Recon Report: Bolt Action Third Edition Armies of Italy

By Kreighton Long

We here at No Dice No Glory had the privilege of looking through an advance copy of the upcoming Armies of Italy book.  The new Army Special Rules are a welcome addition and add unique flavor to Italian armies in Bolt Action.  Veteran Italian players will be relieved to see familiar entries but with new twists that will provide an opportunity to reevaluate their army builds.  Aaron will cover some exciting new units in another article so I will focus my attention on the new Special Army Rules and the book as a whole.

The Italians now have eight army special rules to work with.  Seven of the eight are specific to certain types of units while the fifth applies regardless of units chosen.  The predictable special rule is Defensive Strategy.  Defensive Strategy plays similar to the original rule released with the introduction of Third Edition and the first FAQ following it’s release.  Enemy units during the first turn may not Run if already on the table.  Enemy units in first wave may Run as normal to enter the table.  Any Regular or Veteran units set up on the table before Turn 1 may begin the game in Ambush.  

The next seven will only apply when certain units are chosen during force selection.  For these I’ll go in the order presented in the book.  Up first is Ferrea Mole, Ferreo Cuore, or in English, Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts.

Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts benefits particular vehicles that list this rule in their Unit Special Rules.  Units with this rule may re-roll failed Advance and Run order tests.  Some exceptions apply.  Flipping through the vehicles options, Italian players will find seven tanks that benefit from this rule.  The cheapest of which is the L3/33 with anti-tank rifle upgrade for 65 points for Regular.  Note that Italian anti-tank rifles have a rate of fire of two.  In addition to the L3/33 you can find this rule with the FIAT 3000, L6/40, M11/39, M13/40, M14/41, and M15/42.  Of those, the FIAT 3000 and L6/40 have the One-Man Turret rule.  Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts is a great opportunity for tanks with the One-Man Turret rule to offset that negative rule.

My first army of Third Edition was North African Italians and I wish I had this rule while developing that list.  My first armored platoon was a platoon of L6/40s.  I quickly traded those in for the heavier hitting, and very cost effective, M15/42s.  With the L6/40s now benefiting from the Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts rule I would like to revisit them at a club day to see if they will work better for me.

I was already sold on the M15/42s and they led me to success during a few tournaments but with this additional rule they would be even more of a threat.  I expect to see a whole lot of M15/42s included in Italian armies at future events.

Next is Alzo Zero! which translates to Open Sights!  This rule benefits all Italian artillery units by allowing them to re-roll failed morale checks.  My first draft of the Third Edition army (see the link two paragraphs prior) included a battery of medium howitzers.  Those went the way of the L6/40s and were phased out in lieu of more effective options.  With a new rule that gives them additional staying power on the table I may have to give them another shot.

Up next we have Mixed Quality where all Inexperienced infantry units have the Green rule.  Having the opportunity to potentially upgrade Inexperienced squads for no additional cost may result in some players leaning into the odds with large, bulky Inexperienced squads.  For 77 points, you can take an eleven man Inexperienced rifle squad.  Cheeky players who have time to paint all the miniatures could experiment with four of these in a platoon and gamble that a few will upgrade to Regular.  Part of me wants to give this a try.

Finally we come to Avanti!  Avanti is the Italian Army Special Rule that benefits different types of specialist infantry such as the Bersaglieri, Paracadutisti, Alpini, and Camicie Nere.

Bersaglieri using this rule must be Veteran and must pay +1 point per model for Di Corsa.  Di Corsa allows units to re-roll failed Advance and Run orders.  Some exceptions apply such as coming onto the table from reserve or outflanking or assaults.  As my Third Edition army was built around a core of Bersaglieri I am thrilled to have a special rule to help them stand out and to add a unique flavor to their builds.

Paracadutisti must be Veteran and must upgrade to Stubborn for +1 point per model.  Paracadutisti may be equipped with anti-tank grenades for +3 points per model and gain the Folgore! rule.  Folgore allows units to re-roll hits when assaulting vehicles.

Alpini must be Veteran and must be upgraded to Fieldcraft for +1 point per model.  This rule also applies to light howitzers and anti-tank guns.  Infantry units may be upgraded with skis for no additional cost.  Artillery units may be upgraded to mountain gun for no cost to move through difficult ground in the same manner as infantry and ignore all negative movement effects for snow and ice.

Last is the Camicie Nere (Blackshirts) and their Milizia Volontaria rule.  Before an opponent rolls to hit a unit with Milizia Volontaria, roll 1D6.  On a roll of 1 or 2, the unit gains Shirkers.  On a roll of 3 or 4, no change occurs.  On a roll of 5 or 6, the unit gains Fanatics.  This rule replaces Green for Inexperienced units.

All told, the Italians gain Army Special Rules with tons of flavor and are unique to them and them alone.  A complaint I had with the US Army book was how Land-Sea-and Air was treated.  The special benefits for those units were a bit bland and unfortunately repetitive with both the Airborne and Marines gaining Stubborn.  The Avanti options here truly allow Italian players to take unique units that I haven’t seen replicated elsewhere.  The future is bright for Italian players.

The book itself is gorgeous to flip through — no surprise considering the quality of work done with the Third Edition Armies of books.  The book includes 28 Osprey illustrations, providing inspiration and historical references for painting your Italian armies.  In addition to the Osprey illustrations, the book includes 24 staged photographs of Italian miniatures in action.  I for one appreciate these inclusions as they provide additional inspiration on how to paint my Italian miniatures.

For players looking to game Italian forces after the split between the pro-German National Republican Army and the anti-German Co-Belligerent Army there is a special section at the end of the book including Army Special Rules for the two factions and unit selections.

Happy gaming!