Another release worthy of celebration! Armies of the British Commonwealth is six Armies of books in one. There have been many attempts during both First and Second Edition to provide Army Lists, unique units, Theater Selectors, and Army Special Rules for various Commonwealth nations. Each and every one of those previous attempts, no matter how successful, pale in comparison to this new book. Armies of the British Commonwealth is the culmination of years of Bolt Action Commonwealth options, all collected in one fully independent and self-contained volume for the first time. Now players can field a unique Bolt Action force representing Australia, Canada, East Africa Command, India, New Zealand, and South Africa.

The days of needing multiple Campaign and Theater books to run your Commonwealth nation are at an end! These six nations have their own Armies of book. Forget about choosing a specific flavor of British to use as your Canadians or Australians – that time is over. At long last, you have everything you need to lead a Commonwealth force into battle. All contained within these 128 pages.

The Armed Forces of … in WWII

Instead of covering each Armed Forces of section individually, let’s tackle them all right here. In each Armies of book, this section has ranged from good (Italy) to shockingly poor (US). I am happy to report Armies of the Commonwealth may be the strongest entry yet. Each of the six Commonwealth nations has at least three full pages of dedicated history (India has almost five), and that’s considerably more than the three-quarters of a page the United States got. Some historical highlights include:

• The Australian transformation from a British-modeled Colonial Army into jungle warfare experts.
• The Canadian FSSF attack on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. A daring operation conducted only to learn the Japanese forces had withdrawn weeks ago.
• Nigerian Chindits of the East Africa Command were the last to leave the Burma theater after the Japanese defeat at the White City, known as the “Tobruk of Burma”.
• The Indian defense of Imphal and Kohima during the Japanese Operation U-Go stands out as the turning point of the war in South-east Asia.
• The intensity of the fighting in Crete by the New Zealanders during countless, desperate delaying actions against the German invaders of Operation Mercury. Without them, the Allied forces never would have made it off the island.
• South African Armored Divisions pioneered new strategic and tactical methods for using Armored Cars during the early East African campaign against the Italians that would later be employed by other Allied nations to great effect.

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Moving from the history to the rules. Each nation has an Army List and Force Selection Guide. Let’s take a look at each one in turn, starting with Australia.

I. Australia

Australian Army List

Australian Army Special Rules – The Australians have three Army Special Rules:

• Never Give Up
• Aggressive Patrolling
• Ambush Drills

Never Give Up is taken from Campaign: New Guinea. When assaulted in Close Quarters, Australian Infantry and Artillery units count as having Fanatics until the conclusion of the ensuing Close Quarters combat (or until the unit is reduced to a single model, as normal). This is an excellent rule for a force that excels at getting onto objectives early. Combined with Jungle Fighters and Aggressive Patrolling, you will have no issue securing the objectives. Never Give Up will give your opponent one hell of a time trying to shift you off.

Aggressive Patrolling shares the same name as a rule in New Guinea but operates very differently. It is both thematic and powerful. The Australian Army may deploy any and all of their Infiltrators first. Then, for any Infiltrators that the player had decided not to deploy at this point, put an Order Die in the bag, together with the enemy Infiltrators Order Dice, and start drawing dice for Infiltrators as normal. Note the “may deploy”; that is critical. Depending on what your opponent has, you can deploy just one or two units in this “pre-Infiltrators” step, then counter-deploy your opponent.

On top of that, one Infantry Section (up to five men) per Rifle Platoon may be upgraded with the Infiltrator special rule for +1pt per model. What a great bonus! You don’t have to upgrade a unit, but you can. Worth noting this can be any Infantry Section, so you could do a basic squad of five Rifles or go for something much more exciting like a squad of five Independent Company Commands all with SMGs – or with two Vickers Ks if you really wanted to get aggro.

Ambush Drills significantly reduces the power of enemy Ambush orders. Australian Infantry units may always react to enemy Ambush fire by going Down. Stop the Australian units’ movement, and place a Down order next to the unit. The unit’s activation is now complete, and they cannot act further this turn. Then resolve the enemy Fire order that triggered the Ambush. Additionally, Australian Infantry that have already activated may flip their Order Die to Down in reaction to any end-of-turn Ambush fire. Situational, sure, but powerful. This Army Special Rule will keep your infantry alive.

Australian Unique Units – The 12 units unique to Australia are:

• HQ Teams
  • Jungle Division Officer
• Infantry Squads & Teams
  • Militia Infantry Section
  • AIF Veteran Infantry Section
  • Jungle Division Infantry Section
  • Independent Company Commando Subsection
  • Papuan Infantry Battalion Section
• Artillery
  • Jungle Light Artillery
• Tanks
  • Matilda Frog
  • Captured Renault R35
  • Captured M11/39
  • Captured M13/40
• Armored Cars
  • Rover Light Armored Car

New Unit Special Rules – Within the Australian Army List are some new unit special rules:

• Jungle Fighters – Three units have the option to upgrade to Jungle Fighters for +2pts per model. This rule both grants Infiltrator and the unit may begin the game Hidden and in Ambush. This is an extremely powerful rule in a force that already has Aggressive Patrolling. The combination of these two rules will allow Austrian commanders to take almost full board control before the start of Turn 1.
• Lewis Gun – Not a special rule but a unique LMG option for the Militia Infantry Section. This LMG is only +10pts but fires one less shot than a standard LMG – three shots instead of four.

Australian Force Selection Guide

There are 53 units available to the Australians (including their 12 unique units):

	AUS	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	5	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	16	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	9	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	9	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	3	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	10	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	1	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	53	69	81	108	137	115	183

The Australians have a wide and varied Force Selection Guide allowing players to build a force fit for North Africa or the South Pacific. I’m not seeing any glaring gaps or options. All the Support Weapons are available along with plenty of Artillery options. There are solid Tanks along with the very characterful, if ill-advised, captured French and Italian options unique to the Aussies.

Aggressive Patrolling is a great rule and opens up all kinds of combinations with Jungle Fighters and Ambush Drills. Australian Commanders will want to take a hard look at running a double-Rifle Platoon to open up additional Infiltrator units via Aggressive Patrolling. The specialized Jungle Fighters option for both Jungle Division Infantry Section and Papuan Infantry Battalion Section leaves no shortage of Infiltrators in the army list (if you are willing to pay for the privilege). Even more powerful than the Infiltrator units themselves is the option to set up your Infiltrators before your opponent. That cannot be overlooked. Just hope you don’t face the hard-counter of Bulgarians, Hungarians, or Partisans with Roving Patrols and Home Country. I wonder if those will be changed in Armies of Europe and updated army PDFs?

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II. Canada

Canadian Army List

Army Special Rules – The Canadians have five Army Special Rules:

• Dogged
• Highly Motivated
• Flame Warfare
• Browning Machine Guns
• Airborne

Dogged is modified from its original D-Day: British & Canadian Sectors version and is a bit like the Finnish Sisu Army Special Rule. Canadian Infantry or Artillery units that either start the game with, or are reduced to, three or fewer models gain Stubborn. If they already have Stubborn, they gain Fanatics. Some interesting implications here. Your Weapons Teams like MMGs, AT Rifles, Snipers, etc., and Light Artillery will all automatically get Stubborn for free. And if you make any of those units Airborne for +1pt per model (giving them Stubborn), they will get free Fanatics (normally 2pts per model). I am loving the idea of a Vet Canadian Airborne force with free Fanatics.

Highly Motivated is a modified version of the classic Vengeance in which any Canadian unit “may subtract 1 from the result of any Order Test they are called upon to make” if there is an enemy within 12″. To put it another way, Canadian units count as having 1 fewer Pin when making an Order Test if there is an enemy within 12″. Vengeance did something similar, but you needed to first roll a 4+ to see if a Pin was removed. Highly Motivated is automatic, but not Pins are removed.

Flame Warfare affects the Platoon Structure. A single Rifle Section per Rifle Platoon may take a Flamethrower for +30pts. Not bad! A Flamethrower without the need to bring an Engineer Platoon. However, any Infantry units with Engineers cannot be equipped with Flamethrowers (Engineer Platoons may include Flamethrower Teams as usual).

Browning Machine Guns are a nice touch, granting the option to add a pintle MMG to any turreted vehicle for +15pts. These pintle MMGs can also be upgraded to HMGs for +10pts. Always a nice bonus to provide your Tanks with extra utility.

Airborne is not so much an Army Special Rule but an option for the Canadian Force Selection Guide. In the Force Selection Guide, certain units can be made Airborne. They must be Vet and must be given Stubborn for +1pt per model. All the expected units have the option – your Platoon Commanders, MMGs, Mortars, Snipers, PIATs, Light Arty, etc. Nothing new to see, but great that players can bring Canadian Airborne if desired and their force will feel different than British Airborne.

Canadian Unique Units – The 12 units unique to Canada are:

• Infantry Squads & Teams
  • First Special Service Squad – “The Devil’s Brigade”
  • Scout Section
  • Heavy Machine Gun Team
• Tanks
  • Ram Cruiser Tank
  • Badger
  • M4A1 Sherman Skink
• Armored Cars
  • Otter Light Reconnaissance Car
  • Fox Armored Car
  • Canadian Recce Carrier
  • M29 Weasel, Armed
• Transports & Tows
  • M29 Weasel
  • C15TA Armored Truck

New Unit Special Rules – Within the Canadian Army List are some new unit special rules:

• The Worst is Yet to Come – The First Special Service Squad are the only unit with this rule, and it is very strong. One unit of FSS per Platoon may bring a Bazooka for +45pts. Amazing. Making it even better is a specific call-out stating the Bazooka may be fired at a separate enemy unit. You can split fire against an enemy vehicle while the rest of the squad dumps Rifles/SMGs/LMGs into a soft target.

Canadian Force Selection Guide

There are 98 units available to the Canadians (including their 12 unique units):

	CAN	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	16	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	10	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	28	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	17	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	22	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	1	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	98	69	81	108	137	115	183

This is a massive army list. Clocking in at 98 units, the Canadians have more units available than Italy and Imperial Japan. With few exceptions, if the Brits can bring it, so too can the Canadians.

Airborne is a nice touch. As we will see, there are plenty of units taken from AoGB and given to the Commonwealth nations. However, and this is critical, those units do not have For King and Country. So, your MMG Teams, Snipers, PAITs? Yeah, those cannot be made Chindits or Airborne or Guards. But Canadians can make them Airborne. It’s a part of the Canadian Army Special Rules, and the other Commonwealth nations do not have that option (except for India with Gurkhas, but we will get there).

I’m loving Flame Warfare just for the easy Flamethrower access. Flamethrowers took a big hit in Third, both their rules and Engineer Platoon requirements. It’s nice to see a simple 0-1 option to add it into a Rifle Platoon – and embedded in a squad no less! We are off to a great start with Canada. Not the most powerful of Army Special Rules, but a unique and thematic force that is distinct from Great Britain. Oh, and the Skink is absolutely horrifying.

III. East Africa Command

East Africa Command Army List

Army Special Rules – The East African Command (EAC) has five Army Special Rules:

• Pangas
• Local Area Control
• Scouts
• Desert Mounted Infantry
• Nigerian Chindits

Pangas, the local name for machete, gives all EAC Infantry and Artillery units (excluding HQ) Tough Fighters. I love it. The rule also notes that SMGs cost +3pts instead of +4pts. That’s a nice touch considering Nigerian Chindit Sections are able to bring as many SMGs as they wish, unlike Chindit Sections in AoGB who can only bring two SMGs max.

Local Area Control is the Finnish Kaukopartio Deep Strike Mission unit special rule but for the entire force. Any EAC Infantry unit held in Outflank can arrive from anywhere along their designated table edge (left or right) or any point along the enemy’s own table edge. Insanity. Absolute insanity. I need to paint up some units of Nigerian Chindits immediately.

Scouts. Because Local Area Control wasn’t enough. A single Rifle Platoon may be designated as a Scout Platoon:

• Mandatory units with five or fewer models may be given Infiltrator for +1pt per model.
• Other Infantry units in the Platoon with five or fewer models may be given Infiltrator for +2pts per model.

I mean c’mon. This is just nasty. I think I’ve found my new Chindits. This combo is insane. Deploy half your army as Infiltrators mid-table, cause extreme havoc, and wait until your Scouts arrive from behind the enemy. Every game is a deadly pincer move. Well, that is unless you are facing Bulgarians, Hungarians, or Partisans. It’s the EAC hard-counter, just like for Australia.

Desert Mounted Infantry is a highly-specific narrative and thematic rule. For +3pts per model, any Infantry unit in a Rifle, Heavy Weapons or Recce Platoon may be upgraded to Desert Mounted Infantry and get:

• Desert Fighters (from the Bolt Action Rulebook)
  • Desert Fighters ignore the Climate Conditions of:
    • Hot, Damn Hot
    • Sand, Sand …
    • … And More Sand
• Cavalry that ignore movement penalties for any “desert terrain” but cannot assault while mounted.
• All the mandatory units in the Platoon must be equipped this way. It cannot be just one unit.
  • They must be mounted on mules, horses, or camels.

If you are playing campaign games or games focused on fighting in North Africa, this is worth a look. Especially if you are using Climate Conditions. But outside of that? Not much application. It’s a more expensive Cavalry option that offers no benefit outside of a desert table. But … Camalry swag.

Nigerian Chindits is similar to For King and Country (Chindits). The standard Chindit rules are Behind Enemy Lines, Fieldcraft, and Ambush Tactics; all for +3pts per model. Nigerian Chindits goes one step further:

• Nigerian Chindits – Units must be taken as Veteran and must be given these rules for +3pts per model:
  • Behind Enemy Lines
  • Fieldcraft
  • Superior Ambush Tactics – When deployed on the table, these units may start the game on Ambush. While on Ambush, the unit gains Stubborn.
  • Deep Jungle – Transports & Tow vehicles cannot be taken for Nigerian Chindit units. This means Nigerian Chindit units cannot be included in Recce Infantry Platoons.

For the same +3pts per model as an AoGB Chindit, you gain Stubborn while in Ambush but cannot take a Transport. That’s a trade I’ll make any day.

East Africa Command Unique Units – The three units unique to East Africa Command are:

• Infantry Squads & Teams
  • Nigerian Chindit Section
  • Bren Gun Section
• Armored Cars
  • Machine Gun Truck

New Unit Special Rules – Within the East Africa Command Army List are some new unit special rules, both taken from the Nigerian Chindits Army Special Rule:

• Deep Jungle – Transports & Tow vehicles cannot be taken for Nigerian Chindit units. This means Nigerian Chindit units cannot be included in Recce Infantry Platoons.
• Superior Ambush Tactics – When deployed on the table, these units may start the game on Ambush. While on Ambush, the unit gains Stubborn.

East Africa Command Force Selection Guide

There are 65 units available to East Africa Command (including their 3 unique units):

	EAC	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	12	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	8	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	18	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	9	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	14	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	0	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	65	69	81	108	137	115	183

East Africa Command is a fascinating one. On one hand, the EAC Army Special Rules appear to be some of the most utterly disruptive we’ve seen so far (unless you are facing Bulgarians, Hungarians, or Partisans). On the other hand, their Army List is extremely limited. They only have four Infantry units – Rifle Section, Nigerian Chindit Section, Corps of Military Police Section, and Engineers Section – that’s it. Now, what you can do with those four Infantry units is, frankly, terrifying. Luckily, there is no shortage of Weapons Teams and Artillery. The Light Howitzer is right were is needs to be (including the option to make it a Nigerian Chindit unit), and both the Light and Heavy Autocannons are included. You won’t be running an armored spearhead with EAC, but that should be no surprise. There are plenty of Stuart options along with Grants, Lees, and Shermans. It wouldn’t be part of the British Commonwealth if it didn’t have Armored Car options, and you can bring all the usual suspects.

With the Scout Platoon, you can infiltrate small but numerous units and take early board control. Then you’ll need to hold out until your units in Outflank arrive on the enemy’s back line on Turn 3 via Local Area Control. EAC will fit right into a specific style of play that we have already seen with some German, Soviet and Finnish lists. The big difference? EAC can do it better. Now we wait for the teased plastic Chindits.

IV. India

Indian Army List

Army Special Rules – The Indian Army has four Army Special Rules:

• Superior Endurance
• Shared Knowledge
• Mountain Experts
• Ayo Gurkhali!

Superior Endurance is the new version of Unsurpassed Bravery and a slightly less powerful version of the Soviet Great Patriotic War. Any Indian Infantry units that fails a Morale Check can re-roll the result. It’s a clutch rule that keeps your units in the game longer and is especially useful for Inexperienced units. A strong start to the Indian Army Special Rules.

