans are 140. I love recovery vehicles and take them every chance I get. It can make a huge difference when forced to cross a linear obstacle or push through some woods. Let's go with the M32 so we get the .50 cal. That costs us another 15.

1595 remaining: Now we need to build out our combat platoons. I tend to max out on combat platoons in any list I run. That's an easy proposition with Shermans since they're so cheap. I also prefer to run my tank platoons in 4s. So let's go with 2 platoons of 4 Shermans, and 1 platoon of 4 76s. This is the real backbone of our list.

690 remaining: Now we're at 3 platoons. It's always worth it trying to get to an even number of platoons, and looking at our remaining points it's clear that 6 is going to be our target. So first thing's first: We want some Armored Rifles! They're damn reliable thanks to their large size, and ample integral AT. Equally at home holding an objective, assaulting a position, or just keeping pace with our tanks to consolidate our gains. So let's go with a full strength ARP for 225.

465 remaining: Wow, we still have a lot of points left to get 2 platoons! Next up, I consider Smoke an absolute necessity with this list. At this point, I would ordinarily consider mortars, but thanks to the slight point breaks in Turning Tide, we can probably afford to get a 3 gun priest battery and an AOP. That gives us a bit more flexibility with our artillery support.

250 remaining: This is what I love about trained US armor. We now have a very robust force and we still have 250 points left! You know what it's time for? Stuarts! 5 Stuarts are 235. That leaves us 15 points, so let's just give our Stuarts and 2 Sherman platoons some hedgerow cutters just in case we get stuck in some bocage.

Army List Courtesy of EasyArmy.com

Variants: While I like this core list a lot, there are a few tweaks we can enact. We could drop the AOP and Priests to buy ourselves quite a few points. With that we could buy a 5th 76mm and even upgrade it to Poole. We could also cut the Stuarts and AOP to get some Tank Destroyers if you're worried about facing a lot of tanks.

An earlier version of the list- pre price breaks from Turning Tide

EXECUTION
This list is all about aggression! Go Go Go! Use the Spearhead wisely. In mobile battles, your Stuarts can get a turn 1 assault in if your opponent doesn't deploy very carefully. When it comes time to Spearhead, Stuarts and Armored rifles are my top priority. Armored Rifles can spearhead while mounted. allowing them to go in ahead of the tanks and secure certain terrain. Stuarts are a bit crazier to send in, but can put your opponent immediately on his back foot if you get a quick assault off.

I've been very successful with these guys. The trick really is to just give your opponent so many targets that they freeze up. You can be in their deployment zone on turn 2, and with well placed smoke, return fire can be mitigated fairly easily. Enemy armor can be an issue if you allow it to be. Remember- you're the attacker! In a lot of cases that means you've got more on the board. Swarm and focus fire. Use those stabilizers! Against stubborn infantry and guns, smoke, pin, and let your armored blitzdoughs do the dirty work!

edit: To Stabilize or not? ALWAYS! I almost always use Stabilizers. 1 shot at 5+ or 2 shots at 6 are very comparable, percentage wise. But with 2 at six you have that chance of rolling boxcars and getting 2 hits!

Make sure to check out our Battle Reports to see the 3rd AD in action!

Stevograd Objective

2012-01-15T18:06:00.002-05:00

Steve.... this one is for you.... Merry late Xmas.

Need your address.....

-Max

BTW --- the signs say "Stevograd", "Pok 5km" (Russian for rock), and "наковальней 7km" (Russian for hard place)

Building the Goums

2012-01-15T09:15:00.002-05:00

My Goumiers from a previous AAR.

For Ron’s latest Fort Lee tournament, I’m bringing my Goumiers. It’s a doubles tourney, pairing two 1000 point forces. The theme is Cassino and the race for Rome. I’m writing this post before the tourney, as I plan and assemble my list. After the tourney I’ll tell you how they performed. Editor's note: The tournament was yesterday, so hopefully Tom can get us a quick follow up!

