Updated France Campaign with Strategies

[Dog Soldier]

I know this has been mentioned before, but if your a fan of this game you really deserve to treat yourself to the book "The Blitzkrieg Legend" by Karl-Heinz Frieser.

His thesis, that the French high command lost the battle more than the German high command won it is very intriguing. No player will make the mistakes of the French command. No player will will attempt to rein in the panzers so the infantry can share the glory as the German commanders tried to do. Rommel's disobeying orders contributed to that not happening.

I was flabbergasted to find that Manstein was sidelined in eastern Germany during this campaign. The breakthrough at Sedan and the exploitation afterwards has his finger prints all over it. If you read the book you find out why he was exiled and his disciple Guderian had to carry his theory into practice. A great read to go with the game.

This variation allows the players to try a lot of new ideas since the strategies affect the at start positions. Thus it can be at least a day, (or longer for the crafty German player) before the Allied player figures out what is up. If the German player then presses an advantage gained, this game will turn into the free for all it should be.

Hanging back as the French has its advantages, but it also has disadvantages. The one that come to mind is if the Germans are allowed to concentrate their panzers at one point without harassment from forward Allied elements, then the French will be hard pressed to hold against a break out. Finally, do not discount the German air power. It is a great equalizer when the front begins to become static.

Dog Soldier