Bolt Action: Third Edition
World War II Wargames Rules
1st Edition
Published on 26. September 2024
320 pages
978-1-4728-6382-9 (ISBN)
Description
A revised and updated third edition of the best-selling Bolt Action World War II wargaming rules.
Bring the great battles of World War II to your tabletop with Bolt Action. Strike out from the beaches of Normandy towards Germany. Sweep across the deserts of North Africa in lightning raids. Battle the enemy and the sweltering heat in the jungles of Asia and on the islands of the Pacific. Fight doggedly from street to street in Arnhem, Stalingrad, and Berlin.
Whatever your preferred style of play, your miniature collection, or your historical interests, the diverse army and scenario options will allow you to build a force that fits. Field everything from standard rifle platoons to heavily armoured tank forces, fast-moving reconnaissance patrols, and even artillery units.
This third edition features refined and updated rules and starter army lists to get new players straight into the action. Seasoned veterans, meanwhile, will find new tactical depth in the detailed force composition mechanics and a wide variety of fresh challenges in the scenario generation system.
Rally your forces, study the terrain, and prepare for battle - the fight continues!
Bring the great battles of World War II to your tabletop with Bolt Action. Strike out from the beaches of Normandy towards Germany. Sweep across the deserts of North Africa in lightning raids. Battle the enemy and the sweltering heat in the jungles of Asia and on the islands of the Pacific. Fight doggedly from street to street in Arnhem, Stalingrad, and Berlin.
Whatever your preferred style of play, your miniature collection, or your historical interests, the diverse army and scenario options will allow you to build a force that fits. Field everything from standard rifle platoons to heavily armoured tank forces, fast-moving reconnaissance patrols, and even artillery units.
This third edition features refined and updated rules and starter army lists to get new players straight into the action. Seasoned veterans, meanwhile, will find new tactical depth in the detailed force composition mechanics and a wide variety of fresh challenges in the scenario generation system.
Rally your forces, study the terrain, and prepare for battle - the fight continues!
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN-13
978-1-4728-6382-9 (9781472863829)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
09/2024
Osprey Games
€47.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Persons
Warlord Games is one of the world's leading producers of wargaming miniatures, as well as the publisher of the successful Black Powder and Hail Caesar rule sets. Their Bolt Action range of 28mm World War II miniatures is the most extensive on the market and continues to grow and develop.
Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, leading him to study Illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, leading him to study Illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- Wargames and History
- Fall Weiss - The Invasion of Poland, September 1939
- The Battle of the Danzig Post Office, 1 September 1939
- Determination at Mokra, 1 September 1939
- A Final Throw, the Battle of the Bzura, 9-22 September 1939
- Death Knell at Grodno, 20-22 September 1939
- Operation Weserübung - The Invasion of Denmark and Norway, April 1940
- First Clash at Lundtoftbjerg, 9 April 1940
- The Defence of Amalienborg, 9 April 1940
- Dombås, One of the First Opposed Airborne Operations in History, 14-19 April 1940
- See-Saw Battles at Narvik, 9 April - 8 June 1940
- Fall Gelb - The Invasion of the Low Countries and France, May 1940
- A Desperate Dutch Defence at Grebbeberg, 11-13 May 1940
- Glider Assault on Eben-Emael, 10-11 May 1940
- Breakthrough at Sedan, 12-17 May 1940
- Last Stand at Dunkirk, 26 May - 4 June 1940
- Battle Across The Sands - Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt, 1940-43
- Raid on Nibeiwa, 9 December 1940
- The Siege of Tobruk, 10 April - 27 November 1941
- The Second Battle of El Alamein, 23 October - 11 November 1942
- Baptism of Fire at Kasserine Pass, 19-25 February 1943
- War in the Eastern Mediterranean - The Balkans, Greece, and Crete, 1940-42
- Greek Counter-attack at Morava-Ivan, 14-23 November 1940
- ANZAC Stand at Tempe Gorge, 18 April 1941
- Unternehmen Merkur, the German Invasion of Crete, 20 May - 1 June 1941
- Unternehmen Südost Kroatien, Partisans versus Germans in South-eastern Croatia, 15-23 January 1942
- Fighting up the Boot of Italy - Sicily and Italy, 1943-44
- Operation Husky, the Invasion of Sicily, 9 July - 17 August 1943
- The 'Italian Stalingrad', the Battle of Ortona, 20-28 December 1943
- Operation Shingle, the Invasion of Anzio, 22 January 1944
- The Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino, 11 May 1944
- Opening Moves - The 1939 Winter War, and the 1941 Invasion of the Soviet Union
- The Battles of Kollaa, 7 December 1939 - 13 March 1940
- The Battle of Brody, 23-30 June 1941
- The Battle of Bialystok, Minsk, 22 June - 9 July 1940
- The Battle of Moscow, 30 September 1941 - 7 January 1942
- Turning the Tide - Fall Blau, Stalingrad, and Kursk, 1942-43
- The Battle of Kalach, 25 July - 11 August 1942
- The Battle of Klukhorsky Pass, 12 August 1942
- The Battle of Stalingrad, 23 August 1942 - 2 February 1943
- Unternehmen Zitadelle, Operations Against the Kursk Salient, 5-17 July 1943
- Stalin Drives West - Operation Bagration and the Fall of Berlin, 1944-45
- Breakthrough, the Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive, 23-28 June 1944
- The Battle of Lida-Vilnius, 8 July 1944
- The Battle of the Seelow Heights, 16-19 April 1945
- Endgame, the Fall of the Reichstag, 29 April - 2 May 1945
- Japan Attacks - War in the Western Pacific, 1941-43
- The Guadalcanal Campaign, 7 August 1942 - 9 February 1943
- The Kokoda Trail Campaign, New Guinea, 21 July - 16 November 1942
- The Battle of Tarawa, 20-23 November 1943
- Campaigns in Southern and Southeastern Asia, 1942-45
- The Battle of Sittang Bridge, 19-23 February 1942
- Operation Longcloth, the Chindits in Burma, February - March 1943
- The Battle of the Admin Box, 5-23 February 1944
- Turning Point, the Battle of Kohima, 4 April - 22 June 1944
- Island-Hopping - Battles in the Central and Western Pacific, 1943-45
- The Pacific D-Day, the Battle of Saipan, 15 June - 9 July 1944
- The Battle of Manila, 3 February - 3 March 1945
- The Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February - 26 March 1945
- Invading Japan, the Battle of Okinawa, 1 April - 22 June 1945
- Operation Overlord - The Invasion of France, June 1944
- Mission Albany, the 101st Airborne Parachutes into Normandy, 6 June 1944
- Bloody Omaha, the American Landings on Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944
- The Battle for Caen, 6 June - 6 August 1944
- The Falaise Pocket, 12-21 August 1944
- Failed Thrusts - Operations Market Garden and Wacht Am Rhein, September 1944 - January 1945
- The Battle of Arnhem Bridge, 17-26 September 1944
- The Battle of the Scheldt Estuary, 2 October - 8 November 1944
- The Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, 16-26 December 1944
- The Siege of Bastogne, 20-26 December 1944
- Victory in the West - Crossing the Rhine and the Invasion of Germany, 1945
- The Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September - 16 December 1944
- The Bridge at Remagen, 7-25 March 1945
- Operation Varsity, 24 March 1945
- Basic Supplies
- Tape Measure
- Dice and Markers
- Templates and Other Tokens
- Conventions of War
- Measuring Distances
- Line of Sight
- Table Boundaries
- Re-Rolls
- Units
- Types of Unit
- Models and Bases
- Formation
- The 1" Gap
- The Turn
- Preparing to Play
- Turn Sequence
- Losing Dice
- Game End
- Orders
- Orders
- Fire
- Advance
- Run
- Ambush
- Rally
- Down
- Pinned
- Pin Markers
- Effects of Pinning
- Order Tests
- At Full Strength
- Pinned and Down
- Pinned and Rally
- Incredible Courage!
- FUBAR!
- Troop Quality and Morale
- Squad/Team Leaders
- Pin Markers
- We're Doomed! - Routed Units
- Maximum and Minimum Morale
- Retaining an Order at the End of the Turn
- Ambush
- Down
- Movement
- Advance and Run Moves
- Interpenetration of Friendly Units
- Terrain
- Impassable
- Rough Ground
- Obstacles
- Buildings
- Roads
- Terrain Table
- Shooting
- Who Shoots?
- Shooting Procedure
- Declare Target
- Intervening Friends - Hold Your Fire!
- Intervening Enemies - Fire at Will!
- Target Reacts
- Measure the Range and Open Fire
- Roll to Hit
- Hit Modifiers
- Nigh-Impossible Shots
- Pinning
- Roll to Damage
- Troops, Soft-skinned, and Armoured Targets
- Troop Quality
- Target Takes Cover Saves
- Soft or Hard Cover?
- Down
- Target Takes Casualties
- Target Checks Morale
- Weapons
- Weapon Profile Terms
- Weapons Table
- Types of Weapon
- Rifle
- Pistol
- Submachine Gun (SMG)
- Automatic Rifle
- Assault Rifle
- Light Machine Gun (LMG)
- Medium Machine Gun (MMG)
- Heavy Machine Gun (HMG)
- Automatic Cannons
- Infantry Anti-tank Weapons
- Anti-tank Guns (AT guns)
- Flamethrowers
- Mortars
- Howitzers
- Weapon Special Rules
- Anti-tank Gun
- Assault
- Fixed
- Flamethrower
- HE (High Explosive)
- Howitzer
- Indirect Fire
- Multiple Launcher
- One-Shot
- Shaped Charge
- Team Weapon
- Close Quarters
- Close Quarters Procedure
- Declare Target
- Measure Move Distance
- Target Reacts
- Surprise Charge
- Flanked
- Move Assaulting Models
- The 1" Gap Rule and Assaults
- Assaulting Through Terrain
- Assaulting Defended Obstacles
- Fight First Round of Close Quarters
- Roll to Damage
- Loser is Destroyed
- Defensive Position
- Resolve Draws
- Winner Regroups
- Headquarters
- HQ Units
- Officers
- You Men, Snap to Action!
- Medics
- Self-defence
- Forward Artillery Observers
- Forward Air Observers
- Resolving the Warplane Attack
- Flak
- Unit Special Rules
- Bicycles
- Cavalry
- Engineers
- Fanatics
- Fieldcraft
- Green
- Infiltrator
- Motorcycles
- Shirkers
- Sniper
- Stubborn
- Tank hunters
- Tough Fighters
- Artillery
- Artillery Units
- Artillery and Measuring Distances
- Artillery and Sight
- Artillery and Movement
- Run Orders
- Terrain
- Artillery and Shooting
- Line of Sight
- Arc of Fire
- Gun Shields
- Cover
- Damage on Artillery Units
- Artillery and Close Quarters
- Re-Crewing Guns
- Firing Smoke
- Vehicles
- Vehicle Descriptions
- Vehicle Units
- Vehicles and Measuring Distances
- Vehicles and Sight
- Vehicles and Orders
- FUBAR
- Vehicles and Pinning
- Inexperienced and Regular Vehicles
- Veteran Vehicles
- Effects of Pinning on Vehicles
- Vehicles and Movement
- Interpenetration
- Advance
- Reverse Moves
- Run
- Terrain
- Vehicle-Mounted Weapons
- Fixed and Team Weapons
- Vehicle-mounted Machine Guns
- Vehicle Facing and Fire Arcs
- Multiple Targets
- Ambushes
- Two or More Weapons on the Same Mount
- Shooting at Vehicles
- Target Reaction
- Roll to Hit & Pinning
- Cover Saves
- Roll to Damage
- Roll to Damage vs Armoured Targets
- Damage Results vs Armoured Targets
- Wrecks
- Tanks Assaulting Infantry and Artillery
- Assault Move
- Target Reacts
- Close Quarters
- Tanks Assaulting Other Vehicles
- Infantry Assaulting Vehicles
- Too Fast to Attack
- Tank Fear
- Target Reacts
- Close Quarters
- Transport Vehicles
- Enemy Proximity
- Weapons Mounted on Transports
- Combat Vehicles with a Transport Capacity
- Mounting a Transport
- Units Aboard Transports
- Officers/HQ Aboard Transports
- Dismounting From Transports
- Effects of Damage on Passengers
- Assaulting a Loaded Transport
- Towing Guns
- Vehicle Special Rules
- Amphibious
- Armoured all round
- Command Vehicle
- Fast
- Medical Vehicle
- One-Man turret
- Open-Topped
- Recce
- Reinforced Front Armour
- Slow
- Slow Load
- Turn On The Spot
- Turret Rear-Mounted Machine Gun
- Unreliable
- Weak sides
- Buildings
- Ruins vs Intact Buildings
- Entering Buildings
- Leaving Buildings
- Orders to Troops Inside Buildings
- Officers in Buildings
- Large Buildings
- Shooting From Buildings
- Fixed Weapons
- Plunging Fire
- Artillery in Buildings
- Shooting Against Units in Buildings
- HE Weapons Against Buildings
- Indirect Fire Weapons Against Buildings
- Flamethrowers Against Buildings
- Shaped Charge Weapons Against Buildings
- Air-strikes Against Units in Buildings
- Artillery Barrages Against Units in Buildings
- Targeting Empty Buildings
- Assaulting Units in Buildings
- Tanks Assaulting Buildings
- Bunkers
- Arranging a Game of Bolt Action
- Deciding the Size of the Game
- Assembling the Forces
- The Gaming Table
- Preparing the Battlefield
- Scenarios
- Game End
- Gathering Intelligence
- The Battle Scenario
- Roll for Victory Conditions
- 1. Seek and Destroy
- 2. Key Positions
- 3. Breakthrough
- 4. Top Secret
- 5. Demolition
- 6. Hold Until Relieved
- Roll for Deployment Zones
- 1-3: Long Edges
- 4-6: Quarters
- Roll for Deployment Type
- 1-3: Meeting Engagement
- 4-5: Prepared Positions
- 6: Fog of War
- Battle Scenario Summary
- Start of the Game
- Infiltrators
- Other 'At The Start Of The Game' Rules
- Collect All Order Dice
- Story Scenarios
- Envelopment
- Manhunt
- Point Defence
- Land Grab
- Surrounded!
