FoW Early War – French Infantry Company Review
Welcome to the house of Frost. As my premier article for BoLS I have the pleasure of reviewing for you the contents of the new early war French Infantry Company army box (FRAB02), a.k.a. Compagnie de Fusiliers-Voltigeurs.
The army box features a number of infantry and guns intimidating to both hobbyist and opponent alike. If you think the French are giving up Paris without a fight, this force will give you pause. That top picture is the army box cover. It can’t even fit the entire contents of the box!
Whether you want to field a balanced force with a bit of everything, a blunt instrument for drawing your opponent into his worst nightmare, a stubborn mass to defend your objective, or an awesome array of artillery that even dug in infantry fear, this box is has the core components for them all. You see, the army box doesn’t simply contain one army; it really has the components of 3 distinctly different forces, each of which can employ nearly all of the contents of the box. In other words, any way you go with a French infantry company, you will not regret starting with this box.
The first is the Active French Forces Company, which has balanced confident/trained infantry that won’t run away before making a name for themselves, as well as having the vast majority of the French arsenal at their disposal. If you want a solid and flexible force, this one can be tailored for any role, and excels at defense with the trench warfare rule and the ability to take a full mortar platoon.
The second is the Reserve French Forces Company. Though the equipment for the reserve is not quite as modern as the active forces, they still have access to most of the armory and have the unique option of fielding static bunkers to mow down the enemy advance. This force is clearly designed for defense, a literal meat shield to put more teams in front of your opponent than he has shots to kill them. You want to be dug in and not have to move with these lads, however, lest the machine guns of the enemy exploit their conscript skill rating to the fullest. Have no fear; with the Trench Warfare rule, your conscript infantry dig in on a 3+, a must for the role they excel at.
Last but not least, for those who like to get stuck in with their opponent, the Colonial French Forces Company is a clear winner. Along with a solid Fearless/Trained rating, they also benefit from hitting on 3+ in close combat, making them an excellent swarm force so long as your artillery can keep enemy troops’ heads down. As an added bonus, they have roughly the same organization as the active forces, leaving it up to you to pull from the vast selection of support options.
There are some shared characteristics of each force which should not be ignored no matter how you plan to play them. For example, all three companies feature Rifle/MG teams. While you don’t have the firepower of the MG team, you have double that of a rifle team. Your platoons are fairly numerous, making the 2 shots per team add up to some impressive firepower. You also have a full machine gun platoon giving you all-important support.
Another shared asset of all 3 forces is the French artillery. If you have looked closely at the contents of the army box, you will notice that there are a lot of guns. For those of you, like myself, that bemoan massed artillery as fragile and too expensive for many early war forces, French artillery is a stark exception. Though still quite expensive, your 800+ points of French artillery can mass into a single battery that not only gets a double-wide template and rerolls to hit, but also makes the target reroll saves! As an infantry company that will defend in most missions, the enemy will often be forced to abandon his foxholes and run the gauntlet against your big guns. With a high AT and firepower rating, not even tanks and dug in infantry are safe from it. Due to the large size of your core force, if you can sufficiently hide your guns, you will have more than enough infantry and other support to keep marauding units from getting behind your lines and ruining your fun.
Last but not least are the Renault UE carriers. These armored supply carriers may attach to certain units, who can choose to consume a carrier for impressive bonuses to their volume of fire. They may even be used in defensive fire! If used properly, they can turn the tide of a battle in your favor.
So there it is! Hopefully this review has given you a good idea of what the force in this army box can do. For me this is only the starting point of an early war French army that will continue to expand as new units are released. Look for a hobby article in the future as I get to cracking on this exciting new force at the painting table. À la prochaine!
