Battle Of Tannenburg Line (BT,EF,TP)

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 12, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic

Battle Of Tannenburg Line (BT,EF,TP)

By the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army was on the offensive, pushing westward toward the Baltic Sea in a bid to crush the German Army Group North. One of the most critical defensive positions for the Germans lay in northeastern Estonia, on the Tannenberg Line. This line was anchored by the Sinimäed Hills — a series of three steep elevations known as Lastekodumägi, (Children’s Home Hill), Põrguaugu (Hell’s Hole), and Tornimägi (Tower Hill). These hills provided a natural defensive barrier, and the Germans had heavily fortified them with bunkers, trenches, and artillery positions.

Facing them was the Soviet Leningrad Front, under the command of Marshal Leonid Govorov, tasked with breaking through the Tannenberg Line and opening the path to the Baltic Sea. Soviet forces included powerful infantry, armor, and artillery units, determined to seize the high ground. However, the rugged terrain and Axis fortifications posed a formidable challenge. Swamps, forests, and anti-tank obstacles complicated the Soviet advance, making coordinated assaults difficult. The German defenders, led by General Johannes Frießner, included regular Wehrmacht units and elite Estonian Waffen-SS forces, fighting tenaciously to hold their positions on the Sinimäed Hills. These defensive positions offered a clear advantage, giving the Axis the ability to rain down fire on Soviet units struggling to traverse the open ground and difficult terrain below.

The Soviet assault began on July 25, 1944, with fierce fighting erupting on the hills. Over the course of the battle, Soviet forces launched wave after wave of attacks, while the Axis defenders, outnumbered but well-entrenched, fiercely resisted.

The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

12 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 6

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Estonia

Year:

1944

Theater:

Eastern Front

Summary:

Objectives:

12 VP’s, including some territorial objectives:

Lastekodumägi, Põrguaugu mägi and Tornimägi are Permanent Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.

Terrain:

Includes a series of three steep elevations known as Lastekodumägi, (Children’s Home Hill), Põrguaugu (Hell’s Hole), and Tornimägi (Tower Hill). These hills provided a natural defensive barrier, and the Germans had heavily fortified them with bunkers, trenches, and artillery positions.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 5 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 3 Armor, 3 Artillery

Special Rules:

Russian command rules are in effect

Allied Strategy:

Axis Strategy

Author:

raikster

Link:

Download Map

Battle in the Schnee Eifel

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 10, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Special Weapons, Strategic, Winter, Winter Wars

Battle in the Schnee Eifel

The Battle of Schnee Eifel occurred in December 1944 during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive on the Western Front in WWII.

The Schnee Eifel, a forested ridge in eastern Belgium, was held by U.S. forces, mainly the 106th Infantry Division. On December 16, 1944, German forces launched a surprise attack, encircling and overwhelming two regiments of the 106th. After intense fighting and lacking supplies, around 6,000 American soldiers were forced to surrender—one of the largest mass surrenders of U.S. troops in the war.

The loss was a setback for the Allies but did not stop their eventual counteroffensive and victory in the Ardennes.

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 6

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Historical

Location:

Belgium

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Battle of the Bulge

Summary:

Objectives:

6 VP’s, plus three Permanent Medal Objectives for the Axis (Turn Start) for Roth by Prum, Auw by Prum and Pleialf), plus a Sudden Death Exit hex for the Axis

Battlefield:

Winter countryside with a hilly ridge across the center, with scattered forests, and a road encircling almost the entire battlefield.

Troops:

Allies – 8 Infantry including two Engineers, 3 Armor (Tank Destroyers), 2 Artillery

Axis – 9 Infantry including one Machine Gun unit and five Elites, 2 Armor, including one Tank Destroyer, 1 Artillery

Special Weapons: Tank Destroyers, Machine Guns.

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Historically, the Allies got routed, so the primary goal here is to protect the permanent medal objectives and the exit hex.

