This is part of a new strategy guide series for Memoir ’44. I haven’t written strategy articles before (I don’t have much faith in my own ability) but I have played a lot of Memoir and feel qualified in this instance.

These guides are meant to be short and to the point. I invite any alternate opinions as I can always learn something new. The key focus will be on the opportunities and weaknesses of each side in the battle and where possible I will make reference to key cards that ‘could be key’ if you are lucky enough to pull them. All that said I hope someone finds these useful at best or interesting at worst.

The Battle for Pegasus Bridge



History – This scenario shows a fairly handy advantage to the Allies with a 68% win ratio, over 1615 logged battles (at time of posting this report). This is taken from the DoW Memoir website.

Axis – These guys are really up against it from the start. Less orders to draw on and heavily outnumbered. Their one advantage is that the Allies are poorly positioned on the German right flank. If the Allies don’t re-position any of these troops on their first turn, the Germans should concentrate their fire on the lead unit of Infantry as flags will result in losses.

The Germans should also try to hold their sandbag installation for as long as possible. Generally speaking the longer this position is held, the greater the chance that they will inflict some major damage on the enemy and maybe even win the battle.

On the right flank it is a case of do what you can. Taking both forest hexes near the infantry’s starting positions is a good move and can slow the Allies down for a turn or two. Sometimes it can help to move the central infantry unit (starting behind the sandbag emplacement) across the board in support of the German left flank. Of course this is not always a luxury afforded the Germans at Pegasus Bridge.

Allies – The initial concern for the Allies is their positioning on the left flank. If at all possible these units should be maneuvered in order to avoid needless casualties as a result of the no retreating option for the lead infantry. After this the Allies have several options. An ‘All Centre’ card is devastating for the Axis as it allows the movement of 2\3rds of your troops and gives the Axis more problems than they can deal with.

The Right Flank should be a major goal as eliminating the 2 units there will secure the bridge and deliver 3 of the 4 medals required for victory.

It goes without saying that the German Sandbag emplacement is trouble, with its protection of barbed wire. I tend to avoid it and focus on the right if possible but this is a perfect target for ‘Artillery Bombardment’ or ‘Air Power’ as Flags cannot be ignored and can easily result in the sandbags being abandoned.

If you are forced (ordered) to take the sandbags then it goes without saying that the forest near the pond is essential.

Summary – Definitely a 1-sided Scenario on most occasions but still highly enjoyable if both sides are played and the medal-casualty count is calculated for victory.

Also an excellent scenario for learning the game as it exposes players to like terrains (in terms of their impact) and minimizes fuss by using only 1 unit type.

Pegasus Bridge with Airpack

Changes -

Cosmetics - The 1st change replaces those 4 ridiculous corner river tokens with lake or dam tiles. Now it looks good.

Air Strikes & Blitzes - Whilst full air rules are not in play, the Germans can play 'Recon 1' cards to launch an Air Strike.

Night Attack Rules - These are in full effect for the battle.

British Commandos - All of the Allied Infantry is now upgraded to Commandos, meaning they can move 2 hexes and attack. This is a neat update as the initial scenario notes mentioned that British Commandos lead this mission but were not to be used.

Implications

Suddenly Pegasus Bridge is a whole new ball game. Reduced visibility in the beginning means that the Allied Infantry on the left flank are not under immediate threat from the 'Sandbagged' unit or village.

Combine this with the upgrade of the Allied Infantry and the Germans are really in for a world of pain. If the Allied player holds decent (central) Command Cards, I can't see how the Germans will hold the Orne Bridge. The German unit behind the sandbags is also in for a tough time as the Commandos can now charge that emplacement and even have the luxury of removing the barbed wire.

I suspect we may see the battle stats for this mission change over time.

Links to other Strategy Guides

Sainte Mere-Eglise

Sword Beach

Pointe-Du-Hoc

Omaha Beach

Mont Mouche

Vassieux, Vercors

I like drawing the "Dig In" card as the germans and fortifying the woods on the left flank. That way you can just keep shooting at the bridge from excelent defensive terrain.

In my group we have had much more fun with this scenario by letting the sandbags remain on the board even if they are abandoned. Gives the Germans the little extra edge they need to even up the odds and gives the game some back and forth tension.

Yeah I may have overlooked the usefulness of 'Dig in' on that flank. Nice thought.

Aren't these contradictory, as the moment you move that infantry unit you lose the sandbags.

I thought you had me there for a minute until I rechecked and I guess you missed it to. In the 2nd quote it states...

'Sometimes it can help to move the central infantry unit (behind the sandbag emplacement)...'.

In which case no sandbag is lost.



Thanks for reading.

Neil

OK, I see what you mean.