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 | ## | Pts | Germans | ## | Pts |
| Churchill Guards Tank Regiment | 28 | Panzer III/ IV Tank Company | 51 | ||
| Churchill | 1 | 3 | Panzer IV | 2 | 11 |
| Churchill Heavy Tank Company | 4 | 13 | Panzer IV | 3 | 16 |
| KV-1s Guards Heavy Tank | 3 | 12 | Tiger | 2 | 24 |
| Hero Rifle Battalion | 32 | Grenadier Company | 36 | ||
| Hero Rifle HQ PPSH SMG Team | 2 | 2 | MP40 SMG Team | 2 | 2 |
| Hero Rifle Company, 1 Kommisar, 2 Anti Tank Rifles, 2 HMG, 1 Mortar | 7 | 11 | Grenadier Platoon, 2 HMG, 2 Panzershrek | 7 | 15 |
| Hero Rifle Company, 1 Kommisar, 2 HMG, 1 Mortar | 7 | 8 | Grenadier Platoon | 5 | 5 |
| 120mm Mortar Company | 3 | 3 | 8cm Mortar Platoon | 4 | 6 |
| 76 MM Gun | 4 | 5 | 3.7 cm Tank Hunter | 4 | 8 |
| 122 MM Howitzer | 4 | 8 | Ferdinand Tank Hunter | 1 | 13 |
| T-34 Tank Batallaion | 32 | ||||
| T-34 HQ | 1 | 3 | |||
| T-34 Tank Company | 8 | 24 | |||
| T-70 Tank Company | 5 | 5 |
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.
stonewalljackman 