Editing Flames of War (section)

==Armies==
{{editwar}}
FoW supports most of the major military powers that fought in WWII. The following is an absolutely completely unbiased list of those that are currently available.

===United States of America===

They may have shown up two years late, but once in the war the Americans brought with them one of the largest war industries ever heard of, and by 1945 fielded one of the largest and most powerful armed forces ever seen in history. Built around vehicle spam, heavy artillery, and a seemingly endless supply of bazookas. Technology like stabilizers, AOPs, and semiautomatic rifles make your troops great at maneuver warfare and help make up for generally average or poor hard stats.  US artillery enjoys the ''time on target'' rule which forces rerolls on saves; going into the war the US Army was a bit of a one-trick pony, but that trick was focusing ALL their artillery in range to hit the same thing at the same time.

In Midwar, the US has some of the most powerful technology, with some of the heaviest armed and armored medium tanks of the era, massive amounts of bazookas (which are waaay scarier in this era), and their always capable artillery. What's the tradeoff? You have some rather poor crew stats that limit your flexibility and give you discounts on your troops, so they are still relatively spammable, and your special rules still make your troops decently flexible despite that. Even though your options aren't huge, you have a tool for every job and the US represents a capable force.

Late War depicts the Americans as a force to be reckoned with due to their probably the most powerful artillery in game, higher training, and insane list building flexibility. These capabilities help you overcome your glaring weaknesses: you don't have access to the level of armor and penetration that the Soviets, Germans, and British can bring in numbers. This doesn't mean that your units are much cheaper though: the top level M4 mediums are similar in price to Soviet heavies and SS panthers. This means that you have to play a bit smarter, using smoke, artillery, terrain, and your special rules and training to out maneuver and out think your freedom-hating adversaries. Played well, it's a beautiful sight to see, but you will be punished quite readily if you lose your luck or wits.


{{US Forces in Flames of War}}

===Great Britain===

The old saying goes that the British Army loses every battle in every war except the last one, and Britannia certainly got the last laugh in the 1940s. Jollie olde Anglaterre and her Commonwealth mainly field bland looking masses of brown and drab paint. They are good all-rounders, and are especially good in assaults. One of their biggest draws is that Great Britain isn't just England- you can also field Scots, Irish, Indians, Canadians, Nepalese, Australians, New Zealanders, and Maoris. The British are tough in defense and <s>favour drowning their enemies in dead colonials</s> tend to have a small, elite core supplemented by special forces. They are best in defense however, due to their special characters and special rules that favour a mainly static war (unless you play an armour company, in which case the British rules are made to let you [[Orks|charge in guns blazing]]).

{{British Forces in Flames of War}}

===Soviet Union===

The only army a true fa/tg/uy should ever play. Brutal fucks that get a pass because they helped the other Allies shove the Fascists back into schnitzelland, proving that communists have [[Meme|speech 100.]] The Red Army also taught the entire world that no technological advantage beats '''A LOT''' of men equipped with simple, sturdy and easily mass-producible tools of war... as long as you are willing to take and replace '''A LOT''' of losses in the process (which they were). The Red Army's units are a mess of contradictions, with decent hard stats but some significant weaknesses that allow you to field them in large numbers. The Soviets suffer from a near complete lack of artillery smoke, a -1 to hit if they move on nearly all their vehicles, a lack of careful units, and sparse infantry AT. What this means is you can field a massive number of units that, when used together right, can mitigate their weaknesses and do a lot of damage. When used wrong, however, they tend to die in droves. To give you an idea of how much you're going to be outnumbering your opponent, most other armies are a 'Company' made up of 'Platoons'. [[Tyranid|The average Soviet army fields 'Battalions' made up of 'Companies']]. Chances are you will fill up your side of the table with your forces, so I hope you enjoy assembling and painting those little basta- {{BLAM|'''*BLAM!*''' fearless defenders of the motherland}}. Despite this, the Late War Soviets also bring a good amount of highly skilled and capable units, helping mitigate the weaknesses of their regular brethren. That or you could just spam T-34 and T-70s like a mad lad and [[Just as planned|take so many throwaway tanks that the amount of burning wreckage they make is an acceptable replacement for the smoke you don't have.]] Either way is fun.

