"Largest FoW Battle?" Topic

In terms of points, what was the largest Flames of War battle that you've played?

4500 points on each side. Germans vs Yanks in two games.
Roughly.
Over half of the players were total newbies, but the games went well.

Our main club, the PaWM (Pennsylvania Wargamers Militia)played the game put on by our sub-group, SAFoWG (Sunday Afternoon Flames of War Gentlemen).

Yeah, about 5000 points per side, 3-4 players per side.
Seemed to go ok.

Think it was 4500 points (3x 1500), but it may have been 6000 (3x2000).

There are a bunch of players hereabouts who organise big battles involving 4-5 experienced players on each side – 6000-7500 points or so.

They seem to have a lot of fun, and from the pictures I've seen it looks great.
But they're all very dedicated players with no problem bringing the right army for the right scenario – but I think they had to get more landing craft for their Normandie beach party.

I've played 1 v 1 3500 point games. We used microarmor instead of 15mm stuff. Easy conversion Inches=CM and your ready to go.

The game went really fast.

We did a large multi-player D-Day game with 1500 points per player and I think there were 4 players per side. So at least 6000 points per side.

I've never played FoW so I'm wondering what size game a 3500pt or 5000pt game actually is. A company? Battalion? And I'm aware that a King Tiger company will cost more than Volksturm but a rough idea would be nice.

The core elements of an infantry company come to less than 1000 points. That would get you three platoons of infantry a platoon of HMGs and a platoon of mortars for most armies.

Tanks vary but an average medium tank comes in at between 70 and 90 points depending on crew quality. A full company of Panzer IVHs (17 tanks) would be 1530 points.

A 5000 point game is going to see each side field a battalion with some divisional support.

Pictures or it didn't happen. ;)

We tend to paint the entire "codex" when we take on a period and rules set. When we play a box emptier, it will fill my 16x6 standard wargame table and usually be 2-3' deep in figures. Never worried about points. Points are for those that think war games should be "fair".

My group has been known to put everything on the table once a year. I think our biggest battle capped out at around 7600-ish points of Mid-war Axis forces with a few late war platoons sprinkled in against an allied force of mostly late war british armour and artillery and a few mid-war soviet battalions totaling to something like 4700-ish points. Poor Gerries never knew what hit them. Finns never broke the whole game but both Italian forces practically evaporated under eight gun battery of 25 pounders in the first few turns. Tigers took their expected toll on soviet armour, but were brewed up by Fireflies with some god-like armour penetration rolls.

It took us a couple days to play through. Was a great weekend.

I think it was 7500 per side with Russians vs. Germans/Italians in 20mm scale……Year was 2006 at OrcCON in LA. 18+ active players plus additional 2nd row photo gallery on large 20'x6' table.

Several pictures of table:

Another recent game was "Breaking the San Fratello line; Sicily 1943" FOW 20mm game.

More pictures and AAR on the WR blog site:
link

WR

Regiment sized game based on Anzio.

Total mayhem!

We had one that I'd guess was about 6,000 per side with three players a side. I say guess because it was a scenario and not some silly points game. Unfortunately we usually do the silly points games since it requires less work, but the most rewarding games are scenarios IMHO.

You can read about it here: link

Lots of pictures….

Neat pics, WR!

In the third pic down, is that a movement tray for those tanks near the aircraft?

Darthfozzywig,

No movement trays are used….I base my miniature tanks to protect the tracks etc. The basing also prevents tanks from being "fender to fender". Sort of forces a gap between the models. The terrain feature just before the line of tanks is a ground fold feature. I use ground folds to breakup the "flat look" tabletop and provide a open ground "hull down" position. Same feature atop hills provides a "ridge crest" feature. Simple piece of wood molding with rounded corners and flocking.

WR

I played in a "Tanksgiving" event..once. Hated it. Just particpated to support the club but man did I hate that mess.

When playing big games a LOT of work has to go in to making sure everyting will mesh well and it will be a worthwhile endeavor.

Later we ran the "Hannut" scenario for FoW from Wargames Illustrated. That was OK as it was well structured. I think that had 3000pts of French defending against 4500pts of Germans with players involved on a 6' x 8' board.

Back in the v1 days, we had a massive game involving about 13 players, a 24' long table, and something like 10k points on each side. And it turned out to be a pretty terrific game, too. It lasted over 8 hours, but it didn't feel like it. It was a real nail-biter. I commanded a paratroop company desperately hanging on to a fortified town, hoping for rescue from my armored buddies. They never managed to show up, but they drew off enough of the enemy strength that I hung on by the skin of my teeth.