Shared Knowledge pairs perfectly with Superior Endurance. All Inexperienced Indian Infantry units have Green and may re-roll the Green test. Fantastic. Not only are your Inexperienced units more likely to stick around with Superior Endurance, but they also have a higher chance of upgrading to Reg. As a quick reminder, Green is when the unit takes its first casualty, roll a die:

• On a 1, the unit takes an additional d6 Pins and goes Down.
• On a 2-5, nothing happens, and no further Green rolls are made.
• But on a 6, the unit is immediately up-rated to Regular with a Morale value of 9.

If you are looking to run a force of Inexperienced units, the Indian Army might be for you!

Mountain Experts provides the option to upgrade any Indian Infantry unit with Fieldcraft for +1pt per model. My oh my. I’ve long been on record stating Fieldcraft might be the best unit special rule in the game and India not only has the option to give it to any Infantry unit (PIATs, Snipers, Flamethrowers, Commandos, etc.), it is also not locked behind a Vet requirement like Italian Alpini and German Gebirgsjäger.

Ayo Gurkhali! is a collection of three rules for Gurkha units. There are 19 units with the Ayo Gurkhali! option ranging from Officers to MMGs to Rifle Sections and Commandos. If you want to run a full Gurkha force, you can, just like Airborne or Rangers. To make a unit Gurkha, they must be Reg or Vet and get the following special rules for +4pts per model:

• Tough Fighters
• Fieldcraft
• Fearsome Reputation – The latest iteration of Scary Blighters! and Blood Curdling Charge, this new rule attempts to capture the legendary CQC prowess of the Gurkhas. Enemy units may not use Reaction Fire against Gurkha units initiating Close Quarters Assaults and do not benefit from Defensive Positions in the ensuing Close Quarters. This is an interesting one as units with Fieldcraft already ignore Defensive Positions when assaulting an enemy unit in Rough Ground. I suppose this would then also apply to Obstacles like walls, fences, and assaulting into buildings.

I want to specifically call out the option to give a unit of Commandos Ayo Gurkhali! If you do, it will cost a whopping 21pts per model for five special rules:

• Tough Fighters
• Fieldcraft
• Behind Enemy Lines
• Fearsome Reputation
• Independent

Indian Unique Units – The one unit (not counting the units with the Ayo Gurkhali! option) unique to India is:

• Armored Cars
  • India Pattern Armored Car

India Force Selection Guide

There are 71 units available to the Indians (including their 1 unique unit):

	IND	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	18	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	7	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	15	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	17	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	9	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	1	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	71	69	81	108	137	115	183

India has no shortage of unit options. You can go full Inexperienced with Rifle Sections and Home Guard or lean into some of the most expensive and specialized units around with Chindits and Commandos (even more so if you make them Gurkhas). India has access to plenty of Weapons Teams and Artillery with no glaring omissions. The motor pool is vast with Early, Mid and Late-War options. Overall, India has a strong set of Army Special Rules backed by a wide selection of units. Everything from “basic” Indian Army in North Africa to hardened mountain troops in Italy to elite Chindits and Commandos fighting in the jungle.

V. New Zealand

New Zealand Army list

Army Special Rules – The New Zealanders have three Special Rules:

• Steadfast Under Fire
• Aggressive Patrolling
• Māori

Steadfast Under Fire is so, so good. An updated version from the original in Campaign: The Western Desert; Steadfast Under Fire reduces the number of Pins caused by a single source (HE, Flamethrowers, etc) against New Zealand Infantry units by 1 (to a minimum of 1).

Aggressive Patrolling is the same for New Zealand as Australia. The New Zealand Army may deploy all of their Infiltrators first. Then, for any Infiltrators that the player had decided not to deploy at this point, put a dice in the bag as normal, together with the enemy Infiltrators Order Dice, and start drawing dice for Infiltrators as normal. Additionally, one Infantry Section (up to five men) per Rifle Platoon may be upgraded with the Infiltrator special rule for +1pt per model.

Māori, similar to Gurkhas, lets you make your units Māori. The New Zealand Force Selection Guide has 14 units with the Māori option. For +2pts per model, these Reg or Vet units gain:

• Tough Fighters
• Ka mate! Ka ora! – When fighting in close quarters, Māori models always count as Fanatics, even if there is only a single model left in the unit.

