New French Foreign Legion & Armies Of Book Coming To Bolt Action

Warlord Games revealed the pre-orders for Armies of France, a new book and range of 28mm-scale miniatures coming to this World War II Historical wargame. You'll be able to field the valiant defenders of France and bring the French Foreign Legion to the tabletop as well.

Armies of France // Bolt Action

Armies of France introduces the unit profiles and national special rules for using the French in your games of Bolt Action. It's an interesting book in that it not only contains rules for playing the French Army from 1939 through to 1940 but also the Free French and Vichy forces, so you can include the French at every point of World War II from beginning to end.

Armies of France - Interior // Bolt Action

Bring together one of the most powerful military forces in the world at the time with their infantry, tanks, artillery and airpower and see if you can change history. Could you put an end to the Blitzkrieg before it hit?

In addition to the rules for the French in your games of Bolt Action, you'll also find loads of historical background information, illustrations and miniature photography. I think the French could be a fascinating miniature project for someone to dive into from a collecting, painting and gaming point of view.

As always, the pre-order from Warlord Games also comes with a special, limited edition figure.

Marie-Pierre Kœnig // Bolt Action

Marie-Pierre Kœnig was a legendary commander of the Free French defence at Bir Hakeim in 1942. His brigade held off five enemy divisions for over two weeks, which is pretty wild. He can be used as a Platoon or Company Commander in your French forces, the miniature showcasing him running into the heart of the fighting, ducking and diving as he moves to different positions.

New French Foreign Legion Plastic Miniatures

As well as the brand-new book for the French, you can add to that with some excellent new French Foreign Legion plastic miniatures in 28mm.

French Foreign Legion Infantry Platoon // Bolt Action

The Foreign Legion were known as some of the toughest infantry available to the Free French in the deserts of North Africa. The set comes with thirty infantry miniatures that can be armed with a variety of different weapons. The sprues feature plenty of British-supplied uniforms with French webbing alongside weapons like the MAS 36 rifles, FM 24/29 light machine guns, Boys anti-tank rifles and MAS 38 submachine guns.

French Foreign Legion Infantry Platoon // Bolt Action

As you'd expect, the French Foreign Legion set also comes with their iconic kepi blanc, the symbol of the Legionnaire. To match the eclectic mix of equipment that the Foreign Legion could draw on, the set also comes with sun hats and Adrian helmets so you can get that variety in your units and the army as a whole.

French Foreign Legion Infantry Platoon // Bolt Action

As with all of the sets from Warlord Games, you also have the option to make Platoon Commanders, Medics, the Foreign Legion Section, Sniper Teams and Anti-Tank Rifle Teams. There are also plenty of bits for making your spotters, observers and more. Just combine them with other kits and you're good to go.

A superb set from Warlord Games and a great way to add some elite fighters into the mix for the French in Bolt Action.

French Weapon Teams

As well as the Foreign Legion in plastic, you can also get the new weapon teams for the French, covering their Heavy Weapons and their Light Artillery.

French Army - Heavy Weapons Platoon // Bolt Action

The French were well supplied with heavy weapons and were able to establish strongly fortified positions on the battlefield. These weapons are a testament to that. The set comes with six mortars, two machine guns, or a combination of whichever you'd prefer from that set. You get the Hotchkiss M1914 medium machine gun and a set of three mortars, including the 81mm Mle 27/31 medium mortar. There are also the 60mm Mle 1935 and 50mm Mle 1937.

There are also three crew frames, giving you twelve infantry that you can use to make your crew and command squads with a mix of different heads, arms and equipment.

You can also get the 75mm Light Artillery Team.

French Army - 75mm Light Artillery // Bolt Action

This set makes one of the Canon de 75 modèle 1897, which is also known as the French 75. It was the backbone of the French light field artillery contingent during World War II and could be used for rapid direct and indirect fire. Despite its age, it made it through all of World War II wherever the French could find a place to deploy it.

French Starter Force

If this has got you excited about running the French in Bolt Action, you can actually get a new Starter Force from Warlord Games.

Hold The Line! - French Starter Army // Bolt Action

At the core of this set are the new French Foreign Legion plastics, which made up the tough, motivated and disciplined troops who could hold their own. For example, there's the story of Bir Hakeim that we mentioned earlier in the article.

In this set, you get forty-two infantry for a large Rifle Platoon and then plenty of fire support with mortars and machine guns as a Heavy Weapons Platoon. They are then backed up by the French 75s that should make enemy armour think again.

Even more bundle options and ways to get stuck into playing the French in Bolt Action can be found HERE on the Warlord Games website.

Are you tempted to start a French army in Bolt Action?