Survivor: Memoir Edition!

This year was the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, and the 20th anniversary of Memoir – so our theme for all of this year’s tournament scenarios and scheduled Overlords was battles that happened in 1944. The scenarios were selected by champion French player Luc Cornet.

As is customary in Memoir, our format was 2-game matches (you play both sides of each battle), in a single elimination tournament, with a Mulligan round. We don’t bid for sides. Also, when signing in, every player draws a tiebreak number that will be the Final determinator if a match is tied on all other attributes. A higher series of numbers is reserved for players who bring a game, so bring your game if you can, folks! (Tiebreakers can matter.)

The published tournament rules said that if we have only three surviving players for the Round 5 Semifinal, the highest-ranked available loser from the previous round would be invited back. However, it was pointed out later by the Convention Director that since Memoir’44 is a single elimination tournament, a player who loses a match (other than the Mulligan) is not allowed to continue playing in the event except as an eliminator, and therefore, there was no option but to change the outcome. (This detail is in the GM guidelines, but the GM had never noticed it.) Thus, the result you’ll read in this report is different than what people saw in real time.

Our attendance of 46 was an improvement over 42 and 43 the past two years, but still below our 50-something pre-pandemic levels. This year’s field included 9 past WBC Memoir champions, as well as a number of other active members of the Memoir tournament community. (For info about online tournaments, feel free to contact the GM via his email at samM44@optonline.net).

And now, on to the play-by-play.

MULLIGAN ROUND … COUNTER-ATTACK AT TESSEL

We began with a truly dangerous 7-medal Normandy scenario, British vs Germans. The terrain here is mostly open with a few hedgerows, one block of forest hexes, and a fordable stream slicing the board in two. Here’s the catch: Half of the units on the board are tanks, so infantry advances at their own peril until some of the metal gets cleared off the board.

The Mulligan had 14 matches – same as last year. The results were 8 sweeps and 6 splits won by Axis. The Allies won 8 games, versus 20 for Axis, by an average score of 4.43-6.43 medals and 18.75-23.14 figures. Pretty lopsided.

Highlights: Biggest Axis wins were 7-0, scored by Tim Hitchings and Dan Winnowski, followed by 7-1, scored by Geoff Heintzelman and David Hitchcock. The biggest Allied wins, at 7-4, were earned by: Justin Hasty, Geoff Heintzelman, and Jon Manley. John Parker defeated 2015 champ Chris Kalmbacher. (Notably, this was the fourth consecutive WBC in which Parker defeated a former WBC champion, as last year he ousted Joe Harrison, and in both 2022 and 2019 he defeated former champ John Skiba.)

ROUND 1 … COUNTER-ATTACK AT TESSEL

Same scenario as the night before, with 18 new competitors, 10 returning players restarting after losses in the Mulligan. We had 14 matches, which was an improvement over last year’s 12. There were 7 sweeps, 5 splits won by Axis, and 2 splits won by Allies. The Allies won 11 games, and Axis won 17, with an average score of 4.61-5.96 medals and 18.93-23.14 figures. (Yes, the Germans killed exactly 23.14 figures in both Round 1 and the Mulligan. Each round had 28 games, with the Germans killing 648 figures.)

Highlights: Biggest wins for the Allies were a 7-0 shutout scored by Michael Shea and a 7-1 win by Andrew Bichard. The biggest Axis wins were 7-2, scored by Hannah Manley and Gordon Rodgers. JR Tracy eliminated the aforementioned champ Chris Kalmbacher from the tournament on a match that was tied 12-12 in medals, 54-46 figures, while Jeff Cornett scored a split victory to oust 2005-2006 champ Joe Harrison. And here’s something I don’t think I’ve seen before in 13 years of running this tournament: Bob Tkach defeated Drew Henig by identical scores of 7-4 medals, 28-22 figures in both games of their match.

ROUND 2 … BATTLE OF TILLY-SUR-SEULLES

Another 7-medal Normandy scenario, with a mix of hedgerows, towns, forests, hills, and a river. Each side has plenty of infantry and armor, and even a couple of artilleries, on the board. This scenario is particularly scary for the Allies, because three of their five armored units start the game within range of enemy units and with no retreat hexes.

