Box Contents
The US Airborne Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:
- x6 US Airborne sprues (36 Infantry) – Plastic
- US Airborne HQ (Officer, Assistant, Medic, Forward Observer) – Metal
- US Airborne HMG Team – Metal
- US Airborne Medium Mortar Team – Metal
- US Airborne Medium AT Gun – Metal
The Stubborn All-Comers List
| Generic Reinforced Platoon | |
|---|---|
| Officer | |
| 2nd Lieutenant (Pistol) – Vet – 65 x1 Buddy (Rifle) – Vet – 13 | 78pts |
| Medic – Vet – 30 | 30pts |
| Infantry | |
| US Paratrooper Squad (Late War) – Vet – 7 men – 98 BAR – 5 Stubborn | 103pts |
| US Paratrooper Squad (Late War) – Vet – 7 men – 98 BAR – 5 Stubborn | 103pts |
| US Paratrooper Squad (Late War) – Vet – 8 men – 112 NCO SMG – 3 x2 SMG – 6 Stubborn | 121pts |
| US Paratrooper Squad (Late War) – Vet – 8 men – 112 NCO SMG – 3 x3 SMG – 9 Stubborn | 124pts |
| Medium Mortar Team – Vet – 65 Spotter – 10 | 75pts |
| MMG Team – Vet – 65 | 65pts |
| MMG Team – Vet – 65 | 65pts |
| Sniper Team – Vet – 75 | 67pts |
| Bazooka Team – Vet – 78 | 78pts |
| Artillery | |
| Medium Anti-Tank Gun – Vet – 90 Gun Shield | 90pts |
| Total – 12 Order Dice | 999pts |
Breakdown
- Pistol – 2
- Rifle – 21
- SMG – 7
- BAR – 2
- MMG – 2
- Sniper – 1
- Bazooka – 1
- Medium AT Gun – 1
(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapon.
Notes and Analysis
The objective of this list is two-part – 1) use as much of the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that works at a competitive level. Please keep in mind, this List was written using only the contents of the Starter Army.
Now, off the bat, this list isn’t a true Starter Army Box Breakdown because of the Bazooka Team … there isn’t one in the box. A US force without a bazooka is a travesty in my book, so I recommend reaching out to a friend who may have an extra bazooka lying around, purchasing the bit, or getting very creative with a cut up small-gauge straw or dowel rod.
Bazooka aside, this list uses all of the models except for the Forward Air Observer included with the HQ models (though you could use him as the Spotter for the Med. Mortar). Not a bad value for one of the lowest cost Starter Armies on the market.
The core of this list revolves around four squads of Veteran Stubborn paratroopers with SMGs, rifles, and some BARs. The US Fire & Maneuver Army Special Rule is quite powerful, so there are few arguments to not max out your riflemen. However, I am a fan of close assault and as such have included two squads of paratroopers sporting serious SMGs (four and three). Tough Fighter Vets with Stubborn are going to be difficult to stop with the Medic close by for support.
Now, how do we support our core? The Americans can take up to 3 MMG Teams, which you can build using one of the airborne LMGs and the HMG provided in the box to give some model diversity. I elected to use two MMG teams to make room for a Sniper Team. This sniper duo can be converted by using two of the prone bodies and pairing them up with a rifle and a set of binoculars. Along with the Medium Mortar, and the 57mm Medium AT gun, these provide some much-needed range and AT capability.
While you may have a lower Order Dice count at 12 order dice for 1,000 points, every single one of your units is Veteran, so they will be much harder to kill than their Regular counterparts. Use cover to your advantage and close the distance hopping from cover to cover, then swarm your opponent in a wave of hard hitting assault units. This is the way I love to play, so I hope you might do similarly.
Unfortunately, the box does not come with a trusty Sherman, so it’s up to your infantry to carry the load. You may consider ditching one of the MMG Teams to add AT Grenades to some of your core squads, but that’s your decision. At 12 dice, you’re already in danger of being swarmed by a larger enemy…
The redundancy of the Medium AT Gun and a Bazooka helps you deal with most opponents showing up with a Panzer III or IV from one of the German Starter Army boxes. Veterans with a Gun Shield is nothing to scoff at, as it’ll take 6s to kill them! A lucky mortar shot is also not unheard of to deal with enemy tanks in a pinch.
In conclusion, a bit of creativity in your kit assembly and some unconventional hobbying will go a long way, as you can certainly build a tough army with what is in this box.
– Jackson
What’s Next?
Thoughts and musings on where to go from here:
- Artillery – Echoing Andrew’s sentiment on artillery, pick up a Light/Medium Howitzer! They are quite versatile and can act as light AT in a pinch. In many of my lists, I don’t leave home without one.
- Tanks – While it may not be the most thematic, I see many players who pick up this set go immediately for a tank to back up their force. It is easy to get lost in the sauce of finding a tank to use for US, as they are spoiled for choice. An M18 Hellcat or a humble Sherman would provide some hard firepower to the this force.
- For those who want to stay true to the Airborne theme, I’d suggest a Twin-Bazooka Jeep (if playing Battle of the Bulge) or HMG Jeep in your Armored Car slot. While small, they can pack quite a punch.
- Pick up a Campaign book – I am partial to the Campaign: D-Day series for the Airborne, but Battle of the Bulge and Market Garden arm the Airborne with a diverse array of units and scenarios to truly be “Silver”, in the words of Captain Soble.
Chicago Dice 
Thanks for the cool starter list and the ideas on how to use it. I will definitely try this one as my starting list of getting into Bolt Action. There is, unfortunately, a small issue with the list, as in the current state it has 1113 points and in the text you refer to 4 paratrooper squads with 2 squads having 4 SMGs although the list has 5 squads and 2 of them 3 SMG.
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Great callouts! I’ve updated the list as there was an extra squad listed – cheers!
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New to bolt action and I really appreciate this series of posts and this lists. I only have the basic book not armies of USA, so maybe this is the issue, but one question – can the medium anti-tank gun be included just a part of the rifle platoon? In your other list you had 3 platoons, but it looks like just 1 here.
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Cheers! Glad you are finding these helpful. This specific Army List is from 2nd Edition and the force organization was different. In 2nd, most army lists used a single Generic Reinforced Platoon that included up to 1 Artillery piece, 1 Tank and 1 Armored Car all in the same platoon along with the infantry.
In 3rd Edition those Platoons have been split into Rifle Platoon, Artillery Platoon, Heavy Weapons Platoon, etc.
So yes, previously you could bring a single AT Gun in your “Rifle Platoon” but that is no longer the case.
Hope that helps!
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