Bain Tsagan Heights

by GeneralHowitzer | May 4, 2025 | 1939, Armor, Artillery, Big Guns, Breakthrough Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Special Weapons, Strategic, Theater: Eastern

Bain Tsagan Heights

“Listen up, boys! In early July ‘39, over in the dusty wilderness of Mongolia, the Japanese thought they’d pull a fast one at the Bain Tsagan Heights—cross the river, flank the Soviets, and wrap the whole show up in a bow. But Zhukov wasn’t about to let those plans play out!

Zhukov hit back hard and fast, bringing in tanks, artillery, and infantry to pound those Japanese troops into the dirt. They fought like hell on those heights—bayonets flashing, guns roaring, tanks rolling—and the Soviets broke that flanking move right in half.

This wasn’t just a local scrap, boys—it was a turning point. That Soviet victory at Bain Tsagan sent a clear message: you mess with the Red Army, you pay in blood. It helped push Japan to shift its focus away from Siberia and toward the Pacific, changing the whole game for the coming war.

So remember this—when you see the enemy making a move, you don’t wait—you smash him before he knows what hit him! That’s the way to win!”

~~ General Howitzer

10 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Siberia

Year:

1939

Theater:

Eastern

Campaign:

Khalkin Gol

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

10 VP’s, including four! objective medals; ( two ridges and a 2-medal bridge)

Battlefield:

Countryside with a river cutting through the Allies left flank, and long road cutting at an angle through the terrain directly to the two-medal bridge.

Troops:

Allies (Russia) – 12 Infantry, 9 Armor, including two Armored Cars, plus two Supply Trucks, 1 Big Gun!

Axis (Japan) – 12 Infantry, 7 Armor, including 3 Tankettes, 2 Armored Cars, 1 Artillery.

Allied Strategy:

1. Big Picture: Allies are initially on the defense, due to the attack by the Japanese. But they have enormous armor resources at their disposal on their left flank to bring to bear upon the battle in both the left flank and the center section. And historically, this is what General Zukhov did. In fact a pivot by the Allied Armor on the left flank over the ridgeline at river will allow them to reign down terror upon the Japanese forces assaulting the Remisova Hill.

2. Your puny Armor and Infantry forces in the right flank are pretty useless, as they need to cross the river before they can engage the enemy. But if they can at least move forward one hex, so that they do not get pinned against the backwall, that will be sufficient.

3. Guard the bridge crossing the river. It is worth two medals.

4. You have a Big Tom Gun, which has massive range of 8 hexes, and allows you to zero in on forces in a hex and increase your attack strength by another 1D. Use it early and often.

Axis Strategy

1. Big Picture Strategy: this was a long-shot for the Japanese historically, which they lost, but they have been known to win this scenario. Use your Tankettes, which have good movement, to get into the battle and score some wins. Advance forcefully with your infantry and overwhelm them using your Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine might combined with your Bonzai speed.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

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The Capture of Tobruk

by GeneralHowitzer | Apr 29, 2025 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Desert, Infantry, Medal Objectives, Overlord Game, Scenario, Special Weapons, Strategic, Theater: Mediterranean

The Capture of Tobruk (Overlord Map)

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June 21, 1942—Tobruk falls, and Rommel gets his moment in the sun.

The Desert Fox came tearing across North Africa like a bat outta hell, and when he set his sights on Tobruk, he didn’t waste time. That place had held out before—but not this time. Rommel hit it hard, fast, and surgical. In no time flat, he smashed through the lines, bagged 30,000 Allied troops, and scooped up a mountain of supplies.

It was a gut punch to the British—morale wrecked, command shaken, and the enemy thumping their chests from Berlin to Rome. Tobruk was supposed to be a fortress. Instead, it became a prize.

But here’s the truth: Rommel’s victory was real—but it was short-lived. You don’t win a war with flash and headlines. You win it by bleeding the enemy dry, taking ground, and never letting up. And that’s what we did.

By the time we met him again at El Alamein, the tables had turned. Rommel’s advance stalled, and the Allies came back with a vengeance.

You want to take a city? Fine. But you’d better be ready to hold it when the real fight starts.

~~ General Howitzer

15 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 7

Axis – 11

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Desert

Context:

Historical

Location:

North Africa

Year:

1942

Theater:

Mediterranean

Campaign:

Codename:

Summary:

Objectives:

15 VP’s with many territorial Medal Objectives, some Temporary and some Permanent.

Battlefield:

A desert with a couple of roads crossing the area in both directions

Troops:

Allies – 17 Infantry some with Special Weapons, 5 Armor, 2 Artillery

Axis – 17 Infanty, 16 Armor including some Half-Tracks, 6 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Classic Battle Reports

45% Allied Wins

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Medeera Pocket

by GeneralHowitzer | Apr 29, 2025 | 1945, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Pacific, Mobile Artillery, Scenario, Tactical, Theater: Pacific

Medeera Pocket

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Background

The Battle of the Medeera Pocket in June 1945 was a late-stage engagement during the Marianas and Palau Islands campaign of World War II.

Located on northern Peleliu, the Medeera Pocket was one of the last strongholds of Japanese resistance. U.S. Marines and Army forces faced fierce, dug-in Japanese defenders who refused to surrender, fighting from caves and fortified positions. The battle involved intense close-quarters combat, flamethrowers, explosives, and coordinated assaults to clear the terrain.

Despite being outnumbered and cut off, Japanese troops fought to the death, inflicting significant U.S. casualties before being wiped out.

The elimination of the Medeera Pocket marked the final clearing of organized resistance on Peleliu, securing the island for Allied operations and reinforcing the brutal nature of Pacific island warfare.

General Howitzer summarizes:

The Medeera Pocket was one hell of a last stand—the Japanese were holed up in caves, dug in deep, and determined to die where they stood. They fought like fanatics, even when they were cut off and outgunned, but our Army and Marines finished the job. Clearing that pocket sealed Peleliu for good and reminded everyone that in the Pacific, every inch costs blood.

5 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 6

Axis – 4

Complexity:

3

Conditions:

Jungle

Context:

Historical

Location:

Palau Islands

Year:

1945

Theater:

Pacific

Campaign:

Codename:

Operation Iceberg

Summary:

Objectives:

5 VP’s

Battlefield:

Jungle terrain , hills with caves and some small villages.

Troops:

Allies – 8 Army Infantry, 2 Marine Infantry, 3 Artillery including a Mobile Artillery

Axis – 10 Infantry

Allied Strategy:

1. The center section is the key to victory. You have a Mobile Artillery, plus two other Artillery units which can all focus their firepower upon the center.

2. You have two Engineer units which can overcome the terrain disadvantages of caves on hills. Use them to clear out the entrenched enemy.

3. You have two Marine units which can be commanded every single turn, so they can conduct their own operation on your right flank, if they are supported by the Artillery unit on that side.

Axis Strategy

1. Remember the three special abilities of your Japanese forces (Seishin Kyoiku Doctrine, Yamato Dashi Concept, and the Banzai War Cry). You will need these to stand up against the enemy.

2. There are many Caves on Hills which give you both a defensive and mobile advantage. Infantry units can quickly move from one Cave on a Hill to another one, so that you can rapidly replenish your forces when they are destroyed.

3. You have two Artillery units well-protected in the center of the battlefield. Use them at every opportunity to push back the attacking Infantry, and when it comes into range, to also destroy the Mobile Artillery.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Resource:

Campaign Book, Volume 2

Rats in a Factory

by GeneralHowitzer | Apr 29, 2025 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Overlord Game, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern, Urban

Rats in a Factory [ Overlord ]

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“Rats in a Factory”—Stalingrad, late ’42. You want to know what hell looks like? This was it.

The Germans thought they could storm into those Red October, Barrikady, and Tractor factories like it was just another checkpoint. What they walked into was a damn grinder. Concrete, steel, smoke, and blood—that’s what those factories became.

The Soviets didn’t fight for blocks—they fought for bricks, for stairwells, for every bolt and beam. One room would belong to the Germans, the next to the Soviets. Sometimes they were fighting in the same building—on different floors. It was war in a cage, and every inch came with a cost.

The term “Rats in a Factory” wasn’t poetry—it was reality. Men crawled, fought, and died like animals in a twisted maze of rubble and twisted metal. **Snipers in shadows, ambushes around corners, grenades down stairwells—**no rules, no rest, no mercy.

And guess what? The Soviets held. They bled the German 6th Army dry, right there in that industrial slaughterhouse. That stand helped snap the spine of the Nazi push in the East.

You want a lesson in raw, unbreakable resolve? Look no further. That’s what it means to fight like you’ve got nothing left to lose—and no intention of backing down.

~~ General Howitzer

18 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 9

Axis – 10

Complexity:

5

Conditions:

Urban

Context:

Historical

Location:

Stalingrad

Year:

1942

Theater:

Easter

Campaign:

Summary:

This is an Overlord game.

Objectives:

18 Medals including both Permanent and Temporary Medal Objectives.

Terrain:

Urban factory complex with any factory and city hexes.

Troops:

Allies – 21 Infantry, 6 Armor, 3 Artillery

Axis – 20 Infantry, 12 Armo, 4 Artillery

Special Rules:

1. Temporary Medal Objectives

2. Permanent Medal Objectives

3. Temporary Majority Medal Objectives

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

Operation Market Garden (Overlord)

by GeneralHowitzer | Apr 29, 2025 | 1944, Armor, Artillery, Countryside, Infantry, Location: Netherlands, Overlord, Overlord Game, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Western

Operation Market Garden (Overlord Map)

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Operation Market Garden, fought in September 1944, was a major Allied offensive during World War II aimed at ending the war quickly by capturing key bridges in the Netherlands and entering Germany’s industrial heartland.

The operation combined a massive airborne assault (Market) by British, American and Polish paratroopers with a ground advance (Garden) by British XXX Corps. The goal was to seize bridges over several rivers, including the Rhine at Arnhem, to create a direct route into Germany.

While initial objectives were captured, the operation stalled at Arnhem, where British paratroopers faced fierce German resistance and were eventually overwhelmed after days of heavy fighting. The final bridge remained in German hands, and the ground forces failed to link up in time.

Operation Market Garden was a costly Allied failure, with heavy casualties, especially among the British 1st Airborne Division. It did not shorten the war as hoped and marked one of the last major German defensive victories in the West.

13 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 13 (!)

Axis – 3 (!)

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Countryside

Context:

Historical

Location:

Netherlands

Year:

1944

Theater:

Western

Campaign:

Codename:

Operation Market Garden

Summary:

Objectives:

13 VP’s with Temporary Majority Medal Objectives for whomever holds the majority of the 13 town hexes; plus Turn Start Temporary Uncontested Medal Objectives for the three key bridges.

Battlefield:

Countryside with many roads, towns, rivers, and forests

Troops:

Allies – 20 Infantry, 8 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 17 Infanty, 7 Armor, 1 Artillery

Allied Strategy:

1.

Axis Strategy

1.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link: