Royale with cheese, or, Patton con queso.

All this talk about cheese makes me hungry, but I'll give some response to the over-confident teuton. I have two games with Americans under my belt, and the other one was year ago with MW ARC in scenario games day at the club. That isn't much, but the ' Lucky 7th' is a joy to play, so I'm not too worried.

The Jumbo looses a lot of its OP versus AT17, But should be good for killing the rest, also, reserves with defender can really bite the remagen Cats where it hurts. I have olento smoke, and those cats are ReluctanT. If I was making list versus these JTs, I probably Would take no Jumbos, and using the Detroit Plus spearhead to be in flank as fast as possible. Maybe having some 155mm guns, air support or infantry also. But that's not this cheese. So we will go where the angels dare, and put some 76mm rounds Where they don't want them.

Bricks of Cheese

So, we are to have a match of Flames of War with Mikko H in near future to find out which list has more Cheese, 7th AD or 2./512 Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung.

Naturally I'm going to command the Big German Cats (with Cheese). I take this as an opportunity to sharpen my skills with Big Cats. It's also an opportunity to find a playable and joyable list with fewer points that I've customed with. My normal points limit being 1900 and our game being 1780.

So will I win? Yes. With His German Cheeseness (by rules), Ace of Aces, Herr Oberleutnant Carius as my commander in the field, I have no doubt of that. Backed up by his friends in their German Cheese Bricks (aka Jagdtigers). And a bunch of other stuff I won't be revealing just yet.

German Brick Cheese brought to you by Nasonville Dairy

So why Jagdtigers are Bricks of Cheese? Well, for starters they have impervious Front Armor of 16. Second they have the meanest gun of all, Anti-Tank 17, Firepower 2+, Breakthrough Gun, a bane to any tank, infantry or gun team. And third, Carius has perhaps the best special rule ever: Setting Up The Shot. Ignore concealment given by terrain and thus ignore Gone to Ground, and ignore +1 to hit for long range. And fourth, they are big metal boxes that look like and could be cheese.

Sadly after some whining in the forums Carius' special rule was nerfed "a bit" in the latest Lessons From The Front.

Before:
Enemy teams do not receive Concealment when shot at by Carius.

After:
Enemy teams do not receive Concealment from terrain when shot at by Carius.

I know it was done in pure essence of game stability. But it still is a great rule, no concealed and GtG for tanks except when Carius is being smoked. It's the infantry and gun teams that benefit the most of this. Now dug in infantry will be concealed and GtG in the open, as long as they don't shoot, so only max 6' to hit if shooting at veteran infantry.

So let the army with most Cheese win! We all know the result, don't we? ;)

And something about cheese. I think this is the best cheese I've ever tasted, sorry it's not German but Norwegian cheese:

Brought to you by Tine from Norway

Now what would cheese have to do with Flames of War?

Cheesematch

The always defending Germans with their AT99 breakthrough guns Packed with more armor anyone needs, ever, have been discussed to death in the forums with being something that kills the fun of playing while the death ray hits whats it pointing to. Halkomahooli will be playing something like that in our game one day in late June or early July.

Bridge at Remagen, big cats who like to play it safe and defend always.

Meet

To not be outdone, I will be playing the old favorite, CT/CV min-maxing spearheading tankers with 100 points of pure cheese leading it. We will try to kill each others minis in nasty Cheesematch, in which the always defend meets the always attack. 

Lucky 7th with Jumbos, Easy eights, Patton and AOP.

We shall be reporting on the outcome of the bout, or two, if we have time, Halkomahooli lives in Lahti and I in Helsinki, so this will need more to do than the usual please for wife.

Edit. The level for the games was set to 1780 .

The three little (american) elephants, that could (ruin the German generals day). Thoughts about my first outing with the Yankee steel.

While I have been only playing German lists for my years at the hobby, the min-maxer that lives on my shoulder has been nagging about getting some US tanks up...

Took the list from one of Bill Willcox's forum posts, thought about it, and now tried it first time. Result: 6-1 in Hasty Attack, versus 10 platoons of gebirgjägers, with pioneers, Stugs, 2 lots of Paks, and stuff.

I know Hasty Attack isn't the hardest test for the list, but still, my first time with it so pretty good result.

I lost 2iC Jumbo and 1 PJ Sherman in the game, while killed 4 platoons. Focused attack at one objective, then gunning down everything that tried to move to help it. Ninja Shermans kept one Pak40 platoons 2 guns fighting them somewhere where the battle wasn't won.

3 Jumbos is the key for survival, Patton is something else, I even forgot he could re-roll reserves and had that 3+ motivation. :P

2 lots of Priests was nice, and I even combined them with hit with everything with 105mm Shermans for one strike.

Will try it versus other lists in other scenarios to see if it shines there also, while actually learning to play it as well...

My force, very much WIP still.

