CSI MEMOIR 44 - OPERATION COBRA

[MagnusNygaard]

Possibly the coolest sounding scenario ever!

https://boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=314049584

Just so it's clear- this match was a mercy from Edocentric - in our first game on this map I got completely demolished. It really didn't show much of how interesting this map is, and how much fun the battles usually are... So. Thanks Edocentric.

[MagnusNygaard]

This scenario is one of my favorites. Not only because of the awesome sounding name - I mean, who wants to fight in some colored "unternehmen" when you can be leading the charge in operation "Cobra" - but also because of the chess-like qualities that this map has. There are certain "correct" opening moves, and because of the many hedgerow terrain pieces, moving around the map has to be planned more carefully because you have to start next to it to enter. There are also very well placed "blocking units" that need to be reduced before the allied can advance safely with their armor. Likewise, while an early BARRAGE is very useful for the allied player on the German 4 fig armor on the back line, the scattered axis units make the use of allied AIR POWER less of a "one-card-to-win-it-all" map.

So. First game. Edocentric is allied, and makes the obvious move Infantry on b-2 to D-2. Since I only had 1 card on the Left Flank, this stopped me from moving my armor out of cover - for risk of exposing it. The German armor needs to be kept alive as long as possible - if nothing else as a potential threat. A "Panzer-fleet-in-being" if you will.
The next couple of moves from both sides were also no brainers - both of us using PROBES and RECONS to position units and at the same time construct useful combinations of cards. I almost got my 4fig Panzer damaged, but was lucky to keep it undamaged.
When Edocentric played INFANTRY ASSAULT on my left flank - and I had several cards for the center and right, I decided to completely (or almost completely) ignore the left and concentrate on destroying him on the right and pick up as many points in the center as I could after that.
I almost blew it all because I got greedy - trying to kill an armor unit instead of an almost certain kill on the back line. I lost my armor - but luckily I had a MOVE OUT card that allowed me to block Edocentric's relentless advance on the left flank for just long enough for me to get 4 medals.

Losing 4-5 was doable I felt. And as the allies you have some time to construct a useful hand of cards. This time I had a fairly strong center hand (assault + probe x2 I believe) and decided to concentrate on my (the allied) left and center flanks. Again it was a foot race. And this time I had a bunch of sandbags to throw in the way of Edocentric's advance. DIG IN is an extremely powerful card if you have time to play it - turning otherwise exposed infantry into mini-bunkers. And, while I also got lucky on a few key dice rolls - I never really doubted the win - only question was - would Edocentric be able to counter my center offensive...
And then, just as I had 1 RECON center left, infantry against 1Fig in the center town... I rolled flag+armor - pushed him out of the town, but ran out of center cards to finish him off.
Luckily for me, my opponent thought that he needed to go for brokes - and in the end my entrenched infantry managed to surround and destroy the German armor for the win.

Thanks for playing - and letting me get a "redo" on this great map.

[edocentric]

Operation Cobra - a fun little map with a good variety of terrain and cover. While there are set opening moves with this map, the dispersion of cards and dice makes for an interesting match with every playthrough.

US Strategy: there is really one basic opening move that needs to be done and that is moving the US infantry with no retreat path at B2. Most players will move this infantry unit to Le Grand Hamel in A1, but I prefer to move to the forest hex in D3 for additional flexibility (and have a path to retreat if necessary). An initial US hand with Pincer Mover or General Advance works quite well as you can both move the no retreat path US infantry while maneuvering other units to attack. Alas, I had no movement cards on the US left flank so I use an Artillery Bombard (useless for both players in this scenario) to push my US infantry out of B2 to the forest hex in D3. Magnus surprised me with aggressively moving his Axis Special Force tank into the open field which he deftly used to smash my left flank. Movement of the armor and supporting units was key here - I had quite a few good center section cards which would have allowed me to get my armor into position. However, I couldn't quite get a good setup with multiple armor units attacking the German units on my left flank so I had to send one lone armor on an inevitable suicide mission to support the US infantry units that were pinned down. I was able to wreak enough havoc on the left flank and use a combination of cards on the right flank to smash through the wall of German infantry in the hedgerows and walk in with a 5-4 victory after gaining an objective medal with the capture of Marigny. In my past experiences on this map, it is usually difficult for the US to capture an objective medal in either Marigny or St. Gilles short of using a Behind Enemy Lines card so that is rarely something I set out to do.

German Strategy: two key points for the Germans on this map is their right flank and how / where to deploy their Axis Special Force tank in the center section. The battle will usually be won or lost based on how the German right flank performs. Magnus was able to position his forces on his left flank and center section well and was able to press the attack which broke the German line on the right flank. An overwhelming show of force there greatly benefits the US player as the Germans will not be able to fight back with more than two defensive units. My fate was sealed when an Armor Assault left me with 4 misses against a single US armor figure (not even a retreat? very sad indeed). I have found that a good spot for the Axis Special Force unit is to set up a defensive position in the hedgerow next to Monreul sur-Lozon. Using the defensive die reduction of the hedgerow allows that single armor unit to hold down the fort on the German left flank and support the infantry to pick off any US units that are massed there. Magnus' use of Dig In put a big monkey wrench in my plans and I was forced to move my armor unit out into the open field to try to mop up the straggler units. This opened me up to the inevitable counter attack and I wind up losing the second round 5-1 to Magnus.

Overall, quite a balanced map and enough there to have both players think they are always in the mix to come out victorious in the end. Highly recommended!