A supplement for the award-winning World War II wargame, Bolt Action, focusing on the Axis offensives through Eastern Ukraine and into the North Caucasus. After the failure of Barbarossa to utterly defeat the Soviet Union, a new plan was devised, Case Blue. This plan involved pushing through the southern Soviet Union to reach the Caucasus and secure the oil fields that Germany so desperately needed. While initially there was great success and sweeping advances as the autumn began, the Axis advances began to falter in the wake of Soviet resistance and counter attacks, culminating the battles in and around Stalingrad. This Campaign Book for Bolt Action contains new linked scenarios, rules, troop types, and Theatre Selectors, providing plenty of options for novice and veteran players alike.

Originally published in 1976, this book honours the centenary of The Royal Military College of Canada, 1876-1976. It comprises nine essays written by military historians who have been or still are in some way, as staff and students, connected with RMC since 1948. The essays range in time from the American invasion of Canada in 1775 to Hungary on the eve of the Second World War, and in place, from Upper Canada to the North West Frontier of India. The theme running through the book is the problem of civil-military relations and how this has been faced in Canada in the nineteenth century, in the defence of India in the nineteenth century and in the First World War and post-war period in Great Britain and Hungary.

Britain’s vast losses of men in the first world war produced a revulsion against conscription. Originally published in 1972, Peter Dennis here describes how conscription was introduced once more in 1939, when pressure from within Britain and from France forced the British Government to reverse its position. With the use of original sources, Peter Dennis explores the development of British military policy between the wars, from the period of readjustment and realignment immediately after the first world war, up to the breakdown of the Chamberlain government’s pledge not to introduce conscription in peacetime. He points out that the politicians and the public were not afraid of conscription itself, but of conscription in peacetime as the forerunner of continental military adventures in alliance with France. He shows how the battles over conscription had a marked effect on the indecision of military thinking, and how, in 1939, conscription finally became the crucial issue in Britain’s preparation for war.

'The Duke is a soldier - a bad education for a statesmen in a free country'. Sir Walter Scott's fear of the political soldier has long been part of Western political life. Yet although many countries would have preferred to keep the military out of politics few have been successful. Originally published in 1976, this book examines the careers of five distinguished twentieth century soldiers and assesses their contribution as statesmen. Hindenburg, Byng, Franco, Eisenhower and De Gaulle all came into political life in different circumstances, but none did so in the name of the profession or to establish a praetorian state. Each was a professional soldier who found himself drawn into the political arena. Each of these essays illuminates one aspect of the range of political, sociological and historical issues which now surround the interrelationship of civil and military. At a time when the tensions of democracy, both internally and externally, impose increasing pressure on the role of the military in society it is important to study the history of soldiers-as-statesmen.

A new supplement for Bolt Action focusing on the later Italian Campaign, following on from Soft Underbelly, adding new units, scenarios, and special rules. In Italy, the fight continues! As the Allies push north up the Italian Peninsula, they have encountered heavy resistance from the Axis and their multitude of fortified and defensive lines, slowing the allied advance to a crawl. The ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe proved to be false, instead it was a ‘tough gut’. This supplement for Bolt Action, and the counterpart to Soft Underbelly, focuses on the battles ranging from the Gustav Line in 1944 all the way to those of the Gothic Line in 1945, with the breakouts at Anzio and Monte Cassino of particular focus. Containing a host of scenarios to refight these famous battles, along with new units, special rules, and Theatre Selectors, this book contains everything players need to bring an end to the war and liberate Italy.

'The Duke is a soldier - a bad education for a statesmen in a free country'. Sir Walter Scott's fear of the political soldier has long been part of Western political life. Yet although many countries would have preferred to keep the military out of politics few have been successful. Originally published in 1976, this book examines the careers of five distinguished twentieth century soldiers and assesses their contribution as statesmen. Hindenburg, Byng, Franco, Eisenhower and De Gaulle all came into political life in different circumstances, but none did so in the name of the profession or to establish a praetorian state. Each was a professional soldier who found himself drawn into the political arena. Each of these essays illuminates one aspect of the range of political, sociological and historical issues which now surround the interrelationship of civil and military. At a time when the tensions of democracy, both internally and externally, impose increasing pressure on the role of the military in society it is important to study the history of soldiers-as-statesmen.

Britain's vast losses of men in the first world war produced a revulsion against conscription. Originally published in 1972, Peter Dennis here describes how conscription was introduced once more in 1939, when pressure from within Britain and from France forced the British Government to reverse its position. With the use of original sources, Peter Dennis explores the development of British military policy between the wars, from the period of readjustment and realignment immediately after the first world war, up to the breakdown of the Chamberlain government's pledge not to introduce conscription in peacetime. He points out that the politicians and the public were not afraid of conscription itself, but of conscription in peacetime as the forerunner of continental military adventures in alliance with France. He shows how the battles over conscription had a marked effect on the indecision of military thinking, and how, in 1939, conscription finally became the crucial issue in Britain's preparation for war.

Originally published in 1976, this book honours the centenary of The Royal Military College of Canada, 1876-1976. It comprises nine essays written by military historians who have been or still are in some way, as staff and students, connected with RMC since 1948. The essays range in time from the American invasion of Canada in 1775 to Hungary on the eve of the Second World War, and in place, from Upper Canada to the North West Frontier of India. The theme running through the book is the problem of civil-military relations and how this has been faced in Canada in the nineteenth century, in the defence of India in the nineteenth century and in the First World War and post-war period in Great Britain and Hungary.

This book provides Bolt Action players with all of the information they need to field the military forces of the Soviet Union. From the bitter urban warfare of Stalingrad, through the Winter War against Finland and the final drive to Berlin, the detailed army lists provided in this supplement allow players to construct Soviet armies for any theatre and any year of the war.

Osprey's study of one of the most important battles of the long-elasting Germanic Wars (113 BC - 439 AD). Arminius, a young member of the Cheruscan tribe under the Roman Empire felt that Rome could be beaten in battle and that such a victory would guarantee the freedom of the Germans as a confederation of independent tribes, led by the Cheruscans, who would - in turn - be led by him.
Throughout AD 8 and the early part of AD 9, Arminius used his position under the governor of Germania Inferior well, ostensibly promoting Rome whilst in reality welding the tribes together in an anti-Roman alliance, agreeing with his confederates that they would wait until the Roman garrison had moved to their summer quarters and then rise up against the invaders. With the arrival of September, the time soon came for the Roman troops to return to their stations along the Rhine and as they marched westwards through the almost impenetrable Teutoburg Forest, Arminius sprang his trap. In a series of running battles in the forest, Varus' army, consisting of three Roman Legions (XVII, XVIII and XIX) and several thousand auxiliaries - a total of roughly 20,000 men - was destroyed.
The consequences for Rome were enormous - the province of Germania was now virtually undefended and Gaul was open to a German invasion which although it never materialized, led a traumatized Augustus to decree that, henceforth, the Rhine would remain the demarcation line between the Roman world and the German tribes, in addition to which the destroyed legions were never re-formed or their numbers reused in the Roman Army: after AD 9, the sequence of numbers would run from I to XVI and then from XX onwards, it was as if the three legions had never existed.

With the Axis Powers ejected from North Africa, the Western Allies look to take the fight across the Mediterranean and into Mussolini's Italy. This supplement for Bolt Action focuses on Operation Husky, the airborne and naval invasion of Sicily, the hard-fought battles in the villages and rugged mountain passes of that island, and the advance up the Italian Peninsula towards Rome. With a host of scenarios, new units, special rules, and Theatre Selectors this book contains everything players need to refight these important battles in defence of the Regno d'Italia or to strike at the underbelly of Axis-controlled Europe.

The breech-loading, single-shot .458in Martini-Henry rifle has become a symbol of both the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the numerous battles in Egypt and the Sudan in 1884-85, but continued to be used by both British and colonial troops well into the 20th century. Its invention and introduction into British service were in direct response to the success of the Prussian Dreyse needle gun, which demonstrated that the breech-loading rifle offered faster loading, improved accuracy and superior range; significantly, the weapon could be loaded and fired from a prone position, thus offering the rifleman greater security on the battlefield. Due to the longevity of service, many Martini-Henry rifles survive today, both in museums and in private collections, and the weapon is highly prized by shooting enthusiasts. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and an array of arresting first-hand accounts and written by an authority on warfare in the Victorian era, this engaging study tells the story of the powerful Martini-Henry and its impact on the battlefield, from the Anglo-Zulu War to the opening months of World War I.