Everything but AOP from Gaming Models #Gamodls Lot of painting and all the decals missing still.

The field of battle, after objective setup.

After the Germans have setup, lot of unpainted ones, but he was moving houses so no time to paint.

After 1st round movement. The Americans really get around, even with Jumbos.

Now what to do, what to do? Damned if you do, damned if you don't. (I rolled abysmal firepower checks for the first turns.)
Pair of Ninjas use smokebombs.

Remains of a full platoon of Gebs after two platoons worth of MG fire hits them while doubling.

The objective isn't safe anymore...

AOP takes the artillery to elsewhere.

Stugs to the rescue! 6" smoothriding E8's and Jumbos make Stug life hard.


No more pics, for I forgot to take any, usual endgame issue for me. Stugs died, 3 at first salvo, the last stayed to ding on Jumbo, before finally submitting. Gebs came on the objective, failed the Tank-terror, got obliterated. We checked the last reserves and it went too far, so 6-1 for the Americans.

Lessons From The Front May 2015 changes and additions

Lessons From The Front, May 2015 update. Enjoy fellow gamers.

Basing:

How many machine-guns should be modelled on a Motorcycle Reconnaissance team?

That depends on the type of team.
• A Motorcycle Rifle team or Motorcycle SMG team does not have any ma- chine-guns. The crew rely entirely on their personnel weapons.
• A Motorcycle Rifle/MG team has one machine-gun for each two teams, so one in four motorcycle combinations would have a machine-gun. The other three motorcycles just have their rifles.
• A Motorcycle MG team has one machine-gun for each team, so one in two motorcycle combinations have a machine-gun.
Solo Motorcycle teams have four one-man motorcycles rather than two motorcy- cle and sidecar combinations, but the armament by team remains the same, so a Solo Motorcycle Rifle/MG team would have one machine-gun for every two teams, giving one team a machine-gun motorcycle and three rifle-armed ones, and the other team just four rifle-armed motorcycles.

Movement:

Can a team that Unlimbered on the spot using the Crash Action rule Dig In?

No. It takes the entire Movement Step to Dig In, so they cannot Unlimber, even if it does not count as moving.

Transports:

If my infantry move At the Double to Mount their Transports, can the Transports shoot or 

assault afterwards?

No. In effect, the Transport teams have moved At the Double, even if they did not move at all.

Shooting:

Are Man-packed Anti-aircraft Guns able to be Concealed in the Open?

No. As with Digging In, they are too big to conceal in the open.

Do the Hit Allocation rules apply to Smoke Ammunition?

Yes they do. The only difference with Smoke Ammunition is that the shooting player picks the teams that were hit.

Assaults:

Can my Company Command team (or some other Warrior) Join the 2iC Command team (or some other Warrior) rather than a Pinned Down platoon to avoid being Pinned Down for Defensive Fire?

No. They must Join a proper platoon if they can. If that means that they are Pinned Down, then they are Pinned Down.

Aircraft:

In addition, Line of Sight to and from Aircraft is measured from the cockpit.

Reconnaissance:

Can a Transport team use the Eyes and Ears rule?

No they can’t.

Can passengers in a Transport team use the Eyes and Ears rule?

Yes they can.

Tank Escorts:

So can a Half-tracked Tank team with Tank Escorts assault into a building? A half-track cannot enter a building, but does this stop the Tank Escorts?

Yes they can. The half-track can’t enter the building, but it doesn’t need to for the Tank Escorts to assault into it.

Fortifications:

If I have a Fortified Company and form an HQ Weapons Platoon, is it a Fortified Company.

If the Company HQ that it was formed from was a Fortified Platoon, then the HQ Weapons Platoon is also a Fortified Platoon.

US Rules:

If I use the Hit ‘em with Everything You’ve Got rule to fire an Artillery Bombardment with platoons that have different Skill ratings, what is the Skill rating used to hit the target?

The Mixed Bombardment rule states that the combined platoon uses the lowest Skill rating of any battery participating.

What about the All Guns Repeat rule?

No, they can’t use that either, since not all platoons have a Staff team.

Tank Destroyers:

Can Tank Destroyers be placed using the Tank Destroyer Section special rule within 12”/30cm and in Line of Sight of an AOP with the Column Security special rule?

Yes. The Column Security special rule applies to Ambushes, but the Tank Destroyer Section does not use the Ambushes rule. In fact, since an AOP is not a team, it does not limit Tank Destroyer placement at all.

German Rules:

Can Warrior teams make Stormtroopers moves on their own, or do they need to Join a platoon to do so?Since Warrior teams are platoons in their own right when they aren’t Joined to another platoon, they can make a Stormtroopers move.

Does the 2iC of a Tiger Company have a Tiger Ace skill?Yes, he’s a Warrior from a Company HQ that has the Tiger Ace skill.

