Box Contents

The Hold the Line! French Starter Army is an all-plastic Starter Army containing:

• x7 French Army sprues (42 Infantry)
• x2 French Heavy Weapons sprues (x2MMGs, x2 Med. Mortars, x4 Light Mortars)
• x3 Heavy Weapons Crew sprues (12 Infantry)
• x2 75mm Light Artillery
• x2 Artillery Crew sprues (8 Infantry)

The Defensive Posture list

Breakdown

(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapon.

Notes and Analysis

The objective of this list is two part – 1) use as many of the components from the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that work at a competitive level. Please in mind, this List was written using only the content of the Starter Army.

What we have with Hold the Line! is uncommon for non-airborne Starter Armies, it’s all Infantry and Artillery! There are no vehicles included in this box. And because of that, our final result is an army list that you don’t typically see. It’s 100% Vet and only three Platoons at 1,250pts. In order to hit 1,250 I used every single model in the box. All 42 infantry, all 12 heavy weapons crew, and all 8 artillery crew. Every model within this box is plastic making it much, much easier to mix and match the excellent French Army Infantry kit and crew together to build your units. You’ll be able to create some unique Platoon Commanders and Forward Artillery Observers when you bring together all the bits at your disposal. It was a bit of a reach to bring this box up to 1,250pts and maybe a more concentrated 1,000pt army would be a more appropriate use, but I wanted to go big and see how far I could take the army list. I’m happy with the result, but it’s not without flaws. Let’s dive in to this Early War Battle of France army list.

The core of this army is the Rifle Platoon. As mentioned, every unit is Vet. So we have a Vet Platoon Commander maxed out with four buddies. Everyone has SMGs and they are upgraded to Chasseurs Alpins to gain Fieldcraft. The high level strategy is to use both this unit and the unit of seven Chasseurs Alpins as Outflankers. The Platoon Commander grants a +2 Morale bonus on their own Order Test to arrive from Reserve and we can make the the Chasseurs Alpins Section the Colmater (Mobile Reserve) unit so they will have +1 to their own Order Test to arrive. And you have the option to pick the tableside they arrive from when they take their Order Test, you don’t have to pick the side before the game begins. A great tactical flexibility. And remember, both of these units have Fieldcraft – use it! The Chasseurs Alpins Section has two SMGs to give a bit of extra punch up close. Sadly two is the maximum number of SMGs for Chasseurs, but even if it wasn’t, we only have seven total SMGs in the box and we use every last one. But we are getting slightly ahead of ourselves. I mentioned the great French Army Infantry kit. One of the reasons I like this box so much is because it includes options to build your infantry as “standard” Fortress Garrison Troops, or Engineers, or Colonial Troops, or Chasseurs. And with the exception of the Engineers, we are going to use all three other options. Use those lovey ‘tarte’ hats to mark both your Platoon Commander unit and the Chassuers Section as the elite units they are.

Providing some additional close quarters punch is the Tirailleurs Section. This is a nine-man Vet unit with an LMG and a VB Launcher who are all Tough Fighters. No enemy will be thrilled by the prospect of facing nine Vets with TF in close quarters, especially if you manage to secure a Defensive Position. Use this unit to hold the middle and chase the enemy of an objective. Bring along a Platoon Commander from either the Heavy Weapons or the Artillery Platoon and you wont’ have to worry about the Tirailleurs failing any Order Test (Vet with a +2 Morale is tasty). Just like the Chasseurs, make use of the unique Colonial Infantry head options within the French Army kit to mark out this unit as your CQC specialists.

Rounding out our Infantry are two Armee de Terre Sections. These are your “standard” French troops with no dedicated special rules but they are still squads of nine Vets each with a LMG and VB. You’ll be able to advance under fire while tossing out Pins with the LMG until you close to Rifle and VB range. Before we get to the Heavy Weapons Platoon, let’s talk about an overall approach. This entire force wants to be in cover. You want to have a defensive posture. With the exception of the Platoon Commander, the Chasseurs, and the Tirailleurs, there isn’t a lot of point-blank punch. So sit back and hold your ground. Make use of the excellent Bataille Conduite Army Special Rule to all but guarantee your units will stay put under fire. As proven time and time again, Vets with Stubborn are incredible annoying to clear off any objective while in cover.

Before discussing the Heavy Weapons Platoon, we must spend some time with the last unit in the Rifle Platoon, the Forward Artillery Observer. Guarded with two buddies, this Vet FAO should have no problem surviving long enough to call in the first and second Artillery Bombardments. After all, Le Feu Tue (Firepower Kills), has the chance to be truly devastating. Stay in cover. Stack that Infiltrator Cover Save Bonus with Bataille Conduite and survive just long enough to call in some danger-close fire support. I wouldn’t normally recommend an FAO be both Vet and have two buddies, but this one needs to stay on the table well beyond the “one-shot wonder” style of most other nations.

Now onto the support teams. The Heavy Weapons Platoon bring both a Light and Medium Mortar along with two MMG Teams. As with the rest of the force, everyone is Vet. The Light Mortar, without Fixed, can advance and fire with your assault troops and supplement the VB Launchers. Not the French Light Mortar comes with three crew. The Medium Mortar lacks and dedicated Spotter but you can always use the FAO as a Spotter when needed. Also, it’s Vet. You can deploy in cover and work using direct line of sight to your target. The two MMG Teams fit our general strategy and theme of a defensive force. Six shots each, Vet, in cover. Send it. The combination of two MMG Teams, a Med. Mortar, and two squads of nine Vets, each with an LMG and VB, should be more than enough small arms to keep enemy Infantry and soft-skins at bay. This is the core of your force that needs to hold ground while your units in Reserve await the time to strike. The Chasseurs, Tirailleurs, and Chasseurs Platoon Commander need the enemy to be softened up before they roll in.

This army list concludes with a pair of French 75 Light Howitzers. They are, blessingly, also in plastic. Although they only have a three-man crew, they are Vet and the Gun Shields provide a Cover Save, thus triggering Bataille Conduite. I am less nervous deploying these in the open than I would otherwise be. I love the Light Howitzer. And having two of them is a great combo. However, unlike their British counterpart (the 25-pdr), these to not have an option for Anti-tank Ammunition. And that brings us to the great weakness of this army list – a sever lack of AT. The anti-tank assets in this list are almost non-existent. Even if we stretch the definition of AT we are looking at:

• Two VB Launchers and a Light Mortar with Pen +1
• A Medium Mortar and two Light Howitzers with Pen +2
• An Artillery Observer with two strikes

That’s … not great. Your only hope is to land some clutch indirect fire and hope for a 4+ on the d2 Pins roll. The first upgrade to this list should be some AT. France is spoiled for choice with hulking, lumbering, and silly tanks. Why not a few?

I like this Starter Army Box. It’s all plastic and is a phenomenal base to build your collection on. The glaring omission, vehicles, is easily and quickly reminded. Plus, you get to pick what you want to add! With this box your vehicle of choice is not selected for you. It’s your call. With the Heavy Weapons all in plastic you can also swap them out. Don’t like MMGs? Don’t use em! For many, many years we were boxed in with whatever metal and resin weapons teams were included in the box. Those days are, mercifully, coming to an end. So enjoy the build and hold the line.

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What’s Next?

Thoughts and musings on where to go from here:

• AFVs – Tanks and Armored Cars are begging to be added to the force. Honestly go with whatever you like and build around them. A swarm of FT-17s or a crawling Char B1 or 2C, or something more eclectic like a British A10. The AMD Panhard 178 is a classic French Armored Car that should not be overlooked.
• Colmater Transport – Pick a Transport (even the humble General Purpose Truck will do) and select it as your Colmater (Mobile Reserves) unit. Now when you need some CQC punch to arrive from Outflank you’ll get to pick the table side and test with a +1 modifier. It’s a nasty surprise that is sure to catch your opponent off guard.
• Add AT – Even if it’s just a couple Boy AT Rifles. You need something, anything to help keep enemy armor at bay.

– Andrew

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