Blood & Guts: US Forces in Fortress Europe LW V4
By Tom Burgess
Bottom line up front (BLUF)…the US lists in the Fortress Europe are exactly what Battlefront said they would be. They let a player use his existing Version 4 Mid-War US collection in Late-War Version 4… and not much beyond that. I had to go back and remind myself of that goal while writing this review because honestly as a US player from Version 3 days, I was a bit disappointed that US options in Fortress Europe were not going to let me run the forces I wanted.
But I then had to remember that the US will have the first single Late-War book to be released. And it’s just around the corner. The reality is what’s in Fortress Europe is not for me, that’s coming soon enough. So in the interim I need to look at what Fortress Europe has to offer to the new player who has only played US in Version 4 Mid-War.
The good news for the newer US Mid-War player is that he’ll be now able to run a lot more of what he previously wanted to run in Mid-War, M4 Shermans! That and the US stats have generally improved.
The bad news is that there is not a lot of “new” kit for the US Players in Fortress Europe. The M5 is a new addition and the Rifle Company mortars are now split out in 60mm and 81mm options. But those additions seem to pale compared to what the other forces get.
The Soviets get new T-34/85s, the British add Firefly Shermans, the Germans get Panzerfaust and Panzerschrecks. There are no 57mm ATGs or 76mm M4 Shermans notably. But to be fair, the Soviets, British, and Germans have to wait much longer than the US for their specific books.
So we’ll move on from here with a breakdown of what Fortress Europe actually does provide the aspiring Version 4 Mid-War player moving into Late-War.
The newer US Mid-War player is going to find all of his kit, save for the M3 Lee tanks, pulled forward into Late-War with these lists. They will break down into three tank formations; M4 Sherman, M5 Stuart, and M10 Tank Destroyer and two infantry formations; Armored Rifle Company and Rifle Company.
For me, the biggest surprise about the US forces in Fortress Europe was the “Blood & Guts” rule which make US tanks (not TDs) pass a last stand on a 3+ and US infantry to rally on a 3+. Though much of the US Late-War kit remains unavailable in these lists, “Blood & Guts” will make for some interesting gameplay. I’d hazard to guess that if the upcoming US D-Day book in July does not include “Blood & Guts,” then even with kit limitations, the US forces in Fortress Europe will remain enticing options to run for quite some time.
Let’s start off with the M4 Sherman force. The good o’le M4 looks like a very reasonable option at 7 points for an HQ of two. They are 10 points for a platoon of three, 14 points for a platoon of four, and 18 points for a platoon of five.
An HQ and full platoons in just 53 points total, leaving a lot of extra points for more platoons or support. The company must have two platoons and can have three. One platoon can be swapped out for M5 Stuarts. Besides a lower price, the Late-War Shermans have improved Skill Rating of 4+ and a 3+ Last Stand (Blood & Guts).
The company can be rounded out with an Armored Recon Patrol, an Armored 81mm Mortar Platoon, or T30 Assault Gun Platoon giving it up to seven units, including the HQ. The Armored Recon Patrol cost 4 points and has two M3A1 White Scout Cars, an MG Jeep, and a 60mm Mortar Jeep. The Armored 81mm Mortar platoon has three tracks for just 2 points. Quite a bargain. The T30’s come in at 2 points for two or 3 points for three. So it’s just 8 to 9 points to flush out the company with these three formation units.
There is no option to upgrade any of the M4 Shermans to 76mm M4 Shermans. These will be in the “Hit the Beach” starter set and it’s not clear how or if the contents of the new starter set will tie-in with the US lists in Fortress Europe. The M10s will help make up for the missing the 76mm M4 Shermans, but their absence here is a bit puzzling.
The M5 Stuart Company has the same organization as the M4 Sherman Company, swapping M4s for M5s and vice-a-versa. The M5 HQ is 4 points for two tanks. The platoons are 6 points for three M5’s, 8 points for four, and 10 points for three. So the M5s Stuarts are essentially 2 points apiece whereas the M4 Shermans are 3.5 to 3.6 points apiece. I think at these price breaks we’ll see the M4 Shermans be far more common than the M5 Stuarts, though I expect M5 Stuarts to routinely be part of US forces if not in a formation themselves.
The Late-War M5 Stuarts are the same price the Mid-War M3 Stuarts. They gain a point of armor on the front and sides. Their “to hit” improves to 3+ from 2+ and like the M4’s they have the 3+ “Blood & Guts” last stand. The M5s do have a lower terrain dash than the M3s, dropping from 16″ to 14″ but all other speeds remain the same.
The next “Tank” formation Fortress Europe offers US players in the M10 Tank Destroyer Company. The HQ is a pair of M3 (not M5) Stuarts at 4 points, and either two or three M10 platoons at 8 points for two M10s or 16 points for four. The formation does not have the Armored 81mm Mortar or T30 unit option but it can take up to two of the Armored Recon Patrols as listed in the tank companies.
The M10s are just 4 points each. Half the cost they had in Mid-War. They have improved to a “careful to hit” of 4+. They will assault slightly better but are still hampered by a 5+ “SP Gun” Assault. They do not have the “Blood and Guts” special rule so their motivation remains a 4+ for everything except the 6 counterattack rating.
