Red Banner – Spoiled!

November 11, 2018 | Benny Christiansen | Flames of War

By Benny Christiansen

” ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse”

The poem that describes a child’s first meeting with St. Nicholas; how he cannot help himself but laugh out loud, and how he quickly feels that he has nothing to fear from this plump old man. It is a poem, that can give you a sense of Christmas.

It describes very well how I felt when I looked through the Red Banner book. Like a little child seeing Father Christmas for the very first time.. and when I saw the SU-85, I could not help but laugh out loud, feeling certain that I would no longer have any reason to fear the Huns!

I have the honor of taking you through the new MidWar book for the Soviets. I will start out with giving you my thoughts about it all in all, and then I will touch, ever so lightly, on every formation and briefly mention the new tanks and choices available in this book. At the end, I will also reveal a potentially huge surprise in regards to Command Cards.

What’s new!?!?                  

As a relatively normal gamer, my first question was. “What’s new?” So here is a summary of the (to me) the most important news:

  • New formations, especially the Reconnaissance Company and Churchill formations are of interest to me. I will be quite eager to field both and possibly together.
  • SU Tanks: All these beauties are now available for the Soviet players to use to beat the Huns. I’m sure the SU-76 will be fielded regularly.

Example Formations

If I was to make a 109 point list from the Red Banner, it could very well look like this:

In this list, I have some of the new things, I would like to test. I find the SU-tanks very interesting and in particular the SU-76. The Recon Battalion will give me effective counter-artillery, as well as lots of .50 cals (5 of them) to support AT assets vs Light tank/Recon spam. The infantry is durable and can hold objectives. SU-76 are versatile and as such can do anything – artillery vs infantry and AT firepower vs light/medium tanks. This is the backbone of the list and will make the rest, including what should be in reserve, determined by opponents forces as well as being attacker/defender. SU-85 are here to take out overly courageous Tigers.

In my Soviet lists so far, I have always felt that the Range In on 5 or 6 was too unlikely to happen, for me to focus on it. With the new artillery units, that ranges in on 4 or 5, I really feel there is a reason to bring the Soviet artillery on the table.

It is hard to predict what the Germans will be fielding from their new book, but I feel confident that there will be different kinds of armor. At the moment, there seems to be a trend with a German Recon list supported by a Tiger/KV-1. I feel the Red Banner units will be able to handle that fairly well. The ever-present German AT tanks/guns will need to be handled. This could probably be done better than I have planned for my list to do it, but that kind of change will come after I have tested the SU-tanks sufficiently.

Another potential list could be an artillery heavy list. This would provide me with the chance to stay away from the dangerous AT assets the Germans have and eliminate opposition from a distance.

With this list, I have a strong artillery line. This can pretty much bomb all kinds of opponents out of the table. Even if I am attacking, I can start out by giving a dangerous amount of artillery damage to one area and thus making a hole in the defense. After 2-3 turns of bombardment, I doubt much is left in regards of infantry and/or gun teams.

This will provide my infantry and SU tanks with a relatively safe passage. I have a variety of tanks to choose from that can advance, both high front armor, if there are a few Paks left or Light tanks with infantry support if there is a Tiger standing somewhere. The infantry and AT gun teams will hold off any attacking panzers, while the artillery “is working”, but I have the option of using the SU-152s with an AT 13 shot, to take care of high front armors, as well as SU-76s to handle light tanks, if the AT gun teams are not sufficient.

All in all

I find this book to be an excellent follow-up to the Enemy At The Gates. The book is in line with the previous book and a great expansion of the Soviet forces. I am impressed with the new units and in general, I find most of the units to be relatively fairly pointed.

And now for the walk-through of the book:

Special Rules

In Enemy At The Gates, we got introduced to the special rules of the Soviets. There should be nothing new to the owners of the previous book, except for one thing: Unit Transport. The rule states that the Transport Units Leader must remain within 6″/15cm of the Unit Leader of the unit its attached to.

This should come as no surprise to any experienced player, but is a good reminder for new players.

