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Early ~ 1939 - 1941
Early-war
Landing Page
(Clicking on the logos below to view website content related to each book.)
Early ~ 1939 - 1941
Blitzkrieg Hellfire and Back
Burning 
			Empires Rising Sun
Early-war Books (Click on the images below to read the Design Notes for each of the Early-war books.)
Blitzkrieg 
			(FW301) Hellfire and Back! 
			(FW302) Burning Empires 
			(FW303) Rising Sun 
			(FW304)
Check out all of the Early-war products in the online store here...
Blitzkrieg
Staff Armies

Blake's Czech Panzerkompanie...
Chris' Leichte Panzerkompanie...
Casey's Kompania Czolgów...
Casey's Kompania Czolgów Revisited...
Kyran's British Infantry Tank Company...
Mark's Czech Panzerkompanie...
Mike Haught’s Escadron de Reconnaissance...
Mike Haycock's Leichte Panzerkompanie...
Phil's British Armoured Regiment...
Gary Martin's Early War Light Panzer Company...
Phil's British Armoured Regiment Revisited...
Mike Haycock's Light Panzer Company Revisited...
Mike Haught's Escadron de Reconnaissance Revisited...
Mike's Escadron de Reconnaissance...

Casey's 75mm Guns
Modelling Articles
Polish Painting Guide

British Painting Guide For Early War...
Assembling the British Armoured Regiment...
Assembling the British Rifle Company...
French Painting Guide for Early-war...
Assembling the French Tank Combat Squadron...
Assembling and Painting the Char B with Tom Wise...
German Painting Guide For Early War...
Early War German Vehicle Colours...
Assembling the German Motorised Rifle Company...
Assembling the German Light Panzer Company...
Polish Painting Guide For Early War...
Assembling the Polish Infantry Battalion...
Assembling the Polish Tank Company...
Assembling the French Infantry Company...
Useful Early War Downloads...
Dressing French Tanks For Battle...
A Sneak Peak at the Polish Train...
Polish Armoured Train Camouflage...
Painting The Brave: Polish Armoured Train...

Product Spotlights

Blitzkrieg Design Notes...
Recognising The Tanks Of Early-War...
German Early War Paint Set (GPS04)...
Polish Early War Paint Set (PPS01)...
Scout Carrier Platoon (BR207)...
Bren Carrier Platoon (BR208)...
Major General Montgomery (BR887)...
French Decal Set (FR940)...
Polish Token Set (TK020)...
French Token Set (TK021)...
British and Commonwealth Decals (BR945)...
Krupp Kfz 70 truck (GE421)...
Panzer II C (early) (GE010)...
Panzer IV D (GE040)...
Panzerbefehlswagon x2 (GE003)...
StuG A (GE120)...
Somua S-35 (FR050)...
Vickers Light Tank Mk VI B (BR002)...
A9 Cruiser Mk I (BR020)...
A10 Cruiser Mk II (BR022)...
A13 Mk II Cruiser Mk IV (BR025)...
Panhard AMD-35 (FR300)...
Hotchkiss H-35 or H39 (FR020)...
Charles de Gaulle (FR880)...
Panzerbefehlsw agen (GE003)...
Schützen Platoon (GE752)...
Panzer I B (GE002)...
Panzer III E (GE030)...
Machine-gun Platoon (GE754)...
Mortar Platoon (early) (GE755)...
Panzerjäger I (GE100)...
15cm sIG33 auf Panzer I (GE140)...
Battalion HQ (PL701)...
47mm SA-37 gun (FR510)...
Fusiliers Platoon (FR702)...
Company HQ (FR701)...

Kradützen Platoon (GBX37)...
Sd Kfz 231 (6-Rad) (GE320)...
BEF Company HQ (BR701)...
BEF Rifle Platoon (BR702)...
BEF Machine-gun Platoon (BR704)...
2 pdr gun (BEF) (BR501)...
Matilda I (BR050)...
Generalmajor Rommel (GE892)...
Renault AMR-35 (FR011)...
Renault UE Carrier & Trailer (FR211)...
Machine-gun Platoon (FR704)...
Mortar Platoon (FR705)...
A Sneak Peak at the Polish Train...
Panzer 35(t)...
Renault R-35 (FR030)...
Char B1 bis (FR070)...
TKS Tankette (x5) (PL010)...
Renault FT-17 (FR001)...
7TP (PL050)...
75mm wz. 1897 gun (x2) (PL570)...
100mm wz. 14/19 (x2) (PL580)...
Dismounted Kawalerii Company (PL721)...
Motorcycle Platoon (PL400)...
Polish Dice Set (DD011)...
Hotchkiss 25mm Gun (BR505)...
155mm wz. 17 gun (PL590)...

