Recon Report – Bolt Action: Campaign: Case Blue
By Kreighton Long
Back in August Warlord Games announced their newest campaign book, Case Blue, and made it available for pre-order. We here at No Dice No Glory were given the opportunity to preview the book and boy-howdie am I ecstatic to share with you what’s in it!
OVERVIEW: Case Blue is a 176 page supplement for Bolt Action written by Alexander Smith and Ryan Smith that covers the southern region of the Eastern Front from December 1941 to July 1943. Within it’s pages are 19 historical scenarios, 33 new units for 5 different factions, 34 new theater selectors for 6 different factions, and a new army list for any players interested in building a Slovak army.
Additionally, the book includes two full-page Osprey campaign maps to help readers track the brutal fighting that was the Ostfront as well as plenty of Osprey illustrations for inspiration — including at least one page and a half sized illustration for an extra cool factor. For any Axis minor-power player, this book is a must-have as the armies that benefit the most are the armies of Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. But don’t worry German and Soviet players — there’s good stuff in here for you too.
The history and scenarios are blended together to allow readers to absorb the historical context for each given scenario, followed by the scenario itself, and wrapped up with the aftermath of the historical battle. I personally prefer this formatting for Bolt Action campaign books as it allows the reader to compartmentalize each engagement within the campaign, read it from context to aftermath, and then move on to the next engagement.
The previous campaign book, Italy: Tough Gut, chose to place all the historical context at the beginning of the book and have a separate section for the scenarios and I was personally glad to see this book chose to format its content differently. (Do you guys prefer the blended format of Case Blue or the sectionalized format of Italy: Tough Gut? Leave a comment as I’d be interested in hearing your opinions.)
HISTORICAL SCENARIOS: The nineteen historical scenarios found within Case Blue are divided into four sections: The Crimea, Case Blue, Operation Edelweiss, and The Kuban.
The Crimea section includes three scenarios and covers the historical battles beginning with Soviet counter-attacks in the Crimean peninsula in December 1941 and concluding with the victorious capture of Sevastopol by Axis forces in June 1942. All three scenarios in this section of the campaign are incredible opportunities for table builders and convention games. Scenario 1 calls for a Soviet light cruiser to be on the table to support a Soviet amphibious landing, Scenario 2 features a Soviet airborne drop in an attempt to cut off retreating Axis forces (the first to be played out in a campaign book to my knowledge), and Scenario 3 requires two coastal defense turrets each boasting a pair of 305mm guns.
I expect we’ll see some amazing gaming tables based on the first and third scenarios. The second scenario grabbed my attention as I currently have a pack of Warlord’s Soviet Airborne Squad in my box of shame that I now have an appropriate excuse to add to my painting queue.
The Case Blue section includes four scenarios beginning with the Second Battle of Kharkiv and concluding with Axis attempts to destroy Soviet bridgeheads on the west side of the Don River. For students of the Battle of Stalingrad, the failure of the Axis forces to destroy these Soviet bridgeheads will contribute to the encirclement and destruction of the Axis Sixth Army in Stalingrad.
Scenario 7, the final scenario for the Case Blue section, focuses on the incredible cavalry charge of the Italian 3rd Cavalry Regiment “Savoia Cavalleria” and in this scenario, the Italian players can even field the new Savoia Cavalleria squads with their terrifying new special rule — more about them further down.
The Operation Edelweiss section offers the bulk of the scenarios with eight in total. Operation Edelweiss was the Axis operation to push into and capture the Caucasus and the oil the Axis so badly needed to continue the war. Like the first and third scenarios in this book, Scenario 8 offers a delightful opportunity for both table builders and armored train enthusiasts (that’s right, I said armored train!).
In this scenario, the Soviets must take at least four armored train wagons as they attempt to break through the Axis lines. The inclusion of Hungarians, Slovaks, and Italians as the Axis forces for most of the scenarios in this section is a welcome breath of fresh air.
