General Howitzer’s Field Guide to Memoir 44

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GENERAL HOWITZER

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The Battle of Sokolovo

The Battle of Sokolovo

The Battle of Sokolovo

Historical Summary

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

card

Card Balance:

Allies (Czechoslovak)- 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter

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

 

medal allies

Allied Strategy:

1.

medal axis

Axis Strategy

1. 

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

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Opportunity at Falaise

Opportunity at Falaise

Opportunity at Falaise

scenario_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

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

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 (for the Allies, if both hexes are occupied)

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

Special Rules:
1.  Allies layout Smoke Screen on first turn

2.  Axis have SWA’s – Anti-Tank Guns hit Armor on Stars (when they do not move)

3.  Axis have one Elite Infantry – move two and battle

4.  Allies have four Mechanized Infantry (Kangaroos) – move two and battle

5.  The Laizon River is fordable, but costs the attacker a -1D in attack power. 

6.  Allies move first

medal allies

🔥 Winning as 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.

3.  Note that in order to gain the Temporary Medal for control of Falaise, you must occupy BOTH hexes.  

medal axis

🔥 Winning as 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.

Scales-Allies-Weighted

Author.

URL

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Tanks, Tanks, Tanks!

Tanks, Tanks, Tanks!

Tanks, Tanks, Tanks!

Drop in the Night

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

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

12

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Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 8

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

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

medal allies

Allies:

1. 

medal axis

Axis:

1.

Author.

URL

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Wittmann’s Final Battle

Wittmann’s Final Battle

Wittmann’s Final Battle

scenario_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

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

 

medal allies

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.

medal axis

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.

3.  You have two Anti-Tank units which – if it doesn’t move – can hit Armor when it rolls a Star.  Keep them ready, if the enemy tries to get near your Medal Objectives.  

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Resource:

BGA

Place Battle Reports on a scenario page, or specify its scenario name in the shortcode.

Capture of Parry

Capture of Parry

Capture of Parry

Parry Island was a textbook assault—our 4th Marines hit the beach with tanks rolling, guns blazing, and the Navy pounding from offshore. The enemy was dug in and ready to die, and they did—every last one of them. In just over a day, we turned their fortress into a smoking ruin. That win locked down Kwajalein and put us one step closer to Japan’s front porch. Fast, brutal, and effective—just the way war ought to be fought.

~~ General Howitzer

6 VP’s

card

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Beach &  Jungle

Context:

Location:

Marshall Islands

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Marshall Islands

Codename:

Operation Flintlock

Summary:

Objectives:

6 VP’s

Battlefield:

Beach.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 6 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 9 Infantry, 2 Armor, 1 Artillery

 

medal allies

Allied Strategy:

1.  

medal axis

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Resource:

Campaign Book, Volume 2

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The Defense of Wanssum Woods

The Defense of Wanssum Woods

The Defense of Wanssum Wood

The Defense of Wanssum Woods in 1945 was part of Operation Snowman, a late World War II engagement in the Netherlands. German forces mounted a stubborn defense in the wooded area near Wanssum to delay the Allied advance.

General Howitzer has some thoughts on this battle:
Wanssum Woods was a thick, muddy brawl—Germans dug in deep, using every tree and shadow to stall us. The Brits and Canucks had to fight for every damn yard, ambush after ambush. But they didn’t quit. They rooted the enemy out, inch by inch, and kept the advance rolling into northern Germany. Forest or no forest, when you’re relentless, no defense holds.

6 VP’s

card

Card Balance:

Allies (Great Britain) – 6

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter Forest

Context:

Location:

Netherlands

Year:

1945

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

6 VP’s

Battlefield:

Combination of woods and winter.

Troops:

Allies – 13 Infantry

Axis – 9 Infantry

 

medal allies

Allied Strategy:

1.  

medal axis

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Resource:

Campaign Book, Volume 2

Place Battle Reports on a scenario page, or specify its scenario name in the shortcode.

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