EYES & EARS: RECON FORCES IN FLAMES OF WAR

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1 EYES & EARS: RECON FORCES IN FLAMES OF WAR By Andrew & Michael Haught My brother Andrew and I have been playing recon forces for a long time. We both enjoy the light feel of these forces, requiring a delicate mix of thoughtful tactics and daring gumption. Like most brothers, we re diametrically opposed in many aspects and our Flames Of War playing style is no exception. Andrew is a careful, methodical player, taking time to make sure he gets the best out of his deployment and manoeuvring. He employs tactical withdrawals to preserve his troops strength and surgical assaults to win games. I, on the other hand, make extensive use of hectic deployment, mad dashes, and other generally brash decisions that usually end up in a win big-lose big assault. Andrew relies on logic and I on adrenaline. When we got together to create this quick guide to the recon forces in Flames Of War, we obviously clashed on a lot of the theory behind the forces, but we ultimately agreed that even though they can be challenging to play, they are very rewarding and can fit a wide variety of playing styles. Below are our thoughts and experiences in playing recon forces in Flames Of War and they are by no means final or authoritative. Everyone will have their own ways of playing recon forces. We encourage players to experiment, play many games, and develop your own tricks to the scouting trade. There are many choices out there and I thought I would spend some time looking at a select couple of reconnaissance forces in Flames Of War. This is by no means a complete compilation, but it should give you general information and some tactics to try out. American Forces American recon relies on the use of firepower. They approach the enemy, test their strength with a maelstrom of bullets, and then speed back to HQ to report what they ve found. In Flames Of War, you ll also rely on massive firepower and to get onto the objective and hold off the enemy long enough to secure victory. Armored Recon Company (Mid war) & Cavalry Recon Company (Late war) The Armored Recon Company is an excellent recon force. Admittedly, I m a bit partial to this company as I once knew a veteran who fought as a scout in the 91 st Cavalry Recon in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He used to tell me stories about his adventures and they stuck with me. Naturally, I had to build this force and it proved to be fun and exciting with lots of options. The company s combat platoons are built for speed and, in traditional American fashion, it has an obscene amount of firepower at its disposal. Each platoon is an army unto itself. It has armoured cars, a 60mm mortar, dismountable machine-guns, an anti-tank gun and assault guns. This gives the platoons the ability to operate independently from each other. The M3A1 scout car is brimming with machine-guns each car having one.50 cal AA MG and two AA MGs. This load-out allows your to speed into battle and machine-gun enemy infantry caught in the open. You can also bring plenty of Stuart light tanks and other support. Back your recon troops with tank destroyers, Shermans and infantry. An Armored Rifle Platoon is an ideal support platoon to back up your recon troops.

2 In the attack, scout ahead with your scout cars and find a weak spot in the enemy line, then blast it with machine-gun and tank fire and send in your armoured infantry to secure the objective. Once on the objective your opponent will have only a turn to try and push you off. Form a cordon with your recon platoons and tanks to block enemy reinforcements from contesting the objective. The sheer amount of machine-gun firepower will keep enemy infantry from interfering with your armoured doughs. Your tanks will keep enemy armour from being too aggressive. In the defence, form a blocking line with your supporting units. Defend your objectives with the armoured doughs and send out a recon platoon or two harass the enemy and put pressure on their objectives or artillery platoons, Mike s 91 st Cav Recon (Mid War) Armoured Recon Squadron add two M3A1 armoured cars Armoured Recon Platoon Armoured Recon Platoon Armoured Recon Platoon Assault Gun Platoon Armored Rifle Platoon add four Bazooka teams Armored Rifle Platoon add four Bazooka teams Self-propelled Anti-tank Platoon with M3 75mm GMC tank destroyers 30 points 60 points 190 points 190 points 190 points 75 points 175 points 80 points 175 points 80 points 260 points 1505 points forcing them to have to hold platoons back for defence. That way they cannot commit their entire force against you. Be careful not to expect too much out of your recon platoons such as defending an objective and assaulting. They are light and will be vulnerable to enemy fire and you ll have to be prepared to be Forced to Disengage and Reorganise quite a lot. Leave the heavy fighting to your support platoons. The Cavalry Recon Company plays very similarly, only you exchange your scout cars for the M8 Greyhound armoured car. It s a bit slower than the M3A1, but it is equipped with a 37mm gun, making it particularly effective against enemy half-tracks and light vehicles. With these armoured cars you can support your assaults with heavier firepower, knocking out enemy gun teams with the 37mm and other infantry with its.50 cal AA MG. They can also challenge German tanks if they can get around and hit their side armour. If you do this, you have to make sure you can put them down completely as your own thin armour won t protect you against tank shells! In the end, American recon has a lot of firepower for a recon company. They have access to a great list of support platoons making them a very versatile force fully capable to handle both defence and offence. German Forces The German approach to reconnaissance is a somewhat opposite compared to others. Rather than using its infantry to hide and identify the enemy positions, the Germans attack to open a small gap. Then armoured cars stream into the gap to conduct their mission. Aufklärungschwadron (Mid & Late war) & Panzerspähkompanie (Mid & Late war) An Aufklärungschwadron plays almost the opposite of US recon