The Kuban section includes four scenarios beginning with another amphibious landing by Soviet forces supported by an airborne drop behind the Axis beach defenses, fighting around an eventual Soviet beachhead, skirmishes in the northern Kuban lagoons, and a Soviet attempt to capture an Axis-defended fortified town. The first scenario of this section, Scenario 16 of the book, grabbed my attention as any game featuring both an amphibious landing and a pre-game airborne drop scores spectacular cool points.
Overall the scenarios offered in this book are unique with plenty of Ostfront flavor. The emphasis on the struggles of Germany’s allies against the Soviet Union will hopefully increase interest in the minor powers that did plenty of heavy lifting, often unsung, on behalf of the Axis cause on the Eastern Front. The inclusion of a light cruiser, coastal defense turrets, and armored trains offers wonderful challenges for hobbyists who are looking for inspiration for their next big table project.
NEW UNITS: Case Blue is a gold mine for players who enjoy the challenge of playing as Germany’s minor power allies. A total of 33 new units are made available. And that’s not including the Soviet light cruiser, armored trains, coastal defense turrets, or an entirely new army representing Slovakia. Of those 33 only 10 are assigned to the Germans and Soviets while the rest are divided between the Italians who get 9, Hungarians who get 6, and Romanians who also get 6. As a player with both Romanians and Italians in my collections (bias admitted) these additions are a welcome sight and will hopefully get some more love for the little guys.
Of the six new Soviet units I’d like to highlight the Anti-Tank Rifle Squads. The Anti-Tank Rifle Squads count as an Anti-Tank Unit and with the Soviet’s three Anti-Tank Unit slots this provides an opportunity for Soviet players to throw up to nine anti-tank rifles into their platoons (at 15 points each). The core of the squad is five men with rifles with all three ratings available. Each squad can add up to three anti-tank rifles with a second man becoming the loader.
I’ll be taking some of these in future games when I play Soviets because these squads will not be erased by a single Sniper round the way the normal two-man team is. That staying power, and the five-man base would provide Soviet players will bodies to throw against the Axis and a different kind of anti-tank threat that wouldn’t melt away from sniper fire.
The Germans get four new units and the one that caught my eye was the Waffen-SS Wiking Panzergrenadier Squad. This squad borrows the Sisu special rule from the Finnish and for two points per model upgrades the unit’s quality when the unit is reduced to half strength. As someone who saw this firsthand when playing against Finns at a tournament last year, I am excited to have an option for my German army to do the same.
The big winners in the New Unit game from this book are the Italians. The Italians receive nine new units and I can’t just highlight one. The first I want to share is the new Italian Savoia Cavalry Squad. This cavalry unit can only be taken as Veterans and have the Carica! special rule. Carica! allows this unit to receive a new assault order instead of regrouping after a successful close-quarters combat. An Order test is required for this second assault but with Veterans that should be very doable. Get these guys into the thick of the action and watch them crush up to two units per turn (Nom nom nom with a little chef’s kiss at the end). The second is the 75/32 Modello 37 medium anti-tank gun which has the Versatile special rule allowing it to fire as a light howitzer. I’m looking forward to adding that nifty gun to my Italian army.
The Hungarians walk away with six new units including the Second Army Rifle Section which features an option to add a light mortar for 20 points. As the light mortar may Split Fire and target a different target than the rest of the squad there are some nice opportunities to put out two pins per Fire order. The “Pins equal Wins” crowd should make note of that.
Romania added six new units to their arsenal. Their new Cavalry Section (Case Blue) unit improves on their existing cavalry selection by giving these mounted warriors Cavalry Carbines. After painting up some Great Escape Games’ Romanian Cavalry over the summer I am excited to have an improved selection to put on the gaming table. The Romanians also can count on a new anti-tank option with their Tank Hunters. These two-man Veteran teams use Smoke Grenades to improve their surprise charge range to 9″ and are Tough Tank Hunters which double their attacks in close combat against vehicles in addition to the normal perks of being Tank Hunters.
Both Hungary and Romania now have the option to take a Flamethrower Team in their platoon selectors. Although there is nothing fancy to these flamethrower teams, Hungary and Romania players are all too familiar with the struggle of not having access to flamethrowers outside their engineer squads. All that is over and these two minor powers not have the generic two-man Flamethrower Team!
