The Rota are the newest addition to my mechanized lists, so I am speaking for them with the least experience. From a big picture view, their list is great- plenty of options available for support units that make them about the most flexible list the soviets can field- especially in Late War. Because I have no experience with the Rota in anything other than the M3A1 armored cars, allow me to ignore the very cool and nimble option of using the carriers. Maybe I'll add some in the near future! Get on the forum and tell me how much I need to try them out, will ya?
Pros
- 5x Armored vehicles with jeep mobility
- 5x .50 cals
- SMG or Rifle/MG option for flexibility to fulfill their role
- 9 fearless stands of infantry
- Decent AA fire
- Trained
- No integral anti-tank
- No Mounted Assault
Vehicles Manned + Dismounts ROF: 15x .50 cal shots + either 12 SMG shots or 8(4 moving or pinned) Rifle/MG shots. Optional Flame Thrower w/ 4 shots (replaces one team).
Without Vehicles: 18 (9 moving or pinned) Rifle/MG shots or 27 SMG shots. Optional Flame Thrower w/ 4 shots (replaces one team).
So as you can see - these guys are hands down the best of the bunch at delivering light-AT shots on the move with their plethora of .50 cals! Armored cars and other armored transports fall prey to the torrent of fire. Even dug in guns are not safe! Tanks, however, have very little to fear from the Rota. With their jeep mobility, the Rota are the fastest infantry in the game!
German Gepanzerte Panzergrenadiers (Non Lehr Option)
I'm only discussing the vanilla Gepanzerte Panzergrenadiers here - the Lehr are superior but are not widely available. So the vanilla GPzGs are what we'll discuss here. These guys have plenty of things going for them - not least of which is the mounted assault rule! They're also the only armored infantry in the game who's halftracks don't require passengers to fire. That's huge!
Pros
- Veteran options
- Some integral AT available
- Infantry are MG teams
- Halftracks do not need to be mounted to remain on the board
- Mounted Assault
- Small unit (4 halftracks, 7 stands)
- Poor firepower rating with just MGs
Vehicles Manned + Dismounts ROF: 16 halftrack MG shots + 9 (3 moving, 6 pinned) MG shots.
Vehicles Unmanned: 12 halftrack MG Shots + 21 (7 moving, 14 pinned) MG Shots. Can swap for one SMG. Add a panzerfaust/knacker to flavor
Without Vehicles: 21 (7 moving, 14 pinned) MG Shots. Can swap for one SMG. Add a panzerfaust/knacker to flavor
With the ability to keep their halftracks around at almost no penalty, the German panzergrenadiers are just death to enemy infantry. They also have a limited capacity for integral AT which (when combined with the 2iC and/or CO), is enough to make enemy armor rethink assaulting this unit. Their biggest drawback is their small size. They can't absorb many casualties, but their veterancy can often make up for that shortcoming. Mounted Assault would require a post all its own, so we won't be discussing that today!
US Armored Rifles are without a doubt my favorite army in Flames of War. The very first purchase I made waaaaay back was a freshly released box of US Armored Rifles and 5x Sherman M4A1s. In Version 1, they took some getting used to. I couldn't quite figure out how best to use them - big cumbersome platoons with a little bit of everything. But after a few games, something clicked. These guys hit a number of sweet spots in FOW!
Pros
- Veteran options (LW)
- Bristling with integral AT
- Lots of firepower
- Lots of stands for assaults and motivation check
- Good Value
- No mounted assault
- 3 Gun Teams that can't assault/have worse saves
Fully Mounted ROF: 6 .50 Cal Shots, 11 MG shots (3x AA MG + 2 side mounted LMGs)
Vehicles Manned + Dismounts ROF (Variable based on what is manning the guns)
Without Vehicles: 15 small arms shots (9 pinned/moving), 2 60mm mortar shots (1 pinned/moving), 5 bazooka shots.
Again, it's the Armored Rifles' ability to deal with whatever they're facing that makes them the best Armored Infantry in the game in my opinion. They are virtually unassaultable without exhaustive preparation, while on the attack they can take and hold ground like no other unit.
In Version 3, Armored Infantry has really come into its own and I couldn't be happier!
Vehicles Manned + Dismounts ROF (Variable based on what is manning the guns)
Without Vehicles: 15 small arms shots (9 pinned/moving), 2 60mm mortar shots (1 pinned/moving), 5 bazooka shots.
Again, it's the Armored Rifles' ability to deal with whatever they're facing that makes them the best Armored Infantry in the game in my opinion. They are virtually unassaultable without exhaustive preparation, while on the attack they can take and hold ground like no other unit.
In Version 3, Armored Infantry has really come into its own and I couldn't be happier!
