Utah Beach [Breakthrough]

by GeneralHowitzer | Jan 4, 2026 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Beach, Big Guns, Breakthrough Game, D-Day, Infantry, Location: France, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Utah Beach [Breakthrough]

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memoir 44 utah beach breakthrough scenario

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At Utah Beach, the Americans did exactly what winning armies do—they adapted, moved fast, and drove inland with purpose.

The sea shoved our boys off target, but instead of whining about it, they took advantage of it. They came ashore where the Germans were weaker, reorganized on the fly, and went straight at the enemy. The leadership of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., made the difference—clear orders, aggressive movement, and no hesitation. By linking up with the airborne troops and punching inland, the U.S. forces turned what could have been confusion into momentum.

Casualties were light because the attack was bold and decisive. Utah wasn’t a grind; it was a lesson. War rewards speed, initiative, and commanders who seize opportunity. On Utah Beach, the Americans did all three—and that’s how you win.

~~ General Howitzer

12 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies –

Axis – 5* (first turn starts with 4)

Complexity:

4/5

Conditions:

Beach

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

D-Day

Summary:

This is an Breakthrough game, so make use of the Breakthrough Command cards.

Objectives:

12 Medals

Terrain:

Beach terrain

Troops:

Allies – Infantry, Armor, one Destroyer

Axis – Infantry, Armor, Artillery with Big Guns

Special Rules:

1. Destroyer – attacks at 3,3,2,2,1,1,1,1 (with a locked in targeting reticule upon a successful hit)

2. Entry hexes for the Axis (Use one initiative roll [see Overlord rules] before each turn for the Axis.)

3. Big Gun rules – attacks at 3,3,2,2,1,1,1,1 (with a locked in targeting reticule upon a successful hit)

Allied Strategy:

1. You have a Destroyer in the bay. Use it as much as you can to target the enemy Big Guns. Once you hit them once, you can assign a Target Reticule to the hex if you make one hit, allowing you to roll one extra Dice until the unit is eliminated or moves from the hex. Do not move the Destroyer too close, or the two enemy Big Guns can eliminate you.

2. You need to break through all the Infantry blockades in the bunkers and sandbags, and escape out the Exit Hexes as soon as you can before the tanks show up.

3. Take the time to remove the barb wire lining the beach. It will take one turn to remove it, but it will speed up the escape for all the troops who follow.

4. You can win this scenario and never venture beyond row twelve. Make use of the Exit Hexes.

BIG PICTURE STRATEGY FOR BOTH SIDES:

1. This is a Breakthrough version of the Utah Beach attack, so it is long, 12 hexes, and you will need to use the Breakthrough cards, to get some additional movement options for each side.

Axis Strategy

1. You will need to get your troops down to the Allied Exit hexes in the upper part of your left section, ASAP. Move all Armor up the road to block the Exit Hexes. If you succeed in rolling any Armor on your initiative roles, start them at the Entry Hex on your left section to try to get as many forces as you can into play near the Exits.

2. You have two Big Guns alongside the bay. You can wipe out a lot of troops if you use them at every chance.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Peleliu Landings [Overlord]

by GeneralHowitzer | Nov 24, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Beach, Destroyer, Infantry, Jungle, Location: Pacific, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Overlord Game, Pacific Theater, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Pacific

Peleliu Landings (Overlord)

Listen up. When our boys hit Peleliu, they weren’t stepping onto some quiet stretch of sand — they were walking straight into a hornet’s nest carved out of coral and steel. The Japanese didn’t waste men on the beaches; they dug themselves into the ridges, the caves, and the guts of that island, building a fortress designed to bleed us dry.

The 1st Marine Division landed under murderous fire — artillery, machine guns, everything the enemy could throw. They took casualties by the score, but they kept pushing, clawing their way off those beaches yard by yard. By nightfall, they’d carved out a foothold. Not victory — just a place to start swinging.

Peleliu wasn’t taken in a day. It was a slugging match, the kind where grit and guts matter more than numbers. And the Marines proved that when the chips are down, America’s fighting men don’t back up — they break through.

~~ General Howitzer

13 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 11

Axis – 8

Complexity:

5/5

Conditions:

Beach

Context:

Historical

Location:

Palau Islands

Year:

1944

Theater:

Pacific

Campaign:

Guadalcanal Campaign

Summary:

This is an Overlord game, so make use of the Jungle Command cards, two per side.

Objectives:

12 Medals including Territorial Control, and Exit Row medals and a sudden death hex all for the Japanese.

Terrain:

Beach and jungle terrain, and mountains, and an airfield.

