Historical Background:
In June 1944, Soviet troops launched an offensive in Carelia against Finnish troops. After the breakthrough of the two first defense lines, the Red Army (Carelia Front and Leningrad Front) captured Vyborg (Viipuri) on the 20th of June 1944. Finnish troops who had withdrawn on the third defense line, called VKT line (Viipuri, Kupersari, Taipale) had been reinforced by some German equipments and other Finnish troops, and in particular the Lagus Armored Division. The Soviet advance was gradually slowed down between Tali and Ihantala villages by several Finnish counter-attacks. Finally, the last Soviet attack, on the 6th of July, was stopped by the last Finnish counter-attack. After this decisive battle, Soviet troops stopped their offensive in Finland. This battle is called by the Finnish as the "miracle" of Tali Ihantala, a defensive success who stopped the Soviet aggressor.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis player [Finland] : 5 command cards.
Allied player [Soviet Union] : 6 command cards, you move first.

Conditions of Victory:
7 medals.
For the Allied player, exit markers are in effect on the two road hexagons marked with an "Exit" token (Action 23).

Special Rules:
- Special Weapon Asset rules (SWAs 4 - Special Weapon Assets>1942) are in effect for units equipped with Anti-Tank Weapons (SWAs 5) and Mortars (SWAs 6).
- Use "Tank Destroyers" rules (Troops 24) to the Axis armored unit with four figures.
- Use "Fordable Stream" rules (Terrains 61) for the river.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Magazine 2e guerre mondiale n°48 - Bataille de Tali Ihantala.
- Article Internet - Lagus Armored Division.

Remember, see the memorial on the battlefield near Ihantala village.
Official scenario of the FFM44, played in the Memoir'44 tournament in Nantes on the 30th of November 2019.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.