Great War to World War III in a Weekend!

I decided to take a break from all of the articles on Version 4 of Flames of War and write about some of the gaming and painting I have been up to. Plus it would be good to write about something less contentious that will not draw the ire of our readers. In many respects I have made the mental conversion to V4 for FoW already and I am excited for the release so I can play it in public. I know I have two more V3 events coming up at Cold Wars, and plan to use that as a farewell tour and put V3 in the past. So with my lack of interest in V3 I was able to really get into playing some other great games over the last few weeks.

Great War
A few weeks ago I wrote an article that showed off my new GW French and Yanks and since I finished them I have been itching to use them in a game. I will once again shamelessly plug playing GW; it is such a different game than the WWII version and really tests how well you can handle an infantry force.  For those of you who listen to the Why We Fight Podcast know that I was excited to test my new forces at the GW tournament held at Huzzah Hobbies on 11 Feb.

In the weeks before the event I went back and forth over what list I was going to run. It came down to the two I wrote with Wayne Turner and were released via the FoW app; The USMC or the Harlem Hellfighters. I feel both lists have their strong points and would be fun to play, however the New Yorker (and former NY National Guardsman) in me made the Harlem Hellfighters an obvious pick. The best way to think of the Hellfighter’s are as Fearless Trained French troops. In the game the Hellfighters cannot be on a list with any other US troops and use all of the French National rules. They also get to re-roll all Morale Checks which did help me out during the tournament.

Harlem Hellfighters Company
HQ Cmd Rifle Team (25 pts)
HQ Support 2 x 37mm guns (100 pts)
Half Rifle Platoon (200 pts)
Half Rifle Platoon (200 pts)
French Half Rifle Platoon [F/V] (250 pts)
HMG Platoon (3 MGs) (190 pts)
Mortar Platoon 2 x Type 58 Mortars (180 pts)
Light Tank Platoon 3 x FT-17 [C/T] (2x 37mm 1xMG) (345 pts)
Total: 1500

I know, I have stated I was not an advocate of tanks in the game, but I wanted to try to get those funny painted tanks on the table.  If I had to do it over again I would have taken another Hellfighters platoon and a French Flame Section, maybe another HMG.

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Great War; Great Once Again!

For those who are interested in the Great War, the last few years has seen a boom in all sorts of media and games that highlight the bloody struggle that changed the world forever. This boom is not because the topic is gaining popularity, but rather it’s the fact that we are remembering the 100th anniversary of the conflict. Even after 2018, and the anniversary period is over I still feel that many of us who are amateur historians will enjoy greater company with a new wave of converts who got caught up in the boom.

Flames of War: Great War
While this is not new, I do have some new personal news to share. I finally got off my ass and painted the French and American forces I got many many months ago. The motivation was a hangover effect from painting my Team-Yankee Soviets and West Germans.  I got back into painting and I really wanted to knock these guys out. 

So sitting on my bench collecting dust was each of the box sets and some add-ons so I would have one of each blister and box.  My first project was the tanks, which was 4 Renault Ft-17s, 2 Schneider CA.1s, and 1 Char St Chamond tank. I will admit to being cocky and made the decision to paint all of the tanks in the French camo scheme. 

 

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Brett's Brawlers Contest Winners

By Mitch Reed

On this past November 11th we commemorated the 97th anniversary of the guns falling silent in 1918; this date also reflected the closure of the contest for the Brett’s Brawlers box set.  With so many folks reading the article I thought we would have been flooded with responses; and I was way off.  However we did have three great responses and added a 3rd place award, and that mission will also be published by Battlefront.

Without further ado here are the winners:

First Place: Chris Huhn for “Counteraction”

Second Place: Nic Pacholski for “Capture the Tank”

Third Place: Mark Holmstrup for “Unsupported Flanks”

I do plan to detail these missions as they closer to release, so instead of a review I wanted to give some background to the 3 winners above and speak a bit about playing Flames of War in the Great War Period.

