Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 1, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Tactical, Theater: Western

Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents

Listen up. Hauts-Vents was a knuckle of roads west of St-Lô—the kind of crossroads that decides a campaign. The Germans threw together Kampfgruppe Heintz from the 275th Infantry to sit on it. We pushed XIX Corps—30th and 9th Infantry up front with 3rd Armored’s CCB—to rip that hinge off the door.

They fed in Panzer Lehr on the 10th and counterattacked hard on the 11th. Didn’t matter. We took Hill 91, smashed their thrusts, and CCB seized the Hauts-Vents crossroads. Result? Their screen cracked, their line started to sag, and St-Lô’s fall became a question of hours, not weeks.

Lesson: take the crossroads, break the spine, keep moving. Momentum wins France.

~~ General Howitzer

5 VP’s

4 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

France

Year:
1944

Theater:

Western Front

Summary:

The asymmetrical starting pattern of this game makes for an interesting and challenging battle for both sides.

Objectives: 5 Medals
The town of La Rocher has two hexes worth one medal each.)

Terrain:

Countryside

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 2 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 7 Infantry, 1 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1. Since you only need five medals to win, the town of Le Rocher is of great tactical value for you. It is close, and it is worth two victory medals. When you take out the two Infantry guarding it, and move into the town, you will have four of the five medals needed to win.

Axis Strategy:

1. While Hill 91 needs to be protected, you should consider moving your Infantry from the hill in the direction of Le Rocher in order to lend some support against the forces of 120th Infantry.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Sword Beach (Breakthrough)

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 23, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Beach, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, D-Day, Infantry, Location: France, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Sword Beach (Breakthrough)

The Battle of Sword Beach took place on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) — the easternmost of the five Allied landing beaches during the Normandy invasion. It was assigned primarily to British forces, with support from Free French commandos, as part of Operation Overlord.

By nightfall on June 6, the Allies had:

Landed over 28,000 troops
Secured a beachhead about 5 miles deep
Linked up with Canadian forces from Juno Beach
Held their positions despite German counterattacks

Listen up, men — Sword Beach wasn’t just another patch of sand; it was the gateway to Caen and the key to cracking open Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on the eastern flank. At dawn on June 6th, the British 3rd Infantry hit that beach under a storm of lead and steel. Mines, wire, and concrete — it didn’t matter. They went straight through it, methodical as a tank rolling downhill.

While naval guns thundered from offshore, the Royal Engineers cleared obstacles like veterans of a hundred storms. And those Free French commandos — they fought like lions, linking up with the boys from Pegasus Bridge to lock down the flank before Jerry could regroup.

The Germans tried to hit back with their 21st Panzer Division, and for a moment, they even reached the coast — but our airmen and artillery smashed them flat. By nightfall, the British held Sword, linked up with the Canadians at Juno, and built a bridgehead five miles deep.

Caen didn’t fall that day — but Sword showed the world how an army fights when it’s trained, disciplined, and led with purpose. That’s how you take a beach — with steel in your hands and fire in your gut.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

12

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Beach

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy

Year:

1944

Codename:

Operation Overlord

Summary:

12 Victory Points:

12 Medals, including Permanent Medal Objectives for Allied control of Casino Riva Bella, Strong-point Cod, and Strong-point Trout. Also a 2-Medal Temporary Objective for which ever side controls the Orne River and Canal. Finally, massive 3-Medal Temporary Objective for whomever controls the two Hexes representing Caen. Initially the Axis player gets these three medals at game start.

Terrain:

Countryside and Beach

Troops:

Allies – 8 Infantry including 3 Elites, 5 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 3 Armor, 2 Artillery

Allies:

Big Picture Strategy: Like all beach scenarios, the number one primary goal for your forces is to Get Off the Beach!. Do not pause to capture the three frontline enemy medals. You can encircle them and then attack from all sides.

