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?

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?

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.

Juno Beach – The Kind of Dice I Want

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 21, 2024 | Beach, Memoir 44, Smackdown

When you are defending as Axis in a beach scenario, if you can’t totally destroy the enemy in a dice throw, the next best thing is to throw a Flag to force a retreat.

Like this:

This dice throw which was limited to only 2D, had one Infantry hit, and one Flag; the perfect combination. Degrade their forces, and then push them further back onto the beach, to give you more time to hit them again.

Afterall, for beach scenarios it is all about slowing down the Allied advance. And in this case, (if you can’t get a hit, then at least) Flags are your friend!

Agree or not?

Best First Move – Japanese Counter-Attack

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 17, 2024 | Memoir 44, Smackdown

Take a look at this start for the Allies in Japanese Counter-Attack.

Given the hand I have, and all other battlefield considerations, what is the best move here?

Normally, you will want to soften up the enemy first thing with an AirPower Card. I was about to do that, when I remembered this:

No AirPower is allowed with only a 2 of night vision. This also excludes using the artillery for any section cards.

And without artillery, all of the center section cards are pretty unusable, as I only have one infantry in the center, which cannot attack alone.

And at this stage of the game, using Their Finest Hour, would be wasted.

So what to do?