companies. German recon companies used their infantry to fight through enemy positions and open up the way for their armoured cars. This is reflected in Flames Of War by the fact that Aufklärungs platoons are not Reconnaissance Platoons. This frees them up to focus on the job at hand: assaulting the enemy, and they are well equipped to do so. Armoured Aufklärungs platoons have seven half-tracks in each platoon making them an ideal platoon to use the German Mounted Assault special rule (see rulebook, page 167). Furthermore, the Aufklärungs Heavy Platoon has an arsenal of excellent support weapons including heavy-machine-guns, mortars and selfpropelled 7.5cm cannons. These weapons will help your infantry get to the objective and assault whatever is there. Once the infantry has broken through the enemy s defence, send in your Panzerspäh (armoured car) platoon and get them into the enemy s rear areas to cause havoc on his support platoons. An Aufklärungschwadron can also defend quite well when supported with heavy weapons to ward off enemy armour. Marders, Panzers and StuGs will help blast enemy armour while the Heavy Platoon s heavy machine-guns will keep enemy infantry from hitting your line in large numbers. A Panzerspähkompanie approaches the same battle from the armoured car perspective. A typical force will include armoured car platoons and plenty of support. The Germans designed their armoured cars well. They range from the Sd Kfz 222 light armoured car to the fully-tracked Panzer II Lüchs and heavyhitting Sd Kfz 234/2 Puma. The Panzer II L is the fastest recon team in the game. It is a Light Tank, giving it movement of up to 16 /40cm each turn and it can use the Stormtrooper special rule to give it an additional 4 /10cm. Capitalise on this by opening up the way with your infantry and then shoot your Panzer IIs through the gap.

3 The Puma is another favourite armoured car. It has good mobility and sports a 5cm tank gun with anti-tank 9, which will knock out any enemy tank it might encounter. But it cannot withstand much return fire, so be sure that you can knock out whatever the platoon shoots at or you will have to weather the consequences! The trick with both the Aufklärungschwadron and Panzerspähkompanie is to keep the enemy occupied with your infantry and then exploit opportunities with your armoured cars. Schnellschwadron (Mid-war) Before the German army switched to the defence in late 1943, infantry divisions would sometimes combine its own reconnaissance battalion with its anti-tank battalion and send them forward as Schnell, or fast, squadrons to race ahead and secure and hold objectives while the slower infantry caught up. The Schnellschwadron in Flames Of War is a unique and interesting force to play. Schnell companies have a three massive advantages over most other recon companies. First, their platoons are a good size and composed of just infantry. Second, they have the ability to be equipped with assault rifles. Finally, the force combines the strengths of infantry with the recon rules making them truly deadly on the battlefield. Normal infantry companies don t normally have the ability to launch fast and precise attacks whereas Schnell squadrons do. Full-strength infantry platoons that have recon abilities allow you to move the bulk of your force before the game begins. If you are lucky and have the first turn, you can get into a good attacking position before your opponent has a chance to dig in. This will also allow you to get into assaults as early as your second turn. Your Schnellschwadron is at home attacking the enemy. Being recon you have less to fear from ambushes so you can plan your assault easier. You can also use Eyes and Ears, so always back up your main fighting platoon with another that will serve as Eyes and Ears to remove the enemy s Gone to Ground. If you take platoons equipped with assault rifles advance them into cover (woods or other cover) within 10 /25cm of your opponent s platoon to prepare for your assault. Your assault rifle teams will be hard to hit (the enemy needs 6 s to hit since you are in cover and using Cautious Movement) and having a rate of fire of three each you have a definite advantage if the enemy launches an assault of their own. Always have an armour element, like a looted Panzer, Tiger or StuG assault guns, with your troops to drive off enemy tanks or recon armoured cars and keep your valuable Schnell troops safe from being ran over. Also include a pioneer platoon to hold objectives while the rest of your force assaults. Andrew s Schnellschwadron Schnellschwadron (from Ostfront) 135 points with Machine-gun section and 2iC Panzerknacker SMG team Schnell Platoon with Panzerknacker and Assault Rifles Schnell Platoon (as above) Schnell Platoon (as above) Anti-tank Gun Platoon 120 points with three 3.7cm PaK36 guns (with Stielgranate ammunition) Anti-tank Gun Platoon 145 points with three 5cm PaK38 guns Pioneer Platoon with one Goliath demolition carrier Looted Panzer Platoon 135 points with one KV-IE tank Artillery Battery 215 points with four 10.5cm lefh18 howitzers 1750 points Use the Schnell troops and tanks to take on your opponent hard and fast, the artillery to pin the target and soften the enemy for the assault, and the reserve pioneer platoon to hold objectives. When you are defending and playing games without prepared positions you have an edge. Use your recon deployment move within your deployment area to change up your defence line and force your opponent to rethink their attack plans. British Forces The British use armoured cars to conduct their reconnaissance. The infantry is there to help clear small obstacles in the squadron s way, but is otherwise too small to conduct pitched battles. Instead, the armoured cars rely on its support from the division to push through the enemy lines. Armoured Car Squadron (Mid & Late war) The British have two separate armoured car lists, each of which play very differently. The Armoured Car Squadron represents the recon mainly available to armoured divisions. Not surprisingly, an Armoured Car Squadron is comprised of mostly armoured cars as opposed to the Recce Squadron, which focuses more on universal carriers.