Troops:

Allies – Infantry, Armor, Destroyers

Axis – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Special Rules:

1. Majority Temporary Territorial Control – whomever controls 3 of the 4 buildings of the airfield

2. Exit Row Medals – to any Marine forces that exit

3. Imperial Japanese Army Command rules – Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine (SKD), Yamato Dashi Concept (No Surrender), Banzai War Cry

4. US Marine Corps rules – Gung Ho! rule – activate one extra unit more than the card played indicates

5. Airfield rules – no movement restrictions, no combat restrictions, no line of site restrictions

6. Jungles – Movement, must stop; Battle, only if starting in, or adjacent to hex; blocks Line of Sight;

7. Minefields,

8. Marshes,

9. Mountain terrain – only Infantry may move onto Mountains; Battle, up the mountain reduces dice by two; blocks Line of Site

10. Destroyers – attacks at 3,3,2,2,1,1,1,1

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. The Marines should avoid the Japanese up in the mountains on their left flank. There is little to be gained in that sector. Instead direct your forces at an angle towards the center, to bring pressure to bear towards the airfield.

2. The two Exit hexes for the Marines are an excellent and achievable goal. Work your way through the jungle and send some of our boys home to safety!

3. You have a warship at your disposal on your left flank. Use it at every opportunity to degrade the enemy forces. It is close enough to the center, that you can provide some good support for the forces fighting on the center beach.

4. The Marines are able to use their Gung Ho! ability to command one additional unit – but only in one section at a time. So the Command-In-Chief (CIC) should decide which sector requires the additional unit to be ordered, to either shore up a section that needs additional defense, or to enhance an attack with one additional unit to command.

5. You start the battle with three Engineer units. Get them off the beach and into the jungle as soon as possible. They will be able to overcome the jungle terrain protections, ignoring them at Close Assault, and being able to roll three dice for each attack. This will help to quickly blunt the Japanese SKD abilities.

BIG PICTURE STRATEGY FOR BOTH SIDES:

1. Because this is an Overlord game, hand management becomes critical. At the start of the game, both sides have plenty of cards to fight with. The Allies get 11 cards, and the Axis get 8. But because they can spend up to three cards per turn, and only get replenished at the rate of 2 cards per turn, each side will begin to run out of playable cards, about half-way through the game, and will have to resort to Initiative Rolls for one of their Field Commanders.

2. The center two sections are where most of the action is going to take place. As the Marines push up toward the Airfield, and the Japanese bring their Armor out from behind the mountains, they will all converge for an awesome bloodbath on the central beach.

3. This is a long scenario with 13 Victory Points. This means strategic hits, and good defensive moves, so that you are attacking the enemy from places of protection, will slowly build up to a successful attack, unit by unit. This scenario is not won in a single decisive attack. You will need to use your forces everywhere for a total war attack methodology.

4. This is an Overlord game, so be sure to understand the rules for how the Commander-In-Chief (CIC) distributes cards, and who is authorized to attack in which sections. Clarify before the game starts, any special rules for how to apply multi-sectional cards, and Tactic cards. The official Days of Wonder Overlord rules can be found here on the General Howitzer site.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. You have a number of powerful Armor which are capable of doing great damage to the enemy on the beach. But they are blocked in by your Infantry. So get the Infantry moved out of the way, and take a couple of turns to attack the unprotected and helpless forces on the beach.

2. Keep a few forces close to the Airfield, which is a Permanent Majority Medal Objective. If the enemy controls three of the four building hexes at the end of their turn, this will earn a Permanent Medal Objective.

3. Also keep a few forces close to the Exit hexes to prevent the enemy from escaping, and earning medals.

4. Because of the Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine (SKD), your full force Infantry units get to roll one extra dice in Close Assault attacks. If you move your forces quickly forward onto the beach, you can capture the Marines at their weakest, and with your extra dice rolls, either kill them, or push them back into the sea for retreat kills. (Although it should be noted that historically, the Japanese attacked the beach from a distance and waited for the Marines to come to them, all the while inflicting heavy losses upon them for each territorial gain.)

5. You have two Artillery units which can reach all the way to the beach. Use them at every opportunity to attack the enemy from a distance. Do not move out your forces too early to the beach. Make them come to you, and keep hitting them with the Artillery as they approach.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Hauts-Vents is Taken

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 12, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Hauts-Vents is Taken

Listen up. We broke Panzer Lehr’s punch, then Task Force Z, beefed up with three companies from Task Force X, did exactly what winners do—drove straight for the high ground at Hauts-Vents. Our armor blasted through the wreckage, clawed onto the forward slope of Hill 91, and held under heavy pressure. The enemy tried to rip it back—tanks in column, bravado first, brains second. We’d already hauled the guns up; artillery smashed the counterattack, and their armor scattered to the hedgerows.

