Review: Armies of Italy - Bolt Action 3
By Chris King.
“At last,” we hear Bolt Action Italian players cry, “- Some special rules for Italian forces which don’t punish them simply for being Italian!”
Such could actually constitute a good overview of the most recent ‘army book’ for Warlord Games’ flagship World War II game, because the rules for Italian forces in previous editions really could be rather punitive. Whilst the ‘get-you-by’ free pdf lists for Italy in Third Edition dodged this approach, they were also inevitably somewhat bland. Now the Italians have arrived.
And they’ve arrived with a dash of Mediterranean style and swagger, too! Broadly following the now well-entrenched structure of the Third Edition Armies of… books, readers are offered a rather charming sales-pitch for why they should field Italian models, then given a brief history of Italy’s forces through the Mussolini years, followed by an overview of the four themes into which Warlord have decided to split the Italian units in-game - in this case, the Alpinini, Bersaglieri, Paracadutisti, and Camicie Nere. Having faced many Italian forces on the tabletop myself, I can’t help but think a pronunciation guide for these terms at least might have saved some tongues from being tied!
As we reach the ‘Army list’ part of the book, the Italians’ ‘Army special rules’ will need a little attention, simply as it’s not only a key part of how Bolt Action works, but also part of Warlord Games’ redemption journey, as they step away from disappointing and outdated tropes of cowardice which they previously perpetuated. ‘Iron Hearts, Iron Hulls’ and ‘Open SIghts’ improve the chances of some vehicles and all artillery units to pass certain order checks or morale checks, essentially giving them more staying power, whilst ‘Mixed Quality’ gives all Italian inexperienced units the ‘Green’ special rule - always a characterful gamble. ‘Defensive Strategy’ hearkens back to their Second Edition play style, but the new strand of special rules - as we’ve come to expect from the current Armies of… books - applies certain in-game traits to themed forces, after the options above: Alpinini, Bersaglieri, Paracadutisti, and Camicie Nere... so if, for example, players want their alpine troops to actually be effective on skis, they can now do so.
The main body of the book is, of course, taken up with unit entries, to allow players to pick from a variety of units, with some exciting (and interesting) changes. To pick a few notable examples, the guastatori engineers have retained their pyromanic tendencies (for those players who like that kind of thing) but now have single-use flamethrowers,
The famous Solothurn anti-tank rifle has gained the ‘Fixed’ special rule but also gained two shots per turn, giving it the impressive rapid fire ability of a BAR support weapon(!) and the Italians now have access to new armoured transports, like the slightly comical Fiat 665NM Scudato to carry a hefty twenty passengers. In other vehicle news, the iconic Sahariana has been given some long-overdue armour.
Most significant for this new book though, is the appendix, which deals with the schism in Italian forces after the 1943 armistice: Warlord has given alternatives for equipping and fielding both the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (the ‘National Republican Army’), who fought on propped-up by German supplies, gaining access to appropriate equipment and rules, and the Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano, who aligned themselves with the Western Allies as the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, and so gain access to US and British equipment and rules - it’s certainly enough to offer some fascinating variety on the tabletop!
The book is, of course, illustrated throughout with pretty pics of models and Osprey plates (although it’s baffling that Warlord always chooses not to tell readers what the figures in the example uniform plates actually exemplify!), and overall should prove a hit with players of Italians in Bolt Action.
Priced at £28.00, it is a 96-page softback in full colour.
