Battlefield Europe v1.9 – France (Manstein)

[PeteMitchell]

Difficulty: Manstein and Limited (Dice Chess)

After the recent successful but also rather disillusioning experiences in Poland and Norway, my expectation is that it is getting harder and harder as we progress through the BE campaign, i.e. more costly in terms of prestige and casualties… but let’s still give Fall Gelb (attack on the Low Countries and Northern France) and Fall Rot (attack on Central France) a try… although we only have around 6-7 weeks…

Scenario briefing:

BE_Turn_01_001_Scenario Briefing 1.jpg (53.27 KiB) Viewed 3613 times

BE_Turn_01_002_Scenario Briefing 2.jpg (17.02 KiB) Viewed 3613 times

Victory conditions:

BE_Turn_01_003_Victory Conditions.jpg (9.39 KiB) Viewed 3613 times

[PeteMitchell]

Interpretation of Fall Gelb and Fall Rot:
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to follow the historic plans and actual events very closely. However, I still want to share these two historic maps for illustration purposes/to provide some more context.

Campaign in the West May 1940.jpg (210.93 KiB) Viewed 3610 times

Campaign in the West June 1940.png (238.5 KiB) Viewed 3610 times

Please note, the scenario actually differentiates between Fall Gelb (case yellow) and Fall Rot (case red), i.e. the initial victory conditions are only Amsterdam and Abbeville (to cut of the Allied forces in Belgium). After that, additional victory objectives appear in Paris, Brest, Bordeaux and Nice.

So based on this OKW knowledge, here is my “interpretation” of Fall Gelb and Fall Rot…
(1: Amsterdam, 2: Abbeville, 3: Paris, 4: Brest, 5: Bordeaux, 6: Nice)

BE_Turn_01_004_Interpretation Fall Gelb Fall Rot.jpg (235.81 KiB) Viewed 3610 times

As with my other BE AARs, I would again be very happy to read any comments or suggestions.

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 1 – 10 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Overall situation:
I have outlined a simplified plan of attack in the previous post already and given that I will talk about it a bit more during the AAR, I want to share a few thoughts on the force composition for France now:

As you probably know, you can only bring five core units overall. Unfortunately, I had already lost one core tank in Poland (as I was cheap with replacements). Then in Norway, you can only deploy one unit (which needs to be a fighter). So after Poland I decided to only keep one fighter (for Norway) and one of the two remaining tanks (the one with the hero Albert Kerscher), i.e. I sold the other remaining tank and the tactical bomber as well.

For France and in light of my even tighter prestige situation, I will add one fighter that will be needed for the strong Royal Airforce and two Panzerjäger as front line units as they are cheaper (and maybe even a bit stronger) than Panzer IVDs… (in any case, it also won’t be as painful in case I lose them while breaking through the Ardennes or while crossing the Meuse River)… Time will be of essence again…

More for completeness, here are the strategic maps at the start of turn 1:
(right click and open in new tab for larger picture, same applies to all others)

BE_Turn_01_005_Strategic Map.jpg (214.3 KiB) Viewed 3600 times

BE_Turn_01_006_Strategic Map Air.jpg (212.62 KiB) Viewed 3600 times

As well as the incoming casualties (from Norway):

BE_Turn_01_007_Incoming Casualties.jpg (47.92 KiB) Viewed 3600 times

Please note: all subsequent photos/screenshots will usually be taken at the end of the completed Axis turn.

[PeteMitchell]

Netherlands:
Army Group B started its attack on Arnhem and Amsterdam while the Luftwaffe is already working on achieving air supremacy or at least air superiority. The plan to land with Fallschirmjäger (paras) behind enemy lines in the Netherlands has been regarded too risky and was also abandoned on very short notice. Instead, the Fallschirmjäger will be sent towards the Bordeaux region in the southwest of France. The exact details of this mission are still classified at this stage.

