"What do you get in the Bolt Action army books??" Topic

I finally took the plunge and order a copy of the rules for Bolt Action. I believe the basic rule book has army lists for the main protagonist, i.e. UK, Germany, US, and Soviet Union circa Mid-Late war. So my question is it worth getting the specific army books and what do you get in them.

Just to let you know my current collection of 28 mm WW II includes the following forces so I would like books that will cover them.

Germany (Have DAK and Late War)

United States (Uniform is for North Africa and Sicily)

UK (8th Army)

Soviet Union (Pretty much any period of the war)

i saw the Russian one and to be honest i thought it was rubbish. just the same pics i'd seen in the basic rulebook and many army lists, most of which were the same.
no painting guide, organisation details or much of anything pertaining to the Russian army of WW2.

I was REALLY underwhelmed by the Tank war supplement

All the armies you listed are in the main rulebook.

To be honest, you really don't need the army books unless you want a specific piece of kit or unit. You can also get Bolt Action armies on Easy Army.

The Army books are something of a let down.

I got the army books on Kindle when they were on sale on the Amazon UK site, barely worth the $5 USD I paid for them. They basically have different army lists geared towards specific times of the war or units with some different special rules instead of the generic national special rule you get in the main rulebook.

There is some difference between the main rule book and the newer army books. The army books are supposed to include updates that address what were thought to be errors in the original book as well as giving greater variety. Further, the army books are meant to supersede the original rules.
One example would be the Soviet 'free', as in no points cost, Rifle Squad. In the original rule book it is organized as twelve figures including a Squad Leader armed with an SMG, an LMG and the balance of the Squad armed with Rifles. They also possess Anti Tank Grenades. In the army book this same unit is now organized as twelve men armed with Rifles and Anti Tank Grenades. The SMG and the LMG are no longer authorized. At least that's the theory.
Having said all that, I don't know of anyone in my local group that will not face the unit as organized in the original book.
Thus my two cents…

Save your money, the army books are just the same pics as in the main rule book and some rehashed text, GW marketing style!

The army books are not really 'necessary' in the sense that the main rulebook has everything you need to play. The reason Warlord Games/Osprey Publishing releases them is because they are following the GW formula of coming out with "codexes" (or codices) and other supplements (like "Tank War" and the two campaign books due out for Normandy and Ostfront) so that some people will pay the $20 USD – $25 USD they charge for them.

These softcover books of roughly 150 pages should not cost more than $10 USD tops.

I vaguely recall being hauled over the coals for bringing this up some months back. Nice to know it wasn't just me :)

OK so I am good with just the main rule book then it would seem. Considering I do a good bit with the war in North Africa I take it the lists for the Germans and UK have the earlier tanks such as the Panzer II and III, the Matilda II, etc?

If you have a source of TO&Es for the desert you should be able to put your own forces together. Don't know if the main book would have dice rules for the earlier weapons you want.

Just get the main book first. If it doesn't have what you need then get the army book. My guess is you don't need them.

Agreeing that the army books are not high value to me for either the game or in terms of painting guides. I learned that after I bought the German army book to help support BA and the old FLGS where we lived. Decided not to get any further books in the line after the first purchase.

I bought the Great Britain book, yeah not particularly useful.

Just got the French & Allies book which is useful since it has lots of forces not in the core rule book. Also splurged and bought it direct from Warlord at full retail and shipping to get the Nicole Minet figure to add to my Resistance (including a handful of other minis I've converted to women fighter).

When ordering direct, each book comes with a unique figure. Mme. Minet was the only one I found tempting enough. At the Warlord webstore, if you look at the details of each book, you'll see a photo of the mini that comes with it.

Osprey has a long tradition of charging premium prices and recycling artwork.

The main rule book has army lists with troops and vechicles mainly focusing on the later part of the war.

The army books have the information for troops and vehicles starting with early war. So yes, they are useful if you intend to fight battles earlier in the war. For instance you will not find the Panzer II or Matilda II in the main rule book army lists.

So yes, the army books are useful.

Hi there m4jumbo, my main rulebook came over the weekend and you are correct of course. So yes if I want to run the earlier war forces I will need the army books or extrapolate on my own.

So far I like the look of the main rule book and the rules seems pretty nice overall. It probably will not replace Disposable Heroes for me or Chain of Command; however, there are far more folks who play Bolt Action in the area and now I will be able to seek out games with them. Now that I have the main rule book it will motivate me to get my later war stuff finished.

I got a few of the army books new but discounted heavily with a bit of digging on Amazon and then going direct to the bookseller's website with a discount voucher code. This brought them down to a price that made them 'worth' it to me. Couldn't argue with the recent £ 1 deal for the kindle versions either.