4 Running an Armoured Car Squadron can be tricky since your vehicles are lightly armoured and wheeled, making them slow on open ground. But they are still very useful engaging in recon duties, such as using Eyes and Ears and relying on Cautious Movement to keep them safe. If you fit them with a Littlejohn adaptor, a squeeze-bore nozzle used to improve the antitank value of lower-calibre guns, you can even surprise light and medium tanks. But the best tactic is to advance forward, look for the weakest point in the enemy line and then call in your support platoons. Since you can see the board from above, a luxury your field commanders would envy, you can usually spot the place where your attack will fall. However, using recon cars to tie up the enemy all across his front will buy plenty of time for your support platoons to assault onto the objective. Deploy each platoon s Daimler Dingo scout car well ahead of the Daimler I armoured cars. Use it to remove the enemy s Gone to Ground status. Meanwhile keep your Daimler Is hidden. When the enemy shoots at the Dingo, attempt to disengage and fall back behind the covering fire of the Daimler I armoured cars. Since only the Dingo disengaged, then it is the only team in the platoon that will have to reorganise the following turn. Before we move on to the next British force, its worth mentioning that the new 2 nd Household Cavalry Armoured Car Squadron, found in Hell s Highway, plays very differently from its sister armoured car squadrons. In Operation Market Garden the 2 nd Household Cavalry was noted for being quite an aggressive unit charging all the way from the Dutch border to the southern bank of the Rhine and being the first to link up with each Allied airborne division along the way. Equipment-wise, the 2 nd Household is unique in that each platoon also gets an additional Daimler Dingo. With the extra Dingo you can cover much more ground with your platoon and your firepower is increased slightly with an additional machine-gun. Tactically, the squadron has some great special rules at its disposal. It is from the British Guards Armoured Division, making them very tough to break using their Unflappable special rule, which lets them re-roll failed platoon and company morale checks (but not motivation tests). They also benefit from the Sangfroid special rule, which allows them Disengage even if it shot in its previous turn. In addition, they can re-roll failed Motivation Tests to avoid being forced to disengage. These special rules make the 2 nd Household Cavalry very aggressive and capable of taking the fight to the enemy, fire off some rounds and then disappear. The 2 nd Household Cavalry is an ideal force for hit-and-run tactics just make sure you disappear when enemy tanks start shooting at you! Recce Squadron (Mid & Late war) A Recce Squadron usually supported infantry divisions and as such plays completely different from an Armoured Car Squadron. You still have several Humber armoured cars at your disposal, but more importantly you have many universal carriers to use. Each Recce Platoon can have up to two Scout patrols of three carriers each, so you can really bulk up on them. You can arm each carrier with an extra machine-gun, making them devastating against infantry in the open. Arm them with.50 Cal machineguns and they can even destroy a few teams hiding in Bulletproof Cover. They also have access to an Assault Gun Platoon, which you can use to blast enemy gun teams such as anti-tank guns and machineguns or any other threat to your force. The theory behind this company is quite obvious. Charge into the enemy guns blazing and shoot your way onto the objective. If you ve opened a gap in the enemy line, send in some infantry and armoured support to secure the objective. Screen the objective from enemy infantry with your universal carriers and armoured cars. Photo of some Brit A/C and U/C Maybe casey has some left over from HH? Pages 29-30, Hells Highway

5 Italian Forces The Italians embraced small, integrated companies to conduct reconnaissance. This allowed the company to overcome all sorts of problems as they were encountered. Squadrone Esplorante (Mid-war) The Italians employed a unique formation called a Squadrone Esplorante, or reconnaissance squadron, made up of an assortment of armoured cars, light tanks and motorcycle infantry. These formations were deployed in North Africa and fought all the way to the Axis surrender in Tunisia. The great thing about this force is that it really embraces the Italian ideal of combined arms. You can build a recon force with all sorts of cool toys, such as the L6/40 light tank. The force is backed up by Italian tanks and artillery to help provide extra support. The L6/40 light tank platoon has five vehicles, making it a great option to dash up and knock out an enemy infantry platoon in an assault. Italian tanks can make their presence known very quickly. Combine a tank s normal movement of 12 /30cm with an Avanti! special move of an additional 4 /10cm and