Recon Report: Bolt Action Third Edition Armies of France
By Kreighton Long
We here at No Dice No Glory were fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of the upcoming army book for Bolt Action Third Edition — Armies of France. In this article I’ll be breaking down what’s included and I’ll be followed by Aaron who will go into more detail regarding the units that caught his eye.
The Armies of France book is an excellent addition to the growing collection of army specific book to be used with Bolt Action Third Edition. At almost a hundred pages in length, it is full of history, units, and inspirational images spanning the length of World War Two.
The book begins with a historical summary of how and where French forces fought in World War Two beginning with of the war in September 1939 and the subsequent early-war campaigns, the schism between Free France and Vichy France and their contributions as the war progressed, and the efforts of the French Resistance on the homefront.
From there we get into the Army Special Rules. France has four standard Army Special Rules: Bataille Conduite, Colmater, Le Feu Tue, and Lack of Radios.
Bataille Conduite allows French infantry and artillery units that take a cover save to test as Stubborn on subsequent morale tests if the attack results in one.
Colmater allows a single unit per platoon to be designated as a Mobile Reserve. These units gain a +1 modifier for the order test to enter the table from Reserve. More exciting to me is the additional benefit of not having to designate which flank to Outflank from before the game, instead choosing immediately before rolling to enter the table. This option will make French outflanking units a true menace!
Le Feu Tue allows artillery forward observers to make two attacks per game. This has been seen elsewhere so is not new to the game. For instance, my Romanians benefit mightily from this rule, when the dice cooperate and my observer lives long enough to call in both.
Finally, Lack of Radios. Vehicles can take the Command Vehicle special rule for free and reduce their command radius from 12″ to 6″. Like Le Feu Tue, this rule exists in other armies so nothing exciting to elaborate on here.
From there, French players may choose special unit rules under Honneur Et Patrie: Foreign Legion, Chasseurs Alpins, and Dragons Portes.
Foreign Legion allows Veteran units to have Stubborn and to have Fanatics in the first round of close quarters if in a defensive position for a very economic 1 point per model. That’s a lot of value for not a lot of points.
Chasseurs Alpins allows Veteran units to gain Fieldcraft for one point per model. In addition, units with Chasseurs Alpins may take skis at no additional cost. Another solid choice for French players to be tempted by.
Dragons Portes allows Regular and Veteran units to pay one point per model to re-roll any failed order test for mounting or dismounting transports as well as suffering D3 hits, rather than D6 hits, when in a transport that is destroyed. Experienced German players know this as identical to their Panzergrenadier Squads and Americans will recognize this as Mechanized Infantry. I see notable potential in mounting small units of Dragoons in the Berliet VUDB Carrier, a closed-top, armored carrier, that can transport six men for 56 points at Regular.
Next, we get into the actual units available to French players. HQ units are pretty standard — nothing stood out to me. As for infantry squads and teams, the French have twelve infantry squads with tons of character and flavor to choose from. Infantry teams are what you would expect.
French players have a standard array of light to heavy artillery and anti-tank guns. The heavy anti-tank gun, not designed to engaged ground targets, suffers one pin every time it fires. Kind of a bummer there. On a positive note, the 25mm Hotchkiss AA Gun may be upgraded to have two light autocannons on a rotating platform for a very affordable 65 points at Regular (or 35 points for just the one).
As for tanks, French players have excellent options for the tankettes and light tanks that appear to be dominating the competitive meta, at least in my region. Cheap tankettes armed with LMGs, MMGs, HMGs, low velocity anti-tank guns, and light howitzers are tempting options. The remainder of the French tanks are your standard early-war affair. Aaron will be covering some of the more exciting tank options in subsequent articles so I’ll skip the details for now.
It is worth mentioning that in the French army book you can choose from 18 tanks, 4 tank destroyers, 1 anti-aircraft vehicle, 10 armored cars, and 15 transports. Definitely no shortage of options to choose from here.
Players can expect to find the obligatory sample armies to help shape their thinking to include two samples for the defense of France, Free France, and Vichy France. As always, there are lovely color photographs highlighting the forces modeled for the provided sample armies.
In the appendix, you’ll find modifications for running French armies as part of a Vichy French and Free French force. These options include unique Army Special Rules for both as well as unique units to include in your thematic armies.
In conclusion, this book is an excellent addition to the “Armies of” series from Warlord Games. The book is chock-full of units and options for customizing your French force whether you’re playing early, mid, or late-war or playing aligned with or against the Axis powers. French players have much to look forward to and I for one hope to build an early-war French list in the near future. The book is also a feast for the eyes with 21 photographs of miniatures in action as well as 30 illustrations to serve as inspiration and painting references.
If you haven’t preordered your copy, you can pick it up here.
Happy gaming!