1. Once you have gotten your forces out of the water, then you can encircle the enemy at the three Permanent Medal Objectives at Casino Riva Bella, Strong-point Trout and the Chateau. Those medals are almost a given, so do not lose an excessive number of forces attacking them before you are out of the water.

3. Get your Artillery out of the water as soon as possible. They will be vital to breaking through the strongholds of the enemy on the beach. It will be especially important to take out the Artillery in the bunker as soon as possible, or it will destroy your forces.

Axis:

Big Picture Strategy: Get your forces forward. Bring the battle to them.

1. You have Armor stuck in your lower left flank which you need to get forward to the beach as quickly as possible. Practice some delaying techniques for a couple of turns to allow your Armor forward. You will be in a much better position to repel the enemy forces.

2. Two approaches to deal with the enemy forces in your lower right flank:

Option A: Eliminate the enemy forces on your lower right flank along the Canel de Orne as quickly as possible so that you will not have to worry about a rear-action attack. Then you can move your forces forward towards the beach.

Option B: Surround them and slowly pick them off throughout the game, saving the coup-de-grace for the end, when you can kill off the final Infantry for one Medal, and then move onto the bridge for two Medals. This will earn you three! medals in a single turn. Save it for last to win the round.

Author: Days of Wonder

URL

The Tatsinskaya Raid

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 22, 2025 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern, Winter

The Tatsinskaya Raid

By late December ’42, Paulus’ 6th Army was choking inside the Stalingrad pocket, and the Soviets slammed the door tighter with Operation Little Saturn. They tore through the Italian 8th Army like paper, and Badanov’s 24th Tank Corps drove a steel fist 150 miles deep into German lines. His T-34s rolled right onto Tatsinskaya airfield, smashing up Junkers 52s that were the lifeline to Stalingrad.

The Germans scrambled the 11th Panzer and 306th Infantry to hit back, and they hit hard. Badanov’s tanks took a pounding, but he held that airfield for four bloody days before clawing his way back to his own lines. The cost was high, but the result was clear: the German relief effort was crippled, Stalingrad was left to rot, and the mighty Wehrmacht had been dealt another hammer blow on the Eastern Front.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

10 including the Airport Permanent Objective Medal

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Historical

Location:

Russia

Year:

1942

Codename:

Operation Little Saturn

Summary:

Victory Points:

10 Medals, including the airport Permanent Medal Objective

Terrain:

Winter terrain

Troops:

Allies – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Axis – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Allies:

1. Your forces have a massive armor advantage over the Axis in this raid scenario. You need to coordinate your efforts and arrive at the frontlines of battle together.

2. Your very first challenge is to deal with the Artillery and Infantry hidden in the forest right in the front center of the battle field. Until you deal with them, they will hamper all of your attack efforts.

3. If you can deal with the Artillery quickly, before the Axis bring down their other units, you can gain a couple of medals very quickly, as that Artillery is the key defensive point on this end of the battlefield. But if you do not have the cards and forces to take it out quickly, you will destroy several units during the attack. [Athafil, Italy]

4. The airport is a Permanent Medal Objective. You don’t need to stay on the hex, so you can just grab it and then leave to a more defensive position.

Axis:

1. This is primarily a defensive scenario for the Axis. You need to engage the enemy, but if you attempt to battle the massive armor forces out in the open, your forces will get decimated.

2. Your forces are stuck behind the forests. You need to get them, especially the armor, forward as quickly as possible to support your advance forces which are defending the airport.

3. The airport is a Permanent Medal Objective for the enemy. Hold it as long as you can. Make them pay for it with a lot of units.

4. Your Artillery in the center frontline is your strongest asset. Use it at every opportunity.

5. You have many assets stuck in the forests and marches in the back. Get them out as quickly as possible and forward to provide additional attack strength and support with your forward Artillery.

Author.