Out of 13 matches, we had 5 sweeps, 4 splits won by Allies, and 4 split won by Axis. The Allies won 13 games and lost 3, with an average score of 5.58-5.65 medals and 21.19-23.15 figures.

Highlights: The biggest wins for the Allies were 7-2 scored by Brian DeWitt and Sam Edelston. Biggest Axis wins were 7-2, scored by Jon Manley and Matthew Miller. Three former champions fell in this round: Jon Manley knocked out Gordon Rodgers (2009), Justin Hasty surpassed David Schneider (2016) by one medal, and Santeri Maatsola swept John Skiba (2010). It should be noted that Santeri flew in from Finland for this event and gets this year’s prize for “Traveled Farthest."

ROUND 3 … THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

The tournament’s only scenario from the Ardennes. Some players will remember this one from Memoir Online. Lots of forest hexes and a few well-placed hills. The Americans have a majority of the infantry on the board. The Germans can control a lot of space with two artilleries, a sniper, and a majority of the scenario’s armor. The Allies are trying to keep the Germans out of two Permanent Objective hexes.

We had 13 surviving contestants and an eliminator. This round’s 7 matches included 4 sweeps, 1 split won by Allies, and 2 splits won by Axis. Overall, the Allies won 6 games, and Axis won 8, with an average score of 4.93-6.14 medals and 22.43-25.71 figures.

Highlights: The biggest Allied wins were 7-4, scored by Tim Manley and Patrick McLafferty. Biggest Axis wins were 7-1 by Tim Manley and 7-2 by Matthew Miller. For the second round in a row, Jon Manley eliminated a former champion – in this case, Christopher Miller (2018).

Tim Manley had to drop out to compete in a Semifinal elsewhere. The six surviving players were assured of earning Laurels. We had a 3-way tie for first, with Edelston, Hasty, and Heintzelman all at 5-1, 41 medals (one medal short of the maximum). Tim Manley was in 4th with a 5-1 record and 40 medals, but he had to leave for an unrelated Semifinal. McLafferty, Matthew Miller, and Jon Manley were all 4-2 … with 40, 37, and 36 medals, respectively.

ROUND 4 … BATTLE IN THE ARGENS VALLEY

A real change of pace after the previous three rounds: Aside from a single German artillery unit, this August 1944 scenario from Provence is all infantry. The American units are all special forces, accompanied by three French Resistance units. Special rule: The Allies are allowed to bring in one single armor unit on the far side of the board on their sixth turn or later – but do so at your own peril, because the Germans might eliminate it. The terrain includes a bunch of forests, several towns, a medal-objective train station, and a long three-armed road.

The six remaining contestants rolled for matchups. The dice paired 2014/2022 champ Geoff Heintzelman against last year’s 5th place finisher, Matthew Miller … 2017/2023 champ Jon Manley against first-time Laurelist Justin Hasty … and GM/2019 champ Sam Edelston against first-time Laurelist Patrick McLafferty.

The Allies and Axis each won 3 games, with an average score of 5.00-4.50 medals and 22.17-20.17 figures.

Geoff Heintzelman vs Matthew Miller: In game 1, Geoff’s Allies tried to move to their right and gain a numerical advantage and outgun the Germans in two towns and the train station, but Matthew’s Germans thwarted his every move The key moment came when a single-figure German Ambushed a 3-figure infantry and wiped it out. In the rematch, Geoff’s Germans tried to drive forward on their right flank, supported by their artillery, but their dice were ineffective. Once Matthew’s Allies brought in their armor on that flank, it was all over. Both were never close: Matthew swept the match, 6-3, 6-3.

Justin Hasty vs Jon Manley: Game 2 saw the most drama. After an early skirmish where each side lost a unit, the sides plinked at each other from a distance for a while. At last, Jon’s Allies came forward with a General Advance, and he had enough weak units, plus the medal objective, to potentially gain a quick victory with a 5-point turn.

However, one of Justin’s German infantries barely hung on, leaving Jon one medal short. Justin retaliated by eliminating the remnants of the Allied Left units. Action moved back to the center, where the Germans Countered an Allied Firefight. They soon pushed the Allies out of the train station and finished off a sixth unit for the win. In both games, the Allies brought their armored units onto the board, but they were destroyed within two turns. Justin swept the match, 6-5, 6-4.

