Hitler was confident of a short campaign as his German army crashed over the Russian border in 1941. Heroic defence by the massive Soviet armies slowed the Nazi advance. The brave, solid, and loyal Soviet soldiers endured dreadful battle conditions and their equipment was unsophisticated but functional, much like the troops themselves. What they lacked in quality they made up for the sheer numbers in their troops and equipment available to them – as Josef Stalin famously said “Quantity has a quality all of its own.”

The army list can easily be reconfigured to suit your playing style and when you are ready to expand your force there are plenty of options in the ever-growing Bolt Action range of miniatures and vehicles.

The world’s first paratroopers to be used in large numbers, the German Fallschirmjager were at the tip of the spear when war broke out in 1939. They led daring assaults on strategic targets, such as the fortress at Eben Emael, enabling the following panzers to overrun Europe.

Adolf Hitler’s aggressive campaign across the world ensured his troops would face the enemy in all environments and climates. None were more unforgiving than the harsh winters on the Eastern Front or in the Italian hills and mountains. The resourceful German Lander often had to make do with little more than their standard-issue woollen greatcoat gloves, scarves and a steely determination to not stave off only the cold, but also be able to fight and win.

The British 8th Army comprised of men from around the British Commonwealth – Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians and Polish troops all joining their British counterparts in the Western Desert. Facing the combined threats of Italian & German forces, searing temperatures and the inhospitable terrain they emerged victorious.

With the Infamous 88, a Panzer III tank and 30 + men to command this is the German Afrika Korps Starter army you must have!

There are few fighting forces that can rival the fearsome reputation of the United States Marine Corps. Indeed they can trace their ancestry back to the Revolutionary War in the 18th Century, serving all over the globe up to the present day.

To stem the aggression from Germany, Italy and Japan, Britain and her Commonwealth put huge numbers of men into uniform in WWII. Her small but professional army was swallowed up defending a worldwide Empire and soon her forces were shattered and in full retreat, culminating in crushing reverses at Dunkirk and in Singapore.

One of the best-equipped armies in the world at the time, the Americans took on, and beat, their German, Italian and Japanese adversaries.

From their role in the ill-fated Operation Market Garden to the crossing of the River Rhine and the push into the German homeland these battle-hardened fighting men have been immortalised in film and television.

New Plastics, New Starter Set. Introducing the shiny new Starter Set for the Bolt Action game, this time featuring German Grenadiers against a brand new plastic infantry set, the elite US Airborne: 'Band Of Brothers’

With trademark red beret and armed with Sten and Bren Guns the British Airborne were determined and tenacious, as only the British Tommy can be.