The Hitlerjugend Platoons Fight On In Flames Of War
August 30, 2015 by brennon
Battlefront have added two new squads of infantry to their World War II range in Flames Of War. With the focus still on the tail end of the war it makes sense that we're seeing the Hitlerjugend Platoons popping up and the Soviet 160mm Mortars are a resounding answer to the Germans who are digging in.
Paramilitary Youth
In a rather interesting addition to the war the Hitlerjugend where a group of fourteen to eighteen year old boys organised by the Nazis into a fighting force to help repel those attacking Berlin. They come armed with a lot of panzerfausts in this case.
Strangely enough even when just armed with these one shot tank killing weapons they were an effective fighting force and they destroyed a lot of Soviet armour as they became the last line of defence. Of course this came at the cost of many causalities.
Sadly even when the commanding officer at the time, General Helmuth Weidling, tried to disband the Hitler Youth as the city was swarmed his orders were never carried out and so they continued to fight on till the end.
Mortar Fire
Coming in from far away to blast your defences the 160mm Mortars of the Soviets are a great way of forcing your foes out of cover and indeed blowing it up if they are determined to stay.
Looking more like a howitzer than a mortar it was deadly in its effectiveness and could give up to ten rounds a minute up to 5000 metres away.
What do you think?
"Strangely enough even when just armed with these one shot tank killing weapons they were an effective fighting force and they destroyed a lot of Soviet armour as they became the last line of defence..."
I totally understand the requirement of BF to model the Hitlerjugend, but personally won’t be buying them. I can’t help but have an uncomfortable feeling about this.
Before I get any knee jerk reaction I know it’s just a game, and each to their own 🙂
I completely agree with you, and would not like to fight against someone who includes that unit. not judging anyone its just my morality. I could not walk around it and pretend that I dont see children on battlefield.
Same here, Hitler Youth and SS are two things I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole
I’m afraid I share your thoughts @grumpymoose I think this leaves a poor taste. I play a lot WW2 with various rules and I even don’t play SS in my games for the same reason.
So I won’t be buying them but as you said it’s only a game and each to their own.
Modeling the Hitlerjugend is an interesting and daring choice. In my opinion if it happened in the war it has a place in historical wargaming. But I understand if people have doubts about using these troops. I’m also wondering how the opponents might respond once they know what/who they are shooting at. Perhaps these troops get an unwritten ‘guilt save’.
HJ have been, just as SS, Brandenburgers, Wehrmacht and Rommel or Stalin a part of WW2. As well as the Warsaw Ghetto and the bombing of Dresden and horrifically enough Auschwitz. Yet we are wargaming this period of history. Any shell we fire with our toy guns and tanks could in reality have killed women and children. My shiny new plastic Strelkovys pillaged and raped their way through East Prussia on the way to meet those brainwashed teenagers with Panzerfausts.. All awful, tragic and abhorrent stuff. In reality. Do I game the battles they fought? Hell yes. Should we forget… Read more »
Spot on.
I have seen the Volksturm platoons in FoW referred to on other forums as low cost unit ‘speed bumps’ to slow armour down, so not everyone can keep that sense of perspective…
Well said.
You are totally correct of course. For me personally I draw a certain line for certain types of units and Youth and SS just happen to be where my personal limit lies.
Completely arbitrary I know, as all war is terrible.
Well I didn’t expect them to add Hitlerjugend to FoW but that shows some major balls from BF to add them to game. After all Hitlerjugend were basically brainwashed child soldiers so not everyone will take that well.
What you have to remember is that in the battle of berlin these troops were present and fought to say we shouldnt represent them as its distasteful or wrong is glossing over the fact warzones aren’t clean sterile places were only soldiers with correct uniforms and training
look at some of the current conflicts syria ukraine where its mostly militia’s even the iraq war and occupation insurgents units were’nt over 18’s they use anybody who are willing to fight