Bolt Action; Last Night A D6 Saved My Life

The General's musings, mutterings and general ramblings about a love rekindled

(Editors note: Apologies in advance. The word "love" appears quite a lot in this post; I have just recently married and my view of life in general is quite rosy hence it's probable over use. My apologies if this makes you, the much treasured reader feel slightly icky but hey, I love you just the same. Jimbob)

      A love rekindled indeed. The game I have played most and blogged most about of late is Bolt Action. Which comes as a surprise to me as I had recently, to be honest, started to lose interest in Bolt Action. The reason is I was (was? am!) playing a Chain Of Command campaign, Operation Martlet (based on the attempts by the 49th Division to capture the Raury Spur in the build up to Operation Epsom in the battle of Nornandy) which I'm really enjoying because, plain and simple, I love Chain of Command. 

      

      What I love about Chain of Command is how the force lists reflect the actual platoon set ups and tactics of the various belligerents at various periods during WW2, as an ex soldier I find that really attractive as I can relate to it. Also I love the way you are forced to "play the hand your dealt" in each phase of the game. I love how Chain of Command attempts to reflect the realities of movement and morale of the soldiers in battle. These and many other factors are what draw me to Chain of Command the game. All very different to Bolt Action. 

       Over and above that, I really love the pint size campaigns that Too Fat Lardies produce like the aforementioned Operation Martlet . These pint sized campaigns (so called as the campaign PDFs cost the same as a pint in Rich Clarke of Two Fat Lardies local pub) have the scenarios set out to represent different phases of an actual operation, the terrain layout, the historical background, maps, specific platoons and support lists that are based on the real options the actual combatants had. That I find incredibly appealing (and not just because it means I have to buy more, specific units, vehicles and weapons....though it's nice to have an "excuse" ) These pint sized campaigns also have a built in progression system and a time scale in which the attacker has to accomplish his over all mission. All tasty fodder to a narrative game nut like myself.

       Now all these pint sized campaign have a depth that Warlord Games' Bolt Action supplements didn't really have and Bolt Action was beginning to lose it's lustre in my eyes.             

        But recently things have changed, Warlord have started producing actual campaign books. I confess I didn't even look at the Road To Berlin, glance at Battle of the Bulge or even face in the general direction of the New Guinea campaign (that's a fib, I have skimmed through this one). I had heard about the many scenarios and new rules in the New Guinea campaign but the only Far East theatre troops I have are US Marines and they weren't involved in the  New Guinea campaogn (at least I don't think they were) so my interest wasn't piqued.

      Anyway I can see like a whisky soaked old blabber mouth I am straying away from my point...or am I? Well, no, I'm just getting there in a round about fashion. The fact is I bought a copy of the Warlord's Campaign Market Garden supplement a few weeks back as a wee treat to myself and, quite frankly, it blew my socks off! The range of specific scenarios, the unit rosters, the background all drove me into over-froth! 

Reference and inspiration

      What blew my socks off (don't worry, they came back) was the specific scenarios with recommended force lists and terrain layout, similar to TFLs pint sized campaigns. As I mentioned above, I love playing with historically themed forces because that gives me a greater chance of a narrative game and now Bolt Action was giving me the scenarios and s campaign on which you build narrative games.

       Another reason for my socks making an explosive departure from my gnarly old feet was that I had recently purchased from Colonel Bill's a whole platoon and a half's worth of the fantastic Foundry British Paras. I had bought them with the intention, no let's be honest, with the hope of someday playing the Too Fat Lardies Kampfgruppe Von Luck pint sized campaign. But as that seems a distant (though not impossible by a long chalk) dream at this point in time what better excuse to paint them than to have them ready for a Bolt Action Market Garden campaign which is a wee bit more likely to happen. So the Campaign Market Garden book is a God send in my eyes.

