Bolt Action: Overlord Americans

By Jacob Shober

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you…

—Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, 6 June 1944

The Allied forces faced one of the most difficult tasks ever undertaken by military forces in the assault on Fortress Europa.

D-Day became one of the events which through its incredible bravery, sacrifice, and test of the human spirit, will never be forgotten for generations to come. Among the other Allied forces, the American landings and paratroopers overcame immense odds to secure the beaches and important inland targets. This allowed the Allies to plant one solid foot that could not be shaken off on the European mainland; the first step towards Berlin and ending the war. The American forces, selectors, and special characters in the D-Day rulebook are a great addition, to both thematic-based forces, as well as providing new tools at your disposal.

New Units

The American infantry units make up the bulk of the American units added to the rulebook, and they all follow two broad, centralized themes; the beach landings, and the paratrooper drops. First up, both in the book itself and in the review, is the Airborne Engineers. The Airborne had to pack it all with them when they dropped, and that is definitely shown with the standard options given to them.

It’s a hefty initial points cost, but you are getting hidden value in the standard options. They come with Bangalore Torpedoes (used to destroy things like barbed wire, mines, and other obstacles), as well as Explosives (used to destroy buildings), and count as Engineers. They don’t have too many weapon options, however; just a few SMGs and an LMG. They had to make room for all those explosives when they dropped, after all, and to help them with that…

Airborne Pathfinders squads were first officially found in the Battleground Europe book, even though they were pictured in the main US Army Book. Found here, however, they are a perfect complement to an Airborne force, and the more Paratrooper or Glider forces you take, the more use you will get out of them.

Their LZ signals allow friendly units of those types to re-roll their reserve rolls to get onto the table, giving you more certainty as to when your reinforcements will arrive. The fact that they’re stubborn helps to keep them on the table long enough to do their job, even under concentrated fire. They only have access to SMGs apart from their rifles, however, so don’t expect them to do much more than harass the enemy. Unless, of course, you send them charging into close combat after they have brought all their buddies safely to the table…

Finally, with the Airborne section is a Paratrooper Squad specific to this theatre book. It is mostly the same as the Army Book version, with the addition of the option of a BAR, and you can choose between it or an LMG.

This makes them just a bit more maneuverable of a unit, in this way; an LMG in the mind of an American player is a “static” weapon, as it does not benefit from the “Fire and Maneuver” special rule. As such, it becomes an “anchor” to the unit and can be the tipping point between a player deciding on an Advance or Fire order. With the BAR, it means the whole squad will benefit from the special rule, allowing you to be more aggressive without worrying about To-Hit roll penalties.

The beach invasion forces give you a few different options of those incredibly brave men who stormed the beaches. The first, and most basic, is the Beach Assault Squad. With the option of two BARs in the squad, they are meant to move up and off the beach, and quickly, while providing fire on the move. They come with Wire Cutters as standard (causing them to count as Engineers vs Barbed Wire obstacles), and have the option for Bangalore torpedoes, as mentioned above. They also have the option for Anti Tank Grenades, rounding off their options with a possible bite against tanks.

Beach Demolition Teams are a flavor option and can be handy if you want to just slap a squad in your list while already having the points value calculated for you. They do not have any options in the 4+1 squad, but they do count as Engineers and come with Explosives as standard. Treat them more like an American equivalent to the Soviet Anti Tank Teams, and you will probably get better use out of them. They are a bit of a glass cannon, though, with the fact that you cannot increase the squad size at all.

Their big brother, the second-wave version can be found with the Engineer Squad (Normandy). These are the mirror of the Beach Demolition Teams, in that you have the option to throw two SMGs, two BARs, a Flamethrower, and Explosives in with them… or not. In addition to having the option to have more men in the squad, they outshine the Beach Demolition Teams in terms of squad versatility.

These are the workhorse of the beach invasion units, and I would definitely recommend putting more men in the squad than usual to get good use out of them. However, I might also recommend specialization over putting everything on them, for one reason; points cost. If you give them everything, they become a big juicy target for your opponent, to either pin to uselessness, or wipe off the table altogether.

The last infantry unit added is a doozy, and can also be found in the British list in this book; the Forward Naval Observer. It works similar to the Forward Artillery Observer in terms of rolling for the incoming fire, but then it gets monstrous. The area it affects is huge; D6 + 9”radius, vs D6 + 6”. Next, the damage; on a 1-4, the unit suffers d3 pins. A 5 gets you a “near miss”… which allows you to place a 2” template with a 6+ (!) Penetration value over the unit hit.

In addition, as if vehicles weren’t in enough pain, you roll an additional dice for them – 2-4 gets you a Superficial Hit, and 5-6 flips the vehicle over, counting it as destroyed. A direct hit gives you a 4” template with 6+ pen, and D6+2 pins if the unit somehow survives (shot hits vehicle top armor). In addition, vs buildings, it does 3d6 + 2 hits, vs the regular 3d6 of a FAO. This is a supremely powerful Observer, with a not-terribly-painful points cost. My recommendation for taking this would be to only use it in scenarios, or with asking your opponent in a friendly game beforehand, as it can easily decimate an entire section of the board.

