Bolt Action support continues with the latest Third Edition book: Armies of Great Britain. Armies of Germany was met with praise, but Armies of the Untied States fell flat. How will AoGB compare? Let’s dive in section by section as we explore the new units, equipment, and Army Special rules for the Brits.
What’s in the book?
Armies of Great Britain lands at 112 pages, the same count as Armies of the United States and 16 pages shy of Armies of Germany. Just like AoG and AoUS, the book is divided into five sections. It begins with a brief historical overview of The Armed Forces of Great Britain in World War II, followed by an introduction to the Forces of Great Britain in Bolt Action. Then we get to the main event – The Army List, Sample Armies, and Force Selection Guides.
I. The Armed Forces of Great Britain in World War II
Bizarrely, this entire section is half a page. We can spend more time discussing what is not included than what is. In a fashion similar to AoUS it seems like we are short a couple pages. Granted, the Armies of series are not history books and do not position themselves as such. But half a page? Why include this section at all? All that being said, the following sections are teeming with content.
We begin with a callout right at the top of the page – Never Truly Alone. This note from the authors makes the clear statement that although this book covers the British forces, “Great Britain did not stand alone, ever in her darkest hour.” The forces of the Empire, Commonwealth and Dominion nations are not included because they will receive full treatment in the forthcoming Armies of the Commonwealth. We may not have our Indian and Australian units in AoGB, but they are on the way. Already confirmed for inclusion in Armies of the Commonwealth on Episode 64 of the Official Warlord Games Podcast are:
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- India
- East Africa Command (“different forces from smaller parts of the Empire”)
II. Forces of Great Britain in Bolt Action
Divided into four parts covering the British Army, Commandos, Airborne and Chindits, Forces of Great Britain in Bolt Action does a nice job providing the background that informs the flavor of the new Army Special Rule: For King and Country. This section highlights the history behind the rules and discusses why the Chindits have Behind Enemy Lines, Ambush Tactics, and Fieldcraft and where Commandos earned their Tough Fighters upgrade. Look no further to find a spark of inspiration for building a specific British force.
III. The Army List
Army Special Rules – The Brits have four Army Special Rules:
- Fix Bayonets!
- Artillery Support
- Come on, lads!
- For King and Country
More so than the Germans and the Americans, the British have significant changes to their Army Special Rules. A National Characteristic is gone. A stalwart since First Edition, this Army Special Rule was the defining charm of any British force. The ability to pick the rule that best suited your force from the list of five gave the player a level of rarely-seen versatility. Gone but not forgotten, the spirit of A National Characteristic lives on through For King and Country.
Fix Bayonets! is taken from the original Tough as Old Boots and is now “always on” for the Brits. Tough as Old Boots was a fairly uncommon pick for A National Characteristic and now, no matter what flavor your play, your troops will get those additional swings in close combat. With Fix Bayonets! those units of Commandos and SAS are a truly terrifying prospect in assault.
Artillery Support has been modified. The double Artillery Barrage is no more, instead when you roll on the Artillery Barrage Table, roll two dice and pick the highest. This change is similar to the original Bombardment Army Special Rule from the AoGB: First Edition (but for Artillery Barrage instead of Preparatory Bombardment).
The first new Army Special Rule, Come on, lads! is as flavorful as it is effective. This rule boosts all Officers’ morale bonus by +1 at the cost of -1 to any Cover Save they might receive. I love it. Platoon Commanders with +3 Morale? Sign me up! On the other side of the coin, running a massive eight-man Commando Command Squad now seems a much risker proposition. Only a 6+ Soft Cover Save and 5+ for Hard? Ouch. Question for the group – how does Come on, lads! interact with the Commando Subsection and Royal Navy Commando Subsection option to add a Commando (Second) Lieutenant? Does the Commando Lt add +1 or +2 Morale? Does this entire Commando Subsection now also have -1 to their Cover Save?
For King and Country is where we really get into the new rules. Germany has Defend the Fatherland! and the US has By Air, Land, and Sea. Now it’s time for the British version. The options are:
- Guards – Units must be taken as either Regular or Veteran and must be given Iron Discipline for +1pt per model.
- Iron Discipline – Units remove 2 Pins instead of 1 when they pass an Order Test.
- Airborne – Units must be taken as Veteran and must be given Stubborn from +1pt per model. You also have the option to take Welbikes (count as Bicycles) for +1pt per model.
- Commandos – Units must be taken as Veteran and must be given these rules for +3pts per model:
- Tough Fighers
- Behind Enemy Lines
- Independent – If a Commando Subsection loses its NCO, on a 3+ another model takes over. This only applies to the Commando Subsections, not weapons teams or HQ.
