Coldstream Hill

by GeneralHowitzer | Aug 20, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Mobile Artillery, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Coldstream Hill

Hill 309 in Normandy wasn’t just another patch of dirt—it became Coldstream Hill because the 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards, stormed it on July 30, 1944, and planted their flag in blood and steel. This was part of Operation Bluecoat—launched while the Germans were shuffling their tanks west to plug the hole blasted open by the Americans in Operation Cobra.

Make no mistake—this wasn’t some grand “battle” on its own, but a vicious, close-quarters fight inside the bigger Normandy campaign. Grabbing that hill gave the British a grip on key ground in the bocage, helped stabilize the line, and reminded the Germans that every inch of France would be paid for with their retreat. Coldstream Hill stood as proof that the Guards didn’t just hold tradition—they made history under fire.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

12

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Somewhere

Year:

Sometime

Summary:

Victory Points:

12 Medals

Terrain:

Open terrain with a few hills and towns

Troops:

Allies – 10 Infantry, 8 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 3 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allies:

1. Big picture strategy: You need to get your troops untangle, uncluttered, and mobilized before the Axis show up. They have a few advance troops you will have to deal with as your mobilize your troops.

2. Get your engineers into action so that they can clear those mines which are blocking your trooops from getting out.

Axis:

1. Big picture strategy: You need to do two things at once; get your forces down the battlefield as quickly as you can, and also use your advance forces to attack, harass, and slow down the enemy’s advancement.

Author.

URL

Drop in the Night: 82nd

by GeneralHowitzer | Aug 11, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, D-Day, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Drop in the Night: 82nd

In the dead of night before D-Day, the All Americans of the 82nd Airborne didn’t tiptoe into Normandy—they dropped in like thunder. C-47s hauled them over the Channel, and under flak, wind, and pure hell, they jumped straight into the enemy’s lap. The plan was simple: grab the crossroads, smash German lines of communication, and choke off any counterattack toward Utah Beach.

They got scattered to hell and gone, fighting in small bands with nothing but guts and rifles. But by God, they took Sainte-Mère-Église—the first French town freed—and held the line until the rest of the army came ashore. It was messy, it was costly, but it damned well crippled the Germans and locked down the flank for the greatest invasion in history.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

8

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy

Year:

1944

Summary:

Victory Points:

8 Medals, including some objectives for capturing towns, bridges, and permanent medals for blowing up bridges.

Terrain:

there is a lot of terrain here with the battlefield being a breakthrough that is 17 rows deep, composed of countryside, rivers and marches.

Troops:

Allies – 10 elite Infantry units

Axis – 10 Infantry, 1 Armor

Allies:

1.

Axis:

1.

Author.

URL

Battle of Dubno – Brody

by GeneralHowitzer | Aug 4, 2025 | 1941, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Overlord Game, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

Force vs. Finesse: Battle of Dubno - Brody

The Battle of Dubno–Brody (June 23–30, 1941) was one of the largest tank battles of World War II, fought during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa between Germany’s Army Group South and the Soviet Southwestern Front.

Results:

German Panzer forces decisively defeated the numerically superior Soviet armored units, destroying or capturing thousands of tanks.
Soviet forces suffered catastrophic losses and were forced into retreat.

Strategy:

The Germans used fast, coordinated Panzer thrusts and encirclement tactics to neutralize Soviet armor.
Soviet forces, hampered by poor coordination, mechanical breakdowns, and weak communications, failed to execute an effective counteroffensive.

General Howitzer summarizes its impact:
That win at Dubno–Brody blew the road wide open for the Germans into Ukraine and straight toward Kiev. It showed the Soviets their armor doctrine was a mess, and they paid for it in steel and blood. But they’re stubborn—those losses lit a fire under them, and the lessons they learned there would come back to bite the Germans hard later in the war.

24 VP’s (!)
[ This is a ‘break-lord’ scenario ]

Card Balance:

Allies –

4 cards for each half of the board

Axis –

6 cards for each half of the board

Complexity:

5

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Russia

Year:

1941

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Codename:

Operation Barbarossa

Summary:

Objectives:

24 VP’s, plus many other conditions. Read the PDF special rules.

Terrain:

Countryside with rivers and roads

Troops: (check the PDF for specific the specific troop deployments)

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Author:

Willem Boersma

Complete Scenario Link:

https://generalhowitzer.com/bsk-pdf-manager/battle-of-dubno-brody/

Battle of Abbeville

by GeneralHowitzer | Jun 28, 2025 | Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Battle of Abbeville

The Battle of Abbeville was a hard-hitting brawl that showed just how unprepared we were for the kind of fast, mechanized war the Germans were waging. After their lightning dash to the Channel, the Germans dug in around Abbeville, threatening to cut off our northern forces. The French, led in part by de Gaulle and his 4e Division Cuirassée, threw in the big boys—those heavy Char B1 bis tanks and Hotchkiss H35s and H39s. The Brits rolled up with Matilda I and II tanks, tough as hell but slower than molasses in January.

We launched a series of assaults to punch the Germans off those Somme bridgeheads, but coordination was lousy, the terrain was brutal, and too many tanks broke down before they even fired a shot. The enemy wasn’t sitting on their hands either—they had Panzer IIIs and IVs guarding the line, with light Panzers filling in the gaps and 88mm Flak guns ripping through anything we sent their way.

Despite brave pushes and a few local breakthroughs, we couldn’t dislodge them. The Germans held the high ground, held the bridges, and held the initiative. That failure didn’t just cost us a patch of land—it helped seal France’s fate. The Germans kept their corridor, tightened the noose, and by the end of June, France was on her knees.

Abbeville wasn’t the biggest battle, but it damn sure mattered. It reminded us that guts alone wouldn’t win this war—we needed better gear, tighter coordination, and leaders ready to move fast and hit hard.

~~ General Howitzer

10 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 6

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

France

Year:

1940

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

10 VP’s, including two Temporary Objective Medals.

Battlefield:

A countryside with a stretch of river across one end.

Troops:

Allies – 10 Infantry, 3 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 6 Armor, 2 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1. Big Picture Strategy: You have 5 Armor to the enemy’s none, but they have three well-entrenched Artillery, which give them a strong defensive advantage. You will have to bring your two Artillery forward to provide some balance; at the same time, using your Armor to attack their many Infantry and keep them back as you move your Artillery into range.

Axis Strategy:

1. Big Picture Strategy: Consolidate your forces and remain in a defensive stance. You have an Artillery advantage. Use it.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Tightening the Noose

by GeneralHowitzer | Jun 2, 2025 | 1939, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

Tightening the Noose

Tightening-Noose_whole

Tightening-Noose_right

Tightening-Noose_left

Tightening-Noose_center

“Listen up! In August ‘39, the Red Army under that tough son of a gun, Zhukov, went to work along the Khalkhin-Gol River—right on the border of Mongolia and Manchuria. The Japanese wanted to push their luck and bite off a chunk of land, but Zhukov wasn’t about to let that happen.

He took tanks, infantry, artillery, and air power, and he tightened that noose like a hangman on payday! Those Japanese 23rd Division boys didn’t know what hit ‘em—no way out, no way to retreat, just the iron hammer of the Soviets crushing them from every side.

The result? A total victory for Zhukov and his Red Army, driving the Japanese back and showing the world that these Russians could fight, surround, and destroy like nobody’s business. That’s the kind of operation I like, boys—surround ‘em, cut ‘em down, and don’t stop until the job’s done!”

~~ General Howitzer

8 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 4

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Mongolia

Year:

1939

Theater:

Eastern

Campaign:

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

8 VP’s, plus Territorial Objective Medals for each side

Battlefield:

Countrsyide with a road and a river stretching up and down the battlefield

Troops:

Allies (Soviet Union) – 9 Infantry, 9 Armor, 3 Artillery

Axis (Japanese ) – 10 Infantry, 2 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Download PDF

Operation Crusader

by GeneralHowitzer | Jun 1, 2025 | 1941, Armor, Artillery, Big Guns, Breakthrough Game, Desert, Infantry, Location: Libya, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Mobile Artillery, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Mediterranean

Operation Crusader

“Listen up, men! In November ‘41, the British Eighth Army—under the command of General Auchinleck—thundered across the sands of the Marmaric Desert like a damn hurricane, aimed straight at those Italian-German armored divisions. Cunningham’s boys rolled out with 700 tanks, ready to grind the Germans and their Italian buddies into the dirt and lift the siege at Tobruk.

For three weeks, it was a seesaw slugfest around Sidi Rezegh, with that garrison at Tobruk busting out to join the main show. The German Panzergruppe fought like devils, but they were no match for the sheer weight of British armor and artillery.

Rommel might have been a cagey fox, but even he had to admit defeat when he saw the Eight Army rolling over his battered panzers. He ordered the survivors to pull back to Gazala, leaving Tobruk free and the British in charge of the field. That’s what happens when you bring overwhelming firepower to a knife fight, boys—you don’t just win, you drive the enemy clean out of the desert!”

~~ General Howitzer

12 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 6

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Desert

Context:

Historical

Location:

Libya

Year:

1941

Theater:

Mediterranean

Campaign:

Tobruk Breakout

Codename:

Operation Crusader

Summary:

Objectives:

12 VP’s, plus a Territorial Objective Medal for the Axis.

Battlefield:

Desert with a ridge of hills in the center of the battlefield.

Troops:

Allies – 10 Infantry, 8 Armor, 3 Artillery (Big Guns and Mobile)

Axis – 10 Infantry, 5 Armor, 3 Artillery (including a Flak88 and a Big Gun)

Allied Strategy:

1. Make use of your Tobrouk forces and especially the Artillery as much as possible.

2. You have a massive force gathered together in the center section. You will need to peel off a few to deal with the isolated Axis forces at hex 6 and 7 on your right section, and the rest towards the Axis forces on the other side.

Overall Strategy

1. Both sides have to make immediate decisions on overall strategy. Do the Allies move straight for Tobruk, or the Axis main force, or do they clean up the battlefield from A to M as they go? [~Admiral Frigate]

2. There are four Oasis hexes; two primarily in Allied territory and two mainly in the Axis territory. This is a long scenario, so take the opportunity to restore your units back to strength.

Axis Strategy:

1. If you can surround and wipe out the forces at Tobrouk quickly, then your forces can swing around and assist your brothers at arms further north.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link: