Getting Started in Bolt Action

My own personal Bolt Action army!

Bolt Action Basics: The Infantry Squad

If you are getting into Bolt Action for the first time, it can be a daunting prospect. The Warlord catalog is packed to the brim with tanks, planes, armored cars, specialty units, and much more. Knowing where to start can be a real challenge. So today, we will cover the core of every Bolt Action list: the Infantry Squad. Made up of humble riflemen, you must field at least two compulsory infantry squads for nearly every legal list in Bolt Action. So, what goes into an infantry squad?

An infantry squad typically comes with between four and ten members (some faction-specific and elite units are the exception). They can be taken as “Inexperienced,” “Regular,” or “Veteran” units, each providing their own benefits and drawbacks. Veteran units are more expensive but more reliable, resilient, and effective. Veteran units may also unlock options for other weapons or equipment. Inexperienced units are less dependable but are much cheaper and can be brought in larger numbers. Regular units cover the middle ground between these two. When modeling, there is no real difference between the three types of units, giving good flexibility in list building. If you want to add more flavor to your army, you could paint your inexperienced riflemen with shiny new gear or heavily weather your veteran models. Another good option is to include extra bits and pieces on your more experienced units – Warlord sprues are full of excellent options.

A squad, by default, comes with a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) to lead it and its minimum number of riflemen, often three to four. This is the bare-bones infantry squad to build from. As a generalization, you will want to add a few riflemen and equip one with a Light Machine Gun (LMG) to get a good, rounded squad. There are exceptions to this that you will encounter, whether due to special rules for your faction or needing to cut or increase costs for your list. Still, as an overarching rule, a squad of seven to ten models with an LMG is a solid choice for your infantry squads. Pictured below is a compulsory infantry squad from my British Eighth Army list featuring an NCO with an SMG, six riflemen, and an LMG, making it a very versatile unit on the board.

The core of your squad is the infantry rifleman. These simple soldiers should make up the the bulk of your Bolt Action Army, laying down fire, seizing and holding objectives, screening enemy movements, and dying bravely. There isn’t much to these models, a basic pose with their nations’ service weapon.

As discussed earlier, there are lots of great modeling opportunities to be had customizing them to theatre, unit, and level of experience. Most kits also contain a wide array of heads and accessories to really add character to your force. In the case of the pictured riflemen from my British Army, both are carrying their Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifles, wearing the shorts distinctive of service in the African theatre and standard web gear. One has a classic British Brodie helmet, while the other wears a Scottish Tam o’Shatner, representing the diverse origins of the Commonwealth forces.

The head of every infantry squad is its Non Commissioned Officer (NCO). These sergeants provide the leadership for the squad and are vital to ensuring success on the tabletop. When modeling an NCO, they can be another rifleman. However, I generally recommend equipping them in a way that makes them visually distinct from their riflemen so they can be easily identified on the battlefield. This can be accomplished by giving them a pistol or sub-machine gun (SMG), a unique headpiece, an accessory like a whistle or a map, or using transfers to give them the appropriate rank on their uniform. For example, this NCO from my British 8th Army has been given a service cap, a Thompson SMG, and a whistle. He can quickly be spotted in his squad with ease and looks the part of a dynamic leader.

Though not required, in most cases, you will want to equip one of your riflemen with an LMG. It provides an extra 12 inches of range and four shots to the rifle’s single shot, significantly increasing the volume of fire your unit can produce. The upgrade is typically around 30 points, certainly not nothing, but in my experience, it is well worth the cost. Pictured is one of my British LMG gunners with his Bren Gun.

Most kits include the option for both standing and prone LMGs, allowing you plenty of modeling options. In addition to the gunner, including a gunner requires you to select a loader. The loader comes at no additional cost in points but cannot fire if the LMG fires. If the loader is killed, there is a penalty to firing the LMG, so I have found the best practice is to model them with an identifying feature. It could be as simple as modeling an ammo can or barrel bag on the base, choosing a similar pose, or painting the base rim to match the LMG. In the case of my loader pictured, I have given him a spare Bren magazine to hold in his offhand, as well as holding his rifle in a non-firing pose as a visual reminder that he cannot fire when acting as a loader.

So armed with the basics of the infantry squad, the next step is to get building! Your army will surely not want for riflemen, so there is ample opportunity to practice your techniques and get creative with accessorizing. Keep your eye out for future Bolt Action Basics articles covering assembling a model and the second compulsory slot, the HQ. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact us via email or social media.