0510_01A WDS: Fall Gelb - PzC 12 France '40
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| Rating: | 4 (1) |
| Games Played: | 1 |
| SM: | 9 |
| Turns: | 284 |
| Type: | Stock |
| First Side: | Germany |
| Second Side: | Allies |
Date: May 10th, 1940 - Size: Monster Campaign - Location: France
Intended for HTH play.
Designer Notes: This version of the scenario covers the entirety of Fall Gelb through June 4th. It uses manual bridge damage rules. It is only intended for head to head play.
Scenario Briefing: On the evening of May 9th, German signals engineers from the Swiss border to the sea waited expectantly for instruction from OKW: the codeword "Danzig" would set into motion the long-anticipated Western Campaign while the word "Augsburg" would cancel it. At 20:00, OKW transmitted its order to the western armies: "Danzig!" The attack would commence at 05:35. Seemingly endless motorized columns snaked their way to the frontier, moving slowly through the darkness without the aid of headlights. Across the border, Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourger guards peered nervously into the night as they listened to the trampling of foot soldiers and horses and the whirring of trucks and tanks. Reports filtered up to GQG of suspicious activity on the border between the Low Countries and Germany. As the clock ticked towards X-hour, the reports became increasingly alarming. Violence had erupted in Luxembourg as German agents and Luxembourger traitors clashed with the Grand Duchess' gendarmes at radio stations, telephone exchanges and bridges. In the Netherlands, German operatives disguised as Dutch soldiers and police attempted to disable charges on the Maas and Juliana Canal bridges. Then, at precisely 05:35 (04:35 in France), German pioneers dismantled the roadblocks on the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourger borders and Fall Gelb was underway. As the German armies poured into the neutral Low Countries, Hitler issued the following order:
"Soldiers of the Western Front! The hour has struck for the crucial battle for the future of the German nation. For three hundred years the aim of the French and British rulers has been to prevent the consolidation of the European continent and, above all, to keep Germany in a state of weakness and powerlessness. To this end, France has declared war on Germany thirty-one times in the course of two centuries. For decades past, the aim of the policy pursued by Britain's rulers has been to prevent Germany from unifying and to deny the Reich the resources essential for keeping eighty million men alive. Britain and France have pursued this policy whatever form of government was in power in Germany. It was the German people who were aimed at. Under cover of a gigantic diversionary maneuver in southeastern Europe, Britain and France seek to advance through Holland and Belgium to the Ruhr Basin. Soldiers of the Western Front, your hour has come. The battle that is beginning today will decide the fate of the German nation for the next thousand years. Do your duty! The blessings of the German people go with you."
Meanwhile at Vincennes, General Gamelin ordered the Allied armies to execute Plan D and the forward elements of the French army entered Belgium and Luxembourg between 07:00 and 08:00. Paul Reynaud addressed the French people thus:
"Three free nations - Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg - were invaded last night by the German army. They have called the Allied armies to their assistance. Between seven and eight o'clock in the morning our soldiers, the soldiers of freedom, crossed the frontier. The age-old battlefield of the Flanders plain is well-known to the people of our country. And confronting us, rushing at us, is the age-old invader. Free men and women the world over will be breathlessly watching the drama ahead. France stands calm and strong. It is time to fall in. You already know that all parties have joined forces within the government. In this hour in which the best, the youngest, the liveliest, the strongest of our countrymen are about to risk their lives in solemn battle, one grave thought dwells in every house, every country cottage, every billet. One common thought raises us all above ourselves. Everyone is preparing to do his duty. The French army has drawn its sword: France is gathering herself."
Despite his words of strength, Reynaud was nervous. He confided privately to one of his ministers, "Now we shall see what Gamelin is made of."
Recommended Rules: (Default)
Alternative Assault Resolution, Artillery Set Up, Recon Spotting, Virtual Supply Trucks, Optional Surrender, Low Visibility Air Effects, Quality Fatigue Modifier, Counterbattery Fire, Night Fatigue, Programmed Weather, Limited Air Recon.
