Fortress Europe 2019 Edition

Fortress Europe Spotlight
With Phil Yates

Fortress Europe is the first step on the journey from the battlefields of Normandy to the ragnarok of Berlin. It is the first Late War book written specifically for the latest version of Flames Of War.

This book has three targets:

1. It’s the ideal place for a beginner to start their journey, giving them a sampler from four different nations.
2. It’s a great way to transition your Mid War army over to Late War.
3. It gives British, Soviet, and Eastern Front German players a place to start collecting their Late War forces until they get their own campaign books.

Check out Fortress Europe in the online store here...

For A Beginner Starting Their Journey
Fortress Europe is a great sampler for a beginner just starting out as it covers the big four of Late War: Americans, Germans. British, and Soviets. This gives you the chance to see the types of equipment, the levels of training, and the play style of each army before deciding which to collect. It also has the added bonus of giving you valuable insights into the opposition you’ll face on the table top!

For A Mid War Player Transitioning
If you already have a Mid War army, you can probably use a lot of it as the basis of a Late War army. Fortress Europe includes all of the Mid War troops and equipment that can make this transition. The big difference between your Mid War army and its Late War incarnation will be the points.

While infantry are pretty much the same points in both periods, tanks get a lot cheaper, so the American M4 Sherman tank goes from 8 points each as a pretty powerful Mid War tank, to less than 4 points each as a baseline Late War tank, even with better skill! The Tiger changes even more, dropping from a hefty 29 points as the super tank of Mid War, to just 12 points as a powerful, but certainly not unbeatable, Late War tank.

At the top end though, the super tough Ferdinand tank-hunter still has exceptional armour and an exceptional gun, so its points only went down from 17 points to 13 points. At the bottom end, a patrol of three Luchs scout tanks went from 6 points to 5 points, since its function as a lightly-armed and lightly-armoured reconnaissance vehicle hasn’t really changed.

These changes make the same army play quite differently. Your M4 Sherman tank company goes from being a handful of powerful tanks to a horde, your Panther tank company moves from the realm of super tanks to become a good medium tank, and so forth. There’s a lot to learn about how to handle your force in this brave new world and a lot of fun to be had doing so.

For British and Eastern Front Players
Late War will be a journey from the beaches of Normandy to the end of the war at Berlin. It will be an exciting adventure, but like anything worthwhile, it will take time to reach our destination. So, much as we’d love to be able to give every nation and theatre exciting new books right now, someone has to wait. Meanwhile, Fortress Europe gives British, Soviet, and Eastern Front German players the opportunity to start collecting their army and get some games in while they are waiting.

What's In The Book
Fortress Europe starts with a brief history of the second half of World War Two before diving into the big four of late war: Americans, Germans. British, and Soviets. Each of these has an introduction giving you an idea of their approach to this war, a guide to their most important tanks, their force diagram, their special rules, and then an extensive list of various formations that they can field. The book ends with a comprehensive two-page basing guide telling you how all of the different infantry teams and guns are based, and a catalog of the exciting new Late War products arriving in stores near you.
~Phil

Fortress Europe Q&A.
Join Alex and Phil, the writer of Fortress Europe, as he answers community questions sent in by the players.