Wz. 34 Armoured Car (PL300)...
Laffly W15 TCC 47mm Portee (FR151)...
25mm SA-34 Hotchkiss gun (FR500)...
Renault AMR-35 ZT-2 & ZT-3 (FR140)...
French Dice Set (DD012)...
Motorcycle Platoon (BR400)...
Fusiliers Motocyclistes Squad (FR400)...
Autocannon de 75mm (FR170)...
Lorraine 38L Armoured Carrier (FR201)...
10cm FK30(t) Howitzer (GE569)...

Gaming Articles
British Forces

British Forces In Blitzkrieg...
French Forces In Blitzkrieg...
German Forces In Blitzkrieg...
Polish Forces In Blitzkrieg...
Early War Battle Report...
Tactics and Strategy for Fielding Montgomery in Early War...
Polish Special Rules on the Table Top...
Polish Infantry Strategy and Tactics...
British Cruiser Tank Tactics...

History Articles

Poland - First To Fight...
Poland Defeated...
Invasion of France and the Low Countries...
Fighting For France...
Myths of the Polish Campaign...
British 1st Armoured Division, France 1940...
Rommel: The Rise of the Desert Fox...
Rommel's Next Move...
The Beginnings of the Waffen-SS: Part One...
The Beginnings of the Waffen-SS: Part Two...
Polish Units in Exile...
The Brave at Mokra and Polish Aroured Trains in World War II...
The Siege of Calais, May 1940...
The 12th Royal Lancers in France, 1940...
Division Légère de Cavalerie...

Map of Poland
Hellfire and Back
Design Notes
Hellfire and Back! (FW302) Hellfire and Back Design Notes
Hellfire and Back
was an interesting project for me as it was my first book for Early-war. This made it a somewhat different experience to my previous books as the lead writer. Luckily I had Phil and Mike on hand to offer helpful suggestions as well as our very knowledgeable playtesters and contributors.

We named Hellfire and Back after Halfaya Pass, which was called ‘Hellfire Pass’ by the Commonwealth soldiers. It is mentioned again and again through the histories of the Desert War in 1940 and 1941. One side or the other was always passing through it and it was the focal point of many a battle during these turbulent two years.

Hellfire and Back covers the battles in Libya and Egypt between the Italian invasion of Egypt on 13 September 1940 until the end of Operation Crusader at the end of December 1941. During that time both the Allies and Axis raced backwards and forwards across the desert, each achieving overwhelming victories only to see the other side recover to come back at them once again.

Hellfire and Back Design Notes...
Battlefront TV Visit the Battlefront TV channel on YouTube here...
Hellfire and Back Overview
Wayne and Casey take a quick look at what you can expect to see in Hellfire and Back.
The Italians
Wayne and Casey take a quick look at what you can expect to see from the Italian lists.

The Germans
Wayne and Casey take a quick look at what you can expect to see from the Germans lists.

The British
Wayne and Casey take a quick look at what you can expect to see from the British lists.
Product Spotlights
105/28 howitzer (x2) (IT590)...
A10 Cruiser Mk IIA (Desert) (BR023)...
A13 Cruiser Mk IVA (Desert) (BR026)...
Afrikakorps Special Order Releases...
Autocannone da 102/35 (IT163)...
Bofors 37mm Portee (BR152)...
Brigadier JC 'Jock' Campbell (BR888)...
British Desert Decals (BR943)...
Company HQ (Australian) (BR746)...
Crusader I or II (BR032)...
DAK Decals (GE942)...
DAK Kradschützen Platoon (GBX49)...
Desert Barbed Wire Obstacles (BB129)...
Desert Casualty Markers...
Desert Hazards (BB125)...
Fiat CR.42 Falco (IT950)...
Gun Pits: Desert Sandbags...
Italian Decals (IT940)...
L3/35 (IT001)...
Light Tank Mk VI B/C (Desert) (BR003)...
M11/39 (IT030)...
Morris CS9 Armoured Car (BR305)...
Panzer I (Flamm) (GE004)...
Pioneer Platoon (Afrika) (GE747)...
Rolls Royce Armoured Car (BR300)...
Schützen Platoon (Afrika) (GE742)...
Tobruk HMG Nests (XX706)...
Valentine II (BR060)...
Burning 
			Empires
Design Notes
Burning Empires Design Notes
Burning Empires is a different sort of book than you might be expecting. Think of this book as ‘Part II’, or a compendium, to Hellfire and Back. It covers all major forces that fought in the Mediterranean Theatre during 1940 and 1941 that are not covered in Hellfire and Back, such as the Fucilieri, Greeks, and French. With these two books you should be able to field all of the major forces in the region.

