General Howitzer’s Field Guide to Memoir 44

A Memoir 44 Strategy & Tactics Community

Night Withdrawal — Memoir ’44 Scenario

“Listen up, boys! In the summer of ‘44, near Caen, the Germans knew the writing was on the wall. The British and Canadians were hammering them day and night with everything they had—artillery, tanks, and raw guts—as part of Operations Atlantic and Goodwood.

So what did those Germans do? They pulled a night withdrawal, slipping out under the cover of darkness to dodge the hammer blows and set up shop further south. It was a smart move to avoid being boxed in and crushed outright, but let’s be clear: they gave up precious ground and lost their grip on Caen.

That’s the way of war, boys—sometimes you gotta know when to pull back before the jaws of encirclement snap shut. But every step back they took was another step forward for us—paving the road for our breakout from Normandy and the final drive to finish the job.

Remember this—you can run, but you can’t hide forever!”

~~ General Howitzer

5 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

France

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western Front

Campaign:

Normandy Campaign

Summary:

Objectives:

5 VP’s, plus the a exit row medals for the Axis(!) forces.

Terrain:

The battlefield is scattered with hills, towns, hedgerows, and forests.

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 3 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 9 Infantry, 1 Armor

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. The goal for the Allies is to pick off the Axis forces as they seek to escape across the Orne River. If you can get one of your armor units in front of the bridge, you are almost guaranteed a victory.

2. If you have Barrage or Airpower cards, use them immediately. As soon as a star is rolled at the end of the turn, and the night counter shifts from six, those cards are pretty worthless.

Overall Strategy:
1. You will need to play any powerful Tactic cards like Airpower and Barrage within the first one or two turns before night falls. Once a single star is rolled on the night meter, those two cards will be reduced to simple one unit command cards.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. The goal for the Axis is to make a successful ‘Night Withdrawal’. But the scenarios starts in daylight, while the Allies are able to blast you with Barrage, Air Power, and Artillery Bombardment, and Armor at a distance of three hexes. So escape out the backdoor as soon as you are able to do so.

2. Be wary of just running, as your forces will be picked off by the overwhelming Allied force before you can get away. So you need to do a strategic retreat in which some of your forces which are better positioned to either battle, or quickly escape, can do so.

3. A great card to start with, if you are fortunate enough, is Infantry Assault. With this, you can very quickly get your troops much closer to the exit, with a three-hex run for each.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

General Howitzer Battle Reports