France 1940 is one of the finest games made by Avalon Hill; it shows the inter-relationship of combined arms operations in modern warfare and graphically illustrates the reasons the Blitzkrieg method was so effective, especially against an enemy who had adopted linear tactics. In this type of warfare the commander who has an excellent knowledge of armor, infantry, or air doctrine may loose if he does not combine the strengths of each type of branch to make up for each branch's weaknesses.

Since the German's were the side with all the various types of units, infantry, armor, airborne, etc., we will limit our discussion to the German strategy and tactics which should be followed.

We will first discuss the proper strategy to be followed. The German's main objective is to destroy the allied army, especially the British units. A secondary, but still important, objective is the capture of at least part of Paris by Turn 10.

Now the question which must be answered is: how to achieve the German main objective? This can best be done by punching holes in the enemy line and then sending mechanized units through to surround as large an enemy force as practical. In addition airborne battalion's and airlanding regiments can be sent in to complete an encirclement.

Natural terrain such as the English Channel can also be used to seal off the supply route of an encircled enemy. If necessary air units can fly interdiction missions against any holes in the encirclement so that all the encircled units will be out of supply at the beginning of the turn and will have only half movement allowance for that turn.

Once the encirclement is completed masses of German infantry can be pushed through the original holes in the French line to take over guard duty from the armor units and complete the destruction of the encircled enemy. The armor units can then penetrate far into the interior of France encircling and destroying more enemy units until the entire Allied army is "in the bag". Pockets of enemy resistance, encircled units, or enemy forts should be bye passed by the mechanized units and should be cleaned up by the following infantry.

The first problem in the way is the enemy reserve. Any encircled troops will probably not be able to counterattack due to

(1) their movement allowance being drastically reduced thereby making it difficult or impossible to move into a German zone of control to attack a German *unit, and

(2) their attack factor being halved, so that it will be impossible to achieve a breakout of the encirclement.

Enemy forces on the flanks of the breakthrough may be pulled out of the line and sent in to counterattack but this is very difficult to accomplish if the German player engages them with an infantry unit. since to disengage will cost 2 movement factors and to move into a zone of control costs 3MP plus the cost of the terrain in the hex. Only the units to the immediate flanks of a breakthrough would be able to attack during the critical part of the encirclement. However, the reserve is an entirely different matter. Before the breakthrough can be attempted the reserves must be neutralized.

They must either

(1) be located far enough away so that they cannot attack the encircling units before these are reinforced by the German infantry and heavy armor, or

(2) be located within the encirclement so they suffer from supply restrictions, or

(3) be cut off from attacking by air units flying interdiction missions, or

(4) be forced to be committed to the main defensive line and thereby encircled or destroyed by frontal assault.

Clearly # 2 and 4 are the most desirable cases for the German player. If this is not done they may able to seal off the penetration and, with the German units out of supply, destroy them.

Number's 2 and 4 can best be accomplished by forcing the Allied player to stretch his line as long and as thinly as possible. This is best done by invading Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, and France. The order in which these countries are invaded is very important France should be invaded on turn one, it is doubtful that the Germans will get very far since this area will be heavily defended. Units should advance into Luxembourg on turn one. This allows more French troops to be engaged along the French border.

German troops should be pushed right up to the border, this forced the Belgians to withdraw even further into their country or face destruction on the following turn. Holland should be invaded on turn 1, this allows the Germans to outflank Eban Emanuel and forces the Belgians to deploy further into the very heart of their country or face complete destruction on turn 2. This also allows the Dutch to be cut off and destroyed by armor on turn 2. Belgium should not be invaded till turn 2, however German forces should be moved up to the border so that they can achieve maximum penetration on turn 2.

If you wait until turn 2 to attack Belgium the Allied player will have to build his line from Antwerp to the approximate area of the Maginot Line and then up to and along the German Border. This is the shortest line the Allies can hope to occupy of any possible line which is good for the Allies. However the Germans will be on the Allied positions before they can consolidate it and may be able to exploit this unfinished Allied defense line and push it back.

If the German had invaded Belgium on turn 1, the Belgian Army would have been able to delay the Germans long enough for a good solid defense to have been built by the Allies. But because of the move through Holland this possibility has been eliminated, unless the Belgian force tries to put up a screen in front of the Allied position till they can consolidate their positions. This would result in the destruction of the screening force, good for the Germans, not the French. From this position the French are forced to commit more and more troops to the line if they are forced back by Antwerp since their line will be becoming longer and more troops to the line means fewer in reserve.