2. Get your two Artillery into play quickly and use them as much as you can to take out the enemy.

3. Your two Tank Destroyers on the left flank should move forward, in and around to defend the city of Roth by Prum, which is a Permanent Medal Objective.

4. Your other Tank Destroyer and two Artillery should defend the city of Blelaif, which is another Permanent Medal Objective.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Historically, the Axis had the largest victory of the war in this battle, so speed and attack are your principle tools.

2. Get your Tank Destroyer and Infantry on the right flank mobile and engaging the enemy as soon as you can.

3. On your left flank, you have overwhelming advantage with your four Infantry units, and one Armor. Use it to overwhelm the defenses at the town of Blelaif to gain the Permanent Medal Objective.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Wardin

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 10, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Winter, Winter Wars

Wardin

Wardin_Allies-center

Wardin_Allies-left

Wardin_Allies-right

Wardin_Axis-center

Wardin_Axis-left

Wardin_Axis-right

Wardin_full

Wardin_Allies-left

December 19th, 1944:

At Wardin, in the frozen hell of December ’44, the Germans came on hard, hunting roads and junctions like wolves looking for a gap in the line. They wanted Bastogne, and Wardin was one of the doors they had to kick in to get there.

The men of the 28th Infantry Division didn’t run. They fought. Outgunned and pressed by armor, they traded ground for time—yard by bloody yard—smashing the enemy’s schedule and making him pay for every step forward. Wardin fell, but the Germans lost something far more valuable: momentum. That stand helped slow the drive on Bastogne and proved once again that determined American soldiers, fighting smart and stubborn, could wreck even the best-laid German plans. That’s how you beat an enemy—make him bleed for every mile.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s: 7

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter

Location:

Belgium

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Battle of the Bulge

German Name:

Unternehmen Wacht Am Rhein

Summary:

This is a fun and exciting scenario as the Americans attempt to hold off a German onslaught of tanks and infantry in the Battle of the Bulge.

Objectives:

Seven Medals. There are also four Temporary Objective Medals for the Germans to reach, and a Temporary Majority Objective for the five hexes of Wardin.

Battlefield:

Winter conditions, with roads, rivers, and ridges cutting through the battlefield with the town of Wardin dominating one section.

Troops:

Allies – 7 Infantry including 2 Engineers, 6 Armor including a Tank Destroyer, 1 Artillery

Axis – 7 Infantry, 6 Armor including 2 Half-Tracks, 1 Artillery

Special Rules:

1. Winter Combat rules – two hex armor movement

2. Reduced Visibility rules – only hit with Grenades unless in Close Assault

3. Tank Destroyer (2,2,2,2), and hits Armor on Stars

4. Half-Tracks – move 0-2 and attack (2,2)

5. The river is frozen, but impassable.

6. Winter Combat Cards – play the Winter Combat cards in addition to regular Combat cards, two per player

7. Allied mines

Overall Strategy:

1. The Winter Weather rules and Limited Visibility rules totally change the strategy for this battle. Any units which are not in Close Assault can only hit when they roll a Grenade. That means the the distance power of Armor and Artillery is really limited, as they too, can only hit on grenades. In fact, Artillery is quite useless in this scenario unless they are right next to you. So all planning goes into how to mass your troops for multiple Close Assault attacks at once during a single turn.

2. The name of the scenario is Wardin, and for good reason. The five-hex town dominates the right half of the battlefield. And the battle to control the majority of its hexes becomes a focal point for those forces.

Allied Strategy:

1. Defend the four Temporary Medal Objectives.

2. Defend the town of Wardin from take-over by the Germans.

3. The enemy Tank Destroyers are glass cannons which can be quickly eliminated because they are also hit when Stars are rolled. (They also hit when they roll Stars.)

4. The Half-Tracks only roll two-dice each time, so use them in conjunction with your forces. They should not go out to battle alone.

Axis Strategy:

1. Overall objective is for you to breakthrough on both fronts, through the minefield and the town of Wardin to the Objective Medals near the battlefield edge. If you can keep both of these objectives in mind you can put more pressure on the enemy as they will have to both defend their own forces from getting destroyed, but also defend the Medal Objectives on the edges of the battlefield.

2. The two Axis Engineers can be either used to clear the minefield on your left flank, or even better, they are best used to clear the town of Wardin, because they can attack the forces within the town hexes with full power since Engineers can ignore battle terrain restrictions. Don’t be distracted by the minefield; get them over to Wardin!

3. You can obtain two goals with one Armor unit if you move it onto the Temporary Medal Objective just past the town of Wardin. From that vantage point you will both get the medal as long as you stay on the hex and still be within range to attack the Allied forces with the town of Wardin.

4. You have many forces stuck on the back row behind the row of forest hexes. You need to move them out of either side, and also just directly through the forest so that you can get into the battle in the center section.

Author: Days of Wonder

URL

Pointe du Hoc – Offensive (near) Perfection!

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 6, 2024 | 1944, Beach, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Smackdown

Offense - 99% - Defense - Zero

This is something that has never happened to me before. I played a scenario ( Pointe du Hoc), and the enemy only hit me once the entire game. I scored all four medals and lost only one infantry figure.

Here is the final scene:

As you can see, here is the final action, and a Barrage card that I had been saving for just the right moment. I reasoned that before I engage the troops against a well-defended enemy in the bunker, I should hit them once and hopefully reduce their strength. But the dice roll was pretty lucky – to say the least! (In reading the Dice Percentages section (https://generalhowitzer.com/strategy-dice-percentages/ ) the odds are only 7% of rolling a complete wipeout of four infantry who have retreat available to them.)

And that ended the first round of the engagement. Never happened before. And of course, if it is ever going to happen it will be on a short scenario like this with only 4 medals.

What I did to prepare for this engagement is assemble all of my troops under the ridge on the left half of the board. I did not breach the ridge until I was safely away from the Artillery on the right, and I had a perfect set of cards (Assault, Infantry Assault, Move Out!, and then section cards for just left and center).

Then I was good to go, and things paid off for me, plus a good dose of luck.

Q: What do you think? Has something like this happened to you?

Kalamata Waterfront

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 22, 2024 | 1944, Memoir 44, New Flight Plan Exp Pack, Scenario

FROM BORGO A MAZZANO TO BARGA

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 16, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Italy, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

From Borgo a Mazzano to Barga (BrEF)

After victories in the Massarosa, Camaiore and Monte Prana, the Brazilian troops were directed towards the village of Borgo a Mozzano. Aware in advance of the location and capabilities of the Germans in this stretch of the Gothic Line, the US command ordered the Brazilians to follow a course parallel to the Serchio River. While US troops proceeded on the opposite side of the river. By entering the Serchio River valley the FEB could avoid the expected German defences of the Gothic Line. It was discovered however that much of the line in that area had already been abandoned by the Axis, who had retreated about 9 miles to the north.

Further on, crossing the river, the FEB came across a factory of ammunition and aeronautical materials in Fornaci, which the Germans abandoned intact (but tried to recover in a counterattack.) The FEB then headed north to liberate Gallicano and Barga. In the process of doing this they clashed with the battle hardened veterans of the 148th German Division.

5 VP’s

Card Balance:
Allies – 5
Axis – 4

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Italy

Date:

Sept. – Oct. 1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Brazilian Expeditionary Force

Code Name

Context:

Historical

Summary:

Objectives:

5 VP’s

Battlefield:

Battlefield has a road and a river cutting across each other in an x-shape, with a couple of bridges.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 1 Armor

Axis – 8 Infantry

Allied Strategy

Axis Strategy:

This scenario is something a little different. It’s an Axis tactical withdrawal across a bridge and then a regroup in a factory. A well deployed Behind Enemy Lines Card for the Axis can deliver a crushing blow on the Smoking Snakes on the Axis right flank. This can then be followed up with a dash across the bridge. [ Marcus Wallis ]

Battle Reports:

Author:

Icles Rodriquez & Memoir 44 Japan

Link:

Click Here