I like playing the Allies in this game. Everyone who reads about the campaign imagines that the Allies will have no chance, have to retreat and will be no fun to play. This is far from the case as they have opportunities to attack all over the board, but especially in Alsace-Lorraine. There's also a certain skill involved in playing a good defensive game in other areas and frustrating the Germans before getting a chance to go over to the offensive yourself.

The first turn

Much of what you will do depends upon what moves the German player has made, but there are still some general principles that apply. In the Northwest, you need to protect the Belgian army - fight the Germans in the open here and you will lose it all, so keep it as a threat in being. The Germans will either have to screen your forces or take you on, probably using more of their forces than they would want to.

Just for a change, I will occasionally use the Belgians aggressively as you may be able to buy time for the other Allied forces. On one memorable occasion, an assault combined with the units in Liege attacking resulted in three dead German units after a breakthrough combat result, with the units that started in Liege being able to join the other forces. I also usually try to run the Belgian cavalry unit along the rail line through Namur and towards Neufchateau. In a woods or marsh hex it can slow the Germans, stop them converting rail lines and still have some chance of survival, especially as it can retreat before combat if not attacked by German cavalry.

In the Center you want to start getting your forces in place for the attacks around Metz. There is no point in making low odds attacks here in the first few turns unless there is a really juicy target. Build up your forces, ready to get going on turns 3-4 when you should easily be able to achieve local superiority. It's here where you will likely win or lose the game so focus on this area from the start. You need to have your HQs near the front to keep recycling units to keep the pressure on the Germans.

If you can get the Germans to divert even five to ten units from their drive on Paris then you are doing well. You have a choice over what to do with the cavalry units that begin near Sedan. They are useful for blocking the wooded areas but I like to move them closer to Metz, as they are better offensively than defensively and they can prevent German cavalry units from scuttling away before combat or overruns.

In the Vosges mountains area you have a big superiority in numbers but your supply problems preclude too much of an advance as you cannot convert rail lines outside of France. You are unlikely to capture Strasburg (and frankly unwise to even think it) but most of the other VP hexes in the area are obtainable. Don't forget too that capturing Plan XVII hexes on turns 1-8 means that you don't have to hold them and can pull back after you have occupied them. If you do have to move units out of supply range remember that reduced units will not lose any strength for being out of supply so long as you don't stack them.

The second turn

In the North you need to do all you can to slow the German up whilst risking relatively little. I like to pull the Belgian units back towards Brussels and Antwerp where they are relatively safe as you have enough units to support each other whilst the main German effort is concentrated on Liege. You can alternatively push them into South Belgium where they can link up with the French and British forces, although don't forget that they cannot leave Belgium until turn 5.

In the Center you can begin your assaults now as you get a decent number of reinforcements here. I like to try to push units to both sides of Metz as it's not too difficult to isolate the city - manage that and you're half way to winning the game as any units in the city will have to lose steps due to being out of supply. This is the area where you can win the game - do well here and the German player will have no choice but to divert units from his primary drive on Paris.

I feel you have a better chance here than you might realize, as you can afford equal losses with the Germans as you are stronger here. Losses do not matter too much in this area for another reason - any of your units that are eliminated have a chance to re-appear west of the FDL where you need all the reinforcements you can get. Try to make sure that any units eliminated are in range of a HQ so they get back more quickly.

In the Vosges mountains area, push your units forward, and here I would suggest attacking as much as possible - you can afford losses in this area much more easily than can the Germans. Grab as many of the VP hexes as you can there's no reason why you shouldn't capture quite a few of the ones south of Strasburg by turn 8, and once captured you can vacate most of them and use the troops elsewhere.

The third turn

In the North you receive the British units this turn - this is a very important force that you cannot afford to squander so make sure you support them with other units. The British troops are both high quality and fragile (as they can only refit one unit per turn when they first arrive). They usually go to Northern France, but if you have been able to keep the Belgian army intact you can move the British into Belgium (after turn 3 only) to support them and pose a nasty threat to the Germans supply lines. The British units'combat bonuses on both offense and defense are very useful too. You can try to assemble French units near Le Cateau or Cambrai though you may find this difficult as you will be under pressure.

In the Center you can start wearing down the German forces. You are stronger than the Germans but they can and will make attacks so you have to be careful. A few good rolls and a breakthrough combat can change the picture on this front very quickly, so attack where the Germans are the weakest and put pressure on their HQs. You may well be able to attack Metz - this can be a good tactic, since if the German player puts units here to defend the fortress then he will be weaker elsewhere.

In the Vosges mountains, push units across the mountains near St Die to trap any units the German player decides to use to defend Colmar. You should be able to take both Colmar and Mulhouse in this area, but do it before turn 8 to get the VPs and then pull your units back. This is obviously the area where you want your French mountain units fighting.

Turn 4 Onwards

Keep focused on your attacks - if you do this well enough then the German player will have to focus on them too. In the West use your HQs ability to reconstitute units to filter units west. Always reconstitute rather than refit if you have the chance here - reduced units still have a valuable ZOC and also if stacked alone cannot suffer a step loss if they are out of supply. Don't despair - if the Germans get too close to Paris they will reach the panic line and you can move units where you like. If it looks bad, move yourself around to the other side of the table - it may well not look too good from there either and a new viewpoint can sometimes offer an alternative strategy.

The battles here will be frantic and you are unlikely to be able to form strong lines in many places, so you need to keep your forces concentrated to both offer a chance of a counter attack and to help in defensive duties too. It also may be that the German player will get overconfident in this area so keep looking for a chance to cut his supply lines or take out a HQ. Try to keep your units where they can fall back if necessary as you need to look after your units here.

Beware of EM units and their ability to ignore ZOC costs they can unravel even the strongest looking defense if you are not careful.

From turn 15 onwards you should be able to turn the tide in the West and put some attacks in on the Germans. Your aim should be to put so much pressure on the Germans somewhere that they have to start to construct trenches. I always think that once the German player does this it offers a psychological boost to the Allied player and it also makes it easier for the Allies.

Drive on Paris Wargame Strategy

Introduction
The Germans
The Allies
General Tactics