Monthly Archives: January 2023

Flames of War Battle Report Germans Vs Soviets Fortress Europe

As many of you know, I have been teaching myself how to play flames of war. I did the basic annihilation battle a week ago and wasn’t impressed with the ruleset. I felt that the game played simple and there was little room for tactics beyond flanking. I wished you could do things like pin tanks with mortar fire etc. However, I started the 2nd game and probably a 3rd to get a better feel for the system. I have to say the Encounter battle we faced seemed much better. The forced reinforcements add a ton to the game. I also learned how important terrain would be. I felt like the more open game was just a waste of time. Adding woods, houses walls ruins added a significant amount as well. Below is the updated setup.

Below are the army lists I used for this battle.

Soviet Union##PtsGermans##Pts
Churchill Guards Tank Regiment28Panzer III/ IV Tank Company51
Churchill13Panzer IV211
Churchill Heavy Tank Company413Panzer IV316
KV-1s Guards Heavy Tank312Tiger224
Hero Rifle Battalion32Grenadier Company36
Hero Rifle HQ PPSH SMG Team22MP40 SMG Team22
Hero Rifle Company, 1 Kommisar, 2 Anti Tank Rifles, 2 HMG, 1 Mortar711Grenadier Platoon, 2 HMG, 2 Panzershrek715
Hero Rifle Company, 1 Kommisar, 2 HMG, 1 Mortar78Grenadier Platoon55
120mm Mortar Company338cm Mortar Platoon46
76 MM Gun453.7 cm Tank Hunter48
122 MM Howitzer48Ferdinand Tank Hunter113
T-34 Tank Batallaion32
T-34 HQ13
T-34 Tank Company824
T-70 Tank Company55

The roll off featured the Germans as the defenders. The germans could either put all infantry and their tank hunter in reserve or all the tanks. I chose to put in all the tanks. I think the mobility of the tanks allows them to enter the fight quicker.

The Soviets put the T-34 tank Battallion and the 122mm Howitzer in reserve. The number of russians far exceeded the Germans which was a surprise. To see it on the table really hit home. My strategy for the Russians was pick a spot and overwhelm. While the Germans just needed to hang on for their reserves before offering a counterattack.

The 2nd picture shows how quickly the germans were eradicated. The tiger tanks did their best to hold the upper area of the board, but it wasn’t mean to be. By turn 5 the Soviets had tabled the Germans. Their timely reinforcements vs no German reserves was a brutal blow.

Hobby Streak 01/17/2023

The hobby streak crashed and burned around Christmas. Coupled with trying to get to level 250 in Call of Duty. I haven’t hobbied much until the last week.

A few things that didn’t get pictures. I finalized a massive structure for the DND Campaign. It was 3d printed, no color has been added yet. I also primed the player models and had our session 0. Crafted most of the story, our first game is set for this upcoming Sunday. I think this is where we will chronicle the party’s efforts. Expect a new page and weekly DND posts.

For the streak, I did hobby on Saturday the 14th and have maintained it since then. My elves are producing models at an alarming rate. I hate building models and have 3 hired hands that assist in their spare time. One is working on my Horus Heresy Collection, one on Star Wars Legion, and one on Flames of War. I will officially own a unit of most Flames of War models across the 5 main European players soon.

I produced a couple random DND monsters. I had an hour or so and sat down with my airbrush, and went to work. I prepared some trees for the terrain. I glued a crap ton of scenery for Marvel Crisis Protocol. I am 100% complete with all MCP except the December and January releases, which felt huge. I can’t wait to begin painting those.

In the next week, you can expect a fully finished dwarven army. I have 45 models left to paint. 25 pikemen, and 20 warriors. The warriors are all primed and will begin being painted this very afternoon. I just printed the pikemen; they need to wash and cure and will be back to work. I also have 10 dnd minis that need to be done. Our 7 PC’s, 2 Velociraptors, and an NPC.

I would upload pictures, but……. fail. Until next week.