I started my Armies of Italy review by taking us back to First Edition for a look at how Italian forces in Bolt Action evolved over the years. With Armies of the British Commonwealth only weeks away, I wanted to do the same thing. But, unlike Italy, we are not looking at just one nation; we are looking at seven. Thus the need for a dedicated article, separate from the review of AoBC. This is for anyone interested in the history of Commonwealth forces on the table – with a focus on the Army Special Rules. The likes of India, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have been presented in many forms over the past decade and I’d like to walk through each and every one.

In October 2023, following the release of Campaign: Italy: Tough Gut, I wrote Unpacking the Commonwealth Rules in Bolt Action. The objective was simple: compile the Army Special Rules for the nations of the British Commonwealth in one place. At the time, Commonwealth rules were spread across seven different books. India alone had rules in four – each with slightly different Army Special Rules, units, and force selection options. Needless to say, it was a mess. So let’s dive into that mess and take a look at each book with Commonwealth options as we eagerly await the release of Armies of the British Commonwealth: Third Edition.

First Edition

2012 – Armies of Great Britain

One of the original five Armies of books, Armies of Great Britain, included rules for playing a Commonwealth force. Right on p6, “[This book] contains all the background, rules and Army List information needed to field a British or Commonwealth Army in the Bolt Action game.” Not only did the Army List and Theater Selectors include notably non-British units (Gurkhas, East Africa Reinforced Platoon, etc.), the introduction of what would be the iconic British Army Special Rule – A National Characteristic – left no doubt that the Army List within AoGB could be used to field a Commonwealth nation on the table:

Rather than suggest a single bonus rule to cover this whole array of fighting men, we offer a choice to one of the following special bonus. We will not allocate a rule to each nationality – mostly because we could not bear the argument over who was the toughest the Australians or the Canadians, or who the most disciplined the British or Indians, or who the better shot, who the most determined to rid their homeland of the invader, and so on. So, any British army – whatever its national make-up – can choose any of the following rules to represent it as you – its commander – choose to see it. The only limit that you can only choose one rule – and that rule applies to the whole army.

Those picks for A National Characteristic were:

• Up and ‘at ’em
• Blood curdling charge
• Tough as boots
• Rapid Fire
• Vengeance

Players did not have a dedicated Army List or set of Army Special Rules for a Commonwealth nation. Instead, armed with the picks from A National Characteristic, it was up to the player to pick the option they thought best fit their collection. Then they could model and paint their units accordingly. First Edition was like this in many ways: less prescriptive and more open to interpretation.

2016 – Duel in the Sun – India

Duel in the Sun, released in 2016, was the fifth and final Theater book. It contained our first look at specific rules for playing an independent Commonwealth army. In this case, India. Although brief, this made the Indian Army its own stand-alone entity on the tabletop, not a supplement to a British force. The Army Special Rules for playing India were:

• Unsurpassed Bravery – Whenever a unit of Infantry or Artillery fails a Moral Check and would otherwise be destroyed as a consequence, take the test again and apply this second result.
• The Manpower of the Empire – The Indian force gets a free ten-man Regular Infantry Section (Early War), armed with rifles. Additional equipment for this section may be purchased as normal.

Although there were no unique units for the Indian Army, these Army Special Rules provided more than enough to differentiate India from GB. Up until this point, anyone running India would be playing Brits with an “India coat of paint”. Nothing wrong with that approach! But now the Army Special Rules themselves were different. An example of things to come, these new rules were an exciting addition to Bolt Action.

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Second Edition

Over the course of Second Edition’s long life, five Campaign books included Commonwealth rules. Some, like Campaign: New Guinea, included a full Army List. Others, like Campaign: D-Day: British & Canadian Sectors, had a robust list of Commonwealth units, but limited their application to specific Theater Selectors. Campaign: Italy: Soft Underbelly was little more than bullet points with required A National Characteristic picks. Second Edition included Commonwealth rules in one form or another for:

	Australia	Canada	India	Ireland	New Zealand	Scotland	South Africa
New Guinea	x	–	–	–	–	–	–
Western Desert	x	–	x	–	x	–	x
British & Canadian Sectors	–	x	–	–	–	–	–
Italy: Soft Underbelly	–	x	x	x	x	x	–
Italy: Tough Gut	–	x	x	x	x	x	x

2017 – Campaign: New Guinea – Australia

In the same way Campaign: Battle of the Bulge included Armies of Free France: Late War, New Guinea included a fully developed, independent Army List for Australia. The full Army List for the Aussies was just one reason New Guinea clocked in 2nd Overall in our Bolt Action Book Ranking. In a chapter appropriately title Armies of Australia, this was not a “pick A National Characteristic” situation. This was a full Army List complete with new Army Special Rules, Theater Selectors and unit entries. We had seen a “beta” version the year before. Released as a PDF on the Warlord Games website, the Australian Army List for Bolt Action would be transported and refined with Campaign: New Guinea. The focus of the Army List was, understandably, forces fighting in New Guinea and the Indo-Burma Theater at large, but also included a Theater Selector for Australians in North Africa. Even that this early stage of Second Edition, Commonwealth forces had multiple options and gameplay opportunities. The Army Special Rules for Australia in New Guinea were:

• Limited Artillery Support – Australian forces do not receive the free Forward Artillery Observer from the normal British and Commonwealth Army Special Rule, nor do they receive the bonus to any Preparatory Bombardment.
• Aggressive Patrolling – The Australian player automatically wins the roll-off for who places their first ‘forward deploying’ unit. In addition, no enemy forward deployers may set up within 18″ of an Australian unit already deployed. Also, Australian infantry spot Hidden enemy at a range of 18″ rather than 12″.
• Never Give Up – When defending in an assault, Australian Infantry and Artillery units count as having the Fanatic Special Rule.
• Campaign Characteristic – In addition to the previous Special Rules, choose one of the following three Campaign Characteristics:
  • Australia Is Next… – All Australian infantry units gain the Stubborn Special Rule.
  • Fighting Withdrawal – Australian AIF and Militia units may Advance and then flip their Order Die into Ambush. Note that this Advance move must be directly towards their own table edge.
  • Jungle Warfare Masters – Infantry squads and officer teams do not suffer the -1 penalty to Morale if they lose their NCO or officer. Also, all infantry units being moved as a result of an Advance or Run order may go Down as a reaction to an Ambush even if they have already activated that turn, but to do so the unit must successfully pass an Order Check. Note that the unit does not lose a Pin if this test is successfully passed.

A significant evolution from the two bullets provided to India in Duel in the Sun, Austria was now a full-blown army on par with any of the published Army Lists in Second Edition. Armed with these new Army List and Army Special Rules, in 2018, I dropped the Brits in favor of Aussies and brought them to Bugeater GT. Without making any adjustments to my existing Chindit collection, it was as if I had been handed a new army; same models, but new rules and army listing opportunities. As we will see with Armies of the British Commonwealth, some of the original Australian Army Special Rules and units have “crossed the Rubicon” into Third Edition.

2018 – Campaign: Western Desert – Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa

This is where the madness began. Crammed onto a single page, the new Army Special Rules for Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa were offered. The options were not only unique but also extremely powerful. These rules were in addition to the existing British ones. Thus, anyone using Western Desert to build their Commonwealth force would have the two existing Army Special Rules from AoGB plus two additional, new ones. The breakdown was:

• All
  • Bombardment – When rolling the effects of a Preparatory Bombardment instead of rolling one die on the results chart for enemy units, roll two dice and choose the best result.
  • Artillery Support – British and Commonwealth armies can include one Regular Artillery Forward Observer for free.
• Australia
  • Aggressive Patrolling – The Australian player automatically wins the first roll-off for who places their first ‘forward deploying’ unit. In addition, no enemy forward deployers may set up within 18″ of an Australian unit already deployed. Also, Australian infantry spot Hidden enemy at a range of 18″ rather than 12″.
  • Never Give Up – When defending in an assault, Australian Infantry and Artillery units count as having the Fanatic Special Rule.
• India
  • Unsurpassed Bravery – Whenever a unit of infantry or artillery fails a moral check and would otherwise be destroyed as a consequence, take the test again and apply this second result.
  • The Manpower of the Empire – The Indian force gets a free ten-man Regular Infantry Section (Early War), armed with rifles. Additional equipment for this section may be purchased as normal.
• New Zealand
  • Steadfast Under Fire – After rolling for the number of Pins caused by HE fire, if the target is New Zealand Infantry or Artillery, halve the number of pins, rounding down.
  • Superb Junior Officers – New Zealander First and Second Lieutenants have a Morale bonus range of 12″. The ‘You Men, Snap to Action’ range remains 6″.
  • Māori Troops – A New Zealand force may add Māori Troops to its choice of units. Any Infantry or Headquarters unit may be made Māori Troops for the cost of +1pt per model. The unit gains the Formidable Fighters Special Rule below:
    • Formidable Fighters – Māori units do not benefit from the New Zealand National Characteristics (Steadfast Under Fire and Superb Junior Officers). Instead, they have Blood Curdling Charge, Up and at ’em, and Tough as Boots Special Rules.
• South Africa
  • Bloody Mindedness – Whenever a South African Infantry or Artillery unit receives hits from non-HE fire, place a Pin as normal. If, however, no casualties are subsequently caused, the Pin is automatically removed.
  • Quick Reaction – A South African Infantry or Artillery unit is always allowed to react to being assaulted. The surprise change rules on p76 of the Bolt Action Rulebook does not apply.

So … yeah. Western Desert was a lot. Sadly, the sword cut both ways. On one hand, we had just been granted more Commonwealth options than ever before. Not only that, these were some truly unique Army Special Rules that resulted in your force looking, feeling, and playing differently than a “standard” British one. However, the power creep was real. India instantly became an S-Tier nation with not one but two free 100pt units (the FOA and 10-man Reg Rifle Section). TOs, myself included, were left scrambling to address the rules, and online debates raged trying to sort out the “correct” way to play India. Even the release of a Warlord FAQ directly addressing the Western Desert Army Special Rules did little to douse the flames.

2021 – Campaign: D-Day: British & Canadian Sectors – Canada

The Canadian Army was presented as though it were a full Army List, like the Armies of Australia included in New Guinea. Sadly, that was not the case. Directly below the new Canadian Army Special Rules:

Unless otherwise stated, all new units may only be used with the selectors included in this book.

Brutal. Back in the days of Theater Selectors in Second Edition, restricting units to exclusive Theater Selector use was a death sentence for pick-up play, and many tournaments did not allow Theater Selectors at all. So even though Canada had been officially added to the Bolt Action roster, unless you had clearance to use Theater Selectors, it was tough to get them on the table. It’s a full Army List, but annoyingly, you could not bring these Canadian units in a Generic Reinforced Platoon. The Canadians had four Army Special Rules (two from AoGB and two new ones):

• Canadian Armies follow the same Army Special Rules as found on p17 of Armies of Great Britain (Bombardment and Artillery Support), but instead of choosing A National Characteristic, apply the following two rules:
• Dogged – All Regular and Veteran Canadian Infantry units may be upgraded to Stubborn for +1pts per model. All Inexperienced Canadian Infantry units may be Green for +1pts per model.
• Hate the SS – Canadian troops are Fanatics when fighting in close quarters against SS units.

Along with these rules was a whole bunch of units, including 12 new Canadian units and special Canadian options for upgrading Sherman and Stuart Tanks (much like the Browning Machine Guns rule in Armies of the British Commonwealth). At the time it was exciting to see this much content for a “new” nation. Canada had not been specifically featured in any book up until this point, and it was frustrating that the options were locked down behind a Theater Selector. More Canadian content would arrive in both Campaign: Italy books but that would be part of a Commonwealth soup approach as opposed to a stand-alone army.

2021 – Campaign: Italy: Soft Underbelly – Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland

The first of two Italy books, Soft Underbelly, introduced Ireland and Scotland for the first time, along with additional rules for Canada, India, and New Zealand. Seeing five Commonwealth nations with rules within one book was great, but the conflicting and duplicative Army Special Rules were not. Over two pages, many of the previous Commonwealth rules (such as those in Western Desert) are tossed out the window. We already had some fun and unique rules for Canadian, Indian, and New Zealand forces, so why were these rules different? Not only were they different, but they were frequently just a specific A National Characteristic taken from AoGB.

For example, India only has Blood Curdling Charge as their Army Special Rule – what happened to Unsurpassed Bravery and The Manpower of the Empire? These are not unique Commonwealth rules, just repeats of existing ones. Not only that, some units in your Platoon will follow the specific Commonwealth rules, but other units will not. These are not Platoon rules, just rules for scattered individual units. And now we have the Commonwealth soup.

There are many Commonwealth units in the book that ignore the overall Army Special Rules and have their own that only apply to that unit. For example, if you built the Eighth Army Reinforced Platoon Theater Selector, you would find yourself in a situation where each Infantry unit in your force has its own National Characteristic – Regular Infantry (your pick), Irish (Vengeance), Indian (Blood Curdling Charge), Canadian (Tough as Boots), Māori (Charge and Boots), the list goes on. Unlike New Guinea, Western Desert, and Canadian Sectors, these Commonwealth rules are for units, not forces/Platoons. In order to play a unique Commonwealth force, you had to fight with the book to make it happen. Don’t get me wrong, it could be done, but not nearly as efficiently or effectively as it could have been. The muddled mix of Commonwealth Army Special rules in Soft Underbelly were:

• All
  • Bombardment – When rolling the effects of a Preparatory Bombardment instead of rolling one die on the results chart for enemy units, roll two dice and choose the best result.
  • Artillery Support – British and Commonwealth armies can include one Regular Artillery Forward Observer for free.
• Canada
  • A National Characteristic – Tough as Boots – Canadian headquarters and infantry weapons teams use the Tough as Boots National Characteristic. One other National Characteristic may be picked for the non-Canadian Infantry sections in the Reinforced Platoon.
  • Dogged – All Canadian headquarters and infantry units may be upgraded to Stubborn for +1pt per model.
• India
  • A National Characteristic – Blood Curdling Charge – All headquarters units, Gurkha sections, Indian Infantry sections (Italy, 1943), and infantry weapons teams (e.g. snipers and mortars, etc.) have Blood Curdling Charge as their National Characteristic. The rest of the force may choose another National Characteristic.
• Ireland
  • A Platoon can be made to represent an Irish Platoon by giving all Headquarters units the ‘Faugh a Ballagh!’ Special Rule. Headquarters units may be given the Tough Fighters Special Rule for +1pt per model.
  • A National Characteristic – ‘Faugh a Ballagh!’ (Clear the way!) – Irish units do not benefit from the National Characteristic you have chosen for the rest of your army; they instead use the Vengeance National Characteristic.
• New Zealand
  • Steadfast Under Fire – After rolling for the number of Pins caused by HE fire, if the target is New Zealand Infantry or Artillery, halve the number of pins, rounding down.
  • Superb Junior Officers – New Zealander First and Second Lieutenants have a Morale bonus range of 12″. The ‘You Men, Snap to Action’ range remains 6″.
  • Māori Troops – Māori Troops may be taken in this Reinforced Platoon. Any Veteran Infantry Section or Headquarters unit may be made Māori Troops for the cost of +1pt per model. The unit gains the Formidable Fighters Special Rule below:
    • Formidable Fighters – Māori units do not benefit from the New Zealand National Characteristics (Steadfast Under Fire and Superb Junior Officers). Instead, they have Blood Curdling Charge and Tough as Boots Special Rules.
  • Selections – No Commandos or SRS Sections may be taken.
• Scotland
  • A Scottish Reinforced Platoon can be created in any reinforced platoon that has the Highland Officer available as an Officer option.

Now, all those force-creation issues aside, Soft Underbelly still provided exciting, new, and unique individual units. Guards made their debut along with Highland Officers and MTO-specific Canadian units. There were even rules for FSSF (The Devil’s Brigade), but those were for the US, not Canada. The Theater Selectors also provided even more Commonwealth options, but the overall direction for and presentation of Commonwealth forces was sorely lacking.

2023 – Campaign: Italy: Tough Gut – Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa

We close out our journey through Commonwealth forces in Second Edition with Tough Gut – a book that finally collected the rules for playing a Commonwealth army in a clear and concise manner. As I wrote back in 2023:

British, Commonwealth, and British-Supported Theater Selectors – Within these two incredible pages there are clear and concise rules for running one of these Platoons. Our prayers have been answered! It’s basically an official version of Unpacking the Commonwealth Rules in Bolt Action and I couldn’t’ be happier. As both a player and a TO this is simply amazing. 

And amazing it was. Well, certainly from an organizational and clarity standpoint. The rules were often recycled or repurposed from A National Characteristic, so much of it wasn’t new. However, the options were clear for anyone who wanted to play Ireland, Scotland, Canada, India, New Zealand, or South Africa. Rules for playing six different Commonwealth nations – that alone was a win worth celebrating. The Commonwealth Army Special rules in Tough Gut were:

• All
  • Bombardment – When rolling the effects of a Preparatory Bombardment instead of rolling one die on the results chart for enemy units, roll two dice and choose the best result.
  • Artillery Support – British and Commonwealth armies can include one Regular Artillery Forward Observer for free.
• Canada
  • A National Characteristic – Tough as Boots – Canadian headquarters and infantry weapons teams use the Tough as Boots National Characteristic. One other National Characteristic may be picked for the non-Canadian Infantry sections in the Reinforced Platoon.
  • Dogged – All Canadian headquarters and infantry units may be upgraded to Stubborn for +1pt per model.
  • Esprit De Corps – For a reinforced platoon representing the French Canadian 22e Regiment, headquarters and Infantry Sections may benefit from Esprit de Corps special rule instead of the Dogged rule for +1pt per man. Units with the Esprit de Corps special rule remove D2 Pins whenever they pass an Order Test, instead of the usual one Pin.
• India
  • A National Characteristic – Blood Curdling Charge – All headquarters units, Gurkha sections, Indian Infantry sections (Italy, 1943), and infantry weapons teams (e.g. snipers and mortars, etc.) have Blood Curdling Charge as their National Characteristic. The rest of the force may choose another National Characteristic.
• Ireland
  • A Platoon can be made to represent an Irish Platoon by giving all Headquarters units the ‘Faugh a Ballagh!’ Special Rule. Headquarters units may be given the Tough Fighters Special Rule for +1pt per model.
  • A National Characteristic – ‘Faugh a Ballagh!’ (Clear the way!) – Irish units do not benefit from the National Characteristic you have chosen for the rest of your army; they instead use the Vengeance National Characteristic
• New Zealand
  • Steadfast Under Fire – After rolling for the number of Pins caused by HE fire, if the target is New Zealand Infantry or Artillery, halve the number of pins, rounding down.
  • Māori Troops – Māori Troops may be taken in this Reinforced Platoon. Any Veteran Infantry Section or Headquarters unit may be made Māori Troops for the cost of +1pt per model. The unit gains the Formidable Fighters Special Rule below:
    • Formidable Fighters – Māori units do not benefit from the New Zealand National Characteristics (Steadfast Under Fire and Superb Junior Officers). Instead, they have Blood Curdling Charge and Tough as Boots Special Rules.
• Scotland
  • To create a Highland Reinforced Platoon, take the Highland Officer found on p96 of Campaign: Italy: Soft Underbelly as the compulsory officer. Having a Highland Officer in your Reinforced Platoon effectively converts the Reinforced Platoon to a Highland force.
    • Bagpiper – For +33pts you may add a Bagpiper to your Officer. As long as the Bagpiper is alive, Regular and Veteran Infantry Section in this Platoon may reroll failed Morale Checks.
• South Africa
  • To turn a British Reinforced Platoon into a South African Reinforced Platoon, take Regular Infantry Sections (Mid/Late-War) from Armies of Great Britain as your two compulsory infantry squads and use the following South African special rules in lieu of A National Characteristic:
    • Quick Reaction – For +1pt per man, Regular Infantry Sections (Mid/Late-War), infantry weapon teams, and Artillery units are always allowed to react to being assaulted. The surprise change rules on p76 of the Bolt Action Rulebook does not apply.
    • We Can Take It! – Whenever a Regular Infantry Section (Mid/Late-War), infantry weapon team, or Artillery unit takes no casualties from non-HE fire, they roll a dice to see if they take any Pins. On a roll of 1-3, they take the Pin, on a roll of 4+, they take no Pin.

The biggest issue with Tough Gut was the short time we had with it. Third Edition arrived only 14 months after Tough Gut, and we sadly never had much of a chance to put these Commonwealth forces to use. It also must be noted that some of the rules were a bit thin. Scotland in both Italy books didn’t have much going for it. Make no mistake, the Bagpiper rule was frighteningly strong, especially when combined with Discipline for Guards units, but that’s all there was. There was no Scottish Army List or set of unique Scottish Army Special Rules. It was just a single option for one unit to make your Platoon a “Scottish” one. On the other hand, nations like Canada and India really did look and feel like a different, non-British Platoon. Both their unit options and rules were distinct. Luckily, that is exactly the direction we are heading in Third Edition with Armies of the British Commonwealth – full Army Lists and unique Army Special Rules. No more recycled existing British rules or Commonwealth soup.

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Third Edition

2024 – Great Britain Rulebook Army List

When Third Edition arrived in September 2024, the Bolt Action Rulebook included Army Lists for the “Big Five”. The Army Lists for the “Further Axis and Allied Nations” (with the notable omission of China) were released as free PDFs on Warlord Games Community. The PDF Army Lists, much like the Rulebook Army Lists, condensed down the unit options and Army Special Rules. As a result, most, if not all, of the Commonwealth rules were lost.

The Third Edition reset hit Commonwealth players hard. All those units, all those Army Special Rules and options collected over the years … gone. Most players lost access to a niche army build or a specific list, and that was expected, but the impact to Commonwealth options was nothing short of devastating. We were back to playing British rules with a Commonwealth coat of paint. At the time of release, the only Commonwealth unit available in the Rulebook was the Gurkha Section, and not a single Commonwealth nation was included in the PDF Army Lists. Even more devastating, the worst was yet to come.

2025 – Armies of Great Britain: Third Edition

Commonwealth erasure. No other way to say it. If anyone had expected Commonwealth options to return in the new AoGB for Third Edition, they were in for disappointment. Not only were no units added, but the only Commonwealth unit in Third Edition, Gurkhas, were also removed from the Army List. That’s it. The door had closed. For those with an Indian Army in North Africa or ANZACs in the jungle, there was nothing to be done. The clock had been set back a full 10 years to a time when even the two rules bullets for India in Duel in the Sun were unavailable. These were dark days, my friends.

But there was hope. Although Commonwealth options had been totally and completely removed, a light at the end of the tunnel appeared. Why did AoGB not contain a single Commonwealth unit or rule? Well, that is because Armies of the British Commonwealth: Third Edition was on the way! That’s right, salvation was at hand. Delivered from on high would be the triumphant return of Commonwealth troops in Bolt Action!

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2026 – Armies of the British Commonwealth: Third Edition

The days of using multiple appendices from Campaign and Theater books is at an end! Six Commonwealth nations have their own, complete and self-contained, Armies of book. Forget choosing a specific flavor of British to use as your Canadians or Australians. The latest Armies of book provides everything you need to lead the forces of Australia, Canada, East Africa, India, New Zealand, and South Africa into battle. As we’ve already seen across multiple Warlord Community previews, Armies of the British Commonwealth is taking a new approach. Each of the six nations have their own Army Special Rules and Army List. The forces are not meant to be mixed and matched. This streamlined design will do wonders for force creation and army listing. Personally, I cannot wait.

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you for your dedication. We have reached the final step in our long journey. The release of Armies of the British Commonwealth is right around the corner. Trust me when I say it’s a mighty tome worthy of its own dedicated review. Luckily, we don’t have long to wait.