Bulge American review - Flames of War v4 late-war expansion

• Posted on 8 October 2021
• By TableTopper
• Posted in Flames of War, FoW, Review, USA
• 0

It’s been a long time since the American forces of Flames of War (FoW) had some love. In fact, their last book, D-Day American, launched all the way back in May 2019. Since then, the Germans have had three books so the US are looking a little lacking in range and toys.

So, is this book worth the wait? Does it bring the shiny new toys to American lists? Yes, yes it does. In fact, if you looked at the American D-Day book and thought “what this book needs is more tanks. Big ones. With big guns…” then Battlefront heard and brought the heavy metal, just for you.

Beyond the new toys, the Bulge American (BA) book includes everything we’ve come to expect from Battlefront; a mixture of history, rules, stats, missions and hobby.

Now, let’s take a closer look.

New units, upgrades & formations

Let’s be honest, you’re mostly here to check out the new equipment, upgrades and formations. Today we’re going to cover the core formations and their changes and a little about the support options.

Let’s dive into that and start with the tanks.

M4 Sherman (late) Company

The mainstay of many American forces, what can you do to improve the trusty M4 Sherman company? First up, the 75mm Sherman has had a front armour upgrade to 7 which for only +2 points per platoon, no matter the platoon size, is a steal!

The tanks in each platoon and/ or HQ can then be upgraded from 75mm to 76mm for +1 points or Easy Eight for +2 points per tank. Taking the 76mm gives an AT increase from 10 to 12, not to be sniffed at. The Easy Eight is also AT 12, but also improves cross checks to 2+ and ignore the +1 stabilizer modifier if you move 4” or less in the movement step.

But that’s just the basic Sherman cocktail options, you can also upgrade one 75mm Sherman to a M4 Jumbo 75mm or 76mm for +2 or +3 points respectively. These retain the same gun stats as the standard M4 with the same sized gun, but bring your front armour up to 11 and side armour to 8. This does drop the cross check to 4+ however.

And that’s just the standard, black box platoons, what about the extras?

The M5 Stuarts, M4 Assault Guns and 81mm mortar platoons remain the same in stats and points.

New to the party are the M24 Chaffee light tank and M4 Sherman Calliope platoons.

The Chaffee is a good alternative to the Stuart, bringing a longer range, AT 10, 3+ firepower main gun and upgrading three MGs to .50 cal MGs. This makes it a much more flexible tank, able to threaten heavier tanks from the side or back. But at 50% more per platoon than the same number of Stuarts, are they worth it? Especially as they’re a little slower on their cross country dash…

So what’s better than an M4 Sherman? An M4 Sherman with missiles on top, of course! That’s the M4 Sherman (Calliope)in a nutshell. Firing a 48”, AT2 salvo is always fun if you’re the one pulling the trigger. With a full platoon of five, you’re paying one point less than for three standard M4 Shermans, so they’re not too expensive. If you like to run artillery, these could be a great way to increase the staying power of your core formation and get some long-range templates on the table.

M4 Sherman (late) Veteran Company

Pretty much the same as the standard company, but with some extras, bonuses and more points.

In the stats, the to-hit goes from 3+ aggressive to 4+ careful, so that’s always welcome. But the Veterans lose the 3+ blood & guts rating, giving them a lower motivation of 4+ for last stand checks.

Aside from that, they gain they option to run Stuarts or Chaffees as black box options in the second platoon. But, even more interesting, first platoon can choose the M4 cocktail or an M26 Pershing platoon.

The Pershing is a beast, being front armour 9, 6 on the side and 2 on top, it can soak up some fire power (if your dice are with you!).

The M26 is not a lumbering beast either, having the same tactical speed as a Sherman, but with a 2+ cross check, they’ll get where they need to be. And when they’re there? They bring the rain with a 36” range, AT 14, 90mm main gun and the same .50 cal/ MG combo as the Chaffee. But with their points starting at 19 for 2 and going up to 49 points for a platoon of 5, they’re not that easy to fit in a flexible list.

Oh, and the option for a single T26 Super Pershing… in case the normal one wasn’t big enough! This lumbering beast comes in at 16 points for a single tank, but with a front armour of 13 and a 48” range, AT 18 gun, and mass of MG 0.50 cal shots you can see why.

The Super Pershing has the skill, motivation, hit on and speed as the “normal” Pershing, but has a 5+ Cross Check, so don’t be expecting to be that mobile on the field but with that gun, do you need to?

Support platoons for the core formation remain the same as the standard Sherman company but with the option of a replacing the Stuarts with a platoon of Chaffees. Not bad.

M24 Chaffee/ Veteran M24 Chaffee Company

Speaking of Chaffees, what about a whole company of them? Well, if you want your tanks a little lighter and cheaper, then these guys are for you.

The difference between the standard and veteran companies lies purely in their to-hit rating, 4+ and 3+ respectively, and points.

Both companies include the same black box options of a Chaffee HQ with two platoons of Chaffees. And the same support options of a third Chaffee platoon or a M4 Sherman cocktail platoon with the 81mm mortar platoon and M8 Scott Assault gun or M4 Assault gun options.

The M8 Scott is light assault gun which brings smoke and 64” artillery to the formation for 2 points per veteran or about 1.5 points per standard, available in platoons of 2 or 3.

M18 (Hellcat) Tank Destroyer Company

The Hellcat Company is the same mix of heavy guns and security sections we saw in the from the M10 Company in the D-Day book.