(The Delayed Disruption Reporting rule will provide a more challenging experience for the attacking player. Playing without the Limited Air Recon rule will provide a more realistic depiction of cooperation between German aerial reconnaissance and bomber forces, but may overstate Allied capabilities.)
Additional Designer Notes:
1. This long version of the scenario runs through June 4th.
2. This version of the scenario uses manual bridge damage rules. The Allied player will receive single-use bridge destruction teams as reinforcements between May 10th and 12th. These are intended to represent the pre-planned demolition programs near the border. These units will only be available for a single turn, so if not used they will be lost.
3. Objective hexes have been placed to encourage the Allied player to recreate the Dyle Plan and Breda Maneuver by moving into the Belgium and the Netherlands. If the German player conquers both Belgium and the Netherlands, he will likely gain a Minor Victory
4. To win a major victory, the German player must make decisive gains in France. This can be done be recreating the historic drive to the sea and the capture of the Channel Ports, by capturing Paris, or by outflanking the Maginot Line by capturing Metz, Nancy, and Strasbourg.
5. There was little time between the landing of the paratroopers and the arrival of the airlanding infantry in Holland - the transports carrying the airlanding troops had no time to turn around or verify whether or not the airfields were solidly in German hands. To model this, it is desirable that the German player accept all airlanding reinforcements regardless of whether their arrival hexes are in German or Dutch hands.
6. It is recommended that the German player use air support against the Dutch airfields on Turn 1 and 2 and assault each as soon as possible.
7. The German player has strategy options to direct airlanding reinforements after 06:00.
8. The German player has strategy options which provide some control over the deployment of the OKH Reserve.
9. The Allied player has strategy options regarding the deployment of naval support and reinforcements arriving from Britain.
Intended for HTH play.
Designer Notes: This version of the scenario covers the entirety of Fall Gelb through June 4th. It uses manual bridge damage rules. It is only intended for head to head play.
Scenario Briefing: On the evening of May 9th, German signals engineers from the Swiss border to the sea waited expectantly for instruction from OKW: the codeword "Danzig" would set into motion the long-anticipated Western Campaign while the word "Augsburg" would cancel it. At 20:00, OKW transmitted its order to the western armies: "Danzig!" The attack would commence at 05:35. Seemingly endless motorized columns snaked their way to the frontier, moving slowly through the darkness without the aid of headlights. Across the border, Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourger guards peered nervously into the night as they listened to the trampling of foot soldiers and horses and the whirring of trucks and tanks. Reports filtered up to GQG of suspicious activity on the border between the Low Countries and Germany. As the clock ticked towards X-hour, the reports became increasingly alarming. Violence had erupted in Luxembourg as German agents and Luxembourger traitors clashed with the Grand Duchess' gendarmes at radio stations, telephone exchanges and bridges. In the Netherlands, German operatives disguised as Dutch soldiers and police attempted to disable charges on the Maas and Juliana Canal bridges. Then, at precisely 05:35 (04:35 in France), German pioneers dismantled the roadblocks on the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourger borders and Fall Gelb was underway. As the German armies poured into the neutral Low Countries, Hitler issued the following order:
"Soldiers of the Western Front! The hour has struck for the crucial battle for the future of the German nation. For three hundred years the aim of the French and British rulers has been to prevent the consolidation of the European continent and, above all, to keep Germany in a state of weakness and powerlessness. To this end, France has declared war on Germany thirty-one times in the course of two centuries. For decades past, the aim of the policy pursued by Britain's rulers has been to prevent Germany from unifying and to deny the Reich the resources essential for keeping eighty million men alive. Britain and France have pursued this policy whatever form of government was in power in Germany. It was the German people who were aimed at. Under cover of a gigantic diversionary maneuver in southeastern Europe, Britain and France seek to advance through Holland and Belgium to the Ruhr Basin. Soldiers of the Western Front, your hour has come. The battle that is beginning today will decide the fate of the German nation for the next thousand years. Do your duty! The blessings of the German people go with you."
