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:

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

🔥 Winning as Allies

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 aggressive 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.

🔥 Winning as Axis

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)

Red Barricades Factory (Stalingrad)

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Eastern Front, Infantry, Location: Russia, Memoir 44, Scenario, Sniper, Theater: Eastern, Urban, Winter

Red Barricades Factory (Stalingrad)

By October ’42, the Germans were throwing more and more of their 6th Army into the meat grinder at Stalingrad. On the 22nd, the 79th Infantry, backed by engineers, tanks, and guns, went charging across the railroad embankment straight at the Red Barricades Factory.

It was hell—Russian snipers in every shadow, tanks dug in like fortresses, fire pouring in from every angle. The Germans clawed their way forward inch by inch, breaking the Soviet line by sheer weight. But after all that blood and fury, by nightfall they had only managed to seize a corner of the factory. A costly gain, proving again that in Stalingrad, every brick was paid for with lives.

~~ General Howitzer

10 VP’s

Card Balance:
Allies – 3
Axis – 5

Complexity:

Conditions:

Urban / Winter

Location:

Stalingrad

Year:

1942

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Battle of Stalingrad

Summary:

The scenario is complex battle with a lot of different terrain, both urban and winter, that complicates troop movement. There are also snipers which add an extra element of suspense.

Objectives:

10 VP’s , including 3 Objective Medals for either side

Battlefield:

Battlefield is the Red Barricades Ordnance factory in the winter, surrounded by rubble.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 2 Armor, 2 Artillery, and 2 Sniper

Axis – 9 Infantry, 4 Armor, 2 Artillery, and 1 Snipers

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. You can quickly grab the Medal Objectives which are very close to you in the city ruins and the factory, and then try to hold them for the game. This will give you an early advantage and force the enemy to come to you, and fight against you while you are in a well-protected positions.

2. You have two Snipers which can fire five! hexes away. You can use them to harass the enemy and force them to pay attention to the Sniper, even though it doesn’t count as a VP, thus diverting energy away from other units.

3. Use your forward infantry to attack the enemy before they destroy you. At two hexes away, you should be able to get some good hits in first.

4. The strategic reality is that your forward units will get destroyed rather quickly, so the real battle will take place along the second front in rows 3,4,5 where you have armor protected behind sandbags, and city ruins for your infantry.

5. Give careful consideration before moving your armor away from their sandbags. The enemy outnumbers your armor two to one, and once they become mobile, will be coming for yours.

6. This scenario makes it easy for Allies to quickly grab 4 medal objectives by entering the town and factory hexes, but the trick comes in trying to hold them. The enemy will push through your first line of defense pretty quickly, and then you will need to hold your second line on rows 3,4,5, in order to prevent the enemy from taking out your units on those town and factory hexes.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Mobility is the first order of business when you start. In fact, at the start of the game, the Axis have 16 units, and not a single one can retreat. [ Admiral Frigate ] You have a lot of firepower stuck against your back wall, and hidden behind the hills. You need to move it out and begin attacking the Allies immediately.

2. You have three no-retreat Infantry units that are only two hexes away from the enemy. You either need to bring your Armor up between the enemy and your infantry, or, better yet, move in and attack the enemy at close assault range.

3. Once you get some mobility going to avoid the no-retreat attacks, you can use your Artillery to degrade the forward enemy units which are barricaded in the City Ruins.

4. Use your Sniper to good effect. They can move two and battle against Infantry, hitting on grenade, infantry, or star dice faces, increasing your odds of a hit to 67%.

5. Most of the middle game of this battle will take place with your forces arrayed across the sixth row, while the Allies are defending from rows 4 and 5. So once you take out the advanced Allied forces, you can overtake those same city ruins and launch your attack from there against the Allies.

Battle Reports
( percentage of Allied victories ):

57%

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Gates of Moscow (Typhoon)

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1941, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Eastern Front, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Theater: Eastern, Winter

Gates of Moscow (Typhoon)

Operation Typhoon was the German military campaign to capture Moscow during World War II, launched in early October 1941 as part of their broader invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). The offensive aimed to deliver a decisive blow by taking the Soviet capital before winter set in.

German forces, under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, advanced with two large army groups and made initial gains, encircling and destroying significant Soviet forces. However, stiff Soviet resistance, logistical challenges, and worsening weather slowed the German advance. Muddy conditions in October, followed by the onset of harsh winter, further hampered their progress.

By December ’41, the Germans thought they had Moscow in their grip—but Zhukov and his Siberian wolves had other plans. Hardened for winter, those Red Army troops stormed forward in a counteroffensive that drove the Wehrmacht off the city’s doorstep. It was the first time Hitler’s war machine got its teeth kicked in, proof that Blitzkrieg had limits when it slammed into a determined foe with steel in its spine and snow in its veins.

~~ General Howitzer

7 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

Conditions:

Urban

Location:

Russia

Year:

1941

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Barbarossa

Codename:

Operation Typoon

Summary:

The Gates of Moscow is a complex scenario which results in a brutal battle with many digital ‘casualties’ on both sides.

Objectives:

7 VP’s, including two Objective Medals for Axis

Terrain:

Frozen field with Kaluga river cutting vertically and a ridge of hills cutting across horizontally.

Troops:

Allies – 10 Infantry, 2 Armo, 2 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 8 Armor, 1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Big picture strategy for the Allies. This is a defensive scenario, so stay behind your sandbags and defend the two medal objectives. Move your Artillery and Armor forward into the battle.

2. Although there is a large Axis force massed against the Allies, the Axis side starts back against the game border. Allies can use this to their advantage, by turning retreat flags into deadly kills. Target the Axis forces which have no retreat available to them. This will increase your odds of a kill by another 17%. This increases the likelihood of an armor hit from 33% to 50%, and an infantry hit from 50% to 67%.

3. Attack Vector Left Flank: The enemy forces are congested. If you have a good set of cards, you can move in, and clear out many of the forces, including the armor.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Big picture strategy for Axis is to disperse your bunched-up troops and concentrate your forces on the front-line enemy to eliminate them as quickly as possible before they score too many hits against your forces.

2. Keep pushing forward as you attack with the goal to eventually be to capture the bridge hex medal (often as a final decisive move to end the game).

3. This is a long scenario of 7 medals, so you will have to take out the centrally located enemy Artillery. It is sand-bagged on a hill, but it needs to be attacked quickly.

4. Beware of your armor trapped behind the row of trees on your right flank. Do not try to take out the enemy infantry in the woods, because they will inflict heavy penalties on such an attempt. Best option is to get them into the tree line and then out into the open for more fruitful attacks.

Battle Reports (percentage of Allied victories):

34%

(These are historical records. The poll on the right is new results.)

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

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