Not bad at all for +2pts per model. Especially for anyone with an aggressive playstyle, I like the idea of a five-man Vet Rifle Section with both Infiltrators (from Aggressive Patrolling) and Māori as a forward-deployed roadblock unit.

New Zealand Unique Units – The three units (not counting the units with the Māori option) unique to New Zealand are:

• Infantry Squads & Teams
  • New Zealand Independent Company Commando Subsection
• Tanks
  • Bob Semple Tank
  • Schofield Tank

New Unit Special Rules – Within the New Zealand Army List are some new unit special rules:

• Corrugated Iron Armor – A new special rule for the Bob Semple Tank, Corrugated Iron Armor means this unit can be pinned by Small Arms as well as Heavy Weapons. Oof. Even though the Bob Semple is fully-enclosed and Armor 7, that’s not providing much protection!

New Zealand Selection Guide

There are 70 units available to the New Zealanders (including their 3 unique units):

	NZ	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	12	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	8	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	20	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	6	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	19	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	1	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	70	69	81	108	137	115	183

New Zealand shares some similarities with their Australian cousins (makes sense in terms of both theme and gameplay). After all, these two nations often fought under the shared ANZAC banner. That being said, New Zealand it not locked into the same approach to force construction as Australia. These two forces can be played very differently from one another with options for Western Desert, Italy, Indo-Burma, and the South Pacific. Small units of Māori with Infiltrators backed by larger squads aboard RAMs and Kangaroo Transports is not only perfect for the Italian campaign but would make an effective force on the table. Oh, and we have options for New Zealand LRDG hidden within the Selection Guide. As with all these Commonwealth options, there is more than meets the eye.

Note: The New Zealand Force Section Guide lists LRDG Armed Trucks under Armored Cars. This unit entry is not included in the Standard Commonwealth Units. This is an error in the book and I suspect it to be quickly addressed in an Errata & FAQ.

VI. South Africa

South Africa Army List

Army Special Rules – The South Africans have four Special Rules:

• Turn the Flank
• Close-in Air Support
• Shells, Not Lives
• Up-Gunned Italian Campaign Vehicles

Turn the Flank is specific to vehicles arriving via Reserves. South African vehicles get a +1 modifier to the Order Test when entering from Reserve instead of the normal -1 penalty. It’s only for vehicles, but it’s more powerful than both Behind Enemy Lines (it’s not just Outflank) and Modern Communications (it’s a +1 instead of ignoring the -1). In practice, this means that your Vet South African vehicles will arrive on anything but a FUBAR, and even Reg vehicles will arrive on anything but an 11 or 12.

Close-in Air Support is specific for Forward Air Observers and provides an optional re-roll on the Air Strike Table. This is not a re-roll on the Warplane Type Table, but the Airstrike Table; that’s the table to see if the Airstrike arrives, and this means your chances of rolling a Rookie Pilot are significantly reduced.

Close-in Air Support for Air Strikes and Shells, Not Lives is for Artillery Barrages. This rule provides an optional re-roll on the Artillery Barrage Table. Shells, Not Lives is bizarrely similar to the British Artillery Support Army Special Rule. I say bizarrely because Artillery Support is roll two dice and pick the highest. This is an optional re-roll. Strangely, we see an Army Special Rule that is so similar without just being the same. The British version is objectively better; another strange thing that we don’t typically see.

Up-Gunned Italian Campaign Vehicles is a bit like the Canadian Browning Machine Guns. In Mid and Late-War South African forces, you can:

• Give South African Sherman Tanks a pintle-mounted MMG to their turrets for +15pts (as long as they don’t already have that option in their unit entry). They can also upgrade any pintle-mounted MMG to an HMG for +10pts.
• Give South African Recce Carrier the option to replace their hull-mounted LMG with a pintle-mounted HMG for +20pts in addition to any other option in the unit entry.

I love this. Not so much for the Shermans, but for the Recce Carriers. Who doesn’t want little up-gunned Bren Carriers zipping around blasting away with a pintle HMG? It’s cheap, it’s got Recce, and Turn on the Spot – what a combo!

South Africa Unique Units – The nine units unique to South Africa are:

• HQ Teams
  • Native Military Corps Medic
  • Infantry Squads & Teams
  • Motorcycle Infantry Section
  • Motorized Infantry Section
• Tanks
  • Grant Command Tank
• Armored Cars
  • Marmon-Herrington Armored Car Series
    • Mark I
    • Mark II-III
    • Mark I-III, Turretless
    • Mark IV

New Unit Special Rules – Within the South African Army List are some new unit special rules:

• Run to Danger – This unique special rule is for the Native Military Corps Medic. I believe this is the only unique Medic unit in all of Bolt Action. As a slightly more expensive Medic (an extra 2pts for Reg and 3pts for Vet), the NMCM has the ability to react to enemy fire that targets a friendly Infantry unit within 12″. When the enemy declares their target, but before rolling to Hit, you may Run the Medic unit as close as possible towards the friendly target. Once you complete the move, the enemy then completes their Fire Order. This special move will make sure your Medic is there to provide any needed saves. What a unique special rule. As someone who includes Medics often, this is a great way to make sure my Infantry will always be within the 6″ bubble.
• Fire-Belt Action – Why is this special rule put in a little box off to the side and not included in the unit entries? What is this, First Edition? But seriously, this little box has been used throughout the book for historical notes and tidbits of information. But then, on p77 (and only p77) the little box contains actual rules. Insane editing choice.
  
  Now that I’ve finished my formatting rant, let’s discuss the rule. This special rule is only for Marmon-Herrington Armored Cars, of which there are several, and gives you the option to use the Command Vehicle Snap To to issue a Fire Order and then unleash your MGs at full rate of fire. You take an additional -1 to Hit, but I’m not bothered because the three MMGs on my Mk I just went from 9 total shots to 18. With two Mark I-III, Turretless ACs, you can dump 36 MMG shots into a target with a -1 to Hit. Send it.

South Africa Force Selection Guide

There are 77 units available to the South Africans (including their 9 unique units):

	SA	ITL	IJ	USSR	GB	US	GER
HQ	5	4	4	4	4	4	4
Infantry Squads & Teams	13	20	25	30	20	28	45
Artillery	9	8	12	14	10	12	17
Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles	22	20	19	31	43	47	55
Armored Cars	12	6	9	6	21	5	20
Transports & Tows	16	4	11	7	20	17	18
Ambulances	0	0	1	1	2	2	2
Total Units	77	69	81	108	137	115	183

With 77 units to pick from, there is no shortage of options for South Africa. You can play this force however you like, but I am drawn to a fully mechanized route. The inclusion of an Infantry unit with the Motorized Infantry special rule (shockingly absent from AoGB) offers up the perfect opportunity to get your troops mounted up. If that wasn’t enough, there is also Motorcycle Infantry and a heap of Armored Cars. With both Turn the Flank and Fire-Belt Action, I am reminded that Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed in South Africa. Coincidence? I think not. Many of these Commonwealth forces want to keep Infantry in Outflank or Reserves; for South Africa, they want to keep vehicles. A couple of up-gunned Recce Carriers, and a Transport held in Outflank who roll up with a +1 to their Order Test to arrive is an exciting prospect.

VII. Standard Commonwealth Units

The penultimate section of the book opens with a half-page of Quartermaster’s Stores. This is the only section of the entire book that I found lackluster. And that is for one simple reason: there is nothing new. In a book overflowing with new and unique rules, units and forces, the Quartermaster’s Stores is a repeat of Armies of Great Britain. Now, this may be a tad unfair. This entire section of the book is pulled from AoGB. It’s all the unit entries you need to run a Commonwealth force, reprinted here for easy access. But that being said, I was still surprised to see nothing new. The equipment included is:

• Littlejohn Adaptors
• Welbikes
• Vickers K Gun
• Demolition Charges

The Littlejohn Adaptor is an option on only two vehicles – the Tetrarch Tank and Daimler AC. Why not include these rules within the unit entry? Welbikes are a fun option for your Airborne if you want to play hyper-aggressive. The Vickers K Gun is a powerful Infantry LMG upgrade and a much-needed boost to all those SAS/LRDG Gun Trucks and Jeeps. And finally, Demolition Charges, identical to those in the other Armies of books.

Over 36 pages, Standard Commonwealth Units contains a massive list of available units to the six Commonwealth Army Lists. Keep in mind, none of the nations have access to all the units listed, but a specific section as outlined in each of the Force Selection Guides:

• HQ – 4 unit entries
• Infantry Squads & Teams – 11 Infantry Squads,  9 Weapon Team unit entries
• Artillery – 10 unit entries
• Vehicles
  • Tanks/Tankettes/SPGs/AA Vehicles – 45 unit entries
  • Armored Cars – 19 unit entries
  • Transports & Tows – 20 unit entries
  • Ambulances – 2 unit entries
• Total – 120 unit entries 

VIII. Sample Armies

Armies of the British Commonwealth includes four sample armies that give players (especially new ones) a sense of what a Bolt Action army actually looks like. The included forces are:

• Australian (New Guinea) – 1,000pts
• India (Burma) – 1,000pts
• Canada (North-West Europe) – 1,250pts
• South Africa (Western Desert) – 750pts

These are a welcome inclusion. In a book with six full Army Lists, seeing a few solid Sample Armies are a great addition. We’ve got two jungle, one winter and one desert army; each using a different nation, each making use of their unique rules and units. All four provide critical context that show what your Commonwealth force looks like on the table. But, I still have my gripe about the layout. 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 six previous books have this problem – fingers crossed it’s addressed for Armies of France.

What’s Missing?

It seems insane for me to even suggest additional content for a book that includes six Army Lists and is matched only by Armies of Germany for page count. But I’m going to do it anyway.

• Specialized Quartermaster’s Stores – The Quartermaster’s Stores section is a direct copy from Armies of Great Britain. There is no additional equipment. No specialized options for the Commonwealth nations. This was more a surprise than anything else. I understand the decision; the unique equipment is contained within the unit entries for each nation. Items like the Lewis Gun for Australia and AA Bren Guns for EAC are included as part of the unit entries and not a dedicated Quartermaster’s Stores.

Chindits on the Trail, continued

As an addendum to Chindits on the Trail, this book provides a second, third, and fourth Army List option for my Chindit collection. The first, of course, is using Armies of Great Britain. The second is using my Chindits as Australians (as I did from time to time in Second Edition). Third is East Africa Command. The fourth option is India. The Chindits were, technically, part of the Indian Army under South East Asia Command, and my collection would work well for this Army List. I also now have ample opportunity to add additional models using the new plastic Gurkhas and announced plastic Chindits. The Hobby Train has left the station!

Overall Impressions

I’ve harped on Warlord’s formatting and editorial decisions for many, many years. It bothers me at a core level when books have strange formatting. And now, after all these years of published content, Warlord has knocked it out of the park with the layout of this book. The sections flow. The layout makes sense. You don’t have to hunt for information; you know exactly where to find it. I have my same issue with the Sample Armies (maybe Armies of France will provide deliverance), and the South African Fire-Belt Action rule put into a callout box makes no sense; but the overall package is one of the best we’ve ever seen.

This is the most impressive Armies of to date – certainly for Third Edition, possibly for First and Second as well. The scale, the scope, the sheer wild aspiration to contain six armies within one book (without the need for any supplemental material). In years past, if you wanted to play Australians, you could get a copy of Campaign: Western Desert and/or a copy of Campaign: New Guinea. But no matter which one you picked, you also needed a copy of Armies of Great Britain because those two Campaign books didn’t include all the units available in the Army List. Not so with Armies of the Commonwealth. Everything you need is held within this one awesome tome. You do not need to own a copy of AoGB: Third Edition to run Aussies or Canadians. It’s all right here. It would have been much easier, and I’m sure cheaper, for Warlord to make AoBC a supplement and require players to use it alongside AoGB. They decided to not go that route. And I salute them for this decision.

Any player who picks up this book will be overwhelmed with options. It’s an inspiring volume of Bolt Action hobby content, and it will inspire players to start new projects and reevaluate their existing collections. As a Chindit player, I am spoiled for choice. Do I make a pivot to ANZAC Aggressive Patrolling? What about some EAC Deep Strike? Or maybe Indian Fieldcraft Infantry swarm? As we approach the second anniversary of Third Edition this fall, our cup runneth over. It’s a good time to play Bolt Action.

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

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More Third Edition Armies of reviews:

• Armies of Germany
• Armies of the United States
• Armies of Great Britain
• Armies of the Soviet Union
• Armies of Imperial Japan
• Armies of Italy