Panzer Grenadier Battles on November 21st:
Desert Rats #16 - The Panzers Pull Back Desert Rats #19 - The Panzers Return
Desert Rats #17 - The Tomb Of Sidi Rezegh Jungle Fighting #7 - Line Of Departure
Desert Rats #18 - A Pibroch's Skirl South Africa's War #5 - Irish Eyes
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Dragon Trap
Fall of France 1 #47
(Attacker) Germany vs France (Defender)
Formations Involved
Germany 3rd Panzer Division
Display
Balance:



Overall balance chart for FaoF047
Total
Side 1 7
Draw 1
Side 2 3
Overall Rating, 11 votes
5
4
3
2
1
3.27
Scenario Rank: 580 of 940
Parent Game Fall of France 1
Historicity Historical
Date 1940-06-16
Start Time 16:00
Turn Count 12
Visibility Day
Counters 34
Net Morale 0
Net Initiative 1
Maps 2: 26, 31
Layout Dimensions 56 x 43 cm
22 x 17 in
Play Bounty 93
AAR Bounty 159
Total Plays 11
Total AARs 3
Battle Types
Exit the Battle Area
Rural Assault
Conditions
Off-board Artillery
Reinforcements
Terrain Mods
Scenario Requirements & Playability
Fall of France 1 Base Game
Introduction

By mid-June the German armored spearheads had struck deep into French interior. The French 2nd and 4th Armies had disintegrated, and in the Boutgogne region some small groups were fighting their way toward the Loire River as best they could. One such group included paratroopers from the 14th Regiment de Dragon Parachutistes plus some of the brand new Hotchkiss tanks from the 8th Dragons. On 16 they made a break for freedom through an area was crawling with Germans.

Conclusion

Following trials and back roads, the French column advanced cautiously and bypassed the main towns in the area. But then they ran into a roadblock formed by abandoned trucks, behind which was a strong detachment of the 3rd Panzer Division. The French tanks opened fire destroyed the German regimental command tank along with some others. But then some powerfully-armed into a trap of their own making since the narrow road left them no room to maneuver. One by one the French tanks were picked off by German anti-tank fire, and most of the survivors were eventually captured. The 4th Escadron of the 14th Regiment de Dragon Parachutistes and the 8th Dragons ceased to exist.


Display Relevant AFV Rules

AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle
  • Vulnerable to results on the Assault Combat Chart (7.25, 7.63, ACC), and may be attacked by Anti-Tank fire (11.2, DFT). Anti-Tank fire only affects the individual unit fired upon (7.62, 11.0).
  • AFV's are activated by tank leaders (3.2, 3.3, 5.42, 6.8). They may also be activated as part of an initial activating stack, but if activated in this way would need a tank leader in order to carry out combat movement.
  • AFV's do not block Direct Fire (10.1).
  • Full-strength AFV's with "armor efficiency" may make two anti-tank (AT) fire attacks per turn (either in their action segment or during opportunity fire) if they have AT fire values of 0 or more (11.2).
  • Each unit with an AT fire value of 2 or more may fire at targets at a distance of between 100% and 150% of its printed AT range. It does so at half its AT fire value. (11.3)
  • Efficient and non-efficient AFV's may conduct two opportunity fires per turn if using direct fire (7.44, 7.64). Units with both Direct and AT Fire values may use either type of fire in the same turn as their opportunity fire, but not both (7.22, 13.0). Units which can take opportunity fire twice per turn do not have to target the same unit both times (13.0).
  • Demoralized AFV's are not required to flee from units that do not have AT fire values (14.3).
  • Place a Wreck marker when an AFV is eliminated in a bridge or town hex (16.3).
  • AFV's do not benefit from Entrenchments (16.42).
  • AFV's may Dig In (16.2).
  • Open-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables, but DO take step losses from X and #X results (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT). If a "2X" or "3X" result is rolled, at least one of the step losses must be taken by an open-top AFV if present.
  • Closed-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables. Do not take step losses from Direct or Bombardment Fire. If X or #X result on Fire Table, make M morale check instead (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT).
  • Closed-top AFV's: Provide the +1 modifier on the Assault Table when combined with infantry. (Modifier only applies to Germans in all scenarios; Soviet Guards in scenarios taking place after 1942; Polish, US and Commonwealth in scenarios taking place after 1943.) (ACC)
  • Tank: all are closed-top and provide the +1 Assault bonus, when applicable
  • Armored Cars: These are Combat Units. They are motorized instead of mechanized. All have their own armored car leaders, who can only activate armored cars (6.85). Do not provide the +1 Assault bonus (ACC).
  • Reconnaissance Vehicle: 8.23 Special Spotting Powers Both foot and vehicle mounted recce units (1.2) possess two special spotting abilities. The first ability is that they can spot enemy in limiting terrain at one hex further than the TEC specifies for other units and leaders. For example, an enemy unit in town can normally be spotted at three hexes or less, but a recce unit can spot them at four hexes.Their second ability is that they can place a Spotted marker on any one enemy unit they can spot per turn, just as if the enemy unit had "blown its cover" by firing. Such Spotted markers are removed as described earlier.