The Armored Rifle (AR) Company moves into Late-War being able to take an HQ, two or three Armored Rifle Platoons and the option to add one M1917 HMG Platoons, one 37mm Ant-Tank Platoons, one Armored 81mm platoon, and one T30 Assault Gun platoon. The HQ cost 3 points and has two Thompson SMG teams that can choose to take either an M5 .50 cal MG armed half-track or two MG armed Jeeps.
AR Platoons at 15 points have: 6x M1 Garand rifle teams, 5 x M1 Bazooka teams, 2x M1919 LMG, 1x 60mm mortar, 2x M3 half-track (.50 cal MG), 3x M3 half-track (.30 cal MG) or at 12 points have: 4x M1 Garand rifle teams, 4x M1 Bazooka teams, 2x M1919 LMG, 1x 60mm mortar, 2x M3 half-track, (.50 cal MG), 2x M3 half-track (.30 cal MG).
The M1917 HMG Platoon has 4x M1917 HMGs and 2x M3 half-tracks with (.50 cal MG) at 4 points or four dismounted M1917 HMGs at three points. The 37mm Anti-tank platoon can take two, three, or four 37mm Anti-tank guns at 3, 4, or six points. Adding one M3 half-tracks with (.50 cal MG) for each gun increases the unit cost to 4, 6, or 8 points. The 81mm mortars and T30s are costed and organized as previously discussed.
The cost of the Mid-war Armored Rifles is basically the same that it was in Mid-War. They have improved to a 3+ rally thanks to “Blood & Guts” and they are now Trained with a 4+ skill vice the 5+ Green they had in Mid-War.
The last formation option available to the US in Fortress Europe is the standard Rifle Company. The company HQ has two Thompson SMG teams for 2 points. It will have either two or three Rifle Platoons. The platoons at 8 points have ten M1 Garand rifle teams and one M1 Bazooka team or at 6 points have seven M1 Garand rifle teams and one M1 Bazooka team. These platoons can be increased by one M1 Bazooka team for +1 point, up to two M1919 LMGs for +1 point per team, and one M1917 HMG for +2 points.
The Rifle Company can take an M1917 HMG platoon with four HMGs for 3 points. The Rifle Company can also take up to two mortar platoons with two 60mm mortars for 2 points or it can take an 81mm mortar platoon with 2, 4 or 6 tubes at the cost of 1 point per tube. This is a big change as in MW the 60mm and 81mm teams were blended together. Now they are more properly broken out as separate units. The single Anti-Tank platoon can only take unlimbered 37mm guns. These come with 2, 3, or 4 guns at the cost of 3, 4, or 6 points.
Like the Mid-war Armored Rifles, the Rifle Company have improved to a 3+ rally thanks to “Blood & Guts” and they are now Trained with a 4+ skill vice the 5+ Green they had in Mid-War. The Late-War US Rifle Platoons have the option of taking a second Bazooka team and can now add an HMG in addition to the LMG.
To support these formations, the US take up to THREE units of artillery. These can be 105mm Howitzers (5 points for two or 10 points for four) or M7 Priest (8 points for three or 16 points for six). For forward observer, there is an option of a M4 Sherman OP at 3 points. Up to two of the previously covered Armored Recon Patrols can be taken as support options. A pair of P-40 Warhawks can be taken for 6 points. The last US support option is the T28E1 37mm AAA platoon that has either two T28E1s at 3 points or four at 6 points.
Though these lists are clearly not written to meet my expectations for Late-War US forces, I think they’ll do initially.
The “Blood & Guts” rule was not something I was expecting and I think with these I’ll be able to get quite a bit out the M4 Sherman force I will soon embark upon. I’m not even sure my force will be painted by the time the US D-Day book is released, so I might not ever get a chance to play these lists.
These lists will leave some veteran US Flames of War players wanting. There are no M18s (proxy as M10s for now?), M8 Scotts (proxy as T30s?), no 57mm Anti-Tank Guns, no Aerial OPs, no M4 76mm Shermans, etc. But there is enough to allow US players with existing collections, either M4 Mid-War or V3 Late-war with what looks like some effective enough options until we get the US D-Day Book.
The first standard-production 76 mm gun-armed Sherman was an M4A1, accepted in January 1944, which first saw combat in July 1944 during Operation Cobra.
Also don’t forget the V4 FE is meant to be pre-Dday .
Well, that would explain the absence of the 76mm guns. Thanks.
But the British lists include Churchills which didn’t get deployed to Italy until late May 1944 and Sherman firefly first used in Italy after September 44.
Ah! The plot thickens!
Yet there’s no Sherman II A in the book , which were in Italy before Fireflys !
The list has a very “early Italian campaign ” feel to it
The biggest change I’ve seen is the observer rule only going to Infantry Platoon leaders…and not ALL platoon leaders. That’s a huge change to the availability of observers to the US players and will probably hinder primarily armor lists that have artillery support.
Good catch Chad! I had missed that. I expect that will make the Sherman OP more tempting in armor formations.