Year two of Bolt Action: Third Edition has begun and the fourth member of the “Big Five” has arrived. Armies of the Soviet Union: Third Edition is packed with new units, Army Special Rules, equipment and background. The Soviet Army List has always been a fan-favorite filled with thematic and flavorful options. Can AoSU go toe-to-toe with the other Third Edition releases? Let’s dive in and find out!

What’s in the book?

Armies of the Soviet Union clocks in at 112 pages, the same count as both Arimes of the United States and Armies of Great Britain. The book is 16 pages shy of Armies of Germany. Just like other Armies of books, AoSU is divided into five sections. It begins with a historical overview of The Soviet Armed Forces in World War II, followed by an introduction to the Forces of the Soviet Union in Bolt Action. Then we get to the main event – The Army List, Sample Armies, and Force Selection Guides.

I. The Soviet Armed Forces in World War II

Surprisingly, The Soviet Armed Forces in World War II is longer than all of the over Armies of books’ introductory sections combined. It’s a full seven pages of historical background starting in 1930s and ending in 1945 with the Battle of Berlin. After the shockingly brief half-page sections in both AoUS and AoGB, reading through this high-level sweep of Soviet WWII history was a welcome change.

II. Forces of the Soviet Union in Bolt Action

Divided into five parts covering the Red Army, Airborne, NKVD, Soviet Naval Brigades, and Partisans, Forces of the Soviet Union in Bolt Action provides the background that inspired the new Soviet Army Special Rule – Hammer and Sickle. Each section is brief, but flavorful. Despite the inclusion of Partisans in this section, there is no Partisan-specific option for Hammer and Sickle. The Army List contains a unit entry for Soviet Partisans, but the option to build a fully Soviet Partisan army is missing and would have been a nice touch.

III. The Army List

Army Special Rules – The Soviets have seven Army Special Rules:

• The Great Patriotic War
• For the Motherland!
• Not One Step Back!
• Massed Batteries
• Lack of Radios
• Flying Tank
• Hammer and Sickle

The core Soviet Army Special Rules remain the same as they have always been. But we now have some interesting and unexpected additions. Starting with the old classic, The Great Patriotic War remains unchanged since it was introduced in First Edition. Any Soviet Infantry or Artillery unit (including HQ) can re-roll a failed Moral Check that would have destroyed the unit. It’s a useful rule that has kept countless Soviet units on the table.

Although the free Inexp. Rifle Squad from previous editions is gone, For the Motherland! provides a solid buff to Inexp. Soviet troops. In the same manner as the old British Vengeance rule, any Inexp. Soviet unit may remove a Pin on a 4+ if there is an enemy unit within 12″ when the Soviet unit activates. Inexp. Morale is notoriously fickle and For the Motherland! helps keep those troops moving – especially when combined with The Great Patriotic War and Not One Step Back!

Not One Step Back! also remains the same as its past iteration. This rule forces infantry units with three or more models to re-roll a failed Order Test if they are within 6″ of a commissar at the cost of losing one member of the unit.

Massed Batteries is another familiar rule. Rolling two dice and picking the highest when determining the radius of an artillery barrage is a nice buff to Forward Artillery Observers and hasn’t changed since First Ed.

Lack of Radios is a new Army Special Rule pulled from the late, great Tank Wars book. If you so choose, you can add Command Vehicle to the leader of an Armored Platoon for free, but the range of its morale bonus and Snap To is reduced from 12″ down to 6″. It’s a nice option if you need to find an extra 10pts in your list, but isn’t without its drawbacks.

Next up is a rule I don’t think anyone expected – Flying Tank. It’s a buff to Forward Air Observers who now call in a Ground-attack Aircraft on a 4+ (instead of a 5+). That’s… fine. But the real bonus is if a Ground-attack Aircraft comes in, enemy flak requires five hits instead of three to stop the airstrike. Considering how much Flak MMGs and HMGs produce (six shots) this is a major boost to your close air support. A single pintle MMG is going to have a very difficult time stopping that Ilyushin Il-2 from delivering its payload.

Hammer and Sickle is the Soviet version of the German Defend the Fatherland!, the American By Air, Land, and Sea and the British For King and Country. The options are:

• Airborne – Units must be taken as Veteran and must be given Stubborn from +1pt per model.
• NKVD– Units must be given Fanatics for +2pts per model.
• Naval Brigade – Units must be given Tough Fighters for +1pt per model.

Gotta be honest, Hammer and Sickle is a disappointment when compared to Defend the Fatherland! and For King and Country. It’s now no surprise why the Soviets have six additional Army Special Rules – they need them with Hammer and Sickle being so thin. Breaking it down:

Airborne are Stubborn. Germans have it. American have it. British have it. Not much more to say.

NKVD are Fanatic. Just like Waffen-SS but without the option for Mixed Quality.

Naval Brigade are Tough Fighters. This is awesome. I know many of us hoped USMC would get this option instead of (or in addition to) Stubborn.

And that’s it. It may sound harsh but there isn’t much here with Hammer & Sickle. The lack of more interesting options or additional flavor is a bit of a disappointment. However, what Hammer and Sickle lacks is made up for with Quartermaster’s Stores and The Army List.

Quartermaster’s Stores – Specialized equipment and rules for the Soviets include:

• The Victory Banner
• SN-42 Body Armor
• Skis
• Demolition Charges
• Guard Dogs

The Victory Banner is awesome. I don’t know of a single Soviet commander who doesn’t want to include a flag in their army. For 20pts, your Platoon Commander, Company Commander, Commissar or People’s Militia squad can include a model with The Victory Banner. Any friendly Infantry or Artillery unit within 12″ and line of sight adds +1 to their Morale. I love this. I also love the idea of an Artillery or Heavy Weapons Platoon Commander sitting back with The Victory Banner and just waving it around as Mortars and Howitzers open fire. With The Victory Banner, The Great Patriotic War, For the Motherland! and Not One Step Back! all available, the chances of Soviet units failing Morale and Order Tests is low. They’ve got Moral buffs and re-rolls all over.

Minor quibble; the model carrying The Victory Banner must swap their weapons for a pistol. That’s not an issue, but the phenomenal Olga Kovalyova special book model is armed with an SMG. Luckily it should be an easy weapon swap.

Not to be outdone by The Victory Banner, SN-42 Body Armor needs a special callout. Not only is it awesome – hits from small arms, HE, and close-quarters all suffer a -1 To Damage – you also have the option of equipping your Engineer Platoon Commander with it. You can field a five-man Platoon Commander unit (all with SMGs), squads of Assault Engineers, and Flamethrower Teams all kitted out with Body Armor. And if you really wanted to go wild you could add Body Armor to some Tank Riders from a Rifle Platoon and just throw a wall of Damage Value 6 Vets against your opponent. It would be absurdly expensive, but it’s available. And that’s awesome.

The SN-42 Body Army is essentially a fourth Hammer and Sickle option. Now that rule isn’t looking as thin as before.

Skis and Demolition Charges are the same as we’ve seen before. Only the Siberian Squads and Ski Troops Squads have the option for Skis (interesting that Officers don’t) and only Assault Engineers can bring a Demo Charge.

Guard Dogs – now those NKVD aren’t looking so boring after all. For 2pts each, up to two NKVD models can bring a Guard Dog which gives the model Tough Fighters and spots Hidden units at 24″. The Hidden part won’t come into play often but adding some Tough Fighters into an already Fanatics unit is a great option. It’s a shame that Hammer and Sickle (NKVD) Officers do not have the option to bring a Guard Dog or two. I’d love to see that update in an FAQ.

Oh, also the Shtrafbat Squad NCO has the option for a Guard Dog as well. That’s a fun a flavor option that we love to see.

The Quartermaster’s Stores really came through for the Soviets. These additions make a significant impact on the overall force and I’m really enjoying the direction this is heading.

The Units

“Four years of bitter fighting, unthinkable hardship and incalculable determination enabled the Soviet Union to eventually emerge victorious over Nazi Germany.” What that in mind, let’s see what the men and women of the Soviet Union bring to The Army List:

• HQ – 4 unit entries (4 for GB / 4 for US / 4 for Germany)
• Infantry Squads & Teams – 30 unit entries (20 / 28 / 45)
• Artillery – 14 unit entries (10 / 12 / 17)
• Vehicles
  • Tanks/SPGs – 31 unit entries (43 / 47 / 55)
  • Armored Cars – 6 unit entries (21 / 5 / 20)
  • Transports & Tows – 7 unit entries (20 / 17 / 18)
  • Ambulances – 1 unit entries (2 / 2 / 2)
  • Lend-Lease Vehicles (Tanks/SPGs/ACs) – 15
• Total – 108 unit entries (137 / 115 / 183)

New Unit Special Rules – Within The Army List are some new unit special rules that are worth calling out:

• Vengeance – Partisan Squads have this new special rule that gives them Fanatics if the enemy force includes any Waffen-SS units. A thematic rule that we’ve seen previously in the Canadian Army List for Second Edition.
• Regimental Support – The AT Rifle Team can not only add an extra crewman for 5pts (amazing), you can also bring two in a Rifle Platoon. I’m a long-time fan of AT Rifles and getting two into your force without a Heavy Weapons Platoon is awesome.
• Scouts Lead the Way – One only Scout Squad per Platoon can be Infiltrators. Bit of a bummer but we understand. To bring that Scout-flavor to the rest of the force, any additional Scout Squads can make a Scouts Lead the Way move before the game starts, just like US Rangers.
• Tough Fighters and SMGs – Not a rule special rule but I wanted to call out the sheer number of Soviet Tough Fighters options. They have – SMG Squads, Veteran Squads, Siberian Squads, Guards Squads, Cavalry Squads, Assault Engineer Squads, NKVD Squads, Motorcycle Squads, Airborne Squads, Tank Rider Squads, Scout Squads, and Ski Troops Squad with either have the option to be Tough Fighters or can give every member of the squad an SMG. Many of these units can be taken as Regulars, giving a level of tactical flexibility in your list building that other nations lack.
• Motorcycle and Cavalry Squads – Not a special rule but the Soviet Motorcycle and Cavalry Squads have the option to give every model an SMG. I’m not aware of any other Motorcycle or Cav squads that let you give every model an SMG. If you want to run a pure fast-attack army list getting SMG Vets up the table with an 18″ Run (or 24″ for Regs on Motorbikes) on Turn 1, this is damn tasty.
• Integrated Tractor – For +10pts Heavy Artillery can be moved like a Medium Howitzer. Bringing Heavy Artillery without the need for a dedicated Tow is not something I’ve seen before.
• Improved Ballistics – Both the M-42 and Zis-2 hit with an additional +1 Pen at targets within half-range. Not bad, not bad at all.
• Armored Gun Boat – That’s right! The mighty Bronekater is back! Tremble before this terrifying weapon of war. This special rule means that the first time the Bronekater takes damage, the result counts a 1 on the Vehicle Damage Chart no matter the roll. What a beast.

Early/Mid/Late – As with the other Armies Of… books, 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 Soviet Union 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:

• Winter War – 1,000pts
• Stalingrad – 998pts
• Bagration Late War Assault Force – 1,250pts
• Berlin – 750pts

I always appreciate Sample Armies. They are not for me, but they provide great examples for new players on how to shape their Soviet force. The Sample Armies give context. We’ve got a great variety from a small 750pt Berlin urban assault list to a big 1,250pt Late-War combined arms force. Frustratingly, we are once again faced with poor layout and design decisions. The layout splits each army photo across the page break. And the models in the army photos are too spread out. While the models are beautifully painted and displayed, there’s a lot of dead space. All three previous books have this problem and I now expect nothing different in the upcoming Armies of Imperial Japan.

V. Force Selection Guides

Bringing AoSU 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?

• Additional HQ Options – Let me give my NKVD Officer a Guard Dog. It’s not a big ask.
• More Body Armor Options – Platoon Commanders, Assault Engineers, Tank Riders and Flamethrower Teams all have the option for SN-42 Body Armor. That’s fantastic. But what about MMG and HMG Teams? Warlord makes an Assault Engineer MMG Team in Body Armor – let’s get some rules for it!
• Hammer and Sickle (Partisans) – The Partisan action on the Eastern Front was as extensive as it was brutal. Let’s build out the Partisan options for the Soviets. Hammer and Sickle (Partisans) could be something like Fieldcraft or Behind Enemy Lines. I suppose a Partisan force should not have access to the full list of Soviet Army Special Rules but we have precedent like the 5th Columnist Unit in Armies of Germany.

Overall Impressions

At first glance Hammer and Sickle (and AoSU by extension) looks bland and short on options. When taken in isolation, it is. But once you start adding in the options for SN-42 Body Armor, Guard Dogs and the uniqueness of the unit entries themselves in The Army List, there is a shocking amount of options here. On my first read, I judged AoSU too harshly. The initial impression of Hammer and Sickle left me uninspired. But that was unfair. Once you take in the book as a whole you quickly realize AoSU contains one of the stronger and more flavorful Army Lists we’ve seen so far in Third Edition. Just look at the Unit Special Rules section above – there is so much in there and that’s not even the full list! This book has a lot going for it.

The further you dig, the more you find. The options for SN-42 Body Armor give you an almost full Hammer and Sickle option for Assault Engineers. The Scout Squad and Tank Hunters give you another almost full Hammer and Sickle option for Scouts. There is a lot to unpack.

The Third Edition production improvements are always worth repeating. The layout of the Armies Of… books have come a long way. Unit entries are no longer split across pages and the wording has been condensed. The photography keeps getting better. The only remaining headscratcher are the design choices for Sample Armies section.

When Hammer and Sickle was first previewed on Warlord Community back in August, the community response was tepid as best. After the excitement caused by the Brits’ For King and Country, I get it. It felt like a red flag and players were concerned for what may come next for the Soviets. Luckily, that preview was just the tip of the iceberg for Armies of the Soviet Union. This book is top-tier. It’s filled with unique units and hidden gems. There might not be flash at first glance but once you start digging into the Army List this force comes alive and it quickly becomes apparent that not only are the Soviet options borderline overwhelming, they are terrifying on the table.

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Thank you to Warlord Games for providing a digital copy of Armies of the Soviet Union: Third Edition featured in this article.

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More Third Edition Armies of coverage:

• Armies of Germany
• Armies of the Untied States
• Armies of Great Britain