Bolt Action is dead, long live Bolt Action!

And thus we arrive at the end. Not the end of Bolt Action, no no no. But the end of Second Edition. To bring Second Edition to a triumphant close Old Guard Games hosted Operation Midnight, the final Bolt Action: Second Edition tournament. The event was full with 12 tables and 24 players all bringing out their Second Edition armies for one final showdown. Quick overview of the event rules:

• Three game tournament
• 1 Platoon, 1,1000pts, 16 Order Dice max
• Theater Selector required (no Tank Platoons)
• Units and Theater Selectors from all Theater and Campaign books allowed

My Force

As this was the last time out for Second Ed I wanted to do something special. So how about a Tiger? I managed to finish a massive 1/48 scale Early Tiger I from AFV Club in time for Operation Midnight and it served as one hell of a centerpiece for my Operation Lehrgang Kreisgmarine Platoon. In support of this beast was the full might of Kampfgruppe East HGD. Heavy Autocannon, MMG, AT Rifle, Med. Mortar, three squads of Kreisgmarine Grenadiers, and of course, the Flak 88. With only 10 Orde Dice at 1,100pts I knew I’d be at an OD disadvantage. But with a 395pt tank, what can you do?

Game 1 – Priority Targets v Joe V (British Home Guard)

Game 1 Grudge Match against Joe V who went all out and completed a massive (and wonderfully characterful) Home Guard force just for this event. Joe took full advantage of Campaign: Sea Lion and brough out multiple units of Home Guard, Royal Navy, two Emplaced Coastal Guns, a No. 68 Anti-Tank Grenade Lauchner, a WWI-era Mk. C Hornet (a five-MMG landship), and The Great Panjandrum. This collection was a love-letter to all the wild units of Second Edition and Joe knocked it out of the park.

Joe’s weird and wonderful units swarmed all over the table towards my outnumbered Kreisgmarine. I stood a fighting chance as Priority Targets scenario somewhat favors lower unit forces. We both made desperate gambles to eliminate enemy units and Joe launched The Great Panjandrum off the back of a Lorry towards my Tiger only to have it self-destruct against a tank trap! I narrowly dogged that bullet (err – giant, rocket propelled wheel of TNT). The Tiger even survived a point-blank Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher shot! At the end of the game I scored three VPs to Joe’s two. A narrow draw and a fantastic game full of close calls and our trademark questionable generalship. And props to Jackson for providing the table! A lovely European town for us to battle over.

Result – Draw

Game 2 – Gaining Ground v Zack D (Slovakia)

Now this was an unexpected treat. Not only did I finally get a chance to play Zack, he brought a Slovakian Platoon from Campaign: Case Blue! Slovakia was introduced in Case Blue (the last of the Second Ed Campaign books) and this was the first, and only, time I’d seen them on the table. Hats off to Zack for taking advantage of this final Second Edition event to use these rules. If not now, when?

We played Graining Ground with VPs scored for getting out of your deployment zone and across the board. The deeper into enemy territory your units moved, the more VPs they scored. I knew this would a tricky one for me. I had two Heavy Artillery pieces (Heavy AC and the 88) so getting them out of my DZ and across the table would be no easy task. With that in mind I figured it would be best to advance forward with the rest of units and hope the artillery could hold Zack’s Slovaks at bay.

Zack made excellent use of the Slovakian Army Special Rules, especially Take Cover! which was super annoying to try and deal with! After five turns of play it was an incredibly close game. We both had units primed to get into scoring position and then, well, it all fell apart. I failed two Order Tests to advance forward and even rolled a FUBAR that forced a Kreisgmarine to flee out of scoring and back into my own DZ (negative VPs). When we finished Turn 6 it was a glorious victory for Slovakia.

Result – Loss

Game 3 – Supply Drop v Jim D (USMC)

Third and final game against Jim and his USMC. Jim had a few big Marine squads tooled out with BARs and Pistols supported by a unit of Engineers, Dog Team, Bazooka Team in a Jeep, Forward Air Observer, Medic, Chaplin, and a Autocannon Half-track. We battelled for control of three semi-randomly placed objectives across a beach-front urban table.

The Tiger pretty much ran amok during this game. I got a lucky shot on Jim’s half-track and the US airpower never arrived so the Tiger was essentially bullet proof. Almost unsupported the Tiger secured the entire right side of the table. On the left we engaging in a bloody struggle for control of a massive building that cost us both several squads as we continued to throw men into assault after assault. In the end the USMC secured the building but it was too late to challenge the objective on left flank. Jim took too many casualties gaining control of that building and I held onto enough objectives to get the win.

Result – Win

Final Thoughts

It is always a thrill heading up to Old Guard Games. Ben and his staff are incredible hosts. We had a fantastic event at Border Wars back in May and Op Midnight was no exception. It was a bit surreal to play in my final Second Edition tournament. I started playing Second Ed events a full eight years ago at Dragon Fall 2016 – hard to believe.

I’ve been involved in the table top miniatures hobby for a long time and Bolt Action has been my main focus for many of those years. Needless to say, this game holds a special place in my heart. Operation Midnight was a proper send off to Second Ed. Everything was just … special. The venue, the tables, the armies, the players (best community, full stop), everything. Shane, our excellent TO, did it right with this one. You have my sincere thanks.

Now for the results – I won Best Painted! I was surprised by the reaction to the Tiger I and was humbled to take home the trophy. There were several gorgeous forces at the event and I know it was a close call. The final standings were as close as could be – big congrats to Alex (Best Overall), Josh (Best Allies), Rob (Best Axis) and Tom (Player’s Choice) – all well deserved and well fought!

The book is closed on Second Ed. It was time. Now we move forward into the unknown! I’m already beyond hyped for what Third Edition has in store and we’ve got the Four Star Open in just a few weeks with Polar Vortex not far behind. Before you know it AdeptiCon 2025 will be here!