Patrick McLafferty vs Sam Edelston: In game 1, Pat’s Germans advanced in the center, which happened to be where Sam was holding some big cards. After a slow start, Sam’s Allies got four kills there while losing only one unit. The final two points came when the Germans’ two leftmost units charged forward: The Allies eliminated one of them and also claimed the medal objective. Sam won, 6-1, without bringing in the optional tank. In the rematch, Sam had an abundance of Center and Right cards, together with strong dice that brought him three kills in the center (clinching the match) and one on the right. Patrick’s Americans brought in a tank on their 7th turn. Three German units Attacked in response, but fell one hit short of eliminating it – so the tank proceeded to finish off the artillery and an infantry as part of a 3-medal turn. Neither side lacked good cards in this battle, but the Germans generally had the stronger dice. Sam won, 6-5 medals, sweeping the match.

ROUND 5 … BATTLE OF BLOODY GULCH

Back to Normandy, with plenty of hedgerows and forests. The Americans are all Special Forces infantry, including several units with various Special Weapons Assets. The German infantries are all Special Forces, as well, and they’re supported by two Panzer units. The Germans can exit units on the far side of the board for medals.

After 4 rounds, the three survivors were Edelston and Hasty (tied at 7-1 with 53 medals) and Matthew Miller (6-2, 49 medals). As the highest-ranked loser from round 4 Geoff Heintzelman. now reclassified as an eliminator, rounded out the field.

Matthew Miller vs Sam Edelston: Game 1. Sam’s Germans started with an unbeatable hand that included Infantry Assault, Assault Center, DHQ, and Counter-Attack. Sam moved extra units to the center, and then Infantry Assaulted with 7 units, following up with the Center Assault and DHQ to gain a 3-1 lead. Matthew’s Allies fought back to a 4-4 tie. Sam Counter-Attacked a 2-2-2, eliminating an infantry, weakening another, and moving a tank into the next-to-last row forest – so it was virtually assured of exiting on the next turn. But the Allies Counter-Attacked the Counter and wiped out a German infantry and armor to snatch the victory. Matthew won, 6-5.

Game 2. After a bit of preliminary movement, Matthew’s German Air Power rolled 1-for-3, and Sam’s Allies Counter-Attacked, rolling 6-for-8 in the center. This put the Germans at a disadvantage, but nevertheless they Infantry Assaulted in the center with 7 units, which the Allies Countered, and then the Germans Assaulted Center with 7 units. Still, somehow, the score was still 0-0. From this point on, Sam’s Allies ordered 4 units per turn, with a TFH, DHQ, Move Out, and finally another DHQ, combining for the necessary 6 kills. Matthew was able to maintain pressure with three cards in the center and 3 kills, but it wasn’t enough. Sam won, 6-3. Match result: An 11-9 split decision for Sam.

Justin Hasty vs Geoff Heintzelman (eliminator): As Axis, Geoff started with a lot of left cards, as well as some infantry tactic cards and maybe DHQ. So, he made a strong push to clean out the Allied Right, and Justin didn’t have the cards to fight back. The Germans managed to exit one infantry unit, but Allied Air Power prevented a second exit, and the Allies shifted some personnel to the right to stabilize that flank. However, it was apparent to Justin that he was going to be overrun, so he tried to gain as many medals as possible, advancing on his left, where he had good cards. The pivotal moment came when Allied troops (including a machine gun) were able to trap a German infantry in a no retreat situation, and the unit doing the trapping was also adjacent to a 1-figure Panzer – but all 8 Allied dice were required to eliminate the infantry. Geoff’s Germans wound up with a 6-4 victory.

In the rematch, Justin’s Germans tried to advance on the Allied right but failed and was pushed back, so both sides stuck to a lot of ranged fire from terrain. The Allied units were starting to get worn down so Justin made his advance on the Allied left to try and finish off the game, but he ran out of cards for the section and stalled at the most critical point. German armor drove one Allied infantry back to the baseline and reduced it to a single figure; next turn, German planes attacked that infantry with an 83% chance of success and missed. Geoff’s Allies played Their Finest Hour, which eliminated an infantry and a full-strength armor, getting him up to 5 kills to win the match, though Justin won game 2 by a 6-5 score. Geoff won the overall match, 11-10.

