Firestorm Gazala – British Turn 1 Analysis and Turn 2 Commander’s Intent

Battles Generated in Turn 2

By Tom Burgess

Turn One of the Firestorm Campaign was a complete success…maybe not so much for the British effort per say but overall we had 21 games from around the globe reported in. Additionally, Battlefront has risen to the occasion and is now offering two boxed sets each turn as awards for those who submit the most/best written Battle AARs.

So the campaign, as joint Breakthrough Assault and No Dice No Glory effort, is doing exactly what we had hoped it would do, generate themed Flames of War games.  Though Mark, allowed any mid-war forces be used for games in this campaign, the AARs I have seen all have used proper Mid-war Desert British, German, and Italian miniatures on nice desert boards. Huzzah to you all in the field!

So how did Turn One’s 21 battles turn out from the British Perspective?

Battle Rides – Looking at the SdKfz-251/C from Battlefront and Plastic Soldier Company

By Tom Burgess

One of my major projects of 2019 was to complete an all plastic German East Front Mid-War army. I chose to focus on Gepanzert Panzer Grenadiers. To do this I had two boxes of Battlefront’s ‘s and two Boxes of Plastic Soldier Company’s ‘s. So I thought this provided a nice opportunity to review and compare what these two companies offer for the same model.

Both companies provide the SdKfz-251/C in unit boxes of five vehicles. The Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) boxed set cost $29.99 (US) with crews/passengers but only the machinegun armed transport option and no decals.

Battlefront (BF) box set cost $45.99 (US) and comes with parts to build all five models as the transport (with or without 3.7cm anti-tank gun), the 7.5cm short assault gun, or the 8cm armored mortar version. The BF set also the proprietary unit cards, for use in Flames of War, as well as a sheet of waterslide decals.

Taking on the 21st Panzer – A Flames of War Late War AAR

By Tom Burgess

My good friend Ed and I were very excited to acquire last month’s release of the 21st Panzer Division expansion books/cards for the D-Day Germans in Flames of War Version 4. We both have a lot of 21st Panzer Division kit in our collections, but only Ed had any of it done.  So I rolled out my new US Sheman Company so we could get in a game with the new hotness.

Battle Report “D-Day +2” D-Day British vs Germans, Free-For-All, 100pts

by Matt Varnish

Here we go, myself and fellow No Dice No Glory contributor Scott ‘Obsidian23’ Roach, get in a game using the new British D-Day book. As always, the video of the game is linked at the end of the article.

We actually debated using the special D-Day missions in the book but they were either on 4ft by 4ft tables or Airlanding, so we opted to use the normal Battle Planner.. and wound up with Free-For-All. We WERE using the new Bocage rules, however, Bocage Hedgerows are Tall Terrain and provide Bulletproof Cover to gun and infantry teams shot through them. Looking at the above table Scott laid out, you can see that Line of Sight would be an issue for things like Achilles, 88s and Panthers.

D-Day +2, Monty’s forces have pushed past the beachheads and are heading towards Caen.   In their way lies a German Recon Coy sitting in an outskirt called Herouville-St-Clair.

New Units from D:Day British

By Preston Jacob

 

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” – Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

That speech rings no truer than with all the new units you can find in the new Flames of War D:Day British book. For any British player who felt they may have been cheated with the small list and force selection from Fortress Europe, worry no more. There are over 100 pages in this new book and brings the British fully into late war. Whether you’re an infantry or armored player, you’ll find everything you could want from the Normandy campaign and will be able to drive the Germans back to the Fatherland by Christmas.

FOW D-Day British Airborne

From “The Longest Day” 1962 – 20th Century Fox

Since the beginning of FOW’s Version 4 I’ve been patient. Taking the opportunity through the midwar releases to buy, build and paint an entire British armored company, and a motor and infantry company. An entire cornucopia of Churchills, Grants, and tin hatted tommies have graced my painting table all gussied up in the Tobruk Finest camo schemes.

What I have been waiting for, however, is the Airborne. Because I have three full companies already painted in their signature smock. And its’ been a long wait.

Let’s see what the new D-Day British book gives us, shall we?

Return of the 21st Panzer

By Tom Burgess
Battlefront has brought the 21st Panzer into Version 4 of Flames of War.  This is tremendous news for those of us who have some of the very unique kit that the 21st Panzer division fielded in 1944.  This also lays out a pathway to add more formation options to what is provided in the army books.  Hopefully Battlefront will use this format to bring other unique formations into Version 4 in the future. But for now, let’s go ahead and get into the new Version 21st Panzer Division book and cards.
In late 1943, the German command identified a need for a mobile force that could move to quickly counter amphibious landings where they might occur on the French cost. So a mobile force, initially designated as “Schnelle Division West,” was created.  However, the German command simply could not supply this organization with German vehicles and equipment. Alternatively, the force was equipped with captured French vehicles like the S307(f) and U304(f) Half-Tracks and Hotchkiss light tanks. Many of these were converted and heavily up-gunned by Major Alfred Becker’s workshop creating one of the most unique German fighting formations of the war. This formation was eventually was redesignated as the 21st Panzer Division, bringing one of Germany’s most famous panzer division names back on the rolls.

German D-Day Bat Rep

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: