CSI MEMOIR 44 - MONTÉLIMAR

[MagnusNygaard]

Sounds like such a nice place to visit and have red wine and cheese in the sun...

https://boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=314384143

[MagnusNygaard]

So - this is one of my absolute favorite scenarios. It's top three in the base game, for sure. It requires both sides to maneuver a lot, and while you have some time to prepare - especially if you make some defensive moves first - you can't just wait to let the other side take initiative...

Starting hand was decent, but not flashy - 2 RECONS, 1 PROBE, 1 MOVE OUT and 1 DIRECT FROM HQ.
I decided to make a full defensive move to begin with - moving all my center infantry away from a potential deadly AIR POWER in the center. I did this while planning to make what I call a "feint with potential" on the Left flank - and then a full out offensive on the Right side.
I did get a little distracted by the INFANTRY ASSAULT center - but decided to mostly stick with the plan. I really wanted to play my RECONS early so I could start getting an idea of what avenue of attack could be sustained. That's also the reason I played my AMBUSH relatively early on - I couldn't afford it taking up space in my hand - as Edocentric kept pushing forward.
I had to play ARMOR ASSAULT prematurely as well, to keep my own pressure on the allied infantry pushing forward.
My right side offensive had to be abandoned, so instead I decided to go for left flank attack instead. I was twice lucky that my elite infantry on the right survived with minimal damage and could in the end win the day.
6-4 I was feeling pretty good about it!
I should have known better.
Let's just reveal that Edocentric won 6-0... But I always felt I had a chance to comeback - at least to even the score, if not win outright. I think my main mistake was playing my THEIR FINEST HOUR too soon. It can be devastating against a weakened enemy, but play it early and they can just absorb the damage and still fight back. In the end I had a CLOSE COMBAT card that kept my hopes alive to the very end.
Take a look at the position just before Edocentric won:
I had a fair chance of killing 6 units with CLOSE COMBAT...
https://boardgamearena.com/archive/repl ... &goto=240#

Even though I didn't get the chance to make the comeback of the decade, this was still a very good game all the way to the very end.

MONTÉLIMAR - one of the best.

[edocentric]

Montelimar - one of the most exciting scenarios from the base game! One of the key things I like about this scenario is that both players have to make tough choices - you will have to make gambles throughout, but especially at the end when you can make a swift move to get 2-3 medals to close out the round. If the gamble goes awry, you always find yourself reflecting back on the choice(s) you could have made that might have turned the tide of battle...

US Strategy: for both players most of the action is going to happen in the center section - the impassable hills North of Condillac pass serves as a funnel to the town of Grane on the US right flank and having the artillery unit straddle the left flank and center section gives the US player flexibility. Where the battle is won or lost is going to depend on the mobilization of the two US armor units on the back row and how well the defense holds in the town of Grane. If Grane falls, that's an easy 2 medals for the Germans (one for the objective and one for thus US infantry defender). I had a good starting hand against Magnus with an Infantry Assault and various center section cards so I was able to put up a good counter to the German initial moves. Magnus surprised me with a very concerted effort to take the town of Grane which paid off as I had to use precious resources to push the Germans back - to no avail at the end as the Germans rolled into the town of Grane to close the round out 6-4 in Magnus' favor.

German Strategy: the no-brainer move here is to take the Panzer Grenadier unit in the center section and attack the US infantry in Close Assault - this move allows the German player to get this unit away from losing figures due to no retreat path and immediately put the US player on defense. I had an Armor Assault card in my initial draw so I spent some time getting my units in position to take full advantage of the 1 die bonus in Close Assault. The German player needs to be aggressive (but not reckless) with their Armor as those units can wreak a lot of havoc against the US infantry in the center section due to their 3 hex movement combined with Armor Overruns. Another consideration for the German player is that they have to get their armor unit out of the town Montelimar as soon as possible (which is a two turn move since they are fenced in by the town itself - otherwise they are pretty much worthless with their starting position). This is where having a card like Recon in Force / Pincer Move / General Advance / Direct from HQ plays well for the German player in the opening rounds. I was fortunate with a good starting hand and good dice rolls both for / against Magnus as my armor ran roughshod all the way to the back row and I ended the second round with a resounding 6-0 victory.

This is definitely one of my favorite scenarios to play - although I always find myself having to take a walk around the block afterwards just to clear my mind! Perhaps this scenario should come with a warning label?