Operation: 'Totalize'

Dunfermline Wargames and Roleplaying Fellowship (D.W.A.R.F.), 17/09/16

Fifty miles from Glasgow to Fife

 I usually start off these posts by prattling on about how far the journey is from where I live, to where the event is being held. Last week's journey out to Dumbarton was about an hour and a half travel and a relatively short distance of eighteen miles; Saturday's journey was a little longer, almost two hours of travel, including waiting for transfers, and fifty miles away.

  Many of you will think nothing of getting up around six in the morning, making such a journey and then making the same back home; but for me in my regular schedule for travel and University it was a slight shock to the system.

At least the views were nice, crossing the Kincardine Bridge

 So, that was the journey, fifty miles from Glasgow to Dunfermline, thankfully on quite a luxury coach.

Registration and the participants

 For this tournament I only had one list in mind: 'B Squadron, 15th/19th Hussars'. This list contains my favourite tank of the war: the Cromwell, in abundance. The other advantage to this list is having all of my anti-tank assets grouped into one platoon. The high points cost of the Challenger makes for small platoons, even so I still ended up with a six platoon list, and one that I thought wouldn't do too badly. you can find a link to my list below.

B Squadron, 15th/19th Hussars List

My force, ready for transport between tables

 With eleven other players, it was going to be a good tournament. So, here's a list of the other players and what they were taking on the day:

Frank Keast - Former owner of Worlds at War in Livingston, Frank has been playing Flames of War for about as long as I have, but is best known for his painting service: Panzer Schule. Frank was fielding a German Sicherungskompanie (Security Company), but with an added point of interest: The Armoured Train!

An imposing set piece model, the Armoured Train is a lovely piece of kit

  Bill Shiel - Bill is always a joy to play against, despite his dice luck always being firmly against him, he's never let it get to him and always plays with a pleasant attitude. Bill was fielding Hermann's finest: A Hermann Goering Panzerkompanie.

Though mostly Panzer III's of various Mks, the force was supported by a fearsome Elefant

 Richard Cunningham - I have not had the pleasure of meeting before and was nice to finally put a face to the name I've seen mentioned often. Richard was fielding the small, elite Commando Troop.

Supported by plenty of artillery and a breaching group, Commandos are a force to be reckoned with

Greg Barr - Greg was TO for the day and was forced into action through a small number of call-offs, thankfully he had an American Mechanised Company on hand to take to the field to even up the numbers.

M3's following up advancing Shermans full of eager G.I.s

 John Lynch - I've had the pleasure of playing John at last year's Operation Blockbuster event, and his army was similar to the force I faced off against that day. He took the elite Fallshirmjager, a formidable force, especially in defence, but always adaptable to go on the attack.

With Nebelwerfers, mortars and HMGs, the FJ are a difficult force to dislodge from foxholes

John Stevens - John is another player I've not had the pleasure to meet prior to this event, but he came to my rescue half way through the tournament when my tape measure gave up the ghost and the end clip snapped off. He loaned me one to allow me to continue. John was fielding an American Armoured Company.

With a load of 3', 76mm guns on show, John's company was ready for armoured clashes

 Greg Fyfe -  Greg is a long time friend and a constant attendee at the various tournaments that are run throughout the year at Stirling. Greg was also recruited to Team Scotland this year and was in Athens for the ETC, giving a good showing of himself. Greg (unsurprisingly) was fielding a Soviet Infantry Batallion in the form of the Straf.

A massed blob of infantry being fired onto the objectives by Katyushas and SU-122's

  Martyn Bolton - Travelling up from Wales for this one, another member of Team Scotland, Martyn brought Soviet tanks. Sadly, I didn't have a lot of time to talk to him, nor had the pleasure of a game against him, hopefully he'll come back up for future events and I can find out more about him then.

Sadly I didn't manage to get a picture of his wonderfully painted army, and only managed this snap of his amazing artillery platoon

Paul Duckmanton - Paul was my opponent in game two, he is a lovely chap and we had quite the thrilling game which I'll talk about later. Paul brought a ton of armour in the form of Panthers, Tigers, Jagdpanthers and Panzer IV Js.

A fearsome sight of so much armour rolling over the field towards you

 Laurence Kettle - Laurence has been a semi-regular attendee at the tournaments in Scotland and generally plays Germans of a sort. He's a very competent player and this tournament was no exception. This time round Laurence brought the Reluctant Trained Panthers to the table.

Love or hate based tanks, you can't deny that the high quality of painting makes Laurence's army stand out

Richard Hardy - Richard is another member of Team Scotland and is well known across the UK in the Flames of War circles. Richard is another player who makes it along to almost every tournament we run up here, and even ran an Early War tournament at the start of the month. Richard was fielding the closest thing to Germans he will ever, a Finnish Sturmi Battery.

StuGs, PaK40's, but not a German in sight

Ignore the Bolt Action players in the background, their toys are too big

 With all players ready to go, we launched the first round...

Round One: Breakthrough

 We started the day with an old favourite; Hold the Line. I like this mission as it forces the defending player to redeploy early on in the game and try to hold out against the advancing enemy before their reserves come in, and be ever wary of the enemy reinforcements coming in behind them.
 I was drawn against Bill and his Panzer III's, the pride of Hermann Goering clashing with my speedy little Cromwells on a table with not a lot of open terrain. This one was going to be interesting.

The riflemen of the KLSI ready themselves to grab the objectives

 The most fearsome thing on the table was by far the Elefant, and it was something I was pondering for a long time how to take out. Parking my Challengers on the table early game would have just given Bill an idea of how to position his Elefant to avoid the high AT guns.So instead I deployed a platoon of Cromwells, the Humber scout cars and the infantry in preparation for the coming storm.
 The plan was to have the infantry advance quickly to the objectives and dig in arounf them to hold both until I got more reinforcements to help shore them up. With one of the Cromwell platoons hiding behind some buildings, ready to fall back towards the objectives should the Elefant get too close.

With sunlight in their eyes, the Cromwell crews prepare to take shots of opportunity

The game began and tanks rumbled forward, with the little platoon of German 222's sitting hull down on a hill ready to lift any Gone to Ground I might have the luxury of having. My deployment denied the lumbering Elefant any shots in the first few turns as the Cromwells and Panzers traded a few ineffectual rounds.

  The game opened up though on turn 3, with Bill getting no reinforcements in his turn and his shooting being a little woeful, mainly bailing out (little FP 4+ pop guns letting him down). In my turn however, I noticed the Elefant had moved forward just enough to do some damage, and so I acted, the Challengers making their appearance on the flank.

Opportunities like this happen once in a lifetime

  The rest of the shooting phase resulted in a few knocked out Panzer IIIs, and then we came round to the important rolling: The Challengers taking their shots at the Elefant, two hits later and the mighty beast was felled to the powerful 17pdrs.

You miss 100% of shots you don't take

  The rest of the game didn't fare much better for Bill as Cromwells and Panzers circled each other in the fields around the objectives. My Sextons showing up, and even they managed to survive a hail of fire from the Panzers, a couple being bailed, but none being knocked out.

The pioneers and Panzers fail to capitalise on the leaderless Cromwell platoon and end up paying the price

 Bill almost sneaked a win, by a solitary Panzer sneaking onto the other objective. Thankfully, I not only managed to knock him out, but the Sextons went Assault Gun mode and charged into safe distance. And with that, the game was over. It should have gone so much better for Bill, but the little 50cm guns with their reduced firepower turned far too many penetrating hits into bailed out tanks and not enough destroyed. In fact at the end of the game I only had two Cromwells and a Challenger knocked out.