Axis of Advance

Next we will discuss the axis of advance for mechanized troops. their employment, and the terrain most favorable for the breakthrough and following encirclement. the campaign can be divided into 2 parts. the first includes the crossing of the border and approach to the Allied positions. The first axis of advance is through French-German border. This route is direct and can allow even more extention of the Allied line, if breached. However, the Allied player will probably have a large force in this area, the terrain is restricted and bad for mechanized units and possibilities of good gains are severely limited till the breach is made.

With a competent French player this will not occur. The second axis of advance through the Ardennes, was used by the Germans and led to a crushing victory. The terrain greatly restricts the movement of mechanized units and since the Allied player can see where the Germans are deployed the possibilities of deep penetrations are severely limited. In addition combat in this area is highly undesirable for the German unless air units are helping in the attack. The third axis of advance is, in my opinion, one of the best.

Only light resistance can be anticipated near Eban Emanuel. All units should bypass the obstacle, or reduce it with infantry and artillery units, but do not waste airborne units for this task. One past this bottleneck the terrain is excellent for mechanized units and puts the Allied at a disadvantage. The last axis of advance, further north is good for outflanking the Belgians and getting the German forces in position to attack the Allied line before it is completed.

German mechanized units should be grouped along only one (or at most two adjacent) axis of advance. If they are spread out and not concentrated in one or two areas their usefulness is greatly reduced, and it becomes difficult to punch holes in the entire line, much less to rush mechanized units through for the exploitation of the breakthrough and for encirclement. From the above discussion it is clear that all the mechanized units should be concentrated in areas 3 and 4.

On turn 1 about 2/3 to 3/4 of the German mechanized units should move into Holland with some regular infantry support. The forces are deployed on the Northern Belgium border while trying to engage and, if possible, destroy the Dutch forces. The rest of the German mechanized units move up to the Belgian border. German infantry moves LIP to tfie Belgian border, through Luxembourg and make contact with the Allied forces.

On turn 2 Belgium is invaded with the Germans outflanking the Belgians from the north and all units penetrating as deeply as possible into enemy territory. At this point the Allies will move up into Belgium and set up their defense. If possible the German player should attempt to penetrate this line with armor, if a hole exists or can be created. If they can, the encirclement phase of the operation can begin. Let's assume that the Allies succeed in setting up a defensive line: now what should the Germans do?

Turn 3 should be spent bringing up infantry units to the battle line reorganizing the mechanized units immediately behind the German infantry for the breakthrough attempt and fighting limited attacks against the Allied infantry near the Franco-German border.

Second Part of the Campaign

Now I will discuss the second part of the campaign. Up to this point the German forces have been engaged in a movement to contact. Once they have come up to the principal enemy positions they must now plan and execute a breakthrough and encirclement of enemy forces. If the Germans neutralize the Allied reserve as previously discussed, they can begin the breakthrough attempt on turn 4.

The Germans could try

(1) punching a single hole in the enemy line and attempt an encirclement toward the coast (as done in the actual campaign), or

(2) they could try punching one hole with armor then send the mechanized units through the hole and behind the enemy to where some infantry has forced a hole open, completing an encirclement, or

(3) they could try to penetrate two points on the line with armor then pour mechanized units through to meet in the enemy rear for the encirclement.

The whole concept is to encircle a large section of the enemy force and cut them off from supplies. The best viev to perform the encirclement will de- pend upon the enemy situation, however here are a few guidelines.

Every attempt must be made to clear a path completely free of enemy zones of control through which the mechanized units can pour. In this way they can encircle a maximum number of enemy troops.

If airborne units, followed by air landing regiments, are landed immediately behind the Allied line and then those Allied units with German units to their rear are attacked frontally by heavy armoured divisions or in coordination with infantry corps, a nice large hole can be opened through which the German's mechanized units can advance. Obviously the air landing units should not participate in the actual attack.

By attacking with this 9 method even a BR result will create a n hole in the line since the Allied units will have to withdraw to the flanks or be eliminated. Even low odds attacks, 3-1 or even 2-1, achieve the desired results. A nice large hole will be opened for the mechanized units to rush through, and they can then complete the encirclement.

Armor should be used in the attack; this will get the mechanized units up as far as possible to jump off for the encirclement phase of the operation, plus giving good odds in the attack. Mechanized units should be directly behind the armor out of zones of control so they will have complete mobility for the encirclement phase.

In the encirclement phase heavy armor should be used to block avenues of approach of Allied reserves and to help keep open the corners of the breakthrough. Mechanized infantry should be used for the encirclement and for deep penetrations into the enemy rear areas to attack the Allied air force and keep the Allies from reforming a new line,

The only units in an encirclement which could move into a zone of control to attack an encircling unit are British infantry units, since they have 4 movement factors, the minimum number required. Therefore pin the British units down with infantry or mechanized units and even the weakest German unit can hold off all the encircled enemy units since their movement factors would only be three. Therefore by dropping parachute battalions behind the enemy front, followed by air landing units, large numbers of enemy troops can be cut off. Since these units would be very vulnerable to any reserves which are in supply it is important that they be reinforced quickly with heavy mechanized units or infantry.

No Opportunities

The Germans must never give the French an opportunity to seal off the breakthrough. Once the encirclement has been made the German armor must hold the breach open till the infantry can come through and relieve the mechanized units engaged in the encirclement. The mechanized units should then penetrate into the enemy interior. The sooner this is done the lower the chances the Allies have of setting up a new line or counterattack. ing to relieve the encircled units. The German infantry can then wipe out the encircled allied units at their leisure.

If the Allies do not use linear tactics as they did during the war, but stagger their units, it will make it more difficult for them to be encircled, though it will improve the odds of frontal attacks. For the encirclement to be effective it must be accomplished in one German turn, otherwise the Allied forces in the threatened area will escape.

Thanks to the air landing unit the Allies can still be encircled. the air landing units would be dropped in the rear of the Allied forces. The armor would attempt to knock out the forward enemy units or force them to withdraw.

On the mechanized movement phase the German mechanized units would then advance to a position to seal off the enemy units, having them completely encircling the enemy by zones control. Air units would then be used to block likely avenues of enemy approach to slow down the enemy reserves till the Germans would penetrate completely and link up with the air landing units.

Once the encirclement; has been carried out all that is left for the German player to do is to exploit it. This is the simplest part of the campaign. If the encirclement was carefully planned to cause maximum damage to the Allied player there is now nothing the Allied player can do but to concede defeat.

Details

I will now discuss a few details of play one should be aware of.

The Germans should attack the French infantry with his own infantry at 2-1 odds with air support if possible, all along the ling. Although the Germans will attack at 2-1 the French must counterattack at 1-2 and can suffer elimination. If enough of these infantry attacks are made each turn the French will be severely weakened in infantry units in a short time.

The German mechanized units have 2 movement factors more than the Allied mechanized units. In the open during the exploitation phase and when they are grinding through the enemy line for the breakthrough this can be an important advantage. It also makes it more difficult for the Allies to encircle them since they can still move into a zone of control for an attack.

The German air units have a range 2 hexes greater than the Allied units. By moving enough air units 19 hexes away from the Allied player's air units these will have to withdraw or be subjected to possible destruction In the next turn.

If there is a hole In an encirclement it can be sealed by an interdiction mission. Enough CAP will have to be flown so that the Allies cannot attack the interdiction mission. This method of sealing an encirclement is not recommended except as a last resort since it is too easily broken.

Airborne units are very versatile, don't waste them attacking forts, Landing them behind the front, combined with an attack from the front, should open holes through which armor can pour. If this cannot be done they can be used to help create an encirclement if they can be quickly reinforced. Airborne units can also be dropped far behind the enemy line to attack the enemy air force. Weak air-landing units can destroy enemy air units by forcing them to retreat or counterattack.

This type of employment is not recommended since the air-landing units can be cut off and destroyed by enemy reinforcements. However if the Allied air force becomes too much of a nuisance this operation could be considered.

The German player should never attack if there is any chance of an "AX" unless the situation Is critical.

Air units should be used in support of ground troops in priority over other types of missions. Adding two to the die roll can greatly enhance the German chances for winning each attack.

If fortifications must be attacked this can be done with a combination of three infantry corps and the two artillery units, plus air support. This gives the German a 1-out-of-3 chance of breaching the fortification. An airborne unit can be used instead if the German has some to spare.

Hopefully this article will have stimulated your thinking concerning the use of combined arms teams to achieve victory on a battlefield. There are still many tactics which the Germans can use to break the French positions which have not been discussed If the German player properly utilizes his combined forces he should end up the victor.