Result: Hill 91 captured—the day’s decisive prize. Flanks inched forward, but the center took the crown. Lesson: seize the height, bring the guns, break the counterpunch—then keep rolling.

~~ General Howitzer

Medals

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

France

Year:
1944

Theater:

Western Front

Summary:

The asymmetrical starting pattern of this game makes for an interesting and challenging battle for both sides.

Objectives: 6 Medals
The three hexes of Hauts-Vents are each a temporary medal objective for the Allied player.

Hill 91 is composed of six hexes. If the Allied player controls at least two of those hexes at the start of their turn, they earn TWO temporary medals. If there are less than two Allied forces on the hill, then both medals are returned.

Terrain:

Countryside with hedgerows and hills.

Troops:

Allies – 7 Infantry, 5 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 6 Infantry, 3 Armor, 1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. The three hexes of Hauts-Vents are Temporary Medal Objectives for the Allies. And Hill 91 counts as two medals if the Allies control at least two of the six hexes. These objectives should shape your attack vector.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. The enemy will try to take Hauts-Vents, as occurred historically, so move into defensive positions and finish them off as they try to move in.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder, part of the 2025 Refresh of the Base Game

Link:

Counter-Attack of Panzer Lehr

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 9, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Counter-Attack of Panzer Lehr

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Listen up. Just past midnight, 11 July ’44, Panzer Lehr shoved columns into the seam between the 47th and 39th Infantry and hacked our wires to pieces. For a moment it was noisy and blind—but the 9th Division sized the breach, slammed in blocks, and sealed the gap like a vise.

What followed was a butcher’s bill for the enemy. Their tanks, bled of momentum and coordination, ran headlong into American armor and anti-tank guns and were picked apart. By afternoon, the counter-attack was gutted—steel burning in the hedgerows, infantry scattered, command broken. They bought themselves one day—nothing more.

Lesson: when the enemy punches a hole, you don’t panic—you orient, block, and crush. Kill the spearhead and the body dies. Then you turn back to the business of advancing.

~~ General Howitzer

Medals

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

France

Year:
1944

Theater:

Western Front

Summary:

The asymmetrical starting pattern of this game makes for an interesting and challenging battle for both sides.

Objectives: 6 Medals
Including an exit medal objectives for the Axis player who escapes through the Allies’ baseline.

Terrain:

Countryside with hedgerows and forests.

Troops:

Allies – 4 Infantry, 8 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 5 Infantry, 6 Armor

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. You have more firepower than the enemy, but you will need to get into the protection of the hedgerows before they come down the lanes. Then you will be in a position to halt their counter-attack action.

2. You have two Artillery. As soon as possible move them forward at least one row, so that they can hit the center section of each battlefield with 2D rolls.

3. Remember to protect your back row, as any Axis forces which can escape out the back, will count as a medal for them.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. Historically, this counter-attack by the Axis failed, so you will have an uphill battle to win. But any units you get across the Allied baseline will result in a medal for you.

2. Although the Allies have eight Armor units to your six, all of yours are Elite Armor, so you have four figures each, so you will be able to hold out longer under attack.

3. Your forces begin in the open. If you can get into the protective cover of the forests and hedgerows before the Allies come down each of their lanes, you will be able to slow them down by degrading their forces. Do this before you attempt the counter-attack.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder, part of the 2025 Refresh of the Base Game

Link:

Panzer Lehr at Hauts-Vents

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 8, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Panzer Lehr at Hauts-Vents

Listen up. Just after midnight, 11 July ’44, Panzer Lehr—Germany’s showpiece—came rumbling through Hauts-Vents, tanks up front, infantry in tow. We didn’t wait for introductions. Our guns spoke first.

Lehr was fresh in January; by July they were tough but tired. In the hedgerows, strength on paper doesn’t matter—fire discipline and nerve do. My units cut their infantry to pieces in a string of sharp dawn fights and bloodied the panzers until their thrusts lost steam. By mid-afternoon, our lines were firm, their armor still dribbling in without mass, and the initiative was back in American hands.

Lesson: meet steel with steel, kill the spearhead, and the rest of the phalanx goes nowhere. Hold the line, then drive.

~~ General Howitzer

Medals

6 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 5

Axis – 5

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Countryside

Location:

France

Year:
1944

Theater:

Western Front

Summary:

The asymmetrical starting pattern of this game makes for an interesting and challenging battle for both sides.

Objectives: 6 Medals
Plus, the two hexes of the town of Le Rocher are temporary medal objectives for the Axis player.

Terrain:

Countryside with hedgerows and hills.

Troops:

Allies – 7 Infantry, 2 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 5 Infantry, 5 Armor, 1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Your Armor is outnumbered five to two. You will need to coordinate your forces of both the Infantry and Armor working together to fend off the Panzer Lehr forces.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. You have an overwhelming Armor advantage, but your tanks are blocked and far away from the action (which is more than likely the village of Le Rocher), so you need to get them there as soon as possible.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder, part of the 2025 Refresh of the Base Game

Link:

Sword Beach (Breakthrough)

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 23, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Beach, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, D-Day, Infantry, Location: France, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Sword Beach (Breakthrough)

The Battle of Sword Beach took place on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) — the easternmost of the five Allied landing beaches during the Normandy invasion. It was assigned primarily to British forces, with support from Free French commandos, as part of Operation Overlord.

By nightfall on June 6, the Allies had:

Landed over 28,000 troops
Secured a beachhead about 5 miles deep
Linked up with Canadian forces from Juno Beach
Held their positions despite German counterattacks

Listen up, men — Sword Beach wasn’t just another patch of sand; it was the gateway to Caen and the key to cracking open Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on the eastern flank. At dawn on June 6th, the British 3rd Infantry hit that beach under a storm of lead and steel. Mines, wire, and concrete — it didn’t matter. They went straight through it, methodical as a tank rolling downhill.

While naval guns thundered from offshore, the Royal Engineers cleared obstacles like veterans of a hundred storms. And those Free French commandos — they fought like lions, linking up with the boys from Pegasus Bridge to lock down the flank before Jerry could regroup.

The Germans tried to hit back with their 21st Panzer Division, and for a moment, they even reached the coast — but our airmen and artillery smashed them flat. By nightfall, the British held Sword, linked up with the Canadians at Juno, and built a bridgehead five miles deep.

Caen didn’t fall that day — but Sword showed the world how an army fights when it’s trained, disciplined, and led with purpose. That’s how you take a beach — with steel in your hands and fire in your gut.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

12

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Beach

Context:

Historical

Location:

Normandy

Year:

1944

Codename:

Operation Overlord

Summary:

12 Victory Points:

12 Medals, including Permanent Medal Objectives for Allied control of Casino Riva Bella, Strong-point Cod, and Strong-point Trout. Also a 2-Medal Temporary Objective for which ever side controls the Orne River and Canal. Finally, massive 3-Medal Temporary Objective for whomever controls the two Hexes representing Caen. Initially the Axis player gets these three medals at game start.

Terrain:

Countryside and Beach

Troops:

Allies – 8 Infantry including 3 Elites, 5 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry, 3 Armor, 2 Artillery

Allies:

Big Picture Strategy: Like all beach scenarios, the number one primary goal for your forces is to Get Off the Beach!. Do not pause to capture the three frontline enemy medals. You can encircle them and then attack from all sides.

1. Once you have gotten your forces out of the water, then you can encircle the enemy at the three Permanent Medal Objectives at Casino Riva Bella, Strong-point Trout and the Chateau. Those medals are almost a given, so do not lose an excessive number of forces attacking them before you are out of the water.

3. Get your Artillery out of the water as soon as possible. They will be vital to breaking through the strongholds of the enemy on the beach. It will be especially important to take out the Artillery in the bunker as soon as possible, or it will destroy your forces.

Axis:

Big Picture Strategy: Get your forces forward. Bring the battle to them.

1. You have Armor stuck in your lower left flank which you need to get forward to the beach as quickly as possible. Practice some delaying techniques for a couple of turns to allow your Armor forward. You will be in a much better position to repel the enemy forces.

2. Two approaches to deal with the enemy forces in your lower right flank:

Option A: Eliminate the enemy forces on your lower right flank along the Canel de Orne as quickly as possible so that you will not have to worry about a rear-action attack. Then you can move your forces forward towards the beach.

Option B: Surround them and slowly pick them off throughout the game, saving the coup-de-grace for the end, when you can kill off the final Infantry for one Medal, and then move onto the bridge for two Medals. This will earn you three! medals in a single turn. Save it for last to win the round.

Author: Days of Wonder

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