Armies of Imperial Japan – Army Special Rules

Armies of Imperial Japan pre-orders are in full swing, and that means it’s time for one of the most exciting articles of the year. Let’s find out how Japanese forces are going to play in Bolt Action: Third Edition, starting with a look at the all-important National Special Rules. These set the tone for the rest of the book, and are a huge part of determining how Japanese armies will feel going forwards. Let’s dive in!

We’ll start with a rule that’s at the absolute core of everything Japanese forces are about. Death Before Dishonour – Gyokusai gives all of your Infantry and Artillery the Fanatics special rule, ensuring that they won’t run away, no matter how tough the fighting gets. This has been at the heart of Imperial Japan since First Edition, and makes Japanese forces a very tricky proposition to shift, and a nightmare in close combat!

Alongside this comes another classic, but one that’s significantly changed. Banzai! has long been a key part of getting Japanese troops across the table, and continues in this role. Now, however, it’s moved from being an ‘always on’ army-wide rule, to a unique ability for Japanese officers, allowing them to gather all the units in a 6″ radius for a desperate charge across the table! This can be incredibly powerful if well used, allowing you to gain local superiority to overwhelm the enemy, but it risks pulling units out of position, because all the units in the officer’s 6″ radius will charge. It’s all about the timing!

Joining these two is the Lack of Radios, familiar from Armies of the Soviet Union. If you’re planning to run your tanks close together, and don’t need such a large command radius, saving ten points on Command Vehicle can help you squeeze another unit in.

With the army-wide special rules dealt with, it’s time to meet the ‘theming’ rules, which allow you to create a force modelled on one of the historical formations of the Japanese military. Joining the ranks is…

Yamato Damashii

Allowing you to field your units as Special Naval Landing Forces, Paratroopers, Veteran Jungle Fighters, or the varied militia troops assigned for Home Defence, Yamato Damashii ensures that no matter what kind of Japanese force you want, you can build it using the book! As always, these options extend across a wide range of the infantry squads, weapons teams, and artillery, and if you want to mix and match – go nuts!

Whether you want to get up close and personal with Paratroopers, move forward relentlessly with the SNLF, sneak about with Veteran Jungle Fighters or just let chance take the wheel with Home Defence troops, you can do it all and more with Armies of Imperial Japan: Third Edition! This is just the first look at what this book can do, so make sure you keep an eye out for the next article in this series, where we’ll look at some of the units joining the roster for the first time, and some old friends who’ve had an upgrade!