Meanwhile at Vincennes, General Gamelin ordered the Allied armies to execute Plan D and the forward elements of the French army entered Belgium and Luxembourg between 07:00 and 08:00. Paul Reynaud addressed the French people thus:
"Three free nations - Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg - were invaded last night by the German army. They have called the Allied armies to their assistance. Between seven and eight o'clock in the morning our soldiers, the soldiers of freedom, crossed the frontier. The age-old battlefield of the Flanders plain is well-known to the people of our country. And confronting us, rushing at us, is the age-old invader. Free men and women the world over will be breathlessly watching the drama ahead. France stands calm and strong. It is time to fall in. You already know that all parties have joined forces within the government. In this hour in which the best, the youngest, the liveliest, the strongest of our countrymen are about to risk their lives in solemn battle, one grave thought dwells in every house, every country cottage, every billet. One common thought raises us all above ourselves. Everyone is preparing to do his duty. The French army has drawn its sword: France is gathering herself."
Despite his words of strength, Reynaud was nervous. He confided privately to one of his ministers, "Now we shall see what Gamelin is made of."
Recommended Rules: (Default)
Alternative Assault Resolution, Artillery Set Up, Recon Spotting, Virtual Supply Trucks, Optional Surrender, Low Visibility Air Effects, Quality Fatigue Modifier, Counterbattery Fire, Night Fatigue, Programmed Weather, Limited Air Recon.
(The Delayed Disruption Reporting rule will provide a more challenging experience for the attacking player. Playing without the Limited Air Recon rule will provide a more realistic depiction of cooperation between German aerial reconnaissance and bomber forces, but may overstate Allied capabilities.)
Additional Designer Notes:
1. This long version of the scenario runs through June 4th.
2. This version of the scenario uses manual bridge damage rules. The Allied player will receive single-use bridge destruction teams as reinforcements between May 10th and 12th. These are intended to represent the pre-planned demolition programs near the border. These units will only be available for a single turn, so if not used they will be lost.
3. Objective hexes have been placed to encourage the Allied player to recreate the Dyle Plan and Breda Maneuver by moving into the Belgium and the Netherlands. If the German player conquers both Belgium and the Netherlands, he will likely gain a Minor Victory
4. To win a major victory, the German player must make decisive gains in France. This can be done be recreating the historic drive to the sea and the capture of the Channel Ports, by capturing Paris, or by outflanking the Maginot Line by capturing Metz, Nancy, and Strasbourg.
5. There was little time between the landing of the paratroopers and the arrival of the airlanding infantry in Holland - the transports carrying the airlanding troops had no time to turn around or verify whether or not the airfields were solidly in German hands. To model this, it is desirable that the German player accept all airlanding reinforcements regardless of whether their arrival hexes are in German or Dutch hands.
6. It is recommended that the German player use air support against the Dutch airfields on Turn 1 and 2 and assault each as soon as possible.
7. The German player has strategy options to direct airlanding reinforements after 06:00.
8. The German player has strategy options which provide some control over the deployment of the OKH Reserve.
9. The Allied player has strategy options regarding the deployment of naval support and reinforcements arriving from Britain.
| Player Voting Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Balance | Enjoyment |
 Steel God |
Totally Pro Germany | 10 |
| Gaming Records | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Side Player | 2nd Side Player | Result | Score | ||||||
|
 |
Steel God | vs. | Pvt_Larry |  |
|
Germany Minor Victory | 126 | 54 |
The value of the game objectives could be slashed in half (or the levels for victory raised) and it might still be easy for the Germans to notch the victory in this one. It is a shame because the action is second to none, and the scope of operations by far the most complete sense of "operational warfare" of any of the PzC scenarios. The Allies can outperform their historical counterparts and still lose quite handily.
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