Warlord Games has begun to dive a bit deeper into what's going to be on offer with their new Armies Of... books for Bolt Action. The first one of these books will be Armies Of Germany which releases on 30th January 2025. It will come around quicker than you think! Warlord dropped a bit more of an insight into the book this week.

Armies of Germany - Spähtruppen // Bolt Action

Leading the way, Warlord Games dove into some details about the Spähtruppen, a scouting unit for you to consider dropping into your German armies. They were often used for patrols and observing the enemy ahead of the main army and could make use of the likes of bicycles to redeploy quickly to where they were needed.

Spähtruppen Rules // Bolt Action

The new rules have been designed to translate that use in history over to the tabletop. They come in both Regular and Veteran flavours and depending on how many men you field in a unit, you can unlock some interesting options for them. Keeping the size low keeps the points down but also allows them to take bicycles or gain the infiltrator rule which gives you options for circumventing enemy positions and getting the drop on objectives.

You could therefore end up making use of the Spähtruppen to hunt down rogue snipers and spotter teams amongst the enemy force, moving behind enemy lines with their special skills.

Next up, they also talked about the Pantherturm!

Road To Berlin - Pantherturm // Bolt Action

Completely immobile but an incredible fortification and handy on the defence, the Pantherturm was used in Germany's defence. You wouldn't want to roll down a street where a 75mm gun was watching now, would you? This means that an Inexperienced Heavy Tank with a massive Super-Heavy Anti-Tank Gun and Co-axial MMG can be drafted in to help you when under fire.

Pantherturm Rules // Bolt Action

There are some drawbacks to using such a heavy gun emplacement. It can't move for one. That means you will need to work out where to place it early on and get the best field of fire. The Engineering Selection rule means it can be used in your Engineer Platoon rather than take up a slot that could have gone to a normal tank. So, you can bring more armour to the field if required.

Last but not least, we go off the beaten track somewhat with the "spies, saboteurs and collaborators" who worked for the Axis in the countries conquered by the Nazis during World War II.

BUF Squad // Bolt Action

The addition of this profile to Bolt Action and Armies Of Germany allows you to field a particular fringe unit that might have seen some fighting and it could certainly work for good What If? scenarios.

5th Columnists Rules // Bolt Action

Effectively acting as civilians, these might seem like a good way to sneak up on your enemy and do some real damage but you have to weigh that against their Inexperienced rank and the fact that Independent Operative means they don't benefit from the bonuses that you get access to when building your army.

They are going to be great at causing a bit of chaos though and that would really be their main role. Use them to hunt down pockets of infantry cut off from the main force or chance their arm at destroying light armour with some grenades or Molotov cocktails.

This of course opens the door to some interesting when it comes to the likes of Operation Sealion and some What If? scenarios. Fun is ahead for those diving into Armies Of Germany next year!

What do you think?