Battlefield Strategy

Control of the Center

One of the principles of movement which is true in both Memoir 44 and chess is ‘control of the center’. If you have control of the central battlefield, as commander, you are able to swing your troops from one side to the other, if needed.

In a number of scenarios the middle section is not simply flat terrain. It is often occupied by hills or forests. Especially in the case of hills, in Memoir44, as in real life, control of higher elevation always gives an advantage to whomever controls it. And of course, the forests provide excellent cover for all units.

This is even more so in the case when the hills are in the center of the battlefield. From there your troops can dominate the whole section. This is especially true if you are controlling those hills with armor. Even better are forests on hills. From there, they can be a controlling force for much of the battlefield.

 

Defensive Terrain Considerations:

Some terrain lends itself much better to defensive positioning. In many of the scenarios with hedgerows, you have to very carefully move around in such a way to gain minor territorial advantages which can accumulate over the course of a game to a hit here or there.  This will gradually degrade the enemy to the point where there is a sudden breakthrough, and it seems as if the entire force is collapsing at once.  But it only seems that way, as they were losing the power to respond as their units were hit again and again from better placed units in good defensive positions.

Section Analysis:

Read the battlefield terrain before you begin.  Determine where you are strong and weak.  Examine the enemy positions. Where are they strong and weak?  Your goal, as stated by Sun Tzu, is to “attack the enemy where they are weak and you are strong.”  Seems simple, but can easily be overlooked in the heat of war.

Special Territorial Objectives:

Your battlefield movement can be influenced by potential territorial medals. This increases the pressure on your opponent, because they have to defend not only against losing units, but also must prevent you from moving ever closer to the territorial medal.

 

 

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