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Hey guys.
So, I've been thinking about starting with Flames of War. Or well, the only issue is cash, so I guess I'll start eventually.
Either way, I've more or less settled on a Russian Cossack force (preferably all-mounted).
The list I came up with is this:

Battalion HQ
= 35

2 Kasachiy Platoon
2 Tachanka
= 255

2 Kasachiy Platoon
2 Tachanka
= 255

1 Scout Squad
Mounted
= 110

1 Scout Squad
Mounted
= 110

7 Mark III (Valentine VIII) Tanks
= 235

= 1000

So, Ive got a few questions.
First of all, is this a feasible army? Will it work? I figured, since cavalry can't hurt tanks, that I'd throw in a few tanks of my own to counter my opponents tanks. Game plan would be RUSH. Since the Scouts allow my Cavalry to deploy further in, I'd be at my opponent's throat rather quick, right?
Also, the Valentine tanks are not super-important to me. If you know something that would work better than them, tell me!

And regarding models...
I found an alternative to get mounted cossacks cheaper. I think the company was called... Pig Pete's, or something like that? Are the models from there any good?
And there are no Mounted Cossack Scout models. So how would I go about to represent them? Conversions?

Oh, and if it turns out doing a cossack arrmy will be extremely expensive and bothersome, I might go with a Finnish army instead. I've checked them up, but they didn't seem as interesting as a Cavalry army...

All help appreciated!

The infiltration rule will fail you at a roll of 1.
But I guess rushing is the answer with cavalry, especially in late war.
However, cavalry can dismount and be used as normal infantry any day.
Add some PTRD-anti-tank rifles too, even if they can't really hurt tanks on the front with AT 5, they do have Tank Assualt 3, which is feasable.

The Tachsanka's are cheaper if you buy 4 in one platoon, instead of splitting the into two platoon, but has the drawback of being in one platoon then

Use woods and terrain to advance, and use some of your force as simple decoys, so your cavalry (or tanks!) can take the real objective and hit hard on the side or in the back!

I've played a few of times with Cossacks, and it requires some tactics to win, but I've won a couple of massive victories, but also suffered a few crushing defeats, where tactics have failed. I don't see an even fights with Cossacks, either your crush the enemy, or you will be busy carrying your stands back to your bags in round two!

I think you might want to fit in some more anti-tank, because you are likely to be facing a lot of tanks in LW, and the army you have put together probably would have serious trouble facing tank companies.

I do not have any personal experience with Peter Pig, but I have heard a lot of praise of them from others.

Rocamador wrote:The infiltration rule will fail you at a roll of 1.
But I guess rushing is the answer with cavalry, especially in late war.
However, cavalry can dismount and be used as normal infantry any day.
Add some PTRD-anti-tank rifles too, even if they can't really hurt tanks on the front with AT 5, they do have Tank Assualt 3, which is feasable.

The Tachsanka's are cheaper if you buy 4 in one platoon, instead of splitting the into two platoon, but has the drawback of being in one platoon then

Use woods and terrain to advance, and use some of your force as simple decoys, so your cavalry (or tanks!) can take the real objective and hit hard on the side or in the back!

I've played a few of times with Cossacks, and it requires some tactics to win, but I've won a couple of massive victories, but also suffered a few crushing defeats, where tactics have failed. I don't see an even fights with Cossacks, either your crush the enemy, or you will be busy carrying your stands back to your bags in round two!

Hmn, so perhaps I should skip the Scouts then for something better. Perhaps some anti-tank guns with Horse Limbers?
... What does tank assault 3 mean? Sorry, I'm really new to the system and only have a rudimentary understanding of the rules from watching some battles.
And don't Tachankas cost 25 for each cart, no matter how you buy them?

General Seric wrote:I think you might want to fit in some more anti-tank, because you are likely to be facing a lot of tanks in LW, and the army you have put together probably would have serious trouble facing tank companies.

I do not have any personal experience with Peter Pig, but I have heard a lot of praise of them from others.

Okay, good to hear that he sounds reliable anyway! Thanks!

Scouts are useful as they allow you to (usually) get one of your companies well forward at the start of the game. Cossacks would be best dismounting at the first opportunity though as they are understandably fragile in the open and the chances of them successfully launching an assault in the early stages of the game are small.

The Valentines are ok in this size of game, they can handle medium tanks are you shouldn't be seeing many heavies. They also make an effective assault unit.

Tank assault 3 means that you have an AT rating of 3 in assaults (standard infantry teams have a rating of 2).

Peter Pig is a pretty decent manufacturer.

Palindrome wrote:Scouts are useful as they allow you to (usually) get one of your companies well forward at the start of the game. Cossacks would be best dismounting at the first opportunity though as they are understandably fragile in the open and the chances of them successfully launching an assault in the early stages of the game are small.

The Valentines are ok in this size of game, they can handle medium tanks are you shouldn't be seeing many heavies. They also make an effective assault unit.

Tank assault 3 means that you have an AT rating of 3 in assaults (standard infantry teams have a rating of 2).

Peter Pig is a pretty decent manufacturer.

So Scouts are worth it. That's good.
But... If Cossacks are better off dismounting, wouldn't the best thing be to just buy dismounted cossacks? Is there any reason to mount them at all?
Or wait, do you mean that I should re-mount as soon as some of the enemy forces have been decimated, and launch an assault then?

Tank Assault 3 sounds quite decent... But I think I read somewhere that Cavalry can't hurt tanks?


Oh, and any suggestions on how to make mounted cossack scouts?

Being mounted gives them mobility and better assault ability (sort of anyway) however they can't take advantage of cover when mounted so its best to get them close to where you want them and then dismount so that they become normal infantry. Its obviously very situational but thats the general idea.
Cavalry teams can't assault tank teams but once cossacks dismount they become infantry teams who can assault tanks.

Cavalry charges need a lot of support to be successful but they do have certain advantages over infantry (such as re-rolling pinning tests) and they can be devasting against poorly prepared units such as artillery.