France '14 AAR Turning the flank !!

[Mr Grumpy]

Turn 4

French commander (Foul) turn 4 thoughts:
In the north i continue to squeeze the Harnes triangle i am hoping that pressure from the north where some of my dragoons have found an unguarded crossing of the Canal d'Aire at Don may force him to evacuate his bridgehead west of the river.

In the centre i had a good move, while the 70e Div is pinning his forces south of Lens the 77e Div is pushing hard against Ricks cavalry division to the south of there and i managed to surround a Jager battalion in Fresnoy and inflict serious casualties!
I have to push hard in this area to take advantage as i expect Rick's reinforcements arrive from Douai at any time.

In the south i have won the race to the ridge and now my 75's can dominate the area and cause losses over a 5 hex radius, again i expect Rick to receive reinforcements in this area soon.

All in all a better move for me, the weight of numbers is starting to tell.........

German commander (RickyB) turn 4 thoughts:
Things are getting very bloody at the front, and my leading units are taking a bit of a beating, although the French attackers are losing fairly heavily also. I had hoped to build up a strong defensive line before they got so many troops into action, now I must decide whether to fight where I am or sacrifice my MG units that are deployed while pulling back other units a bit further. For now, I will fight it out.
I also noticed, as expected, a French cavalry move around my right flank, so a number of cavalry units are heading east to protect my rear areas.





Observer (Volcano) thoughts:
The French continue to push forward in the center to gain space, and the German corps that is arriving by rail will surely put the brakes on this advance soon.
It appears that the French are now probing around the north flank and this will force the Germans to divert forces that way from the Lens area. At worst, the French may fortify that northern bridge crossing at Don, which might make a German cavalry advance on La Bassee impossible, or at least very difficult, now.