Result: 6-1 to me

Match ups for game one: Results sheet will be at the end of the report

++ Lunch ++

Round Two: Surrounded

 With an impressive start to the tournament, I was in high spirits going into the next game. It was announced to be surrounded, and with a large amount of armoured companies, it was going to be interesting to see how this played out. I was drawn against Paul and his heavy tanks, and of course I ended up defending.

 So now I was faced with the daunting task of somehow holding off a large pincer army of heavy, impenetrable tanks bearing down on my positions. 

Tigers and Jagdpanthers on one side, Panthers on the other

 The only thing I could do was ambush with my Challengers, as the table we were playing on had little to no cover in the middle, bar a field and a hill. Needless to say the table brought a few mutterings of dissent from players throughout the day.

 So the panzers advanced and the only thing that prevented a massive destruction of my force turn one was utilising cover and managing to claim Gone to Ground, resulting in either no shots, or the few that were fired missing. My only losses in turn one were two sacrificial Sextons.
 My return shots from the Challengers were limited, as Stormtroopers took the Panthers on my right flank outwith the desired 32" range. Instead they picked off a couple of Panzers, and through a stroke of luck managed to kill all bar one, including the Company Commander. Paul passed the Warrior Save, and while this kept his Commander alive, it meant the loss of a platoon. At this point I was satisfied to go on and lose 5-2. but the best was yet to come.

Panthers and an 88 combine to cause the Challengers problems

 Though through a lucky round of shooting the Challengers were felled by 88s, Panthers and everything else Paul could throw at me, I was determined to cause a little havoc as some Cromwells went on a jaunt across the table, wheeling round some woods in Paul's deployment zone. While the other platoon of Cromwells held on by hiding in cover as the heavy armour advanced, the other got into position and eventually wormed their way into some interesting positions.

Cromwells punch well above their weight to cause havoc amongst the Jagdpanthers

 The Cromwells forced the Jagdpanthers into a sticky situation, being unable to engage one side without revealing their rear armour to the other, the Jagdpanthers were cut down one after the other by some very lucky shooting (helped mainly by the Trained rating of the beasts).
 With the small victories secured the larger one ended up being a little too much of an ask, with my fourth platoon going down and my company breaking from the field, handing the win to Paul.

 In the most quintessentially British way possible, I managed to make the best of what looked like a complete stomp, into a game to remember/

Result: 4-3 to Paul

Round Three: Encounter

 To end the day, we went back to basics with Encounter. This simplistic mission can end up being highly frustration (spoiler warning: it was). With Delayed and Scattered Reserves, a player's battle plan can end up being turned on it's head in short notice.

 So coming out of last round feeling good and thinking that facing massive German armour was behind me, I was deflated when it was announced I'd be playing Laurence's Panthers. Despite them being Reluctant Trained, having Armour 10 driving towards you is still a difficult thing to deal with.

The side of the Panthers I wish I had shots on

I have to be honest, I lost the game during deployment when for some reason I deployed my Humber Recce covering one of the objectives and leaving the Challengers in reserve. In my head, I had visions of them rolling onto the table onto the flanks and wiping out Panthers on their advance to the objective. Sadly, that was not to be.

 I have no pictures from this game as I was too engrossed in being destroyed to take any.

 To my surprise and utter horror the 5-platoon force I was playing against still started the game with 10 Panthers on the table. Two platoons of four and the command platoon bringing another two. The three reinforcing platoons a small Wirbelwind platoon, pioneers and a platoon of four StuGs.
 The first couple of turns weren't too bad, with my Cromwells hiding in a field denying the Panthers easy shots and only one going down a turn until my Challengers arrived.

 The Panthers had advanced down my right flank and middle, leaving a slight gap to the left and another on the right the Challengers could go roaring up should I get a middle or right deployement from them. But fate is cruel and the Challengers showed up on the left flank. Long story short, EVERYTHING showed up on the left flank, the Challengers trading shots (poorly) with the Panthers, managing to take a couple out, but for the most part being a little toothless with Semi-indirect fire letting me down,

 Eventually my defences got over-run and the Panthers were victorious, but not before I picked off a platoon for a loss.

