Counter-Attack at Arras

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1940, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Counter-Attack at Arras

The Counterattack at Arras occurred on May 21, 1940, during the Battle of France in World War II. It was a British and French counteroffensive aimed at halting the rapid German advance during the Blitzkrieg.

Launched by British forces (the 1st Army Tank Brigade and elements of the 50th Infantry Division) and supported by French infantry, the attack targeted German positions around Arras, where General Erwin Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division was advancing. The Allies hoped to disrupt German momentum and relieve pressure on retreating Allied forces.

The counterattack initially achieved surprise, with British Matilda tanks proving highly effective against German anti-tank weapons. However, the Germans quickly regrouped, bringing in heavy artillery and air support to repel the attack. The Allies were eventually forced to withdraw due to superior German numbers and coordination.

General Howitzer summarizes the battle’s impact:
The counterattack didn’t win the day, but it sure kicked sand in the Germans’ gears and bought the time we needed to pull our boys out at Dunkirk. It was a hard lesson in early tank warfare—fast and mean, but still full of cracks if you knew where to hit.

Background

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

France

Year:

1940

Theater:

Western Front

Campaign:

Battle of France

Codename:

Operation Frankforce

Summary:
This scenario has a set of hills on one flank, and a row of forests on the other flank, with a three-hex town in the center. It is around these obstacles that the battle ensues.

Objectives:

Six VP’s, so strategy comes into play; not just tactics.

Battlefield:

Countryside with the three-hex town of Arras in the center.

Troops:

Allies, 6 Infantry, 5 Armor, 1 Artillery;

Axis, 9 Infantry, 6 Armor,1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Axis is very close to Agny, and may secure it quickly. So use your flanks to provide more lucrative avenues of attack. The ridgeline of trees on your left flank give your infantry, and especially your armor great cover to attack the enemy. On your right flank, secure it with both infantry and armor. Don’t leave infantry behind.

2. Move your artillery forward one row to have better hit strength on the entire town of Arras.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Your Axis forces begin the scenario very close to Agny. Seize control of the town so that the enemy will have to pay dearly to gain it.

2. There is a path between the forest on your right flank. Seize the town at the end of it, to challenge any forces which may attempt to come through the pass. And as the cards allow, use it yourself to attack the enemy armor at the end of that pass.

3. Move your artillery forward at least one row to gain more dominance in the center section.

4. Remember that as Axis in this scenario, blitz rules are in effect, so you can use a Recon card to call in an airstrike against adjacent units. This is most useful in the beginning when the Allied forces are still lined up agains the back border. The Axis airpower only drops one dice per hex, but since it is a six VP game, this kind of softening up of the enemy in the beginning can pay dividends later on.

Author:

Days of Wonder / RBorg

URL

Matanikau River (Guadalcanal)

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Jungle, Location: Pacific, Memoir 44, Pacific Theater, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Pacific

Matanikau River

The battle near the Matanikau River in 1942 was a key engagement during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It involved several clashes between the United States Marines and Imperial Japanese forces as the Marines sought to secure their perimeter around Henderson Field, a critical airstrip on Guadalcanal.

Listen up. September to November ’42, the Matanikau was the hinge of Guadalcanal. The enemy tried to shove our Marines into the sea; our answer was simple—cross the river, hit hard, and keep hitting. We used infantry up front, artillery and naval guns on call, and fighters overhead to hammer every position that dared resist. Result: their strength bled away, our foothold stiffened, and the initiative swung to us. Lesson—seize the crossing, smash the flank, keep air on the target, and don’t stop until the island is yours.

~~ General Howitzer

5 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Japanese – 6

Complexity:

3

Conditions

Location:

Guadalcanal

Year:

1942

Theater:

Pacific Theater

Campaign

Summary:

This scenario is pretty much an infantry battle with a bit of artillery support.

Objectives:

Five VP’s, plus Exit hexes

Battlefield:

The Matanikau River cuts across the battlefield and presents a challenge for both forces as they try to maneuver and attack one another. And there are series of beach hexes along one flank which provides a rapid transit path for attacks.

Troops:

Allies – Infantry 7, Artillery 3

Axis – 10 Infantry, 2 Armor, 2 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Your forces are outnumbered by the Japanese, so unless you have the cards for it, stay behind the sandbags.

2. You have three artillery, so use them whenever you can.

3. Protect the backrow from any Japanese forces that may try to escape.

4. Remember that as Marines, you get the ‘Gung Ho’ advantage, so every section card allows you to move one extra unit than the card states. Remember that advantage, and use it – you will need it.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. You have a strong presence on the right flank. If you get the cards, you should push forward and take control.

2. If you are able to advance all the way across the battlefield, you may be able to help some troops escape.

3. You have armor and the Allies do not, so move them in and make them feel your firepower! Armor are good candidates for escape across the back line. So if you move in close, you may be able to attack and then escape.

4. You also have two artillery, so if you can move them forward, you will be able to throw 2D attacks across the river.

Battle Reports (percentage of Allied victories):

67%

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Breakout to Lisyanka

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Eastern Front, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Winter

Breakout to Lisyanka

The Breakout to Lisyanka was a key engagement during World War II, fought in early 1944 on the Eastern Front. The battle saw Soviet forces encircling a large German force. The Germans attempted to break out from the encirclement to link up with their reinforcements near Lisyanka, with fierce fighting as they sought to escape Soviet attacks.

While some German units managed to break through, the escape was costly, with heavy losses in men and equipment. The Soviet success significantly weakened German capabilities in Ukraine, contributing to the broader Soviet advance in the region. The battle is often highlighted as a key moment in the Soviet efforts to liberate occupied Ukraine.

General Howizer summarizes it this way:

The Breakout to Lisyanka was a blood-soaked slugfest where the Soviets slammed the trap shut, and while some of the doomed Germans clawed their way out, they left behind a graveyard of men and machines—crippling their grip on Ukraine and fueling the Red steamroller westward.

7 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter

Location:

Ukraine

Year:

1944

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign

Codename

Summary:

The goal for the Axis is to breakthrough, as the name implies, over the hilly ridge and across the river exits. For Allies, the goal is to of course prevent this. The forces begin in a non-symmetrical dispersion, which makes for a fun scenario.

Objectives:

7 VP’s, plus the Axis have Exit Medals they can try for.

Battlefield:

There is a ridge of hills going across the center, plus some ravines to provide a bit of cover to infantry.

Troops:

Allies – 10 Infantry, 4 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 9 Infantry, 3 Armor, 1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. As the Allies you must defend against three objective medal locations, the two-hex towns of Golyadi, and Nekrasino, each worth one VP, there is also the frozen river exits along the bottom of the battlefield. Your objectives however, are simply to destroy six enemy units. There are seven enemy infantry units to target and some armor and artillery, if they give you the chance.

2. Be aware that the Axis have Combat Engineers who can attack your infantry in the trenches at close range – with no combat restrictions. So make it one of your early goals to finish them off.

3. Make good use of your artillery in the middle section to defend your troops in the trenches.

4. It is very difficult to win this scenario, unless you get your troops on your left flank into action. You have a lot of forces amassed together behind the forest hexes. Get them into play as quickly as possible in one of your early turns while you still can. Once you have them in the fray, they will be able to get you one or two medals from that side of the battlefield.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Attack with your frontline infantry right away, to create some movement space for your armor, and also to neutralize the nearby enemy who will quickly attack from close range.

2. Try to avoid your right flank which is packed with enemy forces ready to pounce with both armor, infantry, and artillery. You may have better luck on your left flank which has less enemy artillery power.

3. You can also quickly overwhelm the enemy infantry at i6, to provide a proving ground for your forces to prepare for the breakout.

4. Remember that if you get any of your Infantry across the Exit hexes, you will earn two! Medals per Infantry (and one for Armor). So if you get a Behind Enemy Lines, then get your Infantry into the forest on row 6; this will provide you with the distance to move in, attack the enemy, and then quickly escape out the back row for an easy two medals.

Classic Battle Reports:

(percentage of Allied victories)

52%

Battle Reports:

Author:

Link:

Breakout at Klin

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1941, Armor, Artillery, Eastern Front, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Winter

Breakout at Klin

When & Where:
December 1941, near the town of Klin, northwest of Moscow, during the Soviet counteroffensive in the Battle of Moscow.
Context:
After months of German advances toward Moscow, Soviet forces launched a major counterattack. German troops, particularly from Army Group Center, found themselves overextended and at risk of encirclement near Klin.
The Battle:
Soviet forces attacked from multiple directions, threatening to trap German units in the Klin salient. The Germans, under pressure and facing severe winter conditions, conducted a fighting withdrawal, breaking out of the encirclement and retreating westward.
Outcome:
The Soviet Red Army recaptured Klin, dealing a blow to German morale and momentum. The breakout marked a turning point in the Moscow campaign, with German forces now on the defensive for the first time in the war.

Lessons from General Howitzer:

“The Breakout at Klin wasn’t just a German retreat—it was the moment the Red Army showed the world it could counterpunch. And it was the first time the German war machine started to cough and stall. Learn from it, gentlemen: never overreach, never underprepare, and never, ever give your enemy a second chance to swing.”

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 3

Axis – 6

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Winter

Location:

Russia

Year:

1941

Theater:

Eastern Front

Campaign:

Battle of Moscow

Codename

Summary:
At the start, the Axis are line up mostly against the lower border, while the Russians have control of much of the board. The objective for the Axis is to either destroy the forces, or as the name implies breakout past them to the exit hexes at the top of the battlefield. If the Axis can effect rapid movement (and Blitz rules are in effect to help with this ) they can make it past the Russian troops blocking their path in excellent defensive positions, and achieve victory.

Objectives:
It is a long 6 VP game, fought at, often, close quarters, while they Axis seek two objectives, to destroy the enemy and to escape the enemy.

Battlefield:
This is a winter war with a mix of urban and countryside, making for an intersting battlefield deployment and field of play.

Troops:
The Axis – 7 infantry, 4 armor, 2 artillery.
The Russians – 9 infantry, 2 armor, 1 artillery.

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. You are positioned very closely to the enemy on your left flank, and in the center at the trenches. Attack as much as you can before the enemy breaks out from their center section congestion.

2. You also have a well-placed center section artillery which you can use to decimate the enemy forces. Use it!

3. Your best opportunity for some significant kills is on your left flank. You will need to get your armor up there to assist your forward infantry. But you need to do it quickly before they are wiped out by the nearby enemy. And because of winter conditions, you can only move your armor two hex per turn, so don’t waste any time and get them moving!

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Axis, note that on your right flank the Russians are nearly on top of you, with a sandbagged infantry only two hexes away from your backwall, and another one three hexes away. Since you have two infantry hexes pressed against your back border, with no retreats, an early attack against you is going to result in several hits. If you can move on your right flank right away with a decisive attack, you can begin the breakout successfully.

2. The next immediate objective for the Axis forces is to get some mobility for your armored forces. Get them out from behind the town and factory hexes with which they begin the battle.

3. Note that you have two artillery units at your disposal in the center section. At the start of the battle, there are four enemy hexes within your full power two-hex attack. Use those artillery at every chance.

Class Battle Reports:

(percentage of Allied victories)

19%

Author

URL

Braskir Offensive

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Memoir 44, Mobile Artillery, Scenario, Sniper, Strategic, Urban, Winter

Braskir Offensive

Here is General Howitzer’s summary of this fictious battle:

The Braskir Offensive was a brutal winter clash between Axis and Allied forces fought amid snow-covered city ruins. The battlefield centered on three key objective territories, each representing vital control points.

The Allies began congested, bottled up in the eastern ruins, struggling to break out under heavy Axis fire. The Axis initially dominated the field, and using fortified positions to hammer any Allied advance.

Through grinding urban combat, flanking maneuvers, and coordinated assaults, the Allies sought to push past the chokepoints, seize the objectives, and turn the tide. The frozen, rubble-strewn city made every advance costly, turning the Braskir Offensive into a battle of attrition where each medal marked blood, grit, and survival.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

10

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 4

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Fictional

Location:

The Baltics

Year:

1944

Summary:

Victory Points:

10, including some objective medals for the church, the Schiv, and the bridge.

Terrain:

There is a lot of complexity to this scenario, with city ruins, factory complexes, a navigable river, and forests. With 10 VP’s needed to win, each side must plan out a long, strategic campaign to degrade enemy forces until victory is achieved.

Troops:

Allies – 14 Infantry including 1 Sniper, 4 Armor, 3 Artillery

Axis – 13 Infantry including 1 Sniper, 4 Armor, 2 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Your forces begin in a very congested configuration in the left and right corners. You need to get them mobile ASAP, to be prepared for the coming enemy attack.

2. The key to winning this battle is to soften the targets near the medal objectives, and then to position your infantry to take control of the targets in a final push. This will require you to save one card in reserve which allows for multi-sectional attacks, such as a Recon in Force, or Move Out!, or Direct from HQ.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. The three Objective hexes in the center, can be quickly gained with some rapid infantry movements. Once gained the Allies will have to fight hard to take them from Axis control, resulting in many losses for them. This can start the Axis at as much as a 3 VP advantage from the first turn.

2. But do not take them too early. If you do not have the support forces around you, any advance forces that grab Objective hexes will get pummeled. This scenario is really about bringing all of your forces to bear upon your attack objectives.

3. You have a Mobile Artillery in your left section. This is a powerful weapon, but you need to make use of its most powerful feature – it’s mobility. Take early opportunities to move it forward so that it can defend the forces attacking the central medal hexes.

Author.

URL

Bloody Ridge

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 1, 2024 | 1942, Artillery, Infantry, Jungle, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic

Bloody Ridge

September 1942—Guadalcanal. The place? A godforsaken jungle. The mission? Hold Henderson Field—or lose the whole damn island.

The Japanese came in hard, full of fire and fury, dead set on taking back that airstrip. And standing in their way? A thin line of Marine Raiders and the 1st Marine Division, led by Colonel Merritt Edson—a man who knew how to fight.

They dug in on that ridge near the field, and when the sun went down, hell lit up. The enemy came in waves, screaming, charging, trying to break our line with steel and guts. But Edson’s boys? They didn’t break. They held, bled, and threw everything back in the enemy’s face.

For three nights it was chaos—bayonets, grenades, bullets in the dark. But when the smoke cleared, Henderson was still ours, and the ridge was soaked in blood—American and Japanese alike. That hill earned a new name—“Bloody Ridge”—and it damned well deserved it.

That stand turned the tide on Guadalcanal. It proved that the Japanese could be stopped. It proved that when the enemy thinks we’ll break—we dig in deeper.

That’s the kind of fight I respect—outnumbered, outgunned, and still coming out on top.

~~ General Howitzer

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

5 – 5

Complexity:

2

Conditions:

Jungle

Context:

Historical

Location:

Guadalcanal

Year:

1942

Theater:

Pacific Theater

Campaign

Summary:
Bloody Ridge has a large series of hills in the center of the battlefield, occupied by the Marines who are defending against a vast hoard of Japanese attackers.

Objectives:
6 VP’s, plus the Japanese can target two hexes at the top of the battlefield representing Henderson field as Objective Medals.

Battlefield:
Jungle with a series of bluffs in the center, controlled by the Marines.

Troops:
Marines, 10 infantry, 1 artillery
Japanese, 12 infantry, 1 artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. One advantage you have as Allies is your artillery which is placed in the center of the battlefield, straddling the left and center sections.

2. Because the Marines are out-numbered, and behind sandbags, they have a primarily in a defensive role in this game, unless the cards cooperate. So do not rush out of your protection unless given a good reason by the cards and circumstances. And that’s an order!

3. Because of the Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine, and the Banzai War Cry, you positively need to hit every full-power enemy hex unit at least once. This will reduce their attack from the super-powered 4D attack. If not, they will overwhelm your forces.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. The Japanese have a numerical advantage. This fact, combined with the principles of Seishin Kyoiku, and the Banzai War Cry mean that you should rush forward as quickly as possible while your infantry units are still fully intact to get the extra attack dice provided.

2. You have an advantage on your left flank with your artillery and infantry. That is your probably best forward option. Watch out for the Marine artillery on your right flank.

Author.

URL