Burning Empires Design Notes...
Burning Empires (FW303)
Battlefront TV Visit the Battlefront TV channel on YouTube here...
Burning Empires: The Allies
Mike takes a quick look at what you can expect to see in the Allied lists covered by the new Early War book Burning Empires.
Burning Empires: The Axis
Mike takes a quick look at what you can expect to see in the Axis lists covered by the new Early War book Burning Empires.
Burning Empires: Raiding
Mike takes a quick look at what you can expect to see in the Raiding lists covered by the new Early War book Burning Empires.
Raider's Campaign Pack Unboxed
Sean takes a quick look at what you can expect to see in the Raiding Aces Raiders Campaign Pack for use with the Raiding forces from the Early War book Burning Empires.
Podcasts
Radio Free 
			Battlefront Talks Burning Empires Radio Free Battlefront Talks Burning Empires
Part One
In this episode, Mike, Sean and Chris take a look through the first half of Burning Empires, talking about the forces and answering questions from the forum.


Listen to Part One of the Radio Free Battlefront podcast on Burning Empires here...
Part Two
In this episode, Mike, Sean and Chris take a look through the second half of Burning Empires, talking about the new raiding forces and the upcoming Raiding Aces campaign pack.

Listen to Part Two of the Radio Free Battlefront podcast on Burning Empires here...
Raiding Aces
Raiding Aces Design Notes
Burning Empires also covers the wide world of the desert raiding war. Deep in the Sahara Desert, another war was being waged and Burning Empires drops you in the middle of that fight between Axis and Allied Special Forces.

Raiding Aces Design Notes...
Raiding Aces Design Notes
Download a PDF version of the Raiding Aces booklet here...
Download PDF versions of the Raiding Aces Results Sheet, Command Chart and Key Building Markers here...
Gaming Articles
Building an 
			OSS Operational Group
Building an OSS Operational Group
One of the Special Forces included in Burning Empires is the American OSS Operational Group. Though US were a late-comer to the raiding war, they adapted quickly and the fledgling Office of Strategic Services (or OSS) fielded several Operational Groups in Corsica, Sardinia, and Italy during the Mid War period.

Building an OSS Operational Group...
Building a Compagnia Mitraglieri
One of the Special Forces included in Burning Empires is the Compagnia Mitraglieri. The Mitraglieri (translated as machine-gun), were the main stay of Italian defences in the Sahara. They had plenty of firepower to contend with enemy infantry and provided the more mobile truck and camel-mounted troops with a safe haven.

Building a Compagnia Mitraglieri...

Building a Compagnia Mitraglieri
Building a Brandenburger Halbkompanie Building a Brandenburger Halbkompanie
One of the Special Forces included in Burning Empires is the Brandenburger Halbkompanie (Half Company). These sneaky German troops fought wearing the uniform of their opponents over their own. They would infiltrate behind enemy lines and secure important crossings and objectives before getting rid of their disguises to defend what they captured.

Building a Brandenburger Halbkompanie...
Raiding with Regular Forces
Burning Empires covers many of the active raiding forces during the Mediterranean campaign; however there were lots of other units that did their fair share of raiding during the first few years of the war. Listed below are a few regular forces can be found in other Flames Of War books, which launched raids similar to those of the LRDG and SAS.

Raiding with Regular Forces...

Raiding 
			with Regular Forces
Raiding Missions Raiding Missions
Raiding Missions:
Missing in Action & Chart The Unknown
We provide PDF downloads of the raiding missions Missing in Action and Chart the Unknown.

Raiding Missions: Missing in Action & Chart The Unknown...
Battlefront Studio Plays Raiding Aces
Whilst Mike was writing Burning Empires, many of us in the Studio kept an eye on what was going on with the Raiding Forces in particular. We fondly remembered "back in the days" when Sting of the Scorpion originally came out and were keen to have go using these revamped units.