The Polish People's Army seen in Team Yankee originated in the Soviet Union in 1943, so there is the possibility to field them using selections from the Mid-to-Late-War Soviet lineup as well, like the T-34/85.

{{Soviet Forces in Flames of War}}

===Germany===

The Nazi state might have produced some of the most horrific evil ever seen or done by man, but they also forged a war machine with enough discipline, training, equipment and fighting spirit to seize and hold virtually all of Europe and take on most of the world, basically by themselves, for over five years. German forces feature the Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force), Kriegsmarine (Navy), the Waffen-SS (Armed-Protection Squadron), the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) and the Volkssturm (People's Assault). Their quality ranges from extremely good to extremely bad, with the latter becoming more common in Late War, when the German military was rapidly running out of guns, bullets, fuel, vehicles, time and ability to train new troops, etc. and were generally just throwing together whatever they could. The stern discipline and tenacity of the Heer is plenty visible, as is the skill and daring of the Luftwaffe's airborne troops and the extreme Villainous Valor of the Waffen-SS. The Volkssturm, a pitiful last-ditch effort to stave off defeat, is just a bullet-sponge militia, and the mobilized boys of the Hitler Youth have been soaked in Nazi propaganda for years and just don't know any better.

German forces were driven to extraordinary lengths by Hitler's decision to try taking on basically the entire world at once, but the upside is that snazzy German engineering; there are literally over a hundred different vehicles to choose from. Most German units will win one-on-one with their Allied counterparts, but will usually be outnumbered by a noticeable margin. Also, there's several lists that lets you field an army of [[Awesome|nothing but Tiger or Konigstiger tanks]], so that's cool too. Germans have great tactical flexibility and firepower but don't stand up to attrition very well. Their special rules are very newbie-friendly as they pretty much ignore the rules about platoon command teams, since if one dies, they can "appoint" a new platoon commander without having to have the Company commander or second in command there.

{{German Forces in Flames of War}}

===France===

If you enjoy sitting back and dragging out battles, France is the country for you. Usually they field a static army of soldiers with low morale, able to blow the shit out of the enemy with their special snowflake artillery. Enjoy laughing in the face of your opponent as you pore over complicated tables every time you shoot something. In addition, you can also take giant indestructible tanks, or get your Fearless Trained African soldiers to do your dirty work for you. Their special rules '''REALLY''' favour the defense, as both infantry and armour alike are unsuited to attacking. One special rule allows your servant to move your objectives closer to you, and another gives all colonial troops an advantage in assaults so you can sit back in your trench and enjoy your wine and cheese.

Those collaborating Vichy surrender monkeys don't really appear, and for that matter, neither do Free French, either. The former was relegated to a support role at best and the latter had no ability to produce updated French-designed and made uniforms or equipment and thus pretty much would be American units on the tabletop anyway.

{{French Forces in Flames of War}}

===[[Fascist Italy|Italy]]===

Ah, yes- the Italians. The ally Germany asked for but wound up wishing they'd never gotten. Italy shares the massive numbers of weak troops with the Soviets, but lacks the supporting equipment. Don't expect any decent tanks unless you take German allies (Semoventi are one of the few Mid-war SPG Artillery units the Axis can take as a core Formation, and just happen to not be subject to the whims of the Dice Gods when determining just how bad they could be, cuz Italian Arty are Veterans). The only tanks in the entire war that were definitely worse were those fielded by Japan (and theirs were basically made of paper). The Italians could fight extremely well when they wanted to, but the Italian people as a whole were not as fired up for an all-out war as Mussolini wanted them to be, and so the motivation and skill of Italian forces varied widely. Hence the special rules that give random motivation/skill ratings to their platoons, which can lead to hilarious lists where you either have elite hordes of Fearless Veterans or untrained masses of Reluctant Conscripts. Depending on the table you roll on, it's usually geared towards Confident Trained or Reluctant Trained. Still, absolutely hilarious for both sides when rolling.

