Memoir '44: Breakthrough

Memoir '44: Breakthrough Rulebook

Table of Contents

Scenarios
Scenario Index and Material Key

Scenarios

Each scenario lists its Setup order (the piece icons are not reproduced; the counts are as printed on the scenario map, numbered in the order shown there), its Briefing (Command cards and who moves first), its Conditions of Victory and its Special Rules. References in parentheses point to the base Memoir '44 rules and to the expansions' rules sections, as printed.

1 - Counter-Attack of the BEF - May 21, 1940

Setup order: 1 x11; 2 1x; 3 x1; 4 1x; 5 x11; 6 1x; 7 x10; 8 1x; 9 x1; 10 3x.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain/France]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.
Agny, Wailly and Beaurains are Temporary Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.
The church in Arras is a Temporary Medal Objective for the Axis forces.

Special Rules

British Commonwealth Forces command rules are in effect, for British units (Nation 5 - British Commonwealth Forces).
Blitz rules are in effect (Actions 15 - Blitz rules).
Special Weapon Asset rules (SWA 1 - Special Weapon Assets Rules) are in effect for the units equipped with Anti-Tank weapons (SWA 2 - Anti-Tank Weapon).
Place a badge on German elite infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units) and on the German mobile artillery unit (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery).
Place a badge on British "Matildas" elite tank units (Troops 2 - Specialized units).
The Axis artillery unit with a Battle Star is a Flak 88mm gun: it may move 0-1 or battle at 2, 2, 2, 2. Stars rolled score a hit on Armor. Target must be in line of sight. Ignores terrain battle protections.
The "Air Power" card cannot be played by the Allied player. If he draws it, he must immediately discard it and draw a new one.

2 - Battle of Abbeville - May 28-30, 1940

Setup order: 1 x1; 2 12x; 3 x6; 4 6x; 5 x17; 6 9x; 7 x6; 8 2x; 9 x1; 10 2x; 11 x3.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards.
Allied Player [France]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

10 Medals.
The church in Abbeville and the central hex of Mont de Caubert are Temporary Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.

Special Rules

Blitz rules are in effect (Actions 15 - Blitz rules).
Place a badge on the French B1-bis elite tank units and another badge on the French elite infantry units of the 4th BCP (Troops 2 - Specialized units).
The Somme is impassable, except over the bridges (Terrain 8 - Rivers & Waterways).
The Axis artillery unit with a Battle Star is a Flak 88mm gun: it may move 0-1 or battle at 2, 2, 2, 2. Stars rolled score a hit on Armor. Target must be in line of sight. Ignores terrain battle protections.

3 - Sword Beach - June 6, 1944

Setup order: 1 x9; 2 10x; 3 x12; 4 9x; 5 x4; 6 2x; 7 x2; 8 3x; 9 x3; 10 7x; 11 x8.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.
Casino Riva Bella, Strong-point Trout and the Chateau are Permanent Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.
The two bridges over the Orne River and Canal form a Temporary Majority Medal Objective worth 2 Medals for whoever controls it.
The two hexes on the outskirts of Caen form a Temporary Majority Medal Objective worth 3 Medals for whoever controls them. The Axis player controls them at game start, and thus has a 3 Medals headstart.

Special Rules

Place a badge on the German elite infantry unit and on the Commando infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
The Axis player is in control of the Bunkers and may claim them as a defensive position (Terrain 2 - Bunkers).
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario.

4 - Breakthrough to the Beach - June 6, 1944

Setup order: 1 x16; 2 1x; 3 x3; 4 11x; 5 x5; 6 5x; 7 x3; 8 4x; 9 x5; 10 2x; 11 x2; 12 1x; 13 x1; 14 7x.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.
Lion-sur-Mer is a Permanent Medal Objective for the Armored Axis units.
Pegasus Bridge, over the Orne canal, is a Permanent Medal Objective for the British Special Forces starting on the ocean baseline (but not for the commandos next to the bridge).

Special Rules

Place a badge on the three British Special Forces units, on the British Commando unit by the bridge and on the German elite infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
Place a badge on the Mobile Artillery units on the ocean's baseline (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery). They can move and fire, even when on water.
Place a badge on the two flame thrower tank units. These tanks are Churchill AVRE and behave like Combat Engineers when entering minefields (Troops 4 - Combat Engineers).
Place a badge on the three German Sniper units (Troops 10 - Snipers).
The Axis artillery unit with a Battle Star is a Flak 88mm gun: it may move 0-1 or battle at 2, 2, 2, 2. Stars rolled score a hit on Armor. Target must be in line of sight. Ignores terrain battle protections. The Flak 88 Gun in the beach bunker does not grant a medal to the Allied player, even if destroyed. The artillery units in a bunker cannot move nor retreat.
Reinforcements: As soon as a player reaches 5 medals, he may call reinforcements in. The Axis player's reinforcements are the 5 units with a Battle Star (except for the 88 Gun). These units cannot be ordered until the Axis player reaches 5 medals. The Allied player's reinforcements are not on the battlefield at game start; instead, he may deploy 5 new infantry units and 2 new armor units on his baseline as soon as he gets his first 5 medals. This deployment is free: the units can then be ordered with a Command card.
The Axis player lays out the minefields (Terrain 29 - Minefields).
Air rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario. In addition, the Axis player cannot use the Air Power card. When drawn, he must immediately discard it and draw a new one.