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Over the Top: Brett's Brawlers Mission Contest

By Mitch Reed

It seems like I got an extra box of Bret's Brawlers from my work on the new Great War book that just came out. Instead of sending it back, the folks at Battlefront told me to give it away to someone who wants to get into the Great War period,  I am sure I could find many takers, however why not have some fun with this and create a contest that we all can enjoy?  So let's see what great ideas can come from our Flames of War community.


The Contest
Right now the new Great War book has a total of five missions, three of which are original Great War missions and two which are modified from the WWII period of the game.  I know that many of our readers have some great ideas which could expand this total and we want to see what ideas you have.

We are looking for an original mission just for the Great War period.  The winner gets the Bret's Brawlers box set and will have their submission released as a download from the folks at Battlefront. The runner up will not get the box, but will have their mission released to the public as well.  Seems like fun doesn't it?

Submissions
Each participant will need to submit their mission  to wwpdbrawlerscontest@gmail.com.

The mission should be
1. Great war focused; a mission that really represents the period.
2. Complete, make sure you look over the content of the current missions and address every section.   --The map does not have to be pretty but make it something we can understand.
-- What Great War or Flames of War Version 3 Special rules does it use.
--Type of battle, Mobile, Defensive, Fair Fight, Etc.
3. Unique, not a re-hash of a current or past FoW mission.
4. Playable; it should be challenging, fun, and balanced. It should also not re-write or modify the current rules.

Along with your submission please include some details about what gave you the inspiration to write the mission and why it would be a good Great War only mission.

Rules
1. You may turn in multiple submissions
2. No ringers please, folks writing content for Battlefront should let others get their ideas out
3. All submissions should be received by 11 PM (EST) on 11 November 2015.  A very fitting date and time.
4.Include your name and contact information with your submission.

The staff of WWPD will take the first cut on the submissions and send the finalists to Battlefront for them to pick the winner and runner up. We hope to announce the winner by end of November 2015.

Questions should be posted on the thread that goes with this article on the WWPD forums.  We will not be checking the email address very much during the contest.

When I say "Over the Top" I don't mean this! 

So lets see what ideas you  have and good luck.

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Preview :Battlefront's Great War Additions: Part 2 The Americans and Germans

By Mitch Reed
In my last article I previewed the new Great War additions that are about to released by Battlefront.  In this article I will preview the new American list, the German Stosskompanie list, and the new missions that are in the new Great War book.

The Americans
For the first three years of the war the US publicly proclaimed neutrality, however behind the scenes the US did fund and supply the British and French in their fight against imperial Germany.  After the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare and the German courting of Mexico to attack the US, the nation could no longer stand by and the US entered the war in April 1916.  While the Americans had a level of resources and manpower that the nations of Europe envied, they had a very small army that lacked many of the modern weapons and training that were needed to fight in Europe.  While everyone knew this fact, the Allies told the US to send the troops over so they could be trained and equipped in France. While the above statement may seem out of place in a preview, it does explain why the US list looks like it does in the new book.

The US list can be built either as Confident Veteran or Confident Trained.  The rationale for this is that many of the US Army’s regular full time units were made up of professional soldiers who have seen combat in Mexico, the Philippines, Cuba, and Central and South America.  The 1st Infantry Division was the first symbol of the American precipitation in the war and was made up of soldiers who had years of service in the army to they are rated as Confident Veterans.  The other big source of manpower for the US was the extensive National Guard system, in which troops trained part time and could be used by their state in case of an emergency.  A prime example of these men is the 42nd Rainbow Division which was an idea of then Major Douglass MacArthur, to take assorted National Guard units from all over the nation and form them in one division that covered the nation, hence the use of the rainbow nickname.  This new unit was mostly made up of part time soldiers who have the rating of Confident Trained to reflect their level of training.

