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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CounterAttack-Panzer-Lehr-Allies-left

CounterAttack-Panzer-Lehr-Allies-center

CounterAttack-Panzer-Lehr-Axis-right

CounterAttack-Panzer-Lehr-Axis-center

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:

Belle-Lande

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 2, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Tactical, Theater: Western

Belle-Lande

Listen up. Our attack on Hauts-Vents bogged down. Hobbs did the right thing—shifted weight to the 119th and drove on Belle-Lande to turn the enemy’s flank. Task Force X pressed; Task Force Y moved to back up the 2nd and 3rd Battalions. Then the surprise: Belle-Lande, reported empty, lit us up—tanks dug in, infantry stiff as a board. That unexpected fire choked the relief and killed momentum.

We clawed to the village edge, took the measure, and found steel in the hedgerows. With darkness closing, we pulled the forward elements, called in the guns, and set to blast a path for dawn. End of the day: no objectives taken.

Lesson: never trust last night’s report—recon twice, flank hard, and keep artillery married to the advance. Momentum is earned; when it stalls, you reset and hit harder.

~~ General Howitzer

Medals

5 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: 5 Medals
Plus, the town of Belle-Lande is a complete set of temporary medals for the Allies.)

Terrain:

Countryside with hedgerows, hills, and 8 hexes for the town of Belle-Lande

Troops:

Allies – 7 Infantry, 6 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 6 Infantry, 5 Armor

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Historically, the Allies had a hard time attacking Belle-Lande, so your forces on the right flank will be facing a challenge if they attempt to cross the open land into the two defended hexes on the right. It may be better to pursue the ridge on the right and the hedgerows on the left for the Infantry forces. Then your Armor can attack from a distance to soften the town defenses before you launch your Infantry against it.

2. Every hex of Belle-Lande is a Temporary Medal Objective. Taking out just two hexes of Infantry and moving in, will gain you four of the five Medals needed to win.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. This is primarily a defensive role for the Axis. Stay behind your sandbags and fire away.

Battle Reports

Author:

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

Link:

Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents

by GeneralHowitzer | Oct 1, 2025 | 1944, 2025 Refresh, Armor, Artillery, Base Game, Countryside, Infantry, Location: France, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Tactical, Theater: Western

Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents

Listen up. Hauts-Vents was a knuckle of roads west of St-Lô—the kind of crossroads that decides a campaign. The Germans threw together Kampfgruppe Heintz from the 275th Infantry to sit on it. We pushed XIX Corps—30th and 9th Infantry up front with 3rd Armored’s CCB—to rip that hinge off the door.

They fed in Panzer Lehr on the 10th and counterattacked hard on the 11th. Didn’t matter. We took Hill 91, smashed their thrusts, and CCB seized the Hauts-Vents crossroads. Result? Their screen cracked, their line started to sag, and St-Lô’s fall became a question of hours, not weeks.

Lesson: take the crossroads, break the spine, keep moving. Momentum wins France.

~~ General Howitzer

5 VP’s

4 VP’s

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

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: 5 Medals
The town of La Rocher has two hexes worth one medal each.)

Terrain:

Countryside

Troops:

Allies – 9 Infantry, 2 Armor, 1 Artillery

Axis – 7 Infantry, 1 Armor, 1 Artillery

🔥 Winning as Allies

1. Since you only need five medals to win, the town of Le Rocher is of great tactical value for you. It is close, and it is worth two victory medals. When you take out the two Infantry guarding it, and move into the town, you will have four of the five medals needed to win.

🔥 Winning as Axis

1. While Hill 91 needs to be protected, you should consider moving your Infantry from the hill in the direction of Le Rocher in order to lend some support against the forces of 120th Infantry.

Battle Reports

Author:

Days of Wonder

Link:

The Tatsinskaya Raid

by GeneralHowitzer | Sep 22, 2025 | 1942, Armor, Artillery, Breakthrough Game, Infantry, Location: Russia, Medal Objectives, Memoir 44, Scenario, Strategic, Theater: Eastern, Winter

The Tatsinskaya Raid

By late December ’42, Paulus’ 6th Army was choking inside the Stalingrad pocket, and the Soviets slammed the door tighter with Operation Little Saturn. They tore through the Italian 8th Army like paper, and Badanov’s 24th Tank Corps drove a steel fist 150 miles deep into German lines. His T-34s rolled right onto Tatsinskaya airfield, smashing up Junkers 52s that were the lifeline to Stalingrad.

The Germans scrambled the 11th Panzer and 306th Infantry to hit back, and they hit hard. Badanov’s tanks took a pounding, but he held that airfield for four bloody days before clawing his way back to his own lines. The cost was high, but the result was clear: the German relief effort was crippled, Stalingrad was left to rot, and the mighty Wehrmacht had been dealt another hammer blow on the Eastern Front.

~~ General Howitzer

VP’s

10 including the Airport Permanent Objective Medal

Card Balance:

Allies – 4

Axis – 5

Complexity:

4

Conditions:

Winter

Context:

Historical

Location:

Russia

Year:

1942

Codename:

Operation Little Saturn

Summary:

Victory Points:

10 Medals, including the airport Permanent Medal Objective

Terrain:

Winter terrain

Troops:

Allies – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Axis – Infantry, Armor, Artillery

Allies:

1. Your forces have a massive armor advantage over the Axis in this raid scenario. You need to coordinate your efforts and arrive at the frontlines of battle together.

2. Your very first challenge is to deal with the Artillery and Infantry hidden in the forest right in the front center of the battle field. Until you deal with them, they will hamper all of your attack efforts.

3. If you can deal with the Artillery quickly, before the Axis bring down their other units, you can gain a couple of medals very quickly, as that Artillery is the key defensive point on this end of the battlefield. But if you do not have the cards and forces to take it out quickly, you will destroy several units during the attack. [Athafil, Italy]

4. The airport is a Permanent Medal Objective. You don’t need to stay on the hex, so you can just grab it and then leave to a more defensive position.

Axis:

1. This is primarily a defensive scenario for the Axis. You need to engage the enemy, but if you attempt to battle the massive armor forces out in the open, your forces will get decimated.

2. Your forces are stuck behind the forests. You need to get them, especially the armor, forward as quickly as possible to support your advance forces which are defending the airport.

3. The airport is a Permanent Medal Objective for the enemy. Hold it as long as you can. Make them pay for it with a lot of units.

4. Your Artillery in the center frontline is your strongest asset. Use it at every opportunity.

5. You have many assets stuck in the forests and marches in the back. Get them out as quickly as possible and forward to provide additional attack strength and support with your forward Artillery.

Author.

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