Beyond The Foxholes Episode 33 - On The Road To The Welsh Open

Hello All

In Act One we join Ben, Winner Dave and Adam in Winner Dave's car as they drive up to the Welsh Open LW tournament. The guys chat about what they have been up to, their army lists and a few other bits and pieces.

In Act Two we have a few interviews, starting with Adam chatting to Steve Charlton about Art of War Too and then Rob a New Zealand wargamer who is on a around the world trip going on battlefield tours and FoW tournaments. Finally Ben chats with Andy the events manager at Firestorm Games and the South Wales Gaming Center about the venue and their plans.

In Act Three the guys have a full breakdown of the tournament, the guys highs and lows.

Tactical edge - Germans in Berlin

So I thought I'd take a look at what we're going to see from the German forces in Berlin - what builds look viable, what builds look less viable...

I think the first question is going to be which HQ you go for - I'm personally more in favour for the CV HQ - if you're using the Fearless roll then you're probably losing the game anyway! Now if you have mainly Fearless troops I can see a benefit with the reroll, but I think you can save points here!

More German Reinforcements, Panzerwerfer and Brummbär

Hi all, thought I'd bring to your attention another two platoons I've painted up for my Germans.

Every so often there are units which you want to have, but lack any real reason to paint them up, both of these units fall into that category.

The Panzerwerfers I've had for years, when I originally painted my germans I'd thought about doing Panzer Lehr, and loved the idea of having these guys supporting them in a really mobile force, and the model I always think looks fantastic, the armoured body, the rack of rockets, just looks brilliant.

Late War AAR - 29th Infantry vs 9th Panzergrenadiers - No Retreat

Hello All  I have had a hankering to play some themed games and so I asked Andy if he'd be up for a Normandy Bocage game with his German vs my US. He was really up for it so rocked up at his house with a bucket load of Boccage terrain and we set out to play.  We decided on 1675pts, Andy was using the 9th Panzer Division in the form of Grenadiers as thats basically the only list he could make from what he had. I was using the 29th Infantry as I had just painted up some Crocs and I wanted to use them. We rolled up No Retreat and as I was auto attack thanks to the Crocs I was the attcker.

US 29th Infantry HQ + 2 Bazookas Full Infantry Platoon + Pioneer Upgrade + Flame Thrower Full Infantry Platoon + Pioneer Upgrade + Flame Thrower 4 81mm Mortars 4 M10's Cav Recon 4 105mm Artillery 4 155mm Artillery 3 Churchill Crocodiles - Allied Platoon AOP

9th Panzergrenadierkompanie HQ + Panzerschreck Full Grenadier Platoon + Faust Full Grenadier Platoon + Faust Full Grenadier Platoon + Faust 4 12cm Mortars 3 Pak 40's 5 Panzer IV's 4 10.5cm Artillery

Great War German Commission - Beute Mark IV

Hooray my first minis painted since the big move.  Life has dramatically changed for me since the house and job move, but I can't tell you how glad I am that it's finally done.  Unfortunately I'm not able to paint in the kitchen any more, which is where I used to do my airbrushing as I found being near running water and a sink invaluable.

I haven't quite figured out where my new painting spot is in the new gaff...but it didn't stop me from getting my Great War German commission finished.

Arab Israeli War Painting Challenge

Hello All

With the The 'Battle of An-Nakhl' Arab-Israeli War Sale Ben, Winner Dave and Adam decided to finally take the plunge and get into AIW. We are picked different nations and so the fitting thing to do seemed to be a painting challenge.

We are keeping it simple, 500pts a month for three months and then some gaming. A couple of other guys in the area have armies already so expect the after action reports to come think and fast. But before all of that lets hear from the guys about their projects.

German Obsessions

I honestly wish I didn't enjoy playing Germans! The problem is that I do, and unlike every other nation it requires relatively little expenditure to move from list to list to list.

Well there's been one style of list I've not been able to do before - and I'm rectifying this mistake now - I'm coming for you Gepanzerte Panzergrenadiers!

Firestorm Caen Campaign Weekend - AAR

Hello All

Last weekend Adam ran a Firestrom Caen campaign weekend at Entoyment, set over the Friday night and Saturday. This was Adam's first ever event to fulfill one of his New Years Resolutions. 

The event had one round of games on the Friday night and three games on the Saturday, this left it one round short so the first round (the beach landings) where rolled for using the Generals Wargame. The Friday was optional and I was unable to attend, so I will pick up the story from Saturday morning and round three Operation Espon.

Road to Nowhere - New Minis

So I return to my French, after Art of War I'd come to really appreciate the weakness and strengths of the list, and following some rather extensive discussions with my friend John, some reinforcements were needed - thankfully I owned the models already!

Alongside that I realised I only had another couple of platoons left, so decided that they would also get painted - so I split it up into two painting batches - the tanks and AT guns in one batch, and the infantry in the other.

Beyond The Foxholes Epsiode 32 - Berlin Special

Hi all

Welcome to Beyond The Foxholes Epsiode 32 - Berlin Special, we join Adam, Winner Dave and Ben. 

In act one Ben Interviews Wayne the writer of the Berlin book about the German list in the new book.

In act two the interview continues and moves onto the Soviets and digital content that will be coming out to support the book.

In act three Ben is rejoined by Adam and Winner as they add their thoughts to the book.

Berlin Book Preview - Soviet Lists

Hello All

On Sunday I took a look at the German lists in Berlin, today it's the turn of the Soviets. The Soviet section starts with the history of the Soviet operations in the Berlin area before moving onto the army lists. Also tomorrow we have a new podcast with an interview with the writer of the book Wayne Turner.

There are three army lists in the book, a Hero Guards Heavy Tank Regiment (IS-2 1943 or 44's), Hero Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment (ISU-122's and 152's) and Hero Rifle Regiment.

Berlin Book Preview - German List

Hello All

So the last book of Late War is finally here, we are at the gate of the German capital and the last days of the Reich. Berlin is a 73 page book that covers the German defenders of the city (Kampfgruppe Berlin) and the street fighting lists of the Soviet Union (Hero Strelkovy, ISU and IS lists). Today we are going to cover the Germans, please come back on Monday for the Soviet lists (click here to see it.)

Berlin has only one German list, but it makes almost every other list in the game look restrictive. The book starts with a history section that is about 12 pages long and gives you all the info you could want about the battle.

Oh Yes! Churchill's In Late War

Hello All

I have been looking to expand on my British army I started with the Nachtjager painting challenge. So when my mum asked what I wanted for my 30th I asked for two boxes of PSC Churchill's. 

I choose the Churchill's as I have a soft spot for the slightly awkward looking tank and I wanted something that had a better front armour than 6/7, the normal for Western Front Allies. I went for PSC Churchill's as I painted up a few of the Battlefront Churchill's for my Welsh Open army a few years ago; and I had a few problems with the casting on the tracks, something that should be less of a problem with plastic kits.

Basing Your Vehicles

This post is aimed at a unique crowd of Flames of War gamers.. It is aimed at those who like to base their armoured vehicles, or thinking about doing so...

Hi all, Matt here!

A few months ago I posed this question on the FOW Facebook page, "Do any of you guys put bases on your tanks and is this viable for tournament play".

I was staggered at the feedback I received from the community in response to my question. I think 3, maybe 4 comments simply stated, "Burn him", or "Blasphemer" and other comments to that effect :-O. Of course these comments were taken in jest (as of course they were intended - I hope :-s ) but they were hardly helpful were they!

Beyond the Foxholes Episode 31

Hi all

Welcome to Beyond the Foxholes Episode 31, we join Adam, Winner Dave and Ben. 

In act one we join the guys on the last ever episode of Beyond the Foxholes on WWPD. The guys start the episode with their normal AAR including chatting about Campaign. They then round out the act with a big thank you to WWPD and then how to find the podcast going forward on iTunes.

In act two Ben interviews Evan the Battlefront Sculpter.

In act three the guys round out the episode with Winner Dave's Mail Bag and Welsh Open chatter.

Are There Too Many Auto Attacking Lists In Late War?

I'm sitting here having come back from our very enjoyable one day event in Portsmouth, but there is one thing which is really bugging me from it. I was playing a tank list and defended in a three games. The reason for this - they were all auto attack lists.

Actually if you look at another Late Late War Event (LLW) - the breakthrough assault one day event back in April, I ended up playing another two Auto Attack list, but as was also an auto attack list I attacked (say that quickly!)

Missing Lists - Panzer-Abteilung 211 (Russia 1941)

Hello All

Welcome to a new series of posts I'm planning to do monthly or bimonthly. In this series I'm going to look at some of the missing options in Flames of War, platoons, lists or campaigns that haven't been covered yet and work out how to get them onto the table top.

I'm starting with the Panzer-Abteilung 211 - a tank battalion fully equipped with captured French tanks that operated out of Finland at the start of operation Barbarossa. The unit took part in Operation Silver Fox, a joint Finnish and German offensive to capture the Soviet port of Murmansk, before sitting out the rest of the war until the Finnish swapped sides.

The Joy Of Tournaments

I'm in a warm fuzzy place with regards tournaments at the moment.

So far this year I've been to three two day events, and placed respectably at all three, I've done two one day events, and have another one next month - somewhere new I've not been to before - and I think is their first FoW event. And on the horizon is a campaign weekend and of course the ETC, alongside other events.

I'm a big proponent of tournaments, as I think they bring so much to any wargame. The obvious one is its competitive - who is the best general. Whether this is fought over at a local one day event or at Corrivalry and other big national events - it really gives you that chance to show just how good you are to your peers. I'm not lying in saying that this is my favourite part of gaming, I always go to have a good time, and of course to win (remember 'do or do not, there is no try!) I'm becoming more a fan of the local one day event for this now as well, it builds up the banter and the comradeship amongst the gaming community, as it's not just about winning, it's about coming higher than your mates!

Tanks On The Eastern Front! (FOW Survival Guide)

By popular demand I have decided to continue my mini guide covering some of WW2s most iconic tanks in the late war period. This time we look at the Eastern Front...

Hi guys,

I'm back again to talk about tanks once more! I've got to say I was a little hesitant about covering the Soviet vehicles as I've never played with them myself. Of course I've played dozens of battles against them and spent many, many hours of my childhood/teenage years reading about the Kursk and Bagration conflicts, (even though it wasn't even remotely relevant to any school topic/assignments). It might have been a bit more beneficial if I spent just a little more time on my maths homework come to think of it, but hey I had fun! 

I still have fond memories of going to Wallington library monthly with my mum, spending ages hunting around for new material/ for a relevant school project and ended up borrowing the same few history books every time! 

Anyway onto some Eastern Front tanks...! 

Expanding Grimball's Beasts (USAB05)

Hello all, Fez here.

I've been given the task of writing up how to expand the fantastic Grimball's Beasts US starter Tank army from Battelfront, as I had all the models in the box already!
Out of the three starter boxes, this is probably the hardest to write such an article, for one reason - the Pershing!

Bovingdons M26 Pershing

Unlike the German or the Soviet boxes, currently the Pershing only appears in one list - the Tank Company in Bridge at Remagen. This can be either the Confident Vet 9th, or my personal favorite the Reluctant Vet 3rd 'Spearhead' Armoured Division. I find that the points break for reluctant means I can round my platoons out to give me the tools I need for the job, and if I play it right, I won't need to motivate much anyway. Add the fact the 1ic is rolling up with the normal shermans anyway, a 5+ with a re-roll is still pretty good.