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 Mixed Infantry List
| Generic Reinforced Platoon | |
|---|---|
| Officer | |
| 2nd Lt (Pistol) – Vet – 65 x1 Buddy (SMG) – Vet – 13 | 78pts |
| Medic – Vet – 30 | 30pts |
| Infantry | |
| Groupe Franc/SES/GIA Veteran Infantry Section – Vet – 6 men – 78 x2 LMG – 40 | 118pts |
| Groupe Franc/SES/GIA Veteran Infantry Section – Vet – 8 men – 91 NCO SMG – 3 x3 SMG – 9 | 116pts |
| Senegalese Tirailleurs Infantry Section – Reg. – 9 men – 99 Tough Fighters | 99pts |
| Regular Infantry Section – Reg. – 10 men – 100 VB Launcher – 20 | 120pts |
| Med. Mortar Team – Reg. – 50 Spotter – 10 | 60pts |
| MMG Team – Vet – 65 | 65pts |
| Sniper Team – Vet – 65 | 65pts |
| 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 | 996pts |
Breakdown
- Pistol – 3
- Rifle – 24
- SMG – 5
- LMG – 2
- Sniper – 1
- VB Launcher
- Med. Mortar – 1
- MMG – 1 (2)
- 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.
This list uses all but one of the models in the box (the only model you don’t use is the Forward Artillery Observer). This list is a healthy mix of Regular and Veteran troops to give you both firepower and staying power. The core of this list is four mixed sized infantry squads: two of Veterans, one of Senegalese, and one of Regulars.
The first Veteran Infantry Section is there to be a fire support with their double LMGs, providing long-range covering fire for your advancing troops. As Veterans they have the staying power when targeted, especially if you put them behind cover or in a building. The Senegalese are a unique squad in Bolt Action. They are Regular Tough Fighters. This allows them to punch above their weight in CQC, and will make your opponent think twice about assaulting them. A large squad of nine Senegalese is definitely no joke! The assault Vets have four SMGs and four rifles. This squad wants to get in close and spray your opponents with lead and be tough enough to take a punch and survive. Use them in conjunction with your Senegalese and have both squads support each other as them advance towards the enemy.
Our fourth and final infantry squad is the, the 10-man Regular Infantry Section who are there to fill out your force with more bodies and can be a useful objective holder, and at the end of the day it’s still 10 rifle shots. Regulars are a decent jack of all trades unit, but aren’t good at any one thing. Giving the squad a VB launcher is a good way to cheaply get some indirect fire into your list. Get your Regs in to a good spot and start slinging HE! Plus it can split fire so this one squad can potentially Pin two enemy units each time they fire.
The rest of this list is a pretty standard assortment of supporting teams/guns to round it out. A two-man Veteran 2nd Lieutenant to give your boys a bit of a moral boost when needed and a Medic to help keep those Vets on the table a bit longer. The box comes with an MMG Team so we might as well use it despite it not being the greatest pick. However, when set up correctly a MMG team can be very effective at locking down an objective or specific part of a battlefield. As a Vet team, they can stay alive a bit longer and hopefully soak up some hits that otherwise could go into some of your pushing units.
A Veteran Sniper team to pick off pesky teams or high profile enemy targets, while also being harder to eliminate. The Sniper is always a useful option in your list. Add in a Medium Mortar with a Spotter and you have one of the best units in the game (in my opinion). The Medium Mortar can deal with basically anything. Troops in a building/dug in? Drop some HE on them. Artillery raining down hell on your boys? Use the Medium Mortar. In a pinch it can even take out enemy vehicles, and at very least if it hits them, puts multiple Pins on them so they have a hard time activating/hitting anything.
The Light AT Gun is only in this list because it’s included in the starter box. It can put a Pin on most vehicles you will see across the table, but that’s about it. It has no indirect fire and with only a 1” HE template, it can’t fill the anti-infantry roll very well. But hey, the Forward Artillery Doctrine French Army Special Rule gives it to us for free so let’s not complain. Finally we have the Char B1 bis Medium Tank. It may be a bit expensive but still amazing. This beast has the potential to put out Pins on three separate units each turn! It has a great mix of anti-personnel and anti-armor capabilities and boasts the Armored all Around special rule so it doesn’t have to hide its sides, meaning you can be extra aggressive with it. Downsides are those pesky One-man Turret and Slow special rules.
This list is a good mix of CQC and long-range troops with a healthy and effective supporting cast. This should give you a solid competitive base right out of the gate with friends or foes!
– Joe
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.
- Add some Calvary – French Cavalry are a very mobile and effective unit that your opponent cannot ignore. Tough Fighters, fast and down right cool, you’ll be able to rule the battlefield with some of these.
- 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 