FOW: US Armored Rifles “Cruisin for a Bruisin”

By Tom “Chairborne” Mullane

David Webster (101st Airborne)[at a passing column of German prisoners]  “Hey, you! That’s right, you stupid Kraut *%&$! That’s right! Say hello to Ford, and General &@#$in’ Motors! You stupid fascist pigs! Look at you! You have horses! What were you thinking?”

For the longest time back in version 3, my least favorite matchup was to be put against an armored rifle company.

Not because the game wasn’t fun, it almost always was.  But because, under V3 rules, I knew it would be an uphill road against a balanced, take all comers kind of force.

The Armored Rifle Company in Fighting First was always a competitive midwar choice in my opinion, but the strength of that list was in the support, not necessarily in the base platoons. It had Green Troops, and poor skill ratings, so many things became difficult. While shifting 14 stands will always present a problem, the Armored Rifles didn’t shine in midwar the way I knew they could. Those days are over here in Late War….

The force diagram is below, and they come in two flavors. Regular and Veteran.

Both have different ratings, but the organization is the same in terms of what is integrated and available. 3 Armoured Rifle Platoons are on offer, 2 required. As is tradition, these guys are not to be messed with and are unrivaled in terms of firepower.

How do the regulars measure up? For a full out bulked up armoured rifle platoon, you get six Rifle teams, five Bazookas, two LMGs, and a 60mm Mortar. Fourteen stands for 15 points. If pressed for points you can drop two rifle stands and a bazooka, and pay 12pts for 11 stands.

Still not a bad value. It also comes with five half-tracks, three of which have .50 cals. While the version 3 boys could also pump out a lot of shots, some things are different now.  Movement orders for one.  Having these guys able to sit behind or near your infantry is a major bonus. On defense? It buys you multiple turns until the enemy can clear out the halftracks with light AT or medium tanks. On offense, that avalanche of fire can get things pinned, even without the help of artillery or aircraft.

It should also be noted that troops with MG can fire out of half-tracks.

That means unless I read the rule wrong, that two of your half-tracks will get five shots on the move, out of a .30 cal armed half track. 14 shots on the move from mounted infantry, and if halted….thats 17 shots from the platoon. some of which are .50 cal shots.  The standard rules apply for the half-tracks once their troops are dropped off.

But the bigger deal is the Veteran Option, which allows for players to not have their troops hit on 3+’s

An improved to hit on and an improved tactics rating, give these guys a big upgrade over their trained counterparts. When I run these, I am going with the veterans. with the ability to Blitz on a 3+, and being hit on 4+’s due to careful, I feel its well worth the additional 4 pts per platoon for the bulked up 14 man squad.

I don’t think there is a better core infantry formation in the game right now than 14 stands of infantry backed up by 5 MG spewing halftracks.  The only thing they can’t do is an armoured assault like their German counterparts. But I always found those German halftrack assaults a risky or impossible business in LW anyhow.

The Points?

A full veteran platoon clocks in at only 19 pts, and 15-pts for the slightly slimmed down version.

Each formation comes with all the integrated support a set of GIs on the move would need. Want to kill more infantry? Just bring an armored MG platoon. Even four HMGs with their two .30 cal transports will only cost you 5-points for the veteran variety.

Scotts make the journey into LW for some small vehicle killing power (AT6) and an impressive 64″ range bombardment. Three of these will only cost you 6 points as veterans.

Finally, the 57mm guns (9-pts for three with halftracks) and 81mm mortars (3-pts for a full battery of three) round out the ensemble.

If I were to take a full set of everything on offer, at full price for a Veteran Company, I clock in at 23 points of support (all 4 platoons, artillery, AT guns, MGs, and Mini Tanks) and 60 pts for 3 full armoured rifle platoons + a 3 pt HQ or jeep.

A full formation comes in at 83 points, kitted out with everything I can take.  I still have space for 17-pts of support in a 100 pt list. You can throw in some 105s, or some M10s and you’ve got yourself a monster.

The downside is you would need 24 half-tracks (three of them mortar half-tracks) to run this beast.

This army is fast, flexible and deadly.  It can out manuever an opponent with its hordes of light vehicles, make tanks thing twice about assaulting into 5 bazookas while they hold an objective, and can pin and assault with the best infantry in the game.

I am tempted to try these with the new veteran Stuarts, just to see how fast I can possibly play this game. As an infantry player primarily, but an aggressive one, this gives me the best of both worlds.  I don’t feel there is a mission I’ve gotten stuck on the short end from the start. The starter box comes with enough of these to get you started for sure, and they are a solid support choice for any armoured column if you already decided you’re running Shermans as your main force. I have a box of American infantry, all that remains is to get my hands on the vehicles.

If you are an aggressive player who likes some flexibility, I would give these guys a try for sure.  I plan on putting this together, with some tank support, as my American list. I have yet to meet someone back in V3 who regretted putting one of these together, and it looks like v4 is making it worth taking them in LW as well. Happy painting and thanks for reading.

 

Tom “Chairborne” Mullane has been writing with NDNG since its founding in 2018. He is a gamer and painter since 2011, and lives in Western CT. He teachers World and Military History to High School Students in NY.