A List For Reading Warefare

Hello everyone!

I'm writing this from hospital on my phone after a minor procedure so sorry if any auto correct mistakes slip through. No cause for concern though, if I have my way I'll be up at Reading as planned in a few days!

A year ago, at the Warfare event I got my first look at the Early War Book, Barbarossa. I'd been playing at events all that year (2014) with big Italian infantry lists and wanted something new, exciting and better for my back! Getting those stands in and out of cases under the tables all year occasionally made me wish I had a force which would fit in one, small box.

It definitely fits in a large shoebox!

After Action Review - One Day Late War Tournament at IBuyWargaming

On Saturday 31 October I braved the suburban wilderness of Woking to take part in a one day Late War tournament at their local gaming store, IBuyWargames

The tournament was organised by our very own Fez and was a 1675pts open affair with no restrictions.

The venue was very nice and very welcoming and the action took place in the store itself, with a couple of games taking place upstairs in their dedicated gaming area.  This had the advantage of putting the action on display for all the customers on the day to see and ask questions about, something which I am always in favour of.

Beyond The Foxholes Episode 39 - On The Road to Art of War Too

Hi all

Welcome to Beyond the Foxholes Episode 39, on todays episode we join Ben, Adam and Fez over the Art of War Weekend.

In Act one the guys talk about their armies and expectations for the weekend.

In Act two we have an interview with Dave the owner of Skytrex, Tim and Steve who run Art of War and Finally Nobby who runs the excellent Conflict, Corrivalry and Adolf Don't Surf tournaments.

In Act three the guys round out the show with a full AAR of the event. 

The Road to Art of War Too - 3RTR - Part Three

Hello All

As this goes out to you it's three days until Art of War Too and the good news is I have finished the army! It took a bit of an effort mainly as I have also been painting up my Israelis, Cromwells and some Great War stuff you will see soon. I have also played quite a few games which I will detail here.

The last time I spoke to you I had to finish off the Shermans and I had all bit finished the breaching group, they are done and here they are.

The Road to Art of War Too - 3RTR - Part Two

Hello All,

It's been a few weeks since the last update and despite painting up two months worth of models for the Arab-Israeli War painting challenge I found time to crack on with my Sherman army for Art of War Too.

I did really need to as I thought this post would be me explaining why I'm not doing a British armoured list any more and decided to use British infantry instead.  I did a "Robin" and ended up sending around 5 different sets of lists to Tim and Steve (once again sorry guys...); part of it was me trying to work out if I can use the list I'm running and part of it was I just didn't think I would have time to paint it all, but all is well that ends well and I have made a big leap forward in getting the army painted.

Fez's Road to Art of War Too Part 2

Hello there,
Fez here again with an update on the road to Art of War Too - apparently, this road is paved with dead T34's.

Bovingdon's T34/85 - Nice detail on the Cast Mantle

I tried another game with the FT Hero Tankovy list, as I hadn't had time to adjust the models from before, my opponent for this one Justin with his Nisei. The fact that I didn't take pictures is evident of the death he tolled out - That list is horrible! Fearless everywhere, Jumbos, time on target, it was just horrific. I got a small victory in shooting down his AoP with the IS-2 AA, but that's about it!

That Which Does Not Kill You… - ETC 2015

Today we have a guest post from Bill Wilcox. He was part of Team U.S.A. for last weekends ETC in Prague. Bill brings us very in depth AAR of the tournament.  

Now that I’m back home, and slightly better rested (only just), I thought that I should do write up for the weekend.  For those that aren’t familiar with the event, this year’s ETC (European Team Championships) was held August 5-9 in Prague and is currently comprised of three gaming systems – 40K, WHFB, and, FoW.  For FoW, there are two events over 4 days, attended by players from all over the world.  This is truly a world championship event.  The singles tournament on Thursday was 68 players over 3 rounds.  The team event from Friday through Sunday was the largest FoW event ever held, with 180 players on 30 teams from 4 continents.  We had 28 national teams with two UN teams comprised of multinational players.

Fez's Road to Art of War Too Part 1

Hello there!

Having a busy work schedule has meant that I've not been able to get many games in or make it to the tournaments with the other guys, so I've been a bit quiet on the Flames of War front. I was then pleasantly surprised to see the announcement of 'Art of War Too', a late war weekender at the Sanctuary gaming centre! After playing so much Early war, it was interesting to go back to late.

But what to play? Jagdtigers? Nachjager Panthers? One of the other 100 lists I've got on forces of war/easy army?

To be honest, the answer came from another of my latest past times - World of Tanks Blitz!

So much bling!

The Road to Art of War Too - 3RTR - Part One

Hello All,

Art of War Too is around the corner (well September 26th and 27th) and I was struggling to work out what army to take. I played around with British Infantry, British Paras, US Armour, US Infantry, etc etc. Nothing quite seemed right.

I almost caved in and took 7th Armoured to help free up my painting time for Great War and the AIW painting challenge, when a conversation with Adam and an Interview for an upcoming Beyond The Foxholes: Eyes and Ears made the choice for me.

ETC List Discussion

So I'm currently going through all the ETC lists to try and find some kind of strategy/ edge that will help us plucky Scots on the day. Now I won't divulge our cunning plan but I thought i would look at some of the popular list types at this years event.