Goumiers have a lot of character. French Morroccan tribal auxiliaries, they fought tenaciously (perhaps viciously would be a better word) in the mountains around Cassino. Despite their important role in battle, they are perhaps unjustly most famous for raping Italian civilians after the breakthrough. (Sofia Loren made a movie about it.) More recently, some of them appeared in the French war movie, Indigines. A few years ago, I made some figures to go with the old FEC PDF, basing them on Resistant Roosters US greatcoats and using some putty and head swaps for extra character. When the Cassino book was released, with its new Nissei/Goum briefing, I decided to dust them off.

The Goums were a light infantry force, and were last in line for equipment, so they don’t make a very good all-around tournament army -- too little anti-tank. But this is an Italy-themed tournament, and focused more on flavor than power-gaming. If it’s like the previous years, then there will be lots of terrain, some weird Ron rules, and lots of punishing terrain. How could I not run the Goums?

My partner, Roger, is running American Rifles. I know he will be bringing mortars and artillery in his list. So I knew I needed to use my points to make a strong core force and to provide some anti-tank assets.

First off, I decided to take two full platoons of F/T Goumiers. I would take three, if I had the points, but this is a 1,000 point force. I almost always try to maximize my army’s Combat platoons. After all, they are the reason I picked the army. If you’re in love with the tank support, take a damn Tank Company. I also like big platoons, and Goumiers are pretty beefy, since

they are organized like Yanks, with 10 stands. Unlike Yanks, though, they cannot take bazookas.

Ordinarily, I’d prefer regular US Italy Rifles, at Confident Veteran, to anything that’s Fearless Trained, especially in an infantry fight where defensive fire and pinning are so critical, but what the hey, it takes a real man to kill you in WWII with a knife while wearing a stripy bathrobe.

The Goums have some special Rules: Assault Troops, which lets them re-roll from being pinned; Colonial Troops, which lets them hit in assault on a 3+, Mountaineers, and Cautious Movement. They lack some American special rules, though; most importantly, they lack Automatic Rifles. So they will be well-motivated and good at sneaking around and assaulting. If they charge across the open and charge, though, they will still only be Trained.

Next, I knew I needed some anti-tank assets. Roger isn’t bringing any, I know, and my guys have no Bazookas, even. I decided to buy four Tank Destroyers. I preferred them to the possible Shermans or Stuarts, for a couple of reasons. If the tourney is as terrain-heavy as I expect, I will have plenty of cover, and armor will be restricted in movement. If I must make a stand-off fight against German panzers, then I would like the AT 12 gun more than the armor. At C/V, the Destroyers should hold out for a few turns at long range. Plus, if there’s going to be a lot of terrain, the carbine teams can move about dismounted and poof into vehicles at the best possible moment.

On the other hand, I will not have full tanks to lead an assault or to counter-attack with their vehicle MGs. I’ll just have to hope this won’t matter. I console myself that the advantages of a real tank will probably be negated anyway. Speed, closed top, and vehicle MGs don’t do you much good if you get hung up on a pile of rubble.

I am a badass in pajamas and will kill you with my knife.

At this point, I have enough points left for one more platoon. I figure it should be the Goum Weapons Platoon, which they get this instead of a regular HMG platoon. It has two HMGS, two LMGS and a light mortar. (I breifly considered mortars instead, but I know Roger is bringing them.) They must Combat attach these weapons. I guess it’s supposed to reflect the limited hodge-podge of weapons the Goums were able to scrape up. I’ve fought a fair number of infantry games recently, and I have come to the conclusion that MGs are indespensible in Infantry vs Infantry battles. The extra dice they can throw, even when pinned, are necessary to stop assaults by German veterans. The Goum’s basic Rifles sure aren’t going to do it. I will probably attach them all to one platoon and maneuver with the other.

So, that is my force. Two combat platoons, some attached MGs, and the Tank Destroyers. It’s only three platoons, which I can only hope will not bite me in defensive scenarios. (Only one platoon on the board!) On the advance, I intend to use the platoon with the MGs to cover the one without, and use Cautious movmeent on the approach, hopefully covered by Roger’s arty and mortars and supported by his Veteran Rifles. On the defense, I will place the big reinforced platoon, and use the smaller one for counter-attacks. The Tank Destroyers will try to reveal their ambush at range and under cover and snipe at any German vehicles. Roger’s platoons will hopefully have Bazookas to screen us from a tank assault. If not, my Goums will just have to jump up and down on tanks, not die, and hope they roll a 1.

Editor's Note: We're glad to welcome Tom to the WWPD team. He (specifically his infamous crotch shots) and his forces have graced the pages of WWPD battle reports for a very long time! Tom is an accomplished author having numerous gaming supplements posted in White Wolf's World of Darkness World, as well as several additions to the vast Call of Cthulhu RPG System. We're glad to have Tom aboard! -Steven

Saturday Blast From the Past: Panzers, Sand, and Camouflage!

2012-01-14T07:17:00.002-05:00

Today most of us are at Ron's tournament in Ft Lee VA, so here's the 3rd in our line of Blast From the Past posts!

German Panzers vs British Motor Infantry

Dirty Jon's excellent German Tank Camo Tutorial

Romulus and Remus: Italian Lancias!

Soviet Tankovy vs Sturmkompanie

2012-01-13T07:19:00.001-05:00

Got one more battle in over the Holiday break, and it was with Ted. Ted wanted to learn how defenses work, and was eager to try out the sturmkompanie. I rolled randomy on my list of soviet forces and came up with the "vanilla" tankovy. We decided No Retreat made the most sense, and went to town!

Steven's Tankovy

HQ: T-34 (CT)
1st Company: 5x T-34, 5x T-34/85
2nd Company: 5x T-34, 5x T-34/85
Tank Rider Company w/ 1 platoon and komissar
3x SU-152 (FT)
Limited Shturmoviks

Ted's Sturmkompanie

HQ + 2x panzerfausts + Panzerschreck
Sturm Platoon w/ 7 panzerfausts
Sturm Platoon w/ 7 panzerfausts
Sturm Platoon w/ 1 panzerfaust
3x Pak 40s
HMG Platoon (attached to the first 2 sturm platoons)
Nebelwerfers
3x Stug G
2 Strongpoints ea w/ 4 trenches and 1 HMG nest
upgrade one strongpoint w/ pak 38 pillbox
6x barbed wire
1x minefield

SETUP AND DEPLOYMENT

Objectives are both in the top left. One to the bottom right of the pillbox, the other to the bottom left of the swamp adjacent to the pillbox. Ted started with his pak 40s in ambush, and his 2 "panzerfausty" sturm platoons in their fortified positions.

"South" Platoon holdes one fork of the road.

While "North" platoon and the pak pillbox cover the other.

"First" company prepares to roll out.

Tank Riders plan to sneak through the wood. I forgot they got a 3+ save while mounted- I might have sent them in on the tanks!

UNITS IN RESERVE
Steven's Tankovy	Ted's Sturmkompanie Pak 40s in ambush. Stug Gs Sturm Platoon Nebelwerfers

DEPLOYMENT SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: A true soviet deployment. All in, all the time. Ted's Sturmkompanie: 2 strongpoint platoons prepare to hold the line and wait for reserves.

TURN 1

First Company rolls out!

Second company hugs the wheatfield

The heavy hitters are brought forward to supress the bunkers

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy	Ted's Sturmkompanie

TURN 1 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: General advance. MGs blaze away, but do no harm. Ted's Sturmkompanie: Hold the line!

TURN 2

Turn two.

The tanks of First company form a firing line across the wire.

Second company, SUs, and tank riders advance on the other flank.

One of the SUs knocks out an HMG nest.

Boat loads of MG fire knock out an attached HMG and an infantry stand from North platoon.

While South platoon likewise loses a stand to concentrated MG fire.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy	Ted's Sturmkompanie North Platoon: 2 stands South Platoon: 1 stand

TURN 2 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: General advance! Handfuls of machine gun dice tear into the German defenders. Ted's Sturmkompanie: Ted again holds his ambush and grits his teeth. Hold, men!

TURN 3

Turn 3

First company sits still and opens up with their main guns. 2 more stands of North platoon go down.

Second company does the same, but scores no kills.

An SU-152 wipes out the 2nd HMG nest just as pak 40s reveal themselves from ambush in the rubble of a factory!

3 T-34s from First company burn!

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy First company: 3 tanks	Ted's Sturmkompanie North Platoon: 4 stands South Platoon: 1 stand

TURN 3 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: Everything grinds to a halt as the sound of 24 guns deafens everyone! Ted's Sturmkompanie: Pak 40s ambush, striking back at the soviets!

TURN 4

Turn 4

The gun line

Though I could likely blast Ted out of his trenches in short order- I decide there's no fun in that! ZA STALINA!

Bunker Buster busts a Bosche building

2nd company and the other SUs clear the AT guns out of the way as First company prepares to crash into the trenches!

First company slams into the position! The infantry miss wildly with their panzerfausts in defensive fire, save for a lone bailed tank.

But the Germans don't give up easily!

They come out swinging, and knock out another tank!

First company's commander chases the German Company Commander down.

And the result is not pretty.

Only the 2iC and attached Panzerschreck survive from North Platoon.

The soviets consolidate onto the objective.

The Panzerschreck must make a sole survivor check.

But he fights on!

Finally relief arrives!

But the stugs can't cause any damage to First Company.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy First company: 4 tanks	Ted's Sturmkompanie HQ: CiC Pak 40s: DESTROYED North Platoon: 9 stands South Platoon: 2 stands

TURN 4 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: First Company slams into the defensive positions as 2nd company and the SU-152s wipe out the Pak 40s. Ted's Sturmkompanie: Despite a valiant defense, North platoon is reduced to a single stand- though he keeps fighting, unpins, and keeps the objective hot!

TURN 5

Turn 5.

Tank Riders clear the wire on the left flank.

This SU-152 keeps lobbing rounds into the German positions.

The SU-152 commander drives forward and knocks out the pak 38 bunker like a pro.

Second company begins pouring through the gap left by First company (note that isn't a mine field in the foreground- we placed that there to show where barbed wire had been crushed).

First company wipes out the remnants of North Platoon.

In their first ever tabletop appearance, my Shturmoviks are finally set free- knocking out a stug!

The 2 remaining stugs must drive forward to contest the objective.

Nebelwerfers arrive from reserve.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy First company: 4 tanks	Ted's Sturmkompanie HQ: CiC Pak 40s: DESTROYED North Platoon: DESTROYED South Platoon: 2 stands Stugs: 1 tank

TURN 5 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: The systematic disassembly of the front line has been achieved. Now the red armor pours through the gaps. Ted's Sturmkompanie: Even though he knows his time is limited, Ted keeps the fight up hoping for a spot of luck! First Company is near half strength, and only being confident means he could stem the tide on that flank and stay in the fight!

TURN 6

The beginning of the end

Tank Riders advance, ready to spray the defenders with SMG fire.

Second company crams into the flank of South platoon, and launches an assault!

South platoon counter attacks, but the counter attack is short lived.

South platoon pulls back as the tank riders capture their trenches!

Second Company consolidates, holding the fork.

Nebelwerfers fire a barrage...

Second Company survives unscathed.

...But where it really matters, the Stugs have been reduced to burning wrecks, and with them the Germans' hope of stopping the advance.

COMBAT CASUALTY SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy First company: 4 tanks	Ted's Sturmkompanie HQ: CiC Pak 40s: DESTROYED North Platoon: DESTROYED South Platoon: 2 stands

TURN 6 SUMMARY
Steven's Tankovy: Second company and the tank riders come down on South platoon like a hammer and a sickle. First company blows the Stugs to kingdom come and sits on the objective. Ted's Sturmkompanie: Ted fights to the last- trying to inflict any casualties he can on the soviets, but the overwhelming armor is just too much to take.

Well, I wish I could say this was a nail biter. Unfortunately, it was pretty foregone from about turn 3. Hell, I could've just sat still and blazed away with my main guns. Even needing 6s, rolling 42 dice + my SUs is going to dig infantry out in relatively short order! Having run tankovy succesful many times now, I can say that Germans should be really thinking about airplanes (especially in V3 va-va-voom!) and artillery (nebelwerfers don't cut it against tankovy, unfortunately).

Nevertheless, the battle felt historical in a grim sort of way, and Ted took the whole affair in stride. I tried to keep it fun by crashing tanks into a FREAKING NEST OF PANZERFUASTS, but even that went my way.

Thanks Ted!

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