STRIPES - Making New Lists from Team Yankee's Newest Book

As a mostly West German player up until now, I haven't been tempted by other armies.  It took me 6 months to paint the one I currently have.  But looking over at the new previews for Stripes has me considering my options.  I still want to work on a Soviet or Warsaw Pact Force eventually, but the Americans were not on my radar.  This was mostly because it appeared that they wouldn't be as competitive as their other NATO allies.  This book changes that, and gives the kind of tactical flexibility I would want in a force.  I will be making some lists out of the new kit, and let you know what I would want to be playing when the book comes out.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures, getting selected PDF copies of the pages proved a titanic pain.  I resorted to the phone.  I'll have it figured out next time.

1. US Airborne - with Sheridan
2. A Patton Company (marines)
3. Armored Cavalry Troop

For the sake of this tournament season, I'll make all my lists at 64 points, since that will be what a lot of North American places use.  I think its a good amount,

List #1 - 82nd Airborne

 UH - 1 Huey Infantry Combat Team

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Bolt Action: The Clear Choice for Basing

By Seamus,

When it comes to wargaming, it can be argued that you need some decent basing to really bring the whole thing together, to really make the model stand out. A superbly painted miniature inevitably loses something if the basing isn't also as skillfully done as the model itself. One thing I'm sure we can agree on is that basing is a skill that is rarely easy to come by, and indeed it is through practice that we see people achieving truly stunning results over time. Many of us like to have a theme for our armies, whether it be a specific unit or perhaps a particular theater or battle. I myself have a Gebirgsjager force with snowy bases, an Australian force with jungle bases, and an Italian force with Tunisian desert bases, as examples. These bases really help set the tone for the models and the army and, while my basing skills are not anything to brag about, they do help emote the them of the army. In preparation for this article, I've asked the lads to share with me some of the basing they're most proud of. Here are some tremendous examples of what you can achieve with basing, especially in concert with superbly painted models.

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Bolt Action - Playing an event with the Official Australian Supplement

The Australians in the South West Pacific 1942-45 official supplement was launched almost a year ago now as a free download on the Warlord Games website. As a co-author of this document, assisting the amazing Master Bryan Cook, I was really hopeful we would see more Australian forces on the table but they have been a bit sparse. With a New Guinea campaign book due to be released later this year (hopefully soon!). I thought it was time to roll my Jungle warriors out and promote the supplement once more and hopefully prompt some interest in playing these venerable forces.

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Bolt Action - Why play early war armies in open events?

By Patch,
I am an early war enthusiast. Of all the armies I have built, painted and played my favourite by far are my early war ones. So why is it that for the most part, I see mid or late war forces being predominately played at open events?  I can only think it is a perception that early war forces are weaker and don't appeal to as many players.

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Peiper Down: The New SS lists in the Ardennes Offensive

By Mitch Reed

One of the first articles I wrote for this blog was a piece in my “Lists We Play” series where I talked about some of my favorite Waffen-SS lists.  One of the lists I did mention in that piece was KG Peiper from Battlefront’s Devil’s Charge book, which at the time was relatively new.  The new Ardennes Offensive (AO) book augments the Waffen-SS force that took part in the offensive by adding two new lists which I will detail in this article.

Much like my last article on the Waffen-SS I want to reiterate my distaste of the actual SS, however their inclusion in the game does cause us to remember their history and helps us ensure that we never see another organization like that again.

KG Hansen
In my overview article on AO, the I said that KG Hansen is like KG Peiper without the tanks - however there may be more to this list than what I assumed at first glance.  The biggest reason why players would shy away from a list like this is because it is rated a Fearless/Trained instead of Fearless/Veteran like most other Waffen-SS units.  However, being that these guys are trained means that you are paying less for then as you would vets and in a true Bulge themed tournament, where they use the snow and fog rules these guys may not get shot up so much. 

