Once the all-important Army Special Rules are established (see Under the Microscope), the Quartermaster’s store describes some specialist kit with rules for Gyro-stabilisers (still only available to Veterans), Shotguns, Demolition Charges, and the Culin Hedgerow Cutter. A bit of character is always appreciated, and that last option has certainly got that, making your tanks ready to batter the bocage of France with massive spikes attached to their fronts!

After Germany, the United States hit the tabletop with their updated book for Bolt Action: Third Edition. It follows the same format as the Armies of Germany book, starting with a potted history of the USA and its involvement in World War Two. The history covers the four arms of the land forces: GIs, Airborne, Marines, and Rangers, and with that done, it’s on to the rules.

Plentiful units

The Infantry section begins with a nifty HQ Options box. This box allows you to assign your command Motorcycles or Horses if your compulsory units in a platoon are all the same and open many new build options.

An interesting set of units in this section are the Armoured Infantry Squads, which come in Rifle, Mortar, and Machine-Gun flavours. These allow an extra Bazooka for each squad you take, they are better at getting in and out of a transport, and they take less damage if their vehicle is destroyed.

You are spoiled for choice here, with all-important options alongside less common ones such as Pathfinders, Merrill’s Marauders, and Philippine Scouts. The Philippine Scouts bring cavalry to the tabletop, which is something you don’t see a lot of on a World War Two battlefield. If you want to save some army spend for other options, then the Rear Detachment Squad, at only six points a man, will be real ‘enablers’. They always count as having no NCO, however, and do not benefit from any special rules. One to look out for is the Flamethrower team, which comes as standard or can be upgraded to Marines, but not Rangers or Airborne.

Trundling into battle

There are vehicles aplenty, including five variants of the Stuart, two of which have flamethrowers. One is hullmounted, and one is the turret-mounted Satan variant, making for an interesting choice (the turret option is cheaper, but has no anti-tank gun). If you think five Stuarts is a lot, wait until you get to the Shermans, as there are twelve in the book along with options, so you should be able to make any Sherman that the Americans use – possibly… no doubt some obsessive tread head will be miffed at the exclusion of something we’ve not considered!

The Sample Armies lists are designed to give you an idea of the army variety available to you. They don’t give you a force that will contest many games, but the accompanying army photos should certainly inspire. The Force Selection Guides are provided, as they are in Armies of Germany, and will help you theme your force for different periods. An interesting twist is that there is even an Early War Force Selection for ‘What if?’ gaming, which connects nicely to this month’s Wi theme!

As the second of the Armies of… releases for the new Bolt Action, the trend is looking positive. These are thorough books with smart changes to rules where they are made, generally creating easier army building options without restricting the scope. So far, we’re struggling to spot any worrying power creep, too. If you’re into the US’s involvement in WWII, then this is probably worth getting even if you play a different system, as the visuals will inspire and inform you more than any other WWII US wargaming book we can think of.