BE_Turn_01_008_Amsterdam.jpg (292.24 KiB) Viewed 3579 times

Belgium, Luxembourg and France:
Further south, Army Group A is marching through the Ardennes Forest towards Reims in France while Luxembourg, north of the Maginot Line, has been seized already. Strong Allied forces northwest of the Meuse River will be ignored for the time being. The main objective is to break through to the English Channel around Abbeville and to Paris in Northern France. At the same time, Luftwaffe fighters are conducting targeted attacks on enemy planes across Belgium while most German bombers are still being held back at or around Frankfurt airport.

BE_Turn_01_009_Reims.jpg (310.51 KiB) Viewed 3579 times

Also the heavily fortified Maginot Line along the east banks of the Rhine River as well as Strasbourg will be ignored.

BE_Turn_01_010_Strasbourg.jpg (287.9 KiB) Viewed 3579 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 2 – 13 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
Without paras, the German advance through Arnhem towards Amsterdam is actually progressing very slowly. So most likely, additional Luftwaffe support might be required to break through?

BE_Turn_02_011_Amsterdam.jpg (286.79 KiB) Viewed 3574 times

Belgium, Luxembourg and France:
First tanks of Guderian’s panzer divisions crossed the Ardennes Forest and reached the Meuse River after three days already. However, a very strong French Char B1 has been scouted at Reims airfield… Establishing a sustainable bridgehead across the Meuse River might become the real challenge these days! The Luftwaffe is providing air cover for the advancing German forces.

BE_Turn_02_012_Reims.jpg (301.51 KiB) Viewed 3574 times

Austria:
While the Fallschirmjäger are crossing the Alps.

BE_Turn_02_013_The Alps.jpg (283.64 KiB) Viewed 3574 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 3 – 16 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
The Luftwaffe provided the required support and Arnhem has fallen while Belgian and French forces are coming from Rotterdam and Eindhoven area to support the remaining Dutch forces. German units stand in front of Amsterdam [and please note: in reality the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam and threatened to bomb the rest of the Netherlands as well if the Netherlands didn’t surrender…]

BE_Turn_03_014_Amsterdam.jpg (281.23 KiB) Viewed 3572 times

Belgium and Northern France:
Liege in Belgium has fallen and the Meuse River crossing at Sedan was successful so Reims could be captured already as well.

BE_Turn_03_015_Reims.jpg (292.63 KiB) Viewed 3572 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 4 – 19 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
With the help of the Luftwaffe, Amsterdam has been seized and the exhausted Dutch defenders have been pushed to Amsterdam airport.

BE_Turn_04_016_Amsterdam.jpg (277.2 KiB) Viewed 3569 times

Belgium and Northern France:
Strong French defensive forces around Paris might limit our ability to push towards Abbeville at the English Channel directly as they might (/will?) threaten our southern flank (in addition to more Allied forces between Charleroi and Lille in the north). So instead of going straight to Abbeville, OKW decided to seize Paris first (or at least along with Abbeville) while using the Seine River as a natural barrier against potential additional French forces coming from Central France. This might be an overly cautious approach but the currently present French forces east of Paris shouldn’t be underestimated by all means…

BE_Turn_04_017_Reims.jpg (297.47 KiB) Viewed 3569 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 5 – 22 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
Now the French counterattack towards Amsterdam is already in full swing!

BE_Turn_05_018_Amsterdam.jpg (282.48 KiB) Viewed 3566 times

Belgium and Northern France:
The French Char B1 is history and the very important Reims airport has been seized as well… In addition, the way to Abbeville seems fairly open. However, two new French fighter planes appeared in the west close to Paris and Abbeville!

