Memoir '44: The Battles of Khalkhin-Gol
Memoir '44: The Battles of Khalkhin-Gol Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I. Simplified Campaign Rules
Playing a series of battles that make up an entire campaign is an exciting way to expand your Memoir '44 experience. A campaign is a series of thematically and chronologically linked scenarios designed to be played in succession. However, the Memoir '44 Simplified Campaign Rules allow players to not only link the Khalkhin-Gol scenarios together, but will work perfectly for any set of Memoir scenarios players want to link together and play as a campaign.
The Battles of Khalkhin-Gol is a unique linear campaign of 8 scenarios, including standard and Breakthrough battles. Players will complete the campaign by playing the scenarios in order and the general with the most Victory Medals wins.
- The Khalkhin-Gol Spark
- Kawatama Bridge
- Bain Tsagan Heights (Breakthrough)
- Soviet Infiltration
- The Halha River Shelling
- Down in the Dumps
- Attack on the Soviet Outpost
- Tightening the Noose (Breakthrough)
For historical flavor, you can gather friends and play the Overlord scenario «The Khalkhin-Gol Encirclement» before the last scenario «Tightening the Noose». Do not count the medals of this battle in the campaign, though.
The second Overlord scenario, «Cape Torokina Landings», is not part of the Khalkhin-Gol Campaign. It is an independent scenario, much later during the war, opposing US Marines and Japanese forces.
Scenarios
The scenarios of the Khalkhin-Gol Campaign must be played in the following order. Breakthrough cards are recommended (though not mandatory) for the two Breakthrough scenarios. For a faster campaign (4 hours or less) you can play the campaign without the two Breakthrough Scenarios.
Campaign Victory
After a battle, each player must record the number of medals gained on the Campaign Score Card. Once the final scenario in the campaign has been played, both players total the number of medals gained to determine the victor.
Campaign Score Card (as printed; the Axis and Allies columns are filled in during play):
| Scenario | Axis | Allies |
|---|---|---|
| The Khalkhin-Gol Spark | ||
| Kawatama Bridge | ||
| Bain Tsagan Heights (BT) | ||
| Soviet Infiltration | ||
| The Halha River Shelling | ||
| Down in the Dumps | ||
| Attack on the Soviet Outpost | ||
| Tightening the Noose (BT) | ||
| Total |
Degree of Victory
At the end of the campaign the degree of victory is determined as follows:
- Draw - Equal medals up to a difference of 2 medals
- Minor Victory - Difference of 3 to 5 medals
- Decisive Victory - Greater than a 6 medal difference
Campaign Attrition and Reserves
At the end of each battle, the number of enemy figures on a player's medal stand may impact the opposition player's unit strengths in the next campaign battle. In addition, the objective victory medals on a player's medal stand will allow a player to call up reserve units for the next campaign battle.
Attrition Roll
Roll one die for each of your opponent's figures you have on your medal stand. Roll for each figure one at a time. When the symbol rolled matches the unit type or is a grenade, the figure is out of action for the next campaign battle. To keep track of the figures that are out of action, place them next to the Command card deck at the side of the map.
After the next battle in the campaign is set up, with all units at full strength, each player must remove a figure from his units that corresponds to the figures (and unit types) that are placed next to the deck of Command cards. Players may remove the figures from any unit on the board.
Note: Special care should be taken during a game to include a unit's badge (if any) along with the last figure of a unit when eliminated. That way, if there is a troop of this type deployed in the next battle and the Attrition Roll requires it, this specific troop type must lose one figure. If a unit of this type is not present in the next campaign battle, a standard unit of its type (Infantry, Armor, Artillery, etc.) must lose a figure instead.
Typically a few units will start the next battle with one less figure. However, it is possible that an entire unit type could be eliminated due to the Attrition Roll. If this happens, the opposing player will start the battle with a victory medal for the lost unit.
Khalkhin-Gol Campaign Attrition Notes
- A Cavalry unit is treated as Infantry on the Attrition Roll.
- An Armored Car is treated as Armor on the Attrition Roll.
When an Armored Car is out of action because of the Attrition Roll and there is an Armored Car deployed in the next campaign scenario, it must be eliminated before the start of the battle and it will count as a medal because there is only one figure in an Armored Car unit. Place the Armored Car figure on the opponent's medal stand before the battle starts.
Campaign Reserves
For each objective victory medal on a player's medal stand, the player has the opportunity to call for Reserves. Roll two dice for each objective victory medal on a player's medal stand. When there are two or more objective medals on a player's medal stand, roll all dice at the same time. After the roll, determine which reserve units will be called up:
- Infantry + Infantry: Deploy one standard Infantry unit.
- Armor + Armor: Deploy one standard Armor unit.
- Artillery + Artillery: Deploy one standard Artillery unit.
- Flag + Flag: Place sandbags on a hex occupied by any unit at the beginning of the next battle.
- Star + Infantry, Star + Armor, Star + Artillery: A special troop unit of this type is deployed as the reserve unit. The choice of which special troop that may be deployed, however, is limited to the special troop unit types that are going to be deployed in the next campaign scenario.
- Star + Star: Deploy a special troop unit of your choice (or a standard unit, if you prefer). The choice of which special troop that may be deployed, however, is limited to the special troop unit types that are going to be deployed in the next campaign scenario (see above).
Examples:
- The Soviet player's reserve roll result is a Star and Armor symbol. In the next campaign scenario, there is a Soviet Flame Thrower Armor unit. The Soviet player may therefore, choose to deploy an additional Flame Thrower Armor unit, as the reserve unit.
- The Japanese player's reserve roll result is a Star and Infantry symbol. In the next campaign scenario, there are SWAs Machine Gun and SWAs Anti-Tank Gun Infantry units. The Japanese player may therefore choose one or these SWAs as the reserve unit.
Reserve Deployment
A reserve unit, in the next campaign game, is deployed on any hex adjacent to a friendly unit, or on any player's baseline hex.
II. Advanced Campaign Rules
If you own Campaign Book #1 or #2, you may choose to use the campaign rules introduced in these expansions instead of the above Simplified Campaign Rules. There is however, no Objective Track. Therefore, the Soviet player starts the campaign with 1 Reserve Token and will gain one additional token at the start of each battle; the Japanese player starts the campaign with 5 Reserve Tokens and gains no additional tokens during the campaign.
III. New Troops & Figures
Type 97 Te-Ke Tankettes
Type 94 and 97 Tankettes were used by the Japanese during the battle of Khalkhin-Gol to provide support to Infantry. Unfortunately, they had insufficient armor to withstand enemy fire: at short range, even machine guns could pierce it.
When indicated in the scenario's Briefing Notes, place a Te-Ke unit (two Te-Ke figures to represent the thin armor) on the corresponding hex. A Te-Ke unit is treated like Armor for all purposes.
- Movement: An ordered Te-Ke unit may move up to 3 hexes normally. In the Khalkhin-Gol Campaign, other Armor units are limited to 2 hexes.
- Battle: An ordered Te-Ke unit may battle any enemy target unit 3 or fewer hexes away, rolling 3 dice.
- Line of Sight: A Te-Ke unit must have line of sight to its target.
Unit card (Troops 32, Tankettes, as printed): 2 figures; Move 0-3 hexes and Battle; Treat as Armor, for all purposes. Card battle-dice icons: 3, 3, 3.
BA-10 Armored Cars
The BA-10 was an armored car developed in the Soviet Union in 1938 and produced until 1941. It acted mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle, but could engage other lightly armored vehicles and light tanks if needed.
When indicated in the scenario's Briefing Notes, place an Armored Car figure on the corresponding hex. Note, both Soviet and Japanese will use the BA-10 figures as to represent their Armored cars. A Armored Car unit is treated like Armor for all purposes.
- Movement: An ordered Armored Car may move up to 4 hexes and battle.
- Battle: An ordered Armored Car may battle any enemy target unit 3 or fewer hexes away. It rolls 3 dice in Close Assault, 2 dice against a target at 2 hexes and 1 die against a target at 3 hexes. On a successful Close Assault, it may Take Ground and Armor Overrun.
- Armored Cars are treated as Infantry when targeted. However, they are harder to hit than normal Infantry figures. All enemy battle dice rolled against an Armored Car are ignored. Instead, those dice that would have scored a hit had the unit been a normal Infantry unit are rerolled. One hit is confirmed for each re-roll that is a Grenade; all other rerolls (including Flags, if any) are ignored.
- The hybrid nature of an Armored Car make it vulnerable both to AT-Guns and Machine Guns: any Star result rolled by such weapons count as a hit and must be re-rolled.
- Line of Sight: An Armored Car must have line of sight to its target.
Unit card (Troops 31, Armored Car, as printed): 1 figure; Treat as Armor to order and in combat; Move 0-4 hexes and battle; battle-dice icons 3, 2, 1; On a successful Close Assault, may Take Ground and Armor Overrun; When being attacked, treat as Infantry; Enemy re-rolls all battle dice that score a hit; If at least one re-roll is a Grenade, kill is confirmed, other re-rolls are ignored.
IV. New Actions
Molotov Cocktails
When Molotov Cocktails rules are in effect, take as many Molotov Cocktails as indicated in the scenario's special rules. When declaring a Close Assault with an Infantry unit, before rolling the dice, you can discard a Molotov Cocktail: in that case, any Star rolled will count as a hit for that Close Assault combat.
Action card (Actions 36, Molotov Cocktails, as printed):
- When Molotov Cocktails rules are in effect for a side, it receives a defined number of tokens
- These tokens are only available to Infantry units, for Close Assault combat only
- When used, state so before dice roll and immediately discard a token
- Any Star rolled counts as a hit, for that Close Assault combat only
Flame Thrower Tanks (Special Rule)
When Flame Thrower Tanks score a hit in close combat, any flags rolled may not be ignored.