The book just dropped and that means we’ve had plenty of time to write a few from-the-hip hot takes. There’s no time to cover every unit entry, but we can focus on what jumped out. Take a look at the full Armies of Great Britain review for a more level-headed analysis.

HQ

Officer
Unlike American or German officers, British officers lack the option to downgrade their rifle to a pistol. This omission doesn’t make much difference gameplay-wise, but officers equipped with nothing but a sidearm is very “rule of cool” and I’m sad that British officers don’t have that option.
Edit: British officers and their attendants are able to replace their rifles with either SMGs or pistols, just like US and German officers.

British officers also have the option to be accompanied by 12 (!) additional men if taken as a Commando Intelligence Officer. A massive, expensive officer unit may not be the best use of points, especially with -1 to cover saves, but I appreciate when Warlord gives us this kind of over-the-top option. – John

Forward Observer
FAOs can bring two additional men for +14pts each. If you taken For King and Country (Commandos) you can add up to five additional men. That’s a squad of eight Tough Fighting Infiltrators as your Forward Observer. And you you can give any model in the squad an SMG. Now that’s a reason to run a Recce Infantry Platoon. – Andrew

Infantry

Home Guard Section
Any unit that lets you field unarmed troops is worthy of a callout. You can rock a full squad of 10 for just 60pts! You can also give any unarmed trooper a shotgun for +4pts and now you have five 9pt Inexp. Tough Fighters. Or you can give them pistols for +1pt and rattle off a barrage of 5 shots at 6″ range. And they are Green so you might get away with some discount Regs. I love this unit. – Andrew

LZ Signals
The British Airborne Section have a special rule called LZ Signals. The US Pathfinders also have a rule called LZ Signals. These rules should do the same thing right? Right?? Nope. C’mon on Warlord. – Andrew

Commando Subsection
The option to add a Second Lieutenant to a Commando unit is cool and opens up some interesting tactical option like using a Snap To to order the unit’s transport forward before immediately disembarking. Plus, the rules seem to indicate that these embedded officers cannot be targeted by enemy snipers and as long as the NCO is alive the unit doesn’t suffer a morale hit for losing it’s NCO. The Commando Lt turns an already tough unit into a bastion of unshakable morale.

One curious thing about this unit entry – the baseline squad is an NCO and three men with the option to take up to two LMGs. If you keep the squad at its minimum size and add two LMGs, would one of the LMGs not have a loader since the NCO cannot be a loader? – John

Commando Weapons Teams (MMG, AT Rifle, PAIT, etc)
We need an FAQ on this. For King and Country (Commandos) states that SMGs only cost is +3pts per model. But in the Weapon Team unit entries it lists SMGs at +5pts each. So … which is it? Frustratingly, the Commando Sample Army offers no answers. The Weapons Teams have all been given For King and Country (Commandos) but none of them have SMGs. And what about other small arms? Can you give them Rifles? Pistols? – Andrew

Commando Motorcycle Detachment
This unit seems like a very strong choice for an outflanker. As Veterans with Behind Enemy Lines, this unit is almost guaranteed to pass it’s test to arrive via Reserves, and a few Commandos Advancing up to 12″ before hopping off their bikes to unload SMGs into an unsuspected enemy unit could be a game-changer. At over 20pts per model (more with SMGs), these are some of the most expensive infantry models in the game, but their ability to threaten enemy units with their speed, firepower, and surprising toughness make them an option worth considering. – John

Airborne Light Mortars
Airborne Sections have the option to bring a Light Mortar for +20pts. Just FYI. – Andrew

Artillery

Light Artillery and Light AT Guns
Both Light Artillery and Light AT Guns have the For King and Country (Chindits) option. That gives your Artillery Fieldcraft and that opens up all kinds of deployment and movement options. Interestingly you cannot remove the Gun Shield for -5pts on either weapon as Chindits. That option is only for Airborne. Seeing as the Gun Shield will be redundant if you deploy/move into ruins or woods it would have been a nice option for these jungle fighters. But I’m not complaining! The 25-pdr remains one of the best artillery options around and giving it Fieldcraft removes one of the few downsides of the unit. – Andrew

Vehicles

Stuart Recce
We are so back. After being done dirty in the Rulebook Army List (they removed the hull-mounted MMG), the Stuart Recce makes a triumphant return to its former glory. There are now four different versions of the Stuart included in AoGB and each one can be modified to the Recce version for -30pts. And that includes the Stuart VI with Reinforced Frontal Armor! That’s a Armor 8 (9 in the front) Open-topped tank with a 360 HMG and hull MMG with Recce for 125pts. Tasty. Very, very tasty. You can also rock the Stuart I & II at 105pts and that gives you two hull MMGs plus the HMG at the cost of Vulnerable. Again, very tasty. – Andrew