Since Geoff, as an eliminator won the second Semifinal, there would be no second player for a Final round, so Sam’s semifinal win earned him his second WBC Memoir ’44 Championship!

(But just so you know, there’s a parallel universe someplace where Geoff played very astutely and won a split match in a final, 3-6, 6-1.)

MULTI-PLAYER OVERLORD GAMES

In addition to the tournament, we had five multi-player Overlord games. These are always a highlight, because many players only have a chance to play them at conventions. They also tend to be a source of great battle stories. As always, we had a mix of elementary and advanced Overlords; the elementary ones are particularly great for bringing in inexperienced players.

This year, thanks to large numbers of players, we opened up a second table during two of the five periods.

PELELIU LANDINGS

We had 15 players for the Overlord, so seven of us played Peleliu Landings as scheduled, and we quickly set up a board of Tigers in the Snow for the eight others.

Peleliu is the Overlord that comes in the Pacific Theater expansion, always a favorite. Marines infantry and armor swarming the beaches and Japanese (protected by jungle, bunkers, and mountains) trying to fend them off.

Allies were commanded by Drew Henig, with left-to-right Field Generals Gary Nichols, Santeri Maatsola, and Rob Gendrom. The Germans were commanded by Chris Kalmbacher, with Field Generals James Magnati, Chris Kalmbacher, and Sam Edelston facing them.

The Japanese got off to an early 5-2 lead, with both sides’ kills evenly divided between the left and right flanks. On the Japanese third turn, Chris gave Sam an Assault Right, telling him to mobilize his tanks. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that’s when the Marines responded with Their Finest Hour and rolled 11 orders. They wiped out the two Japanese tanks that had advanced to fire in the center, as well as two Japanese infantries in the neighborhood, and scored assorted other hits across the board. Two turns later, the Marines gained their first lead, 9-8, which steadily grew to a 2-medal lead the following turn, and finally a 13-10 victory the turn after that.

The interesting thing about this victory is that it was so evenly spread across the board. Each Allied section scored 4-5 medals. Each Axis section scored 3-4 medals. The Marines pushed past the mines in the center and penetrated on their inner right, but they didn’t reach the airfield or the exit hexes.

TIGERS IN THE SNOW

The Allies were commanded by Jon Manley. Field Generals, left-to-right, were John Parker, Geoff Heintzelman, and another player whose name wasn’t recorded. (Sorry!) The Germans were commanded by Andrew Bichard. Field Generals, right-to-left, were Dan Winnowski, Joe Harrison, and Wayne.

The game started poorly for the Germans. They were aggressive with the Tigers, losing 3 of 4 very quickly. The first 3 medals for the Russians were Tiger tanks. The Russians lived very little in the center for much of the game. Early turns were used to poise the Russian tanks in the left flank to cross the river when a bridge climb e be built. A bridge was built on turn 3 or 4, but then was destroyed by the Germans. The next turn another bridge was built and the Russian tanks flooded across.

Things looked dire for the Germans, but then the game took a turn. The Russians played a TFH after the Germans countered 2 cards from the previous turn. The Russian TFH was only moderately successful. The Axis commander had another counter and used it with better success for their TFH. The German position was solidified a bit, having weakened the Russian right and inflicted losses on the Russians crossing the river. This started a string of 3 straight TFH played by the Germans: They drew it the next 2 turns and continued to play it. The Russians couldn't do much to react, although they finally did kill the last Tiger, who was much more stubborn, soaking up a significant number of dice.

The game ended with the Germans playing their third straight TFH (the one from the Counter-Attack, followed by two from drawing it). If the Russians had survived, they had just drawn a Counter-Attack, which would have been a 5th total TFH played for the game. Final score: A German victory, 13-7.

CAPE TOROKINA LANDINGS

The players at the table decided to play something simpler than the originally scheduled scenario, so they pulled out this unique Marines vs IJA Battle map from the Khalkhin Gol expansion, where nearly half of the hexes are water. The Japanese are defending two small jungle islands and a riverside that’s mostly shore, jungle, and road hexes.

The American attackers were commanded by Christopher Miller, with Field Generals Matthew Miller, Christopher Miller, and Dan Winnowski. The Japanese defenders were led by Joe Harrison, with Field Generals Joe Harrison, Justin Hasty, and Andrew Bichard.

On their left flank, the Marines took both islands, but only with significant Allied casualties. Marines managed to land only one unit on the mainland, but it was soon wiped out. Most action was where the Marines came ashore on the right flank. They overcome the beach defenders, and their armor pushed inland. The early Allied lead was eaten into but was too big to overcome. Allied victory, by several medals, but I don’t have the exact score.

STOLBERG CORRIDOR

A pre-printed map from the 2022 Dutch Open. (You can always count on the Dutch Open for interesting, creative scenarios.) The notable feature of this scenario is more than a dozen Dragon’s Teeth anti-tank obstacles – and Bulldozer Tanks that destroy the obstacles.

Allied commander: Santeri Maatsola, with left-to-right Field Generals Brian, Matthew, and Dan Winnowski (relieved by Santeri). The Germans were commanded by John Parker, with right-to-left Field Generals Don, Tomi Maatsola, and Sam Edelston.

The Germans start with a few forward units, but in general, most of the units begin the battle at opposite sides of the battlefield, and as a result, scoring began slowly. After 8 turns, the Allies led by only 3-2. But on the 9th turn, after the Allies slew a tank and an infantry, the German Right kayoed two armors and an engineer. Then, the following turn, a German TFH rolled 4 orders on their left (killing a tank and infantry and gaining an objective) and 3 orders on their right (knocking out an engineer). Axis now led, 9-7.

After this point, the Allies eliminated two German infantries and skirmished back and forth at a couple of objectives, but the Germans eliminated two units on each flank to clinch the victory. Final score, Axis wins, 13-9. The big difference was 7 kills and an objective for Axis Right versus 3 kills for Allied Left. In the other two sections, the Allies played to a 6-4 edge.

D-DAY LANDINGS: OPERATION NEPTUNE

To honor the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we brought out the D-Day Landings maps, as we did for the 70th and 75th. This year, we had eight players, so we played four maps: Sword, Juno, Gold, and Omaha.

• Sword: Allies, Ethan Shipley-Tang vs Axis, Sam Edelston
• Juno: Allies, Santeri Maatsola vs Axis, Chris Kalmbacher
• Gold: Allies, Tomi Maatsola vs Axis, John Skiba
• Omaha: Allies, Joe Harrison vs Axis, Andrew Bichard

Sword Beach: The Allies had lots of orders for their center and right sections, which allowed them to wipe out the beach defenders and claim control of two beach sections plus 5 towns and a couple of bridges. They also wiped out both Big Guns en route to scoring at least 20 medals in all. The Germans might have gotten as many as 10, though maybe not.

Juno Beach: Advantage for the Allies here, too, though not by as big a margin. They did gain control over a bunch of beach.

Gold Beach: The one German bright spot, as the Allies took control of only one beach section and no towns. The back-row Panzer charged up the length of the board to reach the beach – where it eliminated four units and halved another before being extinguished. Two reinforcement Panzers never reached the battle. Normally, the target for this board is 12 medals; the Germans scored 15, a considerable advantage of the Allies.

Omaha: It was a typical bloodbath on beaches, but the Americans were able to clear the right and center sections. They Allies broke the right flank by killing German 88 early. German armor reinforcements arrived at trade losses with Allied armor, but they were unable to make a major impact before game ended.

Final result was a big Allied victory, though we didn’t count up the exact totals. Special thanks to Hannah and Timothy Manley for assistance with the setup, and to Jon Manley for serving as the supply master.

BASTOGNE CORRIDOR OVERTHROUGH

Since this year was also the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, we concluded the weekend’s schedule with a worthy scenario from that massive encounter. A two-board “Overthrough" scenario combines the team structure of an Overlord with the double-depth board of a Breakthrough scenario. This scenario was composed by Kellyn “Yossarian44" Beeck. It utilizes an incredible number of road, river, forest, and town tiles. Winter Visibility rules are in effect, so on distant attacks an Infantry or Tank roll is a miss. Winter Combat cards are optional, and the players chose not to use them. An Overlord deck was used, but On The Move orders were given on section cards per Breakthrough rules.

Allies: Andrew Bichard commanded. Field Generals, left-to-right: Alex Nesenjuk, Santeri Maatsola, Tomi Maatsola. Axis: Joe Harrison commanded. Field Generals, right-to-left: Matthew Miller, Jon Manley, Mike Shea.

Winter Visibility battles on a long board sometimes can feel tedious, as the players often plink at each other from protected terrain at 1-die range while reinforcements approach from the rear. But eventually, once one side senses an advantage, both sides charge at each other with the force of sumo wrestlers.

In this battle royal, the Germans never advanced beyond mid-board on any front, but they nevertheless prevailed, 24-18.

THE KHALKHIN-GOL ENCIRCLEMENT

We had two extra players, so GM Sam Edelston challenged Christopher Miller to a one-on-one Overlord. With his American and German figures in use, the logical choice was a scenario pitting the Russians against the Japanese, and as happened last year, that’s how we got to Khalkhin Gol.

This battle map pits the Soviet army (and Commissar) against the Japanese in Mongolia in August 1939 (85th anniversary), just before the World War officially started. All three Russian sections are loaded with tanks, while the Japanese rely more on infantry dug in behind sandbags. Most of the Japanese armor is some light, 2-figure tanks in the center. Each of the six Field Generals has a highly mobile armored car, and both sides have a bit of cavalry on each flank. This tends to be a fairly balanced scenario.

Sam played the Russians, and Christopher played the Japanese. The first four turns, the Russian armor mostly tried to soften up the Japanese infantry on their right and left, while only a few Japanese units came forward to do damage. Meanwhile, some early positioning in the center turned into the first major exchanges. After four turns, the Russians trailed, 3-5, with the remains of four Russian tank units burning on the battlefield.

Then the Russians unleashed their weapons in earnest, Countering an Assault Left (5 units, 3 kills, including an armored car), plus a Move Out in the center (killing 3 infantries), and a Probe on the right (2 kills, including another armored car). In a flash, they led 11-5.

After some further gains, the Russians finished their 8th turn with a 16-9 lead and the strong smell of imminent victory. But Christopher Miller is a formidable opponent and an excellent tactician. He found a way that, with his limited cards and perfect dice, an aggressive attack might possibly score 9 medals and win the game. He charged forward. His left flank took out two weakened Russian infantries and an armored car. His center took out two tanks. And then he missed on a couple of attacks. Though his right eliminated a further tank, the turn’s 6 kills could only bring him up to 15 points.

Now the Russians came back with an Infantry Assault in the center which captured Remisova Hill but failed to kill any units. With an Assault Left, their infantry and armor were ineffective. One shot remained, from their Big Gun against a 1-figure infantry in the center. It was a hit. Final score: Russia wins, 18-15 medals, following a powerful comeback by the Japanese. Sorry to give so much detail on this one: It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The GM wishes to thank AGMs Geoff Heintzelman, Jon Manley, John Skiba, and Dan Winnowski for their help in the tournament room and leading some of the Overlords. Thanks also to Jon Manley, for leading the pre-tournament instructional demo, and to Hannah Manley with much assistance with tournament signups and Overlord setups, and to Timothy Manley, John Parker, and others for additional help. The GM also wishes to thank the Convention Director for pointing out the nonconforming tournament rule; it’s an awkward coincidence that as a player he benefited from the change, but this was a broader issue.

Also, special kudos to Andrew Bichard for earning the WBC Sportsmanship Award for his actions in both Memoir and 878 Vikings, and special thanks to the members of BPA for selecting him; he really earned it. Andrew was back this year, in both the tournament and four Overlords.

Thanks, as always, to Richard Borg for creating this wonderful game, and to Days of Wonder / Asmodee for continuing to support it. And special thanks to the organizers of WBC for allowing us to make this North America’s premiere Memoir ’44 event year after year.