5 - Coldstream Hill - July 30-31, 1944

Setup order: 1 x11; 2 21x; 3 x9; 4 6x; 5 x2; 6 9x; 7 x8.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.
Hill 226 and Hill 309 are Temporary Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.

Special Rules

Place a badge on Allied engineer units (Troops 4 - Combat Engineers) and on Allied "Crocodile" Flame Thrower Tanks (Troops 13 - Flame Thrower Tanks).
Place a badge on the Allied "Sexton" and German "Wespe" Mobile artillery units (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery).
Place a badge on the German "Jagdpanther" and "Tiger II" elite tank units and another on the German Grenadier infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
The German player lays out the Minefields (Terrain 29 - Minefields).
Air Rules are optional: If used, shuffle both Air Sortie cards into the deck before game start.

6 - Breakthrough at Mortain - August 7-12, 1944

Setup order: 1 x1; 2 12x; 3 x6; 4 1x; 5 x8; 6 15x; 7 x6; 8 6x; 9 x2; 10 7x; 11 x6.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [United States]: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

Allied player: 12 Medals.
Axis Player: Allied units killed give the Axis player no medals in this scenario. Instead, the Axis player must seize 5 out of the 7 Permanent Medal Objectives that are Mortain's Train Station and the villages of Juvigny, Milly, Saint Pois, le Mesnil-Adelée, Montigny and Saint Hilaire.

Special Rules

All Axis infantry and 3 of the Allied infantry are elite units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units). Use badges for the elite Allied infantry.
Place a badge on the two mobile German artillery units (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery).
Re-supply rules (Actions 24 - Re-Supply) are in effect for the Supply Trucks (Troops 17 - Supply Trucks).
Air rules are in effect. Give both Air Sortie cards to the Allied player before game start. Use the Spitfire (Airplanes 4 - Supermarine Spitfire) with their Ground Interdiction (Air Rules 5 - Ground Interdiction) and Strafing (Air Rules 10 - Strafing) to simulate the Typhoons' devastating effect. The Allied player alone is also able to conduct Air Strikes (Actions 3 - Air Strikes) when playing Recon 1 cards. If the Axis player draws an Air Power during the game, he must play it as an Artillery Bombard instead.

7 - The Surrender of Elster's Column - August 20 - September 16, 1944

Setup order: 1 x22; 2 9x; 3 x2; 4 2x; 5 x3; 6 1x; 7 x8; 8 2x; 9 x1; 10 1x; 11 x8; 12 15x; 13 x12.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [French Resistance]: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

Allied player only: 8 Medals.
Axis player: The Axis player achieves Victory if, and only if, he manages to exit 3 of his units through the Exit markers on the Allied player's baseline.

Special Rules

All Allied forces are French Resistance units (Nations 1 - French Resistance). Badges are not required.
Place a badge on the three elite German infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
The Allied player alone is able to conduct Air Strikes (Actions 3 - Air Strikes).
Remove the Barrage card from the deck before starting the game, as neither the Germans nor the Resistance had any artillery support.
The "Air Power" card cannot be played by the Allied player. If he draws it or receives it at game start, he must immediately discard it and draw a new one.
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario.

8 - Noville to Foy - December 20, 1944

Setup order: 1 x22; 2 3x; 3 x9; 4 20x; 5 x1; 6 1x; 7 x1; 8 1x; 9 x6; 10 3x; 11 x9.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 4 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [United States]: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

10 Medals.
The baseline road hex with an Exit marker is worth 1 Victory Medal for each Allied truck figure that manages to exit the board toward Bastogne.
The three sets of road hexes connecting Noville, Foy and Recogne are each worth a single Temporary Medal Objective for the Axis player. If the Axis player occupies one or more hexes in any of these sets at the start of his turn, he scores one Temporary Medal. Only one medal is gained for each set, regardless of the number of road hexes held there.

