Lord Viruscide's Flames of War 101.

“Say Johnny. You want to get into Flames of War?” “My name's not Johnny thou-” “Shut up your name is Johnny now.”

Flames of War is a Company/Battalion level 1/00 or 15mm WW2 table top game covering primary the Western Theatres of the war. (At time of writing there are no rules for the Pacific Theatre of the the war. Although rules for the Japanese fighting at Manchuria are present in Rising Sun.). First you're going to need the main Flames of War Rule book, it's a good start. Ignore the forces briefing contained within, if you're buying a physical copy, it is currently outdated. So lets talk Time Periods shall we? It will determine what armies you'll be able to collect. Or you can simply pick your favourite country and side with them. Which of the following series of images is most evocative of the war for you?

German Panzers rolling through the Ardennes Forest, slicing through British and French defenders? Brave Polish bastards attempting to hold back the Soviet juggernaut? German Paratroopers dropping on Crete? Then you'll like Early War 1939-1941. See the following books: Blitzkrieg, Burning Empires, and Rising Sun.

Soviet and German troops bitterly fighting amongst the freezing ruins of Stalingrad? Massive Armour clashes of Kursk? Monty and Rommel hunting each other through North Africa? American Troops bitterly struggling to overcome Italian defenders on Sicily? Then you'll like Mid War 1941-1943. See the following books: North Africa and Eastern Front.

British and Commonwealth troops fighting ashore on D-Day? Shattered German divisions desperately fighting to hold Holland? The where the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' bravely held the line against Fanatical SS soldiers? The Polish bravely fighting for ? Then you'll like Late War 1944-1945. See the following books: Overlord, Atlantik Wall, Road to Rome, Fortress , Blood Guts and Glory, Devil's Charge,'Nuts!', Market Garden, Bridge by Bridge and Desperate Measures.

Now we need to run down the Major powers of the war.

United States of America. The good old US of A! Due to the fact that the Americans didn't enter the war until 1942 there are currently no American forces for early war. American forces have some of the best artillery of the war, and some of the best mechanised Infantry forces available.

The Third Reich, or . Sieg Heil! By far and large the most common army to find in the books, Ze Germans are amongst the most powerful due to their immense tactical flexibility. German Armour is the best in the world, and their Mechanised forces are on par with the Americans. This excellence comes at a price though. German Armour is usually the most expensive or crippled with mechanical issues.

Great Britain and the Commonwealth. For King and Country! From the beginning, to the bitter end, the 'Tommies' have been fighting the 'Huns'. The British have strong artillery, strong tanks, and powerful infantry, coupled with their tactical usage of Night Attacks. Under the Union Jack fights also the New Zealanders, (Early and Mid War only) the , the Polish, the Indians and the South Africans. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or , or Russia. For Mother Russia! The Soviets bring massive forces to the table both literally and figuratively. Other powers bring Companies, the Soviets bring Battalions. The Soviets have some excellent tanks and powerful mass artillery, both conventional and rocket. Soviet forces are usually under trained or suffer from tactical inflexibility, but most other forces are broken under the the hammer of the .

Minor Powers. It was a truly World War. Brazilian Beef was loaded onto American built ships to be shipped to France to feed Polish Tank crews driving British made tanks against Eurasian Conscripts equipped by Germans.

Italy. Avanti Savoia! Italians where very much the whipping boy of the Second World War, having been mauled by first the Ethiopians and then the British. Italy soldiers where individually impressive, but their equipment and leadership where severely lacking. Italians are less fractious in Late War due to the German take over of Italy, RSI forces are German equipped and lead.

Finland. The land of Saunas and crazy people. Finland fought for both sides during WW2, first fighting for the Germans and then fighting against the Germans once the tide of war turned against them. Finnish forces are die hard and skilled, their equipment is either stolen from the Soviets or given to them by the Germans.

Hungary. Huszar! The second most numerous Axis faction after the Germans, The Hungarians offer a middle ground between the elite of the Germans and the numbers of the Soviets. Hungarians have a few excellent pieces of home-grown equipment and can access many German tanks.

Romania. Fuck 'em, I don't have a quip for them. The Romanians are easily the spammieset faction in Flames of War, managing to out-soviet the Soviets. Reinforced by either German or Soviet support Romanians pay for their huge numerical advantages with randomised Training and Motivation.

France. Viva La France! Although technically not a minor power, they were taken out of the war early by the sheer aggressive power of the German Blitzkrieg. For their time period French tanks are the most durable and have reasonable firepower. French Artillery is amongst some of the best of the war and overall the French are a very defensively minded army.

