Red Bear -Revised Edition (Hardback)

One of our most popular books in Flames Of War is the Red Bear compilation. It includes all of the game’s Late-war Allied forces on the Eastern Front, such as the Soviets, Romanians, and a Polish Warsaw Uprising force. The armies within cover all of the current forces from 1944, a pivotal year on the eastern front. If you are interested in Soviets and their allies, this is an essential book to have. With the upcoming release of Desperate Measures, a book about the Soviet and German tank battles in early 1945, and a reprint scheduled for Red Bear (standard reprint to update low stock), we realised that we were at a unique moment in time. These two books represent all of our published material on Late-war Soviet forces, and so we had a unique opportunity to update the popular Red Bear and also address some of the excellent feedback coming from players across the globe. The key change in these books is that we have increased the discount for tanks affected by the Soviet Hen & Chicks Special Rule. After some intense testing and discussion (many thanks to our tireless playtesters for their help and patience!), we have restored Tankovy points to about the same points level found in the old Hammer & Sickle book. Unit Type Old Points New Points 10 T-34 obr 1942 450 points 350 points 10 T-34/85 obr 1944 645* points 570* points See the table to the right for examples. Note that the T-34/85 prices include cupolas which are no longer optional. This will help Soviet tankovy players field a sizable force that is more than capable of competing against other similar forces. There has been a lot of discussion amongst Flames Of War players about the ubiquitous Katyusha, and we have taken all of the feedback on board and redesigned the truck-mounted rocket launchers. First, we gave the launchers the ability to “Shoot n’ Scoot”. Normally rocket launchers leave a smoke trail, which enemy artillery can range in on and return fire. However, mobile rocket launchers have the ability to evacuate the area before the enemy’s shells start falling. The Mobile Rocket Launchers special rule represents this by letting the launchers roll to remove the smoke trails after it fires a bombardment. Second, we have given the Katyushas a points discount to better reflect their battlefield capabilities. We have also given the heavy Katyusha rocket launchers (known as the BM-31-12) the Super Heavy Rockets special rule, bringing them into line with the game’s other heavy rocket launchers. Essentially, this means that after a bombardment with these heavy rockets, the launcher’s crew can roll to see if they can quickly reload the launcher for the next turn. If they pass, the launcher is ready and if they fail, they need some more time. This translates into a discount for the heavy Katyushas. These changes should make the Katyusha, as ubiquitous in your Flames Of War Soviet forces as they were in Stalin’s Red Army. Soviet medium assault guns (SU-85, SU-85M, SU-100, and M-10) did not fulfil the same role as their light and heavy counterparts. They were tank killers and they were well armed to do that job from a long distance (as opposed to the other types which had to close in with the enemy). To reflect this, we’ve given medium assault guns a special rule called “Cat Killer” which allows them to re-roll missed shots at long-ranged targets. This new doctrine will help assault guns make every shot count, like the powerful SU-100. With the reprint of Red Bear we had the chance to address a few other small things in existing lists. For example, the Guards Heavy Tank Regiment has received some more support options, widening the list’s potential. We’ve also taken the chance to streamline the special rules for the Udarny Strelkovy Batalon (Shock Rifle Battalion). Where previously the Udarny only hit their enemy in assault on a 3+, rather than a 4+ as normal, they now accomplish all Skill Tests on a 3+. This reflects the fact that shock armies were significa