 

Historical background and Know Your Tanks

The special rules are followed by the typical Battlefront historical background for the book. I like these parts very much, as it provides people like me, with only general historical knowledge a chance to get updated and inspired. I use these sections when I make tournaments and events as inspiration.

The part where they go through the “Know Your Tanks” is also a place I frequently go. A lot of trivia knowledge can be gained in these sections and its one of the things I like about Flames Of War. There is a chance to get more trivia here, for instance, they state that the British shipped over 300 Churchill tanks to the Soviets as part of the Lend-Lease agreement.

 

Red Banner Force

The first big thing I see in this is that it is connected to the Enemy At The Gates force chart, but with the support from Red Banner. This links the two books together as one. This will allow you to field the new SU choices with your Lees or Rifle Battalion. It is almost a given, that the formation support choice also can be from Enemy At The Gates, as it should be. This will make the Soviet forces very flexible being able to field all kind of lists with support. This is, to me, a very interesting way to increase diversity in the lists at tournaments in particular.

First up: T-34 Formation

The T-34s are probably one of the most well-known tanks of the eastern front. Produced in vast numbers, this tank has been the foundation in the Soviets tank forces. In the previous book they were called “early” variant and here is the one with no “middle name”. The price is very close to being the same as the early variant, but it is a little higher. The main difference – as far as I could see – is an increase in the normal T-34 terrain dash move.

Similar to the early formation you can take a smaller tank (here the T-70) as well as the Valentine instead of the normal platoon. There is a major difference though. In the early variant, the only black box choices you have in this formation are T-34 (early) or the Valentine and in the last choice, it was either Valentine or T-60. But in Red Banner, you can choose to have either T-34s or T-70 or Valentine (late) companies in your second black box as well as the third (grey) box. This will make for an option where you have a very cheap T-34 force in comparison to the Enemy At The Gates forces.  

The T-70 is a new addition to the list of tanks available to Soviet players. It is, to some extent, an upgrade of the T-60. It has a front of 4, and side armor of 2, making it invulnerable to small arms fire, unlike the T-60. To the best of my knowledge, the T-60 has been used as an assault tank, and I’m sure the T-70 can be used for the same. The T-70 also has a 45mm gun, but it has ROF 1 and “overworked” so I doubt it will be used as a firebase.. but at the price. It could be worth considering.

The Valentine vs The Valentine (late). The last tank in this formation is one of my favorites. I find the Valentine/Valentine (late) to be a very good tank at the price. In this instance, the change is less side armor and a slightly lower price also. Now, however, you can also upgrade your Valentine (late) with a 6pdr gun. This provides the Valentine Company with some hitting power, that I believe is going to be of great interest to several Soviet players I know. It must be mixed between 2pdr and 6pdr, but as the upgrade of the gun also has the consequence of “No MG”, I find that a safe solution anyway.

Second Formation: T-34 Hero

This introduces the T-34 Hero formation into the game. We know the “Hero” formations from the “Hero Rifle Battalion” in Enemy At The Gates, and in Red Banner it seems to work in a similar way. In the normal formations, you can choose up to 10 in each box. In a Hero formation, you typically have only one choice of 3 tanks in each box. In regards to the Valentine (Late), you can choose either three 2pdrs or two 2pdrs and one 6pdr company.

Third Formation: KV-1s Guards Heavy Tank Regiment

These elite units will definitely be a part of my favorite choice when we play huge battles or historical scenarios. Guards Heavy Tank Regiments contains the kind of tanks, with the kind of skill, that I find very much to my liking. It is a heavy tank, with a decent front armor, strong side armor and top armor as well as a decent gun. With Marders lurking in every forest I have found it hard to field

A company of KV-1s or even KV-1 tanks to do anything but be cannon fodder. The Guards Heavy Tank Regiment boosts the skills and “is hit on” ratio of these mighty beasts. This makes the KV-1s hit on 3+ in assault and it’s now hit on 3+.

