"How to build an Armored Rifled Company " Topic

I asked if Americans can hold their own in FoW in the following thread: TMP link

You responded with some great advice.

I have a tight budget and was going to purchase the Grimbal's Beasts box set going for a late war US Armored Company. However folks recommended that instead I go with the Armored Rifle Company as my foundation. As many sources have stated it is the Swiss Army Knife of FoW.

As stated I have a limited budget. Tomorrow I am heading to my local game store which is having a 33 % off sale on FoW. I need either the Blood Guts and Glory army book or the Bridge to Remagen book plus I need to get at least two box sets of Armored Rifle platoon. Plus I suppose a need the HQ as well just to get started and would I need a pack of dismounted MGs? I have on my painting table a platoon of Late War M4A1 (76) Shermans and stashed away somewhere is a mid war Armored Artillery platoon. I have about $100 USD I can spend. So help me figure out how best to get started or spend the remander. I am shooting for a force in the 1600 point range as that seems to be the level folks are playing in my area.

You sticking with FoW figures? The Plastic Solder Company makes some excellent stuff that may save you some $$ as well.

Here is another thing I just pulled out the M7 Priests I noticed that over the years of moving bits around I am missing the loading crews for two of the vehicles and the crews for the jeeps. Is there a way to get the crew figures separately?

And no I have nothing against using the PS Company figures which my local store does carry. Of course those are not 33 % off but might be worth purchasing instead due to other factors.

I think I will have fun. I have pretty much finished my first read of the 3rd edition basic rules. Not much has changed from earlier editions of FoW except the rules seem more balanced and better written and laid out. In the end FoW is a game that uses 15 mm WW II miniatures and I am fine with that and it appears there is a robust group in the Dallas, Texas area. Which means I will get some gaming in. Bolt Action also seems popular so that will feed the 28 mm WW II habit.

By my count you have enough for the troops. A company command unit plus two armored rifle platoons would set you back $92 USD plus tax. The books run around $20 USD on-line or $13.33 USD at the store plus tax. So you're going to need a touch more money: Say $120 USD to make sure tax is covered and you'll have change. It'll probably be closer to $110 USD but you don't want to embarrass yourself at the checkout!

As for the MGs I wouldn't fool with them yet. You need a scout team/platoon first or you'll be eating a lot of panzerfausts! My late war Germans have plenty of panzerfausts and panzerschrecks. And many late war German lists have panzerfaust traps available to their infantry companies… NOT. PRETTY. The ambush rule is an ugly one to learn first hand. You'll need some recce assets and an AOP ASAP. If there's an American unit that the Germans HATE it's the AOP. Be sure to read up on its rules before you start picking out your next wave of purchases.

Anyway, have fun with the crowds. Also if you're feeling cheap you can get the list you want, without getting the whole book, right here. AND it's legit and pretty cheap!

forces.flamesofwar.com

This is the Flames of War Company Builder. Here you can buy just the lists you want. Then you can play with the list and print it out or have it saved in PDF format. Plus it has all the stats you need for your list. The only thing you're missing is getting all the lists in one shot and the fluff/maps. Not a bad deal if you're on a serious budget.

Wow for the cost of a couple of dollars I was able to get two different lists and play with the points. Pretty clever of old Battlefront.

I do find it kind of aggravating however that I have a platoon box set of M4A1 (76) and I cannot field them all as M4A1 (76)s. Why? Or is this only an option if you are doing an Armored Tank Company?

I'm pretty sure that's across the board. IIRC, the vast majority of Shermans in the ETO were 75mm gunned Shermans and that the 76mm variants slowly trickled in over 1944. In fact, they weren't very numerous at all until after Normandy and even then I don't think they were ever the majority.

Also, if you dig a little deeper into the list you'll see that you can field up to 4 76mm Shermans for 545 points. Yes you'll proxy A1s for A3a but I don't think too many people would have a problem with that. Plus there are these!

link

Thats $10 USD for 2 M4A3s. A box of these gives you enough to field your platoon. $5 USD a model for 15mm is a great deal IMO.

I'm not sure why you can't field a company of them, unless they were packeted out like the British Firefly (1 in 3) for AT fire support.

They weren't that rare. They produced nearly 8,500 (all marks with 76mm) between Jan 44 and June 45. All, as far as I'm aware, were for Europe. According to Wiki' half the Shermans in Europe at the end of the war had 76mm.

Tight budgets are always a pain. Good luck.

It looks like your choices are sound. An American armoured company has a LOT of firepower, you probably won't need the MG platoon just yet.
If you cannot find the jeep's crew, send me a PM. I think I have a few spares.

If you play with the list a bit you can get at least 4 76mm Sherman's in a platoon. Not so sure about the Easy 8 or the other Sherman variants you can get.

Remagen is better if you want to run Pershings with your armored company. Otherwise, BG&G is your better choice, IMO.

Picked up BG&G two Armored Rifle Platoon plastic box sets, an ARP HQ section and the arty template for around $133 USD with tax.

Looking through the book now and I am happy with the purchase. I am considering going back tomorrow or Sunday and picking up either a p-38 for some air support or upping my recce options. It is tempting to get a second Armored Artillery section because even the big cats should fear that. What do you think? Another option is picking up an Engineer platoon.

The quality of the new plastics is amazing and will be less of a pain to assemble.

Oh. I thought this was going to be along the lines of "Buy a rifle. Armor it. Go to your state's website and incorporate it. Boom. Armored. Rifle. Company."

My mistake.

I've never used air support and a lot of people and AARs I've seen complain about the randomness of it. So be warned there.

I would check into the AOP

link

L4 Grasshopper Air Observation Post (US950)

The L4 Grasshopper was a useful addition to the US artillery batteries supporting the Allied war machine. They could fly above the battlefield and observe enemy movement and positions. After a short radio message back to fire control, HE rounds would begin landing on the enemy's head!

The light aircraft could hop over trees, hills and other obstacles and surprise the enemy. Before they could react the radio message giving away their position was already away and shells incoming!

The L4 was a militarised version of the popular civilian Piper Cub, which is often distinguished by its common bright yellow colour. The main difference was that the L4 added additional windows to increase the observer's visibility

In Flames Of War

The L4 Grasshopper is priceless as an observer and all-around "eyes in the sky". It can relocate across the board to keep the enemy platoons under the pressure of your artillery. It is quite difficult to hide from the AOP's wandering gaze!

You can also use the AOP to keep enemy ambushes at bay as your tanks and infantry roll forward, keeping them safe. With this new asset, American players will be able to devastate the battlefield!

The aircraft is 40 points and can spot for any of your artillery batteries that has a staff team.

Toss that in with your arty and you have a nasty force multiplier. And it can ward off ambushes! Nice! Makes me want to grab some AAA assets for my Germany infantry.

Tgunner you are the man! The Grasshopper sounds like a fantastic idea.

No problem. I'm building a rifle company for myself right now so I'm just tossing ideas I have for my force to you. One day I'll get around to my Armored Rifles too.