Road to AdeptiCon – Slovak Rapid Division For the Bolt Action National GT

We have about two months left to get ready for AdeptiCon, the best minis tabletop gaming con in the USA! I have signed up for combat patrol and the Bolt Action US National event on Friday / Saturday. For the combat patrol I’m bringing US Marines – that was a pretty easy decision.

For the national event I’ll be bringing my Slovak Rapid Division. This one wasn’t as easy. Initially I was going to paint up a French Senegalese Tirailleur force with a Char B1 Bis in support, but I lost a lot of time over the holidays and I have 50 dudes with a tank sitting in front of me to paint – not gonna happen.

Instead I’m going to bring my Slovak Rapid Division force. I used these dudes at AdeptiCon last year (indeed I barely finished them for it – dullcoting in the hotel room) in the Tank War event. It didn’t go to well for me. I hope to do better this time. (I did pull off ‘Pass and Review’ or best overall army, though. That was super sweet and validated everything.)

This force is probably my favorite army of all the games we play. I have put in more time, research, and effort to making these dudes look just like they were in the field than any other force I’ve done. Sourcing the models is fun, because they look different from the other nations’ uniforms, equipment, etc.

I am going to paint a few models up for AdeptiCon to get closer to finishing out this force. I’m adding in some more mobility and AT firepower. Let’s break down the list and talk about each element.

Overall, this is a 1250 point list using the German selector. I have played a lot of German lists since I started playing BA, and I’m not super enthused about it mostly because I wanted to try out a minor powers list, but a lot of the elements of this list are only available in the German list. I didn’t include any LMGs because they’re not using the BA.net rules. The max dice cap is 16.

German Reinforced Platoon		Order Dice: 16
Officer
First Lieutenant  (page: 20)		Regular	85
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	First Lieutenant
	with Pistol	6"	1	n/a	Assault
1	Infantry (equipped as modeled)		-	-

I believe it was on Down Order podcast where Dave talked about always using a First LT. when you’re using regulars. It makes a ton of sense. Otherwise when you start taking pins it’ll be impossible to do anything. I’ve been using this for the last few times I’ve played. I might actually make this dude mounted on a horse per the latest errata/FAQ because it is cool!

Infantry Squads
Kradschützen squad  (page: 22)		Regular	90
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	NCO with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
5	Infantry with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
	Entire squad mounted upon motorcycles and sidecars				Motorbikes

These are new for the list. I purchased a bunch of motorcycle troops from Warlord and I’m painting them now. The Slovak army did employ a number of motorcycle troops, mostly in recon duties. I love the look of them. Haven’t used them yet in a game, so I hope they do decent. I’m trying to have a mobile force – everything is either mounted or in a truck.

Heer Infantry squad  (page: 20)		Regular	110
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	NCO with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
9	Infantry with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
	Entire squad mounted upon bicycles				Bicycles

I purchased some bicycle troops from Dixon Miniatures and they look sweet. He produced Japanese infantry on bicycles which match up pretty well with a head swap. Bicycles are a little zanier than motorcycles – you have to give a run order or they dismount. If they receive a pin they also dismount. On roads they can run 24” which is pretty cool.

The Slovak Rapid Division did use many bicycle troops, especially in their first major engagement at Lipovec. It is an opportunity to paint some really cool models.

Waffen-SS Cavalry squads  (page: 26)		Veteran	150
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	NCO with Cavalry Carbine
9	Infantry with Cavalry Carbine
	Cavalry Carbine as Pistol	6"	1	n/a	Assault
	Cavalry Carbine as Rifle	24"	1	n/a
	Entire squad mounted upon horses				Cavalry

I’ve had these guys painted for a while and they look amazing. They’re mostly Crusader German Cavalry with headswaps. I am not super enthused at using them as SS cavalry, mostly because they were not that elite nor that invested in the war, however it’s the only way I can use them in this list. I also don’t really like the minor nations’ having cavalry that can’t engage and don’t have rifles.

Heer Infantry squad  (page: 20)		Regular	100
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	NCO with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
9	Infantry with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
Heer Infantry squad  (page: 20)		Regular	100
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	NCO with Rifle	24"	1	n/a
9	Infantry with Rifle	24"	1	n/a

These dudes don’t have bikes or motorcycles, just riding in trucks. I’m hoping to use them in outflank to do some damage and take some objectives. None of my main infantry squads are really that survivable except for the cavalry, so I have to be really careful with them. If they outflank, they’ll likely not have HQ support.

