Pointe du Hoc – Offensive (near) Perfection!

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 6, 2024 | 1944, Beach, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Smackdown

Offense - 99% - Defense - Zero

This is something that has never happened to me before. I played a scenario ( Pointe du Hoc), and the enemy only hit me once the entire game. I scored all four medals and lost only one infantry figure.

Here is the final scene:

As you can see, here is the final action, and a Barrage card that I had been saving for just the right moment. I reasoned that before I engage the troops against a well-defended enemy in the bunker, I should hit them once and hopefully reduce their strength. But the dice roll was pretty lucky – to say the least! (In reading the Dice Percentages section (https://generalhowitzer.com/strategy-dice-percentages/ ) the odds are only 7% of rolling a complete wipeout of four infantry who have retreat available to them.)

And that ended the first round of the engagement. Never happened before. And of course, if it is ever going to happen it will be on a short scenario like this with only 4 medals.

What I did to prepare for this engagement is assemble all of my troops under the ridge on the left half of the board. I did not breach the ridge until I was safely away from the Artillery on the right, and I had a perfect set of cards (Assault, Infantry Assault, Move Out!, and then section cards for just left and center).

Then I was good to go, and things paid off for me, plus a good dose of luck.

Q: What do you think? Has something like this happened to you?

Dug in at Sidi Omar – Armor Cat & Mouse Play

by GeneralHowitzer | Dec 2, 2024 | Desert, Memoir 44, Smackdown, Tactical

Sidi Omar - Cat & Mouse Games

So here is the situation. Allies have a superior armor advantage on the right flank – as soon as the two units from the center move over there. But they don’t want to move in too quickly. The reason is that in desert tank scenarios, it is usually the one that strikes first wins. So even though the Allies have four-figure Armor units, they want to proceed carefully.

So even though the selected armor could move up one more hex and fire at the Axis armor, it may not be wise. A good card for the Axis would allow all three on the right to reply, plus there is another Panzer unit lurking in the center section.

So the question is, do the Allied armor wait until they are all grouped together on the right to attack? Or do we go for a quick hit, and maybe take out the lone enemy armor unit?

Sword of Stalingrad

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 30, 2024 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Battle Maps, Countryside, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Urban

Sword of Stalingrad

Stalingrad. July ’42 to February ’43. One of the bloodiest, ugliest slugfests in the history of war—and the place where Hitler’s dreams started bleeding out in the snow.

The Germans charged in hard, aiming to take the city and crack open the Soviet underbelly on their way to the Caucasus oil fields. They bombed Stalingrad to rubble, thinking they could steamroll the Soviets in the ashes.

But rubble favors the defender—and the Soviets fought like wild dogs in every street, every cellar, every damn staircase. House-to-house, room-by-room, tooth-and-nail. The Germans took ground, lost it, and bled for every inch.

And then came the real punch: a Soviet counterattack that closed the trap, surrounded the German 6th Army, and squeezed until there was nothing left but cold, hunger, and surrender.

Stalingrad wasn’t just a Soviet victory—it was the beginning of the end for the Nazi war machine. From that frozen hellhole, the Red Army started marching west—and they didn’t stop till they hit Berlin.

You want to talk grit? Talk Stalingrad. That’s what happens when an enemy pushes too far and meets a defender with nothing left to lose.

~~ General Howitzer

17 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 9

Axis – 10

plus Combat Cards

Complexity:

5

Conditions:

Urban

Location:

Russia

Year:

1942

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Context:

Historical

Summary:

This is a massive and complex scenario with many strategic elements that makes for an exciting and challenging game.

Objectives:

17 VP’s (!), including numerous territorial medals

Battlefield:

This battlefield has countryside on the Axis side, and urban factories, towns, and other buildings on the Allied side. It is a quite complex battlefield.

Troops:

Allies – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Axis – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Allied Strategy

1. Historically, the Russians were defending themselves from the Nazi’s, so much of this scenario is spent behind sandbags, attacking the enemy where you can, to degrade their offensive capabilities.

2. You need to protect the territorial medals which are available to the Axis, should they gain control of various railroad stations, the central hills, or the factory complexes. At the start of the game, you will be granted control of these and the three medals that go with them. But as the game proceeds it will be increasingly difficult to defend and keep this territory and its medals.

3. Your left flank is the most medal-rich area for the Axis to target. So be prepared for an attack there. Manage your cards so that you can respond to aggression.

Axis Strategy

1. This game is won by making your forces mobile. Invade the city hexes with your infantry, and get your armor onto the Allied back row to start snatching those territorial medals.

2. There is a large hill and woods complex in the center section which is worth two VP territorial medals. Control it with both infantry and armor.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Battle Maps, Vol. 3

Link:

Liberation of Paris – How Infantry Protects Armor

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 24, 2024 | Memoir 44, Smackdown

When the Allies are attacking Axis on the left flank of Liberation of Paris, they are slowed down by the barb wire rolls. The best way to get rid of barb wire is by having the armor roll on top of it. But the problem with that is that it puts them right next to the enemy infantry in the woods, who can then roll 2D attacks on them.

One way to avoid one of those attacks is to place one of the Allied infantry in the woods right next to the enemy. See this pic:

So because of the rule of Close Assault the infantry at D5 cannot attack the armor. It must attack, if anything, the infantry at D4. Thus the armor is protected by the infantry. And because the Allied infantry is in the woods, they will be protected from a full force 3D attack as well.

Do you agree with this strategy? Why or Why not?

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]

Prokhorovka_overview

Prokhorovka_Axis_L1

Prokhorovka_Axis_L2

Prokhorovka_Axis_L3

Prokhorovka_Axis_R1

Prokhorovka_Axis_R2

Prokhorovka_Axis_R3

Prokhorovka_fullLeftFlank

Prokhorovka_fullRightFlank

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:

Liberation of Paris – Attack or Hide?

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 22, 2024 | Memoir 44, Smackdown

Attack or Defend?

So, historically the Axis lost this battle, and according to the DoW Battle Reports, the Allies win 75% of the time. So it is a pretty tough battle for the Axis. So what should the Axis do in this situation? Go up against the full force of the Allies on the right flank, of four Armor and two Infantry? Or practice a strategic retreat and live to fight another day?

I have tried fighting and trying to get some early hits on the Allied forces. The problem is that even with some successful hits, there are just too many of them left to fight. So this time, I decided to retreat into the woods, and fight from a better defensive position in the woods at d8.

Was this the right call or not?

What do you think?

So here is what happened in the next several turns. I think that I held up well, since I was firing from a protected position, and his armor was in the open:So they line up against me, and took out one armor in the town on the lower right section.

Then I fired back and took out two of his armor figures.

Next turn, one of his armor units has been eliminated, and I am still there!

Fortunately, I was blessed with an abundance of right section cards to keep up the attack.

The battle’s not over yet, but I am feeling pretty good, as I am getting better results than I normally do as the defending Axis in this scenario.

And here is the current score:

So, I am one medal behind. Will probably lose, but remember that it is a two-round game, so as long as I do better than usual as Axis, I have a good chance of winning the whole game.