Bolt Action Overlord: Germans
By Jacob Shober
The first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive. . . . [T]he fate of Germany depends on the outcome. For the Allies as well as Germany, it will be the longest day.
—Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, 22 April 1944.
D-Day has finally come to , and I can definitely say that the campaign book does it justice. At least from the German perspective, one can definitely feel the gravity of the situation, the desperate hold on the beachhead bunkers and fortifications as wave upon wave of Allied troops storm the beach, drop from the skies, and rain high-caliber naval shells on top of them.
It also shows much of how the Germans appropriated French armor and guns for their own purpose after the successful invasion in 1940. From both a historical and gameplay viewpoint, this campaign book has a lot of content to offer, from the units, to the fortifications, and lastly, the theater selectors.
Though the German forces are relatively few in comparison to the additions for both the Americans and British, they fill niches that highly benefit German army composition.
The first unit we will examine is the German Fusilier Squad. It is a solid catch-all Veteran only squad; if you like running at least one (or more) Veteran squads in your list, like I do, this would be a great place to start.
It has the option for two LMGS (which of course benefit from the “Hitler’s Buzzsaw” rule), four panzerfausts, and up to seven (six infantry plus the NCO) SMGs. They also have access to bicycles and AT grenades. Though it might be tempting to give them a smattering of everything, I can see them best used in specialization roles; SMGs, Panzerfausts, and bicycles to pop an enemy tank quickly before running amok at close range, or two LMGs and rifles for the rest to provide a solid firing line for other advancing troops.
Germans now have access to the opposite end of the experience spectrum: Green Grenadiers. These inexperienced troops get mostly the same options, up to one LMG, 2+1 SMGs, and a Panzerfaust, as well as the possibility for AT grenades. The benefit of this squad is that they have the Green special rule. Though it might not work at times, having the chance of a rather solid Regular squad after taking a casualty for a bargain bin price would definitely be worth looking at.
Finally, in the infantry section is my favorite option – the Tobruk MG team. It’s effectively a two-man MMG team with a suitable discount in price, though that’s only part of its charm. For me, the -1 to be hit from the get-go for being a small team is definitely worth the trade-off for losing a man, but you can also give them a fortification specifically designed for them; the Tobruk Position. It will be covered more in the fortifications section, but it turns an already inexpensive and hard to hit unit into an absolute pain to displace.
The anti-tank and artillery gun options are rather unexciting in terms of gameplay, but very flavorful, with one stand-out option. This is where we first see the theme that continues into the new tank selections; two of the three guns are appropriated French guns, identified by the (F) at the end of their designation.
All three, the 47mm Pak 181(F), 50mm KwK 38/39, and the PaK 97/38(F) are medium AT guns, with the standard 3-man crew and gun shield, for all the same cost. The one difference is that the 50mm KwK 38/39 is a fortification weapon; taken from the obsolete Panzer III, these guns can only be mounted in either a Vt600 or Vt600SK fortification, which must be taken in the list, and cannot be held in reserve (for obvious reasons). Other than that, there’s not much excitement from new anti-tank/artillery pieces.
The new vehicles available to the Germans still have the smell of fresh wine and baguettes (or in one case, tea and crumpets); all are captured and/or converted vehicles from France or the UK. The tanks fill out nicely the “lower end” of German armor options, as Germany, in general, is a bit “top-heavy” when it comes to armored vehicles.
Starting off with the vehicles “appropriated” straight from the France and the Allies book, the Germans have access to the Hotchkiss H35/H38/H39, the Renault FT, the Renault R35, and the Somua S35. These are copied pretty much verbatim from the France book, so they do not need much looking into. The Lorraine Schlepper, aka Marder I, makes a reappearance; you might know it from being already in the German Army Book, and it is no different either.
The mad science starts with the modified Vickers Mk IV; the poor little light tank hull has a 105mm Medium Howitzer slapped on top of it, with armor bolted to the side. It’s a nice and relatively inexpensive way to get a self-mobile Medium Howitzer on the field, though it is pretty flimsy.
The was made by taking a B1-Bis, stripping out the hull light howitzer, and slapping a flamethrower in its place. It has the same downfall most flamethrowing tanks have, in that it easily catches fire, but the “Armored All Around” special rule should help a bit with that, allowing you to get up close and personal without worrying about side or rear shots.
The Panzerjager 35R is an upgunned, open-topped, casemated version of the Renault R35; sporting a medium AT gun, it is another lower-end way to get a cheap armored vehicle on the field with a decent gun. A direct upgrade from that is the next entry, the SF39H Assault gun. A higher tier gun, higher tier armor, and the lovely special rule of “Armored All Around” means you can point this directly at the target you want, without worrying about giving the enemy the +1 to penetration for hitting your flank.
Last in the tank category is the Unic 304(F) with PaK 36, a light little half-track that has the useful trait of being a quite-inexpensive command vehicle. The hull is also found in the SPG category, as either an AA or Mortar carrier. It loses the Command Vehicle special rule but has the option of either a 360 degree firing light autocannon or a forward-facing medium mortar. Not too fancy, but versatile and flavorful.
The entry I like the most, however, is the very last, and it is a Tow; the Laffley Heavy Tractor. Finally, at last, a cheap way to lug around an 88 or any other obnoxious-to-tow gun, that’s not just a horse-drawn limber. Soft skin, of course, but not horse soft, and not slow.
True to the theater the book represents, there are a ton of new fortifications. Most are universal, such as barbed wire, minefields, etc. There is a good number, though, specific to the German Atlantic Wall fortifications. The first uniquely German/D-Day fortification is the Tobruk Position.