Battlefront Studio Plays Raiding Aces: Part One...
Battlefront Studio Plays Raiding Aces: Part Two...

Battlefront Studio Plays Raiding Aces
Product Spotlights

15cm sIG33 gun (Gebirgsjäger)...
15cm sIG33 gun (SS)...
25mm SA-34 Hotchkiss gun...
3.7cm PaK36 gun (Gebirgsjäger)...
3.7cm PaK36 gun (SS)...
5cm PaK38 gun (Gebirgsjäger)...
5cm PaK38 gun (SS)...
7.5cm GebK15 gun (Gebirgsjäger)...
7.5cm leIG18 gun (SS)...
AS37 Sahariana...
AS42 Sahariana (MG/AT/47/20)...
Assault Gliders...
Compagnie de Tirailleurs HQ...
Company HQ (FJ)...
Gebirgsjäger HMG Platoon...
Gebirgsjäger Infantry Company...
Gebirgsjäger Mortar Platoon...
Gebirgsjäger Pioneer Platoon...

Greek Bren Carrier Crew...
Laffly S15TOE...
Legionnaire Sapper Platoon...

LRDG / SAS Dismounted Patrols...
LRDG Chev Gun Truck...
LRDG Chev Truck...
LRDG Ford V8 Car...

Luftlandesturm Platoon...
Motociclisti Platoon...
OSS Operational Group...
Raiding Aces Raiders Campaign Pack...
SS Heavy Artillery Battery...
SS Infanterie Platoon...
SS Light Artillery Battery...
SS Machine-gun Platoon...
SS Pioneer Platoon...
SS-Infantry Company...
SS-Kradschützen Platoon...
Tirailleurs 75mm Artillery Battery...
Tirailleurs Heavy Artillery Battery...
Tirailleurs Machine-gun Platoon...
Tirailleurs Mortar Platoon...
Tirailleurs Platoon...
Unterscharführer Michael Wittmann...
Rising Sun
Design Notes
Rising Sun (FW304) Rising Sun Design Notes
Rising Sun is the latest intelligence handbook for Flames Of War and the fourth book for Early War. It is the first of two books that will cover the fighting in the east centred on the Soviet Union. In a departure from the previous Early War books, where we have handled each theatre in one large volume, this time were decided to divide the fighting between the Soviet Union’s early fighting on the its border in 1939 and 1940, and Operation Barbarossa when the Germans invaded in 1941. Soviet expansion led to wars against Poland and Finland. In the far-east the Soviet Union shared a border with Manchukuo (Manchuria), a puppet-state of Japan and tensions eventually exploded into war 1939 between Japan and the Soviet Union.

Rising Sun Design Notes...
Articles
The Raising Of The Rising Sun:
Introducing Japanese National Special Rules
Introducing a new nationality to Flames Of War means we have to create a new batch of National Special Rules for them.


The Raising Of The Rising Sun...

Fun Under The Sun: Part One
Tactical Tips on Fielding Japanese Forces in Flames Of War
The Japanese began the war with the European powers in the Pacific with a string of successes as stunning as those of the Blitzkrieg and ultimately as illusory. These were founded on rapid manoeuvring into a position of advantage. Once attaining a position of advantage the Japanese deployed rapidly and executed attacks with vigour and ferocity.

Fun Under The Sun: Part One...
Fun Under The Sun: Part Two
Tactical Tips on Fielding Japanese Forces in Flames Of War
Russell Briant give his take on the Fearless Veteran Infantry Company option, the 7th Division Hohei Chutai, building a 1500 point list and explains how they use the Japanese Special Rules.

Fun Under The Sun: Part Two...
Painting Japanese
James and Mark demonstrate how to paint Japanese infantry and tanks for Flames Of War.

Painting Japanese...
Japanese!:
I Have A Few Ideas For Those!
The release of Battlefront’s new Early-war handbook for Flames Of War, Rising Sun, sees the arrival of the Japanese on the scene. While the Japanese forces in Rising Sun are intended to be used for the Nomonhan / Khalkin Gol conflict with the Soviet Union, it is not the only conflict you can use the new Japanese Intelligence Briefings and miniatures.

Japanese! I Have A Few Ideas For Those!...

Rising Sun 
			(FW304)
An Incident At Lake Khasan An Incident At Lake Khasan
Between May and September 1939 the Soviets fought an undeclared border war with Japanese forces in Manchuria, which would become known as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol or the Nomonhan Incident.

An Incident At Lake Khasan...

