Hello all,
after my groups initial and mildly disastrous foray into our first Firestorm campaign we decided to press on to our next target: Lorraine.
History:
The Lorraine Campaign, spanning from September to December 1944, was a protracted and challenging operation for General Patton’s U.S. Third Army. After a rapid advance across France, the offensive stalled near the Moselle River due to fuel shortages and stiffening German resistance. Initial attempts to cross the Moselle in early September faced setbacks, but by mid-September, U.S. forces secured crossings and liberated Nancy . The subsequent Battle of Arracourt in late September saw American armored units repelling German counterattacks, inflicting significant losses on enemy tanks. However, the advance slowed as forces encountered the fortified city of Metz, leading to a prolonged siege. Despite adverse weather and formidable defenses, Metz was captured by late November, with remaining forts surrendering by mid-December . The campaign concluded as Third Army shifted focus northward in response to the German Ardennes Offensive. Throughout the campaign, Third Army sustained over 55,000 casualties, while capturing approximately 75,000 German prisoners . The Lorraine Campaign underscored the difficulties of sustained offensive operations in challenging terrain and against determined defenses
Background:
While this is still a firestorm campaign it has a number of differences. This campaign is considered a mini campaign containing only 3 rounds rather then Caen’s 5. The map is smaller and much more restricted in terms of Firestorm units. Any burning desire for revenge from the allied players was quickly mollified by the restrictions the germans face in this campaign. Gone are the waves of Fearless Veteran infantry instead the majority of the units are reluctant or confident and most are just trained.
That being said we had a few remaining questions and issues with the rules. One bad habit of these campaigns is that they expect you to know all of the ins-and-outs of Firestorm campaigns before playing and thus some things are unexplained:
- No stacking limit for Firestorm Units. In Caen there was a max of 3.
- Rules mention “Supply Depots” as some kind of mechanism for reinforcements, but never explains what they are and then contradicts itself by just saying to place reinforcements in any friendly area.,
- No instructions for when and where to place the USA’s 6th infantry unit.,
- Firestorm Panther Units are called Panzer units in Turn 3.
- In the rules it states the French army can re-roll all motivation tests but it is unclear if this includes company motivation tests.
We also decided to start modifying the game slightly. Some of these issues were based on agreed on issues while others were compromises. As a general rule, I am not a huge fan of house rules but these do help the game flow more smoothly. Many of these rules could be considered beta tests, and one of the nice things about a smaller group is that it allows us to be more flexible. I think many of our current players like elements of the 4th ed of Flames of War but prefer the unit rosters and company structures of 3rd ed.
Shooting
Appointing New Commanders (pg.105) – In addition to the existing rule, the platoon may take a skill test in lieu of the Company or 2iC Command team appointing a team to be the new Platoon Command team. (Both rules happen in the Shooting phase.)
Gun Saves (pg.99) – Light and Medium Gun teams save on a 4+, Heavy and Immobile Gun teams save on a 5+.
Passengers in Transports (pg.101) – Change Passenger Saves from a 5+ to a 4+.
Artillery
Firing Smoke Bombardments (pg136) – The aiming point of a smoke bombardment may be any point on the table that is within line of sight of a Spotting team. The score required for your Artillery to Range In is 5+
Assault
Tank Terror (pg.143) – Remove this rule.
Aircraft
MGs and Cannons are no longer template weapons, instead having an 8” range and following normal shooting rules.
Heavy Cannons (AT 10+) have a RoF of 2
Cannons have a RoF of 3
MGs have a RoF of 4
(RoF is Per Aircraft, No Re-Rolls)
Specialist
Infantry Flame-Thrower (pg.199) – Infantry Flame-thrower teams may be replaced with a rifle-team after they have fired, or may be removed from play. They are not counted as Destroyed but no longer count as part of the platoon.
Slow Down to Flame (pg198) – Remove this rule.
Initial Set Up:
Anyway let’s jump into the campaign. The initial set up looks something like this. We mentioned the earlier problem we had with where the last infantry squad goes so we rolled a random location for it. The initial round of attacks saw the allies winning the imitative for 3/5 battles with the following arrows:
Keep in mind the campaign heavily restricts how attacks work. German players need to attack with panzers first, while for the first round the allies have to attack the German fortified lines across the Moselle. All attacks happen simultaneously. Thus there is strategy in the order of combats. if you pick a unit to fight they can’t be target by another enemy attack. Unfortunately that can create issues where you are forced to attack out of a lack of alternative options. We will address this issue in the future.
Anyway that wraps it up for today. In the future we will cover the first and second round of battles!
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