The battle of Borodino was one of the greatest encounters in European history, and one of the largest and most sanguinary in the Napoleonic Wars. Following the breakdown of relations between Russia and France, Napoleon assembled a vast Grande Armee drawn from the many states within the French sphere of influence. They crossed the river Neimen and entered Russian territory in June 1812 with the aim of inflicting a sharp defeat on the Tsar's forces and bringing the Russians back into line. In a bloody battle of head-on attacks and desperate counter-attacks in the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812, both sides lost about a third of their men, with the Russians forced to withdraw and abandon Moscow to the French. However, the Grande Armee was harassed by Russian troops all the way back and was destroyed by the retreat. The greatest army Napoleon had ever commanded was reduced to a shadow of frozen, starving fugitives. This title will cover the events of Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 in its entirety, with the set-piece battle of Borodino proving the focal point of the book.

After the historic D-Day landings comes the fight to liberate France and the rest of Occupied Europe. This campaign book focuses on the push inland from the Commonwealth beaches of Gold, Sword, and Juno culminating with the battle for Caen and the Falaise Pocket. Containing new scenarios, Theatre Selectors, and units, including rules for the Canadian Army in Europe and their adversaries, this book has everything players need to continue the liberation of Europe.

With more than 23,000 copies sold of the first edition, this second edition of the best-selling Bolt Action World War II wargaming ruleset from Osprey and Warlord Games presents streamlined and refined rules, incorporating all the FAQs and errata compiled over four years of intensive gameplay. It is fully compatible with the existing range of supplements and also introduces new material. Written by veteran game designers Alessio Cavatore and Rick Priestley, Bolt Action provides all the rules needed to bring the great battles of World War II to your tabletop. Using miniature soldiers, tanks and terrain, you can fight battles in the shattered towns of occupied France, the barren deserts of North Africa, and even the sweltering jungles of the Pacific. Army options are almost limitless, allowing you to build the kind of army that most appeals to your style of play, from heavily armored tank forces to lightly armed, but highly skilled infantry. The choice is yours.

In March 1944, the Japanese Army launched Operation U-Go, an attack on Assam in India intended to inspire a rising against British rule. A month earlier the Japanese had launched Operation Ha-Go, which was intended as a feint to draw British attention away from the Imphal area. But British forces employed new defensive techniques to counter the Japanese infiltration tactics. These tactics were again employed on a larger scale when Imphal and Kohima were surrounded during Operation U-Go. Kohima took place in two stages. From 3 to 16 April, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima Ridge. As the small garrison held out against fierce and repeatedly desperate attempts by the Japanese 31st Division to destroy them, so the British 2nd Division fought to break through and relieve them. Then for over two months British and Indian troops counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had already captured. The battle ended on June 22 when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, thus ending the siege.

The reigns of Augustus and his successor Tiberius saw an epic struggle between the Romans and local peoples for the territory between the Rhine and Elbe rivers in what is now Germany. Following two decades of Roman occupation, Germania Magna erupted into revolt in AD 9 following the loss of the three legions commanded by Publius Quinctilius Varus to the Cheruscan nobleman Arminius and an alliance of Germanic nations in the dense forests of the Teutoburger Wald. The Romans' initial panic subsided as it became clear that Arminius and his allies could not continue the war into Germania Inferior on the western bank of the Rhine, and Imperial troops poured into the region as the Romans decided how best to resolve the situation. Featuring full-colour artwork, specially drawn maps and an array of revealing illustrations depicting weapons, equipment, key locations and personalities, this study offers key insights into the tactics, leadership, combat performance and subsequent reputations of the Roman soldiers and their Germanic opponents pitched into a series of pivotal actions on the Imperial frontier that would influence Roman/German relations for decades to come.

With this latest supplement for Bolt Action, players now have all the information they need to field the varied military forces of the United States of America. Entering the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States immediately went to war on several fronts. In Europe and Africa, the Americans battled against the Germans and Italians, while in the Pacific the soldiers of the Army and Marines faced the forces of Imperial Japan. This book allows players to choose from dozens of different troop types including Sherman tanks, Marine raiders, and paratroopers, and build a US force to fight in any theatre of the war.

The battle of the Catalaunian Fields saw two massive, powerful empires square up in a conflict that was to shape the course of Eurasian history forever. For despite the Roman victory, the Roman Empire would not survive for more than 15 years following the battle, whilst the Huns, shattered and demoralized, would meet their downfall against a coalition of German tribes soon after. This book, using revealing bird's-eye-views of the plains of Champagne and detailed illustrations of the opposing warriors in the midst of desperate combat, describes the fighting at the Catalaunian Fields and reveals the broader campaign of Hunnic incursion that led up to it. Drawing on the latest research, Simon MacDowall reveals the shocking intensity and appalling casualties of the battle, whilst assessing the wider significance and consequences of the campaign.

In 1939, Germany shattered the peace of Europe with a lightning-fast strike against Poland. The next year, it captured Denmark and Norway, before launching its famous Blitzkrieg against France, Belgium and The Netherlands. In less than two years of fighting, Nazi Germany became the master of mainland Europe. This new Theatre Book for Bolt Action allows players to command armies of German tanks driving across the continent or to lead the desperate defense of the outgunned Allied armies. New scenarios, special rules and units give players everything they need to recreate the devastating battles and campaigns of the early war in Europe, including the fall of Poland, the breaking of the Maginot Line and the dramatic retreat to Dunkirk.

A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. It held Jellicoe's Grand Fleet from 1914-18, and it was from here that it sailed out to do battle with the Germans at Jutland in 1916. In 1914 the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow and then extending these defenses to cover most of Orkney. These static defenses were augmented with boom nets, naval patrols and minefields, creating the largest fortified naval base in the world.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, Scapa Flow again proved ideally situated to counter the German naval threat and served as the base for Britain's Home Fleet. Despite constant attacks from aircraft and U-boats, one of which managed to sink the British battleship Royal Oak, the defenses of Scapa Flow were again augmented and improved. By 1940, Orkney had become an island fortress, the largest integrated defensive network of its kind in Europe, manned by as many as 50,000 Commonwealth troops.
Backed by newly commissioned artwork, naval historian Angus Konstam tells the story of this mighty naval fortress, many pieces of which can still be seen on the island today.

The Men Who Would Be Kings is a set of rules designed for fighting historical or Hollywood colonial battles in the mid to late 19th Century, from the Indian Mutiny to the Boxer Rebellion. Large scale colonial clashes tended to be one-sided affairs, but there are countless reports of brief, frantic skirmishes in every colonial war, where either side could be victorious, and these are the battles that The Men Who Would Be Kings seeks to recreate. Although focusing on the British colonial wars against the Zulus, Maoris and others, these rules will also permit players to explore the empires of France, Germany, and other nations, as well as allowing for battles between rival native factions. Gameplay is very simple, and is driven by the quality of the officers leading your units, in the true spirit of Victorian derring-do and adventure, where larger than life characters such as the (real) Fred Burnaby and the (fictional) Harry Flashman led their troops to glory and medals or a horrible end at the point of a spear tip.

The M1 Garand gave the US infantryman a marked edge during World War II. It shot faster and further than enemy infantry rifles and hit harder. No less an authority on killing the enemy than General George S. Patton called the Garand, "The greatest battle implement ever devised." At a time when opposing forces were armed with bolt-action rifles, US troops had a highly reliable self-loader. The eight-round clips which were used to load the M1 Garand were, however, viewed with mixed emotions by the troops on the ground. Some Army and Marine Corps troops allegedly felt that the distinctive "twang" as the Garand's clip was ejected when empty alerted the enemy that the soldiers were reloading and resulted in an attack. But the Garand became the defining mankiller of the war, despite its weight and magazine problems, and many US combat veterans consider it one of the key reasons they survived the war.

With this latest supplement for 'Bolt Action', players can now build an army for Great Britain and the Commonwealth. From early campaigns in Europe to the deserts of North Africa and the jungles of the Far East, British forces faced the Axis threat. The army lists presented here have all the information needed to field such elite units as the Paras, Commandos. Chindits and SAS alongside the steadfast 'Tommy'.

The Webley .455in service revolver is among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced and has a claim to be the first 'tactical fighting pistol'. First adopted in 1887, in various marques it was the standard-issue service pistol for British and Commonwealth armed forces for nearly fifty years; later versions in .38in calibre went on to see further service in World War II and beyond, as well as in a host of law-enforcement roles around the world into the 1970s.
Developed to give British service personnel the ability to incapacitate their opponents in 'small wars' around the globe, the Webley used the formidable - and controversial - .455in cartridge, a variant of which was known as the 'manstopper'. Users found it offered good penetration and excellent stopping power with only mild recoil - indeed, it was rated superior to the US .45 Colt in stopping power.
Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, this is the compelling story of the Webley revolver, the powerful pistol that saw service across the British Empire and throughout two world wars.