Poland. Poland Strong! Although rolled into the Commonwealth after the fall of Poland, Poland is its own faction in Early War and again in Late War. Poland in Early War boasts reasonable tank armies, strong Cavalry forces, determined Infantry Battalions and the superweapons of Early War, Armoured Trains. Or Poland can be fielded as the Armia Krajowa a highly determined but poorly equipped guerilla army.

Greece. Óchi! Greek forces are featured in Burning Empires, think Mediterranean Finnish forces in that they are determined but use enemy or obsolete equipment.

Japan. BANZI! Japanese forces do not run away, they run towards their enemy. Japanese forces are aggressive and near impossible to stop. Japanese forces are capable of highly aggressive night attacks. If you break a Japanese army, it will keep coming towards you. The only way to stop them, is to kill every last son of a bitch!

Now that you've got a country selected, you need to pick what type of company you'll field. Companies are roughly devised into four categories:

Armoured Companies: Almost self explanatory, Armoured Companies are usually composed of tanks along with support elements of Infantry, Artillery, Reconnaissance. Armoured Companies usually attack against Mechanised and Infantry Companies. Mechanised Companies. Mechanised Companies are usually a catch all term, some Mechanised Companies are Calvary Companies, forces made up of Armoured Cars, Armoured Infantry or Tank Destroyer companies. Mechanised companies attack Infantry Companies but defend against Armoured Companies. Infantry Companies. Again, fairly self explanatory. Composed of Infantry Platoons, usually larger than other companies due to the cheapness of their standard units. Some Infantry Companies can be Pioneer Companies who are usually excellent against tanks or fortifications. Infantry Companies defend against Armoured and Mechanised Companies. Fortified Companies. Like defending? Bunkers and Trenchlines? Then a Fortified company is for you. Fortified Companies defend even against Infantry Companies.

Models. You can't have a Tabletop Wargame without models, and Flames of War is no different. Unlike other wargames, there is no set manufacturer for Flames of War models. Provided it's 1/100 15mm scale, you can use it!

List of Manufacturers.

Battlefront: Battlefront doesn't just put out the rule set for Flames of War, they do their own range of models regarded by many as pretty excellent models although sculpting quality can vary. Battlefront is moving into Plastic models which are cheaper and lighter. http://www.flamesofwar.com/

Zvezda: Zvezda are a Russian manufacturer who are at the other end of the extreme. Dirt cheap models, but with lower quality and less options. http://www.zvezda.org.ru/

Plastic Soldier Company: The hint is in the name. They make plastic Infantry and Tanks. PSC tanks are cheaper than Battlefront tanks and are usually easier to work with, being Plastic. Although there are reports that PSC tanks can be incredibility fiddly to put together. http://theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/

Peter Pig: Peter Pig produce a cheap range of models over many time periods, Their tanks aren't as nice as other manufacturers. http://www.peterpig.co.uk/

Expansions for Flames of War.

Tour of Duty “It ain't me, it ain't me! I ain't no fortunate son!” Covering the Vietnam War with all of it's Helicopters and Drugs, Tour of Duty started life as a free magazine insert in Wargames Illustrated before being expanded into it's own hard backed book. At time of writing there is buzz that it will be updated again backed on the strong sales of Vietnam models. You like screaming about how 'CHARILE DON'T SURF!' or how they are 'COMING OUT OF THE TREES MAN!'? Then Tour of Duty is for you.

Fate of a Nation “Six days of fire, One day of rest! June '67 Taught them Respect!” Covering the Six Day War of 1967 and is available as a free magazine insert in Wargames Illustrated. Most likely Fate of a Nation will be expanded similar to Tour of Duty.

Armies for Fate of a Nation: Currently there is only one type of Company for each power in Fate of Nation.

Israel. Israel was the primary attacker during the Six Day War. Superficially and Ironically, Israel's doctrine resembles Nazi Germany's Israeli armour consists of a smorgasbord of armour, from French AMX tanks, British Centurion tanks, and American M48 and Sherman tanks.

United Arab Republics. The UAR was set to attack Israel but where counter attacked by Israel shattering their offensive and losing a massive amount of ground. The UAR is a Soviet inspired army, using massive amounts of Soviet made equipment, Companies of T-54/55s, IS-3, or T-34Ms, and can be supported by Artillery Battalions.

Jordan. Jordan was originally trained under the British, but later split off to join with the UAR. Jordan occupies a strange position between the Elite of Israel and the conscript hordes of the UAR. Jordan's armour is a choice between either Centurion Tanks or M48 Tanks.