Vehicles

The Americans don’t get too many additional vehicles, though they fill spots very usefully in both a thematic and theatre sense. The first is the Reconnaissance Jeep; for just a few extra points from the Jeep with the MMG option in the main US Army Book, you get Recce. This turns it from a fragile fire support vehicle into a great infantry harasser. Another flavor of Jeep available is the Mortar Jeep; basically, you get a Light Mortar in a Jeep with no other armaments, allowing you to move around with your Light Mortar to line up shots with the target you want.

The DD Sherman and the Sherman Dozer are the final parts of the American options. They are lumped together as they are different flavors of the same vehicle. They cost the same in points and have the same armament as a regular M4 75mm Sherman, though the DD Sherman has the not-often-used-unless-in-scenarios ability to move through deep water using its flotation screens.

It cannot fire while doing so, however, once in shallow water, you can fire as normal. The Sherman Dozer loses the hull mounted MMG, though it gains a much more useful Bulldozer Blade, allowing you to clear obstacles, as well as do better damage when charging buildings (which is cool). It has the rule Easily Catches Fire, however, which does put a bit of a damper on its desirability.

Theatre Selectors

The US gains three theater selectors in this campaign book, representing two phases of the beach landings, and the Paratroopers dropped inland. The US Airborne (D-Day) selector is very light on armor (for obvious reasons), though it does allow the option for two Bazookas and a light or medium AT gun to counter enemy armor. You can zip your teams around in Jeeps, as well, but what really sets them apart thematically are Crickets. This allows you to automatically spot enemy units in darkness (night missions) if you are within 12”. If you are wanting to make an elite paratrooper force (perhaps the Currahee boys?), this is it what you want.

The US Beach Landing selector is also infantry based, though it packs a ridiculous punch, and gives them a fighting chance against the fortifications you will be facing. With the option of up to FOUR bazooka teams (made especially deadly by the selector special rule discussed later), and several other teams with which you have multiple options, you can really bring on the pain with small teams.

Not only does the enemy have a lot of targets, many with the -1 for being a small squad, but you have a lot of dice available to you. You even have the options for some armor, including the DD Sherman and the Sherman Dozer. Landing craft, touched in another article, round off the transport options. The special rule you get for this selector is nasty; Fortification Assault Training gives Bazooka teams +1 to hit vs buildings or bunkers, and they get a 1” HE rating when firing against them.

The last selector you have the option for is the US D-Day (Afternoon) selector. This is a lot more akin to a regular Reinforced platoon, as it comes after the initial desperate push onto the beaches. You have the option for a lot more armor, and access to all the infantry squads and teams added in the book, representing units starting to link up and push inland. Great if you want to keep your options open, though it does not add anything terribly special in terms of rules or abnormal numbers of units.

Characters

Last, but oh boy definitely not least, come the special characters, and Americans get a good number of them. I made it a goal from the beginning that I would not geek out ov- OH MY GOSH THEY HAVE LT. SPEIRS AND LT. WINTERS.

Welp, my composure lasted all of two sentences. Though, rank comes first, and first up in the list is Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota. An inspiring leader who roused his men to defeat nigh-insurmountable odds, standing defiantly against fire that pinned down those under his command, they do a great job at representing this in his rules. Fearless allows any friendly unit within sight (not command range) of him to count as “Full Strength”, and Charmed Life allows him to ignore wounds on a 4+.

First Lt. Turner Brashears Turnbull III was a bulwark of a man who, along with the men under his command, held out against a vastly superior German force for eight hours before being relieved. Great for defensive players, his main special rule (aside from him counting as a Captain) is Defensive Tactician; after everyone is deployed, you can move a unit up to 12” from its initial deployment, as long as it is within your deployment zone. This can be used to bait out the enemy or place fire where you need it most from turn 1.

Richard Winters needs no introduction, and he is perfect for a paratrooper force, with both his special abilities boosting infantry. Tactical Brilliance gives his Morale effect a range of 12”, and turns it into a +4, rather than just a +2, turning him into an effective Major. In addition, We’re Paratroopers – We’re Supposed to be Surrounded gives all Veteran infantry or Artillery within his command range the Stubborn special rule. With him leading your forces, you will have an unbreakable spearhead forming the core of your infantry force. Speaking of Spears…

Second Lt. Ronald Speirs is an extremely tough HQ choice, both in reputation and in survivability. He shone in Foy, taking charge of the situation where none other could, and sprinting twice through the enemy occupied town to link up with a flanking unit. His special rules portray both; aside from counting as a 1st Lt., the A Man With A Reputation rule allows him to remove one pin from a friendly unit within 12”, and the Unkillable rule gives him the same 4+ save against any wound.

The last character is an interesting choice. Staff Sgt. Harrison Summers replaces the NCO in a Paratrooper squad for an increase in points, giving him and his squad some special abilities. His SMG fires 3 shots instead of 2 with Mow ‘Em Down!, Lead By Example gives his squad Tough Fighter (allowing you to save points on SMGs to do the same), and The Sergeant York of WWII allows his squad to always make order tests on a 10, ignoring pins, unless he is killed. He’s a very nice upgrade to an already good unit, definitely turning them into a solid assault squad.

In summary, Americans have two very solid branches of units available to them in this book. Whichever flavor you are looking for, you can make a force specifically suited to that role, with some very nasty anti-tank and anti-fortification options. With the number of special characters available, too, you can definitely make a very thematic force… which, of course, I already am. Until next time, I hope you have the sharpest mind. Currahee!