- Force Selection
- Platoon Selectors
- Core Platoon Selectors
- Force Structure
- Company Commander
- No Mixed Quality
- Concealed Weapons
- Transport Vehicles & Tows
- Rifle Platoon
- Heavy Weapons Platoon
- Engineer Platoon
- Artillery Platoon
- Armoured Platoon
- Recce Infantry Platoon
- Collecting a Force - Sample Armies
- German Blitzkrieg Force
- Russian 'God of War' Force
- British Defenders of Arnhem Force
- Army Lists
- Germany
- Army Special Rules
- Infantry
- Headquarters Units
- Infantry Squads & Teams
- Artillery
- Field Artillery
- Anti-aircraft Guns
- Anti-tank Guns
- Vehicles
- Tanks
- Tank Destroyers & Assault Guns
- Self-Propelled Artillery
- Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
- Armoured Cars
- Transports & Tows
- United States
- Army Special Rules
- Infantry
- Headquarters Units
- Infantry Squads & Teams
- Artillery
- Field Artillery
- Anti-aircraft Guns
- Anti-tank Guns
- Vehicles
- Tanks
- Tank Destroyers
- Self-Propelled Artillery
- Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
- Armoured Cars
- Transports & Tows
- Great Britain
- Army Special Rules
- Infantry
- Headquarters Units
- Infantry Squads & Teams
- Artillery
- Field Artillery
- Anti-aircraft Guns
- Anti-tank Guns
- Vehicles
- Tanks
- Tank Destroyers
- Self Propelled Artillery
- Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
- Armoured Cars
- Transports & Tows
- Soviet Union
- Army Special Rules
- Infantry
- Headquarters Units
- Infantry Squads & Teams
- Artillery
- Field Artillery
- Anti-aircraft Guns
- Anti-tank Guns
- Vehicles
- Tanks
- Tank Destroyers
- Self-Propelled Artillery
- Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
- Armoured Cars
- Transports & Tows
- Imperial Japan
- Army Special Rules
- Infantry
- Headquarters Units
- Infantry Squads & Teams
- Artillery
- Field Artillery
- Anti-aircraft Guns
- Anti-tank Guns
- Vehicles
- Tanks
- Assault Guns & Tank Destroyers
- Tankettes & Armoured Cars
- Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
- Transports & Tows
- Common Transport Vehicles
- Vehicles
- Transports And Tows
- Optional Rules
- Air-Landing Reinforcements
- Paratroopers - Combat Jump
- Combat Jump Rules
- Gliders
- Glider Landing Rules
- Amphibious Assaults
- Movement In Water
- Landing Craft
- City Fighting
- The City as a Battlefield
- Rubble
- Buildings
- Roads and Open Ground
- Sewer Movement
- Command and Control in a City Fight
- Desert Warfare
- Desert Terrain
- Digging In
- Climate Conditions
- Environmental Effects
- Desert Weather
- Fog of War
- Easy Targets
- Dug in: Foxholes, Trenches, and Gun Pits
- Dug In Rules
- Dug in Vehicles
- Dug in With Hidden Deployment
- Dug in vs Preparatory Bombardment
- Dug in vs Tank Assault
- Digging in During a Game
- Fortifications
- Barbed Wire
- Anti-Tank Ditches
- Weapon or Gun Pit
- Trench Sections
- Minefields
- Minefield Rules
- Minefield Sections
- Effect of Minefields
- Anti-Tank Minefields
- Mixed Minefields
- Dummy Minefields
- Minefields in Water
- Concealed Minefields
- Booby Traps
- Clearing Minefields
- Hidden Deployment
- Hiding During a Game
- Night Fighting
- Different Types of Game
- Night Fighting Scenarios
- Reduced Visibility
- Muzzle Flashes!
- Fires
- Reacting to an Assault
- Indirect Fire
- Forward Air And Artillery Observers
- Weather
- Snow, Ice, And Frostbite
- Tropical Hazards
- Exhaustion
- Mud
- Monsoon Season
- Guidelines for Large Games
- Not Enough Order Dice?
- Multi-Player Games
- Single Nationality Multi-player Forces
- Multinational Forces
- Transport Units
- Very Large Tables
- Multiple Activations With a Single Die
- Rules Summary
- Templates and Tokens
- Credits
- Index
