I am a little late on my army book review again, but better late than never. I picked up the Blitzkrieg book when it was released. Looking through the pages, this book follows the same format as the more recent campaign focused army list books. Overall, I like this format, as I think it provides good value and a single reference.
The Blitzkrieg book starts out listing all the formations covered in the table of contents. The forces included are the German, French and British for the 1940 campaign. I would have liked to see some Belgians (like WWI), but Battlefront does not make the figures, so I am not surprised that they are not included. It would be nice if they started adding some of these old pdf lists on their website as supplements, but that is probably asking a bit much!
Each army section includes a second listing most of the tanks that are included in the list. This is more of a fluff section to introduce players to background to the equipment they will be fielding. It is not necessary to play the game. However, it provides some nice context to those that do not already know about the tanks. As such, a nice piece of chrome!
The first army covered, are the Germans. You get a pretty comprehensive list of forces to work with. Multiple tank companies to represent the different German models and the numerous Pz38t companies. There are also multiple infantry formations and an armored car company. The latter is a new option, as these were left to the command card upgrades in the older books. I think this is a nice add. I would not of minded seeing the Motorcycle company here, as it is so iconic. However, it is available in the command cards, so it is still available indirectly. The list includes the usual suspects for support options. The return of the bunkerflak is a nice surprise! The only “miss” I would see on the Germans is the lack of a Fallshirmjager company. I guess they are holding off on that until the Mediterranean list next year. So, it is probably just a case of being patient.
The platoon options are rather expansive, with lots of options. I am surprised they kept the Panzerbefehlswagen, but is included in the new Pz1 box set, so why not! The Pz35t is not included here, but is included in the command cards. The new entry is the Panzerbaufaurtzueg. This is a bit of a surprise. I already have a few in resin, so now I do not have to make my own stats when playing Norway scenarios! The infantry is your bog standard German units (foot, truck and armored). Plenty of recon. They even kept the 6 rad armored car, another pleasant surprise. You get the normal 37 ATG option, with plenty of flak and artillery to boot. Of course there are the Stukas. I am a little surprised the AT on the bombs is only 3, as it means you cannot use these to help against Char Bs and Matildas! Overall, a nice cross section.
Next, we get the French army. Here too, there is a nice cross section of units to choose from. You get both the cavalry and infantry tank companies. So, you can field all the goodies you might have from days gone past. Plenty of Char B1s, R35s, H35/39s and S35s. There are also the old standard FT17s again. I kind of thought they would drop the FT17s, as there is not a plastic option. I also thought they would combine the H35 and R35, since the latter is not available in the new plastics (kind of strange, considering its rather ubiquitous use by a lot of other countries). So, that is good news! You also get three infantry options (mech, motor and foot), so well covered. The support options are also complete and cover everything they had in version three. I am pleasantly surprised here too. I figured they would drop the AMRs and some of the truck SPs, just to save on resin skis, but no! So get those 75mm flak trucks ready!
As mentioned above, plenty of platoon options to cover your French army desires. I cannot think of too much that is not included in the book, that was not in version three. The one thing missing is the P16 halftrack armored car, but these are in the command cards, so still there. The new plastic offerings also imply a long term support for the army. They include the Char 2c as an early war option. I guess we all want to play the Stuka attack on train cars carrying them? Kidding aside, don’t really think it is necessary, as the French have the Char B1 and I would have rather them add something that was used more, but why not. The only other thing I can think of, is there is not an air support option. The old one was just a fighter intercept, so not really a loss. However, I need an excuse to use my Moraines!
Last, but not least, we get the British. This is the shortage of the lists, as there is only the single infantry company. Here you get the infantry tank and cruiser tank companies. The new plastic tank sets ensure we get to keep the MkVI and A13s. I did not expect them to keep the Matilda 1, as it is only used in this campaign, but they are still in the book (good thing, I have ten of them!). You get the Matilda IIs and you can field as many as you want (many more than were used in the actual campaign…). I was a little surprised that the A9 and A10 were left out, as these were rather common, but I suspect they got lost in the plasticification of the line. There are plenty of support options. Here again, there are some missing options for armored cars and specialized universal carriers. Not totally surprising, but a little sad. Like the French, no air interdiction. The Brits are the one area that I would have like to see a little more love, but once again, I suspect they are saving more for the future Mediterranean book next year.
Not too much to add on the platoon cards, that I did not say above. I did not expect to see the moving fire 2 cruiser rule option on the tanks. I felt that this was a bit broken and makes the British the best attacking army in the book (which I do not believe should be the case), but you will be happy if you field British! The included the TOG, as a late war monster. This seems a bit unnecessary, as the Matilda II already fills the role, but what the heck!
Next, we get a smattering of special characters shown for each force. These are available in the command cards, so some additional options. I think it is nice that they show these here. They also include an image of the command card (along with the free link on the online army builder). There are a few other command cards sprinkled here and there. I think this is a nice add, that partially fixes the one real gripe I have about these book. Specifically, that they do not include the command cards and you have to either buy these or use the only version. I really think the army books should include them in some way. This would allow the book to be a one stop shop. Stepping off my soap box now…..
Finally, each army has the usual painting guide section. You get instructions for infantry and vehicles. The vehicle section is a bit lite and could use a little more detail. However, the infantry section is still very nice, covering all the colors for each portion of the uniform. These are still some of the nicer instructions available on the market.
Overall, another nice book that Flames of Wear players should be happy to have in their collection. Like all the recent books, you also get the code to get access to all the online army lists covered in the book (and command cards) for free, so all the more reason to buy the book!
- Manteuffel