Many units share special rules as indicated in the Army Lists in this book and Bolt Action supplements. Further specific rules are included in the entries of individual units where appropriate. Note that not all of the rules listed here apply to units in the Army Lists of this book, but they are included so that players can get an idea of which rules might be appropriate for other forces. For example, the fanatic rule for Japanese island garrison troopers, tough fighters for Ghurkhas, and so on.
Bicycle-mounted infantry follow the same rules as infantry, except when moving entirely on a road, in which case they double their Run move to 24” (this move cannot be used to assault). In addition, the first time they receive any order other than Run, or if they receive a Pin marker, they dismount and abandon their bicycles for the rest of the game – replace the models with models on foot.
Cavalry are generally treated as units of infantry except where noted below. Cavalry can dismount and fight on foot as infantry, from which point none of these rules apply. To facilitate this, players will need mounted and foot versions of cavalry models.
A cavalry unit moves at 9” at an Advance and 18” at a Run with the same movement rules and restrictions for infantry, except that we do not allow cavalry that have not yet dismounted to enter or assault buildings, nor to board transport vehicles.
Cavalry units cannot react to enemy attacks by going Down. However, they can react by making an immediate escape move in the same way as a recce vehicle (at normal speed, not double speed). See the vehicle rules.
A cavalry unit can dismount as part of any Advance move. Once dismounted riders move and fight as infantry. Troops cannot remount once dismounted.
Cavalry units can carry infantry small-arms, but the only weapon that can be fired whilst mounted is a pistol or a carbine in which case it is treated as a pistol. Note that carbines are treated as rifles when used by troops on foot. All other weaponry can only be fired if dismounted.
Russian paratroopers attack Dobrosli airstrip, by Peter Dennis © Osprey Publishing Ltd. Taken from Campaign 245: Demyansk 1942–43
While mounted, cavalry units have the tough fighters special rule (see below). This makes a mounted charge quite a practical proposition if the riders are able to weather their enemy’s reaction shooting. Following combat, cavalry are allowed to roll an extra die when they make their regroup move – 2D6” rather then D6”.
Fanatics are unwilling to give in and will die fighting rather than flee or surrender. When a fanatic unit loses half of its numbers from enemy fire it does not take a morale check, and it continues to fight as normal so long as it includes at least two men. Should the unit be reduced to one man he must make the check as normal.
Fanatic units with at least two men left are not routed and destroyed when they have a number of pin markers equal to their morale value. Of course such unit is not very likely to be able to do anything until it manages to Rally.
When a fanatic unit is defeated in close quarters fighting, the fight counts as a draw instead and another round is immediately fought. Continue fighting until the fanatic unit wins, is completely wiped out or is defeated and left with a single model in which case it is destroyed.
Raw troops are usually rated as inexperienced with a morale value of 8 – but we make allowance for troops who, whilst inexperienced, may be extremely confident or even foolhardy. Green troops might run at the first shot fired – or they might surprise the enemy by proving remarkably fierce or resistant. Either way they are unpredictable. Green units are inexperienced and given a morale rating of 8. The first time the unit suffers a casualty roll a die. On a roll of a 1 the unit suffers an additional D6 pin markers and goes Down – if it has already taken its action this turn flip the order die to Down; if not then place an order die from the dice bag to show the unit is Down. There is no further effect. On a roll of 2, 3 or 4 the unit fights on as you would expect – no further account is made of the fact it is green. On a 5 or 6 the unit is immediately up-rated to regular with a morale value of 9 for the rest of the battle.
Motorbikes were primarily used by dispatch riders and the like, although during the early part of the war German reconnaissance units also made use of motorbikes or bikes and side cars. As with troops mounted on horses we’ll treat these as a variant of infantry units.
Motorbikes are generally treated as units of infantry except where noted below. Bikers can dismount and fight on foot as infantry, from which point none of these rules apply. To facilitate this, players will need mounted and foot versions of biker models.
A motorbike unit moves at 12” at an Advance and 24” at a Run with the same movement rules and restrictions for wheeled vehicles, except that bikes are allowed to make any number of turns as they move. Also, we do not allow motorbikes that have not yet dismounted to enter buildings, nor to board transport vehicles.
Motorbike units cannot react to enemy attacks by going Down. However, they can react by making an immediate escape move in the same way as a recce vehicle (at normal speed, not double speed). See the vehicle rules.
A motorbike unit can dismount as part of any Advance move. Once dismounted riders move and fight as infantry. Troops cannot remount once dismounted.
Bike riders can carry infantry small-arms but cannot shoot whilst moving. All weaponry can only be fired when stationary, i.e. with a Fire action, in which case we assume riders momentarily halt or get off their machines to shoot.
Bikes are not allowed to make an assault, and if assaulted they can make an immediate escape move as for recce vehicles. If attacked at close quarters, motorbikes fight as infantry. Each man fights. We imagine any bike riders unlucky enough to be fighting at close quarters will abandon their machines to fight and then remount should they survive. Should they win the combat they can regroup 2D6” rather than D6” in the same way as cavalry. Sidecar riders are simply treated like two models mounted on a multiple base.
Not all those herded to the front and handed a rifle are willing participants. Some troops might be conscripted militia from occupied territories, or they might be criminals or captives – reluctant or inept fighters looking to desert at the first opportunity. Shirkers must always take an order test when given an order, even where they are not pinned, and always count pinned markers as double – i.e. one pin marker is a –2 penalty, two is –4 and so on.
A sniper team includes a marksman with a high-power telescopic sight and normally also include an observer or loader (in which case it has the team weapon special rule). When a sniper shoots using a Fire or Ambush order the player can decide to use his scope, in which case the following special rules apply:
Rifle range changes to 36”. However, if the target is within 12”, the shot misses automatically.
The shot ignores negative to-hit modifiers, except for pinning markers and for the missing assistant if the sniper is the last man standing (most sniper teams have the team weapon special rule).
The shot ignores the gun shield and extra protection rules.
If the sniper successfully rolls to hit and damage, this always counts as exceptional damage (just as if you rolled a 6 to damage), so the firing player can pick any model in the target unit as a casualty.
Unlike other units with the team weapon special rule, all members of a sniper team can fire any weapon they are carrying in any turn when the sniper is not using his scope, and in an assault they can use the assault rule from their pistols/submachine guns.
Stubborn troops don’t give in easily! If forced to take a morale check, they ignore negative morale modifiers from pin markers. Remember that order tests are not morale checks.
Tank hunter units are equipped with specialised close quarter anti-tank weaponry. This includes anti-tank grenades – possibly launched from a rifle – sticky bombs, gammon bombs, satchel charges, lunge bombs, Molotov cocktails and the like. If a tank hunter unit wins an assault and scores damage against an armoured vehicle, the effect is resolved on the damage result table as for a normal anti-tank penetration rather than as for superficial damage. See here for an explanation of how assaults against armoured vehicles are resolved.
Some troops excel at close quarters fighting, whether because of special selection or training, like commando units, or due to cultural disposition as in the case of Ghurkhas and other colonial troops. When a model with this special rule scores a casualty in close quarters against enemy infantry or artillery units, it can immediately make a second damage roll (but not a third if the second damage roll also scores a kill!). For example, ten tough fighters attack in close quarters against a unit of regular infantry. They roll ten dice to damage and score five casualties. This allows them to immediately roll another five dice to damage, and this time they score two more casualties, for a total of seven casualties.
German Fallschirmjager Squad