Heavy Mortar team  (page: 33)		Regular	75
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Spotter
1	Heavy Mortar team	18"-72"	1	HE	Team (4 men), Fixed, Indirect fire, HE (2D6)

I’ve been playing BA for a few years, I’m a Sarge, I have a ton of armies, and I haven’t yet used a heavy mortar. I think I’ve used a light mortar once. The medium mortar is a staple in my diet and I’m swaying from that a bit to use this heavy mortar.

I have another secret – I have used smoke maybe a handful of times. We know this was extremely valuable to infantry commanders yet we hardly ever use it. I plan to really hammer the smoke with this heavy mortar – 5” of low visibility to cover my advances. I’ll try to combine this unit with outflanking to crush a flank and really drive into the enemy line.

Sniper team  (page: 32)		Regular	50
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Sniper team (rifle)	36"	1	n/a	Team (2 men), Sniper
Flamethrower team  (page: 32)		Veteran	65
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Flamethrower (infantry) team	6"	D6	2	Team (2 men), Flamethrower
Anti-tank rifle team  (page: 30)		Regular	30
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Anti-tank rifle team	36"	1	2	Team (2 men)

I’ve used these weapon teams quite often. I’m using a tank with only light AT, so I want an ATR and a flamethrower to help out. I also don’t have a ton of volume of fire from my infantry squads (and I don’t have a howitzer), so the flamethrower will help take down enemy squads. The Sniper will be there to attempt to take out observers, sergeants, and spotters.

Artillery
50mm Pak 38  (page: 41)		Regular	75
Qty	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	50mm Pak 38 gun	60"	1	5	Team (3 men), Gun shield, Fixed, HE (D2)

Once Army Group South encountered heavier tanks the Germans realized they had to provide better AT guns to their allies. The Slovak army received Pak 38s and 88s. I love the 88, but it is just too many points to put on the field. I settled for the Pak 38. I purchased this one from Army GroupNorth Miniatures.

Armoured Cars
Motorcycle with Machine-gun sidecar  (page: 0)		Regular	40
Qty	Vehicle	Type	Transport	Damage Value
	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Motorcycle with Machine-gun sidecar	Wheeled	-	6+	Recce, Turn on the spot
	Forward facing MMG	36"	4	n/a	Front arc

Going with the mobility of this force I chose a cheap MMG bike for my armored car. The Slovak army had quite a few of these. I love the mobility and the firepower to support my infantry advance.

Tanks and SP Guns
Panzer 35(t)  (page: 45)		Veteran	162
Qty	Vehicle	Type	Transport	Damage Value
	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Panzer 35(t)	Tracked	-	8+
	Turret-mounted light anti-tank gun	48"	1	4	HE (D2)
	Co-axial MMG	36"	4	n/a
	Hull-mounted MMG	36"	4	n/a	Front arc

Ahh, the LT vz 35. This was the backbone of the Slovak tank battalion before being lost to attrition and mechanical problems, being replaced with 38s and some 40s. It is a pretty basic light tank. I chose to bring it as a veteran to fill out some points, mostly, but it’ll help get it activated as I’m sure it’ll be an AT round magnet.

Raupenschlepper Ost  (page: 66)		Regular	39
Qty	Vehicle	Type	Transport	Damage Value
	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
	Raupenschlepper OST	Tracked	up to 12	6+
	Tow: Light or medium howitzer; light, medium or heavy anti-tank gun; light or heavy anti-aircraft gun
Transports
Truck  (page: 64)		Regular	39
Qty	Vehicle	Type	Transport	Damage Value
	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Truck	Wheeled	up to 12	6+
	Tow: Light howitzer; light or medium anti-tank gun; light anti-aircraft gun
Truck  (page: 64)		Regular	39
Qty	Vehicle	Type	Transport	Damage Value
	Weapons	Range	Shots	Penetration	Special Rules
1	Truck	Wheeled	up to 12	6+
	Tow: Light howitzer; light or medium anti-tank gun; light anti-aircraft gun

I have to finish painting two Opel Blitz trucks. The Slovak truck pool was mostly made up of Praga RVs and some Tatra vehicles, but I have not been able to find anything even at 1/48 scale. They did have some Opels and definitely had RSOs, so I don’t mind using them. The truck will carry a squad each and likely a team.

So that is a long-winded review of the force I am taking to AdeptiCon’s US National GT. I have to finish painting a squad of motorcycle riders, bicyclists, two trucks, an MMG motorcycle, flamethrower team, and a Pak38 and I should be set to go! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.