If you love crunchy Eastern Front lists, this one’s a feast. Operation Bagration packs German kit from Finland to Romania and beyond.
Moreover, it spans January 1944 through January 1945 with serious variety. You get tanks, grenadiers, assault guns, and the nastiest tank hunters. Consequently, it reads like a toolbox for every table and every meta.
Core Infantry That Grind and Hold
The Grenadier Company is the baseline, but it is anything but basic. They are Confident Veterans with Third Reich, so Last Stand 3+, and they pass movement orders on 3+. Additionally, they hit on 3+ in Assaults and bring Panzerfausts with a limit of one per step. Support is deep, with MGs, 8 cm and 12 cm mortars, infantry guns, towed AT, AA, and scouts. Consequently, your line can trade, screen, and still counterpunch with short range threat.
Storm Grenadiers turn that dial up for the 78th Sturm Division vibe. They double down on MG42s in platoons for roaring dice volume. Furthermore, the formation doubles 7.5 cm AT guns and machine gun platoons in support. They still get Panzerfausts, so closing with armor stays scary. Therefore, your infantry castle becomes a buzzsaw at medium range.
The division’s 89th Assault Gun Battalion comes baked in for theme and teeth. StuG and StuH ride with tank escorts to mulch attackers. Moreover, those escorts tote StG44s for longer reach than SMGs. The combo blunts charges and strips screens while the guns shell armor. Consequently, you can anchor a flank and still swing a counter.
Armor Menagerie From Workhorses to Kings
Hetzer time means ambush time. It is compact, overworked, and lethal in its lane. Moreover, it mirrors StuG firepower on a 38(t) chassis with StuG level protection. You do not brawl with it, you spring traps. Consequently, it thrives in terrain and deletes overextended armor.
Tiger Companies bring the classic hammer. You can run up to three platoons and fold in AA choices. Meanwhile, Tiger II shows up as a fresh Bagration rating of Confident, Trained, Aggressive. It met IS-2s in Poland, so it fits the era perfectly. Consequently, you get brute force to stall breakthroughs while learning its careful play.
Panther and Panzer IV formations get delicious mixing options. Additionally, your second core slot can be Panthers, Panzer IVs, Panzer IV/70s, Tigers, or even Armoured Panzergrenadiers. Panzer IV formations mirror that flexibility with StuGs in the blend. Therefore, you can build true battlegroup lists that feel like late war Germany. Panzer IV/70 adds thick armor and the Panther gun on a low profile hull. However, it is nose heavy, so watch terrain and keep lanes clean.
All these tank lists can bolt on Wirbelwind and Ostwind AA turrets. The shared plastic lets you pick a turret and drop it on a Panzer IV hull. Additionally, Möbelwagen and Sd Kfz 7/1 quad AA cover cheaper tracks. Consequently, you control skies and bully light armor while your big cats hunt.
Mobile Infantry and SS Battle Groups
Armoured Panzergrenadiers ride 251s and can swap a core slot for tanks. You get onboard 8 cm mortars, 7.5 cm guns, and flamers, plus towed guns. Moreover, the formation bridges armor and infantry into one thrust. Recon Panzergrenadiers are foot fighters by doctrine, yet they can also sub in a tank platoon. Consequently, both flavors let you pack half-track toys while tailoring the punch.
Waffen-SS on the Ostfront come in two veteran battle groups. They are Fearless, Veteran, and Careful, so they stick, shoot, and survive. The SS Panzer Battle Group is armor heavy with Panzer IV, Panther, StuG, and Tiger options. Meanwhile, the SS Panzergrenadier Battle Group flips the ratio to infantry core with the same armored friends. Therefore, you can run elite bricks that trade up in every phase.
Tank Hunters, Artillery, and Air Support That Bite
If you like long guns, you get them in spades. Marders and Jagdpanzer IVs are present as plastic workhorses. Moreover, Hornisse and Elephant carry the long 8.8 with very different armor profiles. Hornisse is fragile with front 2, while Elephant rocks front 16. Consequently, your meta choice is mobility versus invulnerability.
The ground 8.8 shows up as the Pak43 tank-hunter platoon with AT 17. It deletes almost anything it sees. Additionally, the 8.8 heavy AA platoon offers AT 14 and self-defence AA for dual use. Artillery options span Wespe, Hummel, and 10.5 cm batteries for steady barrages. Meanwhile, Nebelwerfers and Panzerwerfer 42 bring giant salvo templates with Firepower 4+. Consequently, you can pin, smoke, and erase blocks of infantry before armor closes.
Rounding out the box, there are OP tanks like Panzer III OP and Sd Kfz 250 OP. Brummbär gives a brutal assault tank option for cities. Moreover, you get Stuka dive bombers and tank-hunter flights for timely surgical strikes. The SS have mirrored artillery and scouts, plus their own Panzer II OP. Therefore, every force can stack spotters, observers, and splash to taste.
Missions, Campaigns, and How to Play Them
The back half adds a linked Fortified City Battles campaign. Onslaught pits attackers into bunkers, nests, wire, and mines. However, Hammering the Line shows a less prepared defense with flanks pressured. The final mission is a fighting withdrawal designed to delay and bleed. Consequently, you can stage a full ladder from breach to fallback.
River Assault Terrain Pack includes the fortifications for Onslaught. Meanwhile, The Race for Minsk campaign gives narrative progression with hero creation. Catalogue support lists every kit and accessory needed. Therefore, new generals and veterans can build lists straight from the book.
Final Thoughts
Operation Bagration’s German section is a late-war sandbox done right. You get resilient Grenadiers, MG-heavy Storm Grenadiers, and assault gun battalions with escort rifles. Moreover, armor spans Hetzers, StuGs, Panzer IVs, Panthers, Tigers, and Tiger IIs with modular formation slots. Tank hunters range from Marder to Elephant, while artillery brings both precision and salvos. Additionally, SS battle groups provide elite statlines with flexible cores. Finally, the book caps it with fortified city missions, a linked campaign, and full catalogue guidance.
If you want late-war flavor with real list-building freedom, this delivers. Moreover, it rewards careful lanes, ambush timing, and combined arms play. The formations feel authentic, and the options keep games fresh across campaigns. Consequently, whether you are new to the Eastern Front or a veteran tiger wrangler, you will find a build to love.
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