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Preview :Battlefront's Great War Additions: Part 1 The French and British

 By Mitch Reed

It is no secret to many that the Great War is a subject I am fascinated with.  I have written a few articles in the past not only about gaming the Great War in general, but also about Battlefront’s summer 2014 release of their new Great War line.  In the months since this release I was able to get on Battlefront’s development team for the next wave that that will expand the Great War line. I was excited to work on this project with Wayne Turner and feel the final product will appeal to not only Great War fans, but other Flames of War players who have yet to discover how great this period is play.

I want to first explain that the upcoming release is not so much of an expansion as much it is a re-boot of the game.  The new booklet which is about 77 pages not only introduces the French and Americans into the fight; it also contains all of the rules and lists that came out in 2014.  The new book also has a full painting guide for all the forces found in the game as well as a new mission and adaptations of current missions used in the WWII version of the game.  So this one volume will cover all of the Great War line that has been released by Battlefront.

What is new?
The two new nations that are being introduced is something I am sure most people are excited about.  The French and the Americans make their appearance in the game and complete the list of the major combatants found in France during 1918.  Both of these nations, much like the British and Germans before, has a distinctive flair that makes playing them a unique experience.

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GREAT WAR: Through the Mud and Blood Bat Rep

By Mitch Reed and Sean "Throckmorton" Sarah

Ever since I finished painting all of the blisters not found in the box sets I have been itching to play a Great War game with all of the support options available.  I have also been looking forward in playing the “Though the mud and blood” mission having played the other two Great War missions. Sean has been also itching to play as the Germans in a game, and why not? They have some cool toys that the British do not possess.  We decided on going with a 1500 point game and both made out lists adding up to 1490 points, a big departure from our 2120 point smack down in our first game.

The Through the mud and blood mission is a bit different than other scenarios.  The attackers have to set aside some of their forces for a flank attack that comes on in reserve.  The defenders get the trench line and one of the back quarters of the table. 

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Product Review: Trench Mortars, Regimental Support Platoon, and 7.7 FK96 n.A Gun Platoon

By Mitch Reed

In the past few weeks I was able to get my hands on the remaining few Great War blisters that Battlefront has produced for its new Great War Line.  Last week, Battlefront shipped the British Trench Mortar Platoon and the German Regimental Support Platoon which has 2 anti-tank guns and 3 Minenwefer mortars.  I was eager to get the last two items in the collection since they offer great weapons to add to your force list.



The British Trench Mortar Platoon contains four 3" Stokes mortars each with a crew of three.  The mortars themselves look identical to the WWII version which is fine since it was basically the same weapon with very little change in between the two wars.  Like the WWII mortar blisters, each stand has an identical crew, so much for varying your stands.

The Regimental Support Platoon supplies the two 3.7 TaK AT guns or three mortars found under the the Trench Gun box on the German list.  A player will have the choice of taking either the guns or the mortars since the current list will allow you to take both.  When I first opened this blister and cleaned up the figures I noticed that the sculpts in the package I received did not correspond with what was on the website.   You get four of the sculpt that is kneeling holding the firing lanyard which goes to the three mortars which I thought was odd.  The pack also contains a lot of prone figures, which I am not a fan of.  Finally the standing gunner included for the AT guns is the same as the one from the 7.7 Gun and does not easily fit on the seat in the rear of the gun.

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Product Review: Battlefront's Stoss Platoon

By Mitch Reed

One of the Great War platoons I was eager to have in my collection was the German Stoss Platoon.  The actual name of these forces was Stosstruppen which means "Storm Trooper" and represent Germany's late war answer to break the deadlock on the Western Front in 1918. These troops used infiltration tactics when attacking and bypassed forward enemy strong points in order to penetrate deep into the rear areas and attack artillery positions, supply points and headquarters.  The a major attack Stoss units were followed up by regular troops which had the duty to reduce the bypassed pockets of resistance.  Stosstruppen were usually formed into battalions that were assigned to infantry divisions and were in the first wave across from key enemy positions.  Along with the use of tanks, the Stosstruppen represent how the Great War ushered in a new type of warfare in the 20th Century.



The Stoss Platoon is available as a support platoon on the German Infantry Company list for 305 points for a full unit.  You can upgrade the command pistol team to a SMG team for 5 points and add a flamethower stand for an additional 45 points.  The Stoss Platoon are also the only unit rated as Fearless Veteran in the Great War game so far.  A full Stoss Platoon is composed of one command and six pistol  "Sturm"teams, with two MG teams.  The platoon has some great benefits, SMG and pistol teams hit on 2+ in assault combat, Tank Assault 3 rating,  and they do use the Mission Tactics special rule.  One possible drawback (besides the cost) is that if your force has the Stoss Platoon it becomes an Always Attacks list, however if you are the attacker your Stoss Platoon and all infantry platoons may make a Spearhead Deployment move at the beginning of the game.  The special rules really capture how these were used and what they were capable of very well.

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Painting the Beute Mark IV, and Great War List Making

By Mitch Reed

While luck has eluded me on the playing table, it did find me for the second week of the"Spot the A7V" Contest that Battlefront held via Twitter.

Since I already have both army box sets I decided to go for the Mark IV box, in order to paint one of the tanks as a captured Mark IV and the other one in standard British colors.  I got the box quickly, 2 days after Battlefront contacted me for my choice and shipping address. A big thanks to Battlefront for having the contest and shipping the item so quickly.

During the battle of Cambrai in November 1917 the British massed about 460 Mark IV tanks in their attack which initially pushed the German lines back.  As the attack stalled the Germans counterattacked and came into possession of numerous Mark IV tanks that were either knocked out or abandoned due to mechanical breakdowns. 

From these captured tanks the Germans pressed 40 into service the as the Beutepanzerwagen (Beute meaning "booty" in German), forming 4 companies of these captured tanks in December 1917.  The Germans increased the crew to 12 (British used 8) and replaced many of the 6-pdr guns on the Male version of the tank with German guns in order to better supply it with ammunition. 

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Great War BatRep: Brits on the Offensive!

By Sean "Throckmorton" Sarah and Mitch Reed

When Battlefront announced the new Great War line I was eager to give it a test.  Mitch ordered both box sets and painted them up in record time, so we decided to give it a try.

We decided to show how you can build out a table on a budget using stuff you might already have. In our case, we went for simple and effective. Let's test the thing out and see how it works.

We used some battlefront tree bases to indicate blasted forests, areas that gave concealment and slow going and my personal collection of trenches, mine fields and barbed wire to act as a trench system.

Lists: We wanted to get all the toys on the table to see how they worked and it came out to be 2020 points. This out all of the British box on the table. We had to proxy the Stoss platoon and Mitch took the flamethrowers from the company HQ. 

Confident Vet Brits:

HQ with Sniper

2x Combat Platoon

2x Mark IV Male Tanks

1x Whippet

2x 18 pounder Artillery Detachment

Confident Vet Germans:

HQ with Flame Throwers

2x Combat Platoon

MG Platoon converted to 4 Nests

Stoss Platoon

Infantry Gun Platoon

2x A7V tanks. 

For the point value these seemed to be incredibly small model count lists. This is mostly because we wanted to check out the tanks that come in the box and both the German and British variations are quite spendy. 

Mission: The Big Push!

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Behind the Scenes Pt. 1

By Matt 'ViciousEgo' MacKenzie

Wearing a uniform and serving your country has it's perks. Once in a while, the bad food, sleepless nights and time away from your family pays off!

I recently had the opportunity to go on a 'behind the scenes' tour of the Canadian War Museum here in Ottawa. 

Having a chance to be picked and take part in a behind the scenes tour of this museum was a dream come true!

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Flames Of War The Great War Landing Page

In case you guys missed our in depth articles covering Flames Of War: The Great War, here is a handy index!