Overlord:

The M3 75mm GMC is shown without a machine-gun. Is this correct?
No. It has an .50 cal AA MG fitted.

Naval Gunfire Support
The arsenal entries for Light and Heavy Cruisers have Changed. A Light Cruiser is now a 4-gun battery with Anti-tank 5 and Firepower 2+. A Heavy Cruiser is now a 4-gun battery.

Atlantik wall:

The 7.5cm KwK35(f) gun on the Panzer B-2 740(f ) (Char B-1) has a Range of 16”/40cm and can fire on the move. Is this correct?No. It has Range 24”/60cm and Awkward Layout.

Market Garden:

Naval Gunfire Support

There are now three Naval Gunfire Support options:
• HMS Warspite for 300 points
• HMS Roberts for 150 points
• LCG support for 75 points.

HMS Warspite is a 4-gun battery with Anti-tank 6 and Firepower 1+.

Bridge by Bridge:

What are the characteristics of the Captured Humber IV armoured car an Captured Humber scout car?
Humber IV: Wheeled, Front 1, Side 0, Top 0, Co-ax MG.
M6 37mm gun: Range 24:/60cm, ROF 2, Anti-tank 7, Firepower 4+.
Humber Scout Car: Jeep, Front 1, Side 0, Top 0, AA MG.

Blood, Guts & Glory:

Are Tank Destroyer Platoons still Reconnaissance Platoons under the new Tank Destroyer rules?

No. They are not Reconnaissance Platoons.

Devil's Charge:

Does Peiper’s Kampfgruppe have to be the Attacker in order to use the Peiper’s Charge special rule?
Yes. If it is the defender against another Always Attacks force, it cannot use the Spearhead Deployment rule.

Can the Company and 2iC Command teams make a Spearhead Deployment with the rest of their company?
If they are equipped with Panzer IV tanks, then yes.

Does the German Staff team really have Automatic Rifles?

No. Remove that rule from the arsenal.

Can a Parachute Rifle Platoon support a Cavalry Recon Troop?
Yes. It should be an option in the Infantry Support Platoons box (page 64).

Do I have to dismount all of my Cavalry Recon Platoons, or can I just Dismount some?
You may dismount any or all of your Cavalry Recon Platoons.

Are Tank Destroyer Platoons (page 69) still Reconnaissance Platoons under the new Tank Destroyer rules?
No. They are not Reconnaissance Platoons.

I’ve come across accounts of US artillery firing Time on Target bombardments with captured guns. Can I do this in the game?
Yes. Delete the Captured Equipment rule on page 73.

There are a number of points corrections:Add the option to take 2 Ersatz Panther tanks to the Ersatz Panther Platoon (page 23) for 365 points.

The option for 3 T34 Calliope tanks in a Calliope Tank Platoon (page 54) is 120 points.

The option of 2 Mortar Sections for a Veteran Chemical Mortar Platoon (page 55) is 85 points.

Nuts:

The points values for an Armoured Car Patrol (page 65) are as follows:• Sd Kfz 223 (Radio) and 2 Sd Kfz 222 (2cm): 25th Panzergrenadier Division 95 points, 17th SS-Panzergrenadier Division 80 points.
• 2 Sd Kfz 231 (8-rad): 25th Panzergrenadier Division 70 points, 17th SSPanzergrenadier Division 60 points.

Bridge at Remagen:

Should the D7 dozer really be unarmoured?As the model shows, its armoured with Front armour 0, Side armour 0, and Top armour 0.

 
The first sentence in Otto Carious’ rule Setting Up the Shot is amended to read:Enemy teams do not receive Concealment from terrain when shot at by Carius.

 
If my tank was Gone to Ground in terrain when Carius shot at it, is it still Gone to Ground, even though it is not Concealed?It is still Gone to Ground, but since this only makes you harder to hit if you are Concealed, it does not add any penalty to the score that Carius’s needs to hit.

 
Can I equip just some of the squads in a 512 Panzer Scout Platoon with half-tracks?No. It must be all or none.

The Sd Kfz 251/17 (2cm) half-track has ROF 3. In other books it is shown as 4. Which is correct?It should be ROF 4.

Nachjäger:

Is it the 15th/17th Hussars or the 15th/19th Hussars?The 15th/19th Hussars.

 
The Sd Kfz 251/17 (2cm) half-track has ROF 3. In other books it is shown as 4. Which is correct?It should be ROF 4.

Red Bear:

Should the 100mm BS-3 gun have the Volley Fire rule or the Cat Killer rule?
It has the Cat Killer special rule, the same as the SU-100.

The SU-57 is based on the M3 halftrack. Does it really have thicker side armour?
No. Its Side armour is 0.

Does a Motorcycle Komissar team really have the MG listed in the arsenal?
No. It has a Pistol.