Dorchester Command Truck (Guy Lizard)
We had a preview of this unit in the leadup to release but seeing in the book is … whoa. A common issue with running any kind of mechanized force, as most armored transports are Open-topped, is your infantry getting pinned while on aboard their transport. Well, this won’t be an issue if you roll up in the luxurious Dorchester. At only 65pts Reg this Armor 7 truck can fit 10 aboard and is, critically, fully enclosed. You don’t even need to pack a PC into this thing, its got Command Vehicle included. The British build, maybe a half-dozen on these trucks so in classic Bolt Action fashion, we’ve gotta have rules for it. And Perry makes one with crew and full interior. – Andrew

Early War Motorcycle and Sidecar
This unit was a favorite of mine in Second Edition. The Extra Selection rule allowed you to take up to three of them in your Generic Reinforced Platoon’s Armored Car slot, giving you a several inexpensive Order Dice and a big boost to your army’s mobility. They are fragile and don’t have a ton of firepower, but they can be a real nuisance – hunting down weapons teams, artillery units, or light vehicles when upgraded with an AT rifle. Third Edition’s Platoons structure means that Extra Selection isn’t quite as exciting as it used to be, unless you want to run 15 motorcycles (someone please do this), but I’m still happy to see this unit make the transition to Third. – John

Fast
The Chaffee and Cromwell have Fast now. – Andrew

Gun Trucks and Jeeps
The Brits have always had access to various Jeeps and Trucks that, in true LRDG-style, can be festooned with MGs. There are four base options; LRDG Armed Trucks, SAS Jeep (North Africa), SAS Jeep (Europe), and British Airborne Recce Jeep. Each one can bring somewhere between one and five MGs to bear. Although most are LMGs (that only fire two shots each), they all have the option to upgrade to the Vickers K Gun. This +5pt upgrade boosts the two-shot LMG to a three-shot LMG and adds some serious teeth to these glass cannons. Take the SAS Jeep for instance. If my math is correct, this little guy puts out 15 Vickers K shots a turn. What’s not to love? Oh, don’t forget to give the Rubicon kit a look. – Andrew

Army Special Rules

Light HE Discount
A new special rule for the QF 17-pdr and the vehicles that use it (Sherman Firefly, Achilles, etc.), reduces the HE for these Super-heavy AT Guns from 3″ to 1″. Critically, they remain Pen +7. These units are no less potent against armor and now have a steep discount. Below are direct comparisons between the Rulebook costs and the costs of identical units from Germany and the US.

Unit	Rulebook Cost	Armies of Cost	Light HE Discount
QF 17-pdr Super-heavy AT Gun	140pts	100pts	40pts
Pak 44 Super-heavy AT Gun (Germany)	140	145	–
M10 17-pdr Achilles	200	160	40
M36 Jackson (US)	200	200	–
Cruiser Tank Comet	298	258	40
Panzer V Panther (Germany)	298	298	–

The British M10 Achilles has the exact profile as the M36 Jackson but costs 40pts less due to Light HE. This updates makes your dedicated AT Guns all the more effective as their role. – Andrew

Iron Discipline
We gotta talk about For King and Country (Guards).

Weapons Teams like Snipers and MMGs with Guards are just stupid good. I mean, crazy good. Getting a second Pin onto a Sniper or MMG is a huge win. The next time that unit fires they are starting at 5s instead of 4s. That’s massive. But for the cost of 2pts, they just say nah. And it can be on Regs! Those weapons teams don’t even have to be Vet!

The only down-side even worth considering is For King and Country (Guards) can only be applied to two infantry units; Rifle Section and Engineers Section. Both of those units are limited to just a single SMG so you won’t be facing down a horde of Guards Tough Fighters or assault troops. It’s the one and only weakness – close combat. Your own troops might be better in CC than the Guards but in Third Edition, combat is heavy weighted in favor of the defender. The Guards player won’t want to assault you, you’ll have to go and get them. And, well, good luck.

Oh and you can forget about trying to stop the advance of the Guards. Lest we forget that British PCs now have a +3 Morale boost. Think on that. +3. Even if you managed to get three Pins onto a unit of Vet Guards if there is an PC within 6″ they are taking their Order Test on a 10 or less. Prays for the enemies of the Empire. – Andrew

Missing

Mechanized Infantry
Considering the inclusion of Mechanized Infantry units in both AoUS and AoG this was an surprising omission. Somewhat shocking to see the ubiquitous Bren Carrier doesn’t have a dedicated unit with Mechanized Infantry to hitch a ride. – Andrew

A National Characteristic
The was the Army Special Rule to rule them all. Ever since 1st Ed A National Characteristic was key to any British force. You could run your army with Rapid Fire on Friday and then swap it to Vengeance on Saturday and you’d have a very different feel without changing a single unit. It was one of the few “player picks” that existed at the Nation level and it will be sorely missed. It’ll be interesting to see how this changes the landscape of British forces. And, more importantly, how will this impact the upcoming Armies of the Commonwealth? Rest in peace King. – Andrew