The M18 Hellcat itself is a faster tank destroyer with a 4+ Assault Rating and the same AT 12, 3+ firepower gun as the M10. But this comes at the cost of armour, the Hellcat only has 2 front armour and 1 side, so they’re likely to go pop if the enemy hits them. With a to-hit of 4+ and the mobility, this risk can be dealt with to some extent. Their points are the same as the M10 in D-Day.

The HQ and security sections remain the same points and almost the same stats. The only difference being that the Skill and Assault ratings have had a free upgrade to 3+ and 4+, not bad at all!

M36 (Jackson) Tank Destroyer Company

The M36 Jackson is an up-gunned M10 with improved turret, never a bad thing!

As with the M18, the company composition is the same as the M10 Company, but you have the option to replace the expensive Jackson platoon in the second and third platoon with a (slightly) cheaper Veteran M10 platoon.

These Veteran M10 Platoon is +1 point more expensive than the M10 Platoons in the D-Day book and gets a buff to the skill and assault rating to 3+ and 4+.

But the real news is the M36 Jackson. The Jackson is 50% more points over the M10 price in the D-Day book, so what do we get for our points?

The same armour, same motivation, a 3+ remount and the 3+/4+ skill/ assault rating. Not bad, but the main event is the gun. The new 90mm anti-aircraft gun in the turret brings a very welcome AT 14 punch that will inconvenience even the toughest of German big cats! At short range, that even has a 50% chance of ruining an Elefant’s day.

Bastogne Parachute Rifle Company

The Parachute Rifle Company features the bristling array of weapon options you’ve seen from American Infantry before, but in a smaller, more elite formation.

The core platoons include the M1919 & M1 Garand , Bazooka and mortar shots as standard with an optional M1919 LMG option as well. Each platoon comes in 5 or 7 rifle base options with one mortar and one bazooka for 12 or 15 points. You can then add in a single extra bazooka or up to two LMGs for a point each.

Stats wise, as you can see they’re a much more elite option, who are hard to hit, more likely to complete orders and stay on the field for longer. What’s not to love?

Support for the company comes in the form of a 81mm mortar platoon, 75mm or 105 mm artillery, 57mm anti-tank platoon and a jeep recon patrol. Each of these includes the same great motivation, skill and hit on values as the core platoons.

If you’re going for a thematic list, this will give you a flexible list with some artillery, AT and smoke, but will struggle with bigger targets with the 57mm giving the biggest punch at AT10.

Bastogne Glider Rifle Company

Similar to the Parachute Company, the Glider Company lacks any transports, but is bristling with weapons and options.

With a lower motivation and skill rating than the paras, the Glider Platoons are much cheaper per base. Coming in at 16 points for a 10 garand platoon or 12 points for a 7 garand platoon, either coming with a single bazooka, LMG and mortar each. These can then be upgraded with a second bazooka or mortar team if needed.

Support for the company is again a 81mm mortar platoon, 75mm or 105 mm artillery, 57mm anti-tank platoon but with a M1917 machine gun platoon replacing the recon patrol.

Battle Weary Armoured Rifle Company

The only Armoured Infantry Company in the book, and they’re looking a little tired! All of the units in this Company are cheaper than you’d expect, but they all have a Reluctant 5+ Motivation Rating. Not ideal.

The core Platoons are all well equipped with M1919 LMGs, Bazookas, and a single mortar. Interestingly they can be made even cheaper by taking them without the half-tracks. That drops the largest platoon from 16 points to 13. Aside from this, they’re the same as the Veteran Armoured Rifle Platoon in the D-Day book.

Equally, the support options are unchanged from D-Day, albeit with the reduced Motivation Rating.

Battle Weary Rifle Company

If you played the Veteran Rifle Company in D-Day, these are identical, just cheaper with the same Reluctant Motivation Rating as their Armoured Rifle Company friends.

Support options remain the same with the 105mm cannons or M4 Assault Guns, 57mm anti-tank guns and M1917 MG platoons available. Again, with the lower Motivation Rating and cheaper points to match.

Support Options

These guys are almost the same points and stats as in the D-Day book with two notable changes.

First, the M4 Sherman OP stays the same points but gets that tasty extra point of front armour. Free upgrades are always welcome!

Next, the T27 Xylophone Rocket Launcher Battery arrives. With a 48”, salvo strike with AT 2 and firepower 5+ they might not hurt tanks, but they stand a chance of keeping infantry in their foxholes! For 7 points for 4 or 3 points for 2, they’re the cheapest source of artilleray the American’s have!

So, there it is then, a not-so-quick overview of the new book.

We’re excited to see some elite infantry on the table supported by varied tank and armoured options. It will add some variety both to the lists American players can take but also their play styles as well. Now all we need to see is the Command Cards to go with the book to see what inspired combinations can be achieved there!

If you’re ready to dive into a Bulge American army for Flames of War or expand your existing one, you can pre-order them from us right here, we ship worldwide:

Bulge American Spearhead Force - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_armybox

Bulge American Book - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_book

Bulge American Command Cards - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_commandcards

Bulge American Unit Cards - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_unitcards

M26 Super Pershing/ Pershing Platoon - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_pershing

M24 Chaffee Platoon - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_m24chaffee

M18 Hellcat Platoon - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_hellcat

M36 Jackson Platoon (M10 option) - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_jackson

M4 Jumbo Platoon (75mm/ 76mm options) - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_m4jumbo

M4 Easy Eight Platoon - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_EasyEight

M4 Sherman (late) Platoon (75m/76mm/105mm options) - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_shermans

T27 Xylophone Battery - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_xylophone

M4 Sherman Calliope launcher upgrade - https://bit.ly/tt_ba_M4Calliope

Please note: we'll ship your order when all parts are in, so if you want them as soon as they become available, please make separate orders.