Result: 5-2 to Laurence

Results and Wrap-Up

 With that, the tournament came to an end. I spent the last half an hour watching Richard Hardy and Greg Fyfe play, with the Finns spending their time whittling down the blobs of Straf every turn.

Coveted prizes, including the 'wooden spoon' trophy for last place

 It was an enjoyable tournament all round, with only one or two frustrating moments when facing down German Heavy Armour. DWARF club always put on highly successful tournaments like Operation Totalize and they are always well attended.

 And now the important part; the standings and results:

 In a surprising twist, it ended up with Richard and Laurence tying for first place and even the tie-break of platoons lost being completely identical. So congratulations to Richard and Laurence on their victory.
 I placed a respectable 6th in the table, being unable to turn the last game into a better result forcing me down the rankings a little.
 Finally, there was also the painting contest which is voted for by the players, and the winner this year was:

Frank Keast, with his Sicherungskompanie, very well done to him.

A larger size to appreciate the army in its entirety.

 So as usual, thank you for reading. DWARF club have an event coming up in November, Winter War, which every year raises money for charity. This year the money is going to:https://bloodwise.org.uk/

http://fairybricks.org/

 A pair of noble causes.

 Thanks again, and I'll leave you with a few pictures of the event. Check back for my report on the Tanks OP2, which took place the very next day in Stirling.

A Sunday visit to Wargames + Miniatures

Dumbarton, West Scotland, 11/09/2016

 A long journey to the Clyde Estuary

Wargames + Miniatures has been operating in the north of the small Scottish town of Dumbarton, a few miles west of Glasgow, for a few years now. A small, homely shop with a pleasantly familiar feel inside.
I made my way over from the Southside of Glasgow early this morning for a midday meetup at Wargames + Miniatures to drum up some interest in Flames of War, Tanks and Team Yankee. Three buses and almost two hours from home I found the shop nestled in a housing estate overlooking the Clyde estuary from high above the town of Dumbarton.

Unit 4, 7C Merkins Avenue
Dumbarton
West Dumbartonshire
Scotland
G82 3EB

Wargames + Miniatures hosts Flames of War, Magic the Gathering and other popular card and wargames.

The owner, Geoff Hulse, has been playing Flames of War for a while now, but has been sadly lacking in opponents, even after setting up the Dumbarton Wargames Club. He took the plunge and invested in a shop which has built up to become a popular little spot in the West of Scotland. Being one of the few model supply stockists in the area that also has space for larger games, as most others only have space to host card and board games. The shop has space for up to four 6'x4' tables despite its relatively small appearance.

Drumming up support for Flames of War

 As mentioned Geoff himself plays Flames of War and as such felt that the game would pick up given a little boost in advertising. So recently Wargames + Miniatures have announced dedicated sessions for Flames of War and GF9's Tanks.

The colourful Store Events board draws the eye

The shop hosts two weekly events for Flames of War, and OP sessions for Tanks:

• A hobby night for casual play, every Thursday between 6pm and 10pm
• A 'Battle Day', for tournaments, campaigns and the like, every Sunday between 12pm and 4pm
• Tanks OP sessions: Tuesday night 5pm - 8pm and Sunday afternoon 1pm to 4pm

With Tanks geared towards players wanting a quicker, more action packed game and Flames of War for the tacticians and long-haul gamers, Wargames + Miniatures plays host to both.

 Demonstration gaming

 For those of you who aren't aware of the primary mission of the Flames of War Ranger Program, our main task is to visit stockists and retailers to promote the games from Battlefront and GF9. I've been running demo games for Flames of War ever since becoming a Ranger over four years ago. I've since taken up running demo games of Team Yankee and Tanks when need be, and I love it. It's great to see new players picking up the dice on a game, teaching them the basics and seeing how they do with it. My favourite part has to be describing the effects of various game mechanics to allow new players to imagine what's happening on the battlefield, an example I use often is the armour penetration rules for Flames of War;

 "You've hit your target, but there's always a chance the shot might bounce off sloped armour or even be stopped dead by the sheer thickness of the steel covering the tank, and that's what the next roll is going to determine..."

The old reliable Open Fire set, not mine this time but Geoff's shop copy ready to roll.

 Anyway, enough of me rambling about demos, I got to meet one of Geoff's regulars by the name of Alan, and took him through a demo game of Tanks, as he is already a seasoned Flames of War player.

Tanks!

 I have to admit, I'm still finding my demonstration groove when it comes to running demo games for Tanks. Compared to the Open Fire set, which I've run so many times in the past, Tanks is a fairly new game and even I am getting used to the differences in play between it and Flames of War. The demo set for the game is great for highlighting the major differences between Tanks and FoW;

• Shermans being able to damage Panthers (low likelihood, but still do-able)
• Unique movement and combat system
• The small scale battles and hence the quick play style.

 As mentioned above, I took Alan through a demo for Tanks and found that most of what I mentioned above was brought up during the game: getting used to Shermans doing damage to Panthers and the interesting movement style.

A rare picture of me in full demo mode, I usually hide behind the camera

 On the whole Alan enjoyed and I believe he'll be along to some of the OP sessions throughout the month with his Germans.

 Wrapping Up

 Wargames + Miniatures gives the West of Scotland a much needed gaming hub outwith the half dozen clubs we have dotted around this side of the country. Despite it's relatively small size, it has potential to be a busy and successful gaming store. I'll definitely be along to help support the growth of Flames of War, Team Yankee (Which seems to be growing greatly in popularity), and Tanks.
 So, if you find yourself out on the West coast of Scotland, be sure to drop in and check them out.

Wargames + Miniatures is well stocks and ready to go for the Tanks OP sessions

Kampfgruppe Müller and Potechnov's Bears will be joined shortly by Charlie's Chieftains!

Tank Aces Rolls Out

 Saturday, 28th May, 2016 at Glasgow Games Group

The Soviets await

  The early morning dew was glistening on the grass in the Belorussian field which harboured a small troop of Soviet T-34 tanks. Sitting atop of one them was Kommissar Boris Prokofiev, his boots hanging over the motto white-washed onto the side; "к победе" He accepts an offered hip flask of throat-numbingly strong vodka from his gunner, Gregor.

 "Thanks, Gregor... Bah, it'll rot my gut before it begins to taste good."

 He complains, but drinks it down regardless. A young corporal approaches, the radio operator of tank 2306. He snaps off a quick salute to the unimpressed political officer.

 "Comrade Kommissar, I was told all Kommissars were recalled by Stavka..."

He blusters out, uncertainly. The man atop the tank chuckles and removes his hat, wiping the red star with his sleeve before returning it to his head.

"Ah, but you see lad, I've got a letter from mummy, so it's okay, right lads?"

He assures the young man, whose face glows bright red from embarrassment as the men around him laugh heartily at the joke. Their laughter is cut off by the return of one of their scouts, out of breath and covered in mud.

"Comrade Kommissar, enemy tanks have been spotted approaching Salihorsk! Command says you're to meet them head on."

He manages to pant out as he takes a swig from an offered canteen.

"Hear that, lads? Uncle Iosef wants us to give those fascist bullies a bloody nose! And I'm going to be the first to do it. Who wants to beat me?"

The Kommissar shouts out to the small cheering men as they clamber into tanks and engines roar into life.

"Za Stalina! Za Rodinu! Urah! Urah!"

Echoes across the clearing as the Tankovy move out to engage the encroaching Germans.

