Building a List Using The 7th Armoured Division Army Deal

Building a List Using The 7th Armoured Division Army Deal By John Lee With the launch of the D-Day 80th Anniversary Army Deals, I thought I would look at how a new player, or someone on a budget, can get a British force on the table that would be semi-competitive or at least hold its own. For the new player, it opens the door to playing Flames Of War without needing to buy, assemble or paint too much and get into playing the game quicker.

Check out the 7th Armoured Division Army Deal in the online store...

Overview So, if we look at what we get in the excellent value army deal (British 7th Armoured Division), that will help decide what Formations to run (other than the obvious one on the box!). The army deal contains the following: 8 x 75mm Cromwell Tanks or 95mm CS Tanks 3 x Sherman 75mm Tanks, OP Tanks, or Firefly Tanks 2 x Crusader Self-propelled AA 1 x Motor Platoon 4 x Sexton Self Propelled Guns or RAM Kangaroo APC or RAM 6pdr Tanks 9 x Unit Cards 1 x Command Card 1 x Destroyed Tiger Objective 1 x Destroyed Cromwell Objective 20 x 7th Armoured Dice 20 x 7th Armoured Tokens and 2 x Objectives 2 x 7th Armoured Decal Sheets

This is not your normal army deal you usually see. It also comes with two themed custom objective markers (destroyed Tiger and destroyed Cromwell) and specific decals for the 7th Armoured division. To top that off, it comes with themed dice token and standard flat objective markers. Cost for the army deal is a bit more expensive but the extras are well worth it and you save more money overall with all the goodies inside the box!

Now this box has been primarily designed for running one Formation in the D-Day Compilation book. We will look at building a 100pt list around that first but there are two other potential options we will look at from the D-Day and Bulge books where we can also maximise what we get in the army deal box, and look at 100pt options.

1. Desert Rats Cromwell Armoured Squadron Onto the Formations now and looking at the Desert Rats Cromwell Armoured Squadron from the D-Day Compilation book, let us look at what units comprise this Formation: 1 Desert Rats Cromwell Armoured Squadron HQ 1-3 Desert Rats Cromwell Armoured Troop 1 Desert Rats Cromwell Armoured Troop or Desert Rats Stuart Recce Patrol 0-1 Desert Rats Stuart Recce Patrol 0-1 Crusader AA Troop

In the Formation and what we get in the army, we can use all the army deal box and add a few of extra boxes to get to 100pts! This is how it could look based on what is pictured on the box and D-Day British force diagram:

Five units for the Formation break. One Firefly in each Cromwell troop and a M10 Achilles SP Anti-tank platoon to provide AT14 support for your attack. Crusader AA to protect your tanks against planes or to use against enemy infantry teams or light vehicles. Motor platoon to defend an objective or to support your armoured attack. Two templates with the Sextons and Typhoons. Typhoons can strike fear in your enemy when they turn up to take out enemy heavy tanks such as King Tigers.

To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $257: 1 x BRAB16 7th Armoured Division 145 1 x BBX58 Stuart Recce Patrol 40 1 x BBX62 M10 SP Anti-Tank Troop 40 1 x BBX66 Typhoon Fighter Bomber Flight 32 TOTAL $257

2. 1st Czech Armoured Squadron The second force to look at is again from the same book but in the command cards – The 1st Czech Armoured Squadron. Units comprising this Formation are: 1 1st Czech Armoured Squadron HQ 2-4 Cromwell Armoured Recce Troop 0-1 Stuart Recce Patrol 0-1 Firefly Armoured Troop

We can use the army deal with just a couple of extra boxes to get it to 100pts:

Five units for the Formation break. All 17pdr Firefly’s grouped into one platoon to provide oversight and cover whilst the Cromwell’s use their speed to get into position for flank shots or taking on enemy medium armour. Crocodiles to provide the flamethrowers to assault the enemy off the objectives where the Motor Platoon can secure it. Sextons to provide mobile artillery support or counter battery fire.

To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $215: 1 x BRAB16 7th Armoured Division 145 1 x BBX56 Churchill Armoured Troop 30 1 x BBX58 Stuart Recce Patrol 40 TOTAL $215

If you prefer to have more AT17 support for your list, then remove the Crocodiles and add in an M10 Achilles troop and a Daimler Armoured Car Troop for the same points. This will incur an additional cost of $30.

3. Black Bull Motor Company The final force to look at is from the Bulge: British book – The Black Bull Motor Company. Units comprising this Formation are: 1 Black Bull Motor Company HQ 2-3 Black Bull Motor Platoon 1-2 Universal Carrier Patrol 0-1 Universal Carrier Patrol or Wasp Carrier Patrol 0-2 Motor 6pdr Anti-Tank Platoon 0-1 Vickers Machine-gun Platoon or MMG Carrier Patrol 0-1 3-inch Mortar Platoon

We can use most of the army deal and need several more boxes to complete this army:

Being an infantry Formation, its easier to have a higher Formation break. Nine units for the break. Maxing out the infantry, we have three platoons. Two on foot used to defend the objectives with the platoon in half-tracks to either reinforce the defence as a mobile reserve or on attack supported by Wasps, MMG Carriers. Archers provide the heavy lifting with their AT15. Cromwell’s and RAM tanks to support the assault and or take out enemy medium armour. 6pdr anti-tank platoon to support defending the objectives and a universal carrier patrol to help with spearhead in those missions that allow it. Mortars provide the artillery template support.

To buy this army you need only to purchase the following for $320: 1 x BRAB16 7th Armoured Division 145 1 x BBX53 Rifle Company 50 1 x BBX54 6pdr Anti-tank Platoon 36 1 x BBX55 Universal Carrier Patrol 34 1 x BBX78 Archer Anti-tank Troop 40 1 x BR729 3" Mortar Platoon 15 TOTAL $320

There you have it – a few options to ponder for getting started with this army deal. Enjoy!

~ John