Any consensus on F 14?

[Volcano Man]

Yes, I agree with Foul. Most of it has to do with retreating along roads at night, while covering with rear guards of cavalry and field guns at important crossroads.

The other technique for breaking contact is to bloody the enemy. Just as an example, when the German 1.Armee was hounding the BEF's withdrawal, part of the BEF was forced to stand and fight because they had no choice (the enemy was following too close). So, they stood and fought for a day at Le Cateau, both sides suffering heavily, but the attackers (1.Armee) was forced to rest the next day while the exhausted defenders withdrew. Of course the BEF units that held were exhausted, but the rest of the BEF was allowed to escape and rest. The units that held at Le Cateau kept withdrawing regardless of the fatigue until they were beyond the other elements of the BEF. Naturally the German 1.Armee had to be cautious after they were bloodied, or else a constant attack after being exhausted would have ended up doing little good. A similar situation occurred near Villers-Cotterets. The small scenario in the game doesn't show the scope of it but the British were conducting a rear guard to cover the rest of the BEF's retreat.

As for the French, the same thing was done with the Ve Armee at Charleroi, and also at Guise, and with the fighting in the Ardennes. At Guise, Joffre ordered the Ve Armee to counter attack to buy some time. In the Ardennes, the French put up such a fight that the German armies voluntarily decided to rest for a day or so, while the French withdrew. Of course all of this assumes that one would be able to judge the moment in which they have bloodied the enemy and need to withdraw, and not stick around longer than they should and themselves get trapped in a situation they cannot retreat from. As said though, it depends on the attacker's actions as well. If the attacking player is very aggressive and chooses not to rest, well, you just have to manufacture a situation where you make him pay for that heavily and my guess is he will be more cautious after that.

I would caution that as the Allies, an immediate withdrawal on turn 1 is probably not the best choice. I feel that it has to be something along the historical lines of making a stand along the front for the first day (in the Ardennes and Charleroi), see what they do an Mons (hold for a day after contact is made if possible) -- essentially a brief resistance and then a retreat. Once engaged and the enemy is bloodied, maneuver your units to get ready for a retreat and then use rear guards at the roads to cover a night retreat. On the next day, you should be doing more of the same and containing the retreat with the rest. Rest the furthest rearward units when able and launch limited counter attacks where the enemy gets too close. Chances are, if you do this, the enemy will be resting his exhausted forces and will not be perusing with as many forces as would otherwise be the case.

It is certainly very tricky though. Everything mentioned here depends on your partner's actions and is more about acting and reacting. I think in some situations the Allies have to be willing to sacrifice some divisions, brigades etc. for the greater good of pulling back to a more manageable situation.