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.

Axis:

1.

Author.

URL

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

Tanks, Tanks, Tanks!

by GeneralHowitzer | Aug 19, 2025 | Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Mobile Artillery, Scenario, Strategic

Tanks, Tanks, Tanks!

What can I say? There’s a lotta tanks in this battle!

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

12

Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 8

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Fictional

Location:

Somewhere

Year:

Sometime

Summary:

Victory Points:

12 Medals

Terrain:

Open terrain with a few hills and towns

Troops:

Allies – 7

Axis – 8

Allies:

1.

Axis:

1.

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/

Wittmann’s Final Battle

by GeneralHowitzer | Jul 29, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Special Weapons, Strategic, Theater: Western

Wittmann’s Final Battle

Wittmann’s last ride came on August 8, ’44, when the Canadians kicked off Operation Totalize south of Caen. He rolled out in his Tiger, thinking he’d stop the Allied push cold—but this wasn’t the Eastern Front, and the Allies weren’t amateurs anymore.

Somewhere near Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil, his luck ran out. A Sherman Firefly—packing that damn fine 17-pounder—put a round through his armor and ended the fight before it started. Wittmann and his crew never saw it coming.

That day didn’t just take out Germany’s star tank ace—it proved the tide had turned, and our boys could kill Tigers just as fast as they came at us.

~~ General Howitzer

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

France

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Battle of Normandy

Codename:

Operation Totalizer

Summary:

Objectives:

6 VP’s

Battlefield:

Countryside

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 4 Armor

Axis – 8 Infantry, 2 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1. Big Picture Strategy: You need to move fast during the cover of night. Every turn there is a possibility of getting a star which will increase daylight and extend the range of the enemy artillery.

2. You have four special forces units which can very quickly move in range to attack.

3. There are two objective medals in the right flank. You can keep pushing your forces in that direction as you have opportunity.

Axis Strategy

1. Big picture strategy; you will do well to delay and allow the presence of daylight to assist your defensive forces with your artillery. Do not rush out to attack. Allow several turns to take place so that you get more daylight and thus more range for your artillery.

2. Wittmann’s battalion is the four-tank unit with the special medal. It can ignore the first retreat flag, which can assist you in close quarters battles with enemy armor.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Resource:

BGA