Before starting the game you may well think that the German player will be doing all the attacking, but once you look at the forces available you will see this is not the case. I always divide the game into three areas, the West, the Central sector and the East. In the West, the German player will be pushing hard for a breakout and the vision of Paris in the distance will draw his forces on.

In the Center, there are very strong French forces which will be attacking, both for VP hexes and in an attempt to force the Germans to divert forces to here from the west. In this area the Germans have to defend, but they will also have to counterattack to slow the French up. In the East near the Vosges mountains, the German forces are likely to be heavily outnumbered and so usually a fighting withdrawal in this area is the best plan.

The first turn

The first part of the game should see the German player planning his moves so he can reduce Liege by the end of turn 3, as this is usually the earliest it can be accomplished without risking losing large numbers of troops. You can assault the fort before the big guns arrive, but you are risking a lot of excellent units with a small chance of success. I would suggest moving two of your Emmich's Assault Force (EM) units to 3431 and a cavalry unit to 3429 to surround Liege on turn 1, using normal and then exploitation movement. The other EM unit can move to the south of Liege to surround it completely. Move the other two cavalry units to 3532 and then exploit to 3231 - they will still be in supply but they will restrict any attempts by the Belgians to put Liege back in supply. This leaves the Belgians with a dilemma - they can attempt to break through to put Liege back in supply (but are unlikely to get an attack at more than a very risky 1-1), or they can sit tight but will lose a step in Liege due to being out of supply before you even start firing your big guns.

Some German players will attempt an early assault on Liege, using the EM units which will be doubled in strength as they are attacking fortifications. There is no doubt that if you roll well you can get well ahead of the timetable and bring about an early breakthrough into northern France, but I think it's too risky. You could lose most of your EM units and they are extremely valuable later in the game - if you roll badly the Allied player could use the Belgian units to put a big hit on the German units. Having said that, if it does come off it can almost be a game breaker, so I would never rule it out completely.

In the Center move 27/xiii to 4019, 26/xiii to 4118 and 33/xvi to 4216. This compresses the space available to the French player yet only offers attacks at very low odds. Follow this up by moving the 7th and 8th cavalry to 4019 and Rupprecht to Thionville ready for turn 2.

The two cavalry units can move to the north of Neufchateau in the exploitation phase - they can remain in supply and they are well sited if the Belgian player tries to push units in that direction. To the south of Metz, move units forward to again compress the space available to the French whilst offering only low odds attacks - behind the river from 4514 to 5014 usually works well enough.

In the Vosges mountains you can also move your units forward - but not too far as the French units in this area are quite strong already and they get lots of reinforcements here as well. Use terrain to boost your units' defensive values until you can get some reinforcements into this area.

The second turn

In the West it should be possible for you to move two of your EM units away from Liege and replace them with ordinary infantry. If the Belgian forces have come out to fight you can divert forces to assault them, if not then move some units towards Dinant. Unfortunately you cannot move your big guns next to Liege this turn as you cannot advance an infantry division to 3530 until the exploitation phase (and convert the rail line).

You can try an assault with infantry but you may lose a few steps, and the Belgians will again lose a step through being out of supply anyway. Make sure you move your HQs so they can put units in reserve for the next turn if required.

In the Center, place at least one of the infantry reinforcement units at Mob Point 2 in reserve so it can use exploitation movement to enter Luxembourg and convert rail hexes as far as 3721. Rupprecht (who you craftily moved to Thionville last turn) can put the unit in 4019 into reserve, and in the exploitation phase it can move to 3326 converting rail hexes and extending the Germans' supply line almost to Namur.

You can extend the converted line up to Namur in the next turn, but don't forget that on turn 4 French units are allowed to enter Belgium so you will need to stop them from cutting the rail line. French units can enter Luxembourg once your units have, so don't forget to also defend the rail line there.

In the East keep your units in good defensive terrain that you can retreat out of if your units are at risk -- it is rarely worth your while to attack much here as you are likely to be heavily outnumbered by the French. Having said that, if you can get decent odds it does pay to make some attacks to keep the French player on his toes.

The third turn

Try to take Liege this turn -- you will probably reduce the fortress with your guns so it's always worth assaulting with as many units as you can. You really need to get 4-1 odds to have a good chance of removing fortress steps with infantry attacking, though that does not preclude attacks at smaller odds. You have enough units here to not worry about losses at this stage in the game.

If your attacks fail it may well be worth having some units available to try an overrun, though you need to leave space around Liege so units can do this without exceeding stacking limits. This will be difficult as you do not have many spare units and will find it difficult to get good odds, but it may have to be done as you really need Liege clear on turn 3 if possible.

In the Center build up forces ready to face the French onslaught - you will be on the defensive but you must be prepared to launch counterattacks to blunt the French offensive ability and to cause step losses. If you don't do this then you will get overwhelmed in the middle part of the game.

In the East you may well be coming under pressure. Use a fighting withdrawal to try and make it as difficult as possible for the French to gain Plan XVII points. Don't become too hung up on any one defensive position as you could lose units if you do, and you start the game outnumbered in this area already.

Turn 4 Onwards

You now have to decide what the focus of your campaign is to be. If you are going to go for Paris then you need to get both siege guns moving south, reducing the forts in Namur and Maubeuge as you go. If you are going for a points victory then you can reduce those fortifications and then send the heavy artillery to Antwerp.

To keep your opponent guessing you can then split the artillery, sending the faster Skoda unit towards Paris. You do need to decide which strategy you are going to use early on as it's difficult to change the focus later, especially as the French will get stronger in Northern France especially after turn 15 when the French Doctrine Line (FDL) no longer exists. You should try to look after your EM units -- you cannot refit them and they are so useful for taking out fortifications. I rarely use them in attacks but save them for the modifiers against forts when firing the guns, or alternatively (as they do not pay movement costs for enemy ZOCs) you can use them to infiltrate and surround units in the open.

If you can get two of these units and the guns to Paris you have an excellent chance of breaking in so look after your guns!

They cannot retreat off a rail line so don't leave them in a position where they might be eliminated through failure to retreat. If Paris looks out of reach you need to both gain VP hexes and defend what you already have, but keep up pressure by judicious attacks as well.

Drive on Paris Wargame Strategy

Introduction
The Germans
The Allies
General Tactics