Flames of War

By Tom Gall

Battlefront’s German D-Day Command cards fall into line with what continues to be a newly established V4 tradition, release a book of new lists for a particular time and theatre of the war and at the same time, release a deck of command cards that complement the book with more force options and bits of flavor to add to your force.

I’ll cover a good number of the cards. My goal is to give you a feel for what is found in the card pack not review each and every card, though I do certainly cover the majority of them. If you have any questions, please reply to the article and I’ll happily answer.

Stats

There are 46 command cards for the German D-Day book.  They span the range of named heroes (6), Tiger ace and accompanying cards, force or unit ability buffs, special modifications tied to a historical unit, new companies (2), and last swap outs (ex: Nebelwerfers in place of 10.5cm artillery).

By Tom Burgess

The Panzer Lehr Panzer Division has been brought into the realm of Version 4 Flames of War with the new D-Day German Forces in Normandy, 1944 army book. The elite Lehr has always been a FoW favorite with its Panzergrenadier platoons beefed up with extra Panzerschreck teams. Now there is, even more, to look forward to for veteran and beginning Panzer Lehr players. As the Panzer Lehr’s Panzer Regiment was a fairly standard German  Panzer formation, this article will focus on the infantry of the Lehr Division where it was far more unique.

By NDNG Dane

Battlefront announced the release of the new  book. The new book allows the German players some exciting options to oppose the allies in Normandy.

In this article, we will look at some of the options available for the Beach Defense Companies. Returning to late-war in V4 is the 352nd and 716th Infantry Divisions. The base motivation for the Beach Defense Grenadier Company is Confident (4+), skill rating of Green (5+), and is rated as Aggressive (hit on a 3+).

The Beach Defense Companies start off looking like traditional Late War Grenadier Company. The basic building block of two (Beach Defense) Grenadier Platoons is the same, as are support options of an HMG34 platoon, 7.5CM Infantry Gun Platoon, 15CM Gun Platoon, 8CM Mortar Platoons, 12CM Mortar Platoon, 5CM Anti-Tank Platoon, and 7.5CM Anti-Tank Platoon.

By Chad Underdonk,

Last winter when Battlefront announced the return to late-war in V4 my heart began to pound a little faster as I’ve always been a big fan of the M8 Greyhounds and Jeeps of the US Cavalry. I immediately examined the announced title page of the US D-Day book and was a little upset to learn that there was no Reconnaissance formation listed for the United States. And worse, upon examination, I realized that the Germans, British, and Russians all had a reconnaissance formation on their title pages. So with much trepidation, I’ve been awaiting word of what is going on with my beloved US Cavalry.

By Scott Roach

Photos by the Author

The Royal Tank Museum of Jordan

For most of us as gamers in the world of miniatures, I think for the majority of us we love sitting at a desk painting up our latest acquisition, be it a Leopard 2 for our Team Yankee West Germans, or a Cromwell for that added punch to a British Bolt Action Platoon.  Either way, we always take the time to look at pictures on Google, drag a book of the shelf or reach out to the forums for advice.

For me, I have been fortunate enough to travel.  This has provided excellent opportunities to get to those out of the way Museums around the world and actually reach out and touch some of this living history.  The aim of this article is to allow me to share one of those opportunities with you.

On Saturday, August 3rd, Mythicos Games, along with Tom “Chairborne” Mullane, will be hosting a Flames of War tournament using the new Late War points and books.

By Benny Christiansen

At any time, when I participate in a tournament, I have to choose what to field. Most gamers I know change their list from tournament to tournament. In parts because of points, restrictions or new lists being available, but for me, it’s also to continue trying out new things with old lists and seeing how they work.

In this article, I will try to give you a day-by-day look at how I plan my lists for a tournament that I participate in.

As I write this, I’m two months away from my next tournament. This is a great time to begin thinking about the list I want to bring to the event.

Embarking on a Great Crusade D-Day Mega-Game

The Huntsville Historical Gamers gathered on 8 June to recreate the Allied Invasion of Europe. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord, was known as Operation Neptune. Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on 19 August 1944.

One of the great sections contained towards the back of the new D-Day American book by Battlefront is the special missions that are thematic to D-Day.  “Shot in the Dark“, “Help’s On Its Way” and “Fubar” model the airborne landings, the daring ranger assault on the coastal defenses and the landing themselves.

Battlefront has structured these such that they can be played individually or as a linked mini-campaign where the outcome of one game influences the next.  It’s not quite a firestorm campaigns of yore, but certainly within the spirit of those past designs.

Protection from who Tommy? Ze Shermans?

(Photo Above: This piece of history sits near Juno Beach, M4A4 Sherman with the Duplex Drive propellor add-on)

Right around the corner, we’ve got the two options for running armour in Late War. It’s been a while since the release of the Late War books for V3. In the new book for the American forces in Normandy BattleFront has delivered a collection of lists I think will get people excited about their models that have been collecting dust for a while.

Some chose to wait and see what V4 would bring in the way of options for Late War, book by book and the addition of cards has once again delivered some interesting choices for the US forces. You might have to wait some more to see some of the lists that are part of this era.