It has been a long wait, but the Pacific rules and army lists for Flames of War has finally made a come back. Unlike earlier offerings for V4, this one comes as a complete campaign volume. I was never a fan of the original army books, as I always found them to be rather thin and not necessary. However, with the compilations we are seeing now, these are much more of a desirable pick up. Not only do you get the full book and content (the lack of command card info is still a miss), you also get a code to get free access to Battlefront’s online army builder lists that are included in the book! That kind of makes it a two for.
The book starts with the normal table of contents. This is broken down by each army listings. We start with the Japanese army and navy, move onto the US Army and Marines, followed by the British and Indians and finishing up with the Australians (cheese and crackers, a notably army seems to be missing…). I was a little surprised that a the lists are only for mid war. Hopefully, that means we will get a separate late war version in the future….
The book finishes off with a terrain and missions section. So, you get both the armies and some new rules to go with them, better to fit the battlefields of the war in the Pacific and South Asia.
Each section has a nice little campaign section, that covers the various campaigns and battles that each army took part in. There is a bit of overlap (as armies did fight against one another!), as one would expect. Interesting, the campaigns cover narrative on some armies that are not included in the book, like the Chinese in Burma and the New Zealanders in the Pacific. As the release is just a reprint from the old molds (metal and resin miniatures) for the pacific or some reboxing of some newer plastics to make them campaign friendly.
In addition to the campaign narrative, each section also includes some fluff on the different types of AFVs used by the respective countries. Not really necessary, but a nice add for those that like to get more detail on their favorite tanks!
Starting with the Japanese, there is the army org chart showing all the companies that are available, along with the support options for each force. The Japanese army gets an infantry company and three tank companies (Ha Go, Chi Ha and Chi Ro). The marines get an infantry company and a Ka Mi amphibious tank company. I suppose if you want to use Ha Gos for the marines, you just use the army card. Next, you get a page of special rules for the Japanese army. This is a much paired down version of the V3 rules (thank god). I think the most interesting is the new Banzai rules. Basically, Japanese infantry roll one worse when receiving defensive fire (saving on a four plus), but always close. This makes the charges more a sure thing (as long as there are not too many machine guns around!) and gives this army a nice difference. Personally, I would like a version of this for all armies, just to make assaults great again! Maybe in V5, whenever they release that…
We then get into the breakdown of each company and their platoons. With the exception of the two save values for the Japanese infantry mentioned earlier, nothing too stand out. You get a nice smattering of different troops and support weapons. The one thing that is clear, is that the Japanese do not have a great Anti Tank ability. They can handle the early light armored allied tanks, but with struggle with the Shermans and Valentines. They also include some mid war monsters, but frankly I think these are a bit dumb (like most others). All are vehicles that existed (German Tiger I, cough cough), but not available in this part of the war.
The forces of the United States are next. The book contains units of both the US Army and Marines. The Army gets a Sherman, Stuart and Infantry company. The Marines get their own Stuart company and a Marine Infantry company. There are of course the normal listings for Force support. We then get the page of special army rules. I do not remember the difference from V3, but nothing game breaking here.
The breakdown of the companies and platoons are similar to the Africa US listings. The Marines are a little different, just to add their flavor. The support weapons platoons are more of the same. I think it is interesting that the only air support are P-40s. Battlefront used to make F4Us and could have used these for Marine support, but this would not have covered the whole period I guess. Wildcats would have been nice, but Battlefront never made them (fortunes for me, I have my own!). I think the SP gun Halftracks are interesting. Not too common, but a nice add, none the less. There are also some mid war monsters of vehicles that were never deployed….
Next we get listings for the British and Indian forces. This is totally new and something we never got in V3. A very welcome add. This brings in the South Asian battles and allows players to organize their armies for more specific listings, so players do not have to rely on massaging their Africa lists! Full listings for Indian forces are nice. I was expecting command cards, but this is so much better! We get Infantry, Stuart and Grant companies.
The breakdown of the companies and platoons are similar to the Africa UK listings. The Indians just have different stats to add to their flavor. The support weapons platoons are more of the same. We get the Indian Pattern Carriers, but everything else is about the same. More mid war monsters of vehicles that were never deployed….
We finish with the Australian forces in the Pacific. We get three infantry companies (Rifle, Militia and Commando). This gives both elite and not so elite troops, giving Aussie players some choices to make. The tank companies are Stuarts, Grants and for some reason Sentinels. I think the latter should have been mid war monsters, as they were never committed. In their place, there should have been Matildas, which the Aussies were big fans of (particularly the support versions). Then again, these showed up in late 43, so maybe they will be in a late war book? We also get the specific army rules and look like the Africa versions at first glance. What I do not understand is that there are no New Zealand forces for the Solomons. Considering Battlefront is a New Zealand based company, I figured they would fit them in to represent their forces in the Solomon Islands. Maybe it will be a late war add.
The breakdown of companies and platoons are pretty much just the British versions with the different Aussie stats. No surprises, just what the doctor ordered.
Once we get through all the armies, we have a few pages to cover specific terrain rules for settings up tabletops and using region specific terrain. Nothing shocking, but a nice and necessary add.
We then get into scenarios. I do not play FOW this way, so I cannot comment on the value of these. However, more is always better in this regard for the tourney player. They also include the standard rules for amphibious assaults. I do not see anything different here from the earlier D-Day rules, at first glance at least.
We close out with organizations and unit descriptions for bunkers and nests. These are a necessary add for many of the fights. I am a little disappointed that there are no new miniatures for these. The nests are just fine, but the Bunkers are a bit too Normandy. Some timber versions would have been nice and would work well for other fronts in WWII. Fortunately, there are various ones available in resin. I have a few that I am working on myself!
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As mentioned earlier, I was not a fan of the earlier army books and thought they were a waste of money. The newer hard back campaign compilations are a different story. They are a throw back to the old V3 books, which were always excellent. The inclusion of the online army builder lists is a huge plus. That and all the extra rules and scenario stuff makes this a very nice offering. The only miss is that they do not include the army command cards in the book. Since these are now limited release in print form, they should add them here and not force future players to have to use the online builder to get the info. I suppose that is a bit of a quibble, but there is nothing wrong with wanting more! With that said, if you want to play FOW in the Pacific, I think this is a must buy.
- Manteuffel