THE RULES
Rule Book Review Part I: The Overview
Rule Book Review Part II: Army Lists
Rule Book Review Part III: The Tanks
Rule Book Review Part IV: The Missions

THE FORCES
Mitchell's Marauders Part I: The Poor Bloody Infantry
Mitchell's Marauders Part II: Guns, Tanks, and Support
Biltz's Battlegroup Part I: The Infantry
Biltz's Battlegroup Part II: Guns, Tanks, and Support

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Biltz's Battlegroup Part 2: Support Options

Previously we looked at the core infantry and HQ options from Blitz's Battlegroup. Today we'll look at the support options, which include four Maxim HMGs, two Krupp infantry guns, and a pair of A7Vs.

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Biltz's Battlegroup Pt 1: The Infantry

By Scott

This week we'll take a peek at the Blitz's Battlegroup box set. First we're going to look at the HQ and Infantry platoons, and we'll look at the support options a little later. Plus, we'll have a bonus basing tutorial at the end!

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FoW Great War: Mitchell’s Marauders Part I: The Riflemen

We're going to talk a two part look at the Mitchell's Marauders box set (the upcoming 1500pt British box set for FoW Great War). First, we're going to look at the meat and potatoes of the set - the riflemen. In a later post, we'll look at the rest of the support options included. Part two will be posted on Wednesday, so make sure to check back!

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt IV- The Missions

by Eric Lauterbach and Steven MacLauchlan

The Great War Booklet contains three all new missions for the unique type of warfare representing WWI.  Also included are many new special rules designed to bring the feel of trench warfare to life...  but before you go anywhere there are some major changes right up front! First, all of the missions are played on a 4x4 table not 6x4 like normal, and the mission dictates where trenches go or even if they are present.  Another unique characteristic to WWI is that your army composition may decide if you attack or defend (as discussed in the overview).  Example if you choose “Stoss Platoons” you always attack, or if you choose “Field Batteries” you will always defend.  Of course there is still the roll off if you both end up the same. The missions presented in the booklet each use some (or all) of the following rules, reproduced in their entirety with permission from Battlefront.

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt III- Tanks!

by Jon Baber and Steven MacLauchlan
The Great War adds some very interesting rules for tanks. Though the tanks are relatively protected against rifle fire, they do not have super heavy armor - artillery in direct-fire seems like it would be super-effective. But wait! There are several special rules for tanks that add some interesting mechanics for tank survivability, especially for the massive Landships.

GENERAL TANK RULES
MOVEMENT
Tanks are very slow in The Great War, so you need a little something to get them going. With the Push It rule, you can push your tanks a little farther with a skill check immediately after normal movement, but watch out: if a 1 is rolled, your tank either gets Bogged or takes a Damage marker (more on this later). If you succeed, your tanks can move an additional 2". Using the Slow and Steady rule, tanks cannot move at the double. This rule also states that tanks move 4” in rough terrain or slow going. You can still Push It in slow going, but you take an additional bog check, if necessary.



SHOOTING
One good thing about moving so slowly is that it is nearly the same as standing still! Because of this, tanks get to shoot all of their guns at full ROF, even when moving! The tanks also get to target different platoons with each individual gun.
Infantry and Man-packed Gun teams shoot at tanks normally. All other teams reduce their ROF by half when shooting at a tank that isn’t Bogged, Bailed or Damaged (They aren't trained for shooting at a big, moving target!). As normal, take a +1 to hit if your ROF is already 1.

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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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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt I- The Overview

The Great War is a Flames of War supplement scheduled to be released with Wargames Illustrated 322. It is 36 pages in length and chock full of background information, army lists, and special rules that allow you to play German and British infantry companies in 1918.

The supplement starts with some brief background information on the Great War, with a very high level overview on the first four years. It quickly settles into 1918 and focuses on the British and Germans, culminating with some relatively detailed information on an armored fight at Villers-Bretonneux. But fear not, the supplement is mostly focused on the infantry fighting - it's not a "WW1 Tank Battles" as some folks had feared!

Getting into the army lists, there is one for the British and one for Germans. They are both classified as "infantry companies", although that doesn't mean as much as it does in FoW WW2 (more on that later!). Both options can come as regular Confident Trained troops or more battle-hardened Confident Veteran.

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