Action - World War II Wargames Rules: 1st ed

Assault on the Red October steel plant, by Peter Dennis Osprey Publishing Ltd. Taken from Campaign 184: Stalingrad 1942.

T his book is all about recreating World War II combat on a tabletop using dice, model troops, tanks and the rules described on the following pages. Although our game is just that a game of war fought between armies of models it is inspired by the real fighting men, the actual equipment and personal accounts of those who played their part in the historic events portrayed. It is quite a detailed game because we wish our weapons to reflect the capabilities of actual weapons, and demand that our men fight in so far as possible as their flesh-and-blood counterparts fought, and that our players face the same sort of decisions and challenges as did company commanders in action at the time. Even so, our first priority has been to create a game that is entertaining as well as demanding of skill and intelligence, and which is as fair and balanced as it can be, giving both sides an equal opportunity of success. Of course, few real battles were fair and equal in this way, but a game would hardly be worth the playing if victory or defeat were certain, or if one army or nation were to enjoy overwhelming superiority in numbers or materiel. To ensure an equal and balanced game, armies are chosen according to a system of points, allocating a fixed value to fighting units of different types and quality. All the details you need for four armies (American, German, British and Russian) are provided in the Army Lists in this book, whilst a series of Bolt Action supplements covers further details of yet more armies and theatres. Tabletop encounters take place according to six closely defined battle scenarios that explain how forces are deployed and how victory is achieved. All that remains is for players to pit their wits against each other as they enact just one small part of the greatest conflict in all of history World War II.

Id like to dedicate these rules to the memory of my friend and fellow wargamer Willy Schneider. I wish to thank him for the many armies he painted for me, including the one he could not finish, and for all of the wonderful books and games he left me.

Alessio Cavatore

The defence of Brest Fortress by troops of the Soviet 6th Rifle Division, by Peter Dennis Osprey Publishing Ltd. Taken from Campaign 186: Operation Barbarossa 1941 (3).

To begin a game of Bolt Action you will need this set of rules and one or more opponents to play against. Each opposing side will also require painted model troops, representing the soldiers, guns and tanks of your chosen armies. Finally, you must find a playing surface to represent the battlefield a table top of some kind is the preferred solution, but the floor will do and certainly has the advantage of size. Ideally, your battlefield will be fashioned to represent a suitable scene where the action is to take place. It might include model woodland, buildings, roads, hills and so on. It could be an industrial scene with shunting yards and factories. Or perhaps it is simply a wasteland of heath and marshes. There are just a few more basic supplies you will need before you are ready to take your armies into action.

During the battle it is necessary to measure distances when you move your troops and when they shoot their weapons. All distances in this book are given in inches (e.g. 6, 12, etc.). If you prefer to play using centimetres you are welcome to do so, counting each inch as either one or two centimetres as you please.

The easiest way to measure distances during the game is without a doubt a retractable tape measure, but you can also use rulers of suitable length if you prefer.

Bolt Action uses ordinary six-sided dice, which we simply call a die or D6 for short (i.e. Die 1-6). Rolling an ordinary die gives you a random number between 1 and 6. Occasionally we will need to generate a different range of results, so you will see the following notation used throughout the rules.

The German war machine rolls through another town

Fix bayonets! Polish Paratroopers prepare to get stuck in

In the Bolt Action game troops can be given different kinds of instructions, which we call orders. There are six different orders: Fire, Advance, Run, Ambush, Rally, and Down. We will explain how these work in due course. During play a die is placed next to an infantry, tank, artillery piece or other unit to show which order has been given. Flip the die so that the number showing uppermost corresponds to the order as follows.

1. Fire

2. Advance

3. Run

4. Ambush

5. Rally

6. Down

Ideally each player will have a set of distinctly coloured but otherwise identical dice to use for orders; for example Germans blue and Russians green. Each side starts the game with one order die for each unit, which is to say one die for each squad or team of infantry and one for each tank, armoured car or other vehicle. So, for example, if an army has six infantry squads, a machine gun team, and three tanks then it has ten distinct units and the player starts the game with ten order dice.

During the game both sides order dice are placed together in some kind of container and drawn blind one at a time to determine which side acts next. To facilitate this you will need a large mug, a dice cup, pot, or some similar opaque container large enough to hold all the dice. In the rules we always refer to this as a dice cup, but it can be any suitable container so long as it allows you to draw the dice unseen.

If you dont have two sets of differently coloured dice to use as order dice, then all you need are differently coloured tiddlywinks, beads or card chits instead. Lets say you are using chits cut from a sheet of thin card. One player takes one blank chit for each unit in his army; the opposing player takes one chit for each of his units and marks his chits with a cross. The chits are then placed together in the dice cup and drawn at random to determine which side acts next. When a unit acts any dice can then be used together with the chit to show which order has been given. Alternatively, players can make up their own card counters with the orders marked on them if they prefer.