As a Soviet player with tons of models, I have been patiently waiting for the Soviet Bagration book for . After getting a good look at this book, I will be making a lot of lists. Two songs I have found to match the energy and sheer amount of awesome coming out of this new Soviet Late War extravaganza have been my inspiration. The first one is Energia by The second is . Listen at your own risk. You may become a Communist.
Ed and Tom deep dive into the new Flames of War Bagration Soviet Book and Card…in addition to their normal mindless babbling.
By Preston Jacob
Komerades! The long-awaited Soviet entrance to late war is finally here! With the upcoming release of the Bagration Soviet book. Soviet players are finally getting their first late-war book outside of Fortress Europe.
This covers the campaign in the east during 1944 as the Soviet army pushed the Germans back towards the west, taking back the land and territories claimed by the Wehrmacht from 1941 to 1943. As everyone knows, there was a serious big gun arms race between Germany and the Soviet Union, and we finally get to see some of the big guns seen in the Eastern front make their debut in this book, along with some command cards to upgrade them!
I’m sure players are excited for all the units and formations in the book, but I know I always look forward to the command cards as they open up more options for units and lists. Without further adieu, let’s get started!
By Mitch Reed
For those of you who have felt that we here at NDNG were fanboys for , this article will show you how wrong you are. I hate this book and I plan to tell you why in detail. Something to keep in mind as you read on, I do not play Soviets in , but I have played against them for over a decade now.
Over the last year, as Late War was being upgraded to V4 standards, I did not think very much about the Soviet lists I may face, since everything was based on D-Day or models from your Mid War collection. Now the Soviet Bagration book is here and I plead with the Soviet readers to skip this book.
By Tom Burgess
One of my major projects that I completed in 2019 was building an all-plastic German Mid-War East Front Panzer Grenadier force. And of course, what Mid-War German force can you have without Marders backing it up?
Unfortunately, Battlefront (BF) only offers the Marder III in one version and in metal resin. Luckily the Plastic Soldier Company Panzer 38(t) kit has the option to build two Marder variants. So I ordered a box from my local game store, Hard Knox Games, to add to my force.
Yesterday at D6 games in Rochester Mn we held what was now our second Flames of War tournament during the pandemic. Are we nuts? Possibly.
The Rochester area is where the Mayo Clinic is located. The medical institution is one that pulls in quite a number of visitors from the outside world. The locals groan about it, yet the term “Destination Medical Center” is an apt label.
Rochester has had a mask mandate even before the state of Minnesota issued such orders. No matter where you stand on mask mandates, they are a fact of current life in our area and a critical piece in being allowed to run a tournament.
by Tom Burgess
Mitch Reed has already provided an excellent of the D-Day Waffen SS Book for NDNG, so it falls on me to review the Command Cards for this new Flames of War Late War book.
This might be the best part, as it is with the command cards that one can really flavor a list. I’ll break the cards down into the following five groups; Standards, Same as D-Day Germans, New Formations, Special Formation Upgrades, and finally Heroes.
Standards
Softskin Transport and Lucky. You knew these had to be here. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone actually use the Softskin Card, but as with all Command Card decks it is here.
Can one get excited for a new book that has very little new models in it? Well if it is the new D-Day Waffen SS book from there is a lot to be excited about if you are a player who likes to play the SS. Do not let the lack of new models throw you off, this book adds so much flavor for the German D-Day forces you will never notice it.
After I built what I claimed was my only army for Flames of War almost a decade ago (Canadians) I soon found myself building an opposing force to play against them. I selected the Waffen SS because even decades after the war they hold an odd fascination for me as I try to wrap my head about how they existed as a separate force based on the Nazi party as opposed to the national army.
The SS also seemed to be everywhere during the war and one of the first lists I really loved to play was the SS Wiking Division that fought on the Eastern front. Now this force is available for Normandy as Battlefronts closes the Late War chapter for the invasion of France.
By Tom Burgess
The No Nice No Glory and Breakthrough Assault’s online Firestorm Gazala Campaign is now rolling into it’s third and final phase. The campaign has been driven so far by the 47 games played around the world from Turn 1 and Turn 2. The battle still hangs very much in the balance and either side could claim victory based on how the next four battles in Turn 3 go.
Turn 2 Analysis
The five battles in Turn 2 went three to the German/Italian forces and two to the Commonwealth forces. Most importantly, British players in Turn 2 won some of the battles that mattered. The British line held to the south of Gazala at Knightsbridge (B5) and southwest of Gazala at El Adem (B6). However, to the southeast of Gazala at Belhamed (B7), Rommel did turn the flank and is now on the outskirts of Tobruk.
By Ed Hall and Tom Burgess,
In Turn 1 of the Campaign, Ed’s combined German/Italian forces attacked Point 171. defended by an Indian Motor Brigade. Ed chose Maneuver in that battle and we ended up playing Dust Up () which ended up as a German win. For the next try at Point 171, he choose Attack and we ended up with No Retreat. So we slide the big hill, i.e. “Point 171” to the British side of the table and had them try to hold it from the combined German and Italian attacks.
