Box Contents
The French Army Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:
- x6 French Army sprues (36 Infantry) – Plastic
- French Army HQ (Officer, Assistant, Medic, Forward Observer) – Metal
- French MMG Team – Metal
- French Med. Mortar Team – Metal
- French Light AT Gun – Metal
- Char B1 bis Medium Tank – Plastic
The Reg. Rush List
| Generic Reinforced Platoon | |
|---|---|
| Officer | |
| 1st Lt (Pistol) – Reg – 75 x1 Buddy (SMG) – Reg – 10 | 85pts |
| Medic – Reg – 23 | 23pts |
| Forward Artillery Observer – Reg – 100 | 100pts |
| Infantry | |
| Regular Infantry Section – Reg. – 9 men – 90 Rifle with VB Launcher – 20 | 110pts |
| Regular Infantry Section – Reg. – 9 men – 90 Rifle with VB Launcher – 20 | 110pts |
| Regular Infantry Section – Reg. – 9 men – 90 x1 Pistol – -3 Rifle with VB Launcher – 20 | 107pts |
| Chasseurs Portes Infantry Section – Reg. – 7 men – 70 x2 LMG – 40 | 110pts |
| Med. Mortar Team – Reg. – 50 Spotter – 10 | 60pts |
| MMG Team – Reg. – 50 | 50pts |
| Artillery | |
| Light Anti-Tank Gun – Reg – 0 Gun Shield | 0pts |
| Tanks | |
| Char B1 bis Medium Tank – Reg – 245 Armor 9 Light AT Gun w/ coax MMG Hull MMG Hull Light Howitzer Slow Armored All Around One-man Turret | 245pts |
| Total – 11 Order Dice | 1000pts |
Breakdown
- Pistol – 2
- Rifle – 28
- SMG – 1
- Rifle with VB Launcher – 3
- LMG – 2
- MMG – 1 (2)
- Med. Mortar – 1
- Light AT Gun – 1 (1)
- Light Howitzer – (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.
The Warlord Games plastic French infantry have arrived! With the release of the new plastic box there is an updated French Army Start Army that is packed with options. Before we dive in remember that is proposed army list is just one of many possibilities. This particular force was created to be beginner-friendly and makes use of plenty of VB Launchers (now in Warlord Games plastic for the first time). I would also like to draw attention to the lovely Wargames Atlantic French Infantry (also plastic) that give you even more options! We’ve event got not one, but two 1 Box, 1 Army articles using that box. It’s a great time to start a French Bolt Action force!
Our Reg Rush List is centered around a core of three, nine-man Infantry squads. Each with a VB Launcher. The idea here is to keep those three squads moving up the table dropping a 1″ HE template every turn. The VB Launcher, like a Light Mortar, is not a Fixed weapon and can be fired on Advance. You also have the option to fire smoke and cover your advance. Although it’s just a tiny VB Launcher, it still drops a 3″ smoke template. That’s a sizable area of smoke coverage if you need to cross a lot of open ground. As three squads move across the table you can provide significant covering fire with the double-LMG Chasseurs Section. Long-range small arms Pins is the singular goal of this squad.
In support of the Infantry Sections we have a Med. Mortar, MMG and Light AT Gun. The Med. Mortar is always dependable and is perfect for dropping 2″ HE onto static enemy units. Using the MMG to add additional fire support to the double-LMG squad can be a very effective source of Pins. We typically avoid Light AT Guns, the Light Howitzer is much more effective, put we gotta use what’s in the box and you can’t argue with that 0pt cost! We most certainly want to utilize the Forward Artillery Doctrine Army Special Rule.
Speaking of artillery, we have a Forward Artillery Observer that can drop an off-table bombardment onto the enemy positions. We want to use the “rush” aspect of this army and hitting a d6+6″ blast zone to drop more Pins is a great asset. FAO can be a bit swingy, and 100pts is a lot, but again we gotta use what’s in the box. As a long-tome British player I have always been a fan of the FAO. May he perform his duties well in the defense of France!
Medic and Lt join the Reg Rush. Use that 6″ bubble to provide both the 6+ Medic save at the +2 Morale bonus. This of course depends on the terrain and the objectives but a concentrated rush or refused flank is an ideal strategy for this force. Keep those 27 riflemen under control with the direct support of the their Lt and Medic.
Now for the big chonker – the Char B1 bis. For this tank you’ll probably want to just roll forward at the speed of the infantry advance. That being said, the One-Man Turret is brutal. Forced to take an Order Test on every Advance, even if you have no Pins, is a worst-case scenario just waiting to happen. Honestly pulling back your Lt to keep within 6″ of the Char is not a bad idea either. In this list, it is critical that the Char is able to fire at full effect every turn. We didn’t drop 245pts on a Tank to not bring those weapons to bear. And what weapons! Two MMGs, a Light AT Gun and a Light Howitzer! As with all vehicles you can split fire and target different units with each weapon system. You’ll want to position this beast to either target three different units a turn or focus fire onto one target. Either way you are rolling forward with Armor 9 on all sides (no bonus to Pen against the sides or rear), that’s a solid bonus. Especially if you are playing Early War.
I’ll be honest, this isn’t the most creative list I’ve written for this project. It’s a bit vanilla. That being said, it would be a whole lot of fun to play. Sadly to get the most out of the French you really need that second Artillery piece (one of them is free) and more bodies to trigger the Hurriedly Conscripted Reserves Army Special Rule. I tried to write a list with four Inexp. Infantry Squads but with only 36 bodies in the Starter Army it’s simply not enough models.
I like this Starter Army and it’s awesome to see Warlord Games continue expand their core lines of plastic infantry outside of the Big Five.
– Andrew
What’s Next?
Thoughts and musings on where to go from here:
- Get a Med. Howitzer – Immediately. The French Forward Artillery Doctrine Army Special Rule is extremely powerful and need to take advantage of that. A free Med. Howitzer is not to be overlooked. The rule allows for a Light AT Gun, Light Howitzer, Med. AT Gun or Med. Howitzer to be selected for free. If you are looking to maximize and your Theater Selector allows it, always go for the Med. Howitzer.
- Add some speed – The Char B1 is so characterful but so slow. If you want to add some quickness to your army, the AMD Panhard in the Armored Car slot is a fantastic pick. It’s only 115pts Reg. for a wheeled, Armor 7 vehicle is a Light AT Gun, coax MMG and Recce. Not bad at all.
- Add a Transport – The French VUBD Carrier is one of the best Transports in the game. It comes with a LMG, has a 7-man transport capacity, is Armor 7 and, most importantly, is not open-topped! Toss a squad of Tough Fighter Senegalese into one of these and you can completely ignore small arms fire. No Pins on the Transport or the unit inside. The VUBD is one of the only fully enclosed armored transports around and real hidden gem of the French.
- Get Campaign: Battle of France – If you like the Early War French than Battle of France is the campaign book for you! It’s in our Top 5 of the Bolt Action Book Ranking and includes all kinds of additional units and Theater Selectors for the French. The Early War Motorbikes are not to be overlooked.
Chicago Dice 