Bolt Action Korea

With the way many remember the Korean War today or have learned about it in school or through hearing about it from others, America was nearly single-handedly holding the line against the Communist North. In truth, Great Britain and it’s Commonwealth had a massive presence, with three full brigades exhibiting tactical brilliance and heroism that is still studied today. This article will examine the British and Commonwealth forces present in the Bolt Action – Korea book, and examine what has evolved in their units, rules, and Selectors since the end of World War II.

For anyone who has played British or Commonwealth forces in Bolt Action, the special rules available will be familiar. The same, in fact; you have the two core special rules of Bombardment (rolling two dice per unit for preliminary bombardment and picking the best result) and Artillery Support (free Artillery Forward Observer). You also have the option between five National Characteristics, choosing one. This is the point where you should start constructing the framework for your army, as these can define the way your force fights, and even the way your units are filled out.

by Tom Burgess

Warlord Games has released and within it, forces from the United States and United Nations figure prominently.  Warlord has managed to pack a tremendous variety of platoon options all using the United States generic reinforced platoon list as the baseline.

This is appropriate as so many of the United Nations countries that committed troops to the Korean effort were from armies that had largely been rebuilt and reequipped following World War II by the United States. Accordingly, many of these nations’ armies looked a lot like the US Army’s formations.

In addition to the generic reinforce platoon list, the United States and United Nations player can utilize period selectors that more accurately represent these forces at various stages of the war.  This is important because these forces elevated heavily from the initial unprepared, poorly equipped, and undermanned type units that the US rushed to Korean Peninsula to try to stem the initial North Korean push south.

By Matt Sakrekoff

“At 0830 a staff officer of the 7th Division radioed the ROK Minister of Defense in Seoul: “We are under general attack and heavy artillery fire near the parallel. The enemy has already seized his initial objectives. We require immediate reinforcements. Our reserve is engaged.”

In one of the many dramatic passages from the seminal book on the Korean War, This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach sets the tone of the shocking attack by North Korea across the 38th parallel and the desperate defense by Republic of Korea (ROK) forces. Warlord Games has done a credible job in re-creating the historical organization and tactics for both the Korean Peoples Army (KPA) and the ROK military. Both sides used equipment, organization, and tactics from their respective major supporting international power, e.g. the Soviet Union and the United States.

By Mitch Reed

Find the with Bolt Action Korea authors Steve Smith and Jon Russel, from the NOVA Open 2018 .

Long known as the “Forgotten War” the Korean conflict holds a unique place in history. It was never officially a war and to this day it has not officially ended. Due to these circumstances, it does not hold a place in our memory and we often forget the sacrifices of those who fought in the first major hot conflict in a very long Cold War.

The new Korean War book from Warlord Games not only pays homage to the combatants who fought in 1950-1953, but it also expands the game and brings a new wave of excitement for all Bolt Action players.

Once again we have Jon Russell from Warlord Games on the show. We talk about what is coming out for all of our favorites games in 2019. You do not want to miss this one!

Some of the topics we covered

Cruel Seas

Blood Red Skies

Bolt Action

Bolt Action Korea (due out in August)

New Tournament System for Warlord’s games in 2019

… And so much more.

Folks, sometimes we get lucky. Jon Russell wanted to get out the word about all the great news coming from Warlord games, so we quickly put together a podcast to get it to you. Tom and Mitch talk about Cruel Seas, Blood Red Skies, Fall of France, and the upcoming Korea book.

Huge episode live from the NOVA Open… We talk to Jon Russell right after my first event. Jon gives us a bunch of spoilers on what is coming out over the next few months for Warlord Games such as the naval game Cruel Seas.

Jon and I talk about a new game he showed me called “”. We are then joined by Steve Smith and we talk about Bolt Action Korea, you will not get better details on this new release anywhere else! During the second act we are joined by Ed Nelson and talk all about Beyond the Gates of Antares.