{{Italian Forces in Flames of War}}

===Japan===

<s>Dishonorably only available in Early War for now.</s> New Pacific Book 'Banzai' has came out. Now you can field Japanese army for Pacific supplement rules, and also for good ol' Late-War rules. They have the best morale in the game, even refusing to listen to the player when they fail their company morale check. At points where the even the Waffen-SS and those crazy Nazi kids in the Hitler Youth would decide they'd had enough, the Imperial Japanese Army's soldiers fought on, often literally until every last man on their side was dead. They were trained and taught to fight ferociously and die gloriously for Empire and Emperor, and they were ''extremely'' good at both. Their vehicles are somewhat lacking- an understatement, given how machine gun fire proved capable of breaching Japanese tank armor-  but they make up for this by taking the steel that would have otherwise been used on those tanks and turning it into the enormous balls that are standard issue for their soldiers. No surrender. NO SURRENDER. Their average infantryman has a rifle and a banner that gives him a hard-on for death, and their anti-tank weapon of choice is a [[Awesome|bomb-thrower who would put the Taliban to shame.]] If you were looking for a sane game of Flames of War, look elsewhere. You don't play Japan for their competitiveness or survivability, you do it because every single unit is foaming at the mouth to charge the enemy and start murdering. [[Emperor|For the Emperor!]]

Tactics for V4: [[japan flames of war]]

===Finland===

One of Germany's best allies until circumstances forced them to switch sides late in the war, Finland was driven into German arms by Stalin's shameless (and Pyrrhic) war of aggression that robbed them of a good chunk of territory in the Winter War. They joined in the invasion of the USSR in the hopes of getting revenge, and fielded a professional army that benefited considerably from the use of modern German equipment. They made use of captured Soviet hardware as well, and slapped swastikas on every vehicle to ensure that the Stukas didn't come after them.

Despite lacking the equipment and vehicles of the other powers, the Finns are still a force to be reckoned with. They get a huge advantage in Winter and Forest terrain (which the Soviets learned about the hard way in the Winter War), and are usually rated Veteran, even in the early war. They field a mix of Soviet, German, and WW1-era equipment. You need balls to play these guys, as you can't rely on numbers or special rules to win the day. Their armored company is considered one of the most challenging lists to play.

The Finns were on the Axis side until a ways into the Late War period, when they would appear fighting the Germans if you were to field them.

{{Finish Forces in Flames of War}}

===Hungary===

<s>The poor man's Germans</s> Very similar to Germany, but with unique organization and equipment. Have useful special rules that provide advantages in both attack and defense, and can take a lot of German equipment in the Late War. Their most famous vehicle is the kawaii-as-fuck Zrínyi assault gun.

{{Hungarian Forces in Flames of War}}

===Romania===

Mainly focused on infantry and cavalry, with hilariously underpowered vehicle options. They get random motivation like Italy, and can also take a lot of allied equipment. They are unique because they switch sides after being conquered by the Soviets in Late War, so Romanian players can choose between German or Soviet allies, while quietly wondering why they're using Early War equipment in 1944. Historically it is because, while there was an assistance agreement in place, [[That Guy|Germany handed them their cast-offs and captured Russian materiel while keeping the updated stuff for their own units]]. The Romanians, while having decent technology lacked the heavy industry to equip their entire army on their own, so they were actually relatively thankful for said cast-offs. Later on after they switched sides, the Reds didn't trust the lukewarm enthusiasm the Romanian king showed for [[Communism]], so they didn't want to heavily arm someone they already knew they would eventually have to deal with. Which happened two years later: the king was booted out, Romania became a full satellite of the USSR and (ironically) at that point received the same better materiel other USSR allies did.

{{Romanian Forces in Flames of War}}

===Poland===

The poor Poles have it even worse than the Finns. They have okay equipment, especially for Early War, but you will find yourself stretching to get your units to fit all the roles you need. You can try to impersonate the Soviets with masses of weak infantry, but their real advantage is in the great balance of their units. They can hold their own in assaults, and tend to excel in defense. In Late War, they have the legendary Armia Krajowa, which beats the Finnish armour company for the position of hardest list in the game. It's literally a bunch of armed civilians with whatever German stuff they could get their hands on, and it would come as no surprise if Sun Tzu himself couldn't win a game with them.

{{Polish Forces in Flames of War}}

NOTE: The game balance in this game is actually really good. There is no "best army," just strong lists. Lists are usually strong against one type of list and are countered by others. Eg: Commandos are an elite British list that are awesome against raping shit in melee, and are fearless veterans, but they are expensive and you can't take many of them, meaning you get absolutely raped by horde tank lists like the Russian lists.