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...! 

Tanks! (Western Front) (FOW Survival Guide)

Let's face it, this is the main reason we love this game so much... Tanks! - Lots and lots of tanks! It is only fair therefore that we give them a dedicated spotlight in the Survival Guide...

Regardless of list type armour will almost always play a dominant role in any FOW battle. Whether they are supporting other units, or leading the main thrust into battle, you are going to want to ensure that you have the right tool to do the job that your list requires of them. As such we shall be looking at some of the more iconic tanks of the late war period (Western front) and discussing their apparent strengths and weaknesses, as well as the role that might suit them best. 

Now of course, I am no expert (far from it) and the opinions mentioned in this article are just that - my opinions. In addition it's important to remember that the majority of the tanks we shall be looking at are capable of fulfilling several different roles within the game. There is no right answer here, so feel free to experiment. Anyways enough chitty chatty & more tanky tanky...

Expanding Rämsch's Charge (GEAB12)

So we set ourselves all a little challenge of expanding the new army boxes into 'proper' 1750 points Flames of War forces - and at the same time doing it on a budget!

So this is basically what you get in the box. As the groups main german player I got Rämsch's Charge (GEAB12) to expand. In the box you get 5 Panzer 4's, 3 StuG's and a platoon of Panzergrenadiers. Not a bad starting point, but also (if I may whisper) a little unfocused with the mixture of StuG and Panzer 4.
Lastly I'm going to go for a choice based more on coolness of model, both for look and effect on the field -

So firstly let's find a 'competative' list I can use as a base for a new player. The answer is obvious I think personally - the free 'Devils Charge Digital exclusive (which is free on Forces of War, and known to many as Panzers to the Meuse) even less cost for those of you joining the hobby. For this list I've gone for Lehr.

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). 

Building On Your 'Open Fire' German Grenadier Army (The FOW SurvivalGuide)

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!

So you've made the rather splendid decision of picking up the Open Fire boxset. You love the models and now want to build on the core forces you now have to develop them into a winning army? But perhaps you simply can't afford to go out there and buy all of the options off the bat? Or maybe you find the vast amount of choices overwhelming? There are certainly a lot of options out there and so I hope this guide can help point in you the right direction. Your spouse/partners and parents alike will be thankful that you're not spending ALL of your months income on toy soldiers again, and you get to build your army in an efficient, organised and (most importantly) nag-free way! - Everyone's a winner!

Last time we looked at the British Armoured Squadron and how we can build on the core elements provided in the boxset. Next up we will be speaking to Dave Coombs (Army Dave) about the German Grenadier Company. He has taken this list-type to a lot of big events and has achieved some excellent results! Needless to say, he is the go-to man when it comes to building a German infantry army. Let's see what he has to say!

Building On Your Open Fire British Armour - (The 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!

So you've made the rather splendid decision of picking up the Open Fire boxset. You love the models and now want to build on the core forces you now have to develop them into a winning army? But perhaps you simply can't afford to go out there and buy all of the options off the bat? Or maybe you find the vast amount of choices overwhelming? There are certainly a lot of options out there and so I hope this guide can help point in you the right direction. Your spouse/partners and parents alike will be thankful that you're not spending ALL of your months income on toy soldiers again, and you get to build your army in an efficient, organised and (most importantly) nag-free way! - Everyone's a winner!

I really wanted to cover the contents of Open Fire as part of my Survival Guide, because with exception to my first army (Finnish Jaakari company mentioned in part one of this series), the two armies I have ever taken to late war events so far have only been either German infantry or British Armoured Squadron, both of which stemmed from this boxset!

Your First Army! (The 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!

Hello all and welcome to a new set of posts I am writing to discuss my learnings after a year of playing the game (& several tournaments) under my belt. I hope to share some of my experiences with players relatively new to the game/event scene in order to assist getting you on that fast track to 'success' - well... not picking up the wooden spoon on a routinely basis at least!

This article covers my first army, lessons learnt, whether they were any good or not and of course, some suggestions on building your own first Flames of War company!