[Fall of France #11] Initial German Setup

[Matt W]

Having looked at the scenario I have to agree that your current setup is a bit too stretched. Vince's positioning seems fine and the focus on seeing the French is critical since you can't move until you do see them. By deploying to the west of the main town you force the French to slide around the town and towards the hill, delaying them and giving yourself the chance to respond. This is important as their only real asset in an assault on the town is the HMG. Without it, the most they can generate in an assault hex is 13 factors (ESC and the two armored cars, or two ESCs and the P16). Interestingly even if they have the HMG they will still only be on the 13 column before column shifts and in the town, even with a leader they will be down one to the "9" column meaning a 1/6 chance of causing a step loss. The key from here is whether you have any reserves to feed into the assault hex to cause the French to fight at a disadvantage.

One of the biggest concerns I have, however, with the initial setup was the placement of the Major right in the front line if the French had advanced in that fashion. A potential decapitation would leave the Germans with a possible mess on their hands before they even get a chance to react to the French advance. So,

Defend with some troops outside of town to cause delay and increase your spotting capability
Have reserves ready to reinforce assaulted hexes (possibly by not garrisoning the smaller town)
Protect your senior commanders in the setup.

See you Saturday!

[Shad]

Outstanding thread from start to finish. This is why we have PG-HQ Forums, lads!

[vince hughes]

See you Saturday!

LOL - That ain't the game you are playing is it ?

[campsawyer]

I have played this one with Wayne Baumber, quite a nice one, but as the Germans you need to be aggressive and as Vince says don't get sucked in to defending all the towns. You don't have enough men. Be aggressive and try to cause the French to disrupt before they get to the towns. We battled to a draw, which I believe is good for the Germans as the French have more troops and armored cars as well as a bit of OBA. It will come down to assaults in the end and with us a diceroll either way would have made this not a draw. Good luck with it.

Here is the link to my AAR for this, if you haven't already read it.

AAR

[J6A]

I hate that 9-1-2 LT.

[Hugmenot]

I just realized something funny; I set up the and played the scenario as if North was West!

I will try the scenario again using Vince's recommended setup after I finish scenario 11.

Thank you for all the replies!

[Matt W]

Vince:

No, darn it. We are looking at something from Panzer Lehr.

[vince hughes]

I just realized something funny; I set up the and played the scenario as if North was West!

I said those French were coming in from a funny angle didn't I !

[Hugmenot]

I said those French were coming in from a funny angle didn't I !

It's because us French speaking people have an uncanny ability for lateral thinking.

But thanks for the input, I will take an image of the setup you recommended and post it tonight. Setting up the defensive side is something that I find difficult and if posting pictures of my initial deployment and from more experienced players can help newcomers enjoy the system better, then I am all for it.

[vince hughes]

I will take an image of the setup you recommended and post it tonight.

Just remember, once the shooting war starts, its down to thinking quickly as the situation develops and responding if not 'correctly' at least let it be the best one can.

No set up is fool proof and it can all fall apart with an erroneous move :-)