URL

The Battle of Sokolovo

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 13, 2025 | 1943, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern, Winter

The Battle of Sokolovo

Historical Summary

8 Medals plus for Axis, the death of the heroic leader

Card Balance:

Allies (Czechoslovak)- 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Historical

Location:

Year:

1943

Theater:

Easter

Campaign:

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

8 VP’s, plus special rules (see the PDF).

Battlefield:

Winter countryside with a river, roads, hills.

Troops:

Allies – see PDF

Axis – see PDF

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Tigers in the Snow

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 13, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Overlord Game, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western, Winter

Tigers in the Snow

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“Tigers in the Snow”—that wasn’t just a clever title, it was the actual truth of what happened in the Ardennes. Peiper and his SS boys came charging with their big, shiny King Tigers, the heaviest brutes the Germans could throw on a battlefield. They thought those monsters would smash through anything in their way.

But tanks don’t win wars by themselves. The snow was deep, the roads were narrow, and fuel was scarce. Our boys—American infantry, artillery, and tankers—kept hammering them from every side, day after day, bleeding them dry. Those great Tigers ended up stuck in the woods, running on fumes, while our men boxed them in.

In the end, Peiper’s vaunted force had to abandon their precious tanks right there in the snow. The lesson? I don’t give a care how thick your armor is—when you run into Americans who won’t quit, you’ll find out that guts, brains, and relentless pressure beat steel every time.

13 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 9

Axis – 9

Complexity:

5 (Overlord)

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy, France

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Normandy

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

13 VP’s, including a bridge Territorial Objective Medal.

Battlefield:

Winter countryside with a river, roads, hills, and many hedgerows.

Troops:

Allies – 13 Infantry, 10 Armor, 4 Artillery

Axis – 14 Infantry, 8 Armor, 4 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Opportunity at Falaise

by GeneralHowitzer | Aug 31, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Special Weapons, Tactical

Opportunity at Falaise

Operation Tractable was no walk in the park—it was a slugging match to crack open Falaise and slam shut the German retreat. After Totalize stalled at Hill 195, General Simonds didn’t waste time crying over it—he drew up a new plan and hit them again on August 14.

This time the Canadians rolled in daylight, the 4th Armoured hammering from the west, the 3rd Infantry grinding from the east. Smoke screens masked their advance, Kangaroos hauled men through fire, and German anti-tank guns spat death every step of the way. The enemy counterattacked hard, slowing progress, but the Canadians kept pushing. By the 16th, they broke into Falaise, and after two more days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the city was theirs.

It wasn’t the end, but it was the first crack in the Falaise Pocket. With Falaise in Allied hands, the jaws were closing on the German 7th Army—and they knew it.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

5

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy

Year:

1944

Campaign:

Battle of Normandy: Operation Tractable

Summary:

Victory Points:

5 Medals, including a temporary medal for the town of Falaise.

Terrain:

Countryside with a river running across two thirds of the battlefield.

Troops:

Allies – 8 Infantry, 4 Armor

Axis – 8 Infantry including 1 Anti-tank gun, 1 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allies:

1. This scenario has a unique feature for the Allies, in that they can layout smoke screens on three hexes. It is probably best to put those in front of the closest enemy forces so that they cannot fire, while you prepare your attack.

2. Your best opportunity as Allies will be in your right flank. You can attack the units on the hill, and then begin putting pressure on the central section, and push towards the Medal in the town. The units in the woods in the center section are particularly hard to kill as the fordable river causes you to lose one attack dice, so you will be hitting the woods with just 1D per close assault Infantry unit.

Axis:

1. Your weakest area will be your left flank. With the river to protect the rest of your forces, you will need to get your armor to the left side in order to defend against the forces coming at you on that side.

2. You have an Anti-tank Infantry unit on the hill, which you can use to hit any Armor that comes your way, since it will also score a hit with Stars.

3. Protect the Medal Objective in the town. Do not allow the hex to remain empty if the enemy Armor gets near it.

Author.

URL