Refighting The Battles At Lake Khasen
The Lake Khasan battles present number of scenarios that can be used to create interesting, challenging and fun gaming opportunities.

Refighting The Battles At Lake Khasen...

Surviving The Purges Surviving The Purges:
Marching Forward with the Early-war Motostrelkovy
The late thirties and the initial phases of World War Two were periods of great turmoil for the Red Army. Having to quickly adapt itself not only to the new demands of mechanised warfare but also rebuild its cadre of officers after the Stalinist purges. This massive but unprepared Soviet war machine had to prove himself in border conflicts against Poland, Finland and in the Far East before receiving a full scale invasion from Germany and their allies in 1941. With the release of Rising Sun last year the Soviets made a dramatic entrance into Early-war as the Flames Of War players were able to re-create the Red Army conflicts of the 1939-40 periods.

Surviving The Purges...

Building The Nomonhan Table
Designing and building the table that we used to depict the battles at Nomonhan was tricky. Talking to Wayne who wrote the book, and looking at photos and maps of the area showed that there were no distinctive features in the area.


Building The Nomonhan Table: Part One...
Building The Nomonhan Table: Part Two...

Building The Nomonhan Table
Designing The Winter War Finns Designing The Winter War Finns
The Winter War Finns featured in Rising Sun were my second opportunity to try my hand at sculpting a figure range (the first being Vietnam Anzacs for Tour of Duty). I knew a lot of people were eagerly awaiting these figures, and I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed. So I started with a lot of research. For information on uniforms and equipment, Osprey’s Men-At-Arms series is always an excellent starting point.

Designing The Winter War Finns...
Poland Invaded!:
Early War Soviet Infantry Forces
On 17 September 1939 the Soviet Red Army invaded Poland. Earlier in the year they had concluded an agreement with the Germans after negotiations with the British, French and Romanians had fallen through to form an alliance to counter German aggression in Eastern Europe. Instead the Soviets approached the Germans and concluded an agreement known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.


Poland Invaded!...
Poland Invaded!
Battlefront TV Visit the Battlefront TV channel on YouTube here...
Painting Japanese Tanks
James shows how to paint a Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha tank from Rising Sun. He gives some tips on good ways to paint bright yellow and demonstrates how to do an oil-based pin wash.
Painting Japanese Infantry
James shows how to paint Japanese infantry like the ones in Rising Sun.
Painting Finnish Infantry
James demonstrates how to paint Battlefront's new Winter War Finnish infantry, including an effective method for painting white, and how to do snow basing.

Product Spotlights (Click on the product images below to learn more.)
Hohei 
			Chutai (JBX01) Medium 
			Sensha Platoon (JBX02) Light 
			Sensha Platoon (JBX03) Kihei 
			Platoon (JBX04)
Hohei 
			Platoon (JP702) Hohei 
			Machine-gun Platoon (JP704)
Isuzu 
			1.5-ton Truck (JP430)
Nikuhaku Teams (JP706)
Type 94 37mm Anti-tank Gun (JP501) Type 92 
			70mm Gun (JP560) Type 94 
			TK (JP005)
Type 38 
			75mm Infantry Gun (JP570) Type 41 
			75mm Infantry Gun (JP565)
Type 96 
			150mm Howitzer (JP580) Artillery HQ (JP710)
Type 97 
			Chi-Ha (JP051)
BT-5 Fast 
			Tankovy Company (SBX19) BT-7 Fast 
			Tankovy Company (SBX20) T-26 obr 
			1933 Light Tank Company (SBX21) T-26 obr 
			1939 Light Tank Company (SBX22) T-35 Heavy 
			Tankovy Platoon (SBX23)
T-28 obr 
			1933 / 1938 Heavy Tankovy Platoon (SBX24)
Strelkovy Machine-gun Company (Winter) (SU764) T-20 
			Komsomoleyts (SU271) T-26 obr 
			1932 (SU004) BA-6 (SU300) I-153 Chaika 
			(SU950)
T-26E 
			Turrets (SU005) T-28E 
			Turrets (SU044) BA-20 Armoured Car (SU303) Quad 
			Maksim AA MG (SU161)
Fokker CX 
			(AC012) Panssari 
			Christie Platoon (FIX01) Vickers 
			6-ton (FI002)
FT-17 Turret 
			Bunkers (FI681) Mortar 
			Platoon (Winter) (FI725)


Last Updated On Thursday, October 9, 2014 by Blake at Battlefront