Fourth Formation: Churchill Guards Heavy Tank Regiment

Churchills are also one of my favourite tanks. Its ugly, its slow, but it is as brutal as it is slow and ugly! The Lend-Lease agreement meant that a great number of tanks were sent to the Soviets, and in Flames Of War I can honestly say this historic act has meant a great deal more fun for me. To have them as a Regiment for themselves is a treat for me. You can be sure to see me field one of these formations in larger battles.

Fifth & Sixth Formation: Motor Rifle Battalion/Hero Rifle Battalion

A horde of Fearless infantry with a variety of formation units, the likes I have never expected to see. I simply HAVE to try these out ASAP! It seems to me that this variant of the horde tactics that was introduced in Enemy At The Gates, has some advantages. Now, I admit, that the missing Penal/Storm choice can be a bit disappointing, as I too love seeing my little toy soldiers charge across the table, only to die horribly to a formation of Honeys. But this formation has everything else, that I could wish for.

The Combat choices are similar to the Rifle Companies in the previous book, but with some “minor” changes. There is no mortar or flamethrowers, but you can have 3 PTRDs. But where the formation really differs is in the choices available. There is no scout platoon, and the mortar platoons offer to change the 120mm mortar into an 82mm mortar choice, so you can have 2 of them. It also allows the DSHK AA choice. But it is the last choice that is of interest to me. You can have a tank choice of either T-34, T-70 or Valentines (late) as a FORMATION choice. This is potentially also a big change and definitely something I will want to explore further.

The Hero version has less PTRD choices available, and only 1 SMG Company available. It still has the tank option, however (naturally) with Hero choices instead. There can be NO doubt that this will end up being one of the things I will test first of all.

Seventh Formation: Reconnaissance Company

Introducing recon company as a normal formation instead of as a command card is good news to me. Quite a few things here has caught my eye. First of all, they can choose to have the M3 Scout Transport with a .50 cal and lightly armored. They’re aggressive so hit on 3+. They do not have scout rule as far as I can see. If speed is more your thing, the German SD KFZ 251 Halftrack is also available but also without the scout rule. But the really interesting thing for me, is the infantry, as they hit on 2+ in assault as well as their 82mm mortar choice, that costs 1 pts more than “normal” 82mm mortars, but they are trained and thus range in on 4+.

Support units

SU-tanks are now available. This is an important part of the Soviet forces, that will provide you with the mobile anti-tank punch you have been missing. The SU-76 Light SP Battery is a really versatile unit with low cost! This will give you good artillery as well as strong direct fire AT power. Good front armor of 4 will provide you with protection from many guns. It is cheap and it ranges in on 4+.

SU-122 is a better-protected choice. It has better artillery power and AT power, but only has ROF 1, slow firing as a drawback. The price is a lot higher than the SU-76, probably due to the AT 3/FP 3+ artillery and slightly faster movement among other things.

SU-152 is a massive tank. Like the Churchill its design is brutal to me, the gun is brutal and it is likely to draw a lot of attention from your opponent. Especially when you fire its artillery version, as it is AT3/FP2+. It has earned the nickname “Sveroboy” (Beast-killer) in many of my games in V3. In V4, I will look forward to seeing it perform on the table.

Finally, the SU-85 Tank-Killer Battery is available. This unit was made with one thing in mind. Taking out those pesky German tanks. It is Fearless. It is Veteran. It is Careful. Use this unit with care, as I’m sure your German counterpart would love to see you drop it on the floor.

Command Cards

If you have read all of the above, I guess you have earned the right to a surprise. It was a positive surprise to me, so I hope this is a good surprise for you too. The Command Cards from Red Banner will work together with the Command Cards from Enemy At The Gate. Only if the card mentions specific formations or similar, will it be limited to one book. This is only for the Eastern Front books, as the rest of the MW Command Cards sticks with its own book.

Please visit our forums and share your thoughts about that. I can add that some of the names of the new Command Cards are: Guards Airborne Battalion and Ram Attack. A separate article about these will be published shortly.