then assault a further 4 /10cm. This makes it possible to assault an enemy platoon with a range of 20 /50cm! Your light tanks are not equipped to handle other tanks, but are ideal against enemy infantry, especially in the assault. Attach the squadron s HQ tanks to an assaulting platoon to assemble a massive nine-tank platoon. Then, set up your assault and keep away from enemy anti-tank assets if possible. They cannot be pinned down by defensive fire and give you an armour save in an assault, keeping them alive so they can hit again in the next round of the assault. They are tank teams so your enemy will be constantly testing motivation to come back in the assault. Use these advantages well and you will bounce even the toughest infantry platoon off an objective. Mike s Squadrone Esplorante Squadrone Esplorante (from North Africa) 120 points with four L6/40 light tanks Light Tank Platoon 150 points with five L6/40 light tanks Light Tank Platoon 150 points with five L6/40 light tanks Light Tank Platoon 150 points with five L6/40 light tanks Armoured Car Platoon 95 points with three AB41 armoured cars Motociclisti Platoon 115 points Self-Propelled 47/32 Platoon 185 points with four Semovente 47/32 Howitzer Platoon 210 points with Observer rifle team and four 100/17 guns Demolisher Platoon 200 points Limited Air Support 125 points 1500 points Dash into the enemy lines with a coup de main assault, push them off and then establish a defensive perimeter to keep the enemy from reclaiming his objective. It s all dash and daring with Italian reconnaissance! Soviet Forces In true Soviet fashion, the Red army conducted reconnaissance by launching an offensive and finding out what they were up against that way. Rota Razvedki (Mid & Late war) Soviet reconnaissance is largely a misnomer. They conducted reconnaissance in the true blunt tradition if the Red army: in force! As a result, in Flames Of War, Soviet reconnaissance more closely resembles a mechanised infantry company. Razvedki platoons are very strong. They have nine teams and several transporter vehicles ranging from the M3A1 armoured transporters to universal carriers. The carriers are excellent because there is one for each team, adding an additional vehicle-mounted machine gun per squad to the platoon s overall firepower. The key to this army is to take charge of and keep the initiative. Keep the pressure on the enemy on all fronts with support weapons while you close with your transporters. You will have to gauge how close you are willing to get with your transporters. Send them to the rear once they prove to be more of a liability than an asset and head in on foot. Always remember that your troops are rated as Trained and do not benefit from Cautious Movement since they are not reconnaissance teams, so more often than not you will be hit by

6 your opponent s weapons. Make use of terrain and conduct your advance as you would with any other infantry force. A Razvedki platoon is a strong unit it s even stronger when you add the flame-thrower. My basic rule for attacking with infantry is that you should always have at least three ways to pin your opponent. In a Rota Razvedki force I count the flamethrower as one way to pin. I also count the SMG weapons as another option and I always have at least one artillery option, if not two. This way you can safe-guard against bad dice rolling and guarantee that the enemy will be pinned down so you can assault them with success. Rota companies use basic infantry tactics for the most part, but you can add a recon platoons such as a Light Armoured Car platoon or a Spetsnaz platoon. Using the Spetsnaz or Captured Tank platoon from Hammer and Sickle, you can take advantage of the Decoy and Forward Detachment special rules to advance one of your Razvedki platoons a full 16 /40cm before the game begins and get them into a good position. In short, Russian recon is a blunt instrument. They find out the enemy s positions by assaulting it, but you have all sorts of heavy support to help get that done! Recon is an exciting type of army to play with on the tabletop. It is both quick and stealthy. There s a recon army out there to match each player s style. There are aggressive armies, such as the Italian and Russians, deliberate armies such as the American and British forces, and tactical armies such as the German recon. A reconnaissance army is very rewarding and exciting to play and certainly offers a whole new way to look at the battlefield. Andrew s Rota Razvedki Rota Razvedki 55 points with two 0.5 AA MGs Razvedki Platoon with Universal Carriers and replace all teams with SMG teams Razvedki Platoon (as above) Light Armoured Car Platoon 85 points with three BA-64 armoured cars Heavy Mortar Company 165 points with four 120-PM-38 mortars and an Observer Rifle team Decoy Tank Platoon 310 points with two captured Panther and one Tiger I E tanks Assault Gun Company 170 points with four SU-76 assault guns Tank Killer Company 205 points with four M10 assault guns 1490 points