Several years ago we ran a massive Eastern Front game with 10-12 players per side and 2k points each.

I have done D-day 3 times with 8,000 pts per side.

I've never played FoW so I'm wondering what size game a 3500pt or 5000pt game actually is. A company? Battalion? And I'm aware that a King Tiger company will cost more than Volksturm but a rough idea would be nice.

3000 points works out to about a full battalion (3 infantry companies and the bn heavy weapons). 5000 points is a battalion plus an armored company or two and an artillery battalion (3 batteries).

We twice have done 10,000 points aside. Both were late war eastern front. Both were armor heavy. Four players per side, 2500 points each. They took about five hours each.

but a year before we have a game more than 16000 per side =)

More here: das-voize.blogspot.com

Der Voize…..love the table with terrain.
WR

Neat idea using wood molding, WR, thanks.

@TMPWargamerabbit: That's a really cool idea, I may need to yoink that myself!

My preferred campaign setting is North Africa, so you really need stuff like that.

Lion,
On the ME actions…..I like the roar of engines and dust. One day a major game against the desert (suntanned) Hun but present time doesn't permit.
Should have good tabletop coverage with 17 Grants/Lees, 17 Stuarts, 16 Crusaders I or II's, 17 Sherman M4, a Motor Rifle Company, a SA Rifle company, a Indian company with Indian Pattern carriers, 3 each of Humber, Daimlers, and RRoyce AC patrols, tank company of MVII Vickers, 4 Matilda troops, 16 Valentines, full RHA and RA batteries, a Bishop battery, LRDG force for rear area action and all the transports you need to carry in style the above mass….in the Middle East or Sicily.

FOW Points????? Never added up.

WR

Dathfozzywig,

Quick note: I made the "ground folds" wood molding with different lengths…..6", 8", 12" etc. I plan to add/glue some bushes and rocks to spruce up the look.

WR

Should have good tabletop coverage with 17 Grants/Lees, 17 Stuarts, 16 Crusaders I or II's, 17 Sherman M4, a Motor Rifle Company, a SA Rifle company, a Indian company with Indian Pattern carriers, 3 each of Humber, Daimlers, and RRoyce AC patrols, tank company of MVII Vickers, 4 Matilda troops, 16 Valentines, full RHA and RA batteries, a Bishop battery, LRDG force for rear area action and all the transports you need to carry in style the above mass… in the Middle East or Sicily.

Well, with a 20x6 table it might not be too dense… any one of those tank companies makes a 4x6 table pretty busy.

FOW Points????? Never added up.

I'm away from my books right now or I'd take a swing at the totals, so I'm just going to have to say "lots". Maybe even "all of them."

Lion,

Just need a proper ME board/table setup….most of my present terrain in NW Europe or Eastern front. One day….in the future the desert will roar again.
Like you mentioned….lots of points. I prefer playing then adding point totals.
WR

The biggest one I've played was our local MW tanksgiving. There are usually 6 or so players per side. Everyone shows up with as many 2,000 point armies as they want. Each starts with 1 on the field, and can roll for reserves immediately. Each side can also choose to use their reserve dice for air as well.
I ended up with 3 armies on the field: CT Shermans with TOGs, CV Shermans, and a Churchill company. Had to take a ton of arty to deal with the plethora of Tigers the huns had brought. 3 Brit players deployed next to each other and created a "grand battery"- it was wall to wall 25 pdrs, Priests, 5.5s and Bofors. It certainly stopped the Germans from creating the "car parks" of tanks that some complain about.

several years back I ran a 40,000 pt game at Little Wars. El Alamein. The table was 40feet long. The British had an Australian Infantry Bn holding one flank, the other flank being held by a NZ Infantry Bn holding the other. There was also an Indian CO. The center featured two Tank regiments attempting to break through the German/Italian defenders. The Germans had an Infantry Bn with a separate company attached. The Italians also had an infantry Company with Bersiglari supporting. For Armor the Germans had a full tank Battalion with the Italians providing an additional tank Bn. Those were the major elements. The game ran twice, once on friday and once saturday for the convention. Most of the players had never played before. Each game took 5 hours to play, and if I remember right there were about 30 players in each game. In both sessions the British were the victors.

We did an interclub game which had two tables, each 18 foot long running 10000points per side on each table – one was western front, the other eastern front.

Good fun bunch from the other club, good day.