- Weapons Teams – Commando MMGs , Mortars, AT Teams, and Flamethrowers can fire any small arms they carry instead of the main weapon.
- SAS – Commando HQs, MMGs, Mortars, AT Teams, Flamethrowers and Snipers may be upgrade to SAS at +2pts per model and are given ‘Who Dares Wins!’:
- Fanatics, but do not loose it when reduced to a single man.
- SMGs cost +3pts per model instead of +4pts (this takes into account the already purchased Tough Fighter).
- Chindits – Units must be taken as Veteran and must be given these rules for +3pts per model:
- Behind Enemy Lines
- Fieldcraft (also applies to Light Howitzers and Light AT Guns)
- Ambush Tactics – When deployed on the table, these units may start the game on Ambush.
So, Guards is insane. Like, holy smokes. Let’s not mince words, Iron Discipline is one of the best special rules in Bolt Action. A core tenet of Bolt Action is to put a second Pin onto an enemy unit whenever possible. When a unit has two Pins, if they pass their Order Test to activate, they will still fire at -1 To Hit (for the one remaining Pin). For Guards, this is no longer the case. Automatically removing two Pins when you pass an Order Test is S-Tier powerful. And for the cost of 1pt per model? I anticipate seeing a lot of Guards units on the table.
Airborne is Stubborn. Germans have it. US have it. Not much more to say.
Now for the wild ones. Commandos are +3pts per model. Expensive, very expensive. They get Tough Fighters (1pt), BEL (1pt), Independent (1pt) and their Weapons Teams can fire any small arms they carry. They also get the SMG discount at +3pts per SMG. A squad of five or six Commandos with SMGs sitting in Outflank ready to fly onto the table remains a valid tactic. As for the Weapon Team small arms, pretty cool. If your PIAT Team has no armor or building to fire at, why not send two Rifle shots at some enemy infantry? Or, if you want to get spicy, four SMG shots? Question on that though, are the SMGs +3pts per model? Or +5pts? The Commandos rule says “…SMGs cost only 3pts if given to Commandos.” But the unit entries for the Weapons Teams have “If taken as Commandos: any man may be given a submachine gun for +5pts each”. I legit do not know which is correct. It’s direct contradiction in the rules.
And finally we have Chindits at +3pts per model. Getting Fieldcraft is amazing. Getting Fieldcraft on your Light Howitzers and AT Guns is even more amazing. BEL is … fine. Ambush Tactics is really interesting but there are no rules to ensure your Chindits will get to deploy at the start of the game. We also have the frustrating combo of BEL + Ambush Tactics. If my unit has Behind Enemy Lines, I want them in Outflank. If my unit has Ambush Tactics, I want them deployed. Having both rules on the same unit is annoying. Getting the choice would have been a nice adjustment. Then you could deploy the units with Ambush Tactics and keep other with BEL back in Outflank.
Quartermaster’s Stores – Specialized equipment and rules for the British include:
- Littlejohn Adaptors
- Welbikes
- Vickers K Gun
- Demolition Charges
The Littlejohn Adaptor is an option on only one single tank – the Tetrarch. Why not include these rules within the Tetrarch Light Tank unit entry? Light HE is another new weapon rule, and more sensibly, it is included within the individual unit entries (there are six). Welbikes are a fun option for your Airborne if you want to play hyper-aggressive. The Vickers K Gun is a much needed boost to all those SAS/LRDG Gun Trucks and Jeeps. And finally, Demolition Charges, identical to those in AoG and AoUS, can be used by SAS Infantry Sections and Engineer Sections for +20pts.
The Units
“By the end of the war, the infantry were carrying twice the firepower and were backed-up by more aircraft, artillery pieces and tanks than ever before.” This statement is perfectly reflected in The Army List. The British are bringing:
- HQ – 4 unit entries (4 United States / 4 Germany)
- Infantry Squads & Teams – 20 unit entries (28 / 45)
- Artillery – 10 unit entries (12 / 17)
- Vehicles
- Tanks/SPGs – 43 unit entries (47 / 55)
- US Tanks in British Service – 17 additional unit entries
- Armored Cars – 21 unit entries (5 / 20)
- Transports & Tows – 20 unit entries (17 / 18)
- Ambulances – 2 unit entries (2 / 2)
- Tanks/SPGs – 43 unit entries (47 / 55)
- Total – 137 unit entries (115 US / 183 Germany)
New Unit Special Rules – Within The Army List are some new unit special rules that are worth calling out:
- LZ Signals – The British Airborne Section has an option to be upgraded to Pathfinders for +1pt per model and gain the LZ Signals rule. But, frustratingly, the rule is different than the US Pathfinders LZ Signals. This British version of the rule is two part. First, the Pathfinders may always start on the table within the owners Deployment Zone. Second (and this part is just like the US version), if you deploy Pathfinders at the start of the game, any friendly Airborne and Glider units in Reserve may re-roll their Order Tests to arrive. I wonder if this applies to units using For King and Country (Airborne)?