This can be used to house a light mortar, but the primary (and namesake) purpose is to house a Tobruk MMG team. For relatively few points (and bringing the total point value to not terribly much more than a regular Veteran MMG team), it makes your Tobruk team a nigh-unshiftable pain in the enemy’s side, with a 360-degree arc of fire. A few points extra gives you a gun shield, making them even more difficult to get rid of.
Next is the Anti-tank bunker, which shares a role with the Vt600 and the Vt600 SK. The plain Anti-tank bunker costs a bit more, but is versatile, in that it can house any Anti-tank team, with an option for an AA mount on the roof. The Vt600 and SK variant, while cheaper, only gives you the options for 50mm (KwK 39, KwK 40, and Pak 38) Anti-tank guns. Upgrading it to the SK variant downgrades the firing arc from 360 degrees to 180, but in return is a Bunker, rather than just a “Dug In” position.
Command and Observation Bunkers might seem useless on the outset; rather expensive, and they can only house your Command staff. However, the bonuses it gives are quite impressive; all other fortifications confer a morale bonus to those inside, and any artillery and mortar bunkers can draw a line of sight for indirect fire as if the C&O bunker was a spotter.
Camouflaged Goliath Bunkers finally give one a reason to get a Goliath team; it and the team inside start hidden, and activating a Goliath mine does not take away that status. This gives a player the opportunity to create a field of denial for enemy vehicles, as well as vastly increases the chances that your adorable little tracked bomb can actually do its job.
Lastly is the rather iconic Panzerstellung position; it’s what happens when there is an excess of turrets from obsolete French tanks lying about. They get one last chance to perform; slapped on top of a Tobruk position, it provides a low-velocity light AT gun in a turret to give enemy light vehicles pause. Coupled with quirky survivability rules, it can be rather annoying to face, though perhaps not too effective.
A slew of special characters are passed around, and this time, Germany is not left out. Two characters grace our presence with their tactical wit, and they don’t step on each other’s toes.
ZentralbildFreiherr Friedrich August von der Heydte
Hauptmann an der faschistischen Luftwaffe. Ritterkreuzträger.
The mouthful that is Oberst Friedrich Von Der Heydte is a masterful commander to sit smack dab in the middle of your forces. Make sure as many friendly units (it specifically says units, not just infantry) are within his command range; when he is activated, you may remove one pin marker from a friendly unit within the aforementioned command range, which I assume will work if you are snapping to. This not only is very useful when it comes to not needing to have a unit make a command test, but to also effectively increase the threshold at which one would want to Rally, rather than try for an order.
Oberst Has Von Luck is all based on removing his last name from the equation. Not only is he a pain to kill if in a Kubelwagen (giving it Recce), but at the beginning of each turn, on a 4+, one of your dice is drawn first from the bag. I can’t begin to say how useful that is, especially with a daring two-turn risky maneuver.
Finally, bringing all these various features together, are the Theater Selectors. Now, a whole article could be written about the various contents of each selector, so this will be more of a tactical birds-eye view of each one; the roles they fulfill, and the real-world units they represent.
First up is the Merville Defenders. The Merville Gun Battery was a high risk in the minds of Allied command, as they believed it was a large threat to Sword beach, a scant 8 km away. This selector represents the rear-echelon troops guarding the guns; a bunch of green infantry and Ostruppen combined with a distinct lack of vehicles shows the scarce manpower guarding the positions. That is partially made up for a hefty selection from the fortifications category, with barbed wire, minefields, and dug in positions galore. This is a great selector for themed play, but a desperate uphill battle in any sort of competitive scene.
Next is the 91st Luftlande Division. This was an airborne landing division originally slated for Scandanavia but diverted to Normandy during the invasion. As such, it places a heavy emphasis on elite troops such as the Fallschirmjager, making do with the vehicles already on hand. Their artillery or AT teams is nothing to be sneered at, though, with some of the heaviest guns Germany can offer available to them. It’s a decent all-rounder with a smattering of D-Day book vehicles if you are more a fan of AT guns in your tank hunting role, rather than tanks of your own.
The Static Division Resistance Nest and the Omaha Beach Resistance Nest selectors are mostly the same, and they are what one would look for to represent the beach landing fortifications. With mostly the same options available to both, it is light on armor and heavy on fortifications and team weapons.
The latter is my particular favorite, as it has the special rule of “Machine Gun Experten”. For a handful of additional points, each MMG team (and I assume, Tobruk MMG team), of which you can have up to three, gets an additional +1 pen vs Infantry. Combined with Hitler’s Buzzsaw special rule, you want to fill all three slots with upgraded teams, and infantry-heavy opponents would not stand a chance.
The 21st Panzer Division Panzergrenadier platoon is almost halfway between a Tank War force and a regular Reinforced Platoon, in that it gives you up to two tanks from a rather wide selection. It is still focused on infantry, though, and gives you the option of Hans Von Luck. It is a great all-comers list if you favor armor over infantry.
Kampfgruppe Oppeln Armored platoon and the 100th Panzer Training and Replacement platoon are both Tank War-esqe, in that they use armored vehicles as their core and command choices, as well as more armor in the optional portion of the selector. The former uses primarily German vehicles, for a classic German Army Book Tank War feel, whereas the latter uses all of the captured and converted French vehicles found in the D-Day book itself.
In summary, this is a monster of a book, with amazing selections and very thematic special additions to your game of Bolt Action. For the historical significance alone it is worth picking up, though the massive amounts of really good content make it a must-buy, standing high in the rankings of other Theater books. Until next time, whether in stalwart defense of the beaches or valiant strike in liberating Europe, I hope you have the sharpest mind.
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