Can the 45mm obr 1942 Nest use the Volley Fire special rule?
Yes it can.

Does the Soviet Battalion Komissar have any effect on the number of hits needed to pin the company down in the Assault Step?
Yes. It should say that they must take at least ten hits in the Shooting or Assault Steps before they become Pinned Down.

 Grey Wolf:

The German arsenal has a few
minor glitches:The StuG M42 75/18 assault gun is
armed with an AA MG in addition to its
7.7cm StuK 75/18 gun.

The Sd Kfz 221 (MG) armoured car has
Front armour 0.

The Vielfachwerfer auf Maultier has
Front armour 0.

Desperate Measures:

Should the 100mm BS-3 gun have the Volley Fire rule or the Cat Killer rule?It has the Cat Killer special rule, the same as the SU-100.

Road to Rome:

Are the Staghounds in the Assault Gun Platoon (page 61) supposed to be Staghound II CS?Yes. All Staghound II are IICS.

Is the platoon at the bottom of page 85 a Scout Platoon or a Motor Carrier Platoon?A Scout Platoon.

Is the Cavalry Recon Troop (page 1860) really an infantry company?No. It is a Mechanised Company.

Can I have .50 cal AA MG on my T30 75mm HMC assault guns?Yes. Add the option for +5 points per half-track.

Can the Sherman IB (105mm) fire a Smoke Bombardment?Yes. Like other British CS tanks, firing Smoke Bombardments is key to its intended role,

What are the Greyhound’s stats?Wheeled, Front 1, Side 0, Top 0, with a Co-ax MG and a M6 37mm gun with Range 24”/60cm, ROF 2, Anti-tank 7, and Firepower 4+.

Does the Polish Stuart V Jalopy have
a 37mm gun?No. It is purely armed with machine-guns.

 
How are the machine-guns mounted on the US and French M3A1 armored cars?The .50 cal MG is an AA MG, while the two .30 cal MGs are side-mounted AA MGs.

Naval Gunfire SupportThe arsenal entries for Light Cruisers have Changed.
A Light Cruiser is now a 4-gun battery with Anti-tank 5 and Firepower 2+.

Fortress Italy:

Do the 7.5cm Geb36 guns of a Fallschirmjäger Artillery Battery (page 81) have gun shields or not?They are the Medium gun version without gun shields.

The 8.8cm FlaK37 (Sf ) self-propelled anti-aircraft gun only has ROF 2. Is that correct?No. It should be ROF 3.

The 12.2cm FH396(r) howitzers seem to have different characteristics from 122mm howitzers. Is this correct?No. The 122mm obr 1938 howitzer should be Anti-tank 7.

Burning Empire:

The diagram for the Vichy Anti-tank Gun Platoon on page 108 should show 4 crew (not 5) for the 75mm mle 1897 in the anti-tank role.

Barbarossa:

How can a Kradschützenkompanie (page 24) have a Heavy Artillery Battery?
Since they only have one artillery battery, and need to have a Light Artillery Battery before they can have a Heavy Artillery Battery, they can’t.

Can I only have six Panhard 178(f ) armoured cars?
You may take Light Panzerspäh Platoons equipped with Panhard 178(f ) armoured cars in place of Mixed and Heavy Panzerspäh Platoons, as long as all of your armoured cars are Panhard 178(f ).

What are the correct points for a Light Panzerspäh Platoon with 3 Panhard 178(f ) armoured cars?
3 Panhard 178(f ) armoured cars are 135 points.

How do I get the SS version of the Panzerpionier Platoon (page 38)?
This platoon is only available to Heer units. Use the Pioneer Platoon (page 32).

The 15cm sFH18 guns of the SS version of the Heavy Artillery Battery (page 38) seem rather cheap. What is the correct cost?
4 15cm sFH18 guns cost 540 points.
2 15cm sFH18 guns cost 280 points.

Can a Flammpanzer II shoot at different platoons with each of its flame-throwers?
No. They must both target the same platoon.

Can I get just one KV-2 tank in my KV Tankovy Company (page 61)?
Yes. The limit on replacing KV-1 tanks with KV-2 tanks should be ‘any or all’ rather than ‘up to half’.

I want my Armoured Tractor Detachment to tow by guns onto the table from Reserves. How can I make sure that they arrive together.
You can do this by attaching an Armoured Tractor Detachment to the platoon it was bought with as its Transport instead of using them as a separate platoon.

Is the Tank Destruction Company (page 76) limited to Guards forces?
No. It should not have any symbol above its points column, but is rated as Fearless Conscript.

What about the Self-propelled Antitank Company (page 77)?
Likewise, It should not have any symbol above its points column, but is rated as Fearless Conscript.

Can a Militia Strelkovy Batalon have a Flame-thrower Platoon?
No. The Flame-thrower Platoon does not have an option with the Militia symbol.