Kommissar Prokofiev in "к победе"

An Intermission - Carronade 2016

Off to Falkirk

 

 And so begins convention season in Scotland. First on the agenda is Carronade, the large wargames show run by Falkirk District Wargames Club. I've been attending Carronade for about a decade now in both Ranger and spectator form. The show takes up two decently sized gymnasium halls, and two general purpose rooms, as well as a large concourse which runs through the downstairs of the venue. This year I was in attendance to run a few demonstration games of Team Yankee. Sadly, as with prior years, I was given a table in the smaller general purpose room, up some stairs and out of the way of the majority of the General Public. Regardless, I set up my table and began the day, ready to show people the way to hold back the Red Tide, or push forward the might of the Soviet Army.

The table, ready to go with the well made Battlefront supplied mat, perfect for demonstration games.

The day begins slowly, but picks up pace

 Starting at 10am, there was a very slow trickle of people through the upper hall, many of which were other attendees running their own game, stall or bring and buy table. It was almost an hour before the day truly got underway and some players came my way for a demonstration. A good friend of mine, Terry, and his son who always show their support at these events by giving the game a go, came up and took on a force each, Terry opting for the Americans, while his son took charge of the Soviets.

T-72s ready to roll

 The Soviets got the initiative and rolled forward into covered positions behind the houses, opting the leave off the Hind for reinforcements later on. This move was answered by the Abrams skirting forward to the corners of the factory objective and firing off some shots, knocking out a T-72 for their troubles. That's where the luck ended for the Americans, as the T-72s returned fire, a poor couple of rolls later and the might M1's were left smouldering wrecks.

Terry sees his luck let him down as the Russians knock off his tanks

To get a feels of the helicopters, they were brought on for a few exchanges, showing their decent anti-tank ability and adaptability to turn them into anti-helicopter weapons. First game down, Soviet win and a happy boy getting one over on his father.

Later Games

 Sadly, for the Russians, this early win was to be their only of the day, as the next game started up and the weight of the American firepower proved too much. The four shots, hitting for the most part on 4+ led to the Russian tanks having a very short life indeed, and even the intervention of the Hind was not enough to keep the Russians in the game.

The Hind engages the Cobra in some anti-helicopter fire, as the T-72s bravely try to hold the objective

The Americans won comfortably, with even a few minor advantages given to the Russian player still counting for nought, as the Abrams rolled the T-72's aside with minimal effort.

Lunch-Time

War is tiring work, every soldier needs fed, and so I did, leaving a useful sign for anyone looking for me:

First contact with other Flames of War Scotland members

 On the Flames of War Scotland group,  you tend to meet everyone who pipes up at one point or another. In this country of barely over 6 million people, we're quite a close group. However, there's been a few guys commenting for a while who I never had the pleasure to meet. I finally got to, this Saturday as I ran them both through a game of Team Yankee. Lloyd Watson and Dave Reekie are quite active within the community, but sadly I had never met either in person, until Saturday. Both showed a varying interest in Team Yankee, with Lloyd already fielding a small Soviet company himself. Sadly for them, they both chose to play the force of the Soviets, and even with small advantages given their way, neither were able to break the back of the Americans.

Lloyd engages with the Americans, to no avail

The day slowly wound down, with every player complimenting the fast, easy and enjoyable play style, and a few compliments about my painting, Team Yankee will be returning to the upcoming conventions in Scotland over the Summer and into Autumn. Stay tuned for more AAR's and comments. But for now, enjoy the remainder of the pictures taken on the day.

Part Four: Irresistible Forces and Immovable Objects United States and Soviet Union

 From the Detroit Steelworks to the Tank Factories of Chelyabinsk

 The other two major nations in (The European Theatre) World War Two had vastly different approaches to tank warfare. The United States used the Sherman template, mounting various armaments and armour to fit various roles and the addition of the Panther-equivalent Pershing. While the Soviet Union followed the logical escalation of existing models, improving upon them, increasing armour, refining shape and ultimately looking similar to the Tankovy Batalons of 1942-43, but with better kit.