- Extra Selection – This fun rule makes a triumphant return. You can bring three Early War Motorcycle and Sidecars as one selection in each Armored Platoon. So, in theory, you could run 15 Motorcycles in an Armored Platoon.
- Deflate Those Tyres – Introduced in the Second Edition book Campaign: The Western Desert, this special rule allows SAS Jeeps (North Africa) to Advance through rough ground that are classified as rocky, sandy or similar. This gives your multi-MG Jeep significantly more maneuverability on those desert tables.
- Commando (Second) Lieutenant – Another option pulled from a Second Edition book, Campaign: D-Day: British & Canadian Sectors, this gives Commando Subsections the option to embed an Officer within the squad. At +30pts it’s a hefty investment but a standing +1 Morale Bonus and a single Snap To? Not bad. (or is it a +2 Morale Bonus at the cost of -1 Cover Save? The rules are unclear.)
Early/Mid/Late – As with AoG and AoUS every unit entry includes a period designation for Early/Mid/Late-War (E/M/L). When combined with the Force Selection Guides players have a great starting point to build a historically inspired Bolt Action force. The E/M/L designations are broad but they provide more than enough information to get you started building a historically cohesive force.
IV. Sample Armies
Armies of the Great Britain includes four sample armies that provide players (especially new ones) a sense of what a Bolt Action army actually looks like. The included forces are:
- British Army – North-west Europe – 1,499pts
- British Airborne – 1,249pts
- Commandos – 998pts
- 8th Army – 747pts
I appreciate the Sample Armies. They are not for me, but they provide great examples for new players on how to shape their British force. The Sample Armies give context. We’ve got a great variety from a small 750pt 8th Army list to a massive 1,500pt Late-War force. Sadly, we are once again faced with poor layout and design decisions. Warlord kept the split photo across the page break, and the models in the army photos are too spread out. The 750pt 8th Army list, for instance, is perfect for smaller games. However, the layout is odd. While the models are beautifully painted and displayed, there’s a lot of dead space. Both AoG and AoUS had this problem. At this point I’m not holding out hope for Armies of the Soviet Union.
V. Force Selection Guides
Bringing AoGB to a close are the Force Selection Guides. With Theater Selections removed from Third Edition (except for the 1944 Operation Rosselsprung German Force Selector), these Guides offer an easy-to-reference list of units for Early-War, Mid-War, and Late-War. While broad, they are perfect starting points. Players can choose a period, consult these Guides, and then delve deeper into historical details – or not! One of the great aspects of Bolt Action is that you can be as historically “accurate” as you like.
What’s Missing?
- Not much – AoGB has an answer for everything. You’ve got options for Infiltrators, Fieldcraft, assault squads (Outflanking SMG-armed Commandos on Motorcycles anyone?), big HE, small HE, big Tanks, armored transports, and more Light Tanks and Armored Cars than you’ll ever need. As of writing, I’m not seeing any gaps in The Army List.
- Clarity – There are a handful of contradictions and rules that require clarification. How many points is it to equip your Commando PIAT Team with SMGs (3pts or 5pts)? Does the Commando Second Lt provide a +1 or +2 Morale bonus and do they give the Commando Subsection -1 to their Cover Save? Why does the British LZ Signals special rule do something different than the US one? And surely the British Sniper Team is meant to have Infiltrators?
Overall Impressions
It’s worth calling out the production improvements once again. I noted these upgrades in both the Germany and US reviews and I’m happy to see in this book as well. The layout has come a long way since AoGB: Frist Edition. The unit entries are crisp and easy to read. There isn’t a single unit entry that is spread across two pages – that is something that happened all the time in Second Edition and it only caused frustration and confusion. The photography keeps getting better. The only headscratcher are the design choices for Sample Armies section.
The Army Special Rules are excellent. Come on, lads! is an inspired rule, exactly what you want in a Hollywood WWII game. Unlike the unfortunately bland options presented for the US in By Air, Land, and Sea, the British For King and Country is not only powerful (Guards, wow) but also flavorful. Players can now lean all the way in with a hyper-elite Commando or Chindit force. At 16pts per model (minimum) you won’t have many units but each one is brimming with special rules and unique options.
I think we were all worried after the flat rection to AoUS. Especially after the strong launch of AoG. I am happy to report Armies of Great Britain is a return to form. This book is firing on all cylinders. We just need a quick FAQ on a few items.
Thank you to Warlord Games for providing a digital copy of Armies of Great Britain: Third Edition featured in this article.
More Third Edition Armies of coverage:
Chicago Dice 