Special Rules

Heavy Fog rules are in effect, reducing combat effectiveness. Dice symbols rolled that match a unit being targeted only score hits when battling the unit in Close Assault. All Grenades rolled still score hits as normal.
Place a badge on the two elite Allied Parachute infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units) and on the lone German engineers unit (Troops 4 - Combat Engineers).
Tiger Tank rules are in effect (Troops 16 - Tiger Tanks).
Supply Truck rules are in effect (Troops 17 - Supply Trucks). Re-supply rules are not in effect, however; trucks in this scenario are transporting wounded men.
Special Weapon Assets rules (SWAs 1 - Special Weapon Assets) are in effect for the units equipped with Anti-Tank weapons (SWAs 2 - Anti-Tank Gun) and Mortar (SWAs 3 - Mortar).
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario.

9 - Operation Amherst - April 8, 1945

Setup order: 1 x9; 2 1x; 3 x21; 4 2x; 5 x1; 6 11x; 7 x1; 8 1x; 9 x11; 10 9x; 11 x3; 12 11x; 13 x4.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [France]: Take 6 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

6 Medals.
The two bridges over the Canal and the airfield are Temporary Medal Objectives for the Allied forces.

Special Rules

Before the Axis player takes his first turn, the Allied player makes three paradrops, each with 3 figures (Actions 20 - Paradrop).
All German infantry units are Special Forces (Troops 2 - Specialized Units). Badges are not required.
All Allied infantry units are Special Forces Para units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units). Badges are not required.
Flooded Fields (Terrain 23 - Flooded Fields) and High Ground rules (Terrain 25 - High Ground) are in effect.
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario.

10 - Operation Crusader - November 19 - December 5, 1941

Setup order: 1 x4; 2 9x; 3 x2; 4 1x; 5 x1; 6 11x; 7 x1; 8 1x; 9 x1; 10 1x; 11 x16.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany/Italy]: Take 6 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.
The British Medal in Tobruk is a Permanent Medal Objective for British units starting on the Allied player side of the board only. Only a single medal can be won that way, regardless of how many British units reach Tobruk.
The German Medal in the Campaign Headquarters on the Allied baseline is a Permanent Medal Objective for the Axis player.

Special Rules

North African Desert rules are in effect (Actions 9 - North African Desert Rules).
British Commonwealth Forces (Nation 5 - British Commonwealth Forces) and Italian Royal Army command rules (Nation 6 - Italian Royal Army) are in effect.
Oasis Recovery rules are in effect at Bir el Chleta, Bir el Gobi and Gabr Saleh (Actions 10 - Oasis Recovery). Those rules also apply to each camp's Campaign HQ.
Place a badge on the elite German infantry near Gambut (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
Place a badge on the German heavy artillery in Gambut and the British heavy artillery near Gabr Saleh. Both are Big Guns (Troops 3 - Big Guns).
Place a badge on the mobile German artillery unit near Gambut (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery).
Place a badge on the two Afrikakorps units of Panzers with 4 tanks each (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
The Axis artillery unit with a Battle Star is a Flak 88mm gun: it may move 0-1 or battle at 2, 2, 2, 2. Stars rolled score a hit on Armor. Target must be in line of sight. Ignores terrain battle protections.
The Allied player lays out the minefields around Tobruk and the Axis player those around Sidi Omar/Halfaya and Bir el Gobi (Terrain 29 - Minefields).
Air rules are optional. If used, give the Allied player one Air Sortie card and shuffle the other one in the deck, at game start.

11 - Battle of Alam el Halfa - August 30 - September 7, 1942

Setup order: 1 x1; 2 7x; 3 x9; 4 12x; 5 x8; 6 1x; 7 x3; 8 3x; 9 x18; 10 12x.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards.
Allied Player [Great Britain]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

8 Medals.
The three town hexes next to the railroad tracks are Permanent Medal Objectives for the Axis forces.

Special Rules

North African Desert rules are in effect (Actions 9 - North African Desert Rules).
British Commonwealth Forces command rules (Nation 5 - British Commonwealth Forces) are in effect.
Place a badge on the German engineer units (Troops 4 - Combat Engineers).
The Allied player lays out the Minefields (Terrain 29 - Minefields).
Air Rules are not in effect. The Air Sortie cards are set aside and not used in this scenario.

12 - Nach Moskau! - November 23 - December 5, 1941

Setup order: 1 x10; 2 4x; 3 x8; 4 3x; 5 x2; 6 16x; 7 x6; 8 3x; 9 x2; 10 1x; 11 x11.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [Soviet Union]: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

15 Medals.
The Allied player suffers Sudden Death the instant a German unit enters the Moscow hex marked with a Medal.

Special Rules

Blitz Rules are in effect (Actions 15 - Blitz rules).
Russian Command rules are in effect (Nations 2 - Red Army).
The German infantry units equipped with a badge are Panzergrenadiers (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
The German artillery in Klin is a Mobile Artillery unit (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery). Place a badge on it.
The other German artillery is a Big Gun (Troops 3 - Big Guns). Place a badge on it.
Place a badge on the two Siberian cavalry units (Troops 8 - Cavalry).
Three Russian infantry units have 3 figures only. They represent the Factory Workers forced into the battle.
The Istra and the Volga-Moskva canal are frozen (Terrain 47 - Frozen Rivers).
General Winter rules are in effect. At the start of each of his turn, the Axis player rolls 2 dice. For any Grenade roll, he must remove 1 figure from a German unit of his choice. Any unit wiped out that way still counts as a medal for the Allied player.
Air rules are optional. If used, give the Axis player one Air Sortie card and shuffle the other one in the deck, at game start.

