Nach Frankreich 1940

[broccolini]

Anyone want to try this sim of the invasion of France and the low countries in 1940?
I would play either side.

[sPzAbt653]

I could play the WAllies.

[broccolini]

OK sounds good. Do you want to exchange email or use the PBEM ++?

[sPzAbt653]

I've never used the pbem++. Which way do you prefer?

[broccolini]

Old fashioned e-mail. The PBEM++ tends to crash in the middle of turns.
I will PM you my email address.

[berard.mike@gmail.com]

Who win the Campaign of France ?

[broccolini]

It's kinda hard to say. The game auto ended in a German victory once the BEF was cut off from the channel coast, but they hadn't capture Paris yet. So sPzAbt653 (the scenario designer) adjusted it so that we could continue. The Germans did not capture Paris in the time frame that the Germans did historically, so I think of it as an Allied victory. But the Germans were still rolling, much of the Allied army was in pockets that were being reduced and it didn't look like the end was really in dispute. There was no Dunkirk. The BEF was destroyed. Then it became a slog of reducing encirclements and that's where the game petered out.
It's a very well-done scenario though. I was going to do an AAR but I was too lazy.

[sPzAbt653]

Historically the French had problems from top to bottom and everywhere in the middle in 1940. To pick one issue, they weren't as mobile as the handful of German divisions that broke thru at Sedan.

In this scenario run, as the French player I waited to see where this handful of 'elite' German divisions showed up, and then I would move my reserves to that area. Easy-peazy. Consistently, every few turns, it was agonizing to slowly move my French units towards the trouble spot as the Germans pocketed some of my units and then zipped off to another area to do the same thing.

So, the German player didn't concentrate on getting to the coast at Abbeville, and the WAllies didn't lose a third of their force and most of their best divisions in the first ten days. To compare this to history, the Germans failed. To assess this scenario run, as the Broccoli man said, the end was not in dispute. I [the French] was out of reserves that could meet new threats, so the next break in the line would allow the German to head for Bordeaux.

[broccolini]

The biggest trouble I had when playing the attacking side was figuring out how to do something unexpected. Not unlike the Germans in 1940. The biggest difference though is that everybody knows about the Ardennes attack who plays this game. So there is no element of surprise. That as well as abysmal Allied command and control which is simulated. So I decided to try what wasn't as expected and go through the low countries. Like some kind of Schlieffen plan. It didn't really work that great. All I did was charge with all I had into the best he had. I'm not even sure why I thought it was a good idea with hindsight. I think I was hoping sPzAbt653 (Sorry, I forgot your name and don't have the emails anymore) would move some of those units toward the Ardennes. But he didn't. In the end instead of a dashing battle of maneuver, it became a pitched battle across a devastated Belgium and Northern France. It was fun forcing river crossings and capturing forts, etc. but it wasn't a repeat of history because I didn't do what the Germans did. Eventually because of more movement points for the Germans due to more mechanized units, and better firepower it seemed, the Germans made it to the channel, had turned the corner and Paris was in site.
That's where we called it.
It was much costlier and slower than what the Germans did historically. So, I did worse than them for sure.

[sPzAbt653]

If I refresh your memory you may remember that there is a Theater Option for a German Human vs French PO to choose where the French reserves go - stay around Paris [as was the case until just before the attack] or go towards Holland [the historical situation that was decided for political reasons]. We discussed it, and if I remember correctly you left the decision up to me. I sent the reserves thru northern Belgium in order to present the historical situation, yet I also let hindsight influence my decision to begin moving part of the southern French force northwards as soon as they became available (I think they are all on Static orders with various release dates).

This resulted in me not expecting the two best French armies [7th and 1st] running into the best German units in Belgium. I was out of place and not ready to defend. I lost a lot of good units initially and never recovered from that. As the French commander I blundered and lost the little ability that I had to countermove.

Even though everyone knows the historical outcome, there is still a game to be had. Probably the historical French could never have even forced a Draw. They were too ponderous in movement and too poor in Command & Control. [Some of the bunkers at Sedan were unoccupied because they were locked and no one had the keys].

We should have had an AAR to have this kind of fun discussion back-and-forth!

[broccolini]

Yeah, to bad. It was a fun game. It was worth an AAR.