German Infantry Formations in Iron Cross!

By Ed Sales

Today we are taking a look at the German Infantry Formations in Iron Cross, as makes the trip to the Eastern Front in Version 4.

Many people were disappointed with how Battlefront treated the Germans in Midwar. One of the most popular topics on the old Flames of War forums, before they were shut down, was the limited size of the DAK Rifle Platoon. Good news! If you like meaty infantry platoons and prefer to play Germans, then Iron Cross has you covered.

Iron Cross covers two flavors of Infantry Formations. One of those formations actually can be swapped into another formation. This gives, in actuality, three types of Infantry formations to choose from.

If you’re wondering if Armored Halftracks are in this book for the Germans, the answer is no. Battlefront has said they will add Armored Halftracks in the upcoming Kursk books, with a temporary digital release to bridge the gap until the second set of Eastern Front books come out.

Panzergrenadiers

Your standard Panzergrenadier Platoon comes with options of either five or seven MG stands, with the larger options being ten points per platoon. You can add an Anti-Tank Rifle for two points.  You are able to take up three of the Panzergrenadier Platoons in your formation.

The other core formations you can take include your standard HMG Platoon and an 8cm Mortar Section. The Mortar Section only allows you to take two mortars, no more than that.

You are also able to add two Pak38 platoons, with the ability to take two, three, or four guns. Making a return to Midwar, are Infantry Guns in the 7.5cm and 15cm size. The 7.5cm is actually great points wise for what you get. It’s same point cost as four 10.5cm artillery guns, but is a core unit with a rate of fire of two. It’s AT bombardment is slightly less, but artillery doesn’t kill tanks like it used to in V3 (Thank god.)

Grenadier Companies

The Grenadier Company has a bit of a fun make up as it really is, in my opinion, two different formations. You can take a Grenadier Platoon, which is either 5, 7, or 9 Rifle/MG stands. You can add HMGs and Anti-Tank Rifles, making a nice firm defensive platoon.

Do you prefer attacking? You can take Assault Pioneers instead of the Grenadier Platoons. These Assault Pioneers in the largest format are seven SMGs and two flamethrowers with the option to add an HMG. The platoon is a hefty 14-Points, 15-points if you add the HMG. I’d suggest taking the HMG since nothing else in that platoon has a range over 4-inches.

To round out the rest of the company for core options, you have the 7.5cm and 15cm infantry guns as mentioned above. Your usual platoon of HMGs. The Grenadier Company actually has a mortar platoon and not just a mortar section, able to take 2, 4, or 6 tubes. Last, is the option to take a Pak38 Platoon or a Pak36 Platoon.

How does this improve the Germans in the current state of Version 4 Midwar?

These formations give the Germans teeth in defense, and the ability to take something not seen in Version 4 in a while. When I first scanned over this book, I instantly screamed (in my head) “Time to run a Pak Front”. The Pak Front, or also known as Pak Line, is a formation where you cram ninjas many AT guns into a list as you can. We are talking three plus platoons of AT guns.

Anti-Horde

In our area, Midwar has been met with horde armies. One of our own writer, James Copeland, brought a list of 74 Honey Stuart’s to Cold Wars. Very few lists built are able to come close to taking that. We’ve also seen a large notice in Armored Rifles being played.

The Pak Front is a list used to turn the tide. With a Panzergrenadier list, you are able to take two Pak38 Platoons as a core. Then, in your support options, you can grab another AT Gun Platoon, either Pak38s, Pak36s, or Pak40s.

This gives you your three platoons. Obviously, this is a list you want to defend with. Attacking with a Pak Front is futile, so plan to use it at tournaments where you can game mobility points or where Infantry Formations always defend.

Assault Pioneers are built to kill

The Assault Pioneers are an interesting option. In its largest form, it’s 7 SMG stands and 2 Flak36 throwers. Having the deadly ability, they hit on 2+ in assaults. You can add an HMG for one point, which I find a must due to how cheap that one point is to add a weapon that will be the only one with more than a 4-inch range.

This Platoon will either clear off an objective or clear out a building. The problem is your opponent will know that as well. The key is getting this unit into position to be able to pull off an assault without taking a ton of casualties on the way there. They have enough shots to pin defenders, and of course, the flamethrowers will pin defenders as well. I just worry that opponents will throw a lot at them. They also don’t have an improved Tank Assault rating, which is a real bummer. Appears Battlefront has killed off Pioneers, Sappers, or Engineers getting better tank assault ratings.

This Platoon was made for the missions in the back of the book, such as the Factory. Make sure to check back as several of the other writers have been itching to try the missions to share with you.

Support Options

Iron Cross has a bunch more options than Afrika Korps does.

The biggest addition will be the Nebelwerfer Battery. At nine points for three or 18 points for six, these rockets now fire at a larger template. The Nebs will get to use a devastating artillery template, but at a 10 inch by 10-inch size, versus the old 12-inch by 12-inch size. This is a must for every German list. If you can place the pre-ranged template over an objective, there is no effective way for your opponent to be able to contest that objective without unless they’re willing to absorb the rocket hits and ensuing casualties and pins. The smoke bombardment is just a nice plus to go with it.

Another weapon making the return to Mid War is the Pak40. This gives the Germans another unit to deal with Churchills and KVs. I like having a weapon that will almost automatically cause my opponent to have no chance of making an armor save, though I prefer taking Marders as they are cheaper than Pak40s, and more mobile in fights where you need to be mobile. This makes a nice addition for someone who knows they have to defend and may have to defend against some heavy armor.

In addition, German players can field the Pak36. You can take these in a unit of up to four. While a rate of fire two with an anti-tank rating of six isn’t going to get anyone excited, the ability to add Steilgranate is. For one extra point for each gun, you can add Steilgranate to your Pak36s.

This makes them a rate of fire of one, but an anti-tank rating of 12. The range drops down to ten inches, so they should be used to deter armored forces from assaulting an objective. They are priced decently. With the Pak36s being a light gun, even if you end up attacking you will be able to bring them forward in hopes of digging out some dug in infantry.

We also see a new plane in Iron Cross. The JU 87G Stuka Tank Hunter arrives to the scene. For 14 Points, you get two JU 87Gs that have a rate of fire of two with an anti-tank rating of nine. That’s pretty decent.

With my normal luck, they’d only come in on Round one. I’d then spend the rest of the game playing the “what if” and “if only” scenario as they fail to come with turn after turn. These will be great if you’re attacking, and your opponent has kept his heavy hitting AT assets behind terrain, waiting to knock you out when it benefits him the best. Planes with a good AT gun like this (if you roll well enough for them to arrive several turns) will cause many of your opponent’s tanks to go up in flames.

Conclusion

I think this book on the Infantry side of things is a massive improvement over Afrika Korps. A lot of people will point out that there is a large chunk of items missing. This is something we are going to have to get used to. I think Battlefront has been listening, as the last two release, Armored Fist, and now the Eastern Front books, have more content than the previous books. I have also previewed the Command Cards. They more than double the number of formations in this book.

In the end, if you play Germans in Midwar, I strongly recommend that you get this book. I will say, that I am disappointed that German units continue to be over pointed considering how much the other nations are pointed at.