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

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/

Bain Tsagan Heights

by GeneralHowitzer | May 4, 2025 | 1939, Armor, Artillery, Big Guns, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Special Weapons, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

Bain Tsagan Heights

“Listen up, boys! In early July ‘39, over in the dusty wilderness of Mongolia, the Japanese thought they’d pull a fast one at the Bain Tsagan Heights—cross the river, flank the Soviets, and wrap the whole show up in a bow. But Zhukov wasn’t about to let those plans play out!

Zhukov hit back hard and fast, bringing in tanks, artillery, and infantry to pound those Japanese troops into the dirt. They fought like hell on those heights—bayonets flashing, guns roaring, tanks rolling—and the Soviets broke that flanking move right in half.

This wasn’t just a local scrap, boys—it was a turning point. That Soviet victory at Bain Tsagan sent a clear message: you mess with the Red Army, you pay in blood. It helped push Japan to shift its focus away from Siberia and toward the Pacific, changing the whole game for the coming war.

So remember this—when you see the enemy making a move, you don’t wait—you smash him before he knows what hit him! That’s the way to win!”

~~ General Howitzer

10 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Siberia

Year:

1939

Theater:

Eastern

Campaign:

Khalkin Gol

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

10 VP’s, including four! objective medals; ( two ridges and a 2-medal bridge)

Battlefield:

Countryside with a river cutting through the Allies left flank, and long road cutting at an angle through the terrain directly to the two-medal bridge.

Troops:

Allies (Russia) – 12 Infantry, 9 Armor, including two Armored Cars, plus two Supply Trucks, 1 Big Gun!

Axis (Japan) – 12 Infantry, 7 Armor, including 3 Tankettes, 2 Armored Cars, 1 Artillery.

Allied Strategy:

1. Big Picture: Allies are initially on the defense, due to the attack by the Japanese. But they have enormous armor resources at their disposal on their left flank to bring to bear upon the battle in both the left flank and the center section. And historically, this is what General Zukhov did. In fact a pivot by the Allied Armor on the left flank over the ridgeline at river will allow them to reign down terror upon the Japanese forces assaulting the Remisova Hill.

2. Your puny Armor and Infantry forces in the right flank are pretty useless, as they need to cross the river before they can engage the enemy. But if they can at least move forward one hex, so that they do not get pinned against the backwall, that will be sufficient.

3. Guard the bridge crossing the river. It is worth two medals.

4. You have a Big Tom Gun, which has massive range of 8 hexes, and allows you to zero in on forces in a hex and increase your attack strength by another 1D. Use it early and often.

Axis Strategy

1. Big Picture Strategy: this was a long-shot for the Japanese historically, which they lost, but they have been known to win this scenario. Use your Tankettes, which have good movement, to get into the battle and score some wins. Advance forcefully with your infantry and overwhelm them using your Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine might combined with your Bonzai speed.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

BTH_map_breakthrough_full

BTH_FlankLeft

BTH_Center

BH_FlankRight

Rats in a Factory

by GeneralHowitzer | Apr 29, 2025 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Overlord Game, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern, Urban

Rats in a Factory [ Overlord ]

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Rats-Factory_center2

Rats-Factory_center1

“Rats in a Factory”—Stalingrad, late ’42. You want to know what hell looks like? This was it.

The Germans thought they could storm into those Red October, Barrikady, and Tractor factories like it was just another checkpoint. What they walked into was a damn grinder. Concrete, steel, smoke, and blood—that’s what those factories became.

The Soviets didn’t fight for blocks—they fought for bricks, for stairwells, for every bolt and beam. One room would belong to the Germans, the next to the Soviets. Sometimes they were fighting in the same building—on different floors. It was war in a cage, and every inch came with a cost.

The term “Rats in a Factory” wasn’t poetry—it was reality. Men crawled, fought, and died like animals in a twisted maze of rubble and twisted metal. **Snipers in shadows, ambushes around corners, grenades down stairwells—**no rules, no rest, no mercy.

And guess what? The Soviets held. They bled the German 6th Army dry, right there in that industrial slaughterhouse. That stand helped snap the spine of the Nazi push in the East.

You want a lesson in raw, unbreakable resolve? Look no further. That’s what it means to fight like you’ve got nothing left to lose—and no intention of backing down.

~~ General Howitzer

18 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 9

Axis – 10

Complexity:

5

Conditions:

Urban

Context:

Historical

Location:

Stalingrad

Year:

1942

Theater:

Eastern

Campaign:

Summary:

This is an Overlord game.

Objectives:

18 Medals including both Permanent and Temporary Medal Objectives.
The 5 road hexes exiting the Axis player’s baseline are Permanent Medal Objectives for the Allied forces. The Allied player gains the Medal when he occupies the hex at the start of his turn.
The 5 road hexes on the Allied player’s baseline are Permanent Medal Objectives for the Axis forces. The Axis player gains the Medal when he occupies the hex at the start of his turn.
The 9 factory hexes of the Dzerzhinskiy Tractor Factory form a Temporary Majority Medal Objective worth 2 Medals for whoever controls the majority of its hexes.
The 7 factory hexes of the Red Barricades Factory form a Temporary Majority Medal Objective worth 2 Medals for whoever controls the majority of its hexes.

Terrain:

Urban factory complex with any factory and city hexes.

Troops:

Allies – 21 Infantry, 6 Armor, 3 Artillery

Axis – 20 Infantry, 12 Armo, 4 Artillery

Special Rules:

1. Temporary Medal Objectives

2. Permanent Medal Objectives

3. Temporary Majority Medal Objectives

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Prokhorovka (Kursk)

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 22, 2024 | 1943, Armor, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

La Prokhorovka ( Kursk ) [Overlord]

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Prokhorovka_Axis_R2

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The Battle of Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943, was one of the largest tank clashes of World War II, fought between Soviet forces and Germany’s II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Kursk. The Soviets launched a massive counterattack to halt the German advance, resulting in brutal close-quarters fighting.

General Howitzer summarizes the results:

Prokhorovka was the kind of fight that strips war down to raw courage and cold steel. On July 12, 1943, the Germans drove forward with their elite SS Panzer divisions, thinking they’d punch a clean hole through the Soviet lines and finish the Kursk offensive on their terms. Instead, they ran headfirst into a Soviet counterattack that came on like a tidal wave of T-34s.

This wasn’t long-range dueling — this was knife-fight range, tank against tank, guns blazing at fifty yards, machines ramming each other like charging bulls. The battlefield turned into a cauldron of smoke, fire, and shattered armor. And in that chaos, the Russians did what mattered most: they stopped the Germans cold.

The Panzers never got their breakthrough. Kursk slipped from Hitler’s grasp. And Prokhorovka proved once again that in war, the side that holds its ground with grit and fury — not just fancy equipment — is the side that turns the tide.

12 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 10

Axis – 10

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Russia

Year:

1943

Theater:

Eastern

Campaign:

Battle of Kursk

Codename:

Operation Citadel

Summary:

Objectives:

12 VP’s

Battlefield:

A countryside with the River Pesl cutting vertically through the left section.

Troops:

Allies – 8 Infantry, 15 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 11 Infantry, 14 Armor

Special Rules:

1. The River Psel is fordable.

Allied Strategy:

1. You have two Artillery placed right in the center of the battlefield hidden in the town hexes. They will be much more useful to you, if you can move them forward a hex or two.

2. Move your Armor unit which is in the forest hex just to the left of the city of Prokhorovka up into the forest hex which is exactly in the center of the battlefield. It will give you a magnificent view of the battlefield in all directions.

3. Your Armor units stuck in the right corner, need to come forward to be prepared for attack in that section.

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW

1. This is a 12 medal game so there is a lot of strategic placement which will pay dividends for you to win later on in the game.

2. So grab the forest and town hexes as quickly as possible, so that you can attack the enemy forces from a safe location. There are so many tanks in this scenario that if you leave any of your forces out in the open, they will get wiped out.

3. There are so many tank figures in this game that as many as 50 armor figures could get wiped out before the game is over.

Axis Strategy:

1. The Axis have an attack vector on the right section. They can move their Infantry two hexes forward and capture the woods in the very center of the battlefield. Also, your Armor in the right need to be move forward quickly and placed into the forest hexes to be prepared to attack the enemy.

2. Get all of your Armor which is sitting out in the open in the center section into defensive positions, or they will be wiped out.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Ponyri (Kursk)

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1943, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Eastern Front, Infantry, Location: Russia, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

Ponyri (Kursk)

The Battle of Ponyri took place in Ponyri, a small town in the Kursk Oblast of Russia, during World War II. It occurred in July 1943 as part of the larger Battle of Kursk, one of the biggest tank battles in history.

General Howitzer summarizes:

Ponyri was a slugfest in the mud and blood of Kursk—like a Stalingrad on a smaller scale. The Germans threw their Panzers and infantry at that rail junction with everything they had, trying to break through to Kursk, and the Soviets met them with steel, fire, and sheer grit. House to house, trench to trench, they held the line. The enemy never got past it—and Ponyri became the anvil that broke the German spear.

7 VP’s

Card Balance:

Russian – 4

Axis – 6

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

Russia

Year:

1943

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Battle of Kursk

Codename:

part of Operation Citadel

Summary:

Objectives: 7 VP’s.

The key to winning Ponyri is controlling the town. It is worth two VP’s. Whichever side controls the town will cause the opponent to waste a lot of troops trying to gain control.

Terrain:

Countryside with forest and hills on one side, mines on the other, and the five-hex town of Ponyri in the center.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 4 Armor, 3 Artillery

Axis – 8 Infantry, 7 Armor

Allied Strategy:

1. The town of Ponyri is worth two VP’s. You begin with control of it, but since it has 5 hexes, you should take control of the central hex of Ponyri so that you have majority control. This will force the enemy to waste a lot of forces throwing themself against this well-defended town.

2. The Allied role in this scenario is primarily defensive. Use your sandbags and be slow to leave them. But if the enemy begins pummeling your armor on the left flank, you may need to consider a more aggresive approach, if your cards allow it.

3. You have three artillery. Take the time to move them forward one row early in the battle while you still have time, so that they can improve their hit rate against the enemy.

Axis Strategy:

1. Because the town of Ponyri is worth two VP’s! , you should attempt to get your infantry into it pretty quickly, before the enemy occupies all town hexes. But only take it, if you can keep them there, as they will be surrounded by the enemy on all sides.

2. On your left flank, use the forest and hills to advance your infantry under cover. If you try to make a direct assault in the open countryside, they will get decimated.

3. On your right flank, you have an armor superiority, so you can place yourself behind the mines and continuously degrade the enemy’s strength. But be aware of the artillery on the right. If the Allies move it one row forward, your armor directly behind the row of mines will be subject to 2D rolls against your forces.

4. When the enemy is sufficiently degraded, you may consider breaching the mines. (Expect some hits, but if you use your elite forces that begin with 4 armor figures, you should have a sufficient survival rate to continue the attack.) If you find the opening, you can push through for direct assaults against the enemy armor.

Battle Reports:

( percentage of Allied Victories):

54%

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Soviet_troops_and_T-34_tanks_counterattacking_Kursk_Voronezh_Front_July_1943

Battle of Kursk
(Copyright: www.mil.ru)