It’s time for the last Intel Report on Armies of Germany, and we wanted to give some acknowledgement to where this book came from. Armies of Germany is the only Armies of… book to have had a version in each edition of Bolt Action, and to commemorate its illustrious history and celebrate the newest iteration, we’re going to take a look at some units that have featured throughout its history. We’ll see what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how they work in Third Edition!
Sturmtiger
First up, we have one of Bolt Action author Alessio Cavatore’s all-time favourites – the mighty Sturmtiger! This absolute behemoth and its terrifying rocket mortar have been around since the very beginning, menacing buildings and infantry with the threat of instant annihilation. Throughout the first two editions, its profile remained exactly the same, as seen below!
It was a bit of a beast back in the day, with a points cost to match – so how has it fared in Third Edition?
First off, that’s a pretty serious points discount – 75 points cheaper at Regular! That’s an entire Regular Sd.Kfz 223 less (which handily would make a great command vehicle for an Armoured Platoon including a Sturmtiger…)! Some of this discount comes from the wider discount to armoured vehicles seen across Bolt Action: Third Edition, but it’s also received the Slow Load special rule which takes into account just how gargantuan and cumbersome the projectiles it fired were – this brings the cost down even more!
Otherwise, though, it’s the same monster it’s always been. That rocket mortar is still something you really don’t want to get hit by, and it’s still very, very difficult to shift!
Light Mortar
From big to small, we move to the humble Light Mortar. A staple low-cost option for anyone wanting to fling a bit of HE around, as an incredibly important weapon in real life it’s naturally been in the game since day one. Let’s see how it started:
Does what it says on the tin, right? It chucks small HE shells around the table for not too many points – you can’t go wrong with that, and so when Second Edition came around the only change was the removal of its ability to fire smoke shells. This was purely based on history, and in all other respects the unit stayed the same.
In Third Edition, however…
Firstly, it got a little bit of a points reduction, which is always nice! In the context of the wider game, it also got a lot more accessible and versatile. You can now include up to two per Rifle Platoon, and they can sit in your Heavy Weapons Platoons as well. Crucially, with the changes to Spotters, they can now hit far more targets across the board, and with indirect fire ignoring Cover Saves their ability to have an impact at key moments has increased too!
That’s not all! As we discussed in the first of these Intel Reports, the new Defend the Fatherland national special rule allows you to field many of your German units – Light Mortars included – as Waffen-SS, Fallschirmjäger, or Gebirgsjäger. In addition to the tabletop effects (Gebirgsjäger Light Mortars look particularly tasty!), this also provides a fantastic painting and modelling opportunity for incorporating Light Mortars into your force. All in all, Third Edition is a great time to be a Light Mortar team!
Officers
Finally, let’s have a look at the men leading your German forces in Third Edition – the Officers! Naturally, Officers have been a vital part of Bolt Action since the beginning, with German Officers having a simple, basic profile in First Edition. Second Edition saw them come into their own with the Blitzkrieg special rule making their ‘You Men, Snap to Action!’ ability a touch better than everyone else’s.
German Officers have also long enjoyed the ability to wield assault rifles, a potent ‘force multiplier’ that meant they could often be surprisingly effective as combat units in a pinch. The old Small Teams rule meant, however, that you very seldom saw them with more than one assistant. In the brave new world of Third Edition, though, that rule is gone, presenting opportunities for larger HQ units to shine. With that in mind…
Well – that’s a much larger squad, and a much larger set of rules! Let’s start with the really obvious bits: they now have to pay for their weaponry, and massed assault rifles are now a thing of the past. This is because you can now have up to five men in total (or six, for the Fallschirmjäger!) in the unit, making them a potent little squad in their own right, capable of taking objectives and dishing out plenty of punishment! Defend the Fatherland allows you to field Waffen-SS, Fallschirmjäger, or Gebirgsjäger Officer teams, providing even more room for theming your force, and there’s one more thing you may have noticed lurking in the special rules section…
Intelligence isn’t just the name of these snazzy reports – it’s now a powerful rule in Bolt Action, too! Particularly potent when combined with a Company Commander and the Blitzkrieg special rule which remains unchanged from Second Edition, Intelligence gives you a real chance of controlling whose die comes out of the bag first when you really, really need a friendly draw!
With the new Platoon structure in Third Edition, Officers are going to be more common than ever – thanks to their new rules, they enter the fray much changed from their original appearance over a decade ago, entirely suited for the new edition!
Are you ready to greet these trusty stalwarts in the new edition? Get your copy of Armies of Germany pre-ordered today!