Case Blue also gives two new units to multiple nations. Cossack Squads are made available to the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy. Cossack Squads may fire their rifles while mounted with the Born in the Saddle rule but cannot receive an order with the ‘You Men, Snap to Action’ rule as per their Cossack Spirit. Stragglers are made available to Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Romania.
These squads are intriguing for a number of reasons. They start as a five man squad with rifles and can be taken as Inexperienced or Regular for 30 or 45 points respectively. You can add up to five additional unarmed men for three points for Inexperienced and six points for Regular. You may then arm the extra men with a rifle for three points per rifle. Stragglers are Malnourished and Frostbitten which means any time the unit executes a Run order, the unit takes a pin. Additionally, players may take three Straggler units as one infantry unit selection in any reinforced platoon that allows Stragglers. Very spam-able! While this unit won’t be leading any charges I can see uses for Stragglers as a cost effective “stay here and guard this objective” unit.
Slovakia enters the Bolt Action world with units to fill in their Generic Reinforced Platoon and two Theater Selectors. Slovakia has the standard options in Headquarters, infantry support teams, and light and medium options for anti-tank and howitzers. For Infantry the Slovaks can call on Rifle Sections, Engineer Sections, Motorcycle Reconnaissance Sections, Dragoon Sections (cavalry), Paratrooper Sections, and Partisan Sections. The Slovaks only have one option for each of their Armored Car and Tank slots for now. I was disappointed to find a lack of any Osprey illustrations or painted miniatures for the Slovakian army within the pages of Case Blue. Anyone interested in building a Slovak army will have to look elsewhere for visual inspiration.
SPECIAL RULES: Case Blue provides new Army Special Rules for various nations. While the new rules are designed for this theater of the war they may be used outside the campaign book with approval of your opponent and tournament organizers (looking at you Italians…). Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia all gain unique special rules that add a distinct flavor to each faction that helps set them apart from other armies.
THEATER SELECTORS: Case Blue introduces 34 new theater selectors. The Soviets gain 12, Germans gain 11, Italians gain 3, Hungarians, gain 2, Romanians gain 4, and Slovakia the aforementioned 2. Two of the Soviet theater selectors can field up to eight infantry squads per platoon but that is likely to compensate that neither of those options may field vehicles.
CONCLUSION: Case Blue is a welcome addition to the Bolt Action family of campaign books. The book is well-structured and easy to follow. The two campaign maps aid the reader in following where the action is taking place within the greater context of the campaign. Unfortunately, only the first two sections include campaign maps with Operation Edelweiss and The Kuban going without. Gorgeous Osprey illustrations and photographs of thematic games provide inspiration for players and painters alike. Minor faction players will be thrilled to see new units to help fill in their ranks. I for one will be jumping for joy when my own copy arrives in the mail.
THE WAY AHEAD: While reading through our advanced copy of Case Blue I couldn’t help but dream of what goodies Warlord may have for us in the future.
To start I would love to see Romanians make an appearance in the Warlord Games online store — something that has been sorely missing. Romanians have been an option for Bolt Action players since the release of Armies of Italy and the Axis in 2013 yet the only producers of Romanian models do not include Warlord Games. That’s something I dream to see change.
With the Army of Slovakia added to the game some models for this faction would also be well-received. Meanwhile, we’ve been seeing a noticeable upgrade to the Italians sets coinciding with their releases of Soft Underbelly and Tough Gut and I wonder if we’ll see some winter Italians in the not-so-distant future. Italians in great coats would be most fitting as the special character that comes with pre-orders of Case Blue is the “Black Feather, White Hell” figure which depicts an Italian Alpini in winter kit.
A box of plastic Italians with great coats and multiple head options for regular army, Alpini, and Bersaglieri would be spectacular. A set of Savoia Cavalleria Italian cavalry would also be an excellent addition to Warlord Games’ list of products and would look dashing on gaming tables around the world. What new Warlord Games sets would you like to see be announced following the release of Case Blue? Leave a comment below as I’d like to hear your thoughts.
The Case Blue campaign book is currently available for pre-order here.