This topic contains all information about Memoir '44 Special Weapon Assets (SWA) Cards. Click on a link to navigate within the same page to the terrain type requested. I will update the post with more high resolution card scans as I gain access to new expansions. Here they are:
Special Weapon Assets Rules:
Anti-Tank Gun:
Mortar:
Special Weapon Assets Rules (Late War):
Machine Gun:
To me, the SWA cards are really a waste of time.
They try to cover a vast array of weapons in very simplistic terms. For example, what is a ‘machine gun’?! It could be anything from a Bren (500m effective range) to an MG 42 (2000 m).
I have been working on a set of what I call Infantry Support Weapons cards which I believe offer a better alternative.
I will go through each of the SWA and offer my alternatives.
As always, your comments and opinions are very welcome.
What is an ‘anti-tank gun’?
If you are thinking PIAT, panzerfaust, or M1 bazooka then the effective ranges are 100m, 60m, and 100m respectively. An anti-tank rifle had a similar range (100m), and were largely ineffective against later tanks.
So the rules on the SWA cards are clearly nonsense. 1 hex is generally considered to be about 450m / 500 yards, so these weapons cannot operate over 3 hexes.
Anti-tank rifles were used from the start of the war, but none of the others were around until 1942 or 1943 (panzerfaust), so again the two SWA cards don’t make sense.
Okay, so what am I suggesting instead?
Here are two cards I have created:
Please let me know your thoughts about them - they are very much a draft and I am happy to adapt them.
So, again, what is a ‘machine gun’?
Most infantry units would have some sort of light machine gun (LMG). For example, Bren, MG 30, Breda 30. So they don’t need an SWA card.
That leaves GPMG (general purpose) and heavy (HMG) weapons. Both need at least 2 men, with most HMG needing up to 4 due to weight and ammo.
HMGs had an effective firing range of 2000m, so you are talking 3 to 4 hexes of devastating fire.
The SWA cards really do not reflect any of this.
So here are my alternatives:
Please let me know what you think - I am happy to adapt them based on your sugestions and comments.
Too complicated and too fine-detail for me, thank you! 
I don’t see hexes and units as a set size. A ‘machine gun’ token could be anything from a single literal machine gun or it could represent that the unit is a whole company heavily armed with LMGs, etc.
Even in regular infantry units, the reason you get more dice at closer ranges is part of that abstraction. It’s not just that the infantry shooting at the tank are more accurate with their rifles, its that they’re able to use more effective tools at close range. So ‘anti-tank gun’ might include sticky bombs right up to howitzers.
I can completely understand wanting to change the rules if you want the scale to be set and you want to add more detail though.
Cheers!
Thanks for your thoughts!
You are absolutely right - why complicate things when it is just a simple card and dice game? (A beer and pretzels game as a friend once described it!)
Your comments about the reasoning for the cards are totally right; but, as you say, I want to raise the level a bit.
It has also been rewarding doing a bit of research online about the various weapons.
Regards
The final SWA I wanted to discuss are mortars.
Again there are various types, from light-weight weapons (with a very limited range) that are used as close support to heavy weapons which are basically an artillery piece.
The late war listing on SWA makes no sense to me - both long-range and short-range mortars were available throughout the war.
So, here are my suggestions:
Any comments much appreciated.
In my opion it doesn’t have to be more realistic. I think the balance between the game and the theme of the game is very good. So I pass on your rule change, it doesn’t add anything to the game for me.
Kind regards
Thanks for your comments.
‘‘I think the balance between the game and the theme of the game is very good.’’
I think that your quote is correct regarding the original game, but so many new rules have been added in the various expansions (including the ones you mention for D-Day (Action Card Catalog - #31 by Reefa) that it does not apply now.
A lot of the new rules have been introduced to add ‘realism’ - Molotov cocktails, Air Pack, Control markers, etc.
But I think that many of the new rules are frankly silly (e.g. Nations - stereotyped and embarrassing), unrealistic (e.g. re-rolling against Patrol Cars and Command Cars!), and just plain wrong (Tigers having only 1 figure). These are three of many rules that I ignore or have replaced.
So I am trying to add my concept of ‘realism’ to this developing game.
Regards
Nicely made.
But you need to clarify the title.
I think you mean assault rifle rather than assault gun.
The card says late war 1942 - which is when assault rifles came in (assault guns existed at the beginning of the war).
Also worth noting that it was only the Germans and Soviets who had them.
I am not Sam Wilderspin. he did this. He has not posted here in a few years I see, but perhaps still around as I saw him with all six of his campaigns posted on another site in 2022. 
