Soviet Tankovy for newbies - hints on collecting Soviet armor and list building!

Hey, I am back with another article dedicated to players new to the game. This time, inspired by some Facebook conversations, I decided to share my thoughts around starting a Soviet Tank force.

To be honest, normally I would not recommend a newbie to start their FoW adventures playing a tank company. The reason for this is that going on the offensive (which is typical for tanks) does not let you watch and learn so much. You will have to be active most of the game and the issue I always had with a new system - I was not so sure what to do :) This means that playing a Soviet Tankovy will be burdened with a lot of harsh lessons at the beginning but if after reading this intro, someone still loves the idea of fielding the Soviet armored fist, I can at least help with some difficult choices every Tankista has to make :)

1. What is the period I should concentrate on first?

As per usual, my answer is: Late War. This period has the biggest number of books and digital briefings to choose from and is probably the most frequently played one. Unfortunately, this also means that some iconinc Early War monsters, like the T-35 or the KV-2 will not be available but at least you will be able to use the IS tank series :)

2. Which Books/Digital briefings should I use?

There are 3 books and a  digital briefing that allow the player to field Soviet tank lists in Late War. The good thing about them is that almost all of them are feasible choices but the bad thing is that a lot of them are based around completely different types of tanks. The outcome is that almost anything you choose will be playable but to switch between the lists, you will need to buy new models.

In any case, here is my personal rating of LW books, containing Soviet tank lists in terms of diversity/playability.

- Red Bear (revised) - this book has it all when it comes to LW Soviet armor
- Desperate Measures - this one does not have the heavy tank lists but has access to some decent Late Late War equipment, like the 160mm mortars
- Berlin Digital - still some good lists here
- Berlin Book - only heavy tank lists (unlike Desperate Measures)

3. Hen&Chicks or not?

This is the typical dillema of a Soviet tank commander. Hen & Chicks is a rule that makes hitting your targets more difficult when your tanks move and to make it even more annoying, if one of the tanks in the platoon moves, all have to move :(

Keeping this in mind, you can either go for companies that have majority of their platoons subject to this rule or go in the opposite direction and play either a heavy tank lists or a hero list which does not use it.

In my opinion, if you are new to the game, forget playing tanks that have the H&C rule. Start with something simple. This will also allow you to build a smaller force as these types of companies normally require a smaller number of models to work.

4. What models should I buy?

Like I mentioned before, there are quite a few feasible lists out there but the models to be used are sometimes completely different. Because of this, I will give you a hint on what you will need to play a Gvardeyskiy Tyazhelyy Tankovy from Red Bear as well as Hero Tankovy from Desperate Measures.

Gvardeyskiy Tyazhelyy Tankovy from Red Bear (around 1500 points)
- 7x KV 85 or IS 85 tanks (do not get IS-2, they are worthless pieces of junk, trust me)
- 5x teams of foot scouts + possibly a BA64 car
- 4x 122mm howitzers
- 4x 152mm howitzers
- 4x Zis-2 or 85mm guns or 4x 37mm anti-aircraft to fend off the bombers

Hero Tankovy from Desperate Measures (around 1500 points)
- 9x T-34/85
- 4x T-34/76
- 4x BA64
- 6x 120mm mortars
- 6x 160mm mortars

Both these lists will be solid choices in my opinion and since they are pretty straightforward to run, helpful in learning quite a few rules and will bring you closer to understanding how to run H&C lists :)

P.S. I hope to do a test of the Hero Tankovy list pretty soon. Will share the experience.

How to start collecting a US force - hints for newbies :)

Soooo, following up on the last article on how to start Flames of War, today I will say a few words about creating a US force. I figured I will use the basic structure of the previous article, since the points to be considered remain pretty much the same.

So here we go:

1. What period should I start with?
Just like with the Germans, go for Late War. There are two main reasons for this: it has the greatest number of available books that can be used to build your army on and a lot of players flock to this period because of all the shiny toys that come with it, like E8 Shermans, Jumbo tanks, Calliope rocket launchers, etc.
What has to be kept in mind, is that all books of the period have already been released, so I would expect no real novelties in LW apart from some cosmetic changes every now and again (and maybe an Ardennes compilation that might counter what many players view as high overall power level of the US forces in these briefings, so beware :) ). This state of period freeze might be considered both a good and a bad thing at the same time - depending on how you look at it.
In any case, if for some weird reason LW is not for you, my next pick would be Mid War, as there are no US forces available for Early War (historical reasons of course!) :(

2. What company type should I go for?
With a US force I would go for an Armored Rifles company. The reason for this is that the US Armored Rifles are a very flexible and inherently balanced force. What is also a great learning opportunity is that you can get all kinds of support with it: infantry, tanks, tank destroyers, guns, artillery, recon, anti-air, aircraft, you name it, it is bound to be there :)
Playing US Armored Rifles might be a bit more challenging than leading an infantry company at first because you will be attacking more often (you will need to stay active instead of reacting to what your opponent does). Do not be afraid however, as with all the toys and big, tough platoons this force will also forgive more mistakes than some of the more subtle choices.


3. Which book should I use?
Good news is: for Late War, there are so many books available to the US player. Bad news is: oh my god, so many books :) My favourites are described below - top is best all round book (considering Digital content), but please consider that the rating does not focus on infantry companies but rather the nation's forces as a whole:

Blood Guts & Glory - a must have for any tread-head. Includes the dreaded Patton + 7th Armored combo
Devil's Charge - known for the deadly 2nd Infantry Division which can field 2 Tank Destroyer platoons and a ton of artillery
Bridge at Remagen - very good Reluctant Veteran troops (mostly tanks) with the ability to Auto Attack via Sherman Crocodile platoons
Overlord - perfect all-rounder. Has absolutely everything + a fast, hard hitting Task Force A company
Road to Rome - good all-rounder + the option to field your Americans as the Free French (which are arguably even more competitive than the US forces!)
Nuts! - a treat for the parachute infantry enthusiasts
Market Garden - same like in Nuts! but with different Warriors mostly
Nachtjager Digital Exclusive - parachutists again, with a mix of British troops (Churchill tanks most notably! :) )
Gung Ho - latest addition, Marines and their dog friends

4. What models do I need to learn the game and not get beaten all the time?
For your Armored Rifles company (1500-1800 list), I would go for:
- 2 platoons of Armored Rifle infantry
- 1 Tank Destroyer platoon
- 1 Armored Artillery Battery (3 priests, staff team, command + transports)
- 1 Cavalry Recon platoon
- 1 Sherman tank platoon (these can be either M4s or M4A3s with a mix of Jumbo/E8 tanks - you will probably need a mix of several types)

To extend it beyond this point level, I would keep adding more artillery and an Air Observation Post (Grashopper aircraft). Other possibilities are: another recce platoon, air support (P 47 for example), anti-tank gun platoon (57mm).

I can assure you - if you build your company like so, you will not be disappointed! :)

How to start collecting a German force - hints for newbies :)

Hello, I just figured that it would be great to create a template manual for the new players to help them with their initial steps into FoW. As I understand it, with the fail that GW systems currently are, there are a lot of gamers looking for new excitements and hopefully a base for competitve gaming. Having this in mind, I will not go as far as to guide complete newbies to the world of miniature wargaming but rather try to assist people who at least played one or two other systems.

Also, some of the aspects of starting the hobby are similar for all nations so please bear with me if they are repeated in the follow-up articles.

So how to start a German force? When thinking about FoW, this question has several layers of meaning to me:

1. What period should I start with?
In all cases go for Late War first. There are two main reasons for this: it has the greatest number of available books that can be used to build your army on and a lot of players flock to this period because of all the shiny toys that come with it, like King Tigers, IS-2, Sturmtigers, etc. What has to be kept in mind is that all books of the period have already been released, so I would expect no real novelties in LW apart from some cosmetic changes every now and again. This might be considered both a good and a bad thing at the same time. In any case, if for some weird reason LW is not for you, my next pick would be Early War and last and least Mid War (which is famous for just 2 books covering the whole period).

2. What company type should I go for?
I would always go with an infantry company. This choice is mainly based on the fact that it will give you most opportunities to observe how the game is played and react to what is happening on the table. You will be forced to attack and be active once in a while but in these cases, use them as a chance to test the theories you should have developed by then in practice :)
Also, infantry companies normally offer the widest selection of troops available to the German commander. You will be able to lead infantry platoons, anti-tank guns, infantry cannons, mortars, rocket launchers, tank hunters, recon forces, artillery and/or air support. In an infantry list, you can truly try out the combined arms approach.


3. Which book should I use?
Good news is: for Late War, there are so many books available to the German player. Bad news is: oh my god, so many books :) My favourites are described below - top is best all round book (considering Digital content), but please consider that the rating does not focus on infantry companies but rather the nation's forces as a whole:

Grey Wolf (Revised) - you can never go wrong with this one, it has it all
Atlantik Wall - good for just one front but has all types of units, including a lot of fortified troops
Nachtjager - night attacking panzers, decent Fallschirmjagers
Bridge By Bridge - good all-rounder but has some really bad lists
Fortress Italy - clever Herman Goring forces
Berlin - just one company in the book itself, but it is a big one :)
Desperate Measures - mainly training tank or mechanized companies
Bridge at Remagen - if you love heavy tanks, this one is for you
Nuts! - Jagdtigers, Sturmtigers and Skorzeny make their first appearance but are not that great
Blood Guts & Glory - poorly trained, low morale Panthers on their way to counter American spearheads
Devil's Charge - Joachim Peiper's armored thrust - a one-trick pony list

4. What models do I need to learn the game and not get beaten all the time?
For your infantry company (1500-1800 list), I would go for:
- 3 platoons of 7 stands infantry including command panzerfausts and 3 additional panzerschreck teams. One of the platoons could and should be swapped with one platoon of 10 stands of pioneers)
- 2 platoons of 3 Pak 40 anti-tank guns (mainstay of your anti-tank defence)
- 1 platoon of 4 Marder III tank hunters
- 1 platoon of 3 15cm 41 Nebelwerfers
- 1 platoon of foot scouts or 2 8-rad recce vehicles
- 1 flight of one Ju 87 Stuka

This list can then be expanded to include some panzers instead of Marders, heavy 15cm artillery instead of Nebelwerfers, field fortifications, hmgs, 8.8cm anti-aircraft guns, light infantry guns, mortars and so on. But the platoons I listed above will let you learn most rules of the game quickly and be a solid base for expansion.