France 14 Offensive Tactics

[Sir John Cope]

I am playing East Prussia '14 and am also learning how to attack. I have some tips, that might not be applicable to France '14.

(1) If I am moving a big stack forward, I usually move some smaller units out on the flanks. The goal is to block field of fire to the large stack from enemy field or machine guns. Later on they will also fire to attract opportunity fire from the large stack.

(2) I always look for points that are vulnerable to a machine gun and field artillery fire base. Weirdly this includes enemies who are at a higher elevation.

(3) Units who are not in command go down a morale level. I find this really important as the Russians. Out of command units go down to morale D. However, they are not easy to keep in command b/c the regimental HQs have a command range of one! I am worried that a human opponent will find it easy to target them.

(4) So far, other than point (2), I don't really put my machine guns or field guns to the front lines. I keep them in the back in case the enemy counter attacks. If they do, they are there to make them pay.

I am sure more experienced players can offer more advise or point out the faults in my plan! Tbh, I am finding learning how to attack a real treat in this system.

Thanks for the reply! 

1) By smaller units, do you mean single infantry bns, or cav sqdrns?  Not being able to break bns down to companies a la PzC limits the options for that sort of "skirmish screen". 

3) The article here comparing to PzC forewarned me about shorter command range, and I've been very diligent about maintaining my command structure. But what's killing my infantry morale is the lethality of French guns: any attempt to advance puts 50-100 fatigue on every front-rank unit, and attempts to cycle fresh bns to the front merely means they're shot to ribbons and fatigued the next turn, resulting in utterly helpless divisions in the first day of combat. I'm sure that's abnormal, and I'm sure I'm making some great blunders, but I've tried several approaches without success. 

Frankly, I don't see how any offensive can work without bringing up every howitzer battery I possess, spending three or four days in barrage, then hoping the enemy is so shot up that when my troops finally move forward, they make it across the killing zone reasonably intact. 

This is a vivid lesson in why the last three years of the war were as they were, of course. But I had the impression that FWWC was more than a teaching tool in that sole respect, and that it might simulate the first few months of the war rather than just the last three years?