Podcast and Story: Iron Cross and Enemy at the Gates – Spoiled

By Mitch Reed

Spoiled – and a PodCast!

When Version 4 came out for Flames of War many of us who were not fans of the desert eagerly looked forward to the day when the books on the Eastern Front would be released. Well, that day is right around the corner with the release of two new book, Iron Cross which covers the Germans and Enemy at the Gates which will cover the Soviet forces in Mid-War in and around Stalingrad.

Another set of books, one for Soviets and one for Germans, will be released by BattleFront in the coming months to cover the forces around Kursk.

I sat down with the NDNG team (Glenn, Iron-Tom, and eventually Matt from the great Canadian north) to go over the details of the new books, and their implications for Flames of War Mid War. You can listen at the link below.

As you can tell by the titles (each based on a great book) that these books will start its focus with Case Blue, the German offensive to take over the Southern Caucuses and cover the Soviet counter-offensive (Operation Uranus) to the reduction of the German pocket around Stalingrad.

So what is in the books?

Well, the Enemy at the Gates book really introduces the Soviet Army into the Mid-War fray. This book contains five lists, three tank and two infantry, so every Russian player will have a favorite list in no time.

The German book is a bit thinner than the Russian book, and this is because we have German Forces in the game for a while now, dating back to Afrika Korps. This new edition adds forces that really will give you the flavor of the German Army who marched into Stalingrad in 1942. The book has two new tank lists and two infantry lists, and I am already interested in the Grenadier lists which gives you the option to take assault pioneers.

Both books have a wide selection of support options for you to choose from and the German’s can take allied support from the Avanti book. The Soviet’s will have to wait for the Red Banner book to augment the forces in Enemy at the Gates.
What is really neat is that urban warfare is back as a focus in the game.

You get four new missions, two in each book that portray the desperate fighting in the City of Stalingrad. Not only do you get the missions, but you also get rules (or a clearer interpretation of existing rules) that will make your city fight a truly unique and probably bloody experience. Fighting in buildings is well defined and you can see how a city fight will add to the excitement of the game.

Of course, all of the usual painting guides are included so your forces look as they did back in 1942.

The staff here at NoDiceNoGlory.com have been pouring over these new books and will have a lot of articles what will break down each book in great detail.
So stay tuned and post your questions to our forums!