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Panzer Campaigns: An overview of how best to play the Allied side in France 40.
Article written by Dog Soldier [Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:26 pm]
This short article was originally a post on the OpS forum, but was such a good analysis on how to play the Allied side i decided to place it here.
Foul.
As the Allies in F40 a French military term comes to mind....sang froid!
Your mission, should you chose to perform it, is to throw the invasion off balance and buy time. Japanese saying... Do not be an oak. Bend like the willow and snap back now and then.
Belgian play
The Belgians had a strategy of trying to hold Liege, Namur, and Antwerp. I think there was a name for the fortress region around Antwerp. Anyway, trying to do more than that with them against the German juggernaut is foolish. The best the Belgians north of the Ardennes can do is slow the German advance (by letting them shoot holes in us!) or get out of the way and try to stay alive diverting German divisions to hunt you down.
In the Ardennes, the Belgian troops are quite good. They can make an Axis player really hate trees if the main German push is there.
A little French help can go a long way to causing Manstein's nightmare in the Ardennes happen.French play
As mentioned before, use your artillery to break up the point of attack. Massive amounts of artillery. Think WW1. Keep some of your good C and B morale infantry divisions and the Cavalry Corps (ready and hidden) to pounce on what the artillery breaks up. Skate to where the puck will be and not to where it is at.
Some times you have to give the Germans a break through to trap a division or half of one. Even if you do not eliminate German units, such a beating will take out German units for a few days and buy time, your real ally.
BTW, there are a lot of C morale German infantry divisions. Not all a B morale. Even PzGr units in the panzer divisions are B morale. They can be lowered to C and even D morale.
I once collected half a German infantry division (four battalions worth) that crossed a river and then were counter attacked. True the other half of the German division escaped back across the river, only because they were broken units covered by the four battlaions of soon to be POWs!
Took out two panzer divisions in another game for a full day in a similar way. It can be done.
The "junk" as someone called them are divisions that are just cannon fodder. Use them to wear down the Germans as they plow through these guys. VM was right, let the Germans do all the shooting. It takes more time. Use the time they buy wisely to set up tougher to crack defensive lines further back.
Save a unit with the HQ and guns for later use. The artillery of any division needs a spotter. And that artillery adds up over time.
British play
The British can be used in two ways.
1. Dig in tight along the Dyle and fortify the line with extra mines, many TRENCHES, and well sighted artillery.
VARIANT A --- Chose a River the Germans have to cross which has plenty of good cover on your side and fortify it! When those little rubber boats come across with German infantry, make them pay. Other wise, bust up the engineers to slow down bridge building if the Germans do not try for a bridgehead of ON FOOT troops to protect said engineers. The BEF can go toe to toe with German infantry trying to cross a river. Here is one rare case where you will have the upper hand.
2. In the south, the BEF can whoop the heck out of the German infantry if all the panzers are in the north. Think about it....
Did anyone in this thread mention Allied artillery is the trump card? British artillery is outstanding. Again, mass it along the expected axis of attack and do not dither it away trying to hit every German unit on the head once per turn. Pick on a regiment or division and give it a good working over with the artillery for two or three turns. Then as the Germans use the rest of the day trying to bring up new troops and pull out the shattered battalions move to your next positions and reorganize to do it again.
The British Matildas, while very few units, make great plugs in the dyke when needed. The Germans have a hard time moving those rocks out of the road. Cover them with artillery to shoot the inevitable 88mm ATGs they attract.
Generally
Do not bother with the "No Halt" versions of the F40 CG unless you are wanting a good beating in 50 turns or less. Hitler losing his nerve is an Allied players "ace in the hole card". Be sure to plan ahead for those FIXES so your troops are no where to be seen (NO LOS) with the FIXED panzer corps. That buys you a day to reorganize, entrench, and bury your dead.
If you want to enjoy playing the Allies, you are going to have to be able to plan to take some big gambles and do things the German player would not dream of. You already know if you just line up your troops in three lines, fall back constantly, and fill the holes with reinforcements, the German mulching machine will eat you alive. You have to throw out the book and try stuff that will make the German player pause like a duck hit on the head every so often. You can not take him out of the fight, but you can distract, misdirect, and confuse him to do what?....oh ya...BUY TIME!
What are the three keys to a good PzC defense?
Terrain, Terrain,Terrain.
It is a long way to the coast. Make the Germans come get you. There are obvious paths that offer the least resistance in terms of defensible terrain. If he goes there, delay with rear guards and punish his troops in the open with artillery.
If he sends the main push through the more congested parts of Western Belgium and Northern France, be glad and make the German player get frustrated to take gambles with units in "T" mode.
Finally
Give the mod CG RickyB and Tortue Agile posted here at the blitz a try. The opening turn should have not movement, only a selection of the S/O's for each side. While you will be able to figure out what the other side chose by the end of May 10th or 11th, it does make for some interesting unpredictability those first ten - twenty turns or so.
Consider it a morale victory if you get to Dunkirk and the clock runs out. I know, the VP locations and Allied versus German casualty ratio mean you will not "win" on the VP chart. But it does not have to be a chore to get to the end of the game.
Dog Soldier
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