Berlin: Flames Of War Soviets Reach The Reichstag

By Richard Steer

The Late-War era of Flames of War V4 is rapidly drawing to a close with the upcoming release of Berlin: Soviet. This book picks up where the Bagration series left off and represents the Red Army in its campaigns in Europe in 1945 leading to the final destruction of Nazi Germany.

The pattern that V4 has followed has been to support each book with the release of new plastic kits. Berlin is no exception, with the main new plastic kit being the lend-lease M4A2 Sherman.

The Lists

The tank formations in the book are heavily focused on the Sherman, with 75mm and 76mm battalions available in Hero and non-Hero flavors, plus a Forward Detachment.

Looking at the force chart, it is clear that this book is intended to be read in conjunction with Bagration: Soviet. The V4 approach of minimizing the repetition of material between books means that Berlin does not include any standard T-34 units, SU/ISU  formations, or non-Hero infantry units. Instead, if you want to use these units in a Berlin force then you need to pull them from Bagration as Formations and Formation Support. Alternatively, you can take Formations and Formation Support from Berlin to use with a Bagration force.

The 75mm Sherman is about one point more expensive than the T-34, while each 76mm Sherman is a fraction of a point more than a T-34/85. The different types of Sherman can be mixed within a battalion, but not within a company.

The other Sherman formation is a Forward Detachment, plus a T-34 Forward Detachment list. These offer a slightly different mix to the Tank Battalions, with the option of including a Hero Guards Motor Rifle Company and SU-76 self-propelled guns. The overall structure of these formations is identical to the Forward Detachment command card in Bagration.

There are two new IS-2 formations, with the tank getting an upgrade from the version in Bagration. These are now the IS-2 (Late) with Front 11 and the option of Bedspring Armour, which provides additional protection for their Side Armour against light anti-tank weapons. The first of these formations is the Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, rated as Aggressive and Confident, and the second is a Hero Guards version that is Careful and Fearless.

The infantry formations have also been upgraded. The Rifle Regiment, Sapper Battalion, and Reconnaissance Company are now Careful Veterans but have fewer teams than they had in Bagration. A useful upgrade is the ability to add Limited 2 Panzerfausts.

The support tree is largely the same as it was in Bagration, with only a few new units. The most significant additions are the tracked 203mm howitzer and 160mm mortar. These are both very strong artillery options with Firepower 2+. The 203mm also has a powerful direct fire line, but it is limited by only having a range of 16″/40cm. This is offset to some extent by being rated as having a Gun Shield.

Command Cards

The book is accompanied by a set of 35 command cards. Bedspring Armour can be added to any T-34, SU, or ISU, while a second Bedspring Armour card applies the rule to T-34s brought across from Bagration. The SU-57 is added as an alternative to the Light Tank Killer Company, and can also be taken as a formation. Flavor cards like Red Banner Colour Party, Night Attack, and Searchlights aim to reflect some of the characteristics of Soviet operations at this stage of the war.

Product Support

As usual, the book includes a catalog of the products that support it. Key amongst these are two new starter sets: a two-player set “Clash of Steel”, and a Sherman Forward Detachment. FOW boxed sets offer terrific value, both for new and existing players, so these are bound to be popular.

Reflections

Berlin: Soviet does not contain your stereotypical Soviets, with waves of troops aiming to overwhelm the enemy with the weight of numbers. These are small, expensive, highly skilled, and well-motivated units.

Looking at the global game, Late-War Soviets are not viewed as being one of the top competitive lists. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything in Berlin that will change that perception. This is not a game-breaking book by any stretch of the imagination.

Fortunately, you are not forced to choose between Berlin and Bagration at the exclusion of the other. The formations in the books are meant to be mixed and matched. The key decision facing players will be which book to start their build from, for example weighing up the new support units in Berlin against the Bagration command cards. Berlin has some nice additions and gives Soviet players alternative ways to play the game, which is always a good thing.