Germany Strikes! Early War in Europe

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 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. 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.

Prelude To War
This introduction sets the scene for the countdown to World War II, the first great mechanised war, with a discussion of the development of tank technology and the various theories about how they should be used. In particular the section compares and contrasts the development of armoured warfare in France, Britain and Germany and how the theories fared in the Spanish Civil War and Khalkyn Gol. It finishes with arguments to show that the German military were woefully deficient in strategic thinking despite perfecting the tactical and operational skills necessary for mechanised warfare.

Fall Weiss, Poland
Fall Weiss covers the German invasion of Poland. It includes four new scenarios ranging from the very first shots of WWII when the SS & Armed German Police stormed the fortified Polish Post Office in Danzig to the fighting retreat of the famous Black Brigade – the Polish armoured unit that never lost a battle and formed the core of the Polish Armour that closed the gap at Falaise in 1944. New rules allow you to deploy armoured trains and to fight inside buildings. New Theatre Selectors include early German Militia, 4th panzer Division, Polish Armour and Cavalry.
Operation Weserübung, Denmark & Norway
Where Hitler ‘caught the bus’ to Norway. This section adds two scenarios, one set in Denmark and one in Norway, and rules for the Neubaufahrzeug PzKpw V model A multi turreted tank. It adds a new Danish Army list with rules for Danish vehicles such as Landsverk light and heavy armoured cars, and theatre selectors for The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Kampfgruppe Pellengahr and a generic Allied Norway Defence Force.

Fall Gelb
Fall Gelb was the German feint through the Low Countries to draw the allied armoured divisions north into a pocket created by the mechanised attack through the Ardennes. The section adds five new scenarios ranging from the German air landings on Fort Eben Emael to the British armoured counter-attack at Arras by the Matilda tanks of Frankforce. The armoured actions around Orp between French mechanised cavalry and the panzers were the world’s first great tank battle and this section shows how to replay them.
New theatre selectors are given for the Fallschirmjäger, the Belgian Defenders of Fort Eben Emael, French DLM, DLC and DCR mechanised divisions, British 1st Armoured Division (cruiser tanks) and a 1st Army Tank Brigade (infantry tanks), and German Mobile Infantry Divisions and the various Panzer Divisions that took part in the campaign.

Fall Rot, France
The section examines the German offensive south into France, including the attack on the Maginot line, and the Italian invasion of the Riviera. The latter adds an hypothetical scenario of a French counterattack on Milan which allows an Italian player to fight an armoured battle. New theatre selectors include a British Dunkirk Perimeter Force, a scratch-built French DLC Division and the Ariete. New scenario rules explain how to game the fortifications of the Maginot Line.

So This Is Victory
A final section wraps up the game with a short discussion of the stunning but ultimately flawed victory that doomed Germany in the west and asks if Germany had better options that might have won the war.

New Scenario Rules:
- Armoured Trains
- Polish and German Gun Wagons
- Command and Assault Wagons
- Flat Cars
- Self-Propelled Armoured Rail Wagons
- Minefields
- Clearing Minefields

Number of pages: 104