Mémoire 44 : Battle Maps 4 - Le Désastre de Dieppe

The Dieppe Disaster

The objective of Operation Jubilee was to show that the Allies were capable of capturing and holding a deep water port. The Allied troops, mainly Canadians, could not imagine that the operation would be over in only a few hours...

A dense network of barbed wire barred the landing beach, bordered by high cliffs. Nevertheless, the first barges landed without too many casualties: the Essex Scottish Regiment landed on Red Beach and the Hamilton Light Infantry Regiment landed on White Beach, where the soldiers were able to take shelter behind a dike. Unfortunately, the armor of the 14th Canadian Tank Battalion arrived late. Moreover, once on land, they could only move with difficulty, their tracks skidding on the beach's pebbles. The Royal Canadian Regiment, which was to have landed on Blue Beach, was also late in arriving: pinned down as soon as they arrived by heavy fire, its men could not seize the cliffs that dominated the landing beaches. German forces were now sweeping the entire beach with fire, taking heavy losses from the Canadians. The casino and surrounding dugouts changed hands several times, but to no avail. By the time the order to retreat was given, 60% of the men who had come ashore had been killed, wounded or captured by the enemy. The lesson was painful for the Allies, but the lessons they learned allowed them to prepare the Normandy landing, which was to take place two years later.

The capture of Tobruk

After crushing the British defenses at Gazala, Rommel and his Afrikakorps advanced to Tobruk. The city had held a nine-month siege the previous year and was now defended by General Klopper's 2nd South African Division. The defensive perimeter consisted of barbed wire, minefields and reinforced infantry positions, with some tanks and artillery in support.
On June 20, under the cover of the morning mist, German engineers opened tracks in the defenses. When the mist lifted, the British were caught in an intense artillery barrage followed by an aerial bombardment, and then German tanks and infantrymen rushed forward. Their advance was halted by a courageous counter-attack of armoured vehicles supported by artillery, but by noon the Germans had reorganized to resume their advance. Kings Cross finally fell, opening the road to Tobruk. Klopper, stunned, could only raise the white flag to signal the surrender of his troops.


Standard Scenarios

Four standard scenarios are provided in addition to these two Overlord scenarios: In Rommel's Hook and Raid on Barqa, off-road cars will be essential keys to victory, while in Atlas Panzers and Le-Mesnil-Adelée, you'll need to wisely use your half-tracks to win. Detailed rules for these two new units are also included in this expansion.

This product is an expansion to the Memoir '44 game and cannot be used without a copy of Memoir '44 and the Operation Overlord expansion, or two copies of Memoir '44.
The four standard scenarios require the Terrain Pack and/or Mediterranean Theater expansions.
Purists who would like to use the British miniatures for the proposed Overlord scenarios will need two Mediterranean Theater expansions.