France 1940 Mod B - No peeking Marshall Antoni :)

[cillmhor]

After my exertions in Sicily Antoni has now thrown down the gauntlet for the German blitzkrieg of France in 1940. He has given me the choice of the Germans, and so once again I am on the attack. Needless to say, if you intend to play this scenario, you should look no further as there will be plenty of spoilers.

Unlike the stock France 1940 scenario this one has 36 turns, so a lot more time to play with, but Ed's work has also fixed a few balance issues from the original and it looks to be a real interesting one with some key choices for me early on.

Do I strike for the channel ports and try and trap as many Allied forces as possible, or do I make straight for Paris. Both have their advantages, and of course depend on how Antoni reacts.

I decide to make a sort of feint to the north, hoping to tie up some of Antoni's forces, while I send the kitchen sink through the Ardennes in one huge push for Paris which will create a huge bulge in the middle of France I hope, which of course could be very vulnerable to counter attack. I am also striking for Brussels and Calais beyond.



During the first turn I move a lot of troops into position and make a few tentative attacks with mostly good results. A pocket has formed around Liege already. In Holland I have left a holding force to try and break the Dutch spirit, and in the south behind the Maginot line, I have left a few divisions to mind the back door. All is being thrown to the centre in one massive gamble:cool2:.

[cillmhor]

Sorry for the delay, myself and Antoni were in one of those classic cases when both of us was expecting a file from the other. Anyway, back to the battle.

Turn 2:
And the good news is that following the terror bombing of Holland the Dutch have surrendered, disbanding their army which nicely frees up my 18th Army in the north to join in the coastal thrust into Belgium and ultimately towards Calais.



As you can see I have pocketed some Belgium forces in the north at Turnhout, and mopped up some more north of Liege. Other Belgium forces are being caught in pincers east of Brussels, and I hope to thrust down on the Belgium capital to try and trigger the surrender event. Further south I hope to pocket the line formed at Sedan and I have also started to clear the northerly fortress units of the Maiginot Line, to make manouevre easier in this area. I continue to leave a significant line facing the rest of the Maginot in case Antoni has any idea about invading my southern flank.

Antoni has started to move the BEF to form a line north east of Paris away from the coast, and he is moving French armour out of Paris to add to this north-line. This looks like a reaction to my massive push through the Ardennes. But in doing so he leaves the Channel coast looking a bit open to a push by the 18th Army and supporting troops. I may now switch my emphasis to the north coast and try and flank Paris in the process, instead of trying to frontally attack Antoni's defensive line. Also the channel ports give me nice shock advantages. Only two turns and my initial plan looks as if it might be changing. What would be really nice in the next turn or two was if the Belgium forces capitulated. It looks like with this Mod, that there is no event for the withdrawal of the BEF or the surrender of France with the fall of Paris. So all out attack is a dangerous game as the Allies could counter as the shock effects wear off later in the game.

Happy with the initial two turns, and managed to keep the majority of my troops fresh.

[cillmhor]

Turn 3 & 4:

My advance carried on in turn 3, putting a lot of pressure on Belgium, and low and behold, on turn 4 they surrender. Other news at the start of turn 4 tells me that Weygard has taken over the French forces, meaning they will be better organized and suffering less shock. Also I get a message that the Allies are adapting to modern air warfare, meaning the Luftwaffe will have more of a fight on their hands now, and finally I get the event message that some French units are suffering desertions, which means that my capturing of 'V' locations is paying dividends - I must keep taking Shock and Victory locations to keep the Allies on their heels.

With the Belgium Army out of the way, I push troops towards the Channel ports, but Antoni has got some French and BEF troops in the way to slow me down. He also has a formidable line to the north of Paris. I hope to push up the coastal roads with two Panzer Korps and flank this northern line. And in the centre, I hope to flank the more southerly line on both flanks and make for Paris. I will have to support my flanking troops to make sure they do not get cut off. If I can secure the Channel ports and Paris, the shock values should give me the chance to give the Allies the knockout blow. In the south on the fringes of the Maginot Line I continue to keep other Allied Corps tied up.

So far with shock values I have made decent gains, but Allied resistance is stiffening.



Below is a picture to the east of Paris in more detail, the forces circled in red are the French X Corps and 2nd Army Reserves which I hope to encircle and destroy. Antoni is trying to form his defence around Soissons, Reims and Chalons which I view as the gates to Paris. If I can break this line of towns, then Panzers may well be in Paris before the end of June!

[cillmhor]

Turns 5,6 & 7:

These next three turns prove crucial in the battle for France as towns (and crucially towns with 'V' or event points) continue to fall, meaning that the morale of the Allies plummets and their desertions increase.



On turn 5 and 6 I am able to surround the French 16th Corps and 7th Army Reserves and X Corps and 2nd Army Reserves to the north east of Reims, they are subsequently destroyed. Likewise elements of French 6th Corps and 51st Highland Division to the west of Verdun, no St Valery for the brave Scots this time.

At the end of turn 6 I have made a mini break up the north coast towards Dunkirk and the other channel ports, and I have panzers poised to throw a ring of steel around what I now call the Soissons line north east of Paris.

However, at the beginning of turn 7, my limited recon seems to indicate that little in the way of French troops occupy the capital, and I decide to push my tiring panzers once more and make an audacious bid for Paris. To my surprise all I find are French air force units which quickly scarper and the French capital falls without a bullet being fired! I also am able to place a ring of steel around the Soissons line, which I squeeze over a couple of combat rounds. I took a gamble with Paris, as there might have been French troops which my recon had not picked up. The final hint which made me follow my hunch was that in Antoni's turn replay I saw him moving troops up from the west coast towards Paris, leading me to believe that he felt the need to reinforce Paris.



Meanwhile further north, I push recon cavalry and motorized units along the coastal route and take Calais and Boulogne. I also try to push German units through the weaker parts of the Allied line north of Paris in the hope of forcing encirclements, to the south of Dunkirk, two combat rounds push back the Anglo-French forces.



I have to say that the campaign is playing out historically in many ways, apart from the fact that Paris has fallen on 31st May this time. I have not used all of my panzers in the classical fashion of sending them far into the rear of the enemy, nor concentrated them quite as much as was historically the case as a Panzerwaffe. But the general principles have been the same, look for gaps and then plunge my faster troops into them to hold until the infantry can catch up. Antoni has acted very much as the Allies did, looking to offer a strong, static line of defence. His biggest problem has been a lack of defence in depth in several key areas, around the northern Channel ports, and crucially now, behind the Soissons line to the east of Paris.

Antoni may have been expecting me to engage in a war of annihilation (Kesselshlacht) with his front line troops before advancing, but I have opted for victory locations and sowing confusion in the rear areas of the Allies. The option to shift my Ardennes forces north to encircle the Allies against the Channel coast was cut off by Antoni placing the BEF in the way along with a strong line east of Paris. I knew that he must have a weakness further south somewhere, and I found out that this weak spot was around Verdun and Chalons, and so pushed my reserves and panzers through here and finally on to Paris. It's early yet, but the capture of so many 'V' locations is triggering multiple desertions events for the Allies, and the capture of Calais will trigger a shock event next turn, and the fall of Paris reduces Antoni's production and replacements. So the gamble of push exposed motorised and armoured units into the Allied rear areas had paid off so far as it is limiting the effectiveness of the defenders. I now, optimistically perhaps, hope to have the north of France sown up before there is a risk of my two Panzer Korps being withdrawn between turn 18 and 25 (75% risk).

[cillmhor]

Turns 8 & 9:



Things are now looking grim indeed for the Allies as Germans panzer formations stream across the French countryside drenched in summer sunshine. Following the breakouts towards Paris and the Channel ports, Allied pockets have formed and been squeezed time and again as tens of thousands of French and British troops are cut down and then surrender.

The news at the top of turn 8 tells me that the Allies are stunned by the fall of France and the BEF stunned by the fall of Calais (which means in game terms shock increases for the Axis), and desertion is now spreading like a like a plague throughout the Allied armies.



After the destruction of the French 1st Corps and 7th Reserve Army units northwest of Lille, the German forces move to pocket much of the BEF and some of the best French units around Arras, and the Soissons line pocket shrinks again.



I also move the 7th Korps to help protect Paris and the gap between the Soissons pocket and the city. If Antoni did have a reserve he could attack in the gap shown with the jagged line and cause me all sorts of supply problems. But I do not think Antoni's reserves are close enough to do so, most of them are arriving piecemeal to the north, west and south of Paris where Antoni has carried out a series of minor counterattacks to no avail. I also move some troops south to shore up the area around the Maginot Line where French troops are strongest.



Above you can see the Soissons pocket has now finally been eliminated freeing up a mass of Germans infantry and panzers, I move some to reinforce Paris with a view to surrounding the attacking Allies, and move others to relieve the defenders along the Maginot Line and use the fresh defenders to then counter the rear of the French line.

In the north around Abbeville and Arras, I am continuing to pocket and mop up the BEF and French forces, next turn I should free up another large amount of my German attackers in the north, to allow me to plunge for the remaining Channel ports and start the gradual squeeze south to finish the game. With so many Corps and divisions gone, Antoni can have precious few reserves left, although I see French reinforcement units are arriving to the west and south, but they appear to be too little too late. Now perhaps Antoni wishes he had attempted to help Belgium, as their turn 4 surrender has been key in allowing me to attack his lines before they got a chance to properly set.

[cillmhor]

Turns 10 & 11:

The final elimination of pockets of resistance in the north is completed, and now several Corps and Army Reserves have been freed for fresh offensive operations. Some commanders in OKH advise caution to refit and refuel, however, with the Allies still trying to rush reinforcements into the north around Paris and into the area south of the Cotentin peninsula, caution is thrown to the wind and the German army opts to continue its lightning advance.



The overview above shows where in blue Antoni is sending his main reinforcements, with a significant line of defenders shown in the double blue line near the Maginot Line in the south, and there is a deep pocket of resistance forming to the west of Paris, and in turn 10 Antoni counters into Paris dislodging a division refitting on the outskirts. In the north he is trying to cut off my advance on Cherbourg and Cotentin.

My strategy is to hold the western (stronger) end of the Maginot Line and send in my reserves into the eastern flank of these defences over the river at Strasbourg and Basel (shown below), where Antoni's defences are weakest, and flank the western edge of the French defenders of the Maginot Line.



Further north my main objective is to flank the line west of Paris (see below), and sent some divisions west to seize Cherbourg.



Although I want to do this as quickly as possible I will have to be a bit careful as my supply for some forward units is running a bit low, and the supply infrastructure takes a little while to catch up with the advance. I made a few attacks to the south and north of Paris in turn 11 and at Strasbroug and Basel, all were successful, and judging by how easily Antoni's troops retreated they are low proficiency troops, suffering from the shock values I have imposed on them with the continued capture of key 'Shock' locations. That and the desertions from capturing 'V' locations has left the Allies in a sorry state...



Have the French given up the fight?

[cillmhor]

Turns 12 & 13:

The pounding of French lines in the east of the Maginot Line continues as does the pocketing of troops to the west of Paris. Forward units were repulsed from Caen, and not await reinforcements before proceeding any further. The beginning of Axis turn 13 tells me that Metz, Rouen and Beauvais all fall causing Allied discipline to continue to unravel, which means that I have reached another desertion trigger for the Allies.



The image above shows how the Maginot Line is being pressured in the eastern sector, and reinforcements are about to start to close the jaws of the western edge of the Maginot Line defenders. In truth, I am now fighting French units behind the Maginot Line in many places, but the fighting is tough, and will take time as their are large numbers of well-supplied defenders and forts to remove.



In the north around Paris the last of the BEF is being bottled up with some brave French defenders and once I have dispatched them, the way lies open to push west and south and I can then really start to rack up the victory points by taking towns. I have circled air units in red to show how I am continuing to keep them moving forward with the advance to keep up my air superiority, I am 19 and Antoni is 1 in the air superiority battle, and I have 2 interdiction to 0. My supply levels are good in most sectors, I contine to repair key rail junctions (the latest being Paris), and I have the luxury of saving Korps behind the main advance from time to time as a well-supplied reserve.

With the even the mighty Maginot Line showing some cracks, the end is nigh for France now. It will only be a matter of time, I hope!

[cillmhor]

Turn 14 & 15:

And so we begin the end game, with the eastern edge of the Maginot Line crumbling and massive German reinforcements en route to seal the western edge to form the last big pocket of France, it should be a matter of mopping up for me now. The quality of the Allied forces is suffering from desertions and the replacements and reinforcements being thrown in front of the advance are being cut down pretty quickly.



The pocket at Cherbourg will soon fall and then it will be a matter of pushing west and then south to mop up the last Allied units. One strange thing happened, an Allied air unit appeared at Antwerp, which I thought I had converted, and my air units are showing the option to bomb the city as well as the airfield, which might indicate an Allied unit in the port. Odd, as I thought I had taken and converted Antwerp. And as Allied amphibious landings are prohibited in this scenario it cannot be a landing in my rear. I will send a unit back to investigate.

This has been a tough battle, make no mistake, but if you get the fortune of early surrenders, and if your opponent undertakes a static defence, then the German juggernaut can pick up quite a head of steam, especially if you can keep the shock triggers rolling. I stand at an overwhelming victory now and it will only get bigger as I squeeze the pockets and take the remaining V locations. I have enjoyed this one, but I can see how the Germans could find themselves in real problems if they did not make progress quickly enough, as some Allied units were quite tough to crack until flanked. That in the end was the key for me, seldom trying to take on the Allied head-on, always looking to fix them and then flank them. I have not used my Panzers and motorized units as well as I might have, but some of the infantry is pretty mobile too and can do the job of flanking.

[cillmhor]

Antoni has nobly conceded to avoid further bloodshed. And a worried Churchill now eyes the Channel...



Thanks very much for the game Antoni, it was very enjoyable and a good scenario to learn the ropes on and how to attack. A couple of events triggered early for me and that helped enormously in freeing up troops from Holland and Belgium early. I think my strategy worked pretty well, but there were a couple of times when my advance units were dangerously exposed to counter. Luckily they held on until the main body of infantry arrived. The key for me was not allowing you to set up defensive lines too early, and leaving the Maginot Line alone until I was ready to take it on. I'll be interested to hear your side as the Allies.

An entertaining scenario Ed, thanks for your hard work. It feels much more like the real blitzkrieg from the German side than the original stock scenario, as you can cut swathes through the Allies, but you are also vulnerable to counter attack as you advance. I look forward to playing the Allies in this one at some point in the future.

[Currahee]

And thank you, Alasdair, for another excellent DAR! I think you will have given some ideas to future players of the German side. I'm playing Allies now against Akhenaton and Pierre, will be interesting to see how those come out!

We'll get your bonus points awarded, thanks again for the excellent work!