United States

 M4A3E2 Jumbo

 Having the thickest armour of any American tank fielded prior to the introduction of the Super Pershing, The M4A3E2 (Jumbo) was classed as an assault tank. The primary use of the Jumbo was to accompany infantry assaults, to provide almost impenetrable armoured support. The usefulness of the tanks was eventually recognised by the Armored Companies, who started fielding them in support roles through the narrow roads of eastern France. The Jumbo would advance a small way ahead to try to lure out anti-tank guns and hidden tanks, whereupon the supporting tanks would halt and open fire on the revealed enemy.

 The Jumbo, like the British Churchill, was undergunned for it's size, but unlike the British, the American command recognised this and many models were upgraded to field the highly effective 76mm gun.

  The Jumbo is a popular addition to American armored companies in Flames of War. The front armour of 12, combined with the 'Jumbos Lead The Way', results in Sherman platoons having high survivability against the most common guns and tanks the Germans may field. The 'Slow Tank' rule means the Jumbo will be ambling along at 8" a turn, slowing the faster Easy Eight's, but the drop in speed is more than made up for by the Jumbo taking the big hits.

 As mentioned above, the Jumbo comes armed with the basic 75mm gun, which generally doesn't worry Panzers and StuGs too much. Though, having the Stabilizer rule allows the Jumbo to keep ploughing on forward, while retaining a decent rate of fire at the expense of accuracy. The ability to upgrade to a 76mm gun allows the Jumbo to keep pace with tanks like the Tiger and the Panther, putting out fearsome AT13 shots. This gun also retains the Stabilizer rule, making it a major force to be reckoned with.

M26 Pershing / M26E4 Super Pershing

 The M26 Pershing could be considered the United State's attempt at matching the Panther tank. Mounting a 90mm gun and having 102mm of frontal armour gave the Pershing a reputation for combat effectiveness, not just amongst the crews that piloted them, but amongst the German defenders, who up until now had mainly Shermans and Cromwells to deal with.

 In 1945 the American command send a single upgraded Pershing, dubbed the 'Super Pershing', to Germany, where it saw limited service. This upgraded M26E4 mounted an improved 90mm gun, and had two 38mm steel plated welded to the front of the hull, bringing the armour of the Super Pershing to an almost indomitable level. The Pershing and Super Pershing went on to have distinguished careers in Korea in the 50s.

 On paper, the Pershing is very similar to the Panther. The front armour rating is identical, while the Pershing gets a point boost on the side, giving it a slight edge. The Pershing lacks the 'Wide Tracks' of the Panther, meaning crossing difficult terrain is more hazardous, and neither tank has 'Protected Ammo', meaning should the Pershing be bailed, it's a 50/50 that this impressive beast will get back in the game.

 The Super Pershing takes a spot mid-way between the Panther and Konigstiger in terms of it's armour. The improved front armour of 13 wards off Tiger I and Panther rounds, but it retains the very weak side armour of 6, meaning should this 275pt tank get outflanked, it will be in major danger. The Super Pershing also takes a speed drop, with the improved armour and gun, but as the Super Pershing exists as a solo entity, it is no major disadvantage. A note to watch however is the 'Overloaded' rule, so should you wish to utilize the slow nature of the Super Pershing through terrain, it is quite possible the tank will bog itself down.

 In terms of armament, the Pershing is identical in stats to the Panther, a respectable AT14 gives the Pershing a good amount of tank killing power while the armour keeps it in the fight.
 The Super Pershing has it's gun upped to the same level at the Konigstiger and Jagdpanther, with the increase to AT16 and a range increase to 40". This makes the Super Pershing a good tank for Tiger and Panther hunting, whilst taking on a Konigstiger may result in a hard slog which highly favours the German.

Soviet Union IS-2 '43 / '44 / IS-85 

The IS Tank was a series of heavy tanks developed as a successor to the KV-series by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The heavy tank was designed with thick armour to counter the German 88 mm guns, and carried a main gun that was capable of defeating the German Tiger and Panther tanks. It was mainly a breakthrough tank, firing a heavy high-explosive shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The IS-2 was put into service in April 1944, and was used as a spearhead by the Red Army in the final stage of the Battle of Berlin.
 The predecessor to the IS was the final incarnation of the KV series, the KV-85. The KV was criticized amongst its crews for lack of speed and horrendously underpowered weaponry, in comparison to the T-34-85. Soviet command initially tried to appease the crews by mounting the 85mm gun onto the KV chassis, but with the capture of a German Tiger I, the decision was made to develop a dedicated heavy tank. This led on to the development of the IS-85 (Sometimes referred to as the IS-1), and consequently the IS-2 which saw service until the end of the war and beyond.

 The IS-85 and IS-2 obr 43 both match the Panther in terms of frontal armour, however they get a massive boost to their side armour, allowing them to resist the majority of medium tank fire and be almost impenetrable at long range. All three tanks are slow, and lack 'Protected Ammo' and 'Wide Tracks', restricting them slightly, but thankfully none suffer 'Overloaded', meaning should they wish to trundle through terrain they should be safe enough.
 The IS-2 obr 44 receives a one point upgrade to its frontal armour, making it highly resistant to Panthers and  Tigers, while being completely immune to StuGs, and Panzers.

The IS-85 mounts the same 85mm gun as the T-34 85. giving it a decent amount of firepower while being safe behind its armour.
 The 122mm gun that both models of the IS-2 mount is a slightly mixed bag. The AT15 allows it to engage Tigers and Panthers with confidence, but is let down by the ROF 1. The main issue for the IS is getting the hits in against superior opponents as moving will make hitting almost impossible.

SU-152 / ISU-152 / ISU-122

 The heavy assault guns of the Soviet Army were highly successful against German panzers and heavy tanks. The SU family began life as lightly armoured assault guns, but as time and casualties passed the need for more heavily armoured guns became apparent. The first in this heavy family is the SU-152, which was mounted on a KV-1s chassis, and armed with the ML-20 gun which began life on a carriage, but soon proved its worth on assault guns. The follow on from the SU-152 was the ISU-152, which took the newly created IS chassis and improved frontal armour. It retained the effective ML-20 gun and saw combat from 1943 until well into the 1960s. Finally, the ISU-122 came into being as the availability of the ML-20 gun became scarce. The new assault gun mounted A-19 field gun, this was fitted directly into awaiting ISU-152 hulls, and the new creation dubbed the ISU-122. A final model, the ISU-22S was developed, with a higher rate of fire, but has yet to make an appearance in Flames of War.

 The armour of the SU-152 is a little under that of a Churchill VI. With frontal armour 7 and side armour 6, the SU-152 should be able to take hits from Panzer IVs more than half the time. Upgrade into the ISU-152 and the assault gun has a higher chance of surviving. A frontal armour of 9 giving it good odds against anything smaller than a Tiger. Chances are, at long range, the ISU will eventually get beaten out by the Tiger through sheer number of shots, but it still stands a fighting chance.
 The SU-152 and the ISU-152 mount the same AT13 gun, a gun that will see off most Panzers and make Tigers think twice about engaging directly, Panthers may not suffer as much, but should the shot get through, the 1+ Firepower is a guarantee for results. The major disadvantage to the I/SU-152 is of course the 'Bunker Buster' special rule. This means that hits may only be applied to tanks that are Bogged Down or Bailed Out, if the firer has moved. This makes the I/SU-152 a good tank for finishing off crippled tanks, but not a good tank for primary engagement.
 The ISU-122 gets an upgrade to AT15, allowing it to put the fear into Tigers and Panthers, once again it's let down by the ROF1, meaning should any of these tanks have to reposition, chance are the shot will miss.

 Finally, all three receive the 'Volley Fire' rule, this allows the tank to re-roll misses if the target is within 16'' and the tank has not moved.

Next time: Glass Cannons!