Veterans of Bolt Action will
tell you that there is only one real way of getting across a board quickly. A truck.
Halftracks and other armoured vehicles are sadly often too expensive; points
wise, for what they do. While new rules may change this dynamic in BA Version
2, we already have a hot, new mobile unit type in Konflikt ’47. Jump infantry.
I, Old Man Morin, am
notorious for playing fast, “hitty” armies. I like deciding where and when to
take the fight to my opponent. I like to exploit weak spots in their line. I
like jumping on objectives early and holding them or moving up to claim them in
the last turns of the game, after I have wiped my opponent’s forces away. In
short: I feel the need, the need for speed. In a game where objectives are so important
in so many missions, I think mobility is a big deal. That in mind, I was more
than a little excited to find flying troopers as a new unit type in K’47.
The United States and Germany both have jump infantry units and while they share the “Flight” special rule, they serve very different purposes on the tabletop. Flight means that these units can advance 12” and can run 18”. When moving this way, units with this rule ignore movement restrictions imposed by intervening terrain as long as they do not attempt to land in impassable terrain. It is important to note that these units can elect to not use this rule and can move like normal infantry on the ground if they choose to do so.
The German army list has two
units with this rule. The Nachtjager, who I covered in the last article
entitled “Things That Go Bump In The Night” and the Fallschirmjager Falcon
Squad. The Falcons come standard as Veterans and cost a whopping 26 points a
model. Despite their high price, they are a bit of a bargain if you break their
points down. They are veteran troops with assault rifles and the resilient
rule, which means that they have a damage value of 6+ against shooting attacks…
AND they fly. Pretty amazing.
Falcons are fantastic
all-a-rounders. They have the movement to exploit weaknesses in opposing
forces, grab objectives or plug holes in your own line. Simultaneously, they
have the firepower to get the job done when they get there. Remember, assault
rifles do not suffer movement penalties, have the range of a rifle, fire twice
and are great in both phases of the Konflikt ’47 assault rules. All the while,
Falcons have the durability of the resilient rule and infantry’s flexibility
to react to incoming threats in a variety of ways. Plus they are man sized
models. They can hide in and behind cover like regular infantry. I am a massive
fan of these guys.
The American counterpart to
the German Falcons are called the Firefly Jump Infantry squad. They are also
veteran soldiers but they only cost 18 points a model. Why the drastic
reduction of points? Well, they do not have the “resilient” rule and they do
not carry assault rifles. Instead of AR’s, Fireflies carry submachine guns. You
have the option of upgrading them to take anti-tank grenades, up to 2 BAR’s and
an infantry packed flamethrower.
While these guys lack the long-range
firepower and the staying power of the Falcons, the Fireflies are brutal within
12 inches. Their SMGs are just as deadly as assault rifles in the point blank
firing and the hand-to-hand phases of assault and their ability to combine a
flamethrower with the mobility of jump infantry can be legitimately frightening for
opponents. Even though they pay twice what a normal squad does for a
flamethrower, 40 points, it is still a good deal. The option to add BARs to
the squad does give it additional reach in the shooting phase but I feel like
this muddies the unit’s purpose on the battlefield. This squad needs to be in
your opponent’s face, driving forward to get in their face or needs to be
coiled behind cover, near objectives, ready to pounce on enemy troops who stray
too near. Like the Falcons, these guys are also great for their points cost.
Though both of these units
look remarkable on paper, in reality they need to be chosen with care. They are
both expensive, points-wise and if you take multiple units of either, you will
be limiting the points you have to spend on your remaining forces. Both units
need support and neither weather the storm if an opponent is able to focus the
fire of an army upon them in isolation, so you probably don’t want to just jump
them out into the open by themselves. They need to be supported by pin causing
units and AT assets depending on the scenario and your opponent’s force. They
need to be played strategically, move up with cover and in conjunction with
multiple threats that an opponent has to deal with simultaneously. It is
important that an opponent is not able to prioritise these guys as a target
with a unit that will decimate infantry like big HE or units with lots of shots
(Kodiak anyone?).
I guess what I am saying, in
a nutshell, is that as good as these units are, they need to be part of an army
whose parts work well together in a manner that will not get them immediately
shot off the board. They are not “auto-win button” units but they can definitely
help you get across the line in the end.
