Hello Moto (Rifles) – Breakthrough Assault

If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as it were not there.

Marshall Georgy Zhukov (as quoted by Eisenhower)

With the Bagration book now upon us I wanted to take a deeper dive into Hero Soviet infantry. While it comes in many flavors, from the massed rifle cOmpany to the tooled up Engineer-Sappers, for me the pick of the litter are the Hero Motor Rifles.

These guys have the 3+ infantry save and are rated aggressive, confident (
while the Kommissar is alive, they are fearless), veterans and also get a 2+ assault. Yup, 2+ to hit in assault, and fearless; that makes them as good as a commando! In perfect synergy, you can add in the anti tank grenade card and now you have a platoon that has two AT10 FP5+ attacks every round of combat which hits on 2s.

Additionally the formation choices are rather tasty. Unlike the Shock Rifles, these guys get access to the 57mm guns. At AT11 and FP4+ they are not quite Pak40s, but close. They are really useful core AT and a perfect ambush unti. Add in a couple of integrated cheap mortars (120mm and 82mm) and you have two really respectable bombardments for 5pts, and are core to boot.

You can also be rather cunning and swap the core BA64s for the decoy tanks card, replacing that box with captured Stugs, Tigers or Panthers (all with spearhead). Three Panthers sounds good to me!

Before anyone says it I have since changed it to white stars….

Saving the best for last, you can even take core hero T34/85s.

With that in mind lets look at points:

Hq 2 x SMGs
10 DP MGs and 1 x Kommisar (Rof2 halted, moving and pinned) plus anti tank grenades.
10 DP MGs and 1 x Kommisar (Rof2 halted, moving and pinned) plus anti tank grenades.
3 x 120mm mortars
3 x 82mm mortars
4 x 57mm guns
4 x hero T43/85s
3 x decoy panthers

That comes to 80pts, all core, leaving plenty for some support. Maybe three SU100s and “lucky” or, by dropping the three 82mm mortars, you can add three IS2s. After all, even taking off the medium mortars, you still have seven core platoons and the 120mm.

In a recent game I tried a different variant. This time relying on a hard hitting single reserve unit that can sweep up almost anything, a company of eight T34/85s.

Hq 2 x SMGs
10 DP MGs and 1 x Kommisar (Rof2 halted, moving and pinned) plus anti tank grenades.
10 DP MGs and 1 x Kommisar (Rof2 halted, moving and pinned) plus anti tank grenades.
3 x 120mm mortars
6 x 82mm mortars
4 x 57mm guns
3 x decoy panthers
8 x T34/85s
Lucky
Partisan Guides.

What’s great here is that you have two good AT assets on table (Panthers and 57mm guns). two pretty nails infantry platoons that medium tanks do not want to assault (buys you time to get reserves), and 120mm mortars to keep infantry or enemy arty pinned.
Importantly the two cards are a bit sneaky as well. “Partisan Guides” allows you to add a dice to your reserve roll, once per game. Therefore you roll two dice on your first reserve roll. If you don’t get a 5+, you can re-roll one with “lucky” (I am patenting this ‘The Goddard Manoeuvre’). ‘Statistically’ you get reserves and boy do those reserves hurt. Not only is it eight AT12 shots coming on table with a 12 inch tactical move, but they can dash 24 inches cross country. That means they can quickly flank German heavies and you will be surprised how effective weight of AT12 works even versus FA9, once at close range. In a couple of recent games they rang rings around my opponent’s force and allowed my defending infantry to go on the attack to pick off stragglers.

Finally this is my heavy tank version and has an answer to almost everything.

That is bang on 100pts. Again you have that great core, but with IS2s as assault monsters, Churchills for assault and medium AT duty, plus the Panthers for some longer range sniping. This can really surprise someone by picking attack, maneuver or defend, its a true jack of all trades.

Apparently I bullied the poor Stugs with 9 x T34s.

Well there you have it. Three ideas for great Hero Moto(r) Lists. I will be trying them out of the next months. I definitely see an ETC army here somewhere….

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