Looking to start FoW, need help.

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**Lord-Loss**

Well I want to start FoW, but Im not sure which army to pick (There are the UK, Germany, USA isnt there?)

So can someone give me an idea on the different tactics for different armies.

Il like mechanised forces (Not sure if thats possible in FoW) and shooty tanks.

**Red Skullz**

First and foremost you need to decide on period, the periods available are:
- Early War, 39-41
- Mid War, 42-43
- Late War, 44-45

Per now it`s primarily Late War that has the most intelligence books (army books) and widest range of minis.

As far as nations you have the four big ones:
- USA
- USSR
- UK
- Germany
But there`s also Finland, Hungary, Italy and a few more that I can`t remember right now.

For lists you have three main routes:
- Tank
- Mechanised
- Infantry
These are for all nations but there`s variations here as well. Recce, Pioneer, and a fair few others.

Go here for the FoW boot camp which explains quite a lot:
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=106

Hope that helps

R

**Lord-Loss**

Thanks!

I'd like to start a british tank army, are they any good?

Which army has the best tanks?

**legoburner**

Germany has the best tanks in terms of stats and history.
Russia has the best tanks in terms of numbers and is a close second with tank stats.
UK and US are third place with better options for the UK at the moment thanks to the 17pdr mounted tanks like the firefly, challenger and m10c. You can see my british late war tank force via the link in my sig.

**Lord-Loss**

Thanks for that, your tanks look great.

I think I'l go with Germany then, which book is best for a tank company?

**legoburner**

Fortress Europe has the biggest range of options, River of Heroes has the most powerful tanks but they wont give you much flexibility in the game. It really depends on what tanks you like the most. Read the Jagdpanzer listing on the FoW website too as that is a powerful tank (assault gun) company with some good models.

**Lord-Loss**

Is the 7th armoured company a british army, what book does it use?

Can I only fight germians with a allies army?

Example: Can America fight the UK?

Ive been looking for the PDF downloads on the site, are there more books or are they all on there site?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Company HQ: [200]: 3x Sherman V

Armoured Platoon: [290]: 3x Sherman V, Firefly
Armoured Platoon: [290]: 3x Sherman V, Firefly
Armoured Platoon: [290]: 3x Sherman V, Firefly
Armoured Platoon: [290]: 3x Sherman V, Firefly

Anti-tank Platoon (SP): [140]: 2x M10C

Total: [1500pts]

Thats 15 Shermans, 4 Fireflies and two M10C's.

I got six 17 pdr's.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
How good is this list compared to the last one?

Company HQ: [190]: 2x Panzer IV H

Combat Platoon: [380]
4x Panzer IV H

Combat Platoon: [380]
4x Panzer IV H

Combat Platoon: [560]
3x Panther A

**Lord-Loss**

Are gunlines good, which army has the best infantry?

Which book is the best to build a gunline army on?

**legoburner**

Really you need a balanced list, tank armies can be eaten up by anti-tank armies that start things in ambush so you could certainly benefit from some recon support for either army. Massed artillery can do some serious damage to tanks as well, and dug in veteran infantry would be very hard for you to shift.

Ultimately a combination of tanks, recon, infantry and long range/artillery is the thing to aim for, or you will find one or two types of focused armies that will just obliterate you. If you know you are just going to be facing other tank armies then what you have chosen is fine though.

Any veteran infantry will do some serious damage and be very hard to kill. German SS troops, US paratroops or British Guards troops (from Hells Highway) are amongst the best in the game.

**Lord-Loss**

I still havn't read a rulebook and have no way of purchasing any books at the moment.

I'l download some stuff tonight.

So a balanced force with tanks, footslogging infantry and recon are good?

What are 'recon units' anyway?

**Red Skullz**

My best bet is going mechanised. Gives you the widest palette of choice imo.

Recon are the scout units, they are very handy but for the game mechanics you need the book. Basically, they`re a must, just figure which type after you`ve chosen a period/nation/type of company.

R

PS: online order Open Fire and Fortress Europe!

**Lord-Loss**

Who has the best mechainsed infantry?

**legoburner**

The game is not broken in the same way 40k is, the 'best' is entirely down to your tactics, list, mission and competence rather than there being any one overpowered army. Just get what you like the most. Basically russia = horde, germany = elite, US and UK = mix of the two.

**Lord-Loss**

Il do a british mechainsed army with tanks.

**Daquack**

I love the paintscheme for the British Desert Rats I have seen.

If I ever finish painting my US Late War and start a MidWar army or Early war thats definately the approach I would take.

Good luck with your project.

**IvarForkbeard**

"Can I only fight germians with a allies army?"

While technically you CAN fight blue on blue, however, it is really frowned upon.

The game wasnt balanced for blue on blue fights.

**angelbleu**

IvarForkbeard wrote:The game wasnt balanced for blue on blue fights.

In fact, these historical armies themselves were not designed for such fights.

Many weapons of war are designed from ground up with the main objective of being able to defeat a particular enemy weapon. Military tactics, strategy and even doctrine tend to be similar during wartime, as in they become tweaked to best defeat the known enemy.

In many cases a good weapon against one enemy will prove to be a good weapon against another potential enemy, but that would be more of a coincidental boon rather than an actual design decision.

So I just wanted to point out that the perceived "imbalance" is not an actual fault of the game system, and should rather be seen as historically accurate.