Display Order of Battle

France Order of Battle
Armée de Terre
  • Foot
  • Mechanized
  • Motorized
Germany Order of Battle
Heer
  • Foot
  • Motorized
  • Towed

Display Errata (1)

1 Errata Item
Overall balance chart for 20

The reduced direct fire value of the Heer HMG became 5-5 starting with Fall of France.

(plloyd1010 on 2015 Jul 31)

Display AARs (3)

1940, The Fall of France, scenario #47: Dragon Trap
Author JayTownsend
Method Solo
Victor France
Play Date 2012-04-18
Language English
Scenario FaoF047

Kind of a very fun puzzle of scenario! The French receive points for exiting units and eliminating German units, while the Germans receive point for stopping the French units from exiting in anyway. The Germans start with half their force on the map, deciding where are the best possible way to cover the main exit points; roads, flat terrain and so on, over a pretty large area and they get to roll for reinforcements starting on turn 5. The French entry is on the east edge and must exit on the west edge, deciding which route will be easiest to both avoid Germans and bad terrain types.

In this scenario the Germans also get to place one hidden roadblock and since I played this solo, I decided to place two markers representing two possible areas the road block might be and when the first French unit did enter one of these markers, I rolled a dice, if the results were a 4-6 it is the roadblock location, if it is a 1-3 the other marker is the roadblock location. The French also get an extra truck in this scenario for some reason, as there are only 3 foot infantry units and the forth is a motorcycle type but there are four truck units, so I used the forth as a scouting unit for the roadblocks.

When I first set this scenario up, the Germans were spread out pretty thin and I wondered how well they would cover the two maps until and if their reinforcements got there. The Germans and French both have and odd mix of units. The Germans have: PzI, PzII, PzIVD SK222, MTC, HMG, 37MM AT and Trucks in their first group and PzI, PzII, PzIIIF, 37mm AT and Trucks in their second group. The French have: ESC, DRG, H39, R40 and Trucks in the battle group. The scenario is only 12 turns and the Germans have a small dose of off board artillery.

The French entered the map at a point they thought the weakest defended and the easiest to exit from. The Germans reacted and the French had to keep shifting to the south each time. Shot were exchange with a little damaged to each side until everything bottlenecked into the very southwest of the map and I thought the French were about a turn away from blow this game out but at the last minute the German reinforcements finally showed up on turn eight to plug the holes. Now I thought the French were finished but I hung in there to finish this out and low and behold, they manage to pull out of the assaults the Germans had created in a few areas, exchange some good AT Fire in their favor with the dice rolls and opened up a couple of small holes right at the edge of the map and poured out to create a Major French Victory. And to think I was going to throw in the towel as the French about 4 turns earlier but with most of the surviving units only one or two hexes from victory, I had to push and it worked. Another note, The French also had to unload from their trucks about a third of the way into the map, to avoid AT Fire but this was good thing to ditch the trucks early, on about turn 2 or 3.

It was a tense scenario that went back and forth with a lot of options for both sides. I believe it will play out differently each play. In combat the Germans lost 10 steps and the French lost 6 steps but exited 16 steps. A very enjoyable quick scenario.

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Dragons Trapped
Author rerathbun (Germany)
Method Face to Face
Victor Germany
Participants unknown
Play Date 2010-08-13
Language English
Scenario FaoF047

My very first ftf Panzer Grenadier, played at the Heat of Battle IV game convention held at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

The French earn points for destroying Germans, and for exiting units off the west edge; the Germans earn points for preventing the French from exiting. The Germans set up in woods and villages along the roads. The French infantry and trucks hung back while the tanks attempted to open a hole for them.

The German reinforcements were very late in arriving (turn 9 or 10), and the on-board tanks were unable to do much damage to the French armor. The French tanks were also unable to do much to the panzers, leaving them in place to block the French trucks. Eventually, several of the French tanks were able to bull their way past the German tanks and exit off the west edge just before the German reinforcements arrived. The French infantry and trucks were unable to make it past the German reinforcements and the Germans earned a minor victory.

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Traversez la carte, mes braves!
Author treadasaurusrex (France)
Method VASSAL
Victor Draw
Participants Chaco
Play Date 2022-10-28
Language English
Scenario FaoF047

This was a 2-session play-through of a semi-balanced, but flawed, Fall of France scenario, with a relentless and wily opponent playing the defending German side. We used the consolidation, excess initiative and smoke optional rules. We and skipped the FOW rule. I led the attacking French in what proved to be a near-hopeless enterprise, that oddly ended well for the bad-dice-rolling French side.

The French were tasked with exiting units accross the map board and eliminating as many Boche steps as possible. The German invaders score by delaying, or outright halting the the advancing French in what amounts to a meeting engagement, with a substantial number of German units already in place on the battle map. The rest came in as reinforcements on the west edge, after they began rolling for their reinforcements starting on turn 5. Unfortunately for the Boche, they did not show up until turn 9. This play-through was a see saw scenario that went back-and-forth during play that ended in a frustrating draw. Had the German reinforcements arrived on time, they would surely have truimphed in this one.

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