D-Day Commemoration – Memoir ’44 all night

Today marks the 68th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France.

For such an occasion, there are many different was people commemorate D-Day around the world. This year, we’re commemorating D-Day by playing Memoir ’44.

In our recent Memorial Day post, I mentioned reading a number of WWII books over the past year and watching a number of documentaries on the war. In part, I owe my heightened interest in WWII history to getting Memoir ’44. After getting the game, I was immediately hooked on the game and have been more engaged in this period of history ever since.

So having a few friend over for playing multiple scenarios of Memoir ’44 tonight sounds very fitting to me.

Even Brooke likes Memoir ’44
I’m also happy to report that our daughter, Brooke finally sat down and played a game of Memoir ’44 with me a few weeks ago and had a great time. With all the playing over the past year, she’s never shown any interest in it at all. The theme never seemed to interest her and all and she saw it as a game for boys.

Well, just like the surprise of her unanticipated love for Defenders of the Realm, she really had a great time playing Memoir ’44 as well. Our tip in this regard is to give things a try. Sometimes it just takes getting past our assumptions and giving things a try.

I’m also excited to hear today that Days of Wonder has announced another expansion for Memoir ’44 – the Equipment Pack. It’s the largest set of figures ever released for Memoir ’44 and includes 108 figures from 4 WWII nations, including French Infantry, Finnish Ski Troops, Italian Artillery and Polish Cavalry; 24 new pieces of Artillery; new Beach Landing equipment; and and scores of new Armor, Vehicle and Special Weapon Assets. It’s announcements like this that keep my wish list growing.

Remembering the Fallen

Even though we’ll be commemortating D-Day by playing games. We realize that WWII was anything but a game. Just like the tributes on Memorial Day, the brave men and women that were/are willing to sacrifice their lives deserve tremendous respect.

The D-Day invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious landing the world has ever seen. The landing included over 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, and close to 160,000 service men.

There is no “official” casualty figure for D-Day. Under the circumstances, accurate record keeping was very difficult. The Allied casualties figures for D-Day have generally been estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. Broken down by nationality, the usual D-Day casualty figures are approximately 2700 British, 946 Canadians, and 6603 Americans. Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed, mainly as a result of Allied bombing. Thousands more fled their homes to escape the fighting. The total German casualties on D-Day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4000 and 9000 men.

For the entire Battle of Normandy, the estimated numbers are staggering. Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing.

If you’re interested in reading more about D-Day, there are a myriad of sources to turn to online. You may also be interested in reading some of these books about D-Day and the Battle of Normandy: