Memoir 44 Discussion Forum
Battle of Warsaw - Four VP's in one turn!
Scenarios like Battle of Warsaw are urban warfare settings. The creators at DoW have done a good job of making it feel like an urban battle. There are not large open plains for tank battles; you have to attack, and snipe, and plink and plunk one by one to slowly degrade the enemy forces; usually.
But once in a while an opportunity is given to strike the enemy hard and make significant gains in a short time.
In a recent battle, the Allies went from a 1-3 losing situation to a 5-3 winning sit, in just a single turn. I will show you the progression, and then we can talk about it:
Here is the start. Note the VP scores. Allies have just played a center Assault card:
1st VP - the lone infantry at b4.
2nd VP - the double armor at f7. Allies scored a better than expected 66% hit rate on that roll.
3rd VP - the Infantry at i4 first hit the enemy Infantry at j4, and then after they retreated, the Allied Artillery finished them off.
4th VP - a very lucky grenade hit on the lone Armor at g8.
So, final result, 4 VP's in one turn.
Now, why did this happen? (Besides the obvious element of fortunate dice throws in a couple of cases.)
I think the real answer is 'inherent enemy weakness and positioning'.
The opponent set himself up for a quick demise because of two factors:
First, in the course of the battle, although the Allies had only scored one full VP, they had degraded the enemy bit by bit. The opponent had a number of units that were weak. So even though the Allied position looked pretty desperate, it was not as bad as it seemed because of 'inherent enemy weakness.
Second, he positioned his forces too close, too early.
Eventually, you need to move in for the attack, but not until you can go in for the final kill. The Axis moved in close enough to allow 3D and 2D rolls against them. Except for the lucky 1D final takedown of the Armor, the Allies were able to roll a seres of 2D and 3D attacks. And with a card like Assault, this results in a lot of firepower unleashed quickly upon the enemy.
Final result, the Axis went from 3 -1 domination, to 3 - 5 desperation!
Yes, bad positioning of the Axis forces, the panzers and artillery must fire from a distance to weaken the Allied forces as much as possible. The AXE infantry must then prepare its assaults with at least a very strong flank supported by a few tanks if necessary. This scenario (very well designed) is not within the reach of an inexperienced player 😉
Yes, well said about being outside the realm of inexperienced players.
It really requires excellent coordination between all force types, and then an understanding of when an infantry assault against the fortresses and city hexes will actually be possibly successful.
It is always surprising to me that the poor overwhelmed Red army actually is able to hold out so long and well against the Axis forces.