Foundry's fantastic British Paras. This is about two thirds of what I have so far; the painted part 

       But what Paras I have painted so far aren't enough to really fight a nice, narrative campaign with either Market Garden (or Kampfgruppe Von Luck pint sized campaign) just yet. I need supports (no, not surgical ones due to all that campaigning as a young subaltern out in Waziristan, which takes a toll on your manhood, let me tell you!!):No I need airborne medium machine guns, medium mortars, recce jeeps, more recce jeeps, light howitzers, 6 pounder anti tank guns etc etc. All of which takes time and money to purchase, prepare and paint. 

        Now I know I have sufficient German infantry and armoured forces to reproduce a few of the German lists in the Market Garden book (and there are some very interesting force lists in there for the Krauts)  but in all likelihood I will be playing the British when I get started into the Market Garden campaign with my erstwhile opponents so I decided to dig out my all my British infantry figures and vehicles and see how I stood in comparison with the list for the  Guards Division Battlegroup Reinforced Platoon on page 31 of Campaign Market Garden.

         In the Campaign Market Garden supplement there are some 26 scenarios, which is staggering. Amongst these 26 I almost have sufficient forces to play scenario 20 The Breakout From Neerpelt. A scenario which calls for a troop of three Shermans and a Firefly and two platoons from the Guards Reinforced platoon lists!!  

My British forces on parade

      And it turns out I stand quite well in comparison with the list in the book, However, it's not enough...or rather it's not all that I want. The options are for a platoon commander and two infantry sections as your "must have" core of the platoon with the option for another section. As these are Veterans and can take two LMGs I have that covered.
      
       

The core of the infantry platoon; NCOs, riflemen and Bren Gun teams

 And then some...

..broken down into sections ; four sections of 10 with two LMGs per section,
   one 10 man section with one LMG and one of 8 men

 Platoon commanders a plenty though one can be either a captain or a major...

Platoon commander; a sergeant and two lieutenants. 

Platoon supports. MMG, two PIAT teams, FOO and radio operator, medic and sniper team

 Okay, I can take the medic from this lot above and the artillery observer though for the Breakout From The Neerpelt scenario he needs to be mounted in his own M5 half track!! I think I have a way around that though

light mortar, medium mortar and 6 pounder

 ..and the 6 pounder from these guys...

Transports....but somethings missing...and it's half tracked
The Jeep and Ram don't make the list.

                 Now this is where desire meets reality. I can take a Universal Carrier for the 6 pounder and can take the two trucks as troops transport as I have the models buuuut the list in the book also says I can take M5 half-tracks as transports for my infantry sections.....I don't have any M5s for my British but, dash it all, that's what I want! Armoured personnel carriers for my British..and  what more compelling excuse do I need to buy some of these kits than an army list that...ahem...demands it
        So I have bought two M5 half tracks from eBay for my British to carry my troops forward into battle. Question is, do I get more M5s and also another Sherman? (Damned clever piece of marketing by Warlord; hats off to them for helping me to part with my money. Me, I'm just happy have an excuse for all these toys). If I have two platoons of armoured infantry I should really have enough armoured personnel carriers for the majority of my infantry sections....and if the Sherman troop is 3 Shermans and a Sherman Firefly I should really get a third one, shouldn't I?.......Decisions, decisions...

Sherman troop...definitely needs a third Sherman V, don't you think

Left out of battle; AEC Armoured Car and MMG Carrier
 (self...propelled....gun...really Warlord?)

Baled out tank crew....Can't take these guys...well, I probably 
can as I'm sure we could finnagle them in somewhere...

Churchill AVRE and Cromwell. Neither will figure but for
completeness I thought I'd include them

         So, in the short term, this is what I plan to do next; put together and paint my two M5s (or is it three...or 4? and another Sherman) to build up the forces to play The Breakout From Neerpelt, as it'll be easy enough to put the finishing touches to my forces and they will then be "complete" which is what we all like in our hobby, isn't it, a completed army.

         But that won't be all that I am doing, hobby wise. I have another Sharp Practice event coming up in January; French Indian Wars this time so I'll be putting together forces for that as well as for Bolt Action in the Western Desert; however in the meantime, time for a quick snifter of brandy and a cigar as I contemplate the task before me and count the shekels to see if I can purchases the necessaries and still have enough left for my mess bill!! pip pip for the moment...

The General