BE_Turn_05_019_Reims.jpg (292.73 KiB) Viewed 3566 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 6 – 25 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
Amsterdam airport is under German control now as well. However, North Holland around Amsterdam is still contested. It would be important to get the artillery unit behind the infantry in Amsterdam, preferably even onto the airport…

BE_Turn_06_020_Amsterdam.jpg (274.92 KiB) Viewed 3565 times

Belgium and Northern France:
German tanks got a bit stuck south of Reims as many infantry units couldn’t catch up quickly enough and the French AT east of Paris poses some threat to the German tanks as well… while they will still be needed for Fall Rot… Yeah and historically, we are now exactly at the time of what became known as the “halt order” on the German side and the Allies’ “fight back to the west”…

BE_Turn_06_021_Reims.jpg (298.62 KiB) Viewed 3565 times

Southwest France:
In the meantime, the Fallschirmjäger landed in the Pyrenees close to the Spanish border south of Bordeaux and west of Toulouse…

BE_Turn_06_022_Pyrenees.jpg (248.33 KiB) Viewed 3565 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 7 – 28 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
The situation in the Netherlands has been stabilized but not resolved yet… well, historically, it was also a decoy for French and Belgium forces to move north, of course.

BE_Turn_07_023_Amsterdam.jpg (287.5 KiB) Viewed 3537 times

Belgium and Northern France:
Under heavy fighting, the German advance towards Paris is making some progress although Abbeville seems garrisoned by heavily entrenched French forces as well. Historically, Belgium surrendered on 28 May 1940 while the Battle of Abbeville took place from around that time until 4 June 1940. The Dunkirk evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied soldiers, code-named Operation Dynamo, took place in parallel. The mod simulates this as well as soon as Abbeville has been captured…

BE_Turn_07_024_Reims.jpg (302.5 KiB) Viewed 3537 times

Southwest France:
Fallschirmjäger are approaching Bordeaux from the south.

BE_Turn_07_025_Pyrenees.jpg (251.48 KiB) Viewed 3537 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 8 – 31 May 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
The air battle across the Netherlands continues although the Allied counterattack coming from Rotterdam has been stopped for the time being.

BE_Turn_08_026_Amsterdam.jpg (283.52 KiB) Viewed 3535 times

Belgium and Northern France:
Paris, declared an open city, has basically been reached by the Wehrmacht while French forces are still holding the area between Paris and Abbeville. Nonetheless, the OKW plans to quickly move westward along the Loire River towards Brittany now as well!

BE_Turn_08_027_Paris.jpg (289.83 KiB) Viewed 3535 times

Southwest France:
Fallschirmjäger scouted a strong but essentially unguarded French artillery unit southwest of Bordeaux. Should they dare to attack or wait for some Luftwaffe support? Well, on the other hand, the Luftwaffe might not be able to come down so far south any time soon though. In addition, most likely Bordeaux will be garrisoned as well…

BE_Turn_08_028_Bordeaux.jpg (238.91 KiB) Viewed 3535 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 9 – 3 June 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
Although it looks like that the Allied forces have given up Rotterdam by now, it might not be wise to occupy it already given the strong Belgian forces further south around the Meuse River.

BE_Turn_09_029_Rotterdam.jpg (269.75 KiB) Viewed 3534 times

Belgium and Northern France:
Finally, German infantry units are heading down (the - on this map - invisible Somme valley) to Abbeville!

BE_Turn_09_030_Abbeville.jpg (278.23 KiB) Viewed 3534 times

Paris has been seized and German tanks are pushing towards Orleans and Le Mans… and yes, it’s still a race!

BE_Turn_09_031_Paris.jpg (289.31 KiB) Viewed 3534 times

[PeteMitchell]

Southwest France:
The Fallschirmjäger attacked the artillery unit in the back of Bordeaux. It’s becoming obvious, that one Fallschirmjäger unit only might not be able to pull this off though…

BE_Turn_09_032_Bordeaux.jpg (241.99 KiB) Viewed 3532 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 10 – 6 June 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Netherlands:
Luckily, the artillery unit reached Amsterdam airport. This should help keep the situation under control around Amsterdam!

BE_Turn_10_033_Amsterdam.jpg (271.09 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

Belgium and Northern France:
The fighting in and around Abbeville still continues.