For those of you who have no idea about the ETC it involved teams of 6 representing their nation (or other nations depending on mercenaries etc...) against other nations. This year it's held in Prague (Czech Republic) each team has six players, it's EW 1550 and two players must be infantry, 2 mech and 2 tank - oh and you can't have two of the same nation in the same slot, so no two French tank companies, but you could have a French infantry, mech and tank list.

Welsh Open 2015 AAR

Hello All

Last weekend was the Welsh Open, if you have listened to the podcast you will know this is one of our favourite events of the year. This year was 1675pts LW. I was using the 7th Armored with Patton (yes I saw that roll of the eyes!).

 I was planning on doing a detailed run down of my games but I got the podcast edited surprisingly quickly and so I didn't see the point of going into too much detail here.

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.

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!

Beyond The Foxholes Episode 30 - On The Road To Solent Wargamers Armageddon

Hi all

Welcome to Beyond the Foxholes Episode 30 On The Road To Solent Wargamers Armageddon, in this episode we join Adam, Ben and Paul in Ben's car as they chat about the Solent Wargamers Armageddon tournament. - This is only a short one guys.

In Act One the guys chat about the tournament, their army lists and what they hope to get out of the day.

In Act Two the guys give a full AAR of the event, some thoughts about their army lists and plans for the Welsh Open.

Campaign Team Tournament 2015 - AAR

Hello All

A few weeks ago myself, Cid and Alex represented Breakthrough Assault at the annual Campaign FoW National league. For those of you who don't know the National League is a yearly event with a round-robin league that has promotion and relegation between three divisions. Division One has some of the best players in the country and is always hotly contested. Our 2013 performance (we wasn't able to attend in 2014) meant that we were now in Division Two. Our aim was to get a spot in Division One for 2016...

Within the team you all play a different period and then play the opposing player of the other team who is also playing the same period. I was playing Early War and took my trusted Japanese Infantry, Cid was playing Mid War with his Romanian infantry horde and finally Alex was playing Late War with Motorstrelkovy from Desperate Measures.

Banzai! - Road to the Art of War Part Four - Tournament AAR and Photo Dump

Hello All

As you have probably seen I have been collecting a Japanese army for the Art of War Early War Tournament (click on the links to see parts one, two and three). The event was just over a week ago and I thought to round off the series I would post up an AAR of the event.

After a stop over at Alex's place in Northampton (and a few too many beers) we rocked up nice and early at the Sanctuary Gaming Centre. The day started with a bit of a shock as the Scottish team for the ETC (including Adam and Alex from Breakthrough Assault) turned up in full Scottish dress (not what I wanted to see at 8am!).

Beyond the Foxholes 28 - The Road to Art of War

Hi all

Welcome to Beyond the Foxholes Episode 28, we join Adam, Fez and Ben. 

In act one we join the guys in Adam's car on the way to The Art of War EW tournament. The guys talk about there armies and what they hope to get out of the weekend.

In act two Ben and Adam interview all the .different player who are going to the ETC )European Team Tournament. These include New Zealand, USA, England, Scotland, France, Northern Ireland, Wales and Finland (Check out the achtung painter blog). They also chat to the Tim and Steve who ran the event and Rich the owner of the Sanctuary Gaming Centre

In act three the guys are back in Adam's car with a full AAR of their games, a run down of the event and a few other random bits and pieces.

Avoiding That Wooden Spoon! (FOW Survival Guide)

Follow Matt aka Papa Bear as he covers all things FOW for the beginner in his fun, light hearted survival guide. So if you are new to the game, or simply enjoy the idea of learning by someone else's mistakes instead of your own, then this is the place for you!

Hey guys!

Today, in the FOW Survival Guide I would like to talk about the tournament wooden spoon - or more to the point, how we can avoid getting it! This breakdown guide is aimed at beginner players, attending perhaps their first event - however to be honest I still use most of these points even now... My first objective at any given tournament is to avoid last position, (2nd task is not to lose 6-1 and 3rd is two wins overall). 

Banzai! The Road to Art of War III - Part Two

Hello All

Last time I spoke about this project I had just picked up my first box sets and blisters. Since then I have been very busy building, painting, writing new a list, rewriting the list, re rewriting the list (still not 100% happy with it...), etc, etc. But what I have done which was successful and a solid fixture in all the list writing is the first two infantry platoons.

As you might remember from the last post I'm painting up my Japanese as the Special Naval Landing Force, this seemed like a simple task thanks to the work Mike Haught had done on his blog, but it wasn't quite as simple as I had hoped. The uniform seems to have changed quite a bit over the course of 1939 to 1943 and I wasn't able to find the an exact uniform to work off. With this in mind I decided to paint the infantry as I thought was best and chose the colours I liked the most out of the options available.

Late War Alpini and Corrivalry Report

Heya all,

Jersey James here with some more Italians... I'm not meant to be doing Italians this year as for me it's going to be about branching out into new armies through all periods and company types but at this early stage none of my other late war projects were anywhere near ready for Corrivalry so I took 1800 points of RSI and was the only player out of 96 to choose an Italian list from the new book, Fortress Italy!

Here's what I took, 12 platoons of Italian Infantry and guns laid out after I finished painting at work. No aircraft as I didn't have the option and no tracked or armoured vehicles except the recce AB41 cars. There is a platoon of Confident Veteran Germans lurking in there though, more on those models later.