13 - The Tatsinskaya Raid - December 24-29, 1942

Setup order: 1 x1; 2 20x; 3 x4; 4 4x; 5 x7; 6 4x; 7 x2; 8 2x; 9 x1; 10 3x.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 5 Command cards.
Allied Player [Soviet Union]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

10 Medals, including the Tatsinskaya Airfield for the Allied player.
The Tatsinskaya Airfield is a Permanent Medal Objective for the Allied player.

Special Rules

Russian Command rules are in effect (Nations 2 - Red Army).
The Bystrava is frozen (Terrains 47 - Frozen Rivers).
All German units are camouflaged at the start of the battle (Actions 16 - Camouflage), except for the units in Tatsinskaya and in the field bunkers.
Air rules are optional. If used, shuffle the two Air Sortie cards in the deck, at game start.

14 - Battle of Prokhorovka - July 12, 1943

Setup order: 1 x9; 2 2x; 3 x5; 4 6x; 5 x6; 6 5x; 7 x2.

Briefing

Axis Player [Germany]: Take 6 Command cards.
Allied Player [Soviet Union]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.

Conditions of Victory

12 Medals.

Special Rules

Tiger tank rules are in effect (Troops 16 - Tigers).
All Axis infantry units are elite units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units). Badges are not required.
If you are running short on Russian tank pieces, use Allied (US) tanks from the base game instead.
Air Rules are optional. If used, give each player one Air Sortie card at game start.

15 - Manado Landings - January 11-13, 1942

Setup order: 1 x3; 2 1x; 3 x3; 4 2x; 5 x16; 6 4x; 7 x3; 8 3x; 9 x18; 10 6x; 11 x1; 12 3x; 13 x1.

Briefing

Axis Player [Japan]: Take 6 Command cards. You move first.
Allied Player [Netherlands]: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory

10 Medals.
The main hex of Longoan airfield is a Temporary Medal Objective for the Axis forces.

Special Rules

Imperial Japanese Army Command rules are in effect (Nations 3 - Imperial Japanese Army).
Special Weapon Asset Rules are in effect (SWAs 1 - Special Weapon Assets) for the Japanese unit equipped with a Mortar (SWAs 3 - Mortar).
Night Combat rules are in effect (Action 19 - Night Attacks).
Once in full daylight, as long as the Axis player has enough figures to form full airborne units, he may attempt to airdrop units on each turn (Actions 20 - Paradrop). Each paradrop requires an order (for example, with an "Attack" card, the Axis player may airdrop 3 units, or move 2 ground units and airdrop 1 unit, etc.).
All airdropped units are elite Paratrooper units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
Air rules are optional. If used, give the Axis player both Air Sortie cards. Place a Japanese Zero (Airplanes 7 - Mitsubishi A6M Zero) on the Aircraft carrier and an American P-40 (Airplanes 1 - Curtiss P-40 Warhawk) on the main airfield hex.

Scenario Index and Material Key

The booklet's last page lists the scenarios by theatre with the booklet page on which each starts (the scenario number is the number printed on its map). The material icons themselves are graphics; the key below gives the labels printed next to them, in printed order.

Western Front

1 - Counter-Attack of the BEF (booklet page 2)
2 - Battle of Abbeville (page 4)
3 - Sword Beach (page 6)
4 - Breakthrough to the Beach (page 8)
5 - Coldstream Hill (page 10)
6 - Breakthrough at Mortain (page 12)
7 - The Surrender of Elster's Column (page 14)
8 - Noville to Foy (page 16)
9 - Operation Amherst (page 18)

Mediterranean Theater

10 - Operation Crusader (page 20)
11 - Battle of Alam el Halfa (page 22)

Eastern Front

12 - Nach Moskau! (page 24)
13 - The Tatsinskaya Raid (page 26)
14 - Battle of Prokhorovka (page 28)

Pacific Theater

15 - Manado Landings (page 30)

Material key (labels as printed)

Extra Memoir '44 base game
Terrain Pack
Pacific Theater
Eastern Front
Winter/Desert Board Plateau
Mediterranean Theater
Campaign Book #1
Air Pack
Battle Map