Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	France
Participants	cjsiam (AAR)
Play Date	2022-08-16
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF014

This was a 4-session play-through with the always hilarious and doughty, cjsiam, as the French Commander holding the town of Grand Leez and adjacent hilly and wooded areas (Le Bois de Grand Leez) on Map 27. Victory conditions for both sides required town hex occupation and inflicting step losses. We played without the FOW optional rule, but with the smoke, excess initiative and extended assault rules. I played the Germans tasked with an exposed movement-to-contact straight down the battle map in what proved to be a costly and fruitless effort.

In the first session (game turns 1-3) the French were quick to rack up 3 German steps and lost 5 of their own in the early going. Surprisingly, a company of Somua S35 tanks charged north out of their hiding places in hopes of securing AT crossfire opportunities against the attacking Boche. Two half-strength French armored cars platoons in the eastern wood fled after sustaining 2 step losses, and abandoned another half-strength a/c unit to its fate in a German close assault. Other German AFV’s scurried south into the woods as fast as possible.

The 2nd session (game turns 4-6) featured considerable maneuver by both sides in an effort to gain better firing & assault jump-off positions on the margins of Le Bois de Grand Leez. The French Somua tanks fled back to the south to fend off a pending right flank probe on the 20-meter hill. The lone German air strike failed miserably at 1045 and that side’s over eager Captain was captured by a bold French tank platoon. In all, one additional step loss was recorded on both sides by the end of game turn 6.The victory points at this point were already indicating the trend toward a likely French victory by a score of at least 18 to 4.

The slightly-delayed 3rd session (game turns 7-9) included some incredible swings of bad & good luck for both sides delivered by the whimsical PG fates. The German strategy at this point was to try and spread out the French defenders as far as possible on both flanks, with the bulk of the infantry on the left flank penetration. This was severely hampered by the lack of sufficient leaders, and also by effective shifts of the French mobile reserve who took maximum advantage of their excellent interior lines of communication. German OBA was finally able to eliminate the pesky AT platoon in the woods (Hex 0605). However, the other French AT platoon managed to score on two very long-range shots, which reduced two enemy tank platoons to half-strength. Steps lost this session were: 9 for the Germans, and 5 for the French side.

The 4th session (game turns 10-12) ended in a well-deserved, French victory and a near-rout for the invading Huns. This session began with a near-complete run of luck for the French in both combat and morale checks, as opposed to a long string of negative die roll results for the invading Germans. There were several unique individual combats including a wild charge by a company of French tanks that was fended off with – of all things – a counter charge of German APCs and light tanks in an extended assault that eliminated a section of French H-35 light tanks and demoralized an entire stack of defending armor. Bitter fighting on the eastern margins of the southernmost town discombobulated the attacking German column, but did result in two contested town hexes at game end. The lone German Pz-III platoon was ultimately able to capture a couple of truck units and a single town hex in Gran Leez.

At the end, German steps lost were 16; and the defending French came away with only 9 steps lost in combat. The final victory point totals were: 11 for the German side, and 30 for the French, resulting in a major victory for the French defenders.

This was a substantially unbalanced scenario in favor of the defending French who benefited from relatively good ground to defend; high speed interior lines; an abundance of high quality armor; and a satisfactory counter mix with plenty of motor transport. Not to mention, the low quality and limited number of opposing tanks and APCs; the meager German OBA; and the very large expanse of open ground that they must cross to be able to come to grips with the defenders. One may be able to pull off a win for the Germans in this scenario, but only if the whimsy of the fates allow sufficient favorable die rolls for the Nazis and very poor ones for the French.

On the upside, this is a rare opportunity for the French to end up on the winning side in the otherwise, mostly dismal, set of 1940: Fall of France scenarios that nearly always favors the invaders. Lengthening the scenario by about 4 turns would likely result in a more balanced play-through by allowing more time for the attacking side to better deploy as they cross the map. I give this one 2, but recommend it for solo play only.