BE_Turn_10_034_Abbeville.jpg (297.05 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

Further west, German tanks reached Rennes, the capital of the region of Brittany!

BE_Turn_10_035_Rennes.jpg (294.7 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

[PeteMitchell]

Southwest France:
The French artillery unit moved north onto Bordeaux airport.

BE_Turn_10_036_Bordeaux.jpg (240.53 KiB) Viewed 3527 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 11 – 9 June 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Belgium and Northern France:
Both Abbeville and Charleroi could be cleared but have not been occupied yet.

BE_Turn_11_037_Abbeville.jpg (303.34 KiB) Viewed 3515 times

Western France:
Unfortunately, the German tank advance got stuck again around Rennes. Luftwaffe bombers have been requested to help clear the way up until Brest at the Atlantic coast now.

BE_Turn_11_038_Rennes.jpg (284.83 KiB) Viewed 3515 times

Southwest France:
Things got a bit ugly around Bordeaux, the French garrison forces left the city and attacked the Fallschirmjäger (including support by the French Air Force). The Fallschirmjäger fled into the Pyrenees at the Spanish border. Maybe a new strategy is needed?

BE_Turn_11_039_Pyrenees.jpg (253.52 KiB) Viewed 3515 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 12 – 12 June 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Belgium and Northern France:
The situation around Abbeville remains tense as German forces need to be able to capture and hold the city. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of resources and the British Expeditionary Force along with its French allies won’t leave Belgium…

BE_Turn_12_040_Abbeville.jpg (283.51 KiB) Viewed 3510 times

Central France:
A French counterattack is coming from Bourges and is directed at Orleans… [and by the way, it’s not the first siege of Orleans in history that went all downhill once French reinforcements arrived] …with this, it might not be worth reaching out to Bourges either...

BE_Turn_12_041_Orleans.jpg (285.6 KiB) Viewed 3510 times

[PeteMitchell]

Western France:
Another intense dogfight is taking place, this time in the airspace close to Rennes!

BE_Turn_12_042_Rennes.jpg (281.01 KiB) Viewed 3509 times

Southeast France:
Italy has declared war on Great Britain and France. The Italian Army mobilized in Northern Italy and is ready to capture Southeast France. The first objective will be Nice!
(Please note, as I eventually lost my two Panzerjäger in Northern France, I decided to reinforce the Italian Army by one cavalry unit and one artillery unit coming from Genoa. I also sent in German strategic bombers. Both support measures might not be needed but cannot harm either…)

BE_Turn_12_043_Genoa.jpg (288.67 KiB) Viewed 3509 times

[PeteMitchell]

Turn 13 – 15 June 1940
Weather: clear and dry

Belgium and Northern France:
Finally, Abbeville and Charleroi could be seized. Therefore, the Allies surrendered near the Channel and will eventually leave Belgium. However, small skirmishes or even targeted counterattacks might still happen!

BE_Turn_13_044_Abbeville.jpg (294.12 KiB) Viewed 3507 times

Western France:
French cavalry recaptured Tours. At the same time, more German forces are moving towards Brest.

BE_Turn_13_045_Tours.jpg (286.78 KiB) Viewed 3507 times

[PeteMitchell]

Southwest France:
Surprise around Bordeaux! The resupplied Fallschirmjäger moved back towards the city and discovered that the French infantry unit is gone… it either went north of the airport or crossed the Garonne River (the latter is more likely given the advancing German units in Northern France). Maybe a new opportunity to capture Bordeaux with the Fallschirmjäger can still arise?

BE_Turn_13_046_Bordeaux.jpg (254.8 KiB) Viewed 3506 times

Southeast France:
Chasseurs Alpins, French elite mountain infantry, started a counterattack on the Italian forces almost before they could even start their attack on Nice! This will remain a challenging adventure…

BE_Turn_13_047_Nice.jpg (286.35 KiB) Viewed 3506 times