One thing I didn’t like about this list was the lack of types of tanks you can pick, however I forgot how great the Panzer IV/70 (V) is.  They have a front armor of 9, and a gun which has an AT of 14, which at 390 points for a platoon of three is not too bad. They do have some downsides: they move slow, have glass sides (side armor 3) and are overloaded.  However placing these in ambush would be deadly to any American tank the Battle of the Bulge book.

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Components of a Successful FoW Attacking List

Hello everybody,

In one of the previous articles by Sexy Sixes I noted down my thoughts on how are the defensive battle scenarios balanced. I identified several characteristic features of such scenarios and added my opinion who benefits from them the most: the attacker of the defender. The summary of these can be found on this picture:

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Flames of War Panzers to the Meuse from The Ardennes Offensive

I mentioned how much I liked the Panzers to the Meuse (PTM) lists in my overview of the Ardennes Offensive (AO) previously and I wanted to go over why these lists are so much fun and competitive.  These lists were first released as a PDF, and then again as part of the Devil’s Charge Digital Exclusive and now they find themselves in AO, and I hope that other German players will see how great these lists are.

Much like everything else in the German inventory you are paying premium prices for quality equipment. You will never have a huge force on the table with any PTM list, however you will have an aggressive force that is a blast to play.
The basic lists contained in all the PTM releases are a Panzer Company, a Gepanzerte Panzergrenadier Company, a Gepanzerte Aufklarungs Company, and a Panzergrenadier Company.  However each of these lists can be fielded for the 1nd, 9th, 116th, or Panzer Lehr Divisions that each have their own distinct flavor.  So PTM is really a collection of 16 very unique lists and the options each contain are vastly different.
Another key element of the PTM lists are how some of them are “Always Attacks” and some units get the “Spearhead” special rule.

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Lists we Play - British Armored Cars

When I first began to play this game five years ago, I was faced with the same choice many of us were. Which nationality to choose?  I signed up with the Brits.  No one else in the club had done it yet and they looked like quirky underdogs, so I began to amass the basic models. Shermans, Cromwells, an Infantry box. Then one day,  while leafing through "Hell's Highway" (The old paperback before it became part of the "Market Garden" Compilation) I came across an armored car company.  The 2nd Household Cavalry or the 2HHC for short. They looked adorable....

I mean look at them?!

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Flames of War List Building 101

 by Chris Fretts

I find list building to be one of the fun challenges of playing Flames of War.  Finding a list that suits your playing style will increase your enjoyment of the game.   It can be frustrating for a player to fight both his list and his opponent on the table.  Hopefully a well-designed list will help you be competitive in a Tournament.  I don’t feel like there are any lists that will win always –it always comes down to who is playing the list, your Opponent and his list, the mission and the table.  Here are some of my thoughts on list building.

A Combined Arms list is a must for me.  I like lists that can be aggressive on the attack but  I must be prepared for missions where I need to defend.  Several missions, especially the Fair Fights, require lists that can do both to be successful.  While a list with all heavy Tanks  and little else or a static Fortified list can do well in some missions, they can fall apart in others.  Static lists always have trouble with Fair Fights when they need to get up and attack.  Heavy Tank lists with little else make for easy pickings for Bazooka, Panzerfaust, Gammon bomb-laden infantry lists.  While a combined arms list may not immediately dominate in any mission, it will almost always have a good chance of doing well in every kind of mission.

In a Tournament setting, you need to have a list that can have a chance in all the missions.  Especially in a 3-round tournament you don’t want to go into that event having a mission where your force has no chance of playing a competitive game, much less winning.  My objective in any game is to have fun and a well-built list will help to make that happen.

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4th Division Armored Rifles Versus Gepanzerte S.S. Panzergrenadiers

By Luke Melia

Another fight in the French countryside.  This time it pits the Gepanzerte SS Panzergrenadiers versus the American army's very own 4th Division's Armored Rifles.  We played Hasty Attack with 1420 points per side.  Fearless veterans are always a challenge and I have found that most times you have to kill them down to the very last man in order to break them.

I took a very aggressive stance in this game, deciding to really go after Andy.  I felt that with my numerical superiority I would be able to get on to the objective quickly before he could get his reserves with his infantry and halftracks bristling with MG's.  He opted to go with five platoons so he was only had two units to place during initial deployment.  He put his Panzer IV's and Wespes on the table and Here are our lists:

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Bolt Action - Free French army list PDF

By Bryan

A few weeks back Warlord Games published our new unofficial army list PDF for Bolt Action, covering the 1st Free French Brigade during the siege of Bir Hakeim, Libya 1942. This formation was made up of tough Foreign Legionnaires, hard fighting Tirailleurs and brave Marines from across the colonies, and it carried the hopes of France to redeem her honour after the catastrophic defeat of 1940. This army list covers the 1st Free French Brigade during the Bir Hakeim siege of June 1942, but can cover the infantry element of the unit up until the end Tunisia campaign 1943.

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Summer Tournament Diet

By Matt MacKenzie

With warmer weather, a growing list of things around the house that need your attention, do you have time for tournament war gaming?

Read on and find out how you can still get the most out of your competitive spirit during the summer!

There comes a point where sometimes you have to look at the busy life you lead and wonder if you have the time to fit it all in. Once the winter blahs are gone and the sun of Spring turns into Summer sweat, playing games indoors may not be on your radar. Playing tournaments present problems all on their own. Long weekends, vacation time, and spending time with family, it all plays a part in your ability to get away with your army and crush your opponent on the virtual felt.

Simple things in the winter, like painting and preparing your army might be a little harder to do once the warmer weather rolls around. Maybe you have a deck to stain or a tree fort to build instead!! Put down the brushes!

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Flammpanzers and Cruisers

By Johan Wade

Hello fellow Flames of War gamers and greetings from a snow-clad Sweden. My name is Johan (typical Swedish name almost like Sven) and I live and work in the northern part of Sweden. We don’t have polar bears or wolfs stalking the streets but we have the occasional herd of reindeer clogging up the roads. I have been playing everything from tabletop RPG to war games for more then 20 years. I started playing Flames of War during the second edition rules and now I consider it to be one of my main games. This is my first try at a Flames of War article but I hope that you will find reading it as fun as I found writing it.

When I first got my hands on the Barbarossa book I was disappointed by the lack of beute options for the German forces. I see a lot of forum posts asking Battlefront to create this or that list or include a particular option. The reality is that most of the suggestions will go unanswered. In this instance I decided to write the list myself.

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List Spotlight: Mid War Compagnia Carri

Many longtime readers of WWPD will likely recognize that I am a big fan of the Italians in Mid War! I've taken them to several tournaments and done well with them, and they've featured in many of our battle reports. It's now been quite a long time since my last game, and I'd like to change that soon! To that end,  I wanted to noodle out a good Tank list for mid war at 1650. Won't you join me?

In Mid War, our tank choices are quite limited! In fact, we have no choice other than the M14/41. So let's remember what the M14/41 is like in Mid War.

Armor 3/2/1, standard tank movement, and a 47mm gun puts this tank on roughly equal footing with an M3 Stuart. While the Stuart has Light Tank, the M14 sports a twin hull MG. With optional AA MGs that means the M14 can be spitting dakka... but as the core of our list, we must recognize some very serious weaknesses right off the bat. We cannot stand toe to toe with medium and heavy armor we expect to face: Grants, Shermans, Churchills (historically) or T-34s, Panzer IVs, Tiger I Es (mostly a-historically).

BUT this list is also elite- meaning it's got a good chance to be Confident Veteran and a slim chance to be Fearless Veteran.

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Lists We Play: The Canadians

By Mitch Reed 

This is the first in what I hope are many articles on some of the forces that we either play or play against in Flames of War. Today’s spotlight will be on the first army I actually built, the Canadians.

I have always been interested in the Canadian story of WWII, which grew with my many trips to Canada as a child visiting family in Canada or my many trips to Winnipeg when I was stationed in North Dakota.  This interest was even more solidified from working with the Canadian military and marching in the 2005 Warriors Day Parade in Toronto.

