Flames of War

Reporting and photography by Troy A. Hill

We are live with Troy at Southern California’s Strategicon/Gateway Convention.

Troy talks with the crazy people running and playing in The Longest Day, a 24-hour-long Flames of War tournament. He also talks with Strategicon Events Chairman, the HMGS-PSW Convention chair about an upcoming convention, and with several independent game designers from the Pacific Southwest. Click the MORE tab to see links and photos for each.

Photos below:

It is indeed Tiger time. The D-Day book for the Germans is out and we look at the armoured formations you can run out of this new release for Late War. No other commander during WW2 made such an impact in a tank as Michael Wittmann.

As a true Panzer Ace, his Tiger took its fight to the allies and he fought until he was finally KIA in August of 1944. Stopping by his final resting place in 2007 in a small cemetery in France was a small highlight of a trip that took me from Arras to Vimy and everything in between.

Before we look at the Heavy Tank formation from the D-Day book, why don’t we start a little ‘lighter’. Let’s have a good look at the Panzer IV Tank Coy, this list will likely be very popular to German tank purists.

By Benny Christiansen

With the new German D-Day book available, I made an effort to hurry and try to make a game with the two D-Day books. That means there will be some proxy units in the US list. Sorry for that and the poor quality of the photos. Blitz wasn’t working that day for the US or for the American player (me).

My friend is a veteran German player, so we decided to have a go at it. 80 points, as there will be a tournament later this year with 80 points D-Day books. My list was as follows:

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.