Osprey Publishing and Warlord Games have recently released, what I think is the best supplement so far for Bolt Action, “Duel in the Sun – The African and Italian Campaigns”. This is of course, as usual, a top quality Osprey / Warlord  production, coming in at 136 pages and overflowing with full color pictures and excellent artwork. The book was written by Dylan Owen and Alessio Cavatore, with cover artwork from the super talented Peter Dennis.

The book starts with “Mussolini Strikes” and covers the Italian Forces in the war. There is a ton of information in the book, but some of what you’ll see in this section includes: notes on terrain, selecting Italian forces for the War in Africa, camelry use by allied forces, and information on fighting Operation Compass with Italians in Bolt Action as well as special rules like the “Eight Million Bayonets” rule for the Italians (for every regular or inexperienced infantry Section bought for the Italian platoon, they may field an additional inexperienced infantry section for free).  This is just one example of some of the special theater rules.

Tobruk – an epic “Duel in the Sun” game by Paul Buchholz.

For me, the scenarios are one of the big draws of this book. The Operation Compass section includes the following scenarios: The Jaws of the Trap – The Battle of Beda Fomm, The Capture of Kufra (where you can play Free French), and A Daring Raid (a daylight raid by the Free French and LRDG against the Italian airfield at Murzuk). These historical scenarios are fun to play “as is”, and greatly add to the overall North African feel and theme of the book, but they are also adaptable to any period and force selection and you could just as easily use your late war Germans, Russians and/or Americans to play these scenarios.

The Italians are on the move! What a fun army to play! 

Another great part of “Duel in the Sun” are the new additional units listed, such as the Italian Lancia Ansaldo IZ and IZM (armored car), and some notes on selecting Indian Army units (and special rules for them like “Unsurpassed Bravery”).

There are also notes on how to fight out the battles in Greece and Crete as part of operation “Marita” and “Operation Mercury”, which include theatre selections, special rules for the Battle of Greece, notes on terrain and scenarios. The scenarios include: “Delaying Action – the Battle of Tempe Gorge” (Germans vs ANZAC units), and the Crete based “Maleme Airfield” scenario. There are a lot of special  rules in this section including: playing with a Legend of Britain and the Commonwealth – Captain Charles Upham, Maori Infantry sections, “Hounded by Messerschmitts”, and so much more.

Another great Tobruk game picture by Paul B.

The African campaign portion of the book starts off with some short historical notes on Operation Sunflower, The Siege of Tobruk, Operation Crusader, Operation Theseus, the Fall of Tobruk, The First Battle of El Alamein, Enter Montgomery, and The Second Battle of El Alamein.

There are some new special rules for fighting the Duel in The Desert including: Desert Fighters (rule for units experienced in fighting in the desert), Rommel’s Genius (maneuver options for outflanking units), night fighting, mine fields, limited fuel supply, etc. This is a very comprehensive book covering just about every aspect of WW2 desert warfare.

An overview of  Paul’s game! 

Again, the scenarios are superb for the African portion of the book. They include: Skirmish in the Sand, The Siege of Tobruk, and Operation Lightfoot. Of course this part of the book has rules for SAS Infantry squads, the Ramcke Brigade, Scorpion Flail Tanks, Lorraine Schleppers, and additional SD.KFZ armored cars and halftracks. There is just a ton of new, fun stuff in this book for the North African campaign player.

A tough nut to crack! 

“Duel in the Sun” then forges on ahead with historical notes for Operation Torch, Tunisia, Passerine Pass, and the Africa Korps defeated. One of the scenarios included in this section is “Blood on the Beaches – Amphibious Invasion” which pits American and Vichy French troops against each other and incorporates some new rules such as Vichy French forces, naval guns and using captured enemy vehicles. One of the interesting aspects of the North African campaign is the possibility of playing so many unique forces, such as Free French, Vichy French, Indian troops, Maori troops, Italian colonial troops, etc. There is just a ton of gaming, collecting and painting  fun to be had!

Axis on the advance! Pic by Paul B.

The next featured scenario is “Carnage at Kasserine Pass”. This scenario pits the newly arrived American forces against an experienced German foe. Two more scenarios follow, including: “The Battle of Guettar” and “Control the Heights – The capture of Longstop Hill”. One of the additional units detailed  in this section is the 999th Light Africa Division (Strafbattalion). This was a penal uniformed in October of 1942 and deployed to Africa in 1943. Another German unit detailed in this section of the book is the Hermann Goring Division.

The DAK scout out the area! Pic by CR

Really, I would have been very satisfied with just all of the material and information up to this point in the book, but there still is another 49 pages to go of “Italy Invaded” info, scenarios and additional rules! The book presents a brief history of the Invasion of Italy, and then some special rules for fighting it, including: multi-national forces, control of the skies, Geronimo!, gliders, snow on the Gothic Line, etc.

The scenarios include: Bridgehead, Assault on Altavilla, The River Runs Red – Crossing the Rapido, Backs to the Sea – Anzio, Monte Casino – Attempt on Monastery Hill, and The Gothic Line – War of Attrition. There are a lot new “Legends” hero characters to add to your armies, additional units like US veteran infantry squads in Italy, the M29 Weasel, late war Italian paratroopers, and the Italian Semovente 75/34. There is also a section on building post-armistice Italian armed forces.

The Desert Rats are under attack! Pic by CR

Me and my friend Chris have built exclusively 28mm Bolt Action armies for North Africa. We like the open terrain, variety of early to mid war odd tanks and vehicles, and the huge cast of interesting forces and match ups! We’ve been building the traditional Afrika Korps and 8th Army forces of course, but we are also eyeing Italians, Free and Vichy French, Americans, Indians, ANZAC,s, etc. Ultimately, we feel it is just a fun theater to paint, collect and game. Once again, I can highly recommend “Duel in The Sun”! It really is a well written and researched book, that will bring hours of gaming enjoyment to your gaming group. Head on down to your friendly, local gaming store and pick up a copy today!

Pictured above are some of our troops on our terrain, as well as pictures from Paul “Tobruk” games. We have used a lot of Artizan, West Wind and Perry infantry figures and Warlord vehicles. The buildings are from Crescent Root and the terrain mats are from Cigar Box Battle of course! Many thanks to Paul, who ran an epic, multi-table Tobruk game last year and took a bunch of great pictures which he has graciously shared with us. Thank you!

Good Gaming – Cory