My forces are modeled after the tankers of the Fort Garry Horse and the infantry are the Royal Winnipeg Rifles (aka Little Black Devils), both of whom landed in Normandy on D-Day and fought through the campaign the Northwest Europe. 

WWII Cap Badges turned into Objective Markers. Ft Gary Horse is on the right and Royal Winnipeg Rifles is on the left

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Building a Better List: Chaffee Edition

By Bill Wilcox

The Chaffee has gotten a bad rap in Flames of War in the current V3 tournament environment. A Confident Veteran Chaffee from Devil’s Charge has the same point cost as a CV Plain Jane Sherman, 5 for 415 points.  

With a Chaffee, you get the same weapon stats and special rules as the PJ Sherman, but with 2 fewer points of both Front Armor and Side Armor; however, you move 4 inches faster. The Chaffee platoon cannot be upgraded, so no Jumbos, E8s, 76mm guns, protected ammo, etc. For a paltry 25 additional points added to that Sherman platoon, your 5 PJ Shermans can be upgraded to M4A3 Shermans with Detroit’s Finest and a 14 inch move, thus negating some of that speed advantage that the Chaffees bring to the table.

The other big downside to a Chaffee list is that you lose access to Patton from the Blood, Guts, and Glory lists. Having Always Attack, Spearhead with everyone, a re-roll for reserves, adult leadership (a higher command team with re-rolls), and for all intents and purposes a fearless force is well worth the 100 points even with the potential VP loss for losing

Old Blood and Guts.

The Chaffee list has some pretty tough competition for best tournament US tank list from the Confident Trained 7^th Armored Division (7AD) from Blood, Guts, and Glory. Here’s my normal 1780 point force that I’ve some good success with and that I’ll be taking to the European Team Championships.

HQ with E8 and Jumbo – 235

Patton – 100
Sherman platoon with 2 E8s, Jumbo, and M4 – 415
Sherman platoon with 2 E8s, Jumbo, and M4 – 415
4 Stuarts – 160
Cav Recon – 70
Priest Platoon with half-track – 175
Priest Platoon – 170
AOP – 40

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Army Spotlight - Gencon 1250 Late War

By Maurice Kent

After a one year absence, I'm returning to Gencon. In that intervening year, I've really started to focus on Flames of War in my gaming, and I wanted to play in one of Able Company's tournaments while there. Considering Gencon is massive (ed: Fun fact, it's the worlds largest gaming convention) and there will be a lot of other stuff to see, the Thursday 1250 point late war tournament looked like the best option in terms of time commitment...but what list to bring?? I'll quickly run through a bit of my thought process and then post up some in-action photos of the list I decided on!

At 1250 points, I want to accomplish a few things with this list. I want relatively quick games so I can get out and enjoy the convention alongside the tournament. In other words, I want something pretty simple to play, so auto-attack or auto-defend is preferable. I also want something that can deal with heavy armor, as I'm sure we'll see a host of Jagdpanthers, Tiger IIs and Jagdtigers from Bridge at Remagen. And finally, I want something fun!

After considering a few different lists from Remagen, Overlord and Desperate Measures, I settled on a force involved in the Brittany campaign of late Summer 1944 that seems to fit all of my criteria: Task Force A (see the link for operational history nerdage)! TFA led the northern push across the Brest peninsula after Operation Cobra, racing ahead to capture key bridges and cut off enemy units retreating to Festung Brest. TFA captured a large number of prisoners for relatively limited casualties. Bonus points for this list, as it was actually operating in August in 1944 (Gencon takes place in August as well).

I came up with the following at 1250 from www.easyarmy.com:

This list Auto-Attacks (simple) and each non-Recce combat & weapons platoon gets to make a spearhead move (quick). Let's see what we get from each unit:

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt II - Army Lists

The Great War takes the core Flames Of War game, and modifies it to better represent the fighting of 1918. In part